Aug 24 2008
Mental Health Humor : Medicated Mouse
Mental Health Humor : Medicated Mouse
A few weeks ago, I had a cartoon about meds and talked about the types of meds we all take so here is my little list. I’m sure it’s shorter than most because I refused to take any Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs).
My first SSRI: Lexapro : I was on this for two weeks and at first, it seemed to have a calming effect… Then the side-effects kicked in and it drove me crazy’er….needless to say I had to come off it.
Enter Dopamine Reuptake Inhibitor antidepressant Wellbutrin SR also marketed as Zyban or Bupropion. I made a well-informed choice early on in my medication management to avoid psychiatric drugs, antidepressants that cause weight gain or sexual dysfunction.
So with the Wellbutrin SR, I was given the old Lithium and sent on my way. I found that the Wellbutrin SR would not last the full day. I was on 300mg 150/2 times a day, but come 9/10P.M. I would get real snappy and angry.
Since that mix did not work so well and I landed in the psych ward, they took me off the Wellbutrin and Lithium. I tested out Abilify and had major side-effects and then to Geodon that made me sleep. One last shot with Zyprexa, and that stuff made me sleep 23 hours straight!
After being a guinea pig for a few months, I asked if I could change to Wellbutrin XL. Once, I convinced my doctor that might be a better choice for me, he agreed. But kept toying with Trileptal (oxcarbazepine) and Tegretol (carbamazepine) for the mood stabilizer. He also gave me Xanax for my anxiety. The anxiety, I believe was triggered by the Abilify. Since up till that time before I took that stuff, I could deal with most anxiety, but after Abilify, I started having uncontrollable panic attacks! Well, I’m sure I forgot a few, but you get the idea. What about you? What have you been on? This week’s cartoon is dedicated to our loyal reader and commentator, Electricmousie!…(not that she’s a simply minded mouse by any means or rat for that matter) Not implying that at all but she’s a (electric) Mousie that I’m sure can relate to the process (and suffering) of finding the right mix of meds to function properly…looking forward to your comments on this topic Electricmousie and other reader’s comments, too!
Permission granted for non-profit use by artist: Chato B. Stewart.
^^^ When using this cartoon on your non-profit blog you must link us.^^^
Thanks for dropping by:
Chato B. Stewart
Mental Health Advocate - Cartoonist - and a few other things!
http://www.mentalhealthhumor.com
“Using Humor to Heal and Educate with badly drawn cartoons.”
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Awwww Chato; I LOVE the cartoon ! Thank you so very much!!! That really made my day! I collect anything “mouse” and I have to watch out for my 3 month old kitty; she likes to chase and catch them (at least the little gray furry ones) LOLOL
I know what you mean about being a guinea pig, Chato..it took a long long time to get me halfways decent; I know I’ve been tried on at least a hundred different drugs.. (and then the combinations)…I know for a fact they drove me over the edge into insanity at different times.; had to be kept in isolation; I was hallucinating like mad (I remember some but not all; most times I was totally out of touch with reality; at that time I tried to keep my journal going but what I wrote was all jibberish and didn’t make a bit of sense…I kept it anyway as a reminder to how far I’ve come. I really don’t like being tried on different pills; that’s why I areed with the Doctor to have ECT done on me; I figured I could stand that rather than fiddle around with my meds!!!!
This should make you laugh …one time when I was really really sick (the highest mania someone can reach….I was so out of it that I did a Lady Godiva act ….remember Lady Godiva; the one who rode a horse while being NAKED’ her long beautiful hair covered her body…..yep, here it comes….I stripped off all my clothes and somehow got out of the Isolation ward I walked down the hall BARE NAKED!!!! And I keep my hair quite short; there’s certainly not enough to cover me!!! Other times I thought they were trying to poison me so they had to wrestle my meds into me; ah well, I laugh at my experiences now with the hope that I won’ t get that sick ever again!
I’m really jazzed by your chosen topic. It’s honest and creative. Must be a good exercise for you.
My name is Todd Thomas and i would like to show you my personal experience with Wellbutrin.
I am 29 years old. Have been on Wellbutrin for 2 weeks now. The positives do not outweigh the negatives in any way.I strongly recommend trying natural dopamine supplements that are out there including Gaba.Look into it.All that I was getting with anti-depressants was frustration which led to helplessness which led to hopelessnes and suicidal feelings.Its really sad to know that drugs whether legal or not,can become a dependency factor,and when they fail to live up to the standards,and after all the $$$ has been handed over,we all end up right back where we started.I am always interested in talking to people about this subject..
I have experienced some of these side effects -
Insomnia,extreme energy surges and stomach aches.I also had appetite decrease.
I hope this information will be useful to others,
Todd Thomas