Five months ago, I was diagnosed as having bipolar disorder. First I was on Depakote and then I told my doctor I was still having major problems with my sleep. I was always up and about knowing it was 3 o’clock in the morning. I told her about the lack of sleep, and she immediately took me off of the Depakote and switched me to Seroquel.
I started off with sample packets of 25mg. I was amazed I could finally go to sleep, but it wasn’t a sleepy sleep… if that makes any sense. It was like someone knocked my lights out. I had no complaints to tell my doctor because I was enjoying my sleep so much, but finally I went into major states of depression – racing thoughts and unusual energy and then crashing.
I am now taking 800mg of Seroquel a night and 150mg of Lamictal right in there with it. I still get really nervous and irritable at the smallest things, which is having a major impact on my everyday life. My doctor tells me what is good for me but the symptoms of my illness are still there, causing more harm than good.
Does anyone know what I can do to just tell my doctor, “Hey!!! This just isn’t working?”
Hi, Garett–
I think you answered your own question – tell your doctor, “Hey!!! This just isn’t working.” Describe your symptoms. The trouble with some of these meds is that they take awhile to kick in, and then it may be awhile before you really feel better. But if you’ve spent six to eight weeks on the meds and still are not feeling right, your doctor should be sensitive to this and make the necessary adjustments.
Writing down concerns as they come up can help. Bring your log with you to your doctor visits. This will allow you focus on your interactions with your doc while keeping track of her recommendations. Sometimes doctors hear things better if they’re written down in a checklist form – that’s just how we’re trained.
If your doctor does not respond to your needs, you’ve discussed this with her, and she’s still unable to problem solve with you, then you may think about finding another doctor. Before you switch, realize that it’ll take some time to develop a relationship with the new doctor and bring him or her up to speed on what’s going on and what you’ve already tried. You may be better off working with your current doctor, so you don’t need to start from scratch. However, if you continue to feel that your concerns are not being heard, then you may want to look for another opinion.
Finding the right “medication cocktail” that works for you can be a long process and require several adjustments. Shifting your expectations is an important tool for managing frustrations about these challenging medication trials.
Related Posts
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
From Psych Central's World of Psychology blog:
Best of Our Blogs: November 6, 2009 | World of Psychology (November 6, 2009)
I found a program that can heal most disease and my son, Jesse, age 16, and I are testimonials. I published Jesse’s story in Ezine Articles and the web site, http://www.cureadhdbipolar.net. Jesse was cured of bipolar, schizophrenia and ADHD and I had several medical problems myself.
Fatima
Fatima-
I went to that website and there is simply no method of curing everything. Just not scientifically possible, so when his symptoms come back, I hope you find a real Dr for him.
Carol R
Fatima-
I checked that website and I have to tell you there is no such thing as curing everything with the same method.
Please see a real DR!
Carol R
I came off three of my medications(with my doctors approvel almost eight weeks ago- I got back energy, thinking became clearer, with my new cPAP machine I was sleeping. But the last couple of weeks I have hit depression, my therapist wanted to put me in the partial program, my Rx doc started me back on all the meds I just came off. It only been one day, but all the nasty side effect are back and I have moved like a zombie today! Why is it all about ‘balancing your meds’ what about ‘balancing my life WITHOUT meds”? I went sixteen years(age 22-38) with NO psych meds. Why cant I have that back??
Hi Garret,
Are you seeing a psychiatrist? I’m just asking because you wrote “Dr”. If you aren’t seeing a psychiatrist, you really should. They are trained in psychotropic medications and can often help out much better than a GP, etc. There are other options for Bipolar besides Depakote and Seroquel. Lamictal is good for the depression side of it and for some people, Seroquel is good for the mania and sleep, but perhaps you need something different. It is a process, often trial and error which can be very frustrating! Hang in there…
Copyright © 1992-2009 Psych Central. All rights reserved.
Site last updated: 21 Nov 2009
|
