Psychotomy

So, I’ve been on various medications for my depression.  The current one turns out to have some whacked out issues.

Whenever I miss a dose, the next morning I’m already all the way down and by mid afternoon my back/shoulder hurt.  Kindof like a spasm, but one that doesn’t start or stop.  It’s just kindof … tense.

And if I take the pill first thing in the morning, it doesn’t kick in until late evening.  Erk.

Apparently they have a very short halflife, explaining the immediate effect of missing.  And a slow release, explaining the latter issue.

And apparently the pain?  I’m lucky.  It seems this crap has psychotic withdrawal effects.  Blinding head stabbing pains.  Extreme nausea.  Some people, apparently, are stuck taking it because they just can’t get off of it reasonably.

Talking to my new psych, we’re switching me back to one I preferred even before I knew of the issues on this one.  Except, to minimize withdrawal (seriously, they prescribe a medication that has this kindof serious withdrawal effects?  but it’s not addictive! my ass) (and the old psych’s staff was so freaking nonchalant about “he’ll call you in a week or two with that emergency refill, soon a we get off our asses and tell him”???) … To minimize, we’re cutting my dosage a quarter at a time, and phasing in my new (old) med at the same time.  Which frankly sounds incredibly unlikely to work properly in terms of “average level of coverage”, but I can understand not wanting to give me two complete meds.

But it’s going to take 2-3 months to wean off this crap, and I may potentially feel this shoulder muscle pain for even longer.  What *I* can’t figure out is … if this has such a short halflife, why does the aftereffect last so much LONGER???

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I’m told I haven’t updated in a while.  About 5 weeks actually :o

See, the issue is that I usually think of something that I want to post when I’m on the train, or in a meeting, etc.  I can’t post from there, so I have to wait.  And by the time I get home/whatever, I’ve either forgotten or decided it just wasn’t that funny, actually, now I think about it more …

OTOH, if I had an iPhone, I could post from the train :o  (Actually, I may be being issued a blackberry soon …)

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Seriously, who’s in charge over there?  Ferrets with ADD?

One of the Metro stations I go through every day (it’s cold outside, dammit) has three side-by-side adboards with the SAME Ford ad.

Actually, that’s not so bad.  There are 8 at the other station that always seem to be sold as a set; most people put up two or three different ads, but one appearing three times isn’t uncommon.  Still, 3 of 3?

My big issue here is that they ads are “No. XX in a series.”  Actually, even that.  Frankly, I’d've done A, +1 and +2 or something, but whatever.

No, the ISSUE here is that they update the ad twice a day.  In the morning when I come in it’s No 23 in a Series.  When I leave it’s No 24.  The next morning, 25.  Seriously?  Twice a day you’re paying for someone to change the ad?  SERIOUSLY?  because there HAS to be a fee for changing the sign.  Even if you’ve gotten the space for six weeks or something, there’s got to be some fee.  And twice a day, the damn glue will still be setting by the time you smear the next one over.

Come ON people.  You needed funding because your business model wasn’t working.  so what do you do?  you manage to find something even WORSE???

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So, I am apparently an evil dad.  Today I decided we really needed to take down the xmas tree, so I started pulling down ornaments.  And DK started grabbing them and trying to put them back up :o

By the time I was taking down the lights, Pi had a piece of wrapping paper in her hand and just kept turning it over and looking at it, like ‘wait, what’s happening?  I liked the presents thing :(‘

Apparently after Xmas comes Evil.  And I am the embodiment of all that is evil :/

Posted in: DK, PI, general by attriel /
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So, apparently China, having been banned from using Lead in their exported toys, have switched to use Cadmium.  Which apparently they’ve been using locally for a while, and it’s cheaper than lead.  It’s also apparently more toxic (lead shows up as #2 in priority vs #7 on this list from the CDC, but it looks like the ranking is weighted by frequency of appearance, making more common lead rank high)

And, as the article below quotes, a number of companies are stating that “yeah, it’s toxic, but it’s not regulated.  *pbbbt*”  Well, OK, maybe not in those EXACT words, but dammit people!  Come on!

Washington Post Article

Posted in: general by attriel / Tags: CPSIA

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So, this is actually from August, I kept not finding a good citation for it; still can’t, so I’m taking what I can get.

In August, the CPSC voted (UNANIMOUSLY?? 3-0?  Do 3 people even get to count as unanimous?) to allow Mattel to do their own CPSIA product testing.  This is after the CPSIA was created largely due to the large number of toxic and dangerous recalls that Mattel made in 07.

Center for Environmental Health

SF Examiner

(I can find no evidence that Hasbro has succesfully end-run the legislation; so it looks like only Mattel has the Free-And-Clear card)

Posted in: general by attriel / Tags: CPSIA

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Soooo … when last we heard, I had gotten my psych appt.  Well, thursday before the appt, apparently he had a dr’s appt to go to in the orning, so they had to move all his appts to the afternoon.  I called friday, left a message and told them to call me back at the office with when my appt was going to be.  Apparently they called me ~10am monday …

Anyway, got my scrip, left.  Filled it last week.  Noticed the other day that it’s for the wrong dosage.  so i’m currently on half dosage.  Called the pharmacy today, and they checked and the scrip has the dosage they filled.  and that (understandably, I suppose) ends their interest.  So I called the doc’s office, told them what had happened.  They said hold on, were gone for a loooong time and came back to tell me that doc’s only in on monday’s.  I know that, so moving on.

Then they go again to check my file (seriously?  you didn’t know before that he wasn’t in?  you must be filling in, I’d not expect that was a secret from the receptionist) and tell me that my file says I’m supposed to be on the dosage he wrote.

“Seriously?  I’ve been on Y for six, nine months now”

She acknowledged that the fax’d in scrip from last month was for Y not X, then said they’d leave a note for doc for when he comes in Monday.  She didn’t ask for any information from me, like where to contact me or the pharmacy to send the correction to …

If he weren’t planning on retiring, I’d be more inclined to report him to the state board.  As it is, looking at it, it seems kindof rude to nail him to the wall when he’s retiring.

Of course, that’s if he’s really retiring.  He’s taking a three-month sabbatical to visit family out of country (“while some of them remain”), and when he gets back he might, or might not, retire.  :o

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So, as previously mentioned, my psych is only in one day a week.

Well, luckily, he was willing to fax the scrip to a pharmacy near where I was in Georgia, so I actually got my pills.  When the pharmacy told me (I was calling every couple hours, then calling the psych to poke) they had the scrip, my response was “Really?  Seriously?  Oh, uh”  I was not expecting to actually get my meds :o

OTOH, I called today to make an appointment, having decided to go to work monday instead of spending the whole day for an “emergency appointment” to get a script that I need a week prior (and already got).  Turns out that cost me 40$ for not going :/  Appt is only 50!  Well, trying to get an appt, I learned more.

Man’s last appointment is at 12:30 or so.  He leave at 1pm.  9am to 1pm, one day a week?  Man’s retired, QUIT TELLING PATIENTS THAT HE’S THE DOCTOR!!!

Oi.  NTS, tomorrow — look for and pre-book new psych :o

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So, as I’ve mentioned before, I have some issues with my psychiatrist.

Of course, both times now it’s been partially my fault.  Last time I forgot to take my pills with me.  This time I thought my meds had 1 refill left.  I swear I checked that, but apparently I did it POORLY.  Anyway, last night I call in my scrip for a refill and find out that I have none left (check bottle, well hell).  They’ll contact the doc in the AM for approval for an added refill.

This morning the Dr’s calls the house, so I call them back.  They can’t authorize the refill without a followup scheduled, so I schedule a followup.  “I have an opening on the 23rd” “I leave for vacation before that”  “Oh, how about the 24th?”

Finally schedule a followup, and she’ll give the forms to the doc and he can approve them when he gets back.  “He’s only in on monday’s, so that would be the 23rd” “I’m out of town already” (this sounds familiar) “You could try asking the pharmacy if they’d give you some pills” duh?  hello?  that’s why they called you?

And seriously?  man’s only in one day a week?  wtf?  Nice work if you can get it!  OI!  But they can’t give it to one of the other doctors (that’s there 5 days a week) because the docs don’t like to do that.  Seriously?  He’s going to say yes anyway, and the other doc can’t figure out how to read a file to verify something?

UGH!  Now I’m hoping I can find something from a previous scrip to take with me.  Because I’m just not sure that a week without my pills would be good.

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On our drive back from Disney World earlier this week, we stopped at a rest area around dusk on Monday I guess.  While I took Pi out of the car, Kiir threw away some trash, and some fries that DK didn’t want (he wasn’t feeling well).

Then I decided I’d sit in the car with them while Pi ate.  Because the shape in the parking lot had decided to come towards us.  Someone had abandoned their dog :(  Looked like she probably had puppies not that long ago, either :(

She came over and sat by the driver’s door just looking at me sad and solemn.  I can totally see why people pick up strays, she was so dejected.  Given that we weren’t that close to anywhere, I’m guessing they drove out there to ditch her so she couldn’t find her way home again.  Assholes.

I’d've given her something to eat, but the only thing we really had were the fries we’d just tossed.  I didn’t thik a coke was what she was looking for :/

How can people live with themselves after doing something like that???  *shudder*

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