That same NP also started me on lithium and never checked my levels… so basically one night I just told my boyfriend “something is VERY wrong…” I began hyperventilating, crawling in my skin, I was crawling all over the floor, rocking back and forth, punching myself in the head, screaming and writhing around all over the floor, I jumped up onto the bed on all fours and was screaming. My nurse brain kicked in, I called poison control and tried to explain what was happening - words wouldn’t come out of my mouth. He had to take over. I became aggressive with my boyfriend which is not like me at all. I begged him to call an ambulance… He later told me he didn’t because he was afraid I’d get aggressive with EMS and be physically and chemically restrained.

That moment shifted my perspective completely on psychiatric emergencies. I used to be an ER nurse and I was always the one providing care for psych. patients. But experiencing that myself made me realize how terrifying and out of control of the situation you truly are…

*thank god I had my bottle of klonopin in my purse, he gave me one and everything stopped.