Hi,
I saw the Internist today.
Back in July she told me to go to the lab and come back in a month ( -- I am following my own time line )
I had gone to the lab for blood work about 3 weeks ago.

Today I told her about
--depression
--a neuro symptom or two that I don't want to talk about here at the moment


She has twice now (out of the three times I've seen her), recommend a psychiatrist nearby. I told her I have one already.

When she heard about my sleep problem today she thought that Seroquel might work.

My meds (Klonopin and Verapamil) don't make sense to her for bipolar. I explained that I have have a sleep phobia (and hence the Klonopin).
It's hard explaining things to people.

She did mention that the depression might be hormonal and that she could test hormones but I think I might go to the gyn for that.

She was very kind.
Overall I felt good about seeing her.
But I'm amazed that docs (the hospital neuro wanted to write a script too) are happy to throw med suggestions at me.

Blood work showed that vitamin D is very low.
She said to take 1000 per day. I reminded her that it interferes with the Verapamil. She said to take the D at a different time.

I think I read that vit D can affect mood. I need to read more about that.



M.

seroquel can be useful for sleep and agitation/anxiety if used during the day.
somehow it is being marketed for treating depression which I don't understand that at all.
I am glad you like your internist.
yes doctors like to prescribe stuff.
bizi

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/...seroquel_N.htm

not happy about the risks for diabetes....

I think they said it could be used as an add on if your antidepressant was not working.... kind of like adding on abilify.....strictly for depression.... but lots of people take it to sleep at night.

Bizi,
I think she was suggesting to take Seroquel for sleep.
She even said that it was not an anti-depressant.
I wish mdocs would yield to pdocs when it comes to meds.

And I wish that they would honor our decisions.

She talked about how maybe I might need to be on better meds. I probably do. But I have a pdoc of about 7 years that will work with me IF I tell him to adjust something.

Can't she just let it rest?
Does she question her other patients about their specialists?


And my sleep issue is life long. Another new med is not going to make a bit of difference -- except to cause more anxiety by talking to me about it.


M.

i would let you pdoc advise / propose it, ESPECIALLY because he is also a neuro and might be able to help peel apart what could be from depression and what is not. obviously i cannot comment since i do not know what these mysterious sx are.

as for Seroquel, i took it and didn't care for it.
- link with diabetes (about the same as zyprexa)
- weight gain (not as bad as zyprexa)
- SLEEP DISTURBANCES (like you need those!)

your mdoc is obviously not up on meds for bipolar if she doesn't understand your meds because Verapamil is recognized as a mood stabilizer. she clearly does not know that even though it is in the dang literature. Klonopin is often given for anxiety, to aid sleep, and as a coadjuvant in mood stabilization. the only thing you don't have on board is an AD and we all know those should be taken only if really needed. so now i come back around to the only person who could evaluate this / propose it is your psych.

i didn't think it was a bad idea to talk with your mdoc about this stuff, since you had the appt anyway, but the outcome would indicate to me she lacks the necessary knowledge about the diversity of bipolar presentation as well as meds, and does not seem to be "getting" your sleep thing either.

i really would see your pdoc/neuro. and talk about these neuro sx with him AS WELL as the depression and see what he thinks. he may OR MAY NOT propose other meds, or a change in meds. if he does, you can choose to go with it or you can tell him you don't feel comfortable. and hopefully he will be ok with that. i think you can gain - at least some perspective on your situation - by having a talk with him. he has the right preparation and as you said, will work with you. you might start out letting him know you are not really up for new meds, but are having neuro and psych issues and would like to see what he thinks of your situation, and whether he has suggestions.

i don't mean to poopoo your mdoc... she may be good for other things but if she doesn't 'get' your current treatment... then... hello? Verapamil IS known as a mood stabilizer for bipolar where other meds don't work, duh. i'm not in a great mood here, forgive the tone. feeling cruddy.

((( hugs )))

~ waves ~ from the darkness

seroquel turned me into a zombie-it didn't help my sleep
i take vitamin d but read that have even done tests with 40,000. I take a few thousand and it supposedly takes months to work.
I am trying some homeopathic combinations. I think they are giving me four hours of straight sleep...I just started. I got desperate. I got them from 1-800-homeopathy
bobby

Derrick takes a very small dosage of Seroquel. He was first put on it for hallucinations. And now it also helps his anxiety.

Donna

that stuff GAVE me hallucinations!

not usually regular ones... only once, anyway.

most were hypnagogic/hypnapompic kind associated with sleep paralysis at a certain dosage. higher dosages felled me like a tree. lower would not keep my thoughts "clear" of paranoia.



give me fullpage ad for Seroquel... and i'd use it for target-practice.

~ waves ~

I've been on Seroquel high dose for about a year now...

1. MAJOR WEIGHT GAIN... over 60lbs.
2. Doesn't help with my sleep... I sleep but wake up several times during the night and feel like a zombie during the day.
3. If I don't take it for what ever reason.... My mind DOES NOT shut down!!!
4. I'm sure there are other things going on because of this med but my memory is terrible so if it's not happening at the moment I can't remember.

Mari... you mentioned sleep phobia...I battle every night as I am petrified to fall asleep... this is also true during the day when I am needing a nap. Can you tell me how you feel with your sleep phobia... I thought I was just being "weird".


Abbie

Dear Waves, Beth, Bobby, Donna, Abbie,
I know not to take this kind of med advice from an internist. Although she wrote down Seroquel on a her script pad for me to consider when I see either my own pdoc or the one she recommended who is "very good" she said.
I will not take her meds. I know that.
I was sort of venting here. I hope that I did not upset anyone.

Overall I think the doc is better than any mdoc I've seen in many years. She is a little jumpy in her delivery of words /ideas and seems to be brainstorming at the same time she is talking. In other words, she is not a deliberate speaker. She talks fast and skips around and seems to think fast / throw out ideas while she is still finishing up the last idea. I am ok with that.

She is also seems to be aggressive and I am ok with that. She ordered more blood work and wants me back in a month.


[QUOTE=Abasaki;581070]
Mari... you mentioned sleep phobia...I battle every night as I am petrified to fall asleep... this is also true during the day when I am needing a nap. Can you tell me how you feel with your sleep phobia... I thought I was just being "weird".

Dear Abbie,
I am sorry that you go through that.
My mother told me once that she used to worry that I did not sleep enough as an infant. (I was her first born). She used to recheck the baby books and worry because I did not sleep. (My Mom has anxiety issues herself.)

I don't really know what is going on with the sleep except that in 20 years of treatment no pdoc or tdoc (Traditional or Non-Traditional) has found help for me. The pdocs call it a tdoc problem and the tdocs call it a pdoc problem.
I recently started calling it a phobia because that is what it is.

And I know that most people (docs) cannot understand. It is hard to explain.

Abbie, I can sleep a little bit better in the daytime.
I am very much afraid of the dark,
I would prefer to sleep in the daytime.
When I was very ill, I used to wait until dawn to go to bed. I felt better knowing the sun was over the horizon.


I actually cannot write about this at night.
I'd rather write about this during the day.
Essentially, I am very afraid of sleep.


M.