I have not been feeling right recently. I've lowered my zyprexa to 5mg, which hasn't fixed things the way I had hoped. (And I hoped that was the only surprise I'd have to spring on my psychiatrist). But tonight I am lowering my lithium too. Not by much- when I was taken off of lithium cold turkey in the past I got incredibly manic. And I'm not trying to get off of it all. But I think that my last increase was a mistake- and more than I needed for my depression. I was going into a mixed episode- but I could have handled that with a temporary increase in meds.
Three months between visits is a very long time to expect a patient to keep their meds the same. And I really don't want to call him unless things are really bad. And really, what can he tell me? I have to figure out on my own what works for me. It is all trial and error. Pretty sad that psychiatry can't do better than that.
But this is why I pay for an out of network psychiatrist. So I don't have to go to some clinic where I sign a paper saying I will follow my treatment plan and take my meds as prescribed. Or go to some psychiatrist on a power trip who will freak out if I cut back my lithium by half a pill. No, I go to someone sane who doesn't freak out with a patient with her own ideas- the one actually taking the pills.
1 comment:
I left you an answer over on my blog.
I can't imagine going 3 months between psych appts. I have not gone longer than 2 months in 12 years and at least one of the times I can think of that happening I'd been in the hospital and had plenty of attention there. And this is with a psychiatrist who had breast cancer.
I wish I could go longer but especially now that my doses are too high for me to self-adjust them much it doesn't work at all. I can see maybe making it 2 months back when I was doing better and as on a sliding dose of Seroquel but that was so long ago. The monthly visit is so routine after so long that I can't imagine it bbeing otherwise (and I spend an hour or more with her, although some of that is just chatting. She's my friend by now as well as my doctor.)
I used to be allowed to self-adjust lithium if I felt my levels were too high. I got pretty good at knowing the signs and adjusting accordingly. Then I had big toxicity #2 and after that I had to have blood drawn if I felt things were off at all. I miss how lithium made me feel but I do not miss so much that went with it. I have yellow pee now, I am not desperately thirsty every second of the day, I can take ibuproferon.....it's a whole new world.
Just Me Jen
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