It has been brought to my attention that I love to complain about the medications that don’t work for me on this blog but never praise the medications that keep me functioning. Here I shall talk about what I do take and how they help me. Here goes.
Latuda (80mg)- Latuda is an anti-psychotic that is now being used to treat bi-polar disorder along with schizophrenia. I was first prescribed Latuda when I had postpartum psychosis eight years ago and have been on it every since. The drug has helped me a tremendous amount. It has helped curb my grand delusions, and has taken away my major paranoia. It’s only on a rare occasion do I believe the driver in the car behind me is a serious killer who wants to murder me. I still have a schizophrenic symptoms and episodes but Latuda has made them better. It’s still a brand name and expensive but it’s worth it to me for my improved quality of life.
Lamictal (400mg)- Lamictal is a generic and costs me $10 a month. It’s the gold star standard in mood stabilizers with very few side effects- none of which I have ever experienced. Without Lamictal my mood swings were all over the place. The ups and downs were unbearable. I’ve been on Lamictal for the better part of eighteen years and I recommend to anyone having issues with their moods. I take a very high dose of it because that’s the therapeutic dose for me. I believe I will be on Lamictal for the rest of my life.
Saphris (15mg)- Saphris is a newer anti-psychotic that finally became a generic this year. It went from costing me nearly $300 a month to $10 a month and the generic doesn’t taste as God-awful as the brand name. The pill dissolves under the tongue and is reeking havoc on my gums. However, it helps with the smaller schizophrenic symptoms. It helps stop the voices. I need two anti-psychotics to function. Both cover different symptoms. Without Latuda and Saphris I’d be in a mental hospital on a permanent basis. These two new medications have saved my life and I haven’t experienced any of the adverse side effects (saving for the gums, but I brush my teeth before taking it and that helps) that come with the drugs.
Remeron (30mg)- Since my new doctor diagnosed me with OCD, he felt it best to combat the symptoms with an antidepressant. Prozac and Lexapro both made me bleed from my rectum so I can’t take those. Remeron is a different sort of antidepressant and I can take it. The main side effect is an increased appetite but I haven’t experienced that at all. I don’t feel any happier but I have noticed a decrease in my visual hallucinations. People with schizo-obsessive disorder (schizophrenia and OCD) have visual hallucinations and the hallucinations would become hard to deal with before I started taking Remeron. For the most part I don’t have horrible hallucinations anymore. There’s the odd day where I see demons but it doesn’t last for days on end. Remeron is also a generic and costs me $10 for a month supply.
Adderall (10mg 3x a day)- Adderall has changed my life. My new psychiatrist correctly recognized my ADHD, which my old doctor never did and he was my doctor for eighteen years. The difference in how well I manage my life from day to day has drastically improved. I don’t feel so sick all the time. I feel like me. If I could go back and talk to my twenty-year-old self, I’d tell her that she has ADHD and Adderall would make her/me functional. There’s a lot I could have accomplished if I had this diagnosis early on. I’m fairly happy in my life, for all my complaints but there are some unfulfilled goals that now feel like it is too late to chase after. It would have been a game changer all those years ago. It’s a game changer now. I’m very happy to be on this medication. It makes my brain easier to handle from day to day. For being as highly addictive as it is (it’s a controlled substance that I can only fill every 28 days and it’s locked up so only the pharmacist can access it), it’s also a generic and costs $10 a month.
Yes, it takes five daily drugs to help me have a normalish life. I also take Ativan for anxiety and auditory hallucinations when they happen. I take Vistaril for visual hallucinations. So I have a team of seven drugs total that keep me going. They are all worth it. Each and everyone of them. It took two decades to find this perfect team and I’m glad I toughed it out. As a teenager, I had hope that my life wouldn’t always be plagued with mental illness. The medications are by no means a cure but the daily struggle to remain afloat is no longer there. For that I give thanks.
Gently Dented 
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