Comments | rachelute: I feel crappy!

rachelute

I feel crappy!

Nov 21, 2006 12:21

Ugh, honestly. I went to the psychiatrists office [after about a year and a half of not going to one] because my traditional practitioner won't give me sleep meds because I'm bipolar ( Read more... )

bipolar

Comments 19

asillia November 21 2006, 17:41:14 UTC

I really don't know because my depression problems are not the kind that have needed medication. I do know that bipolar disorders can be caused by a medical issue, but if you have truly been controlling them without meds I think that is the best way to go.

I take it over the counter sleep aids haven't been helping?

I do think that the guy was a total jerk to cut you down like that. Maybe you do need the medication and that your bipolar disorder is somehow causing the sleeping problems, even if your mood isn't effected. Then again, maybe it's something totally different, and a normal sleep aid would help you and also stabalize your mood becuase you wouldn't be as fatigued.

I honestly don't know, I wish he wasn't so quick to put you on meds though :(

But if you aren't well, you need to get well - and if that means getting some sleep, do what you need to to get some sleep.

rachelute November 21 2006, 19:01:31 UTC

OTC sleep meds don't work because I don't have problems falling asleep...but staying asleep. If I take enough of the OTCmeds to stay asleep a decent enough time, I wake up terribly groggy and way over the recommended dosage.

I know the bipolar can cause the sleep problems, and I definitely don't doubt that that's part of the problem - but the sleeplessness and the bipolar play off of one another - one gets worse, the other gets worse. That's my pickle. Which to treat?!?

Even though he wouldn't admit it, I think he definitely does think that no one can recover or stay well w/o meds...

Thanks for your reply! :-)
[and glad you're doing well with your new guy. :-D]

deemystified November 21 2006, 17:52:01 UTC

that sounds terrible. i wish i had some relevant experience that would be helpful here, but i don't. melatonin helps me sleep.

sleep is critical. without it, you go crazy. there is no shame in taking something to get you through a rough patch.

i hope you feel better (and get rest) soon. *hugs*

rachelute November 21 2006, 19:20:05 UTC

Thanks!

this might be really obvious already aiylyn November 21 2006, 18:21:53 UTC

I'm no expert, but this sounds like all-business to me. Of course this guy wants to tell you things that contradict what you believe about yourself: it gets him paid. He's underestimated your own ability for self-objectivity, because there are many people who don't have that (or don't have it to a very high degree). He's going to say, "I know you better than you know yourself," and whatever you say, he's going to contradict it. Enough of this will wear down your defenses, causing you to do what you did, which is give in not because you actually think he's right about everything but just because you're tired of the battle when you should be getting help. It benefits the psychiatrist to make you believe that you need him to make decisions for you, which translates into business for him. He wants you to depend on him to fix you, and this will likely involve lots of visits ($ for him) and lots of prescriptions you probably don't need ($ for drug companies). But it looks to me like you may be capable of better helping yourself than ( ... )

Re: this might be really obvious already rachelute November 21 2006, 19:19:24 UTC

Whether I take the meds or not, he still gets paid - but I know I gave in big time: not just because I was tired of the battle, but because he might actually be right - even though that's not what I wanted...

I'm definitely going to talk to him about how I felt going to see him - either tomorrow or sometime soon [when I decide what to do about taking/not taking the antipsychotic]...I just have to figure out what I'm going to do.

He's certainly not right about me needing the meds - but if they work - it puts me in a pickle.

fairy_grrl November 21 2006, 18:44:32 UTC

Many psychiatrists cannot conceive of the fact that some of us can have bipolar disorder and not be affected by it ( ... )

rachelute November 21 2006, 19:15:53 UTC

Aww, thanks so much for your reply. :-)
I've been wanting to write about this for a while now - about my disorder being a blessing.

I know that I have written about it a bit conerning it being a blessing that I can go through what I go through and so be able to touch the lives of others in the same situations - but it's also a blssing for another reason: it's a constant reminder to me of my bodily weakness and to reach out to Christ. It's definitely helped me grow in Him and be able to reach out to others. I am no longer suffering with the illness, but it lingers and reminds me.

Again, thanks so much for your response. :-) Defintely needed - and good to be reminded. About the CMA - they only have one psychiatrist listed in GA - a few hours away - sadly. I know of plenty of Christian therapists, but it's hard to find psychiatrists.

shanaeden November 21 2006, 18:54:23 UTC

I think you're being too hard on yourself ( ... )

rachelute November 21 2006, 19:28:24 UTC

I'm fairly certain that I wasn't reading into the pdocs remarks about how I needed "definitive" [permanent] treatment and that only taking something to sleep was "never" going to be enough to control the bipolar ( ... )

rachelute November 21 2006, 19:56:47 UTC

Oh, and about the ativan - I've been on it for a few years [three?] - and it was the only thing that helped at the time. I know that other drugs have come out since then that i haven't tried yet, so I'm willing to explore options, but I need something with a long half-life.

I don't have problems falling asleep, but STAYING asleep - so many meds just don't work.

I don't take it every night - at the most I took it 4 or 5 days only...but recently, it's just been 1 or 2 nights [because I haven't had much and have been rationing!].

I just want something to work.