I want a second opinion.

[hourglassfull]

My new shrink wants me to increase my dose of Lexapro to 40 mg. She wants me to stop taking buspirone (Buspar) and start taking lithium (Eskalith). All at once.At first, I was refreshed, because she actually wanted to know about my past symptoms, my history, et cetera. She asked lots of questions and seemed to be listening. What I wasn't expecting

Comments

[peaceofpie]

I'll admit to a strong tendency toward prejudice against psychiatrists, but this one sounds like a real fuckwit.

[kujaboi2]

I hate western medicine. Apparently, I hear the group that regulates our medicine was started by some crackjob that was kicked out of England so he decided to start up here in America. I suggest weening yourself off the pills and finding another source. Either that, or do your own research, and LOTS of it. Some psyches seem too lazy to do the work for you. Get second and third and fourth opinions if you have to. Those meds can be dangerous if handled incorrectly!

[hourglassfull]

I understand what you're saying, believe me, and I'm perfectly aware of the addictive nature of anti-anxiety meds. However, I have never taken them as often as prescribed- only when I need them for panic attacks. And I have tried many other things, hence:

I just spent years with one psychiatric nurse trying to convince her that I wasn't going to use my anti-anxiety meds for recreation, trying everything under the sun before finally being "allowed" to have a script for a benzo, and now I have to start all over again.

[hourglassfull]

I wasn't insinuating that you were taking them for recreation, only that I wasn't. I'm sorry if you took that as an attack- I didn't mean it that way.

It isn't that I need a lot of them, it's that I would like the freedom to ask for a refill when I need them without some kind of stupid guilt trip. She was treating me like I didn't know what I was doing, and I've been through this before. I don't take them on a whim, and I don't take them every day. I do take them when I have panic attacks, and I have been having them more frequently. She read that as "you're dependent on them," and I know that isn't the case.

[voiceofanangel]

I haven't been on lexapro for years (it made me gain weight), but I'm pretty sure I was on a higher dose than 20 mg.

20 mg is the highest suggested by the manufacturer, but that doesn't mean that it's not prescribed higher.

Just doing a google search for "lexapro" "40 mg" came up with lots of ppl saying that they were prescribed or thought they needed 40 mgs.