hello concerned and caring wife of husband adjusting to new diagnosis and medication.
I am a new contributor on here. I tend to rabbit on. So if you get bored half way through just feel free to read other posts.
I feel that the length of time your husband has seen the psychiatrist would be important.
Did his doctor prescribe the original medication which your husband liked taking?
Has the psychiatrist changed the medication as he is most likely the person who has given the diagnosis? He is the best person to advise which medication.
Your husband not wanting to continue with new medication may have something to do with his fear or denial of diagnosis perhaps. He might not have asked questions or read information sheet about new medication. He might be experiencing anxiety re new medication after feeling ok for a period of time on old medication. Something neededed to change because of new diagnosis.
Would your husband like you to go to an appointment with him with his psychiatrist so that he can voice his concerns, you can voice yours if that is ok with your husband and together ask lots of questions.
If his psychiatrist is a good one he will welcome a shared appointment with the two of you to listen to you and discuss both of your concerns.
I did this with my husband when i was in hospital once. my husband does not get mental illness of any kind. he is kind and caring but does just not get it. he came along and the psychiatrist opened the meeting with "firstly, welcome and I would like to thank you for coming, for wanting to help your wife through this difficult period" My husband then asked some direct questions and left saying he still did not get it but understood a little more that he could not fix anything and it was not about him.
In my experience most specialists in any field of medicine give out little information, the bare minimum and dont always ask if you have any questions. plus you might not then. when you do though make an appointment, write all of your questions down before you go - I am a great list maker, dot point user.
Just the actual process of going together and having some answers will be helpful for you because you are doing it together.
it may simply be that the new medication has to be given time to settle in the system and then usually the dosage is adjusted as needed. there are often some side effects. refer to fact sheet with medication.Very different to normal use of medication.
if you need to go back together again after he has been on the medication for some time ask the psychiatrist at your first meeting if this would be ok.
If your husband insists on a second diagnosis, respect his wishes. Explain to him that he must tell his now psychiatrist that he is going to do this.
Perhaps he needs to hear about his diagnosis from someone else as well. It can be hard to digest and very confronting when given a diagnosis.
Most of all I feel that you are wonderful in helping him through such a difficult time. There are so many of us who dont have any support when given diagnosis or even when feeling unwell. We learn to hide our suffering from others.
