Posted by Racer on October 8, 2008, at 12:08:41
In reply to pdoc doesnt want to prescribe lithium :(, posted by Jeroen on October 7, 2008, at 3:38:49
Jeroen,
I'm sorry you're suffering so much, and feeling so hopeless. I wish I could offer you some hope, because I do believe that there is hope for you. It's just sometimes a struggle to see it.
You've discussed which medications you're asking your doctor for. What you haven't mentioned is what your doctor is suggesting for you? I'm sure she has suggested something -- are you able to give her suggestions a fair consideration? Is she suggesting you stay on medications longer than you have been? I truly believe that patience is the key for you -- if you can stick it out with the doctor's suggestions, for as long as the doctor suggests, at the doses your doctor suggests, on the titration schedule your doctor prescribes, I think you'll have a much better outcome.
Believe me -- I know how hard it is to find that patience. Could you maybe use Babble to help you cope with the waiting period for a drug to start working? Post here about your discomfort, your concerns, your reactions -- and accept our support in helping you tolerate all that?
My first anti-depressant didn't seem to be doing anything at all for the longest time. I was giving up hope. I was very fortunate, because it was a TCA with a known therapeutic blood level, so we could track that level through blood tests. We knew that I just wasn't getting to a therapeutic level, which made it much easier to wait, but it was also agonizing -- I was sure there was no hope at all. And then, once I finally reached a therapeutic level -- it was like a miracle!
If you can stick it out, tolerate the waiting period without changing medications again, I believe you can reach that same state of improvement. I hope it for you.
Let us help hold hope for you, until you can hold it for yourself. It will take some patience on your part, though.
So, Jeroen, what is your doctor suggesting?
poster:Racer
thread:856158
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20081006/msgs/856407.html