WTH ??? Drug dose
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| Tue, 12-13-2005 - 1:05pm |
So H went to the ER yesterday b/c nobody seems able to help him to accept he is detoxed, sober & fill out his FMLA paperwork. The psych at the ER called me to ask why I thought the psychiatric nurse wouldn't fill out a full prescrip for H. I told she said it was because his blood pressure was too high & she thought he was still drinking. The pdoc said that didn't make sense b/c these drugs will help lower his blood pressure. I asked about what the concerns are if took while detoxing & he said nothing. This is the drug they put people on when the show up in the ER in full mania & drunk.
I then asked him about sleep. He told me the drug should help him with it. I told him so far that has not happened. Then he told me it's because he's only on 25mg when he should be on 200mg.
WTH????
I'm really curious now why the p-nurse only gave him 25mg & why in the he!! she didn't put him on a higher dosage if it would have helped with his blood pressure???
Why does it seem so difficult to get H onto the appropriate meds???
Bonnie

it does sound like he's in the right place...this doct seems to know what he's doing, and both of you can move forward.
God could not be everywhere, so
Bonnie,
Was it Abilify your H was on???? If so, you have to start it at a low dose, otherwise you'll have bad side affects...as is the case with most of the psych meds. You'll start with low dosages and work up to therapeutic levels...when you're I/P its easier to do that, because they can observe and watch for reactions, etc. Maybe that's why. When I was on Abilify, I had a REALLY bad reaction to an even small dose than 25 mgs.
You have to be patient with the meds, pdocs...you'll find the pdocs differ many times in what they think will work and at what levels.
It really is a guessing game until they find the right combination and right level.
Hang in there.
Keli
Hi Bonnie, it sounds like the nurse started him on such a low dose, and then didn't bother to increase it. How in the world is that dose going to help him. I don't know what you need to do to get him on the proper meds. It must be so frustrating for both of you.
Hang in there,
Lori
they have these social workers that run groups & it's their job to get you appts with all the nessecary doctors even if it means returning to the hospital for the appts.
tell me this is true & i'm not crazy.
this has always been my experience.
even if you don't LIKE the doctor one has always been provided.
if you HAVE a doctor then they make the appts with your own doctor.
they don't send you out on the street with no follow up.
do they?
Both the social worker & the hospital pdoc talked to his psych nurse. I don't know if the appt was made, but she has been in contact with H since & she said she'll continue to see him until he sees the pdoc with their clinic ... BUT THAT IS NOT UNTIL FEBRUARY!!! So they are only going to have him on the Seroquel until then ... no anti-depressants or mood stabilizers.
I told H it would be a good idea to find all pdocs in our area, closer to his work if possible, and start trying making appts until he finds the one who can see him the earliest. This is what I did when I looked for my therapist.
I hope he does it. This is just crazy to let him be depressed for that long. I was talking to somebody who works at NAMI & she told me after 3w of mania she was depressed for 3m since none of her a/d would work. So what would 3-6m mania depression be like??
Bonnie
"Only when we are sick of our sickness shall we cease to be sick."
~ Lao-Tzu, from The Tao Te Cheng
I really don't understand why everyone is dragging their feet on this.
God could not be everywhere, so
SO....
let me think.
i'm about to make some suggestions that sound pretty stupid.
i found my tdoc who i'm in love with(she was my marraige counselor..now she's mine)in the yellow pages.....you should only know some of the freaks i WAS seeing...you want stories?ask me.
she led me to my gp.
he led me to my pdoc.
ask all over the hospital for a name.the hospital is the best place to find the name of a psychiatrist isn't it?
my hospital doc wanted me to visit a mood clinic.
can i ask where you live?
Portland Oregon.
I keep telling him to call the bipolar alliance as there has got to be somebody there who can help him & understand his situation. I've told him about the Tuesday meetings at the university, I've also given him the number to NAMI.
He really is trying hard. Most providers are seeing that. They just cannot seem to get on the same track with one another.
The worst part of it is since so many providers & his work has his cell phone he doesn't dare turn it off. So that stupid OW keeps calling him 1-2 times a day. I guess she's also been e-mailing him. (I've been checking his cell phone log, not one call accepted or made by H, only voice mail retreval, calls to me & providers.)
Today, she left a msg for H asking if since he's moving home if she could move into his apt & take over his lease. H actually asked me if we wanted to save 2K by doing so. HE!! NO ... it's worth 2K to have the security of not having her live 4 minutes away. We'd shop at the same grocery store for goodness sakes! Why oh why is she moving up here???
H said, but it sounded urgent on the phone, like she's getting kicked out & doesn't have a place to live. So I asked if this is just like last time when she wanted to give him a weeks notice to move in with him b/c her aunts were kicking her out & then H talked to her mother to find out she could stay until mid-January. (She lives in her grandmother's house as she has been taking care of her for the past 2 yrs. Grandma died the week H went to go meet OW.)
The above makes me nervous! I'm going to have to really watch his cell log now.
I HATE QUESTIONING MY H MOTIVES!
"Only when we are sick of our sickness shall we cease to be sick."
~ Lao-Tzu, from The Tao Te Cheng