Self-Medication

I am wondering how many people here have actually tried to doctor their own depression symtoms by starting to use natural/prescribed drugs without the advice of a doctor.

I have been making a solid effort for a while now. While I see it helping more than what the doctors were trying to do, it still is taking a really long time.

I'm just doing this my own way because I would rather not have to go see a therapist twice a week and be on anti-depressants.

I currently am self-medicating using occasional (periodic) therapeutic doses of clonazepam, and a slightly higher-than-average dose of 5-HTP (200mg 2 or 3 times daily). And of course, lots of TLC with the THC.

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I AM NOT PROMOTING SELF-MEDICATION. A lot of people might not know what they're doing and fuck themselves up really bad. I'm also not condoning that anyone use my self-medication regimen. Just because it's working for me does NOT mean it will work for you.

Lots of people have used anti-depressants without a hitch. I'm not one of those people. I HAVE to medicate myself, because doctors won't listen to me. They just prescribe pharmaceutical anti-depressants.

 

I used to take herbs for my symptoms until they reached a certain point where it wouldn't work anymore. But it's good for those who aren't like me (ie. someone with a severe illness who also builds up a resistence easily).

 

Can be a dangerous road if you're seriously mentally ill.

I support your efforts to at least try. I personally think medications are waaaay over prescibed in the states. Not enough effort at attacking cause.

Not enough profit in that, you know.



x

 

I'm with xexon on what he said. Modern mental health has become too much about money which is in pharmaceuticals. I'm hooked on them myself, though I would like to eventually ween myself off of everything chemical and just smoke. But going off of them messes with my sleep which is issue ridden already, so it isn't easy.

 

You've got to be careful with weed. Natural or not, it's powerful drug.

Schizophrenics should avoid it all together as its known to trigger episodes.



x

 

if you would like to call thc self medicating then yes... otherwise hell no!!! i actually prefer facing my issues rather than masking them with junk pharmaceuticals...too mant in society are entirely too dependent on "medication" to make them happy.... when in about 90% of the cases it dont come in a fucking pilll,,, i can assure you....

 

I sometimes smoke meth to get me through my math homework.

 

People self-medicated before there were doctors. So I think we should still be allowed to, with guidance of course from someone who can tell us about doses and such. But drugs should be legal so people can have access to them when they need them. Not having to wait for a prescription (by the time you get home from the doctor evaluating you and deciding if you're sick enough for it, and pick up the pills, you might not be feeling sick anymore).

 

yes you really have to be careful about weed if you are having severe psycological and emotional problems.. last year i was at an new low, feeling completly hopeless and worthless, it was pure hell. i decided that getting back on weed might help, so i went and bought some nice weed from a friend. it was the first time i smoked in months, and my mental state was completely diferent from when i last toked.
shortly after the first puff i knew i was in for a bad trip. any glimmer of hope of fixing my life was lost or forgotten, i was now living in the moment, livng in complete hell with no escape. the feeling of worthlesness and hopelessness had increased to the point of me having complete psychosis.
weed is a powerful tool, but if you life has serious issues than you need to deal with those issues first.

for herbal treatment, i would definatly recommend saint johns wort. it is similiar to an ssri, and can help you get through the day. it is similiar to an ssri in that it takes 4-6 weeks to kick in and you have to take them everyday( usually 900mg) for it to build up in your system. green tea, passion flower tea, catnip tea all seem to help with stress. i hope this helps

 

Weed sometimes helps you forget about your problems and just enjoy the moment. I don't see anything wrong with that.
You shouldn't focus on your problems while high. If you do that, of course you're going to have a bad trip. Make sure you have some fun things to do. Get some friends over if you want.

 

i agree that weed can be good in most situations. the point im trying to make is if you have SEVERE mental issues or disturbances , there is a chance that weed can worsen those negative thoughts, and put you into a deeper hole. not that the weed itself does it, its just that those immediate issues can be amplified by it in a sense

 

I do have some mental issues. I will list them:
OCD
Anxiety
Depression.
Weed only worsens them when I let it. It's just a situation of mind over matter.
I get what you're saying since weed makes things more... but what I'm saying is that if you just change your mind, do something fun, then you should be able to get your mind off it while high.
But maybe that doesn't work for everyone.

 

Every one responds diferently

to diferent drugs,

both psychologically

and psycho-chemically.

So we can generalze about what

drugs are good or bad, but it really

comes down to personal

choice, which all adults

capable of thinking for

themselves should be allowed to have.

 

I only self-medicate myself with natural medicine from plants.

 

The best cure for depression is sleep. Upon awakening, make yourself a hot chocolate and sit in front of the tv watching krypto.

 

clonazepam is a anticonvulsant that can lead to tolerance and dependancy, not a drug to play with. if you are combining sedatives with other sedatives you better watch out. It's a poor choice.

 

well i started smoking pot again to help my depression. one really important thing i found is that if you are prone to paranoid psychosis, only smoke a very LITTLE amount. this will raise elevate your perception just enough to feel nice but not enough to put you in a world of terror (if you are prone to psychosis). i believe there was a study in the u.k that confirmed that low dosages of marijuana can alleviate depression, but also higher doses can reduce your seratonin levels and put you deeper into a depression. my own personal "tests" seem to confirm this

 

Do you remember

what was considered

high dosage in the

study? I treat my own

deppression with

it, and it seems

to work well.

I'm curious about

that study though.

 

I use homeopathy to fix myself. You can find the remedy you need at www.ABCHomeopathy.com - Than I drive to my local health store and buy it for like $5. Works better than the pharmaceutical shit and costs SOOO much less

 

I tried anti depressents and experienced a mild euphoria. Like dying by Hypoxia, I didn't care about anything potentially harmful. All fear was vanquished, and yes, it cured my depression or to put it rightly, took the edge off. I still felt too many side affects, felt dizziness and sickness. Loss of appetite, but a sustained euphoria which pitched around mid day. I didn't much care about the side affects, but that was because I was euphoric.

The most popular way of coping with angst, woes, depression etc is by writing things down, talking to other's and if you need to self harm, put an elastic band around your hoof and ping it back. It might help you to evert from the usual cut and slice technique which is never good news.