Dismissed

I had another appointment with the APN on Friday. She took my blood pressure – which was a bit high, both for me and based on the health guidelines I’m aware of – and said it was “fine.”

Then she asked how I’ve been. I told her about being tired and unmotivated to do anything; sometimes I don’t even feel motivated to play Skyrim. I tried to put it in the context of everything that’s been going on: the stress of the holidays and then everything just stopping. I told her when I’m very depressed there’s less anxiety because I don’t want to do anything so there’s nothing to be anxious about, but when I’m less depressed and starting to want to do things I feel anxious about them. (To be honest I’m not sure that’s entirely true. I experience different kinds of anxiety. But I didn’t express this to her.) I also told her about the ominous voice twisting all the imagery in the guided meditation into things I found threatening. I told her I’m both excited and anxious about my classes starting next week: excited because I’ll have some structure in my life and anxious because of the responsibilities. (Not to mention my social anxiety.)

As I was talking about this stuff, she was making notes on the computer (facing away from me). Then she looked back through her notes from past appointments and the information I’d provided in the intake paperwork before our first meeting. She weighed me and told me I’m a candidate for sleep apnea. She told me to go get blood work done so she could see if there is a problem with my thyroid or something (past blood work has ruled that out, but I haven’t been able to show her the printout to prove it). She also called a sleep center for me and handed me the phone, basically forcing me to make an appointment for a sleep study.

Okay, I’ve been dragging my heels, I can kind of understand her being a bit heavy handed. But the next thing she did utterly terrified me.

She told me to stop taking the Lamictal/lamotrigine. She said I’m “sensitive” to it and it doesn’t seem to be helping. “There’s no point in taking medication just to take it.”

That’s it. No plan for slowly reducing my dose over time to minimize withdrawal symptoms. No concern over what effects suddenly stopping Lamictal might have on me. Granted, I’m only taking 75 mg, but we’ve worked our way up to that dose very slowly. If I’m “sensitive” to it, doesn’t that increase my chances of being “sensitive” to suddenly not taking it?

I honestly don’t know if it’s helping. Maybe it isn’t. Maybe it’s wreaking havoc on my central nervous system and I should stop taking it immediately. She didn’t explain why she thinks I’m sensitive to it, and gave a very simplistic explanation of why I should stop (which suggested she views me as medication-seeking). Her tone sounded dismissive to me, so I didn’t feel comfortable asking questions. I couldn’t think quickly enough to formulate them and felt like she wouldn’t listen anyway.

Maybe it is helping and my depression would be a lot worse without it. I feel like she’s not taking my life circumstances into account. I was doing great up to the wedding, then suddenly all my loved ones had gone back to their own lives, nothing meaningful had changed, and I no longer had something important to work on. I couldn’t sleep for a week or so while Mom was having work done on the roof. Then the holidays were a blur of excitement, socializing, not getting enough sleep, and thinking my godmother was going to die. Then, once more, everyone left and everything stopped – except worrying about my godmother. The floor dropped out from under me – and my pending courses for the Spring semester are looming over me.

The courses are the thing that has me the most concerned about stopping my medication. I’d like to have a bit of stability going into such a big lifestyle change; the last thing I need is unpredictable changes in my body chemistry and mood at the same time I’m going into a frightening and challenging situation. The last time I took these courses I had to drop them because they were triggering self harm and suicidal urges. I don’t feel safe trying to take them again without some kind of safety net. (I should probably talk to my instructors about this.) At least taking medication is something I’ve been able to do with some consistency; I feel like I’m doing something to help myself!

I suppose I could possibly enjoy the same effect from continuing to take my supplements (omega-3, vitamin d, and a vitamin b complex with folic acid and vitamin c), but I really don’t want to give up on the Lamictal just yet. Wakana has been urging me to take medication for so long (since before I started this blog), I hate the idea of finding that yet another one doesn’t work. I don’t want to start from scratch again…

During the meeting with the APN, my mood went from 1) low energy, depressed and a bit anxious, to 2) slightly higher energy and a bit irritable, to 3) more depressed, frustrated, and wanting to cut myself. She ended the appointment after telling me to stop taking the Lamictal; she didn’t even ask if I had any questions or concerns or anything else I wanted to talk about. I feel like she thinks I’m not really depressed or only mildly depressed and that I’m being lazy.

(Much of our conversation was her giving me advice: to make healthier food choices, move around more, make a schedule for myself, and give myself a to-do list with simple tasks that help me feel good. Some of these are lifestyle changes I want to make anyway and think would be helpful, but in general it sounds like stuff laypeople say to people with depression because they don’t understand it.)

I left and made sure I have future appointments pre-booked, but thought about not coming back. In an ideal world I would find a better psychiatrist, but with my insurance that would be a nightmare. And I’d have to start the whole medication dance all over again! When I was halfway across the parking lot I thought about going back to ask about reducing my dose slowly, but decided I wanted to consult with someone before trying to advocate for myself. I had just utterly failed at advocating for myself and was in no state to do so successfully.

I talked to someone I know who works with adult psych patients and has bipolar himself, and with his wife who has a good amount of medical knowledge – including potential effects of different drugs and what various symptoms might indicate. Together they helped me decide to continue taking my current dose of the Lamictal until I’m able to talk to the APN again. They encouraged me to talk to Wakana about it and have her talk to the APN as well. My friend with bipolar also made an important point: my insurance might not approve the sleep study right away, or in time for our next appointment, or ever. I can’t wait, untreated, while they bathe in red tape (as I have been for my tooth – brief update: I have an appointment for a periodontal consultation and another to get a root canal).

At the very least, I want a better understanding of her thought process. I want her to sit down and look me in the eye and answer my questions until I feel confident in whatever course of action she prescribes. Is that so much to ask? If I have to go off Lamictal, I feel much safer reducing my dose slowly with a plan we’ve come up with together. If possible, I intend to have Fox there with me. He’ll be there for my future scheduled appointments, at least!

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