Stopping mild manic thinking
April 5, 2010 5:49 AM Subscribe
How do you go about calming manic thinking as a result of a medication mistake?
How do you go about calming manic thinking as a result of a medication mistake and see clearly enough about what to do next?
Apparently the pharmacy had been giving me 300 mg less of my SSRI than normal and upon going back up I went from being the lowest I had been in years to near euphoria. It has since settled down some but I still feel almost high. I feel a driving need to shout out about death! I'm not suicidal but it feels like I just need to inform people of their options. As if I discovered a new product. Pepsi - Death! My utter non-existent sex drive has also broken through the roof.
Obviously this cannot be normal as before the med mixup I was just deeply depressed. And had no energy to do anything.
The problem is that my pdoc put me on an SNRI at the same time the SSRI went back up to the real dose so I cannot figure what started it. I would like this to end as soon as possible for obvious reason. I was thinking to just stop the SNRI as it has just been 7 days and then see what sorts itself out. I haven't even gotten into a theraputic dose yet. (I do not know if 7 days at a low dose is enough time to cause these effects even). But I cannot seem to think clearly enough to see if that is bad or not.
I guess what I am asking is if my thinking as far as you can tell seems clear and how do I go about making the best decision for myself. I would phone my doc but the office is closed til Tuesday and no, there is no out of office contact number. This is provincial health.
Note: I have an appt. to see a psychologist on Tuesday for evaluation and would like to be clear by then as this is abnormal and I would hate to skew her recommendation on something that is a med mix up. I am unsure if to share these feelings with her as they are not normal and I have waited months for this appt. to indicate where my treatment should go next.
Throwaway e-mail: mysteryuser@shaw.ca
How do you go about calming manic thinking as a result of a medication mistake and see clearly enough about what to do next?
Apparently the pharmacy had been giving me 300 mg less of my SSRI than normal and upon going back up I went from being the lowest I had been in years to near euphoria. It has since settled down some but I still feel almost high. I feel a driving need to shout out about death! I'm not suicidal but it feels like I just need to inform people of their options. As if I discovered a new product. Pepsi - Death! My utter non-existent sex drive has also broken through the roof.
Obviously this cannot be normal as before the med mixup I was just deeply depressed. And had no energy to do anything.
The problem is that my pdoc put me on an SNRI at the same time the SSRI went back up to the real dose so I cannot figure what started it. I would like this to end as soon as possible for obvious reason. I was thinking to just stop the SNRI as it has just been 7 days and then see what sorts itself out. I haven't even gotten into a theraputic dose yet. (I do not know if 7 days at a low dose is enough time to cause these effects even). But I cannot seem to think clearly enough to see if that is bad or not.
I guess what I am asking is if my thinking as far as you can tell seems clear and how do I go about making the best decision for myself. I would phone my doc but the office is closed til Tuesday and no, there is no out of office contact number. This is provincial health.
Note: I have an appt. to see a psychologist on Tuesday for evaluation and would like to be clear by then as this is abnormal and I would hate to skew her recommendation on something that is a med mix up. I am unsure if to share these feelings with her as they are not normal and I have waited months for this appt. to indicate where my treatment should go next.
Throwaway e-mail: mysteryuser@shaw.ca
You don't seem to be in a good enough state of mind to make medical/pharmaceutical decisions. And, even doctors see doctors when they need help outside of their training, right? You'll be pretty messed up if you make the wrong choices. If you feel the need to shout out "Death!" to people to make them aware of their options, then, seconding that you need to see a doctor now. ER seems a reasonable choice.
posted by Houstonian at 6:05 AM on April 5, 2010
posted by Houstonian at 6:05 AM on April 5, 2010
For me, the problem with medication-induced hypomania wasn't so much the hypomania, as the crashes in mood that it would cause when the hypomania suddenly stopped. I'm bipolar II, so this might not apply to you, but it might be a real concern. Look out for that and be ready to seek some immediate help if your mood does suddenly get really low. Seriously. Call 911 if you have to.
You'll be able to speak to your psychiatrist tomorrow, so unless you feel unsafe, you'll probably be fine to wait until then. I wouldn't go to the ER unless I felt like there was an impending danger of me hurting myself or someone else. It's not always easy to judge safe/unsafe when you're feeling high, so keep that in mind too, but you seem to have good insight into your mental state.
Things will be OK. Keep yourself safe in the meantime.
posted by xchmp at 8:09 AM on April 5, 2010
You'll be able to speak to your psychiatrist tomorrow, so unless you feel unsafe, you'll probably be fine to wait until then. I wouldn't go to the ER unless I felt like there was an impending danger of me hurting myself or someone else. It's not always easy to judge safe/unsafe when you're feeling high, so keep that in mind too, but you seem to have good insight into your mental state.
Things will be OK. Keep yourself safe in the meantime.
posted by xchmp at 8:09 AM on April 5, 2010
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And no good psych should ever, ever leave a patient unattended when they need help. Sure they can be "closed" until Tues but he should be responsive to medical emergencies. That's just b.s.
You may have to go to the ER and tell them what's going on. They'll call your doc and ream him a new one too.
posted by stormpooper at 5:51 AM on April 5, 2010