I don't know if i'm on the right meds.

[IthinkIcan]

So I just started seeing a psychiatrist half a year ago.. because I was diagnosed with Severe Depression/Severe Anxiety/ADHD a year ago. The medicines I'm on now are,
Zoloft 100mg
Adderall 10mg
Xanax .5 (A very small amount for random panic episodes I get whenever the hell they want to come around)

I was on Vyvance 40 mg, but because of my episodes getting worse and impossible to control she switched me. But she referred me to a trauma therapist. I see in a week. I wish it was sooner. I can't take my adderall dose like normal anymore. Even just a half of one, or none, will make my heart like a hummingbird's. And today it's been pretty bad, I guess because of all the things I've done today. I just joined this site, and maybe I've totally exhausted myself because my entire body hurts and my heart won't calm down for more than 10 damn minutes and it's so uncomfortable.

 

[EveHarrington]

Is adderal a stimulant medication? I think it is.... I think there are non-stimulant ADD medications that you can take. I’m a bit surprised that a doc has you on this medication if you also have anxiety issues. I’d definitely look into the non-stimulant ADD meds out there.

I can’t comment on your meds as a whole.....maybe one/two need to be changed, maybe they all need to be changed.

Did you start those meds one by one?

 

[IthinkIcan]

Is adderal a stimulant medication? I think it is.... I think there are non-stimulant ADD medicati...

Yes, it's stimulant. I first went to see her because my OBGYN thought that I was going through Post Partum Depression after I had my baby girl. Because I was on Vyvance and Prozac and stopped before I got pregnant. So my new psychiatrist put me back on Vyvance (a long-acting stimulant), and then added Zoloft when I told her my anxiety was starting to get worse. Then some things happened with my family, and my anxiety started to spiral out of control because the thoughts I used to be able to ignore weren't so easy to ignore anymore. I feel I should also mention I have never opened up to a doctor before. And when I started sharing my traumatic childhood and telling her how I wasn't processing my emotions right, she added the xanax and lowered my stimulants because she thinks I need them. And then recommended that I see the trauma therapist. She also told me that if my anxiety wasn't getting better that we could adjust my medicines. I'm just terrible at recognizing I've been through a lot and talking about it.. so it's hard for her to fully understand when I suck at talking about certain things.

 

[EveHarrington]

I’m still skeptical that stimulants are right for you.

Do you have PTSD too?

 

[IthinkIcan]

I don't know. It hasn't been flat out said. I don't know if a therapist decides that? I don't know. But I can't stop these constant reminders in my head of so many things that my family has put me through. How I was forced to live with my abuser, allowed him to live with me when I had my own apartment.. And I couldn't figure out why I never felt comfortable. Why I was always in pain. My psychiatrist doesn't know the depth of my mind. I only let her scrape the surface, and that was our last visit less than a month ago. She said she couldn't believe I had been through so much for my age, and that I should try trauma therapy. So I don't know what I have. I'm just trying to understand it because I've been running from these same damning thoughts for most of my life.

 

[IthinkIcan]

I'm sorry if I sound stupid right now. I've just been bottling and avoiding these thoughts and covering them up my entire life for the sake of others. And now that I'm 24, and realizing I shouldn't have done that.. I get so scared because now I can't avoid what I tried to forget anymore. Too much has happened in my life, I can't go on ignoring myself and being a robot anymore. I feel so desperate. I'm sorry for rambling.

 

[EveHarrington]

Oh no worries!

The world of PTSD usually involves a steep learning curve when one is first diagnosed.

I encourage you to be as open and honest with your doctor as possible.

In my state a diagnosis is not official unless it comes from a doctor or CRNP. Or, at least, that’s how it’s always been throughout my years of treatment.

 

[Snowflakes]

I’ve learned while taking my sufferer to her psychiatrist who prescribed her meds that it often takes a while for the doctor to find the type meds and good dosage that will work for you. It helps the doctor if you’re able to keep a running journal of how the meds are and are not working along with any side effects you’re experiencing. The doctor will be looking for trends. It’s often hard to remember these things once you get into his/her office. The journal doesn’t have to be a book. One sentance is good enough to jog your memory.

I wish you well. Take care.

 

[IthinkIcan]

Thank you for that. That actually made me feel a bit better.. So i looked up the doctor that I'm seeing in a week, and she's a pyschotherapist? I don't know if she's the one to go to for that, but it says she specializies in Trauma/PTSD. And I guess I'm ready to start healing because I've been trapped in a body stuck in the past, and on nights like tonight it just feels like too much to take.

I’ve learned while taking my sufferer to her psychiatrist who prescribed her meds that it often ta...

Thank you, I've been meaning to start a journal, but writing has been hard for me. I just go blank. But I'm going to work harder on actually paying attention to how a drug makes me feel for when I talk to my psychiatrist again.