Damn!

I just got the following from my psych NP who handles my psych meds. ....

Ok. She can stop the Risperdal. I will have to think of something else she can take. She has failed nearly every medicine except Clozaril and the new cobenefy. She is not appropriate for Clozaril since she has urinary retention with loxapine and cannot take cobenfy because she has both moderate liver and kidney problems.

Back to the drawing board, I guess.

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😕 She did say, after we reviewed every medication out there last year all the meds I've taken over the last 20 years I've tried and failed that the next step might be ECT!

I know why prescribers save ECT for last, but I don't know why patients also. The NIMH says it is the most effective treatment for MDD, and it is also effective against other mental illness. I agree. It is painless. It is fast acting. Your mileage may vary, bu it has not only saved a lot of lives but also changed them for the better.

Hi @forestx5

Does it work for mania? Been manic over a month now, with the exception of the last couple days on risperdal . I’m manic way more than I am depressed though I’m feeling a little down today because of this news. I wouldn’t call it depression though. Thanks.

From psych NP: With ECT, she could be referred to [my regular hospital’s psych department]but they would need to evaluate to make sure it is an appropriate therapy with her symptomology.

I'm not bipolar, but a quick google search says: "Yes, ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) is effective for treating mania, particularly in cases where medications are not sufficient or when the condition is severe. ECT can rapidly alleviate manic symptoms and is a valuable treatment option for individuals with severe bipolar disorder, especially when other treatments haven't worked " Notice the caveats appeasing the pharmaceutical industry. (when medications are not sufficient, severe bipolar disorder). Let me ask this...if ECT is the most effective treatment, (per the NIMH) why does it have to kowtow to medication? Why isn't it the first option? I think the answer is it makes psychiatrists look stupid because they don't know how or why it works. It just does. And, they don't like to look stupid.

I'm sorry

I’m still on Vraylar 4.5 and Gabapentin 600. Those have been fine.

Pnp must still be trying to figure out how to treat me. I think we’re out of meds - except gabapentin and Vraylar. Can those two just work? Considering only risperdal broke my month of mania and insomnia. I was up last night writing an email to my penpal of 22 years. I don’t know what pnp is thinking except referring me to the hospital for ECT.

Nothing from my psych team today. Tomorrow is Friday again.

Idk about it being wffective for mania. Last time we tried I definitely was manic and paranoid and was told I’d feel sedated after for the day, but I felt INCREDIBLY restless and wired, accused the doc of performing rape and not making me have controlled seizures, and absolutely refused to go back there as I was highly convinced for probably months after that I was drugged, raped, and woken up with some stimulant memory eraser drug.

I am sorry @Moose72 . Perhaps you could call as soon as they are open and beg
For them to talk to you. @Muddy Boots , so sorry that this happened to you.what a terrible situation to have believed for months before you could trust them again.

My pnurse practitioner is going to”back to the drawing board” as she said but she also said the last two drugs I’ve never tried are contraindicated for me because I get urinary retention easily (once from Loxipine) and the other I can’t take because I have moderate liver and kidney disease. So that’s the end of psych drugs for me. What’s in my signature is what I can take. Period. If they’re not enough I guess we add ECT. I’d have to be referred to the psych hospital for it and “they” would have to decide if it’s appropriate for me. That’s hurdle #1. #2 is who can be my driver if it’s outpatient. If it’s inpatient then that’s a bit easier in that respect. But I can see that being a problem with rides as two of my children are in university full time and the third works. Anyway, I need to go to sleep.

I’ve been up since 4 am. Wrote an email to my penpal, listened to music, took a shower, ate breakfast, went to Starbucks at 7:30 with my Starbucks friend/neighbor and now I’m back home.

Psych NP:
Look what my psych np said about me!
“No, I am not [thinking of ECT]. I proposed that as an option, but (c would have to evaluate and agree that it was an appropriate treatment. She needs to not perseverate on it. I will look at other options prior to that.”

I have been manic for a month! I am not sleeping still except that brief stint on risperdal . Of course I’m going to be grumpy and want a solution!