Posted by Llurpsie_Noodle on February 16, 2007, at 9:37:27
In reply to Re: waaaahh :( Rozerem made me loopy!, posted by munificentexegete on February 15, 2007, at 21:00:56
> > > > my pdoc is such a lucky person. I present pdoc with a "virgin brain" unexposed to anything harsher than second hand smoke and the occasional ethanol binge. He gets to see Llurpsie's Noodle go crazy at intervals. What a treat. What a lovely and communicative lab rat I am.
> > >
> > > > Dear Dr. Pdoc, what is this thing that makes me feel dizzy and makes my vision all swirly?
> > >
> > > > Dear Dr. Pdoc, what is this thing called "withdrawal" that gives me bad dreams, nausea, forgetfulness, and dark thoughts?
> > >
> > > > Dear Dr. Pdoc, why cannot I fall asleep? (after he asks me to stop taking 2 medications that predictably knock me out (seroquel and cymbalta) and substituting with the somewhat anxiety-causing geodon
> > >
> > > > Dear Dr. Pdoc, why am I so blubbery? (after craving nothing but chocolate, ice cream and pastries for several months.
> > > >
> > > > Sniffily, I maintain hope,
> > > > -Llurps
> > >
> > > Dear Mr Pdoc, what exactly is wrong with me, can you show me the test or the scan?
> >
> > asked and answered.
>
> can i ask what the scan or the test showed? what was the abnormality he found?
>My brain scans look like any other brain scan. I didn't need to order one. I have one already. I don't have structural abnormalities.
Tests like Beck Depression Inventory and such are important for screening and for getting folks like me (who have a hard time being interviewed) to answer difficult questions about their bad thoughts and feeelings.
Mainly I think he relies on his experience asking me questions. When I ask him what is the matter with me he says that I have symptoms like (insomnia, panic, flashbacks, depression...) that are consistent with what my therapists have diagnosed.
If you know this literature very well, you know that there are very low-level theories that explain individual symptoms as an imbalance or dysregulation of a specific receptor located in a specific region... all the way up to theories that there is something wrong with an entire system. I think of my brain as a globe with a lot of political strife. Sometimes we can stop the war (the bad thoughts, feelings, etc) by cutting all communications. These are very crude crude tools.
My pdoc would agree that the current theories are insufficient to explain my overall psychiatric condition in terms that would satisfy a physicist, a chemist or even a biologist.
Often when I present him with a particular symptom like increased munchies and binging and weight gain he is confident to tell me that the seroquel is likely to blame. Other side effects he will tell me "I have no idea" and we just hope they will pass or else that they will not be so troublesome that they will require a med change.
> > >
> > > Dear Mr Pdoc, would you take any of the "medications" you put me on?
> >
> > oooooh. I do not dare. likely that question would be deflected like this: "If I had symptoms like yours, I would seek professional treatment and if my doctor recommended X and Y, I would seriously consider it."
>
> >
> >
> > > Dear Mr Pdoc, are seroquel and geodon safe medications to take?
> >
> > asked and answered
>
> what did he say?The FDA has approved these medications and that they are safe to take at the doses that I take and also at higher doses. However, he also reminds me that every individual responds differently, and that I need to tell him if I notice any unusual thoughts, behaviors or somatic symptoms.
He also reminds me that it's safer to take these drugs than to self-medicate with alcohol and/or continue having thoughts and feelings which interfere with my judgment and place me in potentially life-threatening situations.
> >
> > > Dear Mr Pdoc, are you making me sick?
> > >
> > asked and answered
>
> what did he say?He said that when starting and stopping and changing meds that I might feel sicker sometimes. Asked me to keep him up to date on whether the sick feelings get better or worse, and the extent that they interfere with my life and my psychotherapy.
I already felt plenty sick (mentally & physically) when I started seeing him. Since then, I've been feeling like myself for many many days in a row. He reminds me to hang in there when we are changing meds and that these feelings and symptoms are probably going to pass. I also try to remind myself of why I'm taking the drugs in the first place (so that I won't want to die) and why I continue to take them (so that I can have the mental stability to do the difficult task of dissertating and living a "normal" life). Sometimes it's hard to think of those things though when I'm in the midst of the 10th hour of panic and the 2nd week of horrible insomnia...
> > I feel pretty good today. yay!
> >
>
> glad to hear it!
>and today again. so I better get back to dissertating.
best to you munificent
-Llurps
poster:Llurpsie_Noodle
thread:732480
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070213/msgs/733266.html