Chemical Imbalances

[artsfartsyjanet]

Some people are deficient in iron, Vitamin D, calcium, whatever. Hormonally, there are people who have too high or too low adrenaline levels (responsible for energy... csb, correct me if I'm wrong) and too low in levels of serotonin... the "feel good drug" as I like to nickname it. I read that low/high adrenaline and low serotonin may be related to anxiety and/or depression as well as other diseases, disorders, syndromes, and may shorten one's lifespan if not confronted and managed. Do you or know anyone who may have chemical imbalances that affect their concentration, memory, motivation, moods, stress levels, and even your physical appearance? If so, how do you or anyone you know manage their condition(s)?

[moschikat]

Yep, I'm married to him.

Part of the reason why I was living in Irvine last year was because he wasn't taking his "meds" properly.

By "meds" I mean a little concoction of wellbutrin, depakote, ritalin, zynax, zoloft etc. His doctor was trying to make adjustments.

He was diagnosed with ADD/ADHD (attention deficit disorder / attention deficit hyperactive disorder), SAD (social anxiety disorder), and bi-polar disorder.

It takes a while to get the dosage right - and he has to keep going in to get tested.

From what I've observed - sometimes the medication can help the persisting problems, but sometimes (like in my case) - it might make the situation better.

[SunWuKong]

i know it's really not supposed to be so, but does anybody else find the acronym of SAD really funny?

[artsfartsyjanet]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Jun 8 2003, 12:42 PM
i know it's really not supposed to be so, but does anybody else find the acronym of SAD really funny?
I find it funny for a millisecond in my id. =)

Anyway, I do applied behavioral therapy and analyze children of autism. I have a particular client who takes several medications at night... trazadone, trileptal, zertec, geodon and something else I can't remember off the top of my head. Anyway, for a 10-year old, it's a heck of a lot of meds to take in the morning and night. The worse is when a new medicine is introduced or when a new med replaces another one b/c it may throw the person off balance for awhile before we see any stability.

[deez nuts]

don't know psychiatry in great detail. kinda slept my way through psychiatry rotations. makes me sleepy.

plus i don't understand the thread.

just a lot of prescription med listings and prescription cocktails.

anyways good luck!

[artsfartsyjanet]

It was after 1:30am when I posted this thread. Bare with me. Anyway back to the topic.... Do you know anyone on medication for a mental disorder? Do you think someone you know should be on medication? If so, why?

[deez nuts]

i, once introduced myself as jesus to a schizophrenic in patient when i was doing a patient history during pysch rotations in med school.

he later told the attending that he met jesus.

they increased the mg's on his meds.

i considered him a friend.

[Uncle Tat]

Most of these people who take all these medicines don't really need it.

[tvbdude]

I've taken alot of depression medicines. zoloft, luvox, pazil....and recently seroqiel. I say it doesn't help control my homicidal thoughts. I think it doesn't help because it was a few years after I was diagnosed with depression. It's better to take it right when you're diagnosed with it.

[deez nuts]

Originally posted by Uncle Tat@Jun 8 2003, 11:02 PM
Most of these people who take all these medicines don't really need it.
that is true to a certain degree.

they dispensing that shit like pez.

[artsfartsyjanet]

Originally posted by Uncle Tat@Jun 8 2003, 11:02 PM
Most of these people who take all these medicines don't really need it.
I know a lot of disorders are commonly misdiagnosed as well. Autistic children are often mistaken as having only ADHD and other behavioral disorders.... Ritilin is dispensed like pez in my opinion.

[kboy75]

My step-sister and a college friend both are diagnosed as schizophrenic/bi-polar.

They are both pretty severe cases. They are taking meds that consist of stuff like Lithium and Prozac. It isn't a light matter at all. Also, thye MUST take their meds, or they get violent and hallucinate. W/O them, they can't function socially, let alone hold down a job.


In the case of my step-sister, it really is SAD. Asian families really look at mental disorders in a hopeless way and just do not want to face up to it. Many families deny it. Western thinkning is to provide support and therapy, but Asian families simply think it is a lost cause and hae a lot of embarrassment from it. Such is the case with my step-sister. They just want to give her the drugs w/o and proper occupational or psychological therapy, so that she can just "stay out of trouble". She has no future, and is socially inept.

My college friend refuses to take his meds beacuse he believes they are a plot to brainwash him. He gets REALLY violent when he is off them for a while.

In both cases they were diagnosed in late teens and early/mid 20's. Before that they were normal people. Something traumatic happened to both that triggered the propensity for BPD (bi polar disorder).

Anyhow, I got sidetracked. Drugs are great to temper the highs and lows, but they are not enough. To function as a member of society, you need therapy (psychiatric and occupational) on TOP of the drugs.

[kboy75]

^Also, I forgot to mention that my step-sister gained a lot of weight as a side effect of the drugs, and her lack of activity just contributes more to her anxiety. I've had so many arguments with my mom and step-dad over her. It is just SAD.

luckily for my college friend his family supports him a lot, so he is doing OK, as long as he stays on his meds and goes to therapy.

[kimpossible]

Originally posted by kboy75@Jun 10 2003, 09:04 AM
^Also, I forgot to mention that my step-sister gained a lot of weight as a side effect of the drugs, and her lack of activity just contributes more to her anxiety. I've had so many arguments with my mom and step-dad over her. It is just SAD.
I feel you. My sister was prescribed anti-depressants like mad... right after inpatient and outpatient drug rehab. I had no way of contacting the therapist that was prescribing them at first but I did get a hold of him one day when he called my house and I let him have it. My sister was still drinking a good amount of alcohol, a heavy cigarette smoker and serious amounts of caffiene - all without any attempt to exercise or have any sort of healthy activity. So I asked the guy why he kept upping her dosage on her request instead of talking to her more seriously about the sheer amount of legal stimulants and depressants she was imbibing along with no exercise or activity. He just laughed nervously and said he can't control his patients activities. True, I agreed with him but dammit if the medication says alcohol must not be drunk inform her of the potential effects, just don't blindly increase the dosage.

I think this is a huge problem in American society, we're using branded pharmeceuticals in a vacuum to treat every possible condition without addressing deficient diets and mental/physical activity.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by kboy75@Jun 10 2003, 01:02 PM
My step-sister and a college friend both are diagnosed as schizophrenic/bi-polar.

They are both pretty severe cases. They are taking meds that consist of stuff like Lithium and Prozac. It isn't a light matter at all. Also, thye MUST take their meds, or they get violent and hallucinate. W/O them, they can't function socially, let alone hold down a job.


In the case of my step-sister, it really is SAD. Asian families really look at mental disorders in a hopeless way and just do not want to face up to it. Many families deny it. Western thinkning is to provide support and therapy, but Asian families simply think it is a lost cause and hae a lot of embarrassment from it. Such is the case with my step-sister. They just want to give her the drugs w/o and proper occupational or psychological therapy, so that she can just "stay out of trouble". She has no future, and is socially inept.

My college friend refuses to take his meds beacuse he believes they are a plot to brainwash him. He gets REALLY violent when he is off them for a while.

In both cases they were diagnosed in late teens and early/mid 20's. Before that they were normal people. Something traumatic happened to both that triggered the propensity for BPD (bi polar disorder).

Anyhow, I got sidetracked. Drugs are great to temper the highs and lows, but they are not enough. To function as a member of society, you need therapy (psychiatric and occupational) on TOP of the drugs.
my cousin is sort of like that. it's probably partially his upbringing (believe me, he had a very abnormal family life), but we see some of the same behaviours in his mother. he thinks that the government has these sound waves that only he can hear or something like that. i really don't know whether or not to believe him, because his integrity sometimes needs to be questioned based on some of the things he's done in the past. he has physically hurt his mother before. his younger brother has physically threatend his mother (with a butcher knife). the ironic thing is that his mother has done the same thing herself.

he's been prescribed medications that are specific to combatting psychotic behaviours. he actually had no idea what he was taking, and had me look up what those meds do after he quit taking them. i've seen him while he was on that shit, he was pretty much a zombie. at first, i was glad when he stopped taking those meds and returned to "normal", but then he started telling me about those sounds he's been hearing that the government sends out. so now i have no idea what to think.

[TyroneK(prettypretty)]

I know a lot of my friends think medication is for the weak. It's like admitting defeat or being a quitter. Very few people want to do it.

Plus, no one really knows how the medication is going to affect you. Many of my friends don't like the way they are when they're on meds. They can't concentrate. They can't study. They're unbearably hyper.

So they just don't take them.

Also, how used are we to actually being well? I always thought most of us are mentally ill, we're just ill within functional ranges. The idea of true normalcy and mental peace seems more like an ideal for the aspiring Bodhashitvas than normal people. Maybe I'm buyin too much into Freud.

[deez nuts]

daaaaaaaaaaaamn.

you all be the craziest.