Depression

[penguinmonkey]

My *entire* mental health team has been transferred from Riverside in Partick to the Arndale in Drumchapel.

The rationale? Too many patients in Riverside for not enough Health professionals, Arndale apparently has the antithesis.

Anyway .. I sent the flare up that I didn't want my team to change .. I haven't been brilliant recently but I haven't been accusing my Dad of trying to poison me with mercury any time in the recent past (and yes I have done o.O) but , hey, not great. Hence my recent abscence from the important HG gigs.

I'm sorry guys, I sooo wanted to be there, but honestly - you would have gotten a different bloke. [shame ]

Anyway .. after five unanswered phonecalls to the previous manager in Riverside asking to be maintained in the status quo, I was informed that I was obliged to attend my new assesment.

Three phone calls to one manager blanked, ANGRY phone call leading to conversation with same informing me he was passing my details onto AN Other. (I subsequently discovered Manager A was leaving the job and basically didn't give a fuck!!)

Manager B recieved two emails, one hand written letter and failed to answer three phone calls.

Result:

Today, I was informed I was not only having my shrink, Consultant shrink and CPN changing to complete strangers, but my meds were changing too.

In conformance with my new Consultant Shrink (who didn't yet have access to my full medical records) .. it was still seen fit to cut my antidepressant in half, TRIPLE my primary antipsychotic, maintain my secondary and delete my PRN (as required) antipsychotic and add fucking Valium as my new "as required".

Continuity of care people .. continuity of care .. the drugs start tomorrow.

I may be some time .. I may be QUITE some time.

That is fucking ridiculous big man!!

How can anyone who calls themselves a healthcare professional make wholesale changes to your medication without recourse to your full medical history and on the basis of one short meeting, and still be able to look at themselves in the mirror is beyond me financial pressures from above or not.

The worst thing about this sort of thing is that these imposed changes can affect your ability to fight said changes and you can get locked in a downward spiral through no fault of your own.

I have just changed GP and am not looking forward to having a battle over the anti-depressants I am on as they have been deemed to have dangerous side effects. I have been on the things for nearly 10 years now and have learned to live with any side effects and believe me they are a lot more manageable than the alternative.

Personally I would fight these changes as long as you are able to for yourself and others in your situation which I am sure you will continue to do.

The thing that really pisses me off is that these decisions will have been taken at a managerial level with no consultation with the patients and people on the ground (who are just numbers on a spreadsheet) and these decisions will have severe and long-lasting effects on the lives of people least able to fight these changes

[Fat Cat]

Changes in health care are all down to money. Not the lack of it but "reviewing" how it is spent (not on patient care but on management projects). It would make your hair curl to see the waste, but who are we but their "customers"...

My GP is top notch, excellent listener and a really great health professional, but the support structure has been either cut to the bone or is completely gone.

[Josef]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but GPs are - and have been for ages - indirectly employed (i.e. private sector) contractors?

[Doorstop]

I believe that to be the case, yes.

[RDR]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but GPs are - and have been for ages - indirectly employed (i.e. private sector) contractors?

GPs are independant contractors in the main (there are some exceptions, schedule 2c practices for instance).
They are, however, highly priviliged independant contractors in that its a rigged market and they have numerous protections unlike any other so called business.

For the general public, it can be very confusing. In a practice premises there may be nursing staff directly employed by the practice (and other doctors too) and there may be staff employed by the Health Board, you can't always tell that easily.

In DS's circumstances, his CPN and Consultant are part of the mental health services of the Health Board, and those services are controlled by the sector of the Glasgow CHP they fall into, unless the CHP sector decides to move the teams around, which is what's going on here. The GP has little or no control over that, but they do have a consultation mechanisim within the CHP. they don't of course have to listen to any of the GPs.

[Doorstop]

I'm going to have to speak to someone about these new meds .. I've put on so much weight since taking them and I'm seriously not right in the head.

This is rapidly going very, very wrong.

[jodieohdoh]

I'm going to have to speak to someone about these new meds .. I've put on so much weight since taking them and I'm seriously not right in the head.

This is rapidly going very, very wrong.

I'm just wondering if there's some sort of advocacy group you could ask for advice/assistance, DS. It's not right for you to be neglected like this. Something like mind.org.uk perhaps?

[Doorstop]

Thanks Jodie .. I'm seeing the consultant again in ten days .. I'm just going to have to keep going till then.

[Boxer6]

Thanks Jodie .. I'm seeing the consultant again in ten days .. I'm just going to have to keep going till then.

Fingers crossed for you big guy. I can see no reason why your meds should be changed willy-nilly like that, especially without seeing you, which I think is what happened, yes? Hopefully, your new RMO will be persuaded to reinstate your previous regime.

Jodie - not sure MIND would be much help in cases like this tbh, and advocacy tends to be used more in cases where a person may be placed under a detention order or the like, so that in the absence of a (supportive) family member, the person is still able to put their point of view across. Doesn't always help, mind you, but the facility is there to use if desired.

[Doorstop]

Boxer, I did meet her .. but she only had the preliminary folder from my notes so she was basically making decisions on a quarter of my history. I am all over the place but that may well be just while I adjust .. I must say I don't care for the valium though .. most unpleasant, fuzzy feeling, being dosed on those. Why folk actually seek them out I'll never know.

Anyway, as I say, I'm seeing her again on the 23rd .. if I'm not listened to at that juncture it's time to turn up the volume perhaps.

Meanwhile .. a wee find .. A Black Cloud

[Fat Cat]

Thanks Jodie .. I'm seeing the consultant again in ten days .. I'm just going to have to keep going till then.

Do you have a CPN? If not, ask your consultant if you can access this service. They are [usually] very good.

[Boxer6]

Boxer, I did meet her .. but she only had the preliminary folder from my notes so she was basically making decisions on a quarter of my history. I am all over the place but that may well be just while I adjust .. I must say I don't care for the valium though .. most unpleasant, fuzzy feeling, being dosed on those. Why folk actually seek them out I'll never know.

Anyway, as I say, I'm seeing her again on the 23rd .. if I'm not listened to at that juncture it's time to turn up the volume perhaps.

Meanwhile .. a wee find .. A Black Cloud

Diazepam/Valium should really only be a short-term measure at best, certainly not something you'd want to be on for any extended period of time. Quite apart from the potential addictive nature of Benzo's in general, Diazepam particularly is noted for its' amnesiac qualities.

Not as bad as e.g. Rohypnol but certainly up there and shoutin'. Something to query if she's planning it for long-term I'd say.

[Doorstop]

Thanks Jodie .. I'm seeing the consultant again in ten days .. I'm just going to have to keep going till then.

Do you have a CPN? If not, ask your consultant if you can access this service. They are [usually] very good.

My CPN is excellent FC, great bloke. That's another of my concerns .. they are allowing him to continue being my primary contact to the service for the time being, but he's told me that its only an interim arrangement.

Sooner or later I will have to change .. and while I can't say I've ever had a bad CPN, some are definitely better than others.

[Doorstop]

Boxer .. the Valium is another interim measure. To cover the gap left by the removal of my PRN largactil while the higher dose of Seroquel kicks in .. three weeks maximum (so far). My worry is the higher dose of Seroquel doesn't seem to be doing much, especially if I'm stressed.

What happens when the PRN Valium stops? What plugs the gaps then?

I'm trying not to let the cyclic worrying cook my head too much until the 23rd when I can speak to her again.

[Boxer6]

Boxer .. the Valium is another interim measure. To cover the gap left by the removal of my PRN largactil while the higher dose of Seroquel kicks in .. three weeks maximum (so far). My worry is the higher dose of Seroquel doesn't seem to be doing much, especially if I'm stressed.

What happens when the PRN Valium stops? What plugs the gaps then?

I'm trying not to let the cyclic worrying cook my head too much until the 23rd when I can speak to her again.

Ah OK, that makes a bit more sense! I think I'm right in saying that Largactil (Cpz) works on different receptors in the brain, so it would make a bit more sense to continue using that as a PRN rather than rely solely on Seroquel, in spite of the potential EPSE, if you're happy with it "as is".

The issue many of my medical colleagues have these days with Cpz and the like is they're classed as "dirty" meds, due to the sometimes quite horrific side-effects. That makes them very antsy about prescribing them, as more and more are being sued (not here - yet!) for wrongful prescribing when people develop side-effect symptoms. Plus, we now work on the "least restrictive" principle of prescribing which, as you know, means giving you the meds which will have the least sedating, least side-effect-inducing effects on you as an individual.

Laudable, but that doesn't always take into account peoples' individual preferences unfortunately.