Posted by CareBear04 on January 10, 2005, at 23:08:20
In reply to Hospitalization Med Changes, posted by Phillipa on January 9, 2005, at 18:36:01
hi phillipa,
i recently went voluntarily into the hospital because i was getting very suicidal, and i badly needed help sorting out my meds. i was on something like 15, and no outpatient dr could help me trim down the regimen. i'm sorry to say that the hospital didn't help. i know a lot of the result has to do with me. i'm diagnosed BP II, but in reality, i fit some criteria for almost evevrything in the DSM, and no one has ever really known what to make of me psychiatrically. bipolar has just been the diagnosis that encompasses the most symptoms, so it's my primary dx. i'm 22, recently graduated from university, and really aggressive when it comes to "pimping" doctors (not to disrespect them but just to make sure they know what they're doing!) i've been in a psych unit three times in the past two years, and it wasn't until this third time that someone actually put into words what i've sort of known all along: "they're trying to break your spirit!" i think it's true that you get the most out of the hospital if you are docile and submissive and, i guess, broken so that they can fix you as they see fit. even at my worst, i was still stubborn and too high-spirited, and not only did they not help me with my meds, they really dropped the ball on followthrough, violated confidentiality at every turn, and tried to stick every label possible, ranging from anorexia to munchausen's. i've seen dozens of doctors and many of the NY, boston, east-coast big name psychiatrists, not to mention my long-term pdocs who know me well, and none of the diagnoses have ever even been mentioned. the only thing the hospital did for me was give me a good kick in the *ss for my psyche, making me realize how much i can still help myself and what assets things like spirit and drive and stubborness-- qualities they passed off as pathological-- can be.
i hear there are also differences between psych units on the east and west coasts. my first two stays were in ny, which is supposedly much more psychodynamic, therapyish in nature. my second stay was on the west coast, and i was told before going in that it would be much more psychopharm and so a good place to go to get my meds fixed. the only difference i noticed was that the third hospital was much more medical in that i was on the unit with IVs and a foley, whereas in ny hospitals, you have to be medically cleared in order to be transferred. i don't know if this helps. feel free to ask more questions if you have any.
poster:CareBear04
thread:439857
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050108/msgs/440431.html