A Father's Experience

Lisa's sick/meds

Lisa was going to visit her friend in Detroit this weekend. After she had bought her ticket, she felt sick. It is difficult to tell if she has the flu or if this is some kind of side effect from her meds. Sometimes I think this is how she reacts when she hasn't been eating well with the combination of taking her meds. I get concerned when she gets sick, because she often uses this excuse to stop taking her meds and then she ends up in the Behavior Med department of the hospital.

She wants me to attend her next doctor appointment with her psychiatrist to see if I can convince him to put her on a different medication that does not have the side effect of weight gain. The doctor hesitates to do this, because the only medication that has helped her (after trying almost all that were on the market) was Clozipine. It has worked for her so well, that the doctor doesn't want to make a change. She has been on this for 3 years now with great success. The doctor told her there are other good meds out there that might be as good, but he doesn't want to make a change unless Lisa starts having problems. I feel that if being over weight gives her low self esteem, then this is a problem. I want to talk to him about trying something new. If she starts having problems, then well go back to Clozipine. I hope we can convince him before we consider other alternatives. She generally has such a good doctor/patient relationship with him. We'll see what happens.