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I will be seeing a therapist this week, and my parents recommend I follow what the doctor suggest and take medication to help calm me down and not have me be so angry. I have an anger management problem and if I take medication of some type, perhaps those will make me happy. But I have heard nothing but bad things about those medications, some make you feel high like weed high, or some make you sleepy, or sick to your stomach, or head hurt, muscle pain etc. I don't want to deal with those side effects. While other's say other side effects can include thinking of committing suicide, to going crazy altogether, killing people like reports on the news. I have NEVER taken medication before and don't want too if it has all of these crazy side effects.
The vast majority of people who take these medications have only very mild side effects, like dry mouth (cotton mouth).
1 in 5 Americans takes at least one psychiatric medication. That's around 50 million people. Many millions of people in other countries take them too. Weird side effects are rare.
I've never heard of anyone getting "high" off them--if that were true, they'd be selling them on the street. You can't get "high" off antidepressants, anti anxiety medication, or mood stabilizers, or anti-psychotics.** They aren't tranquilizers, and they aren't speed. They work differently with the brain's chemicals.
If you're not afraid to drink beer, you shouldn't be afraid to try medication that's prescribed to you by an actual medical doctor. It's funny that people will take all sorts of over the counter things like cough syrup, ibuprofen, muscle relaxants, etc., which have all sorts of side effect. Yet people are practically superstitious about taking psychiatric medication.
If you've been diagnosed with an illness, try the medication.
** Edited to add: I'm talking about SSRIs, and "atypical" (second-generation) antipsychotic medication. Atavin, klonopin, valium, and xanax are tranquilizers and I'm not referring to them.
There are many natural calmers out there. I took A/D's for 10 miserable years and suspected thyroid and could not get the right dx and support. Finally did and 10 yrs of depression lifted...I don't think you mention depression but I'm sayin. I was again feeling down in 2006 after getting my thyroid supported in 2002 and found how Vit D deficient I was...holy cow...
Your doctor can order tests for thyroid function. My daughter has anxiety and is having tests done for her thyroid function, also tests to see if her liver and kidneys can handle whatever meds they end up prescribing for the anxiety.
It's possible that medication will have some side effects for you, a lot of medications do. You have to look at the quality of your life right now...how much are your anger management issues affecting your daily life? How do they affect your relationship with your parents and your ability to function at school or at a job? How do they affect your ability to deal with issues that arise in your daily life? If your anger management issues are interfering with your life on a regular basis, then it's worth trying a medication. If the side effects are too difficult for you to deal with, then try a different medication. Your body will also adjust to meds pretty well after a week or two, so even if you feel sleepy at first, that usually evens out.
I'm guessing you're male...I think the most common side effect of psych meds for men is a decrease in sex drive or inability to get an erection. That can be a big concern, because a lot of men feel like that's the only thing in their life that's working right, and then the meds mess that up. But not all medications will do that, if that's what you're worried about. I can see where talking about that to your doctor or your parents could make you feel uncomfortable...you might have to try the medication and see if you had those kinds of side effects.
My daughter is actually eager to start taking meds for her condition...she's got OCD and is spending hours every day doing things she doesn't want to do, like washing her hands over and over or changing her clothes every hour, or other things she feels a compulsion to do. She will need therapy along with medication, but she and I have talked about possible side effects and she says that they couldn't be worse than the things she's already dealing with. I will also be able to monitor her for any really odd side effects, anything like the kind of drastic, scary side effects that you mentioned in your first post. I'm sure your parents will be willing to watch out for those kinds of problems when you start taking your meds, if you end up taking meds.
How do you know if your thyroid is off or whatever?
Need to get at least TSH, T3 and T4 tested. Whatever it's worth, in the "old days" they never had labs and doctors gave patients theraputic doses of desiccated thyroid support after hearing their long list of symptoms. And went from there when hearing from the patients and how they felt. I went thru 10 yrs of the above testing and was "NORMAL"....not so. My D.O. called in for Armour and 10 yrs of depression lifted pretty quickly.
I have a post in Alternative section here on thyroid info.
If you are a male or female, everyone can have thyroid issues. While I was first working with my dosing in 2002, a male friend was also working on his thyroid and directed me to a book on Thyroid by Mary Shomon...I could write my own book now.
Last edited by jaminhealth; 03-08-2016 at 02:48 PM..
As for medication...if you don't want them, you will find 1000 reasons they aren't working for you, or that they have intolerable side effects. Medications are not a home run nor are they are perfect. So there is give and take when you choose to take them. You have to be willing to do the give part up to get the benefits. If you are forced...it just won't work.
I take SSRIs for anxiety/depression. There are some side effects, but the benefits outweigh them for me.
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thorough thyroid testing
