Validation
I’ve been in to see my psychiatrist today, and let me tell you, I am feeling so much better even if at the same time I’m feeling soul-crushingly depressed.
First of all, I’d not seen her since September. I get the idea that the appointment gap was an oversight, and I expressed that I wasn’t mad at her for being a part of an overstretched and under-appreciated system. Dr. K commented that she wasn’t looking for appreciation, but anyways. We had a lot to cover with that sort of time gap, especially with side effects and increased depression and whatnot. The med plan devised for the moment was:
- Dropping the Depakote back to 500mg a day (though splitting it 250/250)
- Upping the sertraline (Zoloft) to 150mg a day from 100mg
- Leaving the quetiapine (Seroquel) alone for now, but…
((and this is the best bit))
That we’d discuss it when we reconvene next. In two weeks. Which is already booked. I could freaking weep, yo. While I totally try to stay cheerful and positive, this depression I’ve gotten into is bad. This is crisis-level shit for me, and my doc knows it enough to make sure she’s on the ball with getting me back on track. After all, I’ve got a family to be able to help take care of, and yeah… I’m not contributing much to that. I don’t know that things are going to pick up quickly over the next two weeks, but we’ll see.
ADHD
One of the things I have been fighting really freaking hard for over the past couple of years has been trying to get an ADHD diagnosis. I’ve been referred for it three times now. The first two were rejected, and the third we’ve not heard back on. I have higher hopes of it getting through now that my hospital is under a different mental health trust, one closer to the place they actually do ADHD diagnoses in this country. Dr. K pulled Dr. Z in to our appointment to discuss how to progress with that; in addition to being the head doctor locally, he’s also reputedly an expert on ADHD. I was pleased to find that our knowledge base was more similar than it was last we spoke (which was like, two and a half years ago). There has been a lot of new research let out, especially in regards to women, ADHD, and aging, so he was significantly happier counting me as assessed and ready to be properly treated/medicated by the right people. So while it’s still not the diagnosis that I need, it’s finally starting to feel like it’s getting somewhere.
So Lucky
As I commented at the top, the NHS is stretched paper-thin by a disgusting government hoping to sell off prized national institutions to their little rich crony friends. They make a lot of bleating noises about establishing parity of care while cutting funding for mental health treatment in actual terms year on year. While yes, I did suffer a rather disturbing lapse of primary touching base between now and back in September, I’m still luckier than most. I’m in the system. I have a doctor who cares passionately about making sure that I am in as good of mental health as possible. Yeah, it could be better, and I had to deal with a lot of bullshit before I got to this point I am at now… but at least it feels like I’m taken seriously and that I don’t have to wail and gnash my teeth and pull out my hair to be taken seriously.
*sighs tiredly* Right y’all, I’m off. It’s my beloved best-husband’s birthday if any of you guys want to wish him a happy one, and I (as usual) hope that all of y’all out there are doing well.
<3
Wow, you have to see a specialist to get an AD(H)D diagnosis? The “h” is in parentheses because hyperactivity is often not a feature of inattention/distractability disorders in adults.
My own shrink, who recently retired, has been after me for years to treat my very obvious ADD. I don’t like the way stimulants make me feel. I also don’t like being a total space case, but I also don’t like the way stimulants make me feel. I have enough issues with anxiety without that.
Good luck getting the diagnosis and treatment you need!
And happy birthday to your hubby, and many more, in good health!
Yeah, they do require specialist diagnosis. One of my besties was diagnosed as a child in the States, and even with that in hand, she cannot get anyone to give her medication to get it back in line, which in turn is making her bipolar significantly worse. Her pdoc/gp can give her meds for bipolar without proper diagnosis though! Weird, eh?
I, on the other hand, wasn’t diagnosed as a kid because n-mom told me I was making it up when I (literally) begged on hands and knees to get it looked at because I was having trouble functioning. And yes, the hyper has reduced over the years and the inattentive has gotten worse, which (I feel) is starting to push into dangerous territory. So it was a relief that the head psych was on the same page with the latest on females/adhd/inattentive/aging and so forth, because last time I talked to him we weren’t quite able to agree, though he wasn’t against making the referral either. Really though, at this time I would quite happily just take pills and go away, because I know from past experience that they do help me. I shouldn’t know that they do, but I had a friend who would give his meds away due to the fact he was stick-thin and wanted to be able to eat some days. My ability to focus and stay awake on his dexadrine was amazing.
happy birthday Hubby! and yay to your getting the treatment that you need and truly deserve! xoxo