Mental Health Care Practitioners - Dr Antoinette Miric

16 Nov 2014

All about Lamotrigine/Lamictin for non-psychiatrists

Lamicitin is an antiepileptic which is registered for use for Bipolar Disorder 1- maintenance phase, and Epilepsy. It is commonly used by psychiatrists to treat Treatment-resistant depression, Bipolar Spectrum disorders and mood instability associated with Borderline Personality Disorder. Lamicitin works on voltage sensitive sodium channels and gated sodium and calcium channels / sigma opioid receptors. What do you need to know about Lamicitin which your patients are taking? Pros Generally considered to be one the best drug on the market for Bipolar Disorder II, due to its antidepressant and mood stabiliser effect. Weight neutral. One of the safest meds to […]

19 Nov 2014

Are Psychiatric Medications addictive?

24 Nov 2014

What is the Bipolar Spectrum?

This article is primarily written for health professionals/mental health professionals who have some knowledge of psychiatric disorders. What is the Bipolar Spectrum? There are vasts amounts of research and literature around the Bipolar Spectrum concept, large amounts of it theoretical and academic. Even when studying for my psychiatry exams I found it a very confusing topic. In a nutshell, the Bipolar Spectrum is the spectrum between two polar ends of Major depressive disorder and Bipolar disorder. The concept of having either a Bipolar disorder I or II or a Major Depressive disorder is no longer black and white, and there […]

30 Nov 2014

I had a black dog, his name was depression.

This video has been very powerful for some of my patients and their families. Its worth watching.

12 Apr 2015

Women and Depression – 6th World Congress on Women’s Mental Health

This blog post is a brief review of the ‘Depression’ topics at the 6th World Congress on Womens Mental Health, which recently held in Tokyo, Japan. Women are twice as likely to develop depression compared to their male counterparts. Depression in women was covered in detail at the Congress. Some of the topics covered were working women and the problems that they have – with the dual responsibility of work and family. One of the Japanese professors Prof. Toshiko Kamo presented a fascinating talk on Women’s Mental Health in Japan, showing how women move through different psychological stages in their […]

20 Jan 2018

How to speak to your psychiatrist

I have just got off the phone with a family member who is being treated by a colleague. This colleague is an experienced clinician whom I respect, and I found myself advising the person on how to explain themselves to their doctor. I frequently find in conversations with friends, family and colleagues that some people struggle to communicate with their psychiatrist effectively. Better communication will lead to better outcomes. Some important details to understand about us ‘Psychiatrists’: It is important to realise that there are different types of psychiatry appointments, some are medication check-ins (15 min), some are follow ups which may […]