How to deal with loved ones who don't want me on medication

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My girlfriend does not like the fact that I am on medication. She thinks that the bizarre behavior I had after not taking one of my medications for a while (I had neglected to find a new psych after changing jobs and needing a closer one) was because I was "detoxing". Moreover, I am now looking at studies that seem to suggest that fluoxetine may cause infertility, so that has me feeling doubly troubled. How do I reassure her that this is what I need due to being neurodivergent and that it won't affect our future?

Well...behavior out of the ordinary could be due to withdrawal, but it also could be emerging "normal" behavior that is ordinarily suppressed by the drug. If you've been on this medication for awhile, I'm not sure anyone could really say. This is Prozac, right? Or something like that?

One way or the other, if your medicated behavior and feelings are pleasant to you and others, what's the problem? I'd present it to her that way. I'd only go off something prescribed to me if it was causing me a definable problem and I needed to see if the problem improved by not taking it. And even then, I would know that it would take a few months to know if it really was the medication or not. That's a pretty big commitment, and not something to take lightly.

I'm sure other people will tell you that you shouldn't ever go off something prescribed to you. But speaking as a person who has been prescribed all sorts of heavy duty things for serious neuro issues, I'm never going to tell someone to just blindly take medication. Sometimes it's great and sometimes it's not.

Her argument is that it creates a chemical dependency for me (she prefers "all-natural") and that such could be a problem in future fertility or behavior in future children. Given what I have just read about research in mice, I can't
exactly reassure her on that.

You can't really reassure her if you don't know yourself.

All-natural is stupid. Cancer, plagues and children dying is natural; cancer treatments, public health and children not dying is modern medicine.

If you have concerns bring them up with your doctor, maybe get some tests done on your sperm to check sperm count and the health of the sperm.

Depends on what you mean by "natural."

Most contemporary cases of cancer are probably caused by human inventions—so cancer isn't exactly natural in the sense of "caused entirely by nature."

A disease can only become a plague in an area that has a large concentration of people—something that is relatively recent in human history, something that many people can't escape because of the geopolitical reality of where we live. People being forced into cities isn't really "natural."

Fluoxetine Is a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI), which are known for causing erratic (and frequently violent and/or suicidal) behaviors as side effects. You should do some research and decide for yourself if ingesting these Frankenstein Pharmaceutical neurotoxins is a good idea for you.

Though the manufacturers keep the facts out of the media, to protect their billion dollar a year business, these meds have been repeatedly linked to sudden outbursts of violence, as well as unexpected suicides, like Robin Williams, and recently Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell.

Be exceptionally careful when meeting with a new mental health professional, that they don't switch you from one SSRI to the other without sufficient detox time, because the side effects can become considerably worse if these meds are mixed, and it can take as much as 6 months for one to be completely flushed from your system.

If you're looking for a natural antidepressant, try Turmeric. Keep in mind, that with the Fluoxetine still in your system, you may barely be able to feel the effects of a natural substance.

Read:

Psych Meds Drove My Son Crazy

Chris Cornell, Heath Ledger and Robin Williams: Famous Drug Death Tragedies

New Study Confirms - Antidepressants Cause Violence

Robin Williams had a terminal illness, a form of dementia that would have killed him in two years or less and he was already suffering from it's effects. That's why he killed himself.

The spice Saffron has been found to be as effective as fluoxetine and imipramine at treating mild to moderate depression in adults.

http://www.psychcongress.com/article/sa ... epressants

Medical cannabis is a great option too if for whatever reason natural treatments float your boat.

For me personally, I use both, whatever works. I use ginger tablets for my chronic nausea, but I also use ondanestron and cannabis. I am on a pile of other meds for various health problems but I may also use some sleepytime tea or a passion flower extract for anxiety.

If you're honestly worried about infertility, get a sperm count. Though that's a new one on me-- I've heard of SSRIs causing frigidity in women and ED in men, but not infertility.

At the end of the day-- it's your body and your life. If you feel the meds improve your life, and that's something real not something you've been conditioned to think, it's YOUR BUSINESS, NOT THEIR DECISION. They can take it or leave it; if they don't have enough respect for you to value your well-being above hegemony with their own preferences, it might be for the best if they leave it.

I have the opposite problem-- being constantly pressured to medicate even though every drug I've tried that is acceptable for long-term use has significantly diminished my quality of life. Maybe it's autistic and inconsiderate of me, but-- my body, my life, I'm not medicating. That's my choice. It belongs to me. Your choice belongs to you.