How far can medicine take you? Or faith for that matter?

[music lover 88]

I don't know what to do anymore. My sister is sick. She has bipolar disorder. She's taking three different medications now and has been able to manage her health since her last episode which was over a year ago. But the past few days things have flared up again, pretty quickly because of stress at work.

 

I don't understand. Isn't her medicine supposed to keep this from happening? I don't want her to be in the hospital again, I know she doesn't want to go through this again, it will be the fourth time, if so.

 

This is so scary, I want to help her but I don't know what to do. She hadn't slept in two days. We live together, I tried to help her be comfortable, make sure that she was taking her medicine. And she still couldn't sleep. She had racing thoughts, had major problems concentrating, and was worried beyond belief that everyone wanted the worst for her. I started singing some religious songs/prayers, I didn't know what else to do, and she finally got maybe a couple hours of sleep.

 

What can be done now? We've been calling her doctor, we couldn't get ahold of him because its the weekend. We took her to urgent care this morning and they gave her a shot to calm down and try and help her sleep, but it didn't help.

 

We're at my parents house now. I feel better knowing my parents and brother are here. My brother got her some sleep aid medicine from the pharmacy. She was able to nap a little bit, but keeps talking outloud while sleeping. At least what looks like sleeping? Is this normal? Its really scary, because she's talking nonsense out loud, or even sounds like she's having a conversations at times, but no ones talking to her, and she appears to be resting.

 

I want her to be at peace, I want her to stop worrying, I want the anxiousness to go away, the racing thoughts and restlessness to go away. Isn't medicine supposed to make it go away?

[avman]

Medicine can help you cope, but it does not actually solve your problems. If your sister is getting sick from stress at work, the only way to really cure that is to alter her work situation.

 

If it helps, I had a very similar situation. I have clinical depression. Most of the time it is kept nicely under control with medication and I function just fine. However late last year the stress at my job caused me to have a total emotional meltdown. No medication was able to help. My only alternative was to quit my job and find something else less stressful.

 

So I did. I found a new job a month later. And I am so much happier it's ridiculous.

 

Your sister should take immediate medical leave from her job. Have her doctor declare her disabled so she can focus only on her mental health. It sounds like she is in a major crisis so it's time to make some radical changes to help her out.

[music lover 88]

Thank you avman.

She's decided not to go to work tomorrow, so at least thats a step. And the doctor's office is open tomorrow so we can call and get her an appt. ASAP. Her regular psychiatrist is in on Tuesdays, so she can see him soon.

 

So you're saying the only way to prevent this from happening in the future, is to removeful the stressful situation thats triggering the episode? She's been at this job for almost two years, her first 'real' job out of college. She will feel that she can't handle the 'real' world or corporate world if she leaves, she won't have the confidence to work somewhere else.

 

She was thinking of switching teams or departments at work, as she's having trouble with her co-workers and what her managers expect from her. It was over a year ago when she had her last episode and she took about two months medical leave, maybe more. She was working yet another department at time, with different people.

 

Her degree is in engineering from the University of Michigan, and she feels incapable and unmotivated to work in the engineering field. Her current job is as a business analyst, after having finished a rotational program in mangement development.

 

I guess its one step at a time. No work tomorrow, and seeing the doctor as soon as possible.

[avman]

So you're saying the only way to prevent this from happening in the future, is to removeful the stressful situation thats triggering the episode?

 

Well no I'm not saying that. I am saying that stressful episodes can really compound the problem and may even render her medication ineffective.

 

I think seeing the doctor ASAP is a good idea. And she should take a few days sick leave from work until she does.