I met with my old pdoc today and my appointment went very, very well.
He began by asking me how I've been doing since our last appointment. I said
although I was hearing voices due to my friend's death, I haven't rapid cycled or felt severely depressed. I also said I haven't heard any voices since
starting Risperdal. He was very pleased to hear this and said that it sounds as if my moods are stabilizing nicely. He was also happy to learn that I didn't
cycle into mania, agitation or severe depression during my last hypomanic episode 2 weeks ago and feels that the Clonazepam I take to help control my rapid cycling is responsible for this. He was happy to hear that I've been able to decrease my dose of Clonazepam from 2 tablets 3x/day to only once a day in the morning.
We also discussed his recommendation for me to find another pdoc. I told him
that I felt very comfortable with him as a pdoc and really didn't want to see
another pdoc if I didn't have to. I mentioned the fact that my tdoc and I plan to work on stress management techniques as well as techniques to help control my anger. I said that I've never learned how to control my anger or manage stress before, so learning these techniques will do me a world of good in the long run. He agreed wholeheartedly.
He apologized for recommending that I see another pdoc and said that his reason for doing this was because he did not know how to treat my voices since I was already on a high dose of Risperdal. He also said I made the right decision to call him immediately when I started hearing voices so that it did not turn into full blown mania or psychotic depression. He reassured me that if this happens again, I am to call him ASAP so that we can address my symptoms further. While he didn't know what that would entail, he did say that we could always try a typical (older) antipsychotic like Haldol to see if it helps.
When I asked if he could continue seeing me, he said I was more than welcome to and apologized again for saying what he did. He also said he didn't mean to imply that my case of bipolar was impossible to treat -- just that treating my auditory hallucinations may be difficult since I'm already on a high dose of Risperdal.
Overall, he thinks I'm doing very well on my meds and is pleased about the fact that I haven't rapid cycled into mania, agitation or severe depression since I saw him last.
He thinks I have an excellent chance of remaining stable especially if I learn
coping mechanisms for dealing with stress and anger.
I'm relieved my appointment went as well as it did.
It's good to know that my pdoc and I are on good professional terms with each other and there is no longer anything for me to worry about.
__________________
Atypical Bipolar I Disorder with Rapid Cycling
Meds:
Depakote 1500mg
Prozac 40mg
Risperdal 1mg titrating to 6mg/day
Klonopin .5mg (2x/day)
Trazodone 100mg or 200mg PRN
Last edited by dreams in neon; 04-13-2009 at 11:56 AM.
So far, so good. I'm tired today though and feel like taking a nap, but I worry that if I do, I won't be able to sleep tonight. I don't know why I'm so tired since I slept for 8 hours last night.
__________________
Atypical Bipolar I Disorder with Rapid Cycling
Meds:
Depakote 1500mg
Prozac 40mg
Risperdal 1mg titrating to 6mg/day
Klonopin .5mg (2x/day)
Trazodone 100mg or 200mg PRN
Dreams... sleep is no longer in my vocabulary... what is this sleep you speak of? lol, maybe 4 hours a night, but there are still times that i'm still awake to hear my moms alarm go off.
__________________
anxiety disorder
severe depression
ONH and nystagmus causing legal blindness
hypothyroid
cortizone deficient
Dreams... sleep is no longer in my vocabulary... what is this sleep you speak of? lol, maybe 4 hours a night, but there are still times that i'm still awake to hear my moms alarm go off.
Have you talked to your pdoc about raising your Trazodone dosage?
I wouldn't be able to sleep if it were not for my 100mg dose when I feel level and 300mg dose when I'm manic or can't sleep. Without this med, I'd never get any sleep.
__________________
Atypical Bipolar I Disorder with Rapid Cycling
Meds:
Depakote 1500mg
Prozac 40mg
Risperdal 1mg titrating to 6mg/day
Klonopin .5mg (2x/day)
Trazodone 100mg or 200mg PRN
I will, thank you a ton, let us know how Wednesday goes as well. <hugs>
You're welcome! <hugs back>
I will definitely let you know how Wednesday's appointment goes.
I plan to talk to him about the situation I mentioned on AD as well as hypnosis for my voices. I'm interested in learning more about hypnosis so I can determine if this is something I'd like to try as a means of dealing with my voices.
__________________
Atypical Bipolar I Disorder with Rapid Cycling
Meds:
Depakote 1500mg
Prozac 40mg
Risperdal 1mg titrating to 6mg/day
Klonopin .5mg (2x/day)
Trazodone 100mg or 200mg PRN
Last edited by dreams in neon; 04-13-2009 at 02:09 PM.
I met with my old pdoc today and my appointment went very, very well.
He began by asking me how I've been doing since our last appointment. I said
although I was hearing voices due to my friend's death, I haven't rapid cycled or felt severely depressed. I also said I haven't heard any voices since
starting Risperdal. He was very pleased to hear this and said that it sounds as if my moods are stabilizing nicely. He was also happy to learn that I didn't
cycle into mania, agitation or severe depression during my last hypomanic episode 2 weeks ago and feels that the Clonazepam I take to help control my rapid cycling is responsible for this. He was happy to hear that I've been able to decrease my dose of Clonazepam from 2 tablets 3x/day to only once a day in the morning.
We also discussed his recommendation for me to find another pdoc. I told him
that I felt very comfortable with him as a pdoc and really didn't want to see
another pdoc if I didn't have to. I mentioned the fact that my tdoc and I plan to work on stress management techniques as well as techniques to help control my anger. I said that I've never learned how to control my anger or manage stress before, so learning these techniques will do me a world of good in the long run. He agreed wholeheartedly.
He apologized for recommending that I see another pdoc and said that his reason for doing this was because he did not know how to treat my voices since I was already on a high dose of Risperdal. He also said I made the right decision to call him immediately when I started hearing voices so that it did not turn into full blown mania or psychotic depression. He reassured me that if this happens again, I am to call him ASAP so that we can address my symptoms further. While he didn't know what that would entail, he did say that we could always try a typical (older) antipsychotic like Haldol to see if it helps.
When I asked if he could continue seeing me, he said I was more than welcome to and apologized again for saying what he did. He also said he didn't mean to imply that my case of bipolar was impossible to treat -- just that treating my auditory hallucinations may be difficult since I'm already on a high dose of Risperdal.
Overall, he thinks I'm doing very well on my meds and is pleased about the fact that I haven't rapid cycled into mania, agitation or severe depression since I saw him last.
He thinks I have an excellent chance of remaining stable especially if I learn
coping mechanisms for dealing with stress and anger.
I'm relieved my appointment went as well as it did.
It's good to know that my pdoc and I are on good professional terms with each other and there is no longer anything for me to worry about.
dreams,
am delighted for you. what a relief to able to see pdoc that you are comfortable with and he sounds like a keeper. that must be a 'load off your mind'. am also pleased that your meds are working so well for you that must also make you feel better and it sounds good that pdoc was so positive and agreed to see you again.
am delighted for you. what a relief to able to see pdoc that you are comfortable with and he sounds like a keeper. that must be a 'load off your mind'. am also pleased that your meds are working so well for you that must also make you feel better and it sounds good that pdoc was so positive and agreed to see you again.
I told my pdoc that the next time I hear voices I plan to go IP and will not call him. I think I may have caught him off guard since I'm already on a high dose of Risperdal and he probably didn't know what else to do. I can understand that since I've already taken Geodon and many of the older antipsychotics have alot of side effects.
My next appointment will be in June (unless I run into any problems before then) given the fact that I'm doing well.
It will be interesting to see how well Clonazepam helps control my rapid cycling over the next several months since I tend to be manic and hypomanic during this time of year.
__________________
Atypical Bipolar I Disorder with Rapid Cycling
Meds:
Depakote 1500mg
Prozac 40mg
Risperdal 1mg titrating to 6mg/day
Klonopin .5mg (2x/day)
Trazodone 100mg or 200mg PRN
Re: Today's Pdoc Appointment 
