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Is there any point in seeing a psychiatrist if I don't want to take Lithium?
I did lose the twenty pounds that Lexa-pro put on me, but I didn't have any hallucinations this last episode. However, my therapist still thinks that I should take lithium and he had me set up an appointment with a psychiatrist. However, I don't think I'm going to go unless there is some good reason to go other than getting medicine.
I think it is better to just smoke a little weed for the anxiety and rage and it also me hungry enough without overeating. If I get really depressed, I'll go in get something for that, but I've decided I'm not going to take endless medicine.
3 Answers
- 9 years agoFavorite Answer
The psych may recommend a different course of treatment. You won't know til you go. Even if they do, then you're no worse for wear than where you are now. And the weed smoking is taking endless medicine. Hopefully, you'll find a reputable professional that can help you get to the real issue.
- dakinijonesLv 79 years ago
Absolutely. My psyciatrist had no desire at all to force me to take medication. I'm taking depakote because i want to - after 20 years of self-medicating my moods and never being able to get a balance it's been wonderful to wake up in the morning and not have to start the fight to keep the seesaw stable, But as I said, my psychiatrist totally gave me a choice, encouraged me to research what was available and he possible side effects.
But the medication really was only part of it. She helped me see all my options of managing my condition. A lot of it is about lifestyle choices like having a routine and also what you choose to eat etc etc. It sounds like you have ideas for most of that but there may be some things that you haven't thought of yet. And the most useful thing she did was encourage me to use Cognitive Behavioural Therapy techniques to manage my mood swings. That can be very effective even if you don't want to take a mood stabilising medication. Simply knowing that I'm inclining towards manic lets me make sure I get plenty of rest and don't run around and all the other stuff I used to do that would make an episode worse.
You may not get as good a psychiatrist as mine but you never know, you might. It's worth going just to check out your options. You don't have to keep going if you don't find it helpful. I also found it really useful once I stopped seeing my psychiatrist to have a good contact so that when I did get seriously depressed I had immediate care for that from someone I already knew and trusted. It's hard enough to reach out for help when you actually are depressed without not knowing who to go to and if you can trust them to not overmedicate you.
- ?Lv 59 years ago
personally I don't think there is any point in seeing a psychiatrist for any reason.
