Background: These are the medications I have been on for sleep (none have worked): Chloral Hydrate, Ambein, Lunesta, Sonata, most antihistamines (incl. Hydroxyzine), most benzo’s (incl. Nitrazepam, Xanax bars, Klonopin, etc.), Trazedone. My doctor ramped most of these up to their maximum doses before finding them ineffective for me.

NOTE: I also tried some other drugs (the street kind) which only made me high and not sleepy – including green crack (a special variant of MJ where I live – knocks most people out in a half hour – despite the name there is no ‘crack’ in it) – and alcohol, which only gave me a bleeding ulcer – note that MJ is legal in my state for medicinal use (for which I have a license)

Read the rest of this entry

Okay right well im going to trey make this short as i can, but i would really like some advice and help or simular stories,

Well over the last i would say 2 years my mental health has deterioated very badly, i lost my nan and did not handle it very well at all, i then lost my other great nan, and things kept getting worse, drinking alot cociane to deal with the past etc, i was depressed alot of the time and thought nothing of it just isolated myself, in summer 2007 i sunk into a deep depression 4 around 3-4 weeks non stop, i was taken to my GP by my mum, and she referd me on etc, i was put on meds and aksed to go into hospital but i refused, they spotted psycotics symptons and metioned bipolar, i new nothing about it and refused to cooperate fully,so they then referd me on again, i was then placed with that team for the rest of my recovery, the ealry intervention team, they said i had svere depression with psycotic episodes, i became alot worse even on meds, they new about my mood swings and said it was nothing just my age, i was put on olazapine and fluoxetine, but the fluoxetine made me deeply hypomanic, and they still ignored that, so anyway change of meds to ailify and pregabalin and trazadone, nothing worked, it made me worse, The team hardly never saw me, and refused to diagnose me with bipolar or treat me for it, even after numberous complaints about my bad mood swings and paranoia and due to all of that, heavy drinking to cope, i was being drunk in college almosty every day and drinking every night, team still did nothin, they said it was up to me to get help with my alcohol, i mean come on seriiosly the state i was in? They messed me around with appointments and kept changing my CPNs and missing apointment with them, i then gave up cus they didnt care, and i then stopped taking it thinking it was not helping, although looking back it kind of helpdd a tad with the mood swings.

I tried to commitc suicide 4 times, one being severe eneding me in hospital, i was very adgitated and angry, but depressed and suciidal in hospital, which looking back was a mixed episode, the hospital was crap, did nothing and discharged me to early, my mental state completely went downhill, i was acusing people of all sorts, delusional thinking i was a ci agent when i was manic out to solve the countrys murders, i then was locking myself in toilets running away screaming in public with pure fear teachers were trying to kill me, and i was badly self harming, the school were deeply concerned and the head teacher even rang the cheief of local hospital to complain after all the shiteee support i had, they still did nothing, after a shed load of teachers and family members kepet ringin, a man from the crisis team met us, and he got his arse in gear for us, and i was placed in hospital. I think the support i have been given has been awfull, after so many comaplints and me being so ill, the clear signs how severly ill i was, and how i looked so bipolar from everybody so close, they refused to do anything about it, and i could of been well about 1 year ago, and the ladst 3 weeks i have only started to recover, after being in hospital, they saw how bad i was, it was in a hospital far away from my home, a specialised one for adoslents, and they said after even days of meeting me and observing me i showed so many traits of bipolar, and how i descrbied my past and symptons was so linked in, and they could not believe the team how they have treated me, what if i neevr got into that hospital, i might not of even been hegre now:?

Read the rest of this entry

Alcohol and tobacco cause far more deaths than weed ever has and Alcohol makes people violent and has no benefits and tobacco only makes people sick, while weed actually has a lot of good benefits why don’t they un-ban weed and ban alcohol and tobacco?

i mean how many people die from Alcohol and tobacco a year? i bet tons

Read the rest of this entry

After months of questioning my wife, she has finally admitted that she has a drinking problem. She claims to be suffering from Delerium Tremons. So what I have done to date is require that she go see a specialist. I have also locked up all of the alcohol in a cabinet, and will provide it to her at her request so I can get an idea of how much she is drinking. The issue is that she has gone out and purchased more and has been stashing it around the house. So I threatened to have her committed unless she comes to me direct to get her drinks. I have never shorted her nor said no. I just need her to allow me to monitor. I have not complained about being woken up at night to pour her a drink.

She starts treatment tommorrow. Does anyone know how much I should reduce and how fast to reduce what she drinks? She has had a past history of vicodin abuse, and she has been depressed for years. She also was sniffing gasoline up until last week. She was so out of control that she poured a glass of gasoline and hid it in the bedroom above the heating duct.

Read the rest of this entry

My older sister was admitted twice in the hospital in the last year for depression and paranoia. Both times she was brought into the emergency room and was evaluated by a psychiatrist. They kept her in the hospital for a few days before letting her go without any medication (that’s the Quebec medical system for ya). I’m worried because recently she moved out of her appartment to live with me and my mom. She seemed normal the first week but it didn’t take long before she started acting strange again, showing signs of her “illness” coming back. We know for a fact that she doesn’t do any drugs but however she does have a history of alcohol abuse, which stopped about 7 months ago. I did some research and she fits the description of a paranoid schitzophrenic but was told by a family friend that she might also be suffering from manic depression too. It’s really hard to tell. She’s babbling about things that really really don’t make sense and when we tell her that she to go to the hospital for treatment, she starts panicking and it just makes things worse.
My question is, how can we get an unwilling person to go to the hospital? And what should we tell the doctors so that they keep her in for a long-term treatment?

I seem to go through some very defined up times and downs times in my life. I get really depressed and eventually really elated. (maybe a little bi-polar?)

I am a highly paid professional and work seems to be the only thread holding me together at the seams. Well that an Alcohol.

I have future political aspirations and don’t want publicly “admit” to any shortcomings in my mental health. My mind works vary well… my feelings get all messed up though.

Read the rest of this entry

I’ve had problems with major depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety for years. Its been getting a lot worse over the past year or so. I’ve tried lots of different medications without much success. Im a student taking the semester off and I don’t have insurance so I can’t afford to see another doctor at the moment. I need ideas for self treatment so as to avoid anything reckless. I work out regularly and do things as they come up but there’s not much else. I’ve tried things as stupid as drug and alcohol use, excessive promiscuity, and self mutilation. I don’t want to kill myself or harm myself any further so I could use some ideas for self-treatment. Thanks.

I had been in therapy for two years in a different state and moved here, during my pysch meetings we tried drug after drug after drug.

(I had a mental break down prior to the therapy sessions and was diagnosed with PTSD, acute anxiety disorder, panic attacks, night terrors or panic attacks whilst sleeping and borderline personality disorder)

At the end of treatment I was finally on meds that fit me well. 225 mg effexor xr daily, Xanax 2mg one in morning, 1 in afternoon, 2 at night for the extreme night terrors, and trazadone ( I forget the mg)

Read the rest of this entry

i live in uk my sister suffers from sever long term depression, &chronic low self esteem the only treatment she is getting is Anti -depressants. She wont got to the hospital (fear of crowds and general stress of getting there finding parking space&then waiting to be seen). She has asked her Gp about a CPN but nothing has happened she has also asked to see a counsellor at the surgery but again nothing seems to be happening.
She is also a single parent and is struggling to cope with her 12 yr old son who is not the easiest of children who is struggling at school.
She has recently started drinking a lot and yesterday admitted that she dose have a problem with alcohol. On a couple of occasions her son has stayed at my house because she has been drunk and he dosnt want to go home.
She wont ask for any help because she dosnt think she is worth it and she is afraid that if she told the truth about how she feels and behaves they would take her son away.
how can i convince her to get help
I cannot move in with my sister as i have my own life and my own family. I try to help but i cannot be there 24/7 and i have to look after myself and my family too

Here’s my full question: Have you or anyone you know of had SPECT Brain Imaging at a specialty place, such as Amen Clinics, OR any other place that does this, for psychiatric evaluation of disorders such as ADD, ADHD, Depression, Bipolar, head trauma, Dementia, drugs/alcohol abuse, etc. and got the insurance company to pay all or part of the cost?

It is well over $3,000 and they make you pay up front, providing you with only a walk-out receipt for (possible) reimbursement from the insurance carrier. On the Amen Clinics website, it says that some insurance carriers will reimburse but not all. However, I have read some websites where some people said that their private health insurances don’t cover it and have yet to find anyone’s testimony on the internet saying that it was covered (except for one, whose doctor wrote a letter of necessity to the insurance company).

Read the rest of this entry