mean moderator on a BP support group :( (not here)

I posted something about meds and withdrawals after missing a dose of a particular medication on a support group for people with bipolar disorder. Then, the moderator jumped all over me like, no one can ever have any sorts of withdrawals just from missing one dose of a med (though after I looked it up on the internet, I read many accounts of people having withdrawal symptoms after missing one dose of the particular med I'm on) and said a couple of uncalled-for things about me and included an eye roll in the post. Don't think I will be going back there for support for bipolar. I wonder how such people get to be moderators anyway?

It really frustrates me because I am between pdocs right now and having issues with my bipolar (mostly leaning towards depression) and panic disorder too. Now, any time I post anything at that "support" forum, even a post like "How do you find a therapist you click with?", which is a real question I have, it gets ignored

Totally did not need that today.

Sorry that happened to you

What forum did you make your post on if you don’t mind me asking ?

You will find great support here

bipolarsupport.org

Don't think I will be going back there.

Just report the moderator. Admins probably too busy and missed it.

Why don’t you just stay here at PC. It is very rare to find a safe zone such as PC.

I'm sorry, I have only 3 therapists that stuck out to me as good therapists in my 15+ years looking for a good one.

Think I will just stay here. I haven’t posted much here. My story is long and I don’t have it in me to do it today. That moderator took some stuff out of her comment last time I looked, but the fact that she thought it and posted it in the first place and invalidated my post, basically saying I’m paranoid without a clue about what I’m talking about, is just the last straw for me especially as I have been dealing with psych issues since 1999, albeit misdiagnosed with major depression many years. I know a bit about psych issues, especially my own. And I know my own body and what psych med withdrawal feels like for me. Let her enjoy her little power trip, whatever. I am so done with that group.

I do belong to an eating disorder support group (past of anorexia) that has a psych issues section, but it is not very active. Psych issues are complicated. Like a lot of people here, I’m sure, I have more than just one - eating disorder(recovered but I still deal with the thoughts especially as a non-ED medical issue caused me some rapid weight loss recently, messing with my head), bipolar, panic disorder, PTSD.

Oh, wait, I went back and checked. It was the site admin who said that to me, not merely a moderator.

You're welcome to stay here! It's very rare here to have unsupportive replies. Sometimes people don't always make sense of course. Very occasionally a person will be snappish due to irritability but that's the worst it gets.

I had a bad experience with a previous forum and i erased all my posts, shut down my account and never went back so i understand where you're coming from. I had been a member of that forum for years. It was just a couple bad apples ganging up on me but i felt truly scared.

If it was a benzo you had withdrawal from in a single day, i certainly understand that. Benzo withdrawal is a nightmare and you definitely feel it in a single day. After a couple weeks i could barely tie my shoes!

In any case, welcome to Psych Central and i hope you enjoy your stay!

I had a terrible experience getting off Seroquel with night sweats and flu like symptoms and insomnia, irritability etc. I wouldn't have wanted to miss one night of that med.

It was Seroquel (instant release) for me that I suspect did it. I take 300 mg. a night.

I have been very happy here at Psych Central, though I have also experienced bullying and other uncomfortable interactions at other online bipolar support groups. One I used to love has two members that seem to always enjoy making some nasty responses to even my nicest posts. I have never been unkind to either of those members. I don't understand it. I wonder how/why they derive such pleasure from being nasty.

I was actually a group leader at a third support website's bipolar group. I don't believe I was ever rude or obnoxious to members, but I knew of other group leaders that were. It's sad to say it, but sometimes online groups (even group leaders) have these high schoolish cliques and in fighting. I'm heading towards 50 and don't need that crap, and never participated in it even as a young girl/teen.

On the topic of experiencing uncomfortable feelings after missing a dose, I will say that I certainly have. I don't know if mine were exactly withdrawals as much as they were breakthrough anxiety, agitation, mood issues because I missed a dose. Oh my, if I forget my evening meds I will eventually find out before the next morning. I not only can't sleep at all, but my moods go ballistic, and again anxiety shoots through the roof. I have learned that there is not only a good reason for continuing meds, but also for taking them at the same exact time every day.

I believe we are all different, and different medications affect us differently. No group leader/moderator is an expert to be telling people things they are not qualified to be writing. In all cases you encounter that, just ignore them the best you can. Do also talk to your psychiatrist and/or pharmacist in addition to asking others if they share the experience. And yet, I have actually had my psychiatrist himself tell me my experiences seemed unlikely. But if one experiences them, then they do exist, in my book.

Thanks. I will let my psychiatrist know about it, though I am currently between pdocs. My old doctor is retiring, and I will be seeing the other doctor at that practice but not until March 22. I did see a different psychiatrist at the beginning of March, but didn't like her. She wouldn't prescribe me any meds until I procured lists from my pharmacy & mail order pharmacy of my current meds and bloodwork results from a recent hospitalization (medical, not psych related). I was 2 weeks post a very painful surgery and had no inclination to run/call around doing this. Plus, my old psychiatrist seemed able to view all my pharmacy info from her office computer. Also, she wouldn't give me an emergency contact number to call after hours, didn't seem to understand how you could have an urgent matter that was not a 911 emergency; my old doc gave her cell phone for this. The new doc told me she had voicemail but never checked it on holidays, while on vacation, during the weekends, just when she got back to the office. I was like OMG, is the psychiatrist serious? But because I have seen that horrible doctor, I technically transferred my care over to her, even if I have no plans to see her again. Some people definitely should not be a doctor, let alone a psychiatrist. I wouldn't want that women even as a primary care doctor.

Being called out by an admin or mod can be very painful, even depressing.

I truly wish more admins and mods paid closer attention to the impact they have on forum members.

Laurie, you are right. Oh, and on my post, the moderator was quick to agree with the mean admin...anyway, when they call you out on something like that, it makes you feel invalidated as a person and like they are blowing off your problems, saying no way can it be withdrawal, you’re anxious, you’re paranoid, oh, and did you have to bring up the fact that you recently underwent an extremely agonizing medical surgery AGAIN?

I post things several places, email people too, I don’t keep track of how many times I mention something in a given place. I have difficulty concentrating like I am sure many of us here do, that doesn’t help. I have a 10 yr. old daughter, home on Spring Break; I am always getting distracted.

An admin claimed you can’t have withdrawals missing one dose? Benzos are freaking notorious for interdose withdrawal. That’s when it really starts to get fun.

It was just uncalled for, especially for a site admin and moderator, in my opinion. I've been living in my body for 40 years, been on psych meds since I was 20 (except for when I was pregnant with my daughter). I think I know my body better than anyone else. And I definitely know what my body feels like when it is going through withdrawals. They put it all down to anxiety and paranoia (and I do have panic disorder), but I've never once had night sweats associated with panic disorder; I get the classic, racing heart, feel like I'm about to suffocate & can't get enough air, etc. with panic attacks. On the other hand, I nearly always have night sweats with psych med withdrawal, stomach issues too.

I wonder what medical school those admins/mods went to, to know whether or not you were experiencing w/d symptoms?