Comments on: The Kids Are All Fucked Up

By: anita

anita — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:38:45 +0000

omg
get off topomax asap
my doctor prescribed it for my migraines and not only did it barely help My ability to think/speak coherently was completely and utterly shot. Then when it took like, 3 months to get off of it completely because my doctor was worried about the shock it might cause to my body to get off it right away. If anyone out there has had trouble finding good meds for their migraines try petadolex and migralief. Migralief can be found at any whole foods or online and petadolex is only available online. Neither of them are legit medications, just mixed of magnesium and other curative herbs. I was skeptical at first but honestly I went from having a migraine at least once a week to having one every four months or so.

By: thatLisa

thatLisa — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:09:04 +0000

I am lucky b/c I am a student and have good health insurance there. The doctor’s appointments have a set time limit (45 mins for my psychiatrist), so really, we have plenty of time to talk. But I think I just really, really lucked out with him. He actually gives a shit, and does his job so well.

Keep looking until someone listens to you. It’s worth all the trouble. I am happier and more stable than I have been probably ever. AND I GET TO SLEEP AT NIGHT TOO!!!!!!!!! ahhhhhh <3 drugs

By: thatLisa

thatLisa — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:06:27 +0000

I think drug-seekers are usually looking for shit like narcotics or benzos. not just-for-sleep meds. And, I thought, drug-seekers are usually trying to get a very specific drug.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 08:29:00 +0000

i so agree w thatlisa, find a doc who ‘actively listens” to You,. it is hard. patients and shrinks are both being squeezed by insuranace. It is a gungle our there! hard core psyches are staying in but they have NO TIME to listen, tick tock, tick tock, …….
dont know how to find a doc who doesnt depend on their income to treat their patients.
its a crazy situation at this time.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 08:14:08 +0000

erin, u r so lucky. a natural sleeper who understands……tnx4 yr comment. Not many natual sleepers understand the nightmare of anxiety that some people go thru trying to fall asleep, even when they are exausted physically. Emotionally we are way awake thinking on the tip of a straight pin! ! !

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 08:07:17 +0000

cj621 makes a clear point. the pharmacist, ..when not busy…, can give you good information about the drugs. Don’t ask the pharmacist WHAT you should take; they can’t prescibe an RX or an idea…..but often I have got my best advise inadvertantly by talking with my pharmacist, after the busy time. Pharmacists often know much more about drugs than doctors. Espectially now when so many doctors are only allowed to talk with a patient for 10-20 minutes.
signed, Complicated Sleeper

By: pufinstuf

pufinstuf — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:10:33 +0000

Yah, since I have not spoken to you, Sasha, and more importantly, since I am not a Dr. I will not give any suggestions as to what meds to take. I believe that would at the least not be helpful and might be harmful. I personally take multiple psych meds, including some mentioned above, I have not had those side effects. But that’s just me. It’s taken about 20 years of trying different meds and combinations of meds to get it right.
Your psychiatrist may be correct that you won’t be able to be med free or on minimal meds. They may not be. (If they even expressed that opinion, I am not clear on that.) I don’t exactly know what you told them, so that plays into it too.
If your goal is to be med free or on minimal meds and you told them that clearly and they ignored it or didn’t explain why they didn’t agree with it or whatever, I can understand your irritation.
But if you didn’t say that explicitly, well, it may be a misunderstanding.
The most important thing is that you have to trust your Dr. or the relationship isn’t going to work. If you don’t trust them and don’t feel you can work towards trusting them, it may be better to change Drs.

By: JorgeMacD

JorgeMacD — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:57:50 +0000

“I asked him if we could try a new sleeping med. ”

“Can you imagine what they’d give me if I were actually drug-seeking? ”

Weren’t you drug-seeking?

By: emilyxo

emilyxo — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:23:38 +0000

As I have no medical experience, I won’t even try to offer you advice on better medical cocktails to ease what you have going on.
However, as someone who has long suffered with various mental illnesses, I wholeheartedly agree that you need to ditch that psychiatrist fast.
The most important thing to developing a healthy and solid plan for yourself and your well-being is to have a professional on board who actually cares about the outcome, and the patient… as a person, not a means to a cut from a pharmaceutical company.
I also know how much work it is to try and find a new psychiatrist (when i moved i tried about 4 before finding a fantastic one… not to mention the waitlists for those with the most recommendations)… but this is your mental health which to me is equally if not more important than your physical health.
Ultiamtely, whether you stick with the one you’ve got or get a new one, you should NEVER leave their office feeling that you’ve been forced into something, or that your thoughts and opinions were not taken into consideration when this decision was made. This is YOUR life, and that doctor sees thousands of people a year, do not settle for a psychiatrist who doesn’t view you as unique.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:19:25 +0000

Let me give some background:

At 15-16 I was mis diagnosed with BP; lithium and Effexor XR were prescribed and controlled the depressive episodes, but, like you, I sort of missed the mania.

The lithium made me a (slowly) walking zombie, minus the fun, not to mention the complete lack of personality.

So, with the OK of my (bad) doc, I weaned off the lithium and lo! I had a personality and was able to enjoy life again.

Fast forward 8 years:

In the last two or so years, I switched doctors. My new, amazing, wonderful doc said ‘Oh no no no! BP II is you and prescribed a slow climb to the highest possible dosage of Zoloft (200mg/day), which worked VERY well, for about two years until I had some emotional trauma.

It stopped working, I copped a good case of insomnia and we were back to square one.

Patty (oh, yeah, me and my doctor are on a first-name basis), put me back on a low dose (75mg) of Effexor XR and 0.5mg of Klonopin as needed to control anxiety/panic as needed.

Here is where all this culminates into something that applies to you:

She prescribed 10mg Ambien, but I was to have no more than 30 tablets within a 60-day period.

She augmented the Ambien-free nights with a 2mg dose of Melatonin and told me to go get a bottle of Similasan’s Sleeplessness Relief globules, both of which you can find at your local health food store or on Amazon.

I ALWAYS take the herbals before even THINKING about the Ambien, which is safe as per my amazing(!) doctor.

If the herbals don’t do anything after 45mins, I take an Ambien and I’m out.

I’m a night owl, and always need 1hr+ to be fully awake, and it now takes 1.5hr+ to be fully awake, but the sleep is worth it.

The only side effect I’ve experienced since adding the Similasan blend is vivid dreams, which is kind of a nice change for someone who never dreams.

So, now I am steady and happy, with just a little anxiety. 75mg Effexor XR daily, 0.5mg Klonopin as needed and 10mg Ambien for desperate nights.

Anyway, why don’t you take a stab at herbals? Chamomile, valerian, pulsatilla, melatonin; all of which are safe to add to most any med regimen you’re already on.

Similasan also makes an anxiety relief globule blend that does pretty well in lieu of the benzodiazapines, as I’m watchful for addiction.

Hope this info helps in some way - and helps you to feel less alone in your struggle to find a doctor and a combination of meds that works for and with you the way you’d like.

I know SIAM has helped me feel less alone in my struggle with mental illness :) and thanks for that, Sasha!