Posted on 06/05/2012 4:48:53 PM PDT by Auntie Mame
A friend of mine is becoming crazier and crazier, it's almost impossible to talk with her anymore. Today I asked and she freely gave me a list of her medications. I am very scared for her. Here's what she is being prescribed:
Latuda 80 mg
Paroxetine (Paxil) 40 mg
Lamotrigine 200 mg
Topiramate 200 mg 2x/day
Her doctor is not a psychiatrist, just a general practitioner. She says she speaks with him once a week over the telephone, and then comes to his office to pick up her prescriptions which are held for her at the desk.
What do I mean when I say she's getting crazier and crazier?
She talks 90 miles an hour, she can't stay on topic, she's all over the place in her conversation. She's verbally and actively obsessive about certain things, things that because of her bad decisions (probably brought on by all these meds) she's caused herself.
I looked up the meds and it appears the dosages are really high.
I called the Medical licensing board and spoke to someone but they are of no help whatsoever. I'm thinking of calling up the doctor and putting the fear of God into him. I'm not sure what else I can do. She has been getting a lot of moving violation tickets lately, and recently totaled her car but she says it was not her fault. She is in no shape to help herself and has no family looking out for her.
She's very open to hearing me tell her how worried I am about her. I think if I could find some kind of treatment program she would be amendable to checking it out.
First of all thank you for caring so much about your friend and you are willing to help her.....
I cannot stress the importance of her being evaluated by a psychiatrist and they should be prescribing her medication not a GP.......it is a delicate balance that can go south in a heart beat and it sounds like your friend is already there.....someone else suggested a call to social service which is a good idea.....if there is a mental health unit in your area, you could call them and ask them for suggestions.....
Maybe you could find a psychiatrist and offer to go with her......she sounds like she is not rational so that makes it even harder to deal with her.....
prayers for you and her......God bless
Sorry, but I don’t necessarily agree. It depends on the precise nature of the medical condition. Tossing social services at her prematurely could have lasting damaging effects, both physically and personally.
First, psychotropic treatment regimens are often in the nature of self-fulfilling prophecies. The science of psychotropic effect is sketchy at best, and the mechanisms for “cure” are poorly understood and chemically primitive. There is some evidence that some treatments, even at the supposedly correct dosage, actually make the disorder worse over extended periods of time.
Furthermore, if she once gets absorbed by the “system,” and in particular if it goes as far as an involuntary commitment, she will have a “record” that can result in various forms of debilitating discriminatory treatment. If it is necessary, then so be it. But the cost should be weighed before going that direction. Make sure it’s the not the meds first. That’s all I’m saying. Her life will change permanently for the worse if a mistake is made here.
As someone who has been on antidepressants for more than 20 years I heartily agree. There is a lot of very bad advice here.....she needs to get to a good psych asap. Psych medications can be lifesavers when administered properly.
My mother went through the same thing. We made an appointment with a Psychiatrist and I talked to him first explaining that I was extremely concerned about the medication she was taking.
He weeded her off all unnecessary meds and got her back under control. Once she stopped seeing him though, the doctors started loading her up again. Doctors push drugs, psychiatrists seem to be more concerned that the drugs you are taking are not affecting your brain. See if you can talk her into it seeing one just for that simple fact.
Topiramate is for migraines
Are you certain she isn’t an alcoholic or drug addict?
They often get involved with prescription meds, thinking that will help straighten them out (ie. not yet willing to admit to alcoholism, drug addiction).
Many medical professionals don’t have the expertise to spot alcoholism/drug addiction—even though those conditions can produce symptoms of mental illness, and indications for more drugs.
Viscious circle. Denial by patient. Lying by patient.
Does your friend need all those drugs?
Have you researched the side effects of each?
Chances are she is getting medicated based on the drug side effects and not what her original problem was.
I’ve noticed that doctors add drugs on top of drugs and rarely eliminate those which cause a problem or have no more effect. It’s as if “that” side effect is the problem which must be taken care of by another pill.
You’re a good friend.
Have you considered taping her (with her permission of course)to show her how she behaves under the influence? It could be an eye opener for her.
Are you certain she isn’t an alcoholic or drug addict?
They often get involved with prescription meds, thinking that will help straighten them out (ie. not yet willing to admit to alcoholism, drug addiction).
Many medical professionals don’t have the expertise to spot alcoholism/drug addiction—even though those conditions can produce symptoms of mental illness, and indications for more drugs.
Viscious circle. Denial by patient. Lying by patient.
If your friend will listen, get her into see another physician for an evaluation. Other than getting her in for a second opinion, there isn’t anything you can or should do. You’re certainly not qualified to evaluate her physical health, mental health, or the effect that her medications are having on either.
You should very plainly and diplomatically tell her just what you say here, that you are concerned her medications are not helping her and urge her just to see another doctor and get a second opinion.
She should really see an actual psychiatrist (an MD not a psychologist or psychotherapist).
You might want to get a few referrals, maybe from doctors or other people you know and whose judgment you trust. Perhaps you could speak with them yourself before hand, but that might not be possible/necessary.
You could give her a choice of 3 or 4 to chose from, that should prevent her from thinking you are trying to micro-manage her life.
Of course when she goes she needs to bring all the medication with her, so the doctor can see what’s going on.
If she needs to take any psychotropic meds at all, and if she is making bad/careless life decisions for whatever reasons she probably needs to get some therapy too. I doubt a GP doc is really qualified to provide that.
I’m almost 100% sure that her current doctor will not, under any circumstances, discuss her treatment with you. Unless you are a close relative, and maybe even then, he/she just isn’t going to do it due to confidentiality issues.
She can probably find a Psychiatrist who can supervise her meds who can then recommend a less expensive therapist to see her weekly, or however frequently, for some “talking” therapy.
Good luck, mental problems are the worst, over medicating can be a big problem.
General practitioners need to suck it up and admit when they are practicing beyond their scope of expertise. Your friend needs a referral to a psychiatrist or a psychiatric hospital, to get the medications straightened out. It may require a few days of being in the hospital for a proper evaluation and diagnosis.
Several years ago, my GP diagnosed me with depression and put me on antidepressants, but I was actually severely anemic. I needed a blood transfusion, not antidepressants!
I pray that your friend finally gets the proper diagnosis and treatment. You’re a good friend!
You need to get your friends to a serious psyche. She has one on that list that conflicts with another and maybe two that conflictsare not necessary.
The cherished HMO or Blue Cross plan does not cover the psychiatrist you should be seeing when you have true mental illness.
I had to increase the dosage to get to the "right" level....and whatever I do, don't stop taking them immediately. I wasn't suicidal, but I cannot describe the feeling, but think intense anger and severe apathy at the same time (like intense rage at anything and everything and not caring about the consequences or much else for that matter). The more I took, the worse it got. And oh, it didn't stop the physical pain from the injury.
I remember burning holes into the living room floor with my eyes and then somewhere in the fog, THANK GOD, I tried to think of why I was so angry............I dumped every last one of those pills into the toilet. I never heard so much pissing and moaning as when the "doctor" found out I quit cold turkey.
Of course, these pills are "safer" than narcotics.
Never felt like that before or since. I had one other doctor try to get me to take them anyway afterward (even after I explained my negative reaction); just gotta get the dosage right. I asked him if he would care if his house were burned down.....because his patient would probably be angry enough to do it and stop at the DQ for a carefree ice cream cone aafterward.
Strange, he stopped recommended me that crap.
To expand on my comment #31, please understand that your friend's statements CANNOT be relied on if she is manic and/or delusional...starting with “her doctor is not a psychiatrist”! I find if hard to believe that a GP would prescribe these meds. I also don't even believe that she would be going “to his office” to pick up what appear to be several “controlled drugs”.
My wife has been taking piles of psych meds from a dozen doctors in five states and NEVER has she been told to pick up drug prescriptions from the MD’s office. Doctors are always being watched as they are frequent pill abusers, so they must carefully comply with controls such as having prescriptions get filled by a third party pharmacy.
If you could suggest that she show you her pill containers so you can see which MD actually prescribed the pills without setting her off in some way, it would help prevent you from jumping to wrong conclusions based just on what she is saying. Again, I strongly recommend that you refrain from concluding that her GP has done anything wrong based only on her statements.
It's possible that her current doctor could refer her to a psychiatrist. There are all kinds of laws now about medical privacy but you may be able to express your concerns to her doctor, especially if she gives permission for you to come to a doctor appointment
Sounds like she’s in the throes of a full blown mania despite the meds typically prescribed for manic-depressive disorder.
Take away her car keys and credit cards if you can. If it veers into sexual encounters that can get pretty unsavory, too.
But, as bad as that sounds, it won’t be as bad as the crash that inevitably follows.
She needs help. Try to get it for her with as few permanent repercussions as possible. Psych eval maybe, that would be an opportunity to get her meds straightened out.
Has she ever been diagnosed with any type of disorder or mental illness. I’d find out because that might help in finding a treatment center where they can deal with both her addiction problem(if there is one) and the actual underlying mental illness.
I fail to understand someone receiving that many drugs for something that hasn’t even been diagnosed.
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