Going to the shrink... little nervous

Hey everybody,
I have a psychiatrist appointment tomorrow, and I'm kinda scared.  I've got some disorders that are sometimes classified as OCD (hairpulling, skinpicking, nailbiting) and I'm trying to stop them.  Also, I don't know how well my anti-depressant is working these days.

After WLS, I kept waiting to feel more energy.  Four years out, I am still so tired.  Is it my meds?  Is it my thyroid?  I've had blood tests, and they all say I'm pretty normal.  Low B-12, but I'm getting shots for that now. 

I just want to feel good.  I want to have the energy of a normal 27 year old.  I want to be medication-free, if possible.  I'm worried that I'll meet this doctor, and nothing will change. 

Thanks for letting me talk.

I hope you can get some relief and get your meds working for you. I too suffer from OCD~although mine has manifested itself differently from yours, its still a daily struggle. Keep telling the dr's how you feel until they make you feel better, just don't give up!!! Good Luck and keep us posted on how things are going!

Thanks, Tracy.  I really appreciate it.

Corrie,

What is OCD.  What does it stand for?  I have a bad habit of picking my head.  It creates scabs and then I pick those.  Sometimes my head bleeds really bad, but I can't stop doing it.  I've been told that I can get a staph infection, but I still do it.  My head is soo sore, but I can't stop.  I do it when I drive by myself or in the middle of the night..............I see a psychiatrist for panic/anxiety/depression disorder.  I have never mentioned the head picking though.  Also I see a therapist and haven't mentioned it to her either.  Is it really something to worry about.  It's not like I'm cutting myself or anything........

OCD - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Carol,

OCD stands for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.  The head-picking you're talking about seems really close to trichotillomania, which is what I have.  I pull my hairs out, one at a time.  Driving is one of the worst times for me.  It's also related to other things like nail-biting and stuff like that.

Definitely mention to your psych doc and your therapist.  If you feel like you can't stop the behavior even though you want to, then yeah, I think that's a problem.

The psychiatrist I saw yesterday switched my medication to something that should help address the compulsive stuff, as well as the depression.  She put me on Cymbalta.  Hope it makes a difference!

Here's a quick definition of dermatillomania, or compulsive skin picking: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsive_skin_picking