I need to say this just to vent. Do not want to start a discussion cause right now in the US the way all this works there really is no solution. Our mental health care system is very broken unless you are a danger. One can have carp floating in your head that incapacitates that person. Unless that person is a danger to themselves or others by causing harm, havoc and or even mayhem your are left out there to fend for yourself. Our health care system will fix your body, help you make it better than before, cheer you along that path and revel in your successes. Present them with some oddities up in the ole noggin, get pushed to a quasi public/private "Non profit" with an 8 month backlog for an initial intake assessment. I am not proud in saying the thought of self mutilation in order to get noticed did cross my mind. I'm damn glad I'm a wimp that could never hurt myself or others. This little foray I have going here is into an area of Health Care where payment is received before service is rendered. Cash, Debit or Credit Cards only please. Checks not accepted. Just like a hot rod, how fast you want to go is dictated by the size of your wallet. That 90's 525i 5 speed manual that was going to be my winter car...Oh well... I did have to create a Pro/Con list to decide though.
Nathan I understand what you are talking about. I have seen this with a close family member. Its a long story that I will not share here but believe me I understand. Hang in there, vent all you want. I will not turn this into a discussion and nether will the rest of us. MA is here for you,
A car is just stuff. In the grand scheme of things your health is way more important. Let me know how & if I can help.
I used to relieve stress by punching things but my hands but I have found that I like my hands without busted knuckles and they are very important to making a living. I nice bat against a punching bag works great and burns a lot of carbs and excess energy.
I hate sounding like a broken record, but it's the meds that are causing this, I'll bet you a BIG coke. After my last session with my new heart doc, he agreed to get me off of the statins.....since then even tho it's only been a month, already I feel so much better - I also have lost my "dark" outlook on life...... Hope you can get a sympathetic ear that wont try to fix you with pills.......
And I'll bet you a case of coke it's not "just the meds". I'll settle for multi-factorial, the meds may be a part of it. Not everyone has trouble with statins BTW, and most of those that do have muscle aches rather than depression. I wouldn't hang my hat on that as the catch all end all. And since the majority of present day thinking includes the premise that a significant portion of mental health issues are do to either temporary or permanenent chemical imbalances, preaching avoidance of potentially helpful psychotropic drug is perhaps the worst piece of advice one can give. I'm fine with homeopathic remedies, they have their place, but I've also seen disasters from people NOT taking medication or trying an alternative cure. Balance--counseling and medication together--generally has the highest success rate. Nate, I couldn't agree with you more--mental health care is a disaster in this country--not so much the quality, but the accessibility. And that's disgraceful--taking a group of people who generally have the hardest time asking for help in the first place, and making it that much harder. Keep at it, you're doing the right thing persisting. Personally I think mental health gets the short shaft because it's the easiest thing to ignore, even by the General do gooders No powerful lobbies, and unfortunately many people unfairly attach a stigma to it. Our priorities are so screwed up sometimes....
I never said it was just the meds, but I'll still bet a coke they're a big part of the problem. With all due respect, the first part of your response is exactly where the problem lies IMHO - the medical profession is so invested in the miracle pills that they don't hear how those same little life savers can be devastating. Without making this about me - yes I realize statins don't cause depression, but the side effects from the variety of meds I was taking did cause sleeplessness (so take a sleeping pill), cramps, vertigo so bad I was afraid of falling when I was lying down and a whole host of other problems. I couldn't work, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't do any of the things that made my life fun or even worth getting up for in the am - and THAT's what causes depression - my "dark" period I referred to above.....and I'm a happy, optimistic, glass half full kinda guy! I'm 5 years now since my procedure, and my cholesterol has gone from not bad to pretty good over that time and even tho I'm on the smallest dose of the lightest statin, I was still having real problems. I've been off it a month now and I feel great - I can sleep at night and almost all of the symptoms that were bedeviling me are gone - life is good, again! So, while not a doctor - but having lived thru it - when I say "it's the meds", what I'm trying to convey is that his doctor is not listening to him about how badly he's being affected by the drug regimen he's on and maybe if they could find some others they could continue his care and improve his day to day outlook on life. IMHO, of course.......
One of my goals is to get off meds. Some have been removed totally already, some have been adjusted to lower the doses. New ones are added now and then, not without me questioning their need, efficacy and potential side effects. Some of my other goals include... Fit comfortably in a 1st generation Miata. Dance with reckless abandon to Earth Wind and Fire's September without getting winded. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs069dndIYk]Earth, Wind & Fire - September - YouTube[/ame] Be able to buy clothes at a vintage store that fit. I grew up in a home where better living through chemistry was the way, my dad was a pharmacist. There were always loads of pills, potions, powders and creams created by big pharma to cure what might ail you at home. Mental Health was only discussed in hushed conversations. The Asylum and Training School for the Feeble-Minded in Maryland was a short bike ride away when I was a kid. We'd cut through the facility on our way from home to the arcade on our bikes. That was after riding through the cemetery of St Thomas church where the gravestones had dates starting in 1742. My point is...I had a big stigma about mental health issues and tell people to just buck up and be a man... I understand the error of my ways.
Sounds like you have a plan and the road looks clear ahead (or at least a bit less murky). Keep up the positive outlook and know that there is a whole family-support system right here.
Yes, and I'm certainly not the one to be dispensing advice here; not only am I not a doctor, don't play one on TV and I did NOT sleep at a Holiday Inn recently so take that into account! :biggrin5: We can all only offer our own experiences in the hope that it might help another fellow traveler on our little spaceship earth. Doc cct1 is correct tho, a balanced approach is needed, and it sounds like Nathan is well aware of what he needs so Ima just shut up about the pills and try to be supportive, and hope for better times ahead! I like Nathan's goals, not only are they realistic, but they look like fun - and that's the best kind of goals to have!
You say you don't want to make it all about you , then you just did make it all about you... The first paragraph is frankly an insult. That is your perception, and it it is off for the overwhelming majority of doctors. The VAST majority of my colleagues want to prescribe LESS medication. But people have lifestyle issues, won't eat right, won't exercise, sleep right, etc. then wonder why they need to be on so many medications to function, or reduce the risk of something major. So yes, there are doctors that over prescribe, but there are many more who do not. It's a common attitude of fortunately a minority of patients--it's not my fault I have this, it's the medications and the quack doctor for prescribing them. Miracle pills? Hardly. But medications proven to reduce the risk of stroke, heart attack, arrhythmia are worthwhile. And IMHO you just illustrated a major problem in the general public--and that is completely disregarding the benefits of risk reduction. It's hard to understand the stroke you just didn't have, or the fatal heart attack you just missed, because it DIDN'T HAPPEN. It's so easy to criticize a side effect of a medication, even a minor one, BECAUSE IT DID HAPPEN. You realize there are metabolic and chemical imbalances that without medication make it impossible for people to live a normal life? And that sometimes these are temporary issues in which case medications are a godsend? I try to prescribe ad little medication as possible, so do most of my colleagues. There are times when it's absolutely beneficial and indicated. Your attitude, frankly, is simplistic, based on one anecdotal experience that you're generalizing to someone in a much different situation, and I would have ignored it altogether except that your advice is potentially harmful. Thank goodness Nate is on the right track.
Ok, that was fun. Like I said, don't want to turn into a debate about or health care system. Like any large organism there are multiple moving parts. It is easy for us to sit here and pick off the low hanging fruit to toss at each other. All that is going to do is make a mess and possibly stain my new shirts. Please don't stain my new shirts, They will only be mine for a scant few months till I shrink out of them. Think of the Volunteers of America thrift store customer that purchases my donated, now to large for me, shirts. Must they suffer stains from flying fruit? Oh the humanity...
Ok I'm done with arguing with Dave, but it's incredibly frustrating doing what I do on a daily basis and get hit with a blanket statement of my profession when the fact is most physicians feel the same on this...
I for one blame you....you keep posting up pics of the low hanging fruit (and veggies) and methods to alter them (in jam form, baked, or pickled) prior to tossing. :biggrin5: I commend you for putting your journey out here for all to read! Not everyone would be/is as willing to open up in such a public forum. I like your approach to setting goals, keep it fun.
I do take responsibility for my actions...and oh my, I have been making this apple butter in a new method. The texture is ethereal, makes the flavors just pop. This is one of the big changes I'm experiencing. The desire to just put it out there and talk about things. I was never this open before. Its been very confusing to me. The physical transformation is obvious. The one going on inside, upstairs, that is also undergoing prodigious upheaval.
I'm a short-timer here, obviously, but from what I've seen, the network of support here in MA is amazing. Add my little voice to the group of people who are supporting you.
Nathan the best thing you can do is talk to people about it. God knows all of us are all not right in the head either. I think I am at the top of the list. :crazy:ut::rolleyes5:
Some of you have known me for some time and may have a handle on what was my "normal" Some examples of this weirdness going on in my head, this is just from this afternoon. Today, walking up High St, the main drag here in my part of cowtown. And don't even get me started on the cowtown nickname, I lived in TX, that was cowtown, but I digress as I very often do now. Anyway, some guy was running down the street to catch the bus. I could see the driver from where I was walking up the street towards this bus stop. Waved the bus to not pull away from the stop allowing the runner to make the bus. It was reflex. Afterwards I thought about that wondering what the heck I just did. That is not me. There is a fair amount of construction going on here in my little corner of the hood. Again today the sidewalk was closed in front of one the new buildings. The sidewalk is brand new and looking great. 4 guys in hard hats and ties were standing around talking in the closed off area. A group of women walking the other way had to walk out into the the busy street to get around this detour. There was no work going on, there was nothing above going on. I stopped, took out my ear buds and asked these guys why they need to close the entire sidewalk to have their confab when there was an entire building right there they could use. Then asked for my neighborhood back and walked away. Crossing the street. Some one played the yellow a bit long and it turned red while they were in the intersection. Wagged a finger at them as I was crossing. Those are just from this afternoon. I know I said I was working on Nathan 2.0, but I thought that was going to be mostly physical. I was not at all prepared for this upheaval in my personality. For the most part this is not a bad thing, just very confusing.