v4md said:
vision changes, electric shock sensations, dry mouth, weight gain, sexual dysfunction are all common side effect that I have experienced.
Looking back I wish someone would have told me these following things I had to learn the hard way:
1) take care of yourself first and foremost, medical school is not worth your life neither are insurance costs. So take that first step go to student health worry about the consequences later.
2)get meds quick; I am a med student at the school with the top psych program in the nation, yet even the attendings here can be incompetent at diagnosing and/or talk therapy (my own diagnosis was missed for over 6 months by an attending AFTER I went to student health and my grades promptly disintegrated without meds). You need to own up to the symptoms, if someone doesn't take you seriously keep trying through a different organization (they dont seem to like it if you try to switch attendings at student health from their stupid politics), or pay out of pocket for 1 or 2 visits to a private doc who will listen to you (they almost certainly give a free eval, and will give discounts to med students). You can always go back to student health once your regimen is sorted out and sort out the money later which is what happened to me.
3) do the talk therapy; studies show more effective etc.
4) find someone you trust on the faculty with power and spill your guts to them, because there will be...
5) consequences. the reality is that even after you successfully right yourself from steps 1 to 3, you will still have the consequences and few will even acknowledge your incredible accomplishments from where you have to come. There is just no parity for people with mental illness. If you neglect your friends and/or partner enough they will leave you. If your grades get bad enough you will get kicked out, even if you don't get kicked out it will be mentioned on your transcript dean's letter, and it WILL affect your residency options/chances as I am finding out. Even among doctors and the medical establishment, there is a lot stigma aka "it is all your fault". If you talk about depression and how much you tried, it will be your onus to prove that you are mentally capable. Try to have your support from #4 who can actually do something to help you out and not just pay lip service. Taking time off at the first sign of trouble may be best to save from permanent damage, if you have the financial and emotional resources.
Please please don't give up... sometimes the pain may be too much...and you may not see the point of continuing...but call it a hunch...stick it out..whatever you hold dear use that as your motivation...get help, get better, and even if med sch don't love you there's always someone/someplace who will love you ibanking or at least you can start afresh without anyone knowing and blaming you.
Hi there,
I was lucky to diagnose myself after taking a Behavioral Science class about schizophrenia. I was like yeah right? I have all of these symptoms. I better see a psychiatrist ASAP. I was at first shocked about how I became ill then realized schizophrenia runs in my family. I was like well, duh, no wonder!
I have to admit that admitting one has a mental illness is not going to get anyone brownie points in the medical field. But, if one is going into psychiatry, one hopes there will be more understanding. I don't know but will find out soon with my interviews. I am praying about this.
I agree that if you think you have a problem with depression and anxiety or any other type of mental illness, you should see a psychiatrist ASAP because the earlier you treat it the better the outcome. However, I went through a series of idiot psychiatrists before I met the right one for me. Yes, sometimes you meet psychiatrists who think that mental illness is a curse of some sort.
Mental illnesses are not well understood even amongst the best of psychiatrists. Why some of us are prone to it? Noone knows the facts. All one can do is alleviate the symptoms with meds and therapy and hope for the best.
Unfortunately, with my illness, the outcome is not as good for some. I have had to deal with many hurdles myself. Like I said in my other posts, I don't know how I made it through sometimes. I do believe in God's will. I have to ,otherwise, I would have given up a long time ago.
I have to say that if you have a mental illness and can hide it, that is great. If you had to take some minor leave of absences, you still can come up with something that can gloss over your residency application. However, if you have a situation like mine, you just cannot deny the facts. I had to repeatedly change my meds thanks to the drug companies that keep coming up with the new meds. And , this caused me to take time off here and there.
I wish I can come up with some great excuse. But, I can't. I do agree with posts to hide your illness from others as much as possible. However, you should be open to your close friends, family, and few special professors who you believe will understand your situation. You will need to have your own support network to get through medical school.
I think in the end you should stick it out if you can despite your difficulties. I believe that you will become a more understanding and compassionate physician given your experiences with an illness. I believe I have a better understanding of others with mental illness sometimes more than I ever wanted. I don't think of my illness as a curse but a blessing at times. I see things from a different perspective and have a much stronger bond with my patients than if I had been healthy. I have overcome so much that I know I can overcome anything at this point in my life.
I hope that no matter what you choose to do in life that you will be more enlightened by the fact you suffer so much.
Thanks for reading my message.
God bless,
psychedoc2b