****Disclaimer! The information below is my personal opinion and in no way from a medical professional****

Medication and mental health

With there being so many different types of mental illness existing, how do you classify them? Aren’t they all the same and does a single medication work for everyone? Once again this answer is a major “fuck no!” There are different medications for different types of illnesses. In fact, let’s drop the word illness and change it to condition. Not all issues that people deal with are actual illnesses.

Which one is used for what?

The true answer to this is, no one knows for sure. Many doctors play the guessing game. In other words, let’s see which one works best for you. This “game” actually can and will cause more harm than good. Each person reacts differently to each medication. Some drugs even have multiple uses. Which begs the question, how will this truly mess with my body and mind?

What do they use for anxiety?

There are many different medications used to help with anxiety. Some of these are:

• Celexa
• Lexapro
• Prozac
• Paxil
• Zoloft

This is just a small list of what is used to help those who suffer from anxiety. There are many more that are used. Some of these are multifaceted and as with most medications, they can become habit-forming.

What about depression?

Depression is another serious condition that is a huge factor for many people. In fact, depression contributes to many suicides here in the US. Sometimes even medication doesn’t help, nor is it available. Some of these are:

• Abilify
• Celexa
• Lexapro
• Paxil
• Prozac

Hold on just one fucking minute!

There are three medications listed in both categories. That can’t be right! Actually, it is 100% true. Those medications have multiple uses. In fact, many medications have a multitude of uses. For example, the drug Depakote is prescribed as an anti-epileptic drug but is also used for people with chronic migraines. Other drugs are used in this fashion as well.

Interactions and side effects

As stated above, most drugs of any form have side effects that can be a major issue. One of my biggest pet peeves, when it comes down to the commercials for medication, is how they show people happy and living their lives as if they don’t have a care in the world. Meanwhile, you listen to or read the fine print and it’s just fucking crazy! For example, a medication for depression….. Side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and dizziness. If you have suicidal thoughts stop taking it immediately and contact your doctor. Patients with dementia, who are pregnant, could be or are planning on being pregnant, breastfeeding, or are allergic to this medication should not take it.

Ok… First off… This is a drug for depression. WHY in the fuck would you market it if it increases the potential for increased suicidal tendencies? Does this go back to the doctors playing the “let’s see what works best” or are they getting kickbacks for prescribing these medications? I’m not sure about you, the readers, but I don’t want to take medications that can have the opposite effect that they are trying to help with.

Experiences from Golden Wolf

So as most people throughout their life, have taken medications for things such as infections, colds, allergies, and much more.

I personally have been on and off a variety of medications for my epilepsy. My issues started when I was a teen. The first doctor I saw gave me was Dilantin. Didn’t seem too bad to start, but then the side effects started to kick in. I started having random nose bleeds and started to not be able to say words correctly, or sounded like I was drunk with the way I slurred my words. So I got off of that.

The next medication was Depakote. Same thing, starts fine then shit his the fan. I could sleep 16 hours and not feel like I slept for days. On top of all of this, I had major anger control issues. It was so bad that if someone even breathed in my direction I would lose my mind. After a few years after this going on (and me almost failing out of high school), I was finally off of that medication. Like slowly returns to normal.

A few years go by with very few incidents. Maybe 3 at most. Then in 2018, all hell broke loose. I had a Grand Mal seizure right as I was getting better from the flu. There’s a trip to the ER. Then it keeps happening. Many more trips to the ER with no real reason as to why. So the tests start and we are given the name of a neurologist to see. The dude is so old school with his methods that he still takes paper notes. He put me on some meds, and I can’t remember the name of the first one but it really just made me feel off. So he changed it.

Enter lamotrigine (Lamictal). This drug seemed to be ok. Just couldn’t get the damn dosage right. So enter yet another seizure. This time we met a new neurologist in the hospital. This woman really seemed to know her shit and took me on as a patient without any thought or questions. She told us that the previous doctor’s notes wouldn’t make any difference as it would be of no help to get the ball rolling. So she started at the bottom.

We started playing the method of finding the right dosage level for me. We finally got to the correct dosage, but I was having mid-afternoon crashes. So she changed me to the extended-release form of the medication. While this helped, I was still having minor issues with my eyes fluttering. So another medication was added.

Here comes zonisamide. Oh buddy what a mind fuck this was! The way my mind perceived the world was 100% the opposite of what it truly was. I thought that statements that my wife made were fact even though they weren’t. It was just a huge mess. After numerous complaints and phone calls, the doctor spoke with her colleagues and they told her that the medication is known to induce psychosis in some patients. So I was weened off of it and put on a different medication at a lower dose.

As of the creation of this article, it has been announced that as of August 2022, the medication zonisamide is no longer being produced not prescribed due to its effects on the human mind.

My advice is to do your research before starting any medications that could fuck with your brain’s chemistry.