med question

[chadry]

My son who is 29 started showing signs of depression about 11/2 years ago after his business failed. he was not like this when he was growing up.He does have chronic fatigue syndrome we had dianosed when he was a senior in high school.
He was put on different medications and got worse. he kept telling them he was going to kill himself the way he felt. He went into a hospital and then they diagnosed him as bi polar. He is now taking different meds and one is lithium. They keep adding more and more. He does not feel any better. I am concerned about him because physically he looks horrible. I am worried about his health with these drugs. He keeps saying that everything hurts on him and that he has trouble using his hands. He has no strength in his hands and other parts of his body.
My daughter has Chiari 1 malformation and I know this condition can be hereditary. I have been doing some research and I am wondering if his symptoms can be related to this condition and the medication he is on is doing him more harm than good.
every time I see him he looks worse. he goes to the doctors and they do not seem to know what to do to help him. Shouldn't he be feeling somewhat better and more positive and active if the medication is working?
Unfortunately ther is not alot of different mental health facilities where we live so he is kind of stuck with the doctor he has.
Now they want him to go back on lexapro also. that is what he was on before when he went into the  hospital. He kept them the medication was making him feel worse. Why would they even suggest he take it again.
I seriously want him to have an MRI to see about the Chiari condition but we have to find a doctor to order it. Before he started to feel depressed he was starting to have problems with his arms, and when he went to the doctors they just say it could be a nerve in your neck etc. but would send hm for an MRI to really find out what is going on. Is there other medical conditions he could be checked for that could make him feel depressed or bi polar that we can look into. If the medication helped that would be great but it isn't so I am thinking maybe the doctors aren't looking at the big picture.
Thanks,
Chadry

[chadry]

Thanks to all for your help.I think I will talk to my son about going with him to his next appointment. I know he was telling me that he kind of tricked the doctor last time he was there because he gets blood work done and then they tell him everything is OK but they don't have the papers in his folders to look at. They will say well i seen them when they came in and they were OK, so this last times he asked how his blood work was and they said it came back OK. Same story  not in his folder but they seen it. He did not have any done. They said they looked at reports he didn't even have done.
Before all this he was starting to experience problems with his hands and arms and all the doctors ordered were x-rays and you know that will not show anything with your discs if there is a problem there.
I think they are getting the bi polar because of the fact that sometimes he feels good and sometimes he doesn't, he is tired. Well you have to take into consideration that he has chronic fatigue and he can cycle with that.
I truly believe he started out feeling depressed about the loss of his business and he was betrayed by someone he loves when it came to his business. It was one blow after another and he was extremely hurt, I think his pride suffered the most. He was used to having so much and giving everything to his family to have it lost behind his back.He did not know how to cope with that part of life. He went to a hospital in the beginning because he was trying so hard to get into the mental health facility here and they kept putting it off so he had to go to a hospital to be checked. we talked to the therapist who first seen him and he said the same thing. He said he was devastated about losing what he had worked so hard to get.
Once he started to go to this facility he went downhill fast from there. Another trip to a different hospital and then said they were surprised he was still alive and didn't kill himself with the meds he was on. Thats when they said bi polar and changed his medication. He was doing good at first. I think it was because he got all that other **** out of his system. Now they are just piling more and more on again and he looks so bad but he does not trust himself anymore and he is afraid not to take meds. It is a vicious cycle for him. I am thinking about paying for him to see another doctor. he had one man therapist that he really liked that he  talked to once a week and he went to all his sessions, well this man was accidentally killed a few weeks ago. There was a tragic accident he was involved in.
To adel_ezz- I have been a member for many years now. I have DDD in my back and neck so I have been on the back forum for years. I also participate in the chiari forum because of my youngest daughter. The people there are great and we really support each other. I have found a lot of helpful answers on these forums and have always been able to get other peoples opinions that i really take into consideration.
I am a little out of my league here but i am not unfamiliar with mental health issues. I have a step son who has had problems for years. I have seen him on almost all the meds my son is taking and he never looked the way my son does now. The meds never really seemed to bring him down the way they are my son. He could take all these meds and still function.
One of the problems he is having is that he has state insurance and not all places take that. I am going to see if my primary doctor will accept his insurance so that he can really have a good check up. he don't even get that at the places he has to go. I think we are going to have to start paying to get him some real answers.
I am also going to start doing more research into chronic fatigue again and see what I come up with there.
Thanks everyone for all your help and if you think of anything else let me know. I truly appreciate all the input I get..
Chadry

[adel_ezz]

pls don't take my words as conclusive. i.e. don't stop any meds on your own . i am not a doctor. my feeling only that the complications are due to his many drugs, but the choice and decision must be based on a sound medical advise

[adel_ezz]

somehow i have the feeling that your son's bad situation is due to the many doctors they saw him. if you want to ruin a car (sorry for comparison) consult different mechanics. the tremors is due to lithium no doubt, but that is the least. you said 11/2 year ago his business broke but this is not a reason to get BP. I am afraid BP nowadays is the disorder of choice among doctors as if his pdoc was cunning and intelligent enough to discover he has it. I bet all psych illness show overlapping symptoms.

I usually don't recommend that pts stop their meds, but in your case it won't make him much worse if he stops them. to be bipolar you should manifest not chronic fatigue but also mania, do you know what is mania, it's serious, you have it in your genes, you don't acquire it by being sad for some reason.

i have the feeling that it is neurological rather than psychiatric and it built up with time and the failure he encountered was only a straw.

finally we are not pdocs and can't judge from far, even if some of us are knowledgeable still you need a specialist. we only think loud with you trying to give support.

what i really think is that your son's case worsened due to his meds which also happens to many patients unfortunately

one final remark, i noticed you are a member since june 2007 is it in medhelp in general or to the BP forum, was the need to join in relation to depression or BP, i.e. were you suspecting BP symptoms for one member of your family? or that for another health reason. You may not reply to this question. I am only trying to remind you that perhaps this is a long story that of your son and not just 11/2 year ago
good luck

[ILADVOCATE]

You should speak to the psychiatrist if you believe the medication is not working. If there is a neurological issue that may be complicating things you should obtain a referral to a neurologist. You can post this question in the neurology forum as well.

[hell1971]

I found when on lithium I found the fine tremor stopped me being able to do things such as carving meat and things like that, so this could be a side effect of the lithium, my doctor took me off it for that reason as at the time I was not seemingly getting the right level of theraputic benefits, ie it wasnt working. I know this is hard to beleive but it has taken me nearly a year to become stable and several med changes to find the right combo. Only a phyc doc can help, its a shame if your access is limited, the right doctor is paramount in my opinion. Perhaps you could go with him when he has his next appointment as a support and also air your concerns, your son may not be telling them everything, I know when I go my husband comes too and is able to tell the doc stuff I dont remember. hope this helps take care x