doctors

I've been having some issues with the psychiatric medications I'm currently taking that were prescribed by my psychiatrist. For example, lorazepam (Ativan) helps a lot with my anxiety, however, it makes me feel sleepy which is problematic since being alert during the day is important (especially with full-time college coming up soon for me). Then with antipsychotics, I need to take them but they also either seem to just knock me out and/or cause major weight gain (which is also unhelpful minus with my insomnia, but it causes extreme daytime drowsiness and I've also struggled with an eating disorder on and off for the past 11 years, so that can just trigger me to relapse into unhealthy eating habits).

I would ask my psychiatrist personally but he's very quick during appointments and basically just prescribes a pill then sends me on my way.

Anyways, to go back to the lorazepam/ativan issue, I also worry a bit about the addictive quality of that medication due to my addictive personality & tendencies both in the past and present.

But I don't know of a better alternative and I'm tight on money so (since most psychiatric medications are free in Ontario), my best option financially speaking is to take prescription psychiatric medications, since I don't have to pay for them. I'm on ODSP (Ontario long-term disability), so finances are extremely tight/I'm in poverty (note: I'm not being dramatic here, that is a genuine fact and you can look it up yourself if you don't believe me).

Anyways, basically my question is, how can I determine which psychiatric medications I should take when my psychiatrist isn't thorough or even borderline malpractices (and doesn't even give me drug info when giving me new prescriptions), and there's very long waitlists to get a new psychiatrist? Should I just call a pharmacist and see what they'd recommend maybe or should I not because psychiatric medications aren't necessarily their specialty (since that's what psychiatrists specialize in)?

I don't know what to do and I feel like my doctors don't either.

#MentalHealth #treatment #Doctors
#Psychiatry #Psychiatrists #Psychmeds #medications #MentalIllness #comorbidity #ADHD #Insomnia #SideEffects #comorbid #Anxiety #Mania

So I have 2 kids. They are 1 year and 3 weeks apart. Exactly. My eldest was my hardest delivery, my youngest was my hardest pregnancy.

During the delivery of my daughter my BP was rising very high. The doctors had me on petosin, and fluids and morphine that was supposed to help me sleep.
Oh that did not help.
So right at 7cm dilated, I was given an interthecal. The needle was in my back rubbing on my static nerve when my uterus decided to cramp so hard my back was in spasms, and the needle bent. I was in so much pain until that kicked in all the way.
Then after a horrible delivery, 3 days in the hospital, and so many "Oh so cutes" I was headed home when a new pain started.
Imagine a white hot pain, like a fuse to a firecracker, driving up your spine, through your neck, through your pelvic floor, down your legs, into your head, into your feet, and exploding like a firework.
That hit as I topped my stairs on my way into my apartment.
I had never experienced a pain so intense, child labor was great in comparison. I fell to my knees and screamed. I crawled into my apartment and laid on the couch crying until my mom had finished getting my daughter in her bassinet.
I kept saying I would be okay, but every movement was like fire igniting all over, from my static.
I was told it would go away over time. I was told the nerves are not bad, there is no "deep injury" visible on X-ray.
My doctor treated me like I was faking it for 5 years, talked bad about me to people she was treating ahead of me, called me a drug addict when there were zero "recreational" drugs in my system for multiple blood tests.
I was doctor shamed into hiding a pain for so long that I became accustomed to it.
Now it is just as painful, but I roll my eyes and breathe deep as the days and days of pain set in over my head, pelvis, back, neck, and chest.
I feel like screaming so much.
#ChronicPain #InvisibleIllness #Pain #Doctors

Just need to vent because every thing makes me so freaking angry!! Even the littlest things! I know it's my anxiety, but I literally can not take it!! It makes me furious and I want to break things and scream!!!

Example: I called my phsychiatrist this morning to reschedule an appt because it's a video visit and I don't like video visits. I like to go in person. They were rude as hell and are charging me $55 for rescheduling. Now I can't get in until October 31st! Hope I have enough meds until then!
I mean, really???!!!!! $55 f'ing dollars?!!!

I swear I'm so close to just saying F it and stop taking all these damn pills and be done with it all!!!

Just pisses me off to no end!! I can't take it!

Ok I'm done.....I guess. 🤬🤬🤬
#Anxiety #Depression #Rage #meds #PTSD #Doctors #anger #SuicideSurvivor #Overit

So after assuming my PCOS was better after significant weight loss I quit my birth control pills… and finding I was wrong I tried to go back on them. But my body wouldn’t let me get on them. I kept getting a period every other week. So I never got through a pack. So I called my doctor for a new birth control prescription. She took forever and kept asking, “why don’t you see your gyno?”
Ummm… yea about that…

My gyno diagnosed me with hypothyroidism when it turns out I had thyroiditis from COVID. It went away. But when she diagnosed me she refused to let me see an endocrinologist claiming falsely that the endo would only see me if I had an autoimmune disease and the she was not going to check for me. Yea it was bull. The endo saw me. But after prescribing hormone treatment my thyroid fixed itself (before taking the meds) and has not malfunctioned since.

So FINALLY after 2 weeks of talking this out my doctor prescribed me a different birth control. I also start EMDR therapy for my CPTSD 2 sessions from now. And have finally scheduled surgery for my ripped stretched ear. Yep I had 1 inch stretched ears. But one of my earlobes was always oddly shaped. The fat was on the sides and not so much the bottom. The 1 inch truly was glass and too heavy for the misshapen ear to hold so it spontaneously just tore. Not in half mind you but the scar make it appear torn in half. It was close. My other ear had no problems but what you do to one you must do to the other. So I’m having them both fixed. I’ve excepted my dream of big stretched is over and I’ve accepted that. It is what it is. I gave it my best shot. If I could have “normal” sized pierced ears at this point I’d be happy. Which I can do after healing from surgery.

#earloberepair #CPTSD #PTSD #Trauma #Abuse #PolycysticOvarySyndrome #Doctors #emdr

The last few weeks have been particularly hard on me.

Mentally, I’m mostly okay. Physically, I’m not. And that’s caused me to question a lot of things, wonder how it got to this point, increasing the severity of incidents where I won’t take painkillers.

I’m being referred to cardiology for a tilt table test.

In April, I was told I had low blood pressure but they didn’t seem too worried. At the end of May after worsening lightheadedness, I was told the same, and I was basically just told just to eat more and take iron supplements. And then last week, I went back again.

I initially made the appointment for something else a month before (I had to wait for a month), but then the lightheadedness got worse, so I told them about it again. I told them I had taken iron supplements, I was eating healthier than ever, I was staying hydrated, I was staying active, I was just really doing all the right things. And again it was low.

They’ve diagnosed me with postural hypotension in the meantime and told me to try compression socks for a week, and then if that didn’t work to call them and they’d refer me. So here we are. I get to have a blood test in September while I wait to be seen.

My sinus issues had a major flare up. I was so miserable with it that I sent a email basically begging them to give me an appointment (I was referred back in February but waiting list is apparently a year) because it was beginning to affect my mental health, and I get to see them in October.

It’s affected my hearing, so I had to chase up my ENT appointment. I hope it is just the sinus issues causing it, and not a third relapse of my ear problem, especially as everything seemed perfect last time I saw them. It would be nice to celebrate the first winter in 11 years without an ear infection.

And then of course, my referral for heartburn/ acid reflux. I see the doctors for a one-month review, which will end in the referral they wanted to do (because I had suffered for at least 5 years w/out diagnostics) but held off on. The medication they put me on has somewhat helped, but I’m still having to take gaviscon most days.

Finally, the chronic pain. It’s been difficult these past two days, and after (stupidly) lifting a sofa up because the cat pushed her toy under it (and then she herself went under it so I had to call my sister because I physically couldn’t lift it for much longer), it’s been worse. I still forget that I’m not really supposed to do things like that, and I always pay the price (pun not intended, but yeah cause volatarol is expensive).

I’m just really very tired. I remind myself it could be worse, which is probably what has helped me stay positive and mentally mostly okay, but sometimes it gets to me. Particularly when it’s yet another tablet added to my daily medication. It makes me tired, and I think “it only gets worse as I get older”. I want to stop them, but I know I can’t. I ended up in hospital the last two times I did.

Or another time it bothers me is when everything is getting worse/ is bad/ is happening all at the same time. This post doesn’t even cover all of it, but at this point I’m too tired to write anymore. Speaking of tired, I’ve only had 5 hours sleep each day for the last 3 days. I wake up early and then typically can’t get back to sleep because of pain and insomnia :))

#ChronicPain #Depression #GastroesophagealRefluxDisease #Heartburn #AcidReflux #BloodPressure #Lowbloodpressure #PosturalHypotension #Hospital #DoctorsAppointments #Doctors #Sinus #HearingLoss #ent #cardiology #Hearing #Medication #MentalHealth #Pain #BackPain #Insomnia #Painsomnia