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Mental Health - Please Help - What to do?
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12-07-2010 9:44pm#1Its a long stort so I apologise in advance.
Basically Dh has suffered from depression for about 4 years. He went to his GP about 3 years ago and was prescribed meds. These meds have been changed by his GP 3 or 4 times since but the problem is getting worse and worse. (He had 2 counselling sessions but didn't cope well with them).
The gaps between the bad spells are shorter and shorted and the bad spells are getting worse.
4 months ago things hit rock bottom. We went to his GP and asked for him to be referred to professionals. My firends DH went to St Edmundsbury and had great results so we asked to go there but the GP said that the local hospital was " as good as anyplace" so we went with what he said and DH was sent into casualty (it was Good Friday) where he saw someone who upped his meds (he was on Cymbalta). They said he'd get a follow up appointment.
So he took the increased meds and the 'black moods' went (that's how he puts it himself) but he bean having panic attacks, not sleeping at all at night, lost loads of weight. Anyways, we waited for an appointment with the consultant but it never came. Instead he got an appointment with the nurse in the mental health day clinic. They never told him what the system / setup or anything would be. He had two appointments this way and each time they told him hed get an appointment soon for counselling etc. He missed an appointment because he overslept last month and they said it was with the consultant (he didn't know this when the appt was sent out - it just said the attend the clinic) - anyways, he didn't get another appointment until the end of July. I know it was his fault for missing the appt but it awsn't intentional and by now hes in a bad state. Panic attacks over little things that feel like hes having a heart attack and then hard to breath - it can last up to two days at a time.
So last week we couldn't take it anymore and he went into the clinic. He said he really really needed to see someone so finally they gave him an appt for the following day.
He saw a Junior doctor (the consultant was on holidays) and after speaking to him ( he told him about the not sleeping, panick etc) she phoned the consultant and they told him to stop the Cymbalta and start taking Seroquel 100mg.
He started it Friday at 2pm and by 4pm he couldn't function - he had slurred speech and literally couldn't keep his eyes open. He slept for 41 hours of the next 48 hours almost solidly. On Sunday he couldn't take it anymore - he was hearing things (like the phone but it wasn't ringing, peoply calling him to go to customer services in a shop even though no-one did) and he became very short tempered and agressive (NOT like him at all!). He had a constant buzzing / throbbing in his head. He couldn't take it anymore so he stopped the meds. We weren't sure what to do so that evening he took the Cymbalta agian ( a MHN had said previously that Cymbalta can be prescribed with Seroquel so we knew it should be OK) .. and DH was afraid to not take anything.
So he had another appt today. We thought it would be with the consultant - when we went in it turned out to be with the junior doctor again. We told her what had happened and she seemed more concerned that he'd taken the Cymbalta than the unbelieveble effects of the Seroquel. this is the first time I've gone to one of his appts there and it really felt like they didn't want me to be there - that I was bullying DH or something ... I defiantely am not, the reason I went is that DH doesn't feel he can explain now and wanted me to help speaking to them. The junior doctor was about to look at prescribing another drug. I asked her who DHs consultant was (we weren't even told this before) and I said we needed to see her as DH hasn't seen her at all.
The JD said the consultant would be back in a while so we could speak to her. She came an hour or so later - after 4.30. She came in to the waiting room to us (there was no-one else there0 and basically stood in front of us and said she hadn't time to see DH today and could she send us out an appointment!:( .. The man is not well and hes there because he really needs help and she hasn't time to see him! When we said that we didn't know what to do about the meds and we needed help she said to stay off all meds She also put more emphasis on the Cymbalta than what had happened. She said that the Cymbalta wouldn't do any good being taken only for a day
.. I mean he's taken them for almost a year now except for the two days on Seroquel (Friday and Saturday) so you'd imaging they would kick in again and actually they have already kicked in .. hes getting the same symptoms back.
Anyways she said, stay on the Cymbalta "I'm in court tomorrow" and I'll have X ring you on Thursday or Firday ... the woman wants to leave him a week in this state!
She said about the next appt and I said I'd like to be there and she basically told me that she'll be speaking to DH so basically keep out of it! So that was it - we left:(
DH is suffering again now. I really don't have any faith in thei place and I want to go back to the plan of going to St Edmundburys ... I'm terrified and so is he! He wants to see what happens Thu or Friday but I'm not even sure he'll get an appointment for then - the appointment may not be until after that by the sounds of things ... I just don't know what to do!
Does it sound right what has happened re how this is being handled? Am I being over worried??
I really have no idea what to do and could really do with advice.
orry this has been so long - I just don't know where else to turn0
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