Always ask about side effects for medication.

Always ask about side effects for medication.
It’s amazing the negative experience I have had with psychiatrists and other providers in the mental health field. Always choose a provider specialized in medication management of mental health conditions. Do not go to your primary care physician for psych treatment. They are less experienced and you can’t afford to be miss-medicated. Medication management and working with prescribers has been especially challenging in my experience because my condition is Bipolar 1 rapid cycling and Complex PTSD. The kicker, both conditions trigger one another. Especially if you have medications adjustments often, being aware of the medications that you take so you know what is causing what is essential. In my life I have a “trusted person” (my beloved husband) who gives me constructive feedback, of how I am doing. When struggling with mental illness, we don’t always realize symptoms or side effects for what they are. My dear husband provides me with the feedback I need to make the right medication changes.
Another comment I want to make is that psychiatrists don’t always know about new medications. Doing research prior to a psychiatric session so you can strongly advocate on your own behalf is helpful.
Knowing the side effects of all the medications you take will empower you to understand why you are experiencing the conditions that may arise. If you have concerns surrounding psych medications that cause weight gain, make sure you ask your provider in the short time that you have about your informed concerns. Why is being informed and advocating important? Because this way influence what they prescribe you. Psych meds can change your entire life and not always for the better. A piece of my story related to medication and side effects:
I was struggling with weight gain caused by the psych meds. I was prescribed 1,000 mg of metformin 2x a day to combat the med effect of weight gain. My stomachs hurt for months upon months it feels like when I look back! I went to the bathroom constantly and loose stool, hemorrhoids, going to the bathroom every half hour. ! The bathroom struggle impacted me and my family. We could only go to locations that had a bathroom. I constantly had to excuse myself from events, gatherings, and loved ones for the bathroom. My psychiatrist was aware of this problem, but it was never addressed.
Finally, one day I went to a hospital emergency room to get help for an unrelated issue, but my tummy troubles did come up. An INTERN doctor told me that I needed to decrease the metformin – and that this would help my stomachs/bathroom issues. He was shocked this hadn’t been addressed sooner. Metformin side effect described all of my symptoms. The internist lowered the metformin from 1,000 mg 3x a day to 500mg 2x a day. The change drastically improved my quality of life as my stomachs/bathroom problem stopped completely. Now I have a life outside the walls of the bathroom – and my life was no longer defined by the worry of needing a bathroom. It is important to have a doctor in your life to catch what your psychiatrist may miss. A doctor you trust and that is insightful as this young doctor fresh out of school was. Sometimes older psychiatrists use old school medications. Sometimes young practitioners have been trained in innovative ways. Finding providers who are attuned, attentive, and want the best for you is essential to your healing process and experience of life.
Many blessings,

Camille Waldron, LMSW

It’s amazing the negative experience I have had with psychiatrists and other providers in the mental health field. Always choose a provider specialized in medication management of mental health conditions. Do not go to your primary care physician for psych treatment. They are less experienced and you can’t afford to be miss-medicated. Medication management and working with prescribers has been especially challenging in my experience because my condition is Bipolar 1 rapid cycling and Complex PTSD. The kicker, both conditions trigger one another. Especially if you have medications adjustments often, being aware of the medications that you take so you know what is causing what is essential. In my life I have a “trusted person” (my beloved husband) who gives me constructive feedback, of how I am doing. When struggling with mental illness, we don’t always realize symptoms or side effects for what they are. My dear husband provides me with the feedback I need to make the right medication changes.
Another comment I want to make is that psychiatrists don’t always know about new medications. Doing research prior to a psychiatric session so you can strongly advocate on your own behalf is helpful.
Knowing the side effects of all the medications you take will empower you to understand why you are experiencing the conditions that may arise. If you have concerns surrounding psych medications that cause weight gain, make sure you ask your provider in the short time that you have about your informed concerns. Why is being informed and advocating important? Because this way influence what they prescribe you. Psych meds can change your entire life and not always for the better. A piece of my story related to medication and side effects:
I was struggling with weight gain caused by the psych meds. I was prescribed 1,000 mg of metformin 2x a day to combat the med effect of weight gain. My stomachs hurt for months upon months it feels like when I look back! I went to the bathroom constantly and loose stool, hemorrhoids, going to the bathroom every half hour. ! The bathroom struggle impacted me and my family. We could only go to locations that had a bathroom. I constantly had to excuse myself from events, gatherings, and loved ones for the bathroom. My psychiatrist was aware of this problem, but it was never addressed.
Finally, one day I went to a hospital emergency room to get help for an unrelated issue, but my tummy troubles did come up. An INTERN doctor told me that I needed to decrease the metformin – and that this would help my stomachs/bathroom issues. He was shocked this hadn’t been addressed sooner. Metformin side effect described all of my symptoms. The internist lowered the metformin from 1,000 mg 2x a day to 500mg 2x a day. The change drastically improved my quality of life as my stomachs/bathroom problem stopped completely. Now I have a life outside the walls of the bathroom – and my life was no longer defined by the worry of needing a bathroom. It is important to have a doctor in your life to catch what your psychiatrist may miss. A doctor you trust and that is insightful as this young doctor fresh out of school was. Sometimes older psychiatrists use old school medications. Sometimes young practitioners have been trained in innovative ways. Finding providers who are attuned, attentive, and want the best for you is essential to your healing process and experience of life.
Many blessings,

Camille Waldron, LMSW

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Camille Waldron

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