I am not sure that my psychiatrist is a very intelligent person. As I’ve learned through working in higher education, you can get a doctorate and still lack a lot of basic common sense. That seems to be the case here.
I told him how I’ve been feeling since he increased my doses of Trazodone and Lexapro last month. Yes, I know I can be complicated and confusing, so I guess it’s not totally his fault. He told me that I seem a bit “fuzzy” about how I’m feeling and that I should get more sleep because people on meds like these often need more sleep. I believe that, and I was glad to hear that my urge to go to bed at 10 every night has a valid, scientific explanation.
But in terms of my “fuzzy” description of how I’m feeling…. Shouldn’t he ask the right questions to help me describe it better? All he asked was “Are you depressed?” I said I was feeling lethargic, a lot of the time, and that I generally have a pessimistic attitude, knowing that those symptoms alone don’t describe depression, but I hoped they would prompt him to ask more questions. Instead, he said, “That’s not depressed!” Well, OK then. He said to give things another month and try to keep better track of WHEN I’m feeling lethargic. And to try to get more sleep, which would be super if I didn’t have an hour and 15 minute commute each day. Seven hours is about all I can fit in! Blah.
Anyway, that’s basically all I have to recap at this moment. But expect more posts this month, saying “I’m tired,” just so I can note when I feel that way.
I have to comment… Sorry about putting my $.02 every post! It’s just funny. As you know, I have seen maybe 15 different (more probably) mental health professionals ranging from grad students, to MD/PhD’s. Except for exactly three times, every time I leave an initial consultation, I say, ‘What an idiot.” I know. I seem a bit snobbish, I guess. I just think with the money I pay them, and with the education they have had, that maybe a clever, fresh perspective would be a nice change. It got to the point usually where I would suggest the next treatment approach. How about SSRI’s? No? Well, maybe I have a noradrenergic issue? No? Maybe it’s my dopamine levels… Blah, blah, blah… If I had only known about being a HSP then, I could have said, “Thanks, but no thanks” a hell of a lot earlier. NOTHING stopped the pain, the anxiety, the depression, nothing that is until I met my life coach, Jenna. She was the fresh perspective I was looking for. FINALLY! I’d bet you know more about your issues than the psychiatrist does! “Fuzzy” my ass. I’m sorry, but that is so insulting.
I so wish it wasn’t the case, but for all those doctoral degrees out there why are good doctors the exception rather than the rule?
I have to add that I was seeing one guy in California who has NO idea what to do with me and started asked me what my opinion was regarding which medication I should take next. Maybe I should be thankful that he was open enough to ask me for my opinion, but it also seemed like he should at least have SOME idea regarding what class of medications would be most appropriate given the number of patients that (I assume) he had seen, his degree in psychiatry, etc. (Sorry, now I’m just ranting.)
Sorry to butt in like this, but your doctor seems a little “fuzzy” to me. I do not think that people taking these medications have a physiological necessity for more sleep, it is the medicine itself causing the tiredness, not because you need it. Many doctors just go by a checklist of symptoms for depression, including psychiatrists. The problem is that many doctors have never taken the medications that they prescribe, so when you try to describe a strange feeling, it gets lumped into a broader category such as “lethargy” or “sensory disturbances”. A lot of these do not have explanations, and generally fade over time in treatment. Some stay however. Also in response to the poster who stated that their doctor openly discusses medications with them, you are very lucky! These kind of medications are not known for their exact effects that appear in everyone that takes them, and many doctors are not that open with their patients. Congratulations