Today was not the start to a new month that I wanted. Honestly, my mental health journey has been nothing short of a rollercoaster. And the first day of October decided to kick things off with—you guessed it—a trip to the ER.
Why? Medication side effects. (Spoiler alert: yes, that’s exactly what it was.)
Let’s rewind a bit. Back in July, I was hospitalized for a manic episode, and my med cocktail got shuffled around. I was put on:
- 400mg Seroquel + 300mg Lamictal at bedtime
- 200mg Seroquel in the morning
- PRNs: Zyprexa 5mg (now bumped to 10mg) and Trazodone 100mg for sleep
Since then, things have been… rocky. About two weeks ago, I started noticing edema in my feet and hands. On top of that, my sleep got out of control. If you’ve been following along, you know I’ve basically been a professional napper at this point. My vitals have been a mess too—high blood pressure, resting heart rate over 100 bpm. All signs pointing back to the same culprit: Seroquel.
The breaking point? I literally slept 6 out of 8 hours of my work shift. Totally unacceptable. I reached out to my doctor, but he only replied hours later through MyChart, saying basically, “This is too big to handle over a message—go to the ER if you feel unsafe.”
So, I went. Labs, EKG, the whole nine yards. And guess what? I was right. Side effects. But the ER said it wasn’t really their problem to fix and told me to wait for my next appointment in—wait for it—TEN DAYS.
I left feeling completely defeated. Ten more days of this? I can’t keep functioning like this. I’m dangerously exhausted, falling asleep at work, barely staying awake at home. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I ordered water pills and caffeine pills to try to counteract the side effects until I can actually see my doctor.
Other than that, today was basically a wash—I slept most of it away. The one bright spot? I had a stack of Amazon boxes waiting for me when I got home. Planner stuff, of course. I saved them all to open after the hospital trip, like a little reward. When I have some energy, I’ll be putting together a planner cart with all my supplies (cue the angels singing).
But for now? It’s survival mode. Meds stay the same, OTC helpers in the mix, and me counting down the days until that appointment.