Posted by Fivefires on August 17, 2008, at 15:52:07
In reply to Re: Keep us up to date!!! xoxoxo » Fivefires, posted by Phillipa on August 11, 2008, at 20:18:51
> Five Fires did you see a pdoc in the hospital how long inpatient?>
I went inpatient for four nights. Assigned pdoc never met. Knew soon, this pdoc not for me. Asked for another but same showed up next day. Didn't care for her bedside manner or her plan.
I didn't go there to detox. At this same facility there is a ward for this, w/ more medical staffing, monitoring, and meds used for discomfort, etc., so if I'd been there for detox off all meds (I was told you must d.c. all meds not just some of them.(?), I'd have gone to this unit?) This wasn't why I wanted to go inp. at this time.
I went there to see a diff' pdoc and maybe get a second opinion re: my depression medication regimen. But, this pdoc zero'd right in on my anxiety meds, which I didn't want touched! I have great fear since body shutdown 2005.
After Klonopin cold turkeyed and rec'd an email asking me to remove the few belongings left from what used to be my home, I suffered a real horrible shutdown, .. saved by Valium.
Anyway, back to now.
I was on Xanax-XR 1mg a.m. (Why does bottle say 150mg? I thought it was 1mg.) and Xanax 2mg q.i.d. My pdoc here had added the Xanax-XR about 6mos ago or more; not sure; lose track of time.
Pdocs here are against two benzodiazepines. I'd asked my pdoc here if I could do Klonopin to keep a steady undercurrent hold on my anxiety beneath Xanax 2mg b.i.d., but since he wouldn't use to diff. benzos, he used the XR form of Xanax.
Anyway that's what I was on for my anxiety when I arrived inp. now two wks past.
What pdoc did was cold turkey me off all Xanax and prescribe 1mg Klonopin t.i.d., then last day q.i.d. I was thinking ... wait this is wrong; too much of a difference even though they are both benzos; they're different benzos.
This is all she did and I just suffered.
I'd asked about augmenting the Effexor-XR w/ something, perhaps amitriptyline or nortriptyline, and was going to name a couple more (Remeron, Lamictal), when she said, 'I'd never give either of those to a suicidal person'. At one point when she kept looking at her paper and asking me questions, I asked her to please look AT ME. (Hate it went they do this!) At one point she said 'well if you don't want to do this, I don't see any reason for you to be here' and, I responded 'that's not a very nice thing to say to an ill patient' (You guys proud of me?)
Let's see, I was explaining how I was being treated and I think it is because of the following:.
It is very hard to get inp. here. You're always told to go to an ER. (I have before. Once EMTs said 'you know they'll just send you home'. Other times THEY DID!) You must be suicidal, homicidal, or psychotic. So, I went straight to the facility. I'd been calling for mos and always told 'no beds'. I sort of played 'the s card' and complained of the major depression not relieved by Effexor-XR alone. Think playing 'the s card' was what got me in. I know it's awful, but here that's the only criteria anymore, but as you've read above, it then interfered with treatment, I think.
I knew a pdoc there and asked for this pdoc as had seen before and was very good.
Oh, my pdoc here had added in the Xanax-XR, whoops, already said above I believe, maybe not, about 9mos ago; dunno for sure.
Reminds me of when pdoc at hospital said 'there's no difference in 1mg of Xanax-XR and 1mg regular Xanax. I thought 'Whose the crazy one here?'
Day before I left, AMA, inp., techs reported me sleeping in afternoon, which I was. Pdoc attributed it to the Klonopin. It was because I'd not opted to take my Provigil (Whoops forgot to mention to you all I'm on this as well.)because was suffering such horrible anxiety from this benzo withdrawal and I felt the Provigil might worsen my breathing and heart rate etc. But did she bother to ask me why I slept; no. Did she look in my chart to see I'd not taken Provigil; nope.
The pdoc changed the Klonopin regimen to 1mg 1/2mg 1mg 1/2mg a day.
I came apart at the seams!! I wrote about it, my request for titration off Xanax denied, request for another doctor not followed up, the suffering caused by this benzo switch; I signed and requested pdoc sign, which pdoc did, but docs don't seem to care anymore if they get a complaint here and there. I have it for my own security if should need in future.
I said 'I want to be discharged now'. I was discharged AMA. I couldn't wait to get out of there and back on my pdoc's regimen.
Not sure if said above: Pdoc refused my request titrate down off Xanax, and, for another pdoc. Asked for another pdoc; still same pdoc next day.
It was after being on Klonopin and having it cold-turkeyed in 2005, I had a 'body shut down' and was inpatient, and saved by Valium. (I'm not sure if I said this above.)
>Sorry you're feeling so weak did they the hospital offer any explanation for that?>
No they didn't. I got my labs and they had circled about five things and they didn't even discuss them with me. They didn't see to it that I was eating properly. Treated me like I wasn't important enough to spend much time on!(?)
But, like I posted on social, my mind telling my body to S L O W D O W N F O R A W H I L E, I think hits the nail on the head.
Ya' know what though? I feel better having arrived at this knowledge. It sort of gives me hope. It's as if I just need a rest.
My pdoc has me back on Xanax, but now,
Xanax-XR t.i.d.
Xanax 1mg t.i.d.I'm feeling better, but, that's with the Provigil (Oops forgot to mention above.). This scares me a bit. My pdoc didn't want me to d.c. it at this time though.
And, I'm so lucky. He's seeing me again in 'one month'!!! That's a big deal when you're used to every 90days.
Maybe the hospital stay did 'shake things up a bit L'.
I feel like my cognition isn't too great, so let me know pls, constructive criticism, whatever, if I leave something out, forget something any of you asked me to address.
I'd rather my cognition a bit impaired than the continual hyperventilating!
>Love Phillipa>
Tks Phillipa and all.
Wholuvs&tksuall?
5f
poster:Fivefires
thread:841513
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20080816/msgs/846856.html