PoetJester Posted September 20, 2018 Share Posted September 20, 2018 i thought i would post two more medication related poems. the first poem is based on the famous line in the movie, Forrest Gump, and is about having to live most of my adult life on heavy doses of psychiatric meds. The Sayings of Poorest Chump (like Forrest Gump) --------------------------------------------------- Life is like a jug of rotten leche (leche- spanish for 'milk') It leaves a bad taste in your mouth And makes you wanna retche. (retche- ie to retch, to throw up) this next poem is based on the wd related constipation/gastropersis/slow transit that many of us suffer from. On Being Constipated ------------------------------------ Sometimes you just have to tear off some toilet paper and wave the white flag of surrender and say, “This is a bowel movement that I cannot render.” ("render"- to give or to submit something) Court committed to take Prozac, Paxci, and Respiradol from 8/95 to 3/96. developed severe akithisia and brain damage. Was unable to speak and walking in circles 15 hours a day. Went in for 5 sessions of ECT during a 10 day period in March of '96 and my forced medication was discontinued at that time. My akithisia and brain damage cleared up within a few days of stopping the meds. On Zoloft (200 mg) and Zyprexa (17.5 mg) March 1998- Feb 2014 In between was placed on Effexor 200 mg and Abilify for six months in 2004. Developed mild akithisia which went away once I stopped the Abilify. Developed severe GI issues in Dec 2001 and from that time on suffered from fatigue and hypersomnia where I would sleep between 12 and 20 hours a day and rarely ever left my apartment. Had tapered to 100 mg of Zoloft and 7.5 mg of Zyprexa at the time of going cold turkey Feb. 2014 Went 5 days without sleep at the beginning while vomiting all over my apt. Had brain zaps for a number of weeks and also lightheadedness which both eventually went away. However 2 1/2 yrs later I still struggle with insomnia, depression, and fatigue. Link to comment
TreeElf Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 Hey guys, really liked some of the poetry on this thread. I wrote a fair amount in withdrawal (started what I thought would be my second book). This recent wave/episode has left me unable to write however, so I thought I'd throw this one out there that I wrote a while ago and posted on my Instagram. It may as well be shared. I wrote it after a particularly horrendous afternoon where I had to go out to a fairground with my family, yet despite the surreal awfulness I felt, I managed to get through it: The Gap Two days ago I woke up crying as if the tears couldn’t wait for consciousness so they leaked into my dreams. The Great Doubt that powers this incarnation comes under the microscope A light shining on its mirrored edges, hard to catch, hard to see Slipping away Then reappearing the moment your back is turned pulling you into the fold and spitting you out A torture dance that wears my bones down like sandpaper and makes me laugh at the sky. It’s vulnerability, it’s pain, it’s the clash of Kings and Queens It’s wide open and jammed shut It’s me and beyond any stretch of me. Yesterday I fell through its cracks screaming only to land on another layer of moving steel Spinning like the Waltzers, metal beams that toss and yank and throw you up again. A fairground’s sleep is not the sleep of rest Steel does not tire, but it can break. And so the dance continues. Maybe I brought earth to the fair to ground my soul and maybe the earth breathed the fire that fueled it Maybe, that day, the sky gave water to cool the flames and air moved me through the Fun House with a gentle hand. Finding strange comfort in the chaos Absurd relief between the cracks And an impossible stillness within the storm. 2008-2013 - Various meds on and off since age 18 incl. Sertraline, Prozac, Mirtazipine, Abilify. Prescribed for severe OCD. CT'd several times over these years and reinstated after subsequent psych hospitalisations. 2014-2015 - Clomipramine, quetiapine and Epilum 2015-Jan 2017 - Prozac 40mg (stopped contraceptive pill, most stable period of time) (Beginning of taper) Jan-October 2017 - Tapered Prozac to zero. 15 Jan 2018 - Reinstated Prozac at 2mg due to acute w/d symptoms February 2018 - tapered to 1.8mg May 2018 - reinstated at 5mg due to severe w/d symptoms. 9 month hold, stabilized well at around 6/7 months. March 2019 - Tapered to 4.9mg Current supplements: fish oils, probiotic, ashwaganda, colostrum powder, cannabis Link to comment
MRothbard Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 Some great stuff here. These are lyrics. Not related to drugs or withdrawal but...i like 'em. Survey the breaking dawn Crack an eye and fire flows Men and their monuments fall into the maw The once yielding womb of the earth Now the mouth of cronus These generations of men Are ripe for harvest From a different song: The witch prepares A splendid garden there Gold ash now Pushed underground A gore-hurling geyser It feeds the furrows where Soldiers rise and warriors die A coronation A face to replace the sun Coal black now And shining down We're a metal band, so the lyrics have to be darkish i guess. September 2014 to July 2015 - 20 mg Lexapro, 30mg Mirtazipine August 2015 to November 2016- 10mg Lexapro, 30 mg Mirtazipine Nov. 2016 to Nov. 2017 - 10mg Lexapro, 3.75 mg Mirtazipine Nov. 2017 to Mach 2018 - 5mg/2.5mg Lexapro, 0mg Mirtazipne Mach 2018 to Dec. 2018 - 0mg Lexapro, 0mg Mirtazipne Link to comment
TreeElf Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 9 hours ago, MRothbard said: Some great stuff here. These are lyrics. Not related to drugs or withdrawal but...i like 'em. Survey the breaking dawn Crack an eye and fire flows Men and their monuments fall into the maw The once yielding womb of the earth Now the mouth of cronus These generations of men Are ripe for harvest From a different song: The witch prepares A splendid garden there Gold ash now Pushed underground A gore-hurling geyser It feeds the furrows where Soldiers rise and warriors die A coronation A face to replace the sun Coal black now And shining down We're a metal band, so the lyrics have to be darkish i guess. These are great! 2008-2013 - Various meds on and off since age 18 incl. Sertraline, Prozac, Mirtazipine, Abilify. Prescribed for severe OCD. CT'd several times over these years and reinstated after subsequent psych hospitalisations. 2014-2015 - Clomipramine, quetiapine and Epilum 2015-Jan 2017 - Prozac 40mg (stopped contraceptive pill, most stable period of time) (Beginning of taper) Jan-October 2017 - Tapered Prozac to zero. 15 Jan 2018 - Reinstated Prozac at 2mg due to acute w/d symptoms February 2018 - tapered to 1.8mg May 2018 - reinstated at 5mg due to severe w/d symptoms. 9 month hold, stabilized well at around 6/7 months. March 2019 - Tapered to 4.9mg Current supplements: fish oils, probiotic, ashwaganda, colostrum powder, cannabis Link to comment
MRothbard Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 Thanks abby. September 2014 to July 2015 - 20 mg Lexapro, 30mg Mirtazipine August 2015 to November 2016- 10mg Lexapro, 30 mg Mirtazipine Nov. 2016 to Nov. 2017 - 10mg Lexapro, 3.75 mg Mirtazipine Nov. 2017 to Mach 2018 - 5mg/2.5mg Lexapro, 0mg Mirtazipne Mach 2018 to Dec. 2018 - 0mg Lexapro, 0mg Mirtazipne Link to comment
Ariel Posted May 15, 2022 Share Posted May 15, 2022 On 6/29/2014 at 5:20 PM, MisterSaunders said: I thought I'd try and have a little fun while I deal with tapering off these hellish pills. Enjoy! "Doctor" I whined, "Help me, I'm so lost!' "Worry not patient, take this, it's called Zoloft!" "But what does it do?" I asked, holding the pill, The doctor laughed first, and then fell perfectly still. "Young man" he said softly, "Whatever the issue, Take one of these, and I bet it will fix you." I looked at him sceptically, I still wasn't sure This magic pill, I'd heard of before! A wonderful cure-all, a magic elixir, Citalopram was one, another effexor. I wanted to know that this was legit, Others before this one were impossible to quit! So I breathed in deep, and sat up straight: "Take one yourself, if this thing is so great!" "I don't need one" he said, "I am healthy and well!" "If I took one now, it would put me through hell!" I looked at him closely, to see if he'd break, The tension was growing, and I saw his lip shake... "Alright!" He screamed, "This pill isn't fine!" "They paid me to say it! GlaxosmithKline!" I pressed him for details, I wanted the facts "If I took this pill, how would I react?" "Okay", he said. "I'll tell you the details, but remember the price at which this retails! It cost's nothing to make, but increases wealth of those who make it, but it's bad for your health!" "We don't know for certain how these pills work, but the side effects alone will drive you beserk! You may crave carbohydrates as if they were air, and 6 months from now you won't fit in your chair. You came to me feeling melancholic, Come back in 6 months as an alcoholic. Prepare for insomnia, and get ready for dizzy You'll need time off work! I hope you're not busy!" I felt let down, upset and betrayed. He looked sad too, he was obviously dismayed. In fact I saw tears, and I knew he wasn't faking them: "And this is before you try to stop taking them" @MisterSaunders Thank you, thank you for this gem! Made me smile from head to toe <3 1996-2018 - misc. polypharmacy, incl. SSRIs, SNRIs, neuroleptics, lithium, benzos, stimulants, antihistamines, etc. (approx. 30+ drugs) 2012-2018 - 10mg lexapro/escitalopram (20mg?) Jan. 2018 - 10mg -> 5mg, then from 5mg -> 2.5mg, then 0mg --> July 2018 - 0mg 2017(?)-2020 - vyvanse/lisdexamfetamine 60-70mg 2020-2021 - 70mg down to 0mg --> July 2021 - 0mg March-April 2021 - vortioxetine 5-10mg (approx. 7 weeks total; CT) --> April 28th, 2021 - 0mg supplements: magnesium powder (dissolved in water) as needed throughout the day; 1 tsp fish oil w/ morning meal; 2mg melatonin August 1, 2022 - 1 mg melatonin Courage is fear that has said its prayers. - Karle Wilson Baker love and justice are not two. without inner change, there can be no outer change; without collective change, no change matters. - Rev. angel Kyodo williams Holding multiple truths. Knowing that everyone has their own accurate view of the way things are. - text on homemade banner at Afiya house I am not a medical professional; this is not medical advice. Link to comment
Ariel Posted May 15, 2022 Share Posted May 15, 2022 @PoetJester Thank you so much for your posts here sharing your story and poems. Much appreciated <3 1996-2018 - misc. polypharmacy, incl. SSRIs, SNRIs, neuroleptics, lithium, benzos, stimulants, antihistamines, etc. (approx. 30+ drugs) 2012-2018 - 10mg lexapro/escitalopram (20mg?) Jan. 2018 - 10mg -> 5mg, then from 5mg -> 2.5mg, then 0mg --> July 2018 - 0mg 2017(?)-2020 - vyvanse/lisdexamfetamine 60-70mg 2020-2021 - 70mg down to 0mg --> July 2021 - 0mg March-April 2021 - vortioxetine 5-10mg (approx. 7 weeks total; CT) --> April 28th, 2021 - 0mg supplements: magnesium powder (dissolved in water) as needed throughout the day; 1 tsp fish oil w/ morning meal; 2mg melatonin August 1, 2022 - 1 mg melatonin Courage is fear that has said its prayers. - Karle Wilson Baker love and justice are not two. without inner change, there can be no outer change; without collective change, no change matters. - Rev. angel Kyodo williams Holding multiple truths. Knowing that everyone has their own accurate view of the way things are. - text on homemade banner at Afiya house I am not a medical professional; this is not medical advice. Link to comment
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