Taken off of an antidepressant to make me happy?

[CrazedInsanity]

i think my doc is out of it. he took me off my anti depresent and increased my limictal,so that my depression would get better and that was 3 months ago. i told him after i came back tht my depression is worse and he said once the high dose of limictal is in my blood long enough it will get better. i just visited him again and told him my depression isnt geting better he said that he WILL NOT put me back on anti depresants and i asked him why and he said he doesnt think that they are going to work for me. he has only tried me on lexapro no other anti depresant. shouldnt he try me on other meds to see if they will work. and i would switch docs but im only 16 so my parents deside where i go and they wont take me to another doc because this one is closest. the 300mg of limictal has been in me for over three months i dont think this guy knows what he is doing what do u guys think???

[null0trooper]

i dont think this guy knows what he is doing what do u guys think???

Two and a half questions first:

Is your doctor a general practitioner, or a psychiatrist?

What is your diagnosis, and do you have other medical problems ?

At least your doctor recognizes that SSRIs do not work for everyone's depression.

Edit/Moderator note: I cleaned up the topic title for grammar and spelling. It made my eyes hurt.

[meg]

i just visited him again and told him my depression isnt geting better he said that he WILL NOT put me back on anti depresants and i asked him why and he said he doesnt think that they are going to work for me. he has only tried me on lexapro no other anti depresant.

did he say why he thought they wouldn't work?

and is your diagnosis depression, or bipolar?

I understand that they don't work for some people, but Lexpro was the first anti-depressant that I tried and it was a nightmare. I could only tolorate it for two weeks and then told my doctor at the follow up (she wanted to increase it!) that I really would like to hear other options because I don't think that I could keep taking Lexapro. I cannot imagine what would have become of my mental health had she not allowed me to try another AD. She did try a different class of AD (wellbutrin is an NDRI), since Lexapro is an SSRI and I was not helped by it, but she didn't say 'nope, you're out of luck, anti-depressants just won't work for ya'. Later on, it turned out that I was also greatly helped by an SSRI after all (zoloft). There are a TON of options and it sounds like this doctor is limited in his experience with others, or has a firm belief in some non-traditional ideas about ADs, you never know, but I know I'd want to see someone who's open to options and listens to me.

sounds like it's time to have a good long chat with your parents about seeing another doctor.

even write down a few of these things in a neat bulletted list if you think it will be hard to talk to your parents without seeming like you're complaining or makeing something out of nothing.

make reasonable points, calm arguements, and appeal to their point of view (things the rents think about) such as:

"There's something that is really important to me that I want to talk about with you both. I'm glad that I'm able to see a doctor for my depression, but we are spending $___ paying Dr.X every appointment when I really feel that he's not open to helping me. Please hear me out about the possibility of seeing another doctor. Yes, driving a little farther is a pain and I understand that it is hard for you to take the 'time/fit it in/more time than you already do/find room between work and home stuff' (choose one, lol) and you're very busy, but I still feel like I need help and it would mean a lot to me if you thought about it. I feel like it would make more sense to go to a doctor that will listen and work with me, rather than wasting money and time on Dr.X who seems to not hear my feeling/ideas/problems and be willing to help me work them out. I know it's your decision, but I'd appreciate it if you took this into consideration."

If you can, come up with a list of doctors in your area-especially good would be to find those that accept your insurance plan- do you know what kind of insurance you have? ask your parents what kind of insurance pays for Dr.X- for instance, I have 'cigna behavioral health' and their website is difficult to navigate but with some looking you can find 'providers' in your area.

If the insurance website isn't helpful, you can always search for doctors through a search engine and then call and ask "Hi, I've got a quick question if you have a minute ((usually put on hold for a minute, lol)) I was wondering if your office/Dr.Y accepts _________ kind of insurance. Is there any way you could check that for me? -

if YES, then ask 'is he/she currently accepting new patients?'---he is? ok, thank you, I'll call back if I need an appointment.' or 'he isn't? okay, thank you anyway'

if NO, then 'okay, thank you'"

I know calling dr.'s offices is tough but if you're serious about finding a new doctor (and it sounds like you are) then it's worth the effort!! Even make a script for yourself like the one above if it makes calling easier-- remember, they don't know who you are or your age, so don't worry about sounding silly. I did this stuff at almost your age (I'm only 20 now) and it's intimidating, but MAN will your parents be much more likely to take you seriously if A)they know you're serious enough to spend the time and effort and B)THEY don't have to do the extra work it takes to find another doctor.

If you need to, supplement the conversation with research from reputable sources (not just stuff you 'found online') to show you're serious:

[link=http://www.nami.org"'>http://www.nami.org" target="_blank]http://www.nami.org[/link]

(national alliance on mental illness) has a lot of solid, easy to read information about dxs and the possible treatments. You could even print out the 'treatment' part of the sheet for depression and underline the one's you've tried. If it's only a few, and Lexapro the only anti-depressant out of the whole list of SSRI's, SNRI's, and NDRI's, they'll be able to see clearly that there are many other options and it's upsetting to you that the doctor has ruled them all out based on your reaction to one medication. Finding the right medication isn't an exact science and there is no way to tell from a test or textbook what will/won't work for someone and you think it's important to see a doctor who will look at the bigger picture and consider all of your options since that is much more likely to find something that works.

that kind of conversation tends to go better than:

"momm, I'm telling you, the guy's a total QUACK. 'he's out of it' and 'I don't think he knows what he's doing'. you should take me to a different guy. Dr.X doesn't get it and I don't think he's giving me the right meds"

Goodluck, Sorry for the entire self-help book I just wrote I've been through this before, can you tell?

meg

edited to add (as if it needs more!):

make sure to pick a time that you're parents aren't really distracted or stressed out-- maybe after dinner? or an evening on the weekend. even the best arguments won't work if they're flying out the door, or so tired from the day that they're lying on the couch with a pillow over their head, or doing BILLS, making dinner, etc. sometimes it's easier to 'schedule' a time "mom? is there some time this week that you can dad have time to sit down and talk with me about something? it's not an emergency, but it's important to me"

[Penny Century]

ADs can make bipolar (or shadow syndrom bipolar) depression A LOT worse.

i was never happier than when pulled off SSRIs for the first time in 10 years.

give lamictal a chance.

[CrazedInsanity]

to answer sum questions my diagnosis is bipolar and psychosis and my doc is a psychiatrist. i started limictal in april of 2007 so i have gave it a chance to work and my parents seem to really like this guy....i dont really know why but i will talk to them about switching my psychiatrist. thnx for all of they advise

[CER]

to answer sum questions my diagnosis is bipolar and psychosis and my doc is a psychiatrist. i started limictal in april of 2007 so i have gave it a chance to work and my parents seem to really like this guy....i dont really know why but i will talk to them about switching my psychiatrist. thnx for all of they advise

I assume you are not experiencing psychosis now, just depression? You could ask your pdoc about lithium to augment your Lamictal.

[CrazedInsanity]

yea im not experiencing psychosis now i havnt hallucinated in months and i will ask him about lithium next time i see him. thnx

[CER]

No problemo!