Dr Shi Hui Poon

Approximately 50 - 60% of people diagnosed with epilepsy can become seizure free with after using the first seizure medication tried. Within this group, many will never have any more seizures. Here's some factors that may improve the chance of being seizure free in people who are newly diagnosed with seizures: Having a good response to the first 1 or 2 seizure medications tried. This means that seizures do not recur and the person is seizure free. No brain injury or abnormality A normal neurological exam and EEG No family history of epilepsy Hope that helps!

First of all, please go to see your psychiatrist if you've ran out of medications. Medications should always only be discontinued under the instructions of your doctor. Another thing is - antidepressant treatments should usually be continued at the same dose for at least 4 months to 12 months for them to be the most effective.

Great to hear that you have taken the first step in seeking help :) Here are some points that address your questions. 1. You can get a referral letter to see a psychiatrist from either a private GP, or the polyclinic. 2. Getting a referral letter from the polyclinic is the only way to get subsidised fees when seeing a psychiatrist within the goverment hospital. 3. Since you prefer to see a private psychiatrist, getting a referral letter from either a private GP or the polyclinic is fine.

The following public hospitals in Singapore have a psychiatric ward: SGH IMH SKH (Seng Kang General Hospital) CGH (Changi General Hospital) NUH TTSH The following private hospitals in Singapore have a psychiatric ward: Mt Elizabeth Hospital You can get a referral from the polyclinic if you would like to be voluntarily warded, at a subsidised rate. Hospitalisation is usually reserved for very distressed patients who are in danger of harming themselves, or those who are seeking specific treatments such as ECT in Singapore.

The diagnosis of mental disorders is usually based on diagnostic criteria such as the DSM 5 (published by the American Psychiatric Association) or the ICD-11 (published by the World Health Organisation).

Sorry to hear about your predicament. You should definitely seek help in Singapore, and there are various avenues of support and resources, as previously detailed in these posts: Where should I go to seek help in Singapore if I'm unsure whether I have mental issues? Where can I get counselling and help for my mental state problems if I am unemployed? Taking your age and situation into consideration, the best avenues would be: 1. Go to CHAT hub at *Scape, which is a one-stop centre for mental health help and resources.

Sorry to hear that you're going thru such a difficult time. Motherhood is a really tough journey, especially when you're juggling work and family commitments without much help! Personally, I think you're doing a great job so far (I'm a mother too, and I don't know how you can do so much without help), so kudos to you for the hard work and resilience.

Thank you for reaching out to us! I totally get what you mean about your thoughts, and honestly, you're not alone! I believe the determining factor in seeking help is when something disturbs and causes distress enough. A lot of individuals don't seek help for certain symptoms of an illness because it doesn't bother them (enough). So ask yourself this: Are you troubled by everything you stated? Does not fitting in to societal standards bother you? I have come across many people who come for assessment as they are concerned that they may have mental health issues.

You could try the following steps: 1. See a psychiatrist in a restructured hospital. They'll make the necessary referrals for you to see a counsellor/psychologist. If you are financially strapped, a medical social worker will help. 2. Seek counseling from your nearest family service centre. 3. Seek help from organisations specialising in mental health e. g. SAMH etc. They will be able to help you.

Thanks for the question! As explained by my colleagues who have replied earlier – nope, we can’t get anti-depressants and sleeping pills (benzodiazepines and z-drugs) such as diazepam (Valium), lorazepam (Activan) or zopiclone (Imovane) off the shelves in Singapore. But, don’t lose hope. I’ll elaborate a little more in a bit. However, before we go into the treatment of depression/ anxiety/ sleep disorders, I think it is important to emphasize that you should always get assessed by an experienced psychiatrist to get the right diagnosis.

Thanks for your question, and I’m very sorry to hear that you are going through such a horrible time. I can only imagine how tough it must be. Before I answer further, I’m going to give the caveat that it’s next to impossible to offer advice about any psychiatric problem without seeing you face to face, or at the very least, having all the salient information about mood, sleep, suicidal ideation etc. I’m going to assume off the bat that the diagnosis of depression has been established by the doctors you’ve seen.

You may want to consider seeking out a professional counsellor/psychologist. There’s also a website BetterHelp. com that links you up with online counsellors if you wish to remain anonymous.

Experiencing chest pain is extremely common amongst patients who suffer from anxiety. This is known in medical speak as somatisation, which is when physical symptoms are caused by mental factors. You can read more about somatisation in this great article here. Even though your history is strongly suggestive of chest pain related to anxiety, and not of the worrying “heart attack” sort, I cannot tell for certain from the limited information that you have provided.

What you've been told by your doctors is correct - Stress can often be a trigger for depression: they are not mutually exclusive phenomena. The fact that "things have gotten worst" after you stopped therapy supports this. Antidepressants generally don't aid sleep, but there are some eg Mirtazapine which are known for their effects to make patients a little drowsy. There are other sleep adjuncts like Valium (diazepam), which can be prescribed as a short term measure to bridge a very difficult period for your insomnia.

Your description does sound typical of a panic attack. Hyperventilating will make your symptoms worse, as well as cause the tingling and numbness that you’ve described. Try to consciously slow down your breathing for about 20 minutes the next time it occurs. Panic attacks are usually completely harmless, although there are other conditions that can mimic these symptoms. This is especially applicable if you have a family history of heart or thyroid problems, or feel that you have an irregular heart beat.