Pills, Pills, and More Pills

If you have been diagnosed with a mental illness such as clinical depression, anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, etc., your psychiatrist may put you on medication to help stabilize your symptoms and in a sense re-wire your brain. All medications have side effects, but your doctor has decided that the benefits are worth the risk, especially if you are a danger to yourself or others.

Unfortunately, the pamphlet of side effects given with meds or available on medical websites such as webmd usually don’t have a complete list of all side effects. They just list the most common and the very high risk effects, such as an increased risk of cancer or in some cases death.

The most important lessons I’ve learned from these traditional methods of care, specifically medication use, is the following:

1. Ask your psychiatrist a lot of questions

2. Do your own research

3. Document, document, document!

Your psychiatrist may not provide you with a complete description, list of all side effects, patient experiences, exceptions, etc. about each medication because everyone is different and therefore will respond to medications differently. Don’t let that stop you from getting as much information as possible from both your doctor and other resources such as forums, blogs, etc (side note: since everyone responds to medications differently, do not take every patient testimonial/experience as complete fact. You do not know their medical history, what other medications they are on, if any, but this can at least bring up more questions to ask your doctor).

Document! I made a daily log to record as much information as possible to take back to my doctor for any additional questions or concerns. My log includes the following information:

– Time I took each medication, including dosage

– Increases and decreases in dosage

– Any additional prescriptions, antibiotics, etc. (even if it’s just ibuprofen, document it!)

– Side effects you are experiencing (physical, mental, and emotional)

– New, worsening, or improving symptoms

– Sleep patterns

– Appointment dates and times, how the appointment went, what you discussed with your doctor

– Additional comments (anything that you think is relevant, i.e., exercise, diet, etc.)

Remember, this is your body, mind, and life. Yes, he/she is the medical doctor and you are the patient, but youare the one paying for the services and seeking out help to better your life. Do NOT feel like you are stuck with a psychiatrist if you feel uncomfortable, you just plain don’t like him/her, or most importantly, you feel worse than when you originally went in for help.

Soon, once I can get myself to re-experience it, I’d like to share my personal experience with traditional methods of care and some of the challenges I’ve faced with psychiatrists, medications, and hospitalizations. Stay tuned!

#bipolardisorder #recovery #anxiety #rage #psychiatry #medication #sideeffects #medicationlog