Stating that patients who want to fast can fulfill this worship under the supervision of a doctor, experts give important advice especially to patients with bipolar disorder.
Stating that some mood stabilizing drugs can be life-threatening if dehydrated, experts said, "Conditions such as lithium poisoning may occur with the effect of dehydration. Be sure to consult your doctor," they warned.
Psychiatrist Specialist from Üsküdar University NPISTANBUL Hospital. Dr. Mahir Yeşildal said that patients who want to fulfill their worship during Ramadan should definitely consult their doctors.
Stating that especially the medications used by patients undergoing psychiatric treatment have significant side effects in case of dehydration, Uzm. Dr. Mahir Yeşildal said, "We have patients who we do not want to fast, bipolar patients being the most important among them. However, we cannot make a generalization here, we cannot say that all bipolar patients should not fast. However, patients who use drugs such as lithium, valproic acid, mood stabilizers such as lithium, when they are dehydrated during the day, the blood level of the drug rises and since their therapeutic indexes are very narrow, situations such as lithium poisoning may occur. These patients need to be very careful."
Stating that they are also concerned about sleep disruption in bipolar patients, Uzm. Dr. Mahir Yeşildal said, "Because sleep patterns are very important in bipolar patients. They are hungry for 17 hours. There is a 7-8 hour eating time and this coincides with the night. Imagine the patient went to sleep at 12 o'clock, woke up at 2 o'clock for suhoor. He waited for the morning prayer until 4 a.m., fell asleep again at 4 a.m., woke up at 7 a.m. and went to work. We are talking about a patient who slept for two or three hours, whose sleep was interrupted, who did not get full REM sleep. This is very dangerous because this patient is very likely to enter a manic period."
Specialist Dr. Mahir Yeşildal stated that spirituality increased during this period, which may trigger the manic period in some patients, and said, "There is an increase in mystical and religious pursuits in some patients during the manic period. The family may attribute this religious increase in the person to Ramadan and may not recognize the disease," he warned.
CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR
He recommended that people with psychiatric illnesses should fast after consulting their doctors. Dr. Mahir Yeşildal said the following:
"Therefore, the group we need to pay the most attention to is bipolar patients. There is no such thing that none of them can fast. Some bipolar patients can fast after adjusting the dosage of their medication in consultation with their doctors. Secondly, psychotic conditions such as schizophrenia, severe mental illnesses. Most of these patients are not religiously obliged to fast. Most of these patients are on a lot of medication. Not for all of them, but a small number of them can fast by consulting their doctor and determining the time at which their medications will be taken, but they must be under the control of a doctor.
There are two groups of patients with problems such as depression, panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive disorder. If the person wants to fast, we should definitely evaluate these patients before Ramadan. Some antidepressants, some obsessions and anxiety relieving drugs, obsessions and obsessions relieving drugs can have different effects on the body's water and sugar metabolism. After their medications are regulated, there is no obstacle for these patients to fast. For a patient with depression, fasting will be very good for him/her mentally if he/she wishes to do so. An anxiety disorder patient will feel much better and peaceful because of fasting. Imagine a depressed person who thinks that they are useless, this person can fast for 16 hours a day for a month just for the sake of Allah. This also increases self-confidence in the person. Look, I was able to do this, if I can do this, I can work 8 hours a day at my workplace. I can actually get along well with my wife. In fact, it can instill a sense of self-confidence like I can take good care of my child."
Specialist Dr. Mahir Yeşildal said, "However, they should never forget that patients can cause much more damage to their bodies by fasting and they may not be able to fast in any of the coming years. Therefore, if they should not fast on the advice of their doctors in order to recover, there is no point or necessity for them to feel depressed."