I'm going to try to go off my medication

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My mom might guilt trip me by saying I wont get my christmas presents. She will cut off contact if my psychiatrist disagrees with it. But Im a grown woman. Surely I can learn to live without my mom. She will be gone someday anyway. Ill just have go to the laundrymat instead of doing my laundry at moms. The long term effects of antipsychotics are damaging. I dont want to be on this anymore. I think the only reason I was crazy, is because I wasnt diagnosed with autism and I was in abusive relationships and afraid of becoming homeless. I was also terrified of the real world because I didnt know what to expect. But now Ive gotten used to it.

What exactly is your medication?

well my mom wont help me anymore for sure if he is against it. You know Im worried if I stop taking my medication that Id lose my disability money. I might have to stay on this crap just to keep being on disability because I cant handle having a job because of cognitive problems related to autism.

There are some medications which you just cannot just quit cold turkey.

I'm on Risperidone (an anti-psychotic medication).

If I forget and miss doses, I start getting really squirrel-y.

I wouldn't advise just stopping them cold turkey.

The plan is to go off them slowly while being monitored. They have alredy cut back my med several times and I feel fine.

^ Okay.

As long as you're doing it the right way, I wish you luck!

Okay I think the rules of disability are similar in Canada in that regards. Losing contact with mom will probably grow me up more because Ill be taking on more responsibility. I just dont know whos gonna help me move when the time comes.

I got slapped with a Bipolar diagnosis on my 2nd day in rehab, which was strange since I was detoxing off of opiates. Naturally, my emotions were going to be all over the place. This was 5 1/2 years before my official ASD/Asperger's diagnosis. They put me on 60 mg of long acting Lithium. I was very depressed and the Lithium can augment the antidepressants while the brain adjusts and heals from drug abuse/addiction. It worked well for that.

But, about 3 months into my sobriety/clean time, all I did was laugh like an idiot. I like to laugh as much as the next person, but if someone fell down the steps and broke their neck, I'd laugh. I didn't want to sit around and laugh all day. It felt very bizarre. So, I began the slow process of weaning myself off the Lithium. I did it very slowly, over the course of about 6 months. I've been off of it ever since (5 years) and I'm still clean and sober too. I was never Bipolar, I was Autistic. And, the first 44 years of my life were not spent on psychiatric meds, either.

I don't know what your diagnosis is, or if you feel it's accurate. But, successful tapering off of medication should be a lengthy process. Getting in a hurry to be off them could cause more harm than good, be very careful. I would notify my doctor, especially if you have been on them for a long time, and since a young age. If you end up in a psychiatric facility over it, they won't believe you when you say that you can do without them. You need to show them stability and good judgment. Just stopping them will cause others to feel it's your mental illness talking... You have the right to try, including your doctor in your plans shows maturity and good judgment.

I was talking to my mom about this and she was not happy with it. As usual the only way she would go with it, is if the psychiatrist said so. She would call and ask him what his decision was, if I went off them. Last time I mentioned going off them he didnt seem to agree with it. That was a while ago. Ive had my medication decreased twice now, and am going to have a longer period of time without injection starting in the fall. So I will mention to my psychiatrist that I think theyre bad for the body and would eventualy like to go off them. But if he and my mom are against it I have to stay on, because I need my moms help in life. Even if I dont want to be on this stuff. I thought about it and life without mom would suck.

They have been decreasing the medication so maybe they can keep doing that!