[missmorganxo]

I was diagnosed with Bipolar a month or two ago. I just went to see a pyschiatrist for medication last week and she was awful, but anyway; she put me on 900mg of lithium a day...and THAT'S IT.
She was awful and condescending, she almost made me cry. My aunt and sister saw her in the past and literally refused to see her again, they hate her guts. But, my pyschologist that I LOVE referred me to her, and I'll only see her every few months after my meds are regulated so I'm putting up with her.

I haven't slept in four days. I'm serious, not at all. And I have panic attacks multiple times a week that are incapacitating. Like, I've went to the ER with them, thinking I'm dying. I told her about all of this, and she didn't give me sleeping/anxiety pills.

I also hallucinate (see things/hear things) almost everyday and she didn't give me anything for that and kind of shrugged it off. I see stuff in the shadows and hear voices, and I'm all on edge and paranoid. I hate it.
(pyschologist said I may have early onset schizophrenia... pyschiatrist said I have pyschotic features... hmm)

I see her again this week. Did your doctor start you out on one medication and then introduce you to knew ones each appointment? Or did they start you out on like multiple ones immediately? I'm just worried, because I don't feel like the lithium is helping with my sleep, anxiety or hallucinations at all.

I just can't take this anymore, I'm so depressed, it's killing me. I need some hope!

[missmorganxo]

i just saw a black shadow a little while ago like, float by.
i can't stand this anymore. wtf is going on!?

[Moose72]

I see those but I dont consider them hallucinations. I've heard and seen things that simply weren't there but felt real.

[missmorganxo]

yeah, these hallucinations are better than the bad ones I get. sometimes I feel like i hear screaming and voices so loud that I try to cover my ears or rock. and i've seen like, so many weird hallucinations that don't make sense. i guess i'd rather see a shadow than see a person walk by when you know nobody is there because that's freaking weird.

i just hate that i feel like i'm crazy.

[nicole84]

She sounds terrible! You don't deserve to be treated like that! I've also had a couple of psychs that were awful, not quite as bad as that though. I'd be looking for a new one asap!

[BuggsBunny]

You don't need some hope, you need a new pdoc! Not every doc is a good fit for every patient. Ask your T for another referral, and honestly tell her why. If you need to, bring up your relatives' reactions, too.

I have never had a doc introduce just one med at a time, while I am suffering in the weeks between. I've always had pdocs that try to address all the medication issues at once.

I did have a pdoc much like yours that I had to suffer thru the hospital with. I thought I'd just put up with him at appointments, just as you are thinking, but then I landed in the hospital with gal bladder surgery (the old fashioned, big incision, lots of pain, kind) and my moods started going wild. so I asked to see him and he refused. Told me to call him when I got out.

I called my T in crisis, and she got me transferred to someone else.

I tell you all this because, not only will you have to put up with this pdoc during visits, but during emergencies as well. And there are a lot of things in the world that can unbalance a bipolar. Plus the little things like mid month refills that you forgot to ask a refill for in your last visit; do you really want to deal with that kind of crap just for forgetting something? Being a psych patient isn't always just seeing the doc every few months. And it sounds like you are just starting out, which usually means lots of visits to get you regulated.

My best advice, get a new pdoc, quick.

[missmorganxo]

i'm going to give her one more chance, one more appointment, and if she's awful again...i'm seriously done. and i'll get a new referral.

i'm just shocked that she only started me out on one med when i'm suffering like this. i feel like i'm on fire and shaking from my anxiety, i feel like i'm going to die.

i'm at the end of myself, this is awful.
i just want to sleep but i haven't for days so i mine as well get used to staying up in misery, ughhh

[BuggsBunny]

Join the rest of the insomniacs on the forum! Hang in there, and I hope your next visit leaves you feeling at peace with your decision, whatever it may be.

This sucks. And agreed terrible.

I was started on just lithium too. And it is good a treating mania and depression. It is the gold standard for bipolar treatment. I can honestly see why she would start there. She should have addressed the sleep problem, most definitely. The thing is lithium takes quite a while to build up in your system and work. It isn't instant. Did she have you do a lithium serum level blood test yet? The serum level will tell her if you are at a therapeutic level or not.

I was dx with Bipolar 1 Psychosis Nos, my pdoc apparently doesn't want to decide if I have schizoaffective or Bipolar, that can take a long long time to work out.

She should have addressed the sleeping, Lithium isn't a sleepy type pill. And the anxiety. Could you go to an ER and try to get something for sleep? Sleep deprivation is going to make the psychosis worse and or could be the cause at the moment. Not to mention that not sleeping at all for days on end is very hard on your body and can be dangerous. I hope you can get some better treatment soon.

[missmorganxo]

I just started the lithium less than a week ago, so not yet.

I told her I didn't sleep for days prior to the appointment, and she still didn't prescribe a sleeping pill. I also told her I was on klonodopin in the past and it worked like a dream. Neither of which she prescribed!

The ER near my house sucks and treats everyone like *****, quite frankly.
I could drive to one an hour away but I don't feel like dealing with it.

I see my therapist on Tuesday, if I can make it until then.
This insomnia is soooooooo borinngggg.

Awww, I know, there are some times where I have been up for 6 or 7 days on end.

Just an idea, but you could get your therapist to tell your pdoc you NEED something for sleep. It is really important. I also have a wacky pdoc, and my therapist will do this for me when need be.

[missmorganxo]

Oh, okay! Good idea. I'll tell her on Tuesday how bad things have been and I'll see if she'll talk to my pdoc.

Thank you for your support and ideas!

[cocoabeans]

I'll take my guess to her approach based on my experiences:

Lithium is supposed to fix your mood. Not sleeping and psychotic featues and even anxiety to some extent would go away as your mood levels out. Anxiety or sleeping pills might counteract this leveling out, if lithium works like it can work for some folks, you will fall asleep naturally. When you get used to sleeping with drugs, you need to get used to sleeping with out them.

As for urgency to medicate now, it sounds like you're suffering but, it isn't an emergency and your symptoms are something you've been coping with unmedicated for some time thus presenting an ideal monotherapy case.

Why put you on 2, 3 or even 4 medications right away if you only need one? Plus, the side effects and sorting them out, coping, guessing, trials. She is a doctor that you know won't want to over medicate you and I bet that she has a plan regarding what to add next if lithium alone does not work such as considering schizophrenia or simply adding an atypical antipsychotic.

As for the dismissive attitude, doctors can be like that especially psychiatrists. Why? They're over worked, not therapists, and need to be efficient rather than empathetic.

[missmorganxo]

cocoabeans -
Thank you for your input and view on the situation. It's definitely something I'll take into consideration, it's always good to see other people's views and it makes sense.

I'm just frustrated from dealing with all of this for so long.
I guess I'm just looking to feel better, because I'm tired of just barely getting by!

[CastlesInTheAir]

My experience with starting meds or even switching meds has always sucked. However I've never been on lithium. They've always made me feel worse before better. Takes time always took atleast a month for me before meds leveled me out.

As far as the pdoc. Get a new one I suggest. You have to be at least somewhat comfortable with a pdoc in my opinion.

Best wishes

-Trish
"Don't curse the rain, without it things don't grow. Instead find the beauty in it."

I agree with Cocoabeans about the monotherapy approach. I would rather be on the least amount of required meds. And I am pretty uncomfortable with pdocs that just want to throw meds at you right and left.

But I am mixed about the overworked part, I know pdocs are busy and whatever, we are all busy, it isn't a good reason to be condescending or a crappy dr. My pdoc right now is pretty crappy, my first pdoc was great, he was a lot more than~ here's your meds now out the door~. I think the way it's set up, where all pdocs do is meds and meds alone in your 10-15 min app is a detriment. I think there is a better way and some Pdocs know it. They might think they need to be efficient and not empathetic, but I bet a bit of empathy could go a long ways towards efficiency.

[hamster-bamster]

I am surprised she has not added an antipsychotic for hallucinations - Lithium does absolutely nothing against them, no better than Aspirin does. Please keep up posted.

[missmorganxo]

I will, thank you.

Anybody know if lithium can cause awful headaches?
Ever since I've started, I've had a constant, debilitating headache.

[Confusedinomicon]

Are you drinking enough liquids?

If you aren't hydrated enough, you could get a headache from the lithium.

You probably got a headache from not sleeping for days I would think. I have taken lithium for 6 years, hasn't caused me headaches, and they do use lithium to treat headaches, such as cluster headaches. Not saying it couldn't be, could be. But I would really try to sleep, and yes drink lots of water like confusedinomicon said.

[missmorganxo]

Thank you. I am trying my best to sleep but can't, and I don't ever drink enough water...I'm a soda junkie, so I guess I'll try to drink more water.

[argv]

Originally Posted by missmorganxo

I was diagnosed with Bipolar a month or two ago. I just went to see a pyschiatrist for medication last week and she was awful, but anyway; she put me on 900mg of lithium a day...and THAT'S IT.
She was awful and condescending, she almost made me cry. My aunt and sister saw her in the past and literally refused to see her again, they hate her guts. But, my pyschologist that I LOVE referred me to her, and I'll only see her every few months after my meds are regulated so I'm putting up with her.

I haven't slept in four days. I'm serious, not at all. And I have panic attacks multiple times a week that are incapacitating. Like, I've went to the ER with them, thinking I'm dying. I told her about all of this, and she didn't give me sleeping/anxiety pills.

I also hallucinate (see things/hear things) almost everyday and she didn't give me anything for that and kind of shrugged it off. I see stuff in the shadows and hear voices, and I'm all on edge and paranoid. I hate it.
(pyschologist said I may have early onset schizophrenia... pyschiatrist said I have pyschotic features... hmm)

I see her again this week. Did your doctor start you out on one medication and then introduce you to knew ones each appointment? Or did they start you out on like multiple ones immediately? I'm just worried, because I don't feel like the lithium is helping with my sleep, anxiety or hallucinations at all.

I just can't take this anymore, I'm so depressed, it's killing me. I need some hope!

Mine put me on 3 different ones right away. I was in denial about the diagnosis at first, so I quit taking them, and things got really crappy again and I said "I have to do SOMETHING, I can't live like this.." so I started taking them again, and then did some reading on Bipolar and discovered what my problems have always been. Sleeping is one of them.

typically I think psychiatrists prescribe a mood stabilizer, an anti psychotic (to keep you from getting too 'high' I guess, and maybe an anti depressant. Those are the ones I'm on and it works good I guess. I had to try 3 different anti psychotic meds though, as I didn't like the side effects of them.

[venusss]

I am usually not the type who would suggest pills pills pills.... but in your case, I am pretty shocked she is not trying to adress your sleep and anxiety issues... that **** can really upset the balance.

Could you try to adress those with your psychologist in meantime - grounding techniques and relaxation and such? MIght not be all you need, but could help you to get by for a bit.

[bluemountains]

Your pdoc sounds awful! Can you get your regular doc to prescribe some sleep help, for now, maybe with consultation with the pdoc? Or you could ask your therapist to call the pdoc on your behalf. You need to sleep! Take it from someone who is always looking for ways to get enough rest when hypomanic/manic.

I have not had a lot of success with pdocs either. My current one is okay, but she looks about 16 and doesn't care to have a good rapport with patients-she's very clinical, but smart. I have yet to find a pdoc with a truly caring peronality.

Btw, my pdoc will only change one med at a time.

Bluemountains

[sen2104]

I started seroquel and slept well for the first time in ages! and, woke up with no anxiety. miracle. It does make some people gain a lot of weight, though. I'm losing weight, but that could be because of the thyroid meds..

Good luck. Ask your doc about seroquel or something similar to help you sleep, and to help with the anxiety.