Depression and post-traumatic stress disorder

[peace326]

My son was murdered in Jan, 2005 and I've since been treated and diagnosed with PTSD - however, I was previously being treated for depression.

When I was tested last year the psychologist stated that I had severe depression, with PTSD & severe anxiety and panic disease with possible OCD and maybe some personality disorder.

Is it possible given the fact that these tests are really just yes and no questions and they leave no room for variation of answers - and even if a particular answer isn't on the test you still have to pick one - that some of these conclusions can be wrong?  (I know the one about the severe depression and PTSD probably is correct - but if I look at the test it looks like everything is wrong with me and nothing is right with me - and it seems so overwhelming it's like can I ever get well - I was placed on Lamictal, Cymbalta and Klonopin - however my doctor upped the lamictal to 400 mgs and the cymbalta to 60 mgs and I had a very severe reaction to it (this was after having been rushed to the hospital in the intensive cardiac care unit because the doctor prescribed lithium when I was on a diuretic for high blood pressure).  To make a long story short after calling the doctor and telling about the severe rash and itching and breakout - instead of being treated for that I was hospitalized for depression).  

So you can see I don't trust doctors too much - lately with a new doctor I've been put on wellbutrin, prozac and klonopin but I'm also on Chantrix because now they say I must stop smoking bec. of they say I have the beginnings of COPD - however I'm beginning to wonder about all these so-called diseases.

Any help

[birdie0907]

My friend's hubby always laughed off her comments that he would get COPD while he was smoking. Now he can barely mow the lawn, and is moving down a chute from which he has no control to an oxygen tank. The laughing has stopped, he doesn't get to "enjoy" his smokes any longer, and he is very unhappy.
If you can quit, do it now, not later.  

[ILADVOCATE]

Well start over with this doctor. The other doctor in raising the dosage of Lamictal that high and allowing you to develop Stephen's Johnson's syndrome (if that's what the rash was) as well as prescribing Lithium which has known interactions with diurectics, may have violated some standard regulations. I rarely state this but you should file a formal complaint within the hospital where he worked. I can explain how.
  Now let's start with the new doctor. Don't assume they will unethical like the old one. Get an exact diagnosis. Every different psychiatric disability will have different forms of treatment. Its hard to diagnose ptsd because a person develops it in reaction to a traumatic event and its not inherited which is not the case for other psychiatric disabilities. It can mitigate over time. So they need to find out exactly what's going on.
  As for COPD that's a known physical illness that's severe so they are correct to tell you to stop smoking. Chantix is one known means. I do know someone who developed a severe reaction to it though but I don't know how common that is. Look it up online on medically reliable sites and find out. However, unlike PTSD that's a known quantity and in that case stopping smoking could literally save your life.