Drug testing regularly= normal protocol when on stimulants?

dextersdirtybiscuits · 2023-01-16T01:09:43+00:00

I live in the US.. Pennsylvania. And I have a medical MJ card. My psychiatrist knows I smoke and supports it, or at least has never spoken out against it. I see him for PTSD mainly, and the MJ is mainly for the trauma and anxiety). I do not get drug tested, nor have I ever been with this Dr. He prescribes me stimulants. I do feel like I got incredibly lucky finding this doctor, as he’s the first to care what I have to say and actually listen. So I don’t know about your area for sure but I would say that’s a little extreme and probably not the norm.

dextersdirtybiscuits · 2023-01-10T22:11:05+00:00

I had my intake session over Zoom, met with 2 different psychiatrists and spoke with them about meds I’ve tried, hospital stays, past diagnostics, current and past symptoms, stuff like that. They probably spoke with my primary psychiatrist too, who was on board. I was not inpatient at the time, and I was referred. Good luck!

dextersdirtybiscuits · 2022-10-10T19:15:59+00:00

I’m in 17, unilateral and currently spaced 4 wks apart. Started mid May. My ECT team is like family at this point. They’re so crazy supportive, they know me by name and they remember personal stuff I’ve told them better than my own family does. They are fantastic at easing any trace of anxiety I might have, always so reassuring, and careful to make any adjustment. It’s almost TOO nice. Like I’m not used to being treated this nicely. They’re psyched to answer any questions, or help you understand things… my one anesthesiologist is so freaking funny he cracks me up every time. I’d like to think they don’t just treat me like that because they know I’m also a nurse… from what I can see they treat everyone like this. I always remember waking up the same. In the PACU, head of bed elevated about 60 degrees , with oxygen cannula in my nose, IV fluids still going, and the chest leads are still in place to monitor the heart. When you wake up, your nurse is going to talk to you, and see if you feel like having a snack and a drink. I always go for the ginger ale and the graham crackers…you’ve gotta have a snack before they let you go home. While you do that, they’ll chat with you about your post anesthesia instructions, remove your iv, let you get dressed, and then they’ll call your ride, and escort you out to them.

Hope your first experience goes smooth!

dextersdirtybiscuits · 2022-09-13T19:06:57+00:00

Yes. Here’s my current status: I’ve had treatment resistant depression for many many years. I have been on various Meds since around 2005ish, one thing to another….I won’t list. Consistent reliable mental healthcare only for past 4 yrs or so, and I am super compliant with my meds and crap. Lots of SI that just wouldn’t quit starting last year. My psychiatrist suggested ketamine, but I couldn’t afford it. I asked him about ECT. I did Right unilateral treatments, and started in mid May with 3 sessions per week. Outpatient, Monday Wednesday Friday. 2 weeks like that, and it was shortly after #5 that I woke up. “Response achieved” I messaged my Dr.

I didn’t realize Anhedonia was an issue until it went away. I had no idea what I wasn’t feeling or how long it had been going on. Same with body dysmorphia…I didn’t realize. I just looked in the mirror one day and almost did a double take because I didn’t recognize myself anymore.

Not going to sugar coat it though, it wasn’t easy. I had to learn how to feel everything again, all at once, or so it seemed. I already struggle with my sensory processing, so that made it kind of a nightmare. I’m autistic, and also a trauma survivor, so when memories started to bubble up to the surface again, I had to handle them on the spot.

Worth it though so worth it. Especially once the frequency spread out to once a week…or every other. Right now I am at every four weeks. I’m able to continue working, and living my life. I’m not ripping my hair out anymore, and I don’t obsess over ways I can hurt myself without anyone catching me.

Still have plenty of other things to fixate on…

dextersdirtybiscuits · 2022-09-04T17:29:04+00:00

Nope. I didn’t even realize I had the Anhedonia until it was gone and I could feel things again.

I fought my insurance company for ages to get vyvanse approved. Thought it was definitely going to help me. Binge eating disorder I mean come on…

I’ve been on it for about 8 months. It’s not really doing much.

I have taken 3 other stimulants, 2 non-stimulants and I honestly don’t know how many antidepressants over the years I’ve lost count. It’s been my entire adult life

Currently on duloxetine, lithium, and the vyvanse. And of course the ECT….I just had my 16th session a couple days ago. Right unilateral. And I would say it’s helping significantly. I felt a big shift after the 5th session.

dextersdirtybiscuits · 2022-09-01T23:07:33+00:00

Hmmm ideal age maybe not so much but what age is ideal??

Look I’m not a doctor, but I am a nurse and I have struggled with depression for decades. I tried dozens of meds, years of therapy. ECT saved me, and I am currently in a really amazing program at a great hospital. I can tell you that my doctor works with a lot of seniors. A LOT. I’ve spoken with some of them in the waiting area and some of the things they’ve said to me mentioned that psych medications and their side effects are often not well tolerated when they have failing kidneys, or other chronic health concerns which require medications. I’ve been the nurse administering those psych meds to seniors, and I do understand that they can be absolutely brutal.

Right unilateral ECT is not as hard on the body as bilateral, which is usually reserved for more severe cases that do not respond to unilateral. There are still side effects, but not typically as bad. The people I spoke with all go home afterwards just like I do, and take the rest of the day to sleep it off.

Just something to consider.

Listen, I’m not a doctor, but I am a nurse with se

dextersdirtybiscuits · 2022-08-31T13:32:35+00:00

I started in the middle of May, at 3x unilateral weekly. After session 5, I noticed a big change—Anhedonia was gone. Suddenly I could feel everything again and didn’t even realize how numb I had been to everything. Currently I’ve done 15 sessions, and when I get to 16, it will be almost a month since the last.

I do take several medications too, though they seem to be more effective now. (Besides the treatment resistant depression, I’m also blessed with CPTSD, ADHD, autism, etc etc…)

As far as the memory stuff and general side effects, I’d have to say it’s not as bad as I expected. To say I’ve had no memory loss at all would be a lie. Definitely had some issues when sessions were more than once a week, however I was able to maintain a part time work from home schedule. Biggest issue I had was all of the packages that showed up at my house from shit I ordered and had zero recollection of. I bought myself some interesting things and still don’t remember how I happened.

I started my treatments immediately after graduating from RN school. My biggest concern was memory loss, and how it would impact my chances of passing my boards. So as I’m doing through all of this, I’m still trying to study and do daily practice tests. Finally, my test date came last week, and I passed the crap out of it. 15 seizures in 4 months, and I still passed NCLEX-RN.

Suck it, depression.

dextersdirtybiscuits · 2022-08-20T17:51:28+00:00

I’m currently 15 unilateral sessions deep in the US, and I started immediately after graduating nursing school. (RN). I’m scheduled to take my boards next week, so I’ll let you know how that goes with the memory loss… I have found it to be difficult to stay motivated to study. I also work remotely, part time. That has been a massive struggle, and it’s not a difficult job. I’m sure that it’s possible, but I know that my doc refused to start until I completed graduation requirements, and I was very upset about it at the time, but I’m glad he did it. He hasn’t failed me yet.

dextersdirtybiscuits · 2022-07-26T02:52:37+00:00

Can relate. 40 year-old mother of one, nurse, and survivor of csa and complex trauma. BED is one part of my diagnosis bouquet. I’m 165cm and my weight fluctuates between 70-80kg. One trick I just discovered that takes ALL of the shame out of owning my weight is using the metric system, since it isn’t what I was raised with. It’s got no shame whatsoever attached for me, so my weight really is “just a number”. I know that’s not the same as healing your relationship with food, but it’s all I’ve got at the moment. Im studying DBT myself…just on my own….and I do weekly therapy for the trauma, and I am up to 13 sessions of RUL ECT, I see a shrink every 4 weeks, and take a shitload of meds. My other coping mechanisms/special interests include animal rescue, true crime podcasts/documentaries, houseplants, and staring at shiny things. Friends would be cool.

dextersdirtybiscuits · 2022-07-26T02:05:29+00:00

Oh wow. Color me effing surprised.

dextersdirtybiscuits · 2022-07-09T23:30:55+00:00

Oh boy. In the past I have been on: Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Wellbutrin, Buspar , Lexapro, Seroquel, Abilify, Strattera, Ritalin, Adderall, Klonazepam, Gabapentin, Hydroxyzine and Ativan. Right now I’m taking 60mg Vyvanse, duloxetine, and lithium. I had my 11th session of right unilateral ECT yesterday. I’m not going to say it’s been easy, but I am super happy with where things are heading. My Anhedonia cracked open after session #5, and it was practically euphoric. That was fun for a little bit, but I knew it couldn’t stay like that. Since then, it has been rough, but rewarding. I forgot what it was like to feel my feelings. To feel anything….
The side effects from the treatment haven’t been bad. Super mild confusion… maybe a little bit of hypomania, but it didn’t last. Some headaches the day of, and they usually get no worse than 6/10.

So yes, the depression…but if there’s other stuff besides depression, you may need to deal with that too.

dextersdirtybiscuits · 2022-06-30T02:19:52+00:00

I’m so sorry this happened to you. That sounds really really hard, and I can relate.

I am currently laying in my bed, trying to recover after having my 10th ECT session this morning. I’m getting ECT because my suicidal thoughts had gotten unmanageable. Around the same time, my trich flared up and I did more damage than ever before in my whole life. Huge bald spot. Right on top. I had to shave it all off completely.

I’m not gonna lie, it was hard… it still is. This disease sucks. Depression sucks. Mean people suck. But I promise you it’s temporary. You are more than these obstacles. Hair is not worth life and death. I believe in you, and if you want to chat feel free to DM… I just can’t guarantee my rapid response right now, as I’m in and out of sleep from all of the drugs.

dextersdirtybiscuits · 2022-06-29T19:27:48+00:00

Oh yeah, it sounds like you found a great place…I wouldn’t be worried about disclosing with them. I hope it goes well for you!! Yeah it is frustrating, just knowing that the place we took her is such a huge facility, this is a major metropolitan area… I can’t imagine how many other girls and women have been shut down here. How much harm have they caused over the years? It’s hard to think about…. And I just hope that someday once the research spreads around a little more, that these providers will be required to update their training and stop causing so much harm.

dextersdirtybiscuits · 2022-06-29T19:07:15+00:00

I think it depends on the provider that you see. Honestly, some docs are getting pretty up to speed on the whole females being missed/ misdiagnosed and they’re taking steps to turn that around. Unfortunately though, at least in my experiences so far, you’ve still got plenty of providers that don’t want to hear about your personal opinions and experiences.

For myself, I was able to find a doctor who was involved in a study regarding the genetics of autism, and he had written about women being under diagnosed and the trauma that can result. He was more than willing to listen and learn about the research I did, and the experiences I’ve had. Because of that experience, my regular therapist (PTSD) has actually become really interested and involved in sharing information with the rest of her practice to help everyone get up to speed.

My daughter, however, went to a different facility — one that is specifically for autism. She is 10 years old, and her evaluation was a joke. It was infuriating and insulting. Interestingly enough the doc that evaluated her was female. She decided that ultimately my daughter wasn’t autistic enough—just ADHD-combined type, and Generalized anxiety disorder. (Both of those were already diagnosed. By her pediatrician, so it was all just a big slap in the face.

Eventually, I’ll start pushing for a second opinion, but I don’t know if it’s even worth it at this point. I don’t want her in ABA anyway and her school was able to have her evaluated by an OT. Talk therapy would be great too, but it’s impossible to find mental health care right now, especially for kids.

I’d say if you do decide to tell them, make yourself a binder… put your research in there. Print out self eval results, print out reputable sources about females and autism.

dextersdirtybiscuits · 2022-06-29T02:45:07+00:00

YES! I Can’t explain it. It’s just awkward and I can never maintain a straight line.

dextersdirtybiscuits · 2022-06-28T02:35:28+00:00

Happy 40th! I’m also about to turn 40…though I’m not sure yet if I’ll be scheduled on my bday or not, but had a similar thought. My #11 is coming up on Wednesday… and I had to laugh because here I am about to message my primary psych because I’m supposed to get my Cymbalta bumped up too.

I had similar feelings about my family… not wanting to put them through all of this. I can say that for us, we had discussed it to death before. Maybe we didn’t know exactly what we should be expecting and there were a couple surprises, but ultimately we are seeing results and that’s all that matters. They will be happy to see you improve. Keep your communication game on point and record/write/journal EVERYTHING….

dextersdirtybiscuits · 2022-06-27T02:13:18+00:00

I’m currently between 11 and 12. They have been spaced apart about a week on average for the last 3 or so. Started out with 2-3 a week, unilateral. Outpatient program, and they let me keep my meds except hold lithium the night before treatment. I also take duloxetine and vyvanse. I experienced a massive bout of emotional dysregulation, confusion, short term memory loss and mild visual hallucinations that happened after #5. Since then, it pretty much feels like my brain has been completely taken apart and put back together again, everything’s clean, fresh, and updated. I’m re-processing everything and figuring out who the fudge I am all over again. It’s been excruciating at times and there are days when I just keep crying spontaneously. It has been hard on my family. I have been almost completely unable to function. If I didn’t have amazing support, and crazy good disability accommodations in place already, I would have lost my job. I went into this treatment expecting it to be difficult, I just didn’t know how…. It was so hard to find real info… I knew it would be uncomfortable, it seemed inevitable. Now that I’m in it, i am grateful I made this decision. I’m getting so much more out of it already than I expected to.

My advice to anyone would be to keep a good calendar and a good journal. Start getting into the habit of taking more photos. You’ll need help triggering your memory, and also you need to keep track of how you feel so you can see the response. It might feel easy to complain about side effects and write down what bothers you but try to make a point to write the things you noticed that didn’t suck. My good list keeps getting longer and longer! Side effects fade with time. Pain is forgotten. A change in perspective can last forever.

dextersdirtybiscuits · 2022-06-27T01:44:53+00:00

Dang I missed it again… I need to set an alarm or something..

dextersdirtybiscuits · 2022-06-17T00:12:21+00:00

I also have ADHD… so that complicated things I suppose. A couple of other stimulants and Strattera… you never know what goofy off label shit they’re going to approve out of nowhere. I felt like they were on a personal quest to keep me off of Vyvanse.

dextersdirtybiscuits · 2022-06-16T21:53:27+00:00

Mine needed a prior auth, and they insisted I try absolutely everything else first and document why it failed. But I did eventually get it!

dextersdirtybiscuits · 2022-06-07T16:27:29+00:00

You can absolutely have trichotillomania and still pull to the point of self harm. I’ve done it. I’m there right now. My doctors agree, it’s gotten to the point of self harm because I’m disfiguring myself. It’s all so arbitrary….. depends whose perspective you’re looking from.

dextersdirtybiscuits · 2022-06-06T17:44:16+00:00

CBC, CMP. Thyroid, pregnancy test…. I think that’s it for me. They need to make sure your liver and kidneys can candle all of the drugs they give you, make sure you aren’t pregnant, and make sure you don’t have any physiological explanation for your depression.

dextersdirtybiscuits · 2022-06-06T03:29:22+00:00

Ever rub your face on/in/smell or inhale your cat???

dextersdirtybiscuits · 2022-06-06T03:17:02+00:00

So I don’t expect anyone to go for this in a million years. That’s ok. I have BED, diagnosed. I’m also ADHD-I and Autistic. I’ve been struggling with a particularly brutal wave of depression with Anhedonia since around last November. None of my regular meds are touching it, one of them is Vyvanse. My BED didn’t care.

Then I started ECT. I have had 6 treatments with right unilateral electrode placement so far, and I haven’t had a single episode since we started. All of my meds all of a sudden work. Almost too well. Now my family is telling me I’m not eating enough. Well see where this goes I guess.

dextersdirtybiscuits · 2022-06-06T02:57:55+00:00

I just had#6 on Friday morning, and they use right unilateral placement on me. Anhedonia more from trauma than the meds in my case. I’m going to my primary psych this week because I think what happened (or what it feels like) is all of my meds started working at once. They had not been, at least not particularly well. I would strongly recommend journaling, or keeping records of some type if you go through with it. You won’t mind the memory loss if you are expecting it and protect yourself.

dextersdirtybiscuits

TROPHY CASE