Let`s talk about Bipolar

sometime 2nd best option is best option

I hope it all works out satisfactory @bipolarbunny

its is frustrating! I can feel myself getting annoyed by the system after reading your post

those with less health literacy need advocacy and peer support in this situation

peacefulness and calm all round

Im sure this is fuel/fodder for your beautiful poetry. Hugs to you

@rivergal Absolutely my friend, I said in my email to my Tdoc, you just KNOW there's going to be a poem about this! Lol.

@Olga Thanks my friend it really helps to know that and yes I think that will be my next move. I'm sick of playing Russian roulette with meds and no safety net. xx

BB 🐰💙

Hi @bipolarbunny sorry you've got this extra battlefront of blood pressure medication versus big L. I'm not on the latter but getting the blood pressure medication right took time and ongoing monitoring and care from gp which I doubt you'd get from pdoc. The doses had to be reviewed and I had to buy a home BP monitor. Some antipsychs cause low BP on standing. And some BP meds are in combination with cholesterol meds. So BP measurement, regular blood tests and ECGs etc have all been part of the picture. The accessibility of the gp was very important in the early stages and I was sent from there to ER more than once with very low BP before it was all ironed out. It was a bit scary and the initial extremely high BP had also been risky.

So your pdoc is actually doing the right thing but it's good your pharmacist is also on the case. I was also referred to a cardiologist. Sometimes the medicos really earn their fees, it's easy for us mere mortals to underestimate the complexity of it all. Good luck and keep striving.

Hmmmmmm @bipolarbunny I have a feeling the big L is what had my son in emergency on Monday night!!!!

Maybe @Anastasia but mostly it is not a one off med ... patients are put on it very carefully after a lot, and ongoing blood tests.

Mere mortals wearily tread

while DocGods lose their cred... a couplet ... could it go somewhere ...??

I used to want to write @bipolarbunny but somehow was never good enough to get support or good feedback. Too many horror stories that people did not want to know, so I gave myself to the forum. Know the craft exercises etc ...published only 5 poems ... did 4 years of lit ... but a book would no longer heal the pain, and I met peep on the vanity publishing ride ... ....

maybe I said the wrong thing ....but I used to tow the party line for the good of all etc ...

I feel cheated by a lot of docs ... too many burial plots .... too many people socialise on the word of their doc in a dominating manner ... so it is now a sacred cow ... that for me, should be burned..

@Dimity Hi my friend, thanks for your input. I guess the problem was the current blood pressure meds I were (are) on are working perfectly. When I saw my gp she was how can I say, unusually stressed trying to find something that would work effectively with the big L, and seemed concerned that I was going off a blood pressure med that was working perfectly for me, but at the same time she was concerned for my mental health too. And it looks like there isn't anything that will be safe to work with the big L according to the pharmacist who was deeply concerned. Conundrum being try the big L risk toxicity, rule out the big L because I do have hypertension and I do have to be on blood pressure meds. I feel the pdoc should have been confident enough in his experience and knowledge to tell me that the big L is not a good idea for me because there are too many drug interactions and too many unknown variables and he wouldn't like to take that risk. He was already fully aware of my medical history and my blood pressure medication. But he didn't make that call. Instead he sent me back to the gp. And I still feel as if he was passing the buck. This isn't the first time he's been wishy washy with dosages and meds. I appreciate they see a lot of clients etc, but for $260 for 30 mins I expect to be treated by a professional who knows what he is doing and is focussed on my safety and well-being. I've been seeing him since February and I'm still on the same psych med my gp put me on in June last year. Frankly I have more faith in her than him.
But you're right it is a severely complicated business, which makes me even more weary of changing meds and trying something new for the fourth time this year only to have to go back on my current med again.
I need to think long and hard, but I think the risks are too great to even see if the big L will work.
BB 🐰💙

@Anastasia I'm so sorry my friend. I hope he is okay xx

@Appleblossom I hear you my friend. I would love for you to come join me on the writers thread though. And yes I totally get the vanity ride, that's what makes me reluctant to go entirely public with my works. I do not do criticism, jealousy and judgement well, and putting myself out there for the world to heckle and mock is a frightening thought. I'm happy to keep things "in house" it's too important to me as therapy to lose the will to write for fear of rejection. xx

BB 🐰💙