We asked our readers to tell their medication stories. Below are some of the responses. For some we've used pseudonyms to protect their confidentiality.
Lincoln Kennedy, New York, New York:
I tried Thorazine, Stelazine and Tofranil in the 1970s without good results. The side effects were devastating. They included dry mouth, sleepiness, drowsiness, blurred vision and weight gain. In 1975, I started at the Fryer Research Center. It is located at 30 East 40th Street in New York City. I have remained a patient there and my treatment consists of nutritional psychiatry.
The nutritional psychiatry has an absence of side effects. In addition, it promotes the consumption of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, herbs and a good diet. The symptoms are not suppressed, but are alleviated. So there is not zombie side effect.
Oklahoma57@aol.com:
Without the right medications, I was hospitalized eleven times. The last hospitalization was in 1997. Recently, after six years of being dormant, I'm able to write poetry again. I'm making friends and having fun with my family. From 1986 to 1996, I was seeing a psychiatrist for both therapy and medications. He was controlling and unprofessional. It wasted ten years of my life. He never gave me an antidepressant even when I was clinically depressed. In 1996, he took me off Navane and put me on Lithium. I had auditory hallucinations and was hospitalized five times in less than a year. My doctor lied to me constantly.
Morris Levine:
I suffer from major depression. The medications often didn't work. So I had to get ECT (Electroconvulsive Therapy) many times. I was on Trazidone for three years before it stopped working. The result was I had to be hospitalized so the doctors could find the right medications for me. I was on Clondine, which made my eyes dry, and my hair fell out.
Anonymous
From 1992-1997, I took Trilafon, which is an antipsychotic. I also took various antidepressants. This medication regime worked for four and a half years. With the help of a psychiatrist, I tapered off all my medications. Then I became manic and depressed. Finally, in 1997, I began taking Lithium and an antidepressant. This medication combination has worked for almost five years. My diagnosis as a manic-depressive seems right.
Joan L. Nobiling, Pittsford, New York
In 1965, I was 27 and hospitalized for the first time. I had more than my share of ECT. My family, faith and a good psychiatrist freed me from the psychiatric maze. I took Mellaril for a long time before stopping it. In 1975, I became very depressed and equally anxious. The stress also caused me to have tons of physical pain. Again, I was hospitalized and treated with ECT. Then a psychiatrist gave me an MAOI and it worked very well. I felt alive and wanted to enjoy life. In 1985, I tried Lithium and it was hell. So my psychiatrist switched my medications to Trilafon and Parnate. Today, I am still taking Trilafon and Parnate and doing well.
Nona Nemenyi, Bronx, New York
I've been mentally disabled on and off since the age of 17. My first experience with psychotropic medication was when I was sent for observation at Jacobi Hospital in the Bronx. It was my senior year at Music and Art High School and I was under a lot of pressure. I broke out in uncontrollable crying for no apparent reason. I was given Thorazine in the Emergency Room. It was a terrible drug which froze my mind, making it hard for me to think and on the initial dosage I blacked out. Another terrible drug given to me another time in the emergency room was Haldol, which also knocked me unconscious. I was first diagnosed with schizophrenia then many years later as schizo-affective, then schizo-affective bipolar, then finally bipolar only. I've had lapses of memory on these drugs, not recognizing family when they came to see me in the hospital. The latest drug Zyprexa, when given in a small dose, seems to keep me stable and focused after 20 or so years of hospitalizations!
Anonymous
I'm an adult who began taking Ritalin 10 years ago. I did so reluctantly, but my life was sort of out of control and I was returning to grad school. Initially it worked well as an attention-deficit fighter. I am sure I would have struggled to finish school without it. Ritalin gradually became more effective as an antidepressant. I found that it seemed to prevent despair and served as a mediator between id and superego. These days it is still effective, but I'm not crazy about being on it. Here's why:
1) The social stigma. Few people know I take it. I think I'd have better luck telling people I'm on Methadone, such is Ritalin's rep. Even my son doesn't know.
2) The withdrawal factor. If I go without it, I need to shut down. I'm not an addict. I quit smoking easily, and while I've taken every [street] drug imaginable, I've never had a drug or alcohol issue.
3) The negative impact on my sex drive.
4) The 30-day limit on prescriptions makes me dependent on a doctor who is a nice guy, but who really doesn't pay me much mind. I try to religiously keep track of holidays so I have enough Ritalin available. I can't stand the dependency. That's a harsh indictment, but I still value its effectiveness. I'd rather be on something else.