P-Doc Follow Up

Back from the Pdoc. On my last visit he gave me a mood chart. It was a ratty, faded, off kilter thing due to being copied dozens of times. I couldn't stand to look at it, let alone use it. So I created a new one, using Excel. Excel "excels" at making business forms, you can lay things out with great precision. Even with that, I only got about 3 weeks charted. He asked me to be more diligent about using it, and I know I should. I burned him off a copy of the new form on CD, and he said I was "the man". Of course, not enough to get a discount on my session... If there's any interest in that form, let me know and I'll post it for download.

We went over the usual things, alcohol use, which was minimal. Drug use - I don't understand why he thinks I'm going to start using drugs, maybe I'm high risk for that. I told him my main concern was irritability and anxiety. I asked if maybe I was on too low a dose of Lamictal, I'm at a minimal therapeutic level of 100 mg. He said Lamictal was more for depression, and since it seemed to be doing an acceptable job of controlling that, we should keep the level where it is. I don't mind that, although I think awareness of my moods is doing more to keep depression away than the Lamictal. But I have to admit it is working. I read Bipolar Guy's blog on psych visits, and how much of a red flag an elevated mood is. It made sense, and I wanted to avoid that if possible. But the doc said the best way to control the irritation and anxiety would be with a small dose of Depakote. Of course, from the first time I walked into his office I knew he'd be prescribing that. I'm concerned that it might bring down the highs, and I don't want to lose those. We'll see what happens. He started me on 250 mg for 2 weeks, then 500 mg after that, to be taken just before bed.

I told him the spikes I experience during a full moon, and he said that is not uncommon among his patients. While it doesn't happen to everyone, he said some parents regularly see it in their kids. This is pretty obviously an indication that there is something there, as if I needed to be convinced of it.

Not much else was covered, and no significant insites gained. Just a "touch base how are you doing" visit.

I'll be writing about the effects of the Depakote in upcoming posts.