shesellsseashells

Thanks for passing that along. The marking wouldn't bother me (that's typical of any type of surgery) but the pain during and after the procedure are worrisome, along with the ibuprofen ban. I'll be sure to bring those topics up at my consultation.

This is frivolous in the grand scheme of things, but here goes: I've been working on losing weight, but still have a ways to go. I hate my huge belly that does not seem to decrease proportionally and wondered if cool sculpting could reduce it a bit. I made an appointment for a couple of weeks from now with a firm my OB/GYN's office recommended. I would be very interested to hear about others' experiences with this treatment. Thanks for your time.

I have found that this tactic helps me. I write a draft e-mail, then edit it in a couple of hours and try to streamline my words.

I use sugar-free candy to help my dry mouth. I find it more helpful than water so that I don't have to pee all the time.

This may be something about which people are already familiar, but many brand-name drug manufacturers offer patient assistance programs for those who can't afford their medications and will provide them to patients for free under some circumstances. Also, some manufacturers offer coupons on their websites for their products. Sunovion, the company makes Latuda, offers both of these options, for example. Pharma companies have applications and coupons available on their websites, which you can find by searching by the drug's name. Also, I've found Good Rx to be worthwhile (goodrx.com). The site offers coupons, will give you quotes on meds from different pharmacies in your area, and you can sign up for a free savings card. I'm able to obtain some of my meds for less than my co-payments using a Good Rx savings card at my pharmacy. I believe that Good Rx is for US users only.

I completely understand what you mean about wanting to have positive feelings about yourself in order to date. I feel exactly the same way. Before I am comfortable dating again I want to be a better version of myself, for example: have higher self-esteem, lose more weight, and at least be out of my parents' house if not back to work. The older I get (I'm 44) the more hopeless I feel about finding someone with whom to spend my life. Although I'm coming out of a long depression I don't feel together enough yet to present myself to someone else. I'm not saying that my thinking isn't distorted or have any great advice, but wanted to say that I can relate to your experience for whatever that's worth.

I'm not aware of ECT causing hair loss. It did not for me. However, it did cause me memory loss and cognitive difficulties, some of which have resolved themselves, some of which continue after two years. Also, in my case it did not ease my depression, so I stopped after nine treatments. I would urge you to exhaust all other avenues before having ECT.

I first saw a psychiatrist when I was 10, and I'm 44 now. I've seen about 20 on an outpatient basis. Some I outgrew, sometimes I moved, and other times they just weren't a good fit. I saw my last pdoc for about five years, but switched to a new one when I was discharged from a residential psych facility this year because, while I liked and respected him, I wasn't satisfied with the progress I had made and thought it was a good time to make a switch. I see my current pdoc for meds and therapy and feel he is a good fit for me. I've also seen countless pdocs in ERs, inpatient programs, partial hospital and intensive outpatient programs as well as the residential program I mentioned. I hope your evaluation goes well.

What nonsense! "Everyone" does not experience the difficult symptoms you've been dealing with. I'm sorry your friend said that to you. I have a friend who thinks he understands my struggles and is in a place to give me advice about my MI because he has dealt with situational depression. I appreciate his attempt to relate to me, but haven't had the heart to tell him it's not the same thing.

I'm 44 and have been wearing contact lenses since I was 12. I wear the Acuvue Oasys monthly disposable models and have very strong prescriptions (-10.00 and -9.50) as well as astigmatism. My corrected vision is 20/20. Over the past couple of years I've started seeing halos when driving at night, and I've noticed that it's gotten more difficult to read small print. This past year I've had a more difficult time reading text on my computer and on my phone, especially at night. Last month I couldn't see well enough to thread a needle, so I finally broke down and bought low-grade reading glasses that also have a coating for computer screen use. I see my ophthalmologist annually, and he's told me that seeing halos at night and having difficulty seeing small print are a part of aging and that my best bet is to wear reading glasses in addition to my contacts, which I've found to be true over the past few weeks. He mentioned noticing that my eyes were drier at my last appointment a few months ago. I have been told by more than one doctor that I am not a good candidate for LASIK surgery due to my astigmatism. My mom, who is 73, has been wearing non-disposable bifocal contact lenses for 15+ years. She says they help her to read, but that she can't see in the distance as well with them and does not have 20/20 corrected vision. Her doctor has told her that her corrected vision now is as good as she can expect with either contact lenses or glasses. My mom still has a pair of reading glasses she occasionally wears for magnification. (She says her corrected vision is the same whether she wears bifocal contacts or bifocal glasses.) She experiences dryness in her eyes and sees her doctor every three months to have drops inserted into her tear ducts, which help her. She tried monovision contacts in the past but prefers the bifocal lenses she wears now.

The GP at a residential psych facility first prescribed it to me, and my pdoc prescribes it for me now.

Phentermine didn't have much of an effect on me when I tried it. I have recently had some luck (22 pounds down) after adding Metformin in addition to diet and (some) exercise. Metformin isn't a weight loss drug, but has been shown in studies (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3857117/) to promote weight loss in people who have gained weight from psych meds. I hope that Phentermine works well for you, though.

jt, I thank you for taking the time to share your insights with me. I appreciate the knowledge you imparted to me and the way you helped to make me feel comfortable on CB. You are missed.

Meds work differently in combination with others, so for me, I'm more likely to try something again if another med in my cocktail has changed since that time. I'm also up for taking an old med again if I wasn't on the highest dose the first time. For example, I'd taken Vyvanse in the past, which did not have an effect on my binge eating disorder cravings at 60 mg, but it wiped them out this time around when I hit 70 mg. I'm so glad I gave it another go!

Is your pharmacist someone who might advise you re: the side effects you're experiencing on the Lithium while you wait to hear back from your treatment team?