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raeanna74 · 07-01-2005, 05:48 PM

Just a quick note as to my experience with medication for mental disorder. Hubby for one had a lot of depression following his head injury and coma. Much of which was certain because of the physical trauma and dealing with time missing from his life where he had no memory of it (i.e. was comatose.). Also he was taking dilantin, antisiezure medication, that slowed his whole system down, not just his brain and he was gaining weight rapidly despite efforts to the contrary. He spoke to a Dr. who promptly gave him Zoloft. I normally check all the medications that we are given for contraindications and interactions with other medications. I failed to do so with this one and wish badly that I hadn't. He started out with a low dose, then after about a week it was to be doubled. The day after the dose was doubled he had a siezure. THEN I checked the contraindications:
"Before taking Zoloft, tell your doctor if you have had seizures; You may not be able to take Zoloft, or you may need a dosage adjustment or special monitoring during treatment."
I think the Dr was a bit quick to prescribe it without suggesting any counseling or anything else. It actually caused hubby a second siezure putting him in the "siezure disorder" classification and putting him on antisiezure medication for the rest of his life.

Another example of overmedicating. My Dad had a great deal of trouble with depression. He was put on many pain meds for his lupus as well as multiple antidepressants. He got worse and worse to the point of about monthly being arrested for attempted suicide or being taken to the hospital for the treatment because he'd attempted it. Finally he was sick of all the screwing around. No one wanted to deal with his problems and just wanted to medicate them away. He finally decided to take control, dropped all the medications with his wife's and pastor's close support. It was difficult for a while as he weaned himself off but they were strong supporters for him. When he was finally off everything and only taking mild over the counter pain relievers he wasn't dealing with the depression nearly as badly and the pain was somewhat bareable in contrast to the mental anguish he did not have to deal with anymore. It's difficult to say what particular medication or combination was so detrimental to him but since he is better off it's obvious there was a problem and the Dr's were unwilling to work with him.

The biggest problem is that when Dr's are presented with psychological problems it is somewhat out of their realm of practice. Those that I know would much rather deal with concrete physical problems and are afraid to even delve into possible physical causes of the psycholigical trouble. SOOO they medicate. Some people are happy with that and don't bother the Dr anymore. For those that aren't - they need close supervision and patience from their Dr to solve the problems that are threatening their peace of mind.

07-01-2005, 05:48 PM	#16 (permalink)
raeanna74 I'm not a blonde! I'm knot! I'm knot! I'm knot! Location: Upper Michigan	Just a quick note as to my experience with medication for mental disorder. Hubby for one had a lot of depression following his head injury and coma. Much of which was certain because of the physical trauma and dealing with time missing from his life where he had no memory of it (i.e. was comatose.). Also he was taking dilantin, antisiezure medication, that slowed his whole system down, not just his brain and he was gaining weight rapidly despite efforts to the contrary. He spoke to a Dr. who promptly gave him Zoloft. I normally check all the medications that we are given for contraindications and interactions with other medications. I failed to do so with this one and wish badly that I hadn't. He started out with a low dose, then after about a week it was to be doubled. The day after the dose was doubled he had a siezure. THEN I checked the contraindications: "Before taking Zoloft, tell your doctor if you have had seizures; You may not be able to take Zoloft, or you may need a dosage adjustment or special monitoring during treatment." I think the Dr was a bit quick to prescribe it without suggesting any counseling or anything else. It actually caused hubby a second siezure putting him in the "siezure disorder" classification and putting him on antisiezure medication for the rest of his life. Another example of overmedicating. My Dad had a great deal of trouble with depression. He was put on many pain meds for his lupus as well as multiple antidepressants. He got worse and worse to the point of about monthly being arrested for attempted suicide or being taken to the hospital for the treatment because he'd attempted it. Finally he was sick of all the screwing around. No one wanted to deal with his problems and just wanted to medicate them away. He finally decided to take control, dropped all the medications with his wife's and pastor's close support. It was difficult for a while as he weaned himself off but they were strong supporters for him. When he was finally off everything and only taking mild over the counter pain relievers he wasn't dealing with the depression nearly as badly and the pain was somewhat bareable in contrast to the mental anguish he did not have to deal with anymore. It's difficult to say what particular medication or combination was so detrimental to him but since he is better off it's obvious there was a problem and the Dr's were unwilling to work with him. The biggest problem is that when Dr's are presented with psychological problems it is somewhat out of their realm of practice. Those that I know would much rather deal with concrete physical problems and are afraid to even delve into possible physical causes of the psycholigical trouble. SOOO they medicate. Some people are happy with that and don't bother the Dr anymore. For those that aren't - they need close supervision and patience from their Dr to solve the problems that are threatening their peace of mind. __________________ "Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama My Karma just ran over your Dogma.