Question about psych doctors (psychiatrists)

[kssfgirl]

Hi - say I am posting here as I had a bad day - I have been seeing this new psych dr - now it's embarrassing to hear what she told me today. I am posting because I know I have support as we all suffer from the same problem.

She told me today the fact that I worry about not sleeping I am getting some kind of a payoff for this - which is nonsense - I do not enjoy not sleeping. Also, she said that when you get stuck in your thinking like I do (which I try and try to stop every single day)(obsessive compulsive)it is a form of insanity - she says "sticky thinking is a form of insanity." So now I am temporarily considered "insane?" Isn't this nice.

Now can you see why I am a little bit frustrated. I am trying not to complain and "blow it off" - I have had this problem for many years - I have been able to work and function - not now as I am retired but do 2 day a week babysit for my 2-year-old grandson.

Anyway, I needed to share this - it helps with my venting process. My husband continues to tell me psych docs are "nuts from the beginning" - he does not like psych docs and thinks they are all nuts.

Anyway, I am going to take Remeron up to 45 mg as she says I need to do something for my obsessive thinking - I will give it a try as I cannot take SSRIs which she thinks I need - my body stays awake all night when I have taken them - Zoloft, Paxil, Cymbalta and Effexor - every one made me more sick and I think I am a better judge than she is - so for now Remeron - we shall see - I am taking more meds than I want to but will give it a try anyway - it is cheap and it is not an SSRI so for now I will take it.

[darius_s]

Oh, believe me, those doctors really are nuts but not that nuts What she told you was true, it's just that she shouldn't have told you about the insanity thing. That's inaprioriate at the beginning stage of treatment.

Yeah, it's true that things you hate are also the ones that give something valuable to you and that is the reason for you not letting it go and the problem staying. Reasons for hating the problem are obvious and reasons for loving it are not, but what is common between them is that they both exist. You just need to find them

- Maybe it's your "I am right..." feeling?
- Maybe it's not letting it go because if you would achieve it so simply, that would mean that for the last 2+ years you've been stupid enough to not be able to find a solution?
- Maybe your problem brings you much support and understanding from your family or friends?
- Maybe you just love the feeling that there's nothing you can do about it?

There are numerous possibilities. To find the real one, be sure to choose a good psychiatrist. That's about it ;]

P.S. I am not a psychiatrist myself

[kssfgirl]

Are you telling me that what this psych dr said is that
I am insane - I doubt that - I have a problem of OCD and worry about my insomnia but who wouldn't with the problem we have.

All I am trying to say here is do you agree with her that I am insane? If the answer is yes - I won't come to this board anymore - then you are not my support or friend here and wont post anymore here.

[Tracy]

I don't think anyone here thinks you are insane!

Here's what I think - me, the patient who well knows the good bad and ugly about sleep deprivation and insomnia - wanting desperately to sleep but not being able to..., I am not a doctor.....

As a patient looking for answers, I would always want to be in the care of a practitioner who is sleep trained - I don't like the attitude of your psych - and am curious of she is sleep trained?

Here is a link to a brief list of Behavioral Sleep Medicine Specialists
http://www.absm.org/bsmspecialists.aspx

This is a relatively new group and they are updating their new website and list often.

CBT - cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia is certainly not new. It is highly regarded and respected and I believe a first line treatment for those of us who struggle with insomnia.

Anyone who has insomnia knows it can "drive you nuts" but not meaning INSANE - sleep deprivation causes memory loss, inability to concentrate and focus, moodiness and mood swings, to mention just a few......

So, please do not think anyone here is questioning your sanity - we do all understand and support you.
Personally, I would consider finding a new sleep trained psych - I just spent a weekend at a CBT for insomnia conference attended by nearly 200 psychologists who are interested in training to be sleep specialists - and there IS DEFINITELY a difference in training by "any old" psych and one who is specially trained and understands the devastation of sleep deprivation!

You'll receive plenty of support here - we " get it"

HUGS TO YOU
tracy

[mosspa]

The basic problem is that most physicians have absolutely no idea what they are talking about pharmacologically. Go back about 5 years and read my accounts of my teaching pharmacology in Med Schools. Physicians are, for the most part, idiots!

[shansd]

Ignore this shrink and any shrink...they cannot help w/a sleep problem in my opinion unless it is related to depression...and I don't think most of us on here, who have suffered chronic insomnia most of our lives, are depressed other than because we cannot sleep, not as a cause of it.

Whoever posted that you are looking for attention is full of it...never heard such nonsense in my life.

As to the Remeron...that is what the shrink I saw prescribed me (my sleep problem, according to that shrink, was due to my childhood...which was certainly not that bad but they have to blame it on something). Be VERY careful as this med will pile on the pounds. I put on 20lbs in two months of taking it. I lost the weight after I stopped but not all of it...last 5 lbs still there. So do not take this unless you don't care about your weight..plus it was like everything else...stopped working after a short time, left me groggy all day, and only gave me 4 hours.

I really hope you're not going to see this waste of space shrink again.

In my opinion Moss is right. There are no doctors who can help chronic insomnia. I have seen every sleep specialist in San Diego, done CBT and taken every med there is. If you don't have apnea they can't help you...save yourself the co-pay. None of us would be on this site if there was a magic cure that a doctor could give.

[heapsreal]

here here shannsd, totally agree.
So what can we do. The best i have come up with is rotating between sleep meds to avoid dosage escalation and tolerence.

cheers!!!

[k horsley]

welcome to the club of nuts but were are not nuts... sons has 29 old unDx and DXs none apply to him... comb your hair ,trim your nail ,eat better ,get more sleep, no smoking or drinking ,..... blab blab blab ....don't forget to do something that will improve your life ....pills for this pills for that . increase, decrease ,side effects... blue pills, red pills ,white pills..the problem is your not trying to get better or your not trying heard enough...your a burden to your parents/family, your going to be dead in a few years ...after getting a DX of cats the shrink say to get better you have to admit you have a mental problem....time to scream.. ok better but not really and I'm just the mom ....but we now have a DX of cats with a possibly of nar and still no one here wants to deal with it.....how can you have nar when you can't sleep at night...

[JennyE]

If you define crazy as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, then I guess all of us are crazy. We may fall in love 10 times, knowing the chances of it failinng, then time number 11 it works out.
We have to keep hope that there will be different results. Of course we worry about not sleeping if that's something we want to avoid. Someone who never experienced something firsthand can ever truly understand feelings that go along with it, no matter what amount of education. Find someone ellse to help you with this.

[UghImTired]

Mine keeps insist I have depression. Well no poop sherlock!
What they do not get is that I'm having trouble with sleep because of depression.

They got it totally backward. I was doing fine until I started having insomnia. Debilitating insomnia and constant fatigue is what is stressing me out leading to depression and really the only way for me to feel good is if I don't feel tired whenever I'm awake.

[TheDreamer]

What bugs me, is not only am I not depressed....but putting me on an anti-depressant makes me depressed. And, some how the only thing they can do when that happens is increase my dose.

The Dreamer.

[jmny]

SHANSD, I have to respectfully disagree with your view that shrink's are of no help with sleep problems. I think a good shrink can be extremely effective for some people. I definitely can't speak to your specific situation (both because I'm not a doctor and because I know nothing about it). But I think that for certain people, a good shrink can be extremely effective at helping them break out of the vicious cycle of staying up late because of unproductive runaway thought patterns.

It sounds like you haven't had a good experience with psychology for insomnia. But I don't think that means it won't be helpful for anyone. I personally visited a psychologist when I was a teenager, after getting into a pattern where I'd be so caught up in my fears about getting to sleep that those thoughts would end up keeping me up. The strategies that he taught me in 2 or 3 sessions were very helpful. [Unfortunately, the positive results only lasted about 10 years and I eventually regressed to being heavily dependent on meds, but that's still a decent measure of success in my book].

kssfgirl - it sounds like your psychologist is either a bad communicator, or maybe just a bad match for you. But I wouldn't give up entirely on trying to work with a psychologist (even if you end up going to someone else). Honestly, I don't think the psychologist meant to suggest that you were insane, which you obviously are not. It sounds like he/she just meant that certain thought patters - that we all have -- are not particularly productive, and we need to work hard to break out of old unhealthy habits.