The mighty pen

[Jordash]

The answer will never be in a pill!! Medications are another way to mask your issues just like alcohol and drugs.

 

[GWhizz]

I hear you

I agree with you that big pharma companies definitely take advantage and push the drug market. But I come from a family with a schizophrenic father, sister and brother who contributed to my trauma. They definitely had mental health issues and they're labs did point to chemical imbalances. My sister had excessive sex hormones that also required treatment with medication to stabilise her mood and temper.

To the OP, I have had poor experiences with my psychiatrist. And initially with the first therapist (a PhD clinical psychologist also) who works with him and basically dismissed my symptoms because I couldn't complete a clinical interview (due to avoidance talking about trauma). She didn't have the patience and so conducted several psychometric tests and advised the psychiatrist that I had BPD traits and wasn't suitable for their treatment. I had to fight with the psychiatrist very hard to receive a second psychologist's assessment on his team. She spent over a year working with me before advocating to him that I have PTSD and seriously need their treatment. I am still working with her over 2 years on.

I guess in my case it wasn't the psychiatrist's fault. He relied a lot on the therapist's opinion and assessment. But it annoyed me that I hadn't just seen him independently first. I think you need to be sure that your T is the right person in terms of advocating and accurately portraying your case. Can you ask your T for a formulation of their evaluation of your symptoms and clinical presentation? I requested this so that everything could be transparent. My T always tells me that she knows me better than anyone else there and so not to worry about the psychiatrist's assessments because they know they're only snapshots. And that the psychiatrist really does consider her judgement. I think you need to consider their team approach and possibly find out more about how they work together - ask your T for clarification maybe. And ultimately decide whether you trust your T's ability to advocate to your psychiatrist (if that's what you want) or whether you'd prefer to take her formulation elsewhere. I felt mad initially demanding a new T because I was the "crazy patient" but it was the best move I ever made rather than being pigeonholed with a label that wasn't apt at all.

 

[anonymous]

It has been a month since The Mighty Pen decided I was potentially crazy. It has been two weeks since the Therapist reviewed the notes of the prescribing doctor. It has been one week since the drugs were shoved to the back of the bathroom cabinet never to be touched again because they were making the problems far worse and not better; and it has been roughly three days since life began to return to the pre-drug baseline. The clock continues to tick. T-minus 2 days until the first follow-up appointment. T-minus 15 hours to the deadline to cancel and not have to pay. Is it wise to keep moving in the direction that The Mighty Pen dictates? What direction is this anyway? Forward? Backward? Lateral? I have no idea. Is it wise to risk receiving a label from the barker of questions who has no idea who I am?

Advice from an apparently wise and sane mentor says, "Risk it." The Wise One likely knows more than me. The gut feeling from the risk averse patient says, "Run away."

Tick tock...tick tock....decisions decisions. No going back once the Mighty Pen has spoken.

 

[anonymous]

Once again, I have discovered that the inability to make a decision is a decision in itself. I managed to proctastinate long enough while trying to decide on the appointment that my 24 hour window to cancel the appointment closed. Decision made....

The Wise one may have been correct to encourage the interaction despite my pre-appointment jitters screaming otherwise.

Here we go again. Tock tock....another month of trial and error.... time will tell if the decision was the right one.

 

[Tornadic Thoughts]

May the wise one provide you with abundant meaningful and effective healing opportunities. May you be in a space of being able to receive and run, or even slowly saunter, with them. Wishing you well.