My wife hates Daylight Savings Time. Whether we’re springing forward, as we did this past Sunday, or falling back, it usually upsets her circadian rhythm just enough to trigger a chain reaction toward mania. Simply put, it throws her sleep pattern out of whack.

While she’s waiting for her circadian clock to reset, she usually ups her dose of melatonin and uses other sleep aids to “knock herself out.” She does a pretty good job of getting herself back on track, but it usually takes a week or two.

Does setting your clock ahead or back upset your mood balance? If so, what do you do, if anything, to deal with it?

Rebecca Riley was four years old when she died three years ago. She had been diagnosed as having bipolar disorder and ADHD and was being treated with clonidine (a blood pressure medicine sometimes used as a sedative for ADHD) and Depakote (for bipolar). (See the Department of Social Services (DSS) case file recounting the timeline of DSS involvement with the family of 4-year-old Rebecca Riley.)

Claudia asks…

Could you talk about the best ways to handle working with the frequent turnover of psychiatrists when getting services at a community-run health center?

I have been going to the only place in town where I can get mental health care at no cost. While I greatly appreciate their services and commitment, they have a steady turnover of doctors. I’ve been going for close to three years now, and I think I’ve had 5 (?) doctors.

The problem is that my file is pretty thick. I’ve been going there for so long. I know they haven’t read it, yet they base opinions about my care on what sometimes seems like a cursory glance.

There isn’t enough time to really go into my history in these sessions (usually 15 minutes). Basically, I had a complete psychotic break in 2003 and was practically catatonic for a year before I could slowly rebuild my life (and my mind) piece by piece.

Yet, recently, I had a doctor, who all she would do is look at my file and say disapprovingly, “You’re too young to be on this much medicine.” Her words verbatim.