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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by B2chica on August 5, 2011, at 14:54:04
who better to ask than people on THIS board. with such combined experiences.
so i started zyprexa last week was on it for 7 days, continued to get worse and gained 8lbs. i went for a dopamine surge and took myself off it and perphenazine. i felt great tuesday, and quite well wednesday till late that day. starting about 9ish i started crying off and on and couldn't stop till about 12:30am.
thursday i had a stressful event and work and burst out into tears infront of my boss. kept crying...and yes kept crying. he gave me space and came back twice..each time for me to say "i need just 5 more min"...bless his heart he was being very nice. finally i just started talking work to him over my tears and eventually they stopped.saw pdoc this morning.
he was discussing a diff med to try. then we started talking about external stressors...i mentioned a few things, like the episode at work blah blah and then i brought up my that my niece was having BF issues...right away he changed his mind and now believes that all my symptoms are psychological. He said that i identify too much with my niece and her issues and that is triggering my feelings. (he said it very nicely though). then he said i NEEDED to exercise 5-6 days a week, and wrote me a refill for my adderall and was done...i left there feeling a bit confused, unsure and now scared.
ok. he could be right. but why have i been getting continually worse and how besides exercise am i supposed to get better? i have been exercising ALL JUly 5 days a week (until last week) and still i got worse.
i feel i got sent off with a definition but not told how to fix the issue.
i still have to go to work.
i still have to talk with my niece (we're very close) but i do limit conversations -which he suggested but i told him i already do that-
i still have a complaining husband (whom by the way two days ago told me (while watching an AD commercial) that all those meds just make people worse, that no one should be on medication...
[sidebar: so i told him "oh you want my dad to die? cuz he's on heart meds, and you want your dad to have a stroke and die? cuz he's on blood thinners etc] he said they didnt need them either...blah blahanyway. my point is.
my stressors are still there.
and i'm not changing anything really in my life...
so i dont forsee any changes in my mood???****************************
do you think my mood shifts could be more psychological? how can i tell if their not?exactly how long do i wait in pain before i contact pdoc again??
...so f-ing confused.
b2c
Posted by sigismund on August 5, 2011, at 17:23:48
In reply to psychological or not?, posted by B2chica on August 5, 2011, at 14:54:04
My 2 bob's worth is that the either/or of physical/psychological reflects our problems with dualism and the mind/body thing and that the whole question is best avoided.
Which doesn't help you much.
Maybe what he means is that he cannot help you much with the tools at his disposal?
Since you have been taking drugs and stopping them, of course there must be a physical component, whatever it is. It is easy to say that.
And again with your niece, of course. But though you need to look after yourself perhaps you would not feel that it is right to avoid her? I don't think I would, from what you say.
>i still have a complaining husband (whom by the way two days ago told me (while watching an AD commercial) that all those meds just make people worse, that no one should be on medication...
I can see his point, almost agree with it, but it is not much help to you (or me) now.
If I was 20 again, I would handle my problems differently, of course, but we are given one chance to f*ck our lives up, and we learn from it too.
Posted by Phillipa on August 6, 2011, at 0:09:52
In reply to Re: psychological or not?, posted by sigismund on August 5, 2011, at 17:23:48
B2Chica I understand. Family dynamics are the pits at times. And meds complicate the picture. Are you still seeing a therapist. To me sounds like one for her and no it's not you. Phillipa
Posted by sleepygirl2 on August 6, 2011, at 10:26:21
In reply to psychological or not?, posted by B2chica on August 5, 2011, at 14:54:04
I tend to think both. You don't change med dosing without an effect.
Your niece might stir up something?? Feelings of hopelessness?? Wanting to be protected?
I dunno.... That's my shot in the dark.
Whatever it is, I hope it gets better soon.
Take care
Posted by B2chica on August 7, 2011, at 15:52:22
In reply to psychological or not?, posted by B2chica on August 5, 2011, at 14:54:04
ok. so i wrote my posts under stress.
i'm more removed from the appt now and what was said.
i believe a part of that was psychological...it had to be since i've had a LOT of stress lately. However, my niece is now broke up and calm as it was amicable. my family are in better health. My work issue...well..it will be delt with tactfully. but my underlying depressive symptoms that i felt three weeks ago are here.
where i feel my face get heavy. its a struggle to physically smile.
i have this gray cloud over everything...i dont care. i want to crawl in bed and well just stare at the wall.i KNOW these symptoms. so the crying a lot may have been stress induced. i'll give him that. but the aggitation and the anhedonia and lethargy and now the grey and the smile thing.
nope this is too familiar.
i'm living half a life...i made an appt for two weeks. i just hope i can handle work with no problem. i'm better when i'm around my babies... at work i think too much and get inside my head.
*****************
Posted by antigua3 on August 13, 2011, at 16:22:15
In reply to psychological or not?, posted by B2chica on August 5, 2011, at 14:54:04
My first question would be: Are you sleeping? That's one of the first questions my pdoc always asks because when I'm not, everything else gets messed up. We discuss what's behind the not sleeping--the stressors, the meds, whatever it may be--and the first goal is for me to get rest so I can deal with all of these other things that are going haywire in my life. For me, many times, the meds have kept me from sleeping. I don't take many now, so we work to adjust what i am taking so that I can sleep, always being aware that knocking myself out isn't going to solve the problem either (too bad, I love to sleep).
When i can't find my "center," relax enough to calm down, I know I'm in trouble and so I concentrate on that. Easier said than done. Meditation, cds, etc., help, and yes, I know exercise would be most helpful and I do try, but I often don't have the energy.
I still feel like meds are a big issue for you, in getting stabilized. Unfortunately, the baseline of stability keeps moving for you (the drug becomes ineffective, the side effects are intolerable) and you have to deal with that. I am very sorry about that.
All of this exacerbates your mood and IMO absolutely contributes to how well you are able to deal with the stressors. So, I don't think it's all psychological. I think the mind and the body are so intertwined and have such an effect--after all, it's really just one body, although they can feel like separate beasts.
Try to break things down into manageable pieces--try not to get overwhelmed by the enormity of it all. Easy for me to say, I know, but sometimes all i can do is to look at the hour in front of me.
best wishes,
antigua
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