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Mar. 21st, 2003 09:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hiddenmuseI'm feeling grumpy and whiny tonight.
Now, I've had a pretty decent week, so that isn't the problem. I just have a wicked headache and my face & jaw hurt.
It's days like this that caffeine sobriety is damn near impossible. Yet, I've done pretty well with the food, resisting the temptation to get frozen custard after returning a couple of DVDs to Hollywood Video - or even hopping onto the next bus and going to Oberweis to see what they have to offer besides milk.
Instead, I took my rented copy of Lilo & Stitch home, managed to only eat a small amount of that Edy's (or Dreyer's, on the west coast) Dreamery Fortunate Vanilla ice cream I'd gotten last night, and watched anything but the news.
I don't think that not watching the news makes me a bad person. I just know that right now, I'm in a precarious situation emotionally, and I'm watching out for myself. Meaning that I'm still in the woods with my antidepressant - I've got about 4 more weeks before it really kicks in - and I don't feel like watching or listening to anything overly depressing. I do hear the news about the war on the radio, but otherwise, I'm not paying very close attention.
Did I mention that when I went to the internist on Tuesday, he got upset with me for having gone off Serzone (an antidepressant) over a year ago? He'd asked me about the antidepressants I'd been on, and the side effects. When I got to Serzone, I honestly couldn't remember the side effects, and said that I went off because of the reports of liver damage and failure being caused by the drug.
He told me that the reports were just that - reports. That the drug hadn't been pulled from the market, and that liver function was just something that had to be monitored while on the drug. Then I was told that I shouldn't have gone off Serzone because of that alone. Well, excuse me, but there's already a risk of liver problems with my seizure medicine. I didn't feel like adding insult to injury, alright? Yeah, you're the doctor and know more about medicine in general ... but I'm the patient, and I'm keeping tabs on my medications, so I know what I can - and cannot - take.
Maybe he was having a bad day, but it just bothered me (probably more than necessary) that I was being told that I was wrong for stopping a medication in favor of another.
Now, I've had a pretty decent week, so that isn't the problem. I just have a wicked headache and my face & jaw hurt.
It's days like this that caffeine sobriety is damn near impossible. Yet, I've done pretty well with the food, resisting the temptation to get frozen custard after returning a couple of DVDs to Hollywood Video - or even hopping onto the next bus and going to Oberweis to see what they have to offer besides milk.
Instead, I took my rented copy of Lilo & Stitch home, managed to only eat a small amount of that Edy's (or Dreyer's, on the west coast) Dreamery Fortunate Vanilla ice cream I'd gotten last night, and watched anything but the news.
I don't think that not watching the news makes me a bad person. I just know that right now, I'm in a precarious situation emotionally, and I'm watching out for myself. Meaning that I'm still in the woods with my antidepressant - I've got about 4 more weeks before it really kicks in - and I don't feel like watching or listening to anything overly depressing. I do hear the news about the war on the radio, but otherwise, I'm not paying very close attention.
Did I mention that when I went to the internist on Tuesday, he got upset with me for having gone off Serzone (an antidepressant) over a year ago? He'd asked me about the antidepressants I'd been on, and the side effects. When I got to Serzone, I honestly couldn't remember the side effects, and said that I went off because of the reports of liver damage and failure being caused by the drug.
He told me that the reports were just that - reports. That the drug hadn't been pulled from the market, and that liver function was just something that had to be monitored while on the drug. Then I was told that I shouldn't have gone off Serzone because of that alone. Well, excuse me, but there's already a risk of liver problems with my seizure medicine. I didn't feel like adding insult to injury, alright? Yeah, you're the doctor and know more about medicine in general ... but I'm the patient, and I'm keeping tabs on my medications, so I know what I can - and cannot - take.
Maybe he was having a bad day, but it just bothered me (probably more than necessary) that I was being told that I was wrong for stopping a medication in favor of another.
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Date: 2003-03-21 08:15 pm (UTC)I *need* a copy of Lilo and Stitch.
What anti-depressant are you on? Most I've heard of only take 2 weeks to kick in.
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Date: 2003-03-22 07:32 pm (UTC)And I'm on Effexor XR - currently 150 mg/day, should be at 300 mg/day in a month.
Doctors make me want to rant
Date: 2003-03-21 11:21 pm (UTC)I have been leaving google's news page open on my computer. They have all sorts of newspapers from around the world represented. And they update regularly. I just read the headlines every now and then so I can feel "informed" while avoiding all annoying TV and radio news. I wanted to go to a protest last night but didn't because it seemed like to much to tackle emotionally, so I'm with you on that...
Yeah, you're the doctor and know more about medicine in general ... but I'm the patient, and I'm keeping tabs on my medications, so I know what I can - and cannot - take.
I agree!!!!!!!!! I saw my dr today and he wants me to try serzone (which was recently actually taken off the European market if you need any more ammunition about that!). I don't mind trying it; my liver seems to be pretty low risk. It was the other conversation we had that worried me. We talked about going on and off meds, and he said that he had just heard that Effexor has bad withdrawal. I can't believe that a dr would not know something like that that seems to be common knowledge! Anyways, I think that doctors learn to be opinionated without thinking about what we know....
Oh... Do you remember what side effects you had when you started Serzone? The server on my favorite drug message board is down, so I can't check easily... Thanks.
Re: Doctors make me want to rant
Date: 2003-03-22 07:34 pm (UTC)Re: Doctors make me want to rant
Date: 2003-03-22 08:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-03-22 01:03 am (UTC)I don't think that not watching the news makes you a bad person. And even if it did, it means we are bad people together.
You are taking care of yourself by not watching. It sounds like a smart decision to me.
As for the asshat doctor. Some of them don't seem to realize that while their expertise is valuable and should be considered... unless there is a glaring reason for you to not take one med vs. another (like... it will kill you or it reacts with another of your meds), then you have the right to make choices best for you.
You keep on doing what is best for you. Listen to the doctors, yes... but don't be afraid to stand up for yourself.
I love you.