STEP 1:

Day One

At my first appointment, my Psychiatrist discussed the side effects of Adderall.  I almost always read the pamphlets the local pharmacy hands out with prescriptions.  The symptoms of the new med mirrored some of the other medications I was taking.  These are a few of the side effects, you may experience while on Adderall:

• anxiety,
• a headache,
• weakness,
• dizziness,
• a terrible taste in your mouth,
• diarrhea,
• constipation,
• nausea, and
• hair falling out.
• These are not all the side effects known about this medication.

Psychiatrist

STEP 2:

The Pros 

I told my Psychiatrist this stimulant has revolutionized my life!  Once I got the Adderall in my system, the sleeping and the attention issues faded away.  The energy I am experiencing is amazing, too!  However, I did learn that I could not rely solely on this pill that I swallowed every day four times a day.

The Cons

But, everything was not perfect. I had moments when I felt like a zombie.  The old habits came back!   I started again to fall asleep at inappropriate or dangerous times. I knew I needed the Adderall. But something had to change.

This all culminated in a moment of sheer brilliance. Once the Psychiatrist showed me, I realize my poor sleep habits were affecting the drug!  I was not getting enough sleep at night.

• I had to rethink when I took my evening meds.
• Also, I needed to rethink when I should take my new medicine during the day.
• And thirdly, I needed to go to bed much earlier.

Psychiatrist

Affecting My Writing

Likewise, I would get a few minor glitches with the Adderall working on the ADHD. As a person diagnosed with ADD, it is normally strange to have an attention span greater than a gnat.

Weird things began occurring with the new medicine my Psychiatrist prescribed.  For instance, an entire blog of 1,000 words or less took me the entire day and into the evening to write. Before when I was at my best, I could write something much quicker.  Such as, only taking the morning to write a blog.

Psychiatrist

So, I wanted to scream “this is taking me incredibly too long to write anything!”  “I’m wasting time!  I’m wasting money!”

Since I could not stay focused on my work.  I wound up wasting valuable resources by editing my drafts one thousand times too many.  The first draft of a blog is now cut so much that it looks like I’m chopping up a word salad.  I am trashing half of the first draft due to so many words that make no sense.

STEP 3:

My Psychiatrist is Willing to Figure this Out

It sounds as if the Psychiatrist will take each medicine at a time in order to figure out the real problems.  None of the other four previous psychiatrists ever stopped to do that.  I’m thankful for my psychiatrist!

Psychiatrist

Call To Action

If anyone is interested in learning more about what a psychiatrist can do for you, please go to https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/psychologists/reasons-to-choose-an-online-psychiatrist/

Life Conquering and Psych Central (Mental Health Discoveries)

References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adderall

http://www.alaskasleep.com/blog/narcolepsy-definition-symptoms-causes-treatment

https://www.healthline.com/health/what-is-a-pulmonologist

https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/diagnosing-narcolepsy

http://www.alaskasleep.com/blog/what-is-a-polysomnogram-test

http://www.efpa.be/psychologist-psychiatrist.htm

https://www.rxlist.com/adderall-side-effects-drug-center.htm

Going Further

Mental Illness: Making a Decision, Heads or Tails

ADHD in Adults – The Truth behind the Mystery

The post 3 Steps a Psychiatrist Can Take to Help You Discover Which Meds are Best appeared first on Life Conquering Blog.

Is it a mental illness?

Have you ever noticed strange mental health or even physical symptoms that begin without any reason?  What do you do?  Shrug it off and pretend it was never there or be proactive and do something about it?  Below are suggestions as to what you should do if you think you might have a  mental illness.  The first thing is deciding between a therapist and a psychologist.

therapist and a psychologist

Do not be afraid of change

When I finally realized there was something wrong with me, I went straight to the people I knew I could trust.  Over the nearly 11 years that I have been diagnosed having bipolar disorder, I am on my fifth psychiatrist.  Now, I am seeing a psychologist after two therapists and a counselor.

Please be honest with yourself.  Listen to what the provider has to say and then research, research, research.  I was researching all the time and still are just to know my illness better and to see what needed to be done about it medically and therapeutically,

Now researching is not a way of elevating yourself over your doctor, therapist or psychologist.  It is a tool for you to be more informed.

Preparing for the first visit

1. I would write down a list of your strange symptoms, while they are fresh in your memory.  Include dates as well as times, special events, life-altering situations (death, baby born, loss of job, divorce, going back to school, new house).
2. Get as much information as you can about the mental health of family members.  Go as far back as you can.  I found out ta few years ago hat I have a family member on my dad’s side who had bipolar.  He also committed suicide.
3. If you have family and good friends or even close co-workers, ask them if they can shed light onto your situation.  How are you different?  Personality?  Behavior?

4. 

   therapist and a psychologist

5. Time to make the appointment with a therapist or psychologist.
6. If you are unsure of which provider to choose (therapist or psychologist), take a look at the link above titled, What is the difference between a therapist and a psychologist?  That link will explain the difference between the two as well as the pros and cons of each.

Each therapist and psychologist have their own methods as well as their obvious differences.  You may be unsure of which provider to go to.  Go to the link at the top of this page that will take you to a site to help you chose.

Going Further

How to Handle Your First Psychiatric Appointment

The post Therapist and a psychologist – making that first appointment appeared first on Life Conquering Blog.

When I first started, the side effects were few if any.  Many of the items on the list were symptoms I have with my other medications and from the illness itself.  For instance these are a few of the side effects you might experience while on Adderall: anxiety, headache; weakness, dizziness, a terrible taste in your mouth, diarrhea, constipation, nausea and hair falling out.  This list is just the tip of the ice burg.

This stimulant has revolutionized my life.  Between the narcolepsy, AD/HD and the bipolar, I was going out of my mind mad!  Once I got the Adderall in my system, the sleeping and the attention issues faded away.  My energy can be amazing, too!  However, I did learn that I could not rely solely on the pill I swallowed everyday four times a day.

I had moments when I was like a zombie.  I started again to fall asleep at inappropriate or dangerous times. I knew I needed the Adderall and understood that the medicine and my behavior should work together for optimal satisfaction.  This culminated to shine a light on my poor sleep hygiene habits.  The medicine’s poor performance  pointed to the facts that I was not getting enough sleep at night.  And I might need to rethink when I should take my medicine during the day.

Likewise, I would get a few minor glitches with the AD/HD.  As an example, not being able to have an attention span greater than a gnat.  I want to scream “this is taking me increasingly more time to write anything!”  I cannot stay focused and the results are cutting about half of the first draft because I have so much crap in the article/post that it makes no sense.

Writing and editing is getting more and more difficult to do

For me to be a successful writer, I need to be awake, focused and have my whits about me.  When I write,  I do so with as much time that I can to squeeze every second out of the day.

For me, the outside distractions are minimal. It is my internal distractions that wreak havoc on my writing.  I may have a sick dog and another dog to tend to.  Laundry.  Phone calls.  Then the bipolar and the other mental health issues that come along for a ride are ready to muck up the waters.

Then it starts.  I have brain freeze, next a starring contest with my monitor, I can’t figure out a title or the subject, don’t forget wasting time on writing something that does not fit in the first place, I lose interest once I get frustrated and I am not being productive, forgetting that one word that would be perfect, and…inability to spell.  YES! SPELL!  Then I look at the clock and I react:

“Now it is quarter-to-one?!” 

“All I want to do is take a nap.” 

adderall

References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adderall

http://www.alaskasleep.com/blog/narcolepsy-definition-symptoms-causes-treatment

https://www.healthline.com/health/what-is-a-pulmonologist

https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/diagnosing-narcolepsy

http://www.alaskasleep.com/blog/what-is-a-polysomnogram-test

http://www.efpa.be/psychologist-psychiatrist.htm

https://www.rxlist.com/adderall-side-effects-drug-center.htm

Going Further

Mental Illness: Making a Decision, Heads or Tails

ADHD in Adults – The Truth behind the Mystery

The post Adderall Review appeared first on Life Conquering Blog.

My Appointment with my Psychiatrist — Neurology Appointment

Tonight, we were meeting to discuss my last appointment with my neurologist and for me to give an update on my symptoms. The neurologist decided to put me on an anti-seizure medicine called Keppra. He also took me off one of my mood stabilizers, Topamax. He felt the Topamax was the reason for the slowing of my left frontal lobe.

My psychiatrist explained to me that back in the day when Keppra was first on the scene for seizures, the drug manufactures marketed Keppra to be used off-label as a bipolar medicine. The p-doc said that it actually helped bipolar symptoms. He believed the addition of Keppra to my medicine regiment will not only hopefully benefit me from a seizure stand point but also as a mental illness drug.

Bipolar Symptoms — Suicidal Ideation

Soon the discussion turned to my bipolar. I talked with my p-doc about the suicidal ideations I was having a few months ago.

The p-doc asked me how often I have these thoughts. I told him the thoughts of killing myself were not an ongoing conversation in my head. He did tell me if I needed to go to the hospital to get more help to let him know. Being assured of my plan to combat the thoughts when the time comes again, the psychiatrist reiterated that having positive thoughts to counteract the negative will help bring me from the darkness to the light.

I have gone through four different psychiatrists. I dearly loved my first one. The second psychiatrist I had been with the longest until he no longer accepted my insurance. One psychiatrist didn’t believe I had bipolar. This last one is nearing retirement. I will be back on the scene looking for my fifth p-doc.

Finding the Right Psychiatrist

1. Check with your insurance company. They may have a website where you can pick specifiers like gender, expertise and miles from your house.
2. Pick a psychiatrist who specializes in your mental illness.
3. Pick a psychiatrist who specializes in an area that you want to explore for yourself i.e. OCD, social anxiety, AD/HD. You might think you have a symptom of OCD and would like to speak with a specialist about it.
4. Don’t settle. If the psychiatrist you picked is not what you thought he/she would be, go back to the drawing board and pick another one to try out.
5. Ask your therapist or your PCP for a list of psychiatrists they may know that would make a good fit in your treatment.

Email Me

This is not an exhaustive list. If you have any more ideas or if you have experiences to share about your psychiatrist hunt, email me at [email protected].

Going Further

http://www.goodtherapy.org/find-psychiatrists.html

http://finder.psychiatry.org/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/abilash-gopal-md/a-good-psychiatrist-is-hard-to-find_b_7756452.html

The post Psychiatrist appeared first on Life Conquering Blog.