It’s amazing the negative experience I have had with psychiatrists and other providers in the mental health field. Medication management and working with prescribers has been especially challenging because my condition is Bipolar 1 rapid cycling and Complex PTSD. Knowing the medications you take, and those that are out there that are new and could help you is essential. Knowing the side effects of all medications you take will empower you to understand why you are experiencing conditions that may arise. Self advocating with your psychiatrist is essential. If you have weight concerns, make sure you ask your provider in the short time you have with them about that specific concern. Why? Because this way influence what they prescribe you. 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
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