Month: November 2016

Side Effects Of Psychiatric Medications

Side Effects Of Psychiatric Medications

I have been taking anti-depressants, anti-psychotics, anti-anxiety, and mood stabilizers since I was 14 years old. I’ve dealt with plenty of side effects; nausea, weight gain, fatigue, insomnia, anxiety, muscle tremors, drooling, increased thirst, slurred speech, and much more. These are all short-term side effects. They are side effects that last as long as you are on the medication.

Most of these side-effects stop when you stop taking the pills, but there are also long-term side effects. I don’t know much about them, but I do know that it happens. One example is Tardive Dyskinesia, a nervous system condition that causes involuntary movements, is caused by long-term use of psychiatric drugs. I’ve started thinking about the long-term side effects recently because I realized I have been on psych meds for 17 years and it worries me. It worries me to be on any medication for 17 years because every med has both short and long-term side-effects. I have been thinking about all of this a lot recently.

Forgetfulness

Forgetfulness

I tend to forget things. It’s usually trivial stuff. For example, I put detergent in the dishwasher last night, but I forgot to start it. I keep forgetting to pick up my medication at the pharmacy.I forgot to return a DVD to someone. But it’s  not just short-term memory that’s a problem. I also forgot a lot about my life in general. The reason I have memories of my wedding is because I watched a video of it (it was a fantastic wedding). I don’t remember my honeymoon. I have very few memories of my teenage years and my twenties. I’m constantly asking my mom to clarify things for me.

Is my forgetfulness from ECT that I stopped in May? I know that used to be the cause, but is it still? My memory has improved, but it’s not what it used to be. Will my memory ever get back to what it used to be? This is why I don’t want to try ECT again, even though my psychiatrist keeps suggesting it. I’m afraid I’ll forget everything.

A Rainy Day

A Rainy Day

Today is a rainy day. There aren’t too many rainy days in Phoenix, Arizona. Between July and September, we have what we call monsoon season. It rains fairly often, and when it rains, it pours, literally. It can rain on one side of the street here and not the other. It’s really weird, but I’ve seen it happen myself. It usually rains late in the afternoon when the temperature is at its peak.

Outside of monsoon season, rain is few and far between. I look out side right now and I see rain drops; it started out by sprinkling. I wonder if it will stay this way or if it will pour later. I feel a bit down, probably because of the weather. Even my dog seems sad right now. It’s a good thing that I don’t have to go anywhere today. I really don’t like going outside in the rain.

Am I Sleeping Too Much?

Am I Sleeping Too Much?

My husband says I’m sleeping too much, but I don’t think I am. He says that any time we sit on the couch to watch TV, I fall asleep. It’s true, I do fall asleep in about 20 minutes, but I’m not sleeping all day. It’s not like a few weeks ago when I was sleeping approximately 12 to 16 hours a day. In fact, all day while he is at work, I’m trying to run errands, clean the house, cook, and manage both of our lives. I wake up usually between 4am and 6am and stay awake. Maybe that’s why I fall asleep so easily while we watch TV. Or maybe it’s the depression, or the medication. No matter what the reason is, I feel as if I’m doing something wrong by falling asleep, and it’s nothing that I can control.

Is It A Lack Of Motivation?

Is It A Lack Of Motivation?

I’m having a hard time getting things done lately, with the exception of yesterday. Every task, no matter now big or small, seems to be almost impossible. Every time I find out that there’s something new I need to do, it feels as if someone is squeezing my chest through my ribs, and my breathing gets harder. It only lasts a couple of minutes, but it’s very annoying. They’re not as bad as my regular anxiety attacks, but they are somewhat similar.

I am still able to get things done, but not without difficulty. Is it just a lack of motivation that I’m dealing with? Is it part of the depression I’m going through? Am I simply on overload right now? Who knows, but it’s time for me to force myself to get some things done today. Hopefully I will have more days like yesterday. I had to force myself to do a lot of tasks, but I was very productive.

Getting Stuff Done

Getting Stuff Done

I got a lot done today. It feels like the first day in a while that I’ve been this productive. I cleaned the whole house and ran some errands. I still want to cook dinner, but I don’t know if I have it in me to do it. It feels like for every one task I get done, there are three more to add to my list and complete. Life is way too stressful right now. Maybe it’s just because of the holidays, maybe it’s just a phase, who knows anymore. I’m doing the best I can to get through each day. I would say that I did a pretty good job today. I hope to keep it up for tomorrow.

Knocks On The Door Are Terrifying

Knocks On The Door Are Terrifying

I have anxiety attacks frequently. I’m used to them on some level. However, anytime someone knocks on my door or rings the doorbell, my heart automatically jumps, as if it’s trying to jump out of my chest. I don’t know why, but I panic every time there’s a noise outside of my house. When it happens, my mind flashes back to when I was 17 and living with an abusive boyfriend.

It used to paralyze me, but now I slowly walk to the door with my dog and check to see who is there. I hate the fear I feel when there’s a knock on the door. They’re panic attacks and I feel like I have no control over them. I’ve been able to reduce how long they last, but I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to get rid of them completely. Most of my anxiety and panic attacks are related to sound. I don’t know why that is.

Family Gatherings

Family Gatherings

Not only is Thanksgiving just around the corner, but we’re also having a family reunion next Sunday with my father-in-law’s side of the family. My husband is helping me prepare for Thanksgiving. I now know whose house it will be at and when we have to be there. I also know that there are going to be some people I don’t know, but I will just stick by the people that I know.

There are also going to be a lot of people at the family reunion that I haven’t met. I’m nervous about it, but also excited. I’ve heard stories about these people, but never met most of them. As long as I have my husband by my side, I should be okay. The Valium will also help. It’s a lot to deal with in such a small amount of time, but I think I’ll be able to manage.

Then shortly after that, my husband and I fly to Connecticut to spend a week with my family. I’m not anxious or worried about being with my family. Actually, I’m excited to spend time with family. The only thing I worry about is the traveling; I’ve done it before, I can do it again.

No Support Group Last Night?

No Support Group Last Night?

I went to group last night; I had accidentally forgotten to go last week. I was nervous, but I was also looking forward to going. I had a lot on my mind; plus, I had just dropped dinner and dealt with that situation. I want to be going to a group every week; I’m looking for something that will be a part of my normal schedule. I don’t think that this group can give that to me, but it’s still important to go to a group to have support from other people like me.

I waited 20 minutes for someone to show up, but no one came. I was going to just turn right around and go home, but I thought it would be better to stay. I had already gotten myself to the group, which is not an easy task, I might as well stay to see if someone show’s up. They could have made some kind of announcement last week, which I did not attend, saying that group was canceled, I’ll never know. When the time was up and no one comes, I turned around and went home. I’m still giving myself credit for going there and trying.

Spill

Spill

I was really on top of everything that was happening yesterday. I decided to prepare the meal, which was Chicken Tetrazzini, ahead of time and then simply put it in the oven when my husband heads home from work. I spent about an hour preparing the food, I put it in the casserole dish, top it with parmesan cheese, covered it with tin foil, and then, I dropped it as I picked it up. It was another one of my twitches, myoclonic jerks, from the Lithium. Not only did I drop the meal I had worked hard on to make, I also dropped my favorite casserole dish that I got as a gift when we got married.

I immediately got angry at myself, angry at my medication, and angry about my situation in general. I cleaned everything up while mumbling negatively under my breath. I spoke to my husband and I vented to him. He was kind and said he would replace my favorite dish. It helped me begin a little. I came to realize that I was lucky I didn’t get hurt when the dish broke. Trying to look at this in a more positive manner helped me feel a little better. I’m now going around in circles in my head; I’m positive, then negative, over and over, and I probably will that way for the rest of the night.

I’m worried. I was lucky that what I dropped didn’t hurt me. What if I was picking up a pot filled with boiling water? I could serious get hurt. I love cooking, I would be extremely upset if I ended up not being able to cook on a regular basis anymore. If that were to happen, I would decide to go off of Lithium, which is what causes the twitching. My mind keeps going through all of the different possibilities. I need to get my mind off of this; there’s nothing I can do about it now anyways.