Going to the doc tomorrow.....
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Going to the doc tomorrow.....
| Wed, 01-12-2005 - 4:11pm |
I have only been seeing this doc a couple months since we moved here. I hope she will want to work with me as to what I've researched about my meds and my needs. She put me on zyprexa and I ran out and couldn't afford to get it filled so I came off and lost the drowsy dull feeling and feel more like myself again. I want to come off my 25mg of zoloft and go on another anti-depressant that won't cause me mania since I would also like to decrease my depakote er since it's 2000mg and i've gained over 50 lbs in about eight months and no sign of stopping even with controling my diet. Right now I'm taking 300mg of trileptal twice a day, 25mg of zoloft and 2000mg of depakote er once a day. Do you ladies think I sound well thought out?? I've been thinking of asking to have my coctail altered for a few months and have really done ALOT of reading about it. I don't want to sound like I'm laying down the law with her either. Any advice or comments??
Brenda
Brenda

Yikes watching your weight on depakote is a tough one. I was always hunrgy if my memory serves. I had to take up running to keep my weight down.
I feel you always have the right to change your cocktail with help from your doc if it's not working. The last time I changed meds. (From Zyprea to Geodon) I went in to his office with notes on every drug out there that I hadn't been on yet and questions I had on each. I don't know if your on insurance since you said you couldn't afford the Zyprexa. The other thing I did was look up on line what drugs my insurance covered so I would know when my pdoc suggested one. I did all the drug research on line through google. I looked up antiphsycotics, anti seizure anti d's etc. I went in armed and with my list paired down to the ones I was willing to try. My pdoc actually thanked me for doing the research ahead of time. That way I knew what side effects (they all have them) were acceptible for me and what weren't. It really helped me to have an Adult discussion with him. Not one were he wrote me off as just being bp. Hope this helps a little. If you know what you want to change to already, just look that up and list your question.
Love,
Jamie
Edited 1/12/2005 7:55 pm ET ET by ourcottage
Love,
At first I didn't like my new pdoc but now that I've been a couple times I've changed my mind.
Brenda,
Be prepared for a bit of a lecture about the Zyprexa (I try to let my pdoc know when that's happening, sometimes they may have samples or can put you in touch with a program that will help out), but pdocs also know (or should) that being able to afford our meds is a big deal.
I would do as much research as you can before you talk to your pdoc--you defintely don't want to go in there great guns like you know how to do her job.
Brenda,
I definately think you have the right to request a change in your meds, and as everyone has said go in prepared and definately be ready to give reasons why you want to change your meds. I know how intimidating it is to stand up to a doc and make suggestions or assert opinions. I only just at my last appointment brought up the suspicions of bipolar with my doc (only see my family doc) and I got the feeling that maybe he didn't agree with me or didn't want me self-diagnosing. I really don't know because I got ABSOLUTELY no feedback. I wanted to scream. I don't think I was self-diagnosing. I didn't even say "I think I'm bipolar". I just went in and said I have realized that I'm not just depressed and that my moods go in cycles. Here is a questionnaire that my friend in med school suggested I fill out, here is my mood chart and here is a poem that describes exactly what I consider mania. Sorry to go off about myself
Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Amanda/Schitz
My family doc looked at me like I had three heads when I said the word "bipolar."