lowering my dose due to night sweats & vivid dreams

[pulisa]

I am not medically trained and know nothing about elimination levels of drugs but I suspect you had a significant anxiety episode last night which improved once you had taken your normal meds and thus reassured yourself this morning that the correct dose of ven was back in your system. Don't give the ven that power that it could wreak such havoc on your system after 1 day of a reduced dosage?

[MrAndy]

best thing to do is try and get stable again,get christmas out the way and start afresh in the new year.You will be ok youve had some very stressful stuff to deal with that would rock a person without anxiety,you are stronger than you think you are
Try not to read to much online about the Ven ,as I said ive got a close mate on 50mg and he drinks and parties hard on it forgets to take it and comes on and off when hes feeling ok with no ill effects.
Keep battling away x x x

[nicola1980]

Oh yes Pulisa I completely agree, it just scares me to death to think how potent ven is, I'm under no illusions last nights anxiety attack was purely the withdrawal but I think it played a significant part, if anything this has made me more determined to get off this med when I'm mentally ready but perhaps Mr Andy is right, I'm probably not in that place at the moment with the other stresses I have going on and your right I Google far too much but strange isn't it because my son's paediatrician actually told me to research his ASD online?? I was given no other information at his diagnosis, no information leaflet or anything, infact his appointment when he got diagnosed was less than 20 mins long! I really don't have much faith in our healthcare system what with my physc and that that paediatrician!! XX

[pulisa]

ASD is diagnosed nonchalantly at the drop of a hat these days. My daughter was diagnosed at 2 a few days before Christmas-we had a lengthy assessment but halfway through the psych went to sleep and his colleague had to take over...Too much Christmas boozing at lunchtime...He did recover to deliver the obvious diagnosis and wished us all a Merry Christmas...

I agree in that you should get Christmas out the way before reassessing the ven. I think you need a strong support network in place to help you in the coming weeks and, as Mr Andy says, try not to expect the worse when it comes to any reduction of ven if in fact you choose to take this route.

I also think you need to find a psychiatrist in whom you have faith and trust. With all due respect a GP just doesn't have the knowledge or expertise to advise and support you in these circumstances xx

[nicola1980]

The form filling for his diagnosis was very lengthy and in depth, I had to fill out an developmental form that took me over 4 hours as I had to give examples for every question I answered and recall from baby upwards but the initial diagnosis took a 20 min appointment, admittedly I could've asked questions which I did to some extent but when your in a situation like that you always think afterwards 'oh I shouldve asked'. We have another appointment in January and this time I am writing some notes as there is questions I would like answering. As regards to my gp I totally agree and even him himself has admitted to me he doesn't know much about ven and altho he is very supportive he isn't a qualified physc so mental health isn't his expertise. Even tho I had a tough time getting on the ven and increasing my dose it has helped me immensely but the med itself scares me and I would like to decrease my dose at least but perhaps now isn't the right time. My family is fantastic especially my parents and they have commented at the difference in my mental health and how much better I am mentally which I am, I would say I lead a normal life now, I can make plans, I go out on my own etc which a few years ago was a huge task for me, I've also managed to lower my olanzapine to half myself which wasn't easy, if it wasn't for these dreams and night sweats I would be feeling even better but I will see what the haematologist has to say and take it from there, I may even be tempted to go for a private consultation with a physc, I have a friend who pays privately for one and he is very good but very expensive! XX

[MrAndy]

You shouldn't have to pay get your GP to refer you

[pulisa]

It's always a bonus if a psych comes personally recommended. I'd certainly advise that you have a good think about this possibility-it could be a significant investment?

I'm not surprised that ASD diagnosis is now mainly based on form filling-in. 20 minutes is an absolute disgrace in which to assess your son face-to-face. I have never seen a paediatrician with my daughter only psychiatrists/psychologists and of course the dubious local CAMHS which was laughable and they knew they were out of their depth with her. Their head psychiatrist told me that she would never improve and that all treatment was hopeless etc. She proved them wrong-she just didn't respond to their standard package of "care". We often think back to those days and laugh at just how incompetent the CAMHS team were.

You need to get the best care for your son-it will make a huge difference to his future progress.14 and puberty is a challenging time for him but he's lucky to have such a devoted, caring Mum and a loving familyxx

[nicola1980]

Thankyou Pulisa, my son is under CAMHS too but you only get 12 sessions then that's it but I don't think they helping at all really, what has helped is my constant battling with his school to finally get him the support he needs and now that's in place the difference is amazing in him but I really had to fight for it which is wrong. It sounds like you've been through so much with your daughter and I can't believe they said she would never improve that is absolutely disgraceful, we will do anything for our kids won't we? I will fight for all the help he needs he is my absolute world and it breaks my heart that I can't protect him from this but I can help him and support him as you do your daughter, I just need to educate myself a bit more on his diagnosis XX

[MyNameIsTerry]

I remember reading that the budget for children's mental health was actually quite lowe when compared to adult services. Then I read a House of Commons report commissioned late last year that showed many of these local CAMH's depts were badly failing national targets. These included interviews with parents and they were not good reviews. It was very saddening to see children waiting even longer than many of us adults were. For me thats is completely backwards and not only because catching these disorders in childhood means a greater chance of success but also because these are children - they are scared and not rushing to help a scared child goes against everything a parent would believe in, and adults in general.

Nicola, it seems worth following up on the iron thing first. If there is an impact from that, it will only help you to get it stabilised before trying this again.

Please don't worry about being on meds. Peoplke don't question why diabetics need meds for life, or asthma sufferers like me, it's accepted it is needed. I see no difference with mental health. To believe mental health needs differ is a stigma issue for me because having mental health problems is not a weakness or a failing. I've been watching a programme about guys trying to get through a selection test based on the SAS one on CH4. One of the staff conducting the training left the SAS due to PTSD. Yet he is still able to do all that and is a highly trained thinking soldier. Is he weak or a failure? Absolutely not, he's just reached a limit due to his experiences and needs another path now. Thats just us, we all have a limit and once you hit it, things change. That doesn't mean we can't be successful in what we want to achieve and it's obvious you are a good mother and thats one of the most important roles in life as far as I'm concerned.

[pulisa]

You'll be the best judge of what is best for your son anyway, Nic. You'll grow in confidence at managing ASD and will become an "expert" yourself. The main thing is getting appropriate support and understanding for him at school-especially in an academic setting where pressure will be mounting for exam success shortly.