swiftscout8 said:The training for these two paths is actually pretty different. A psychiatrist is a medical professional, so because of that medical background, they specialize in deviant behavior—essentially treating illnesses...
Psychologists spend their whole education focusing on studying typical, everyday human behavior. As far as I know, there are quite a few different branches of psychology too...
I think I’d prefer being a psychologist, honestly. At least until I lose my mind and start shooting people in the streets...😂
Actually, psychologists don't just deal with "normal" behavior and everyday issues...
I was treated by a psychologist for PTSD and OCD myself...
They recommended I take medication to help boost serotonin levels between nerves, but since a psychologist can't write prescriptions, my doctor had to handle the actual script...
And the idea that you just take pills to sleep for every psychological disorder is such an outdated concept...
It's a total myth that every pill prescribed for a mental health condition is just some sedative or sleeping aid...
I'm on antidepressants—not to "numb" me, but to help me feel more alive, though my specific combo includes anxiolytics so one medication ends up tackling two problems at once...
Quite often, a mental health issue is just the result of a chemical imbalance in your brain cells...
If a certain medication doesn't work for you or gives you nasty side effects, definitely ask for something else, because there are usually plenty of alternatives out there...
Just to kick things off here, based on what I've gathered from the post, it seems like the OP might actually need group therapy to work through those family dynamic issues...
feralbear49 said:The way people talk on this forum is pretty much what therapy feels like, if you're feeling nervous about it...
When I first posted here, it was in an anxiety thread, and honestly, I spent the whole day shaking after hitting send on that first post.
I used to be just like you—completely closed off, bottling everything up inside and pretending none of my problems even existed. But there were so many, just like yours, especially when it came to intimacy. And believe me, things can change. They did for me. Now, I enjoy sex more than I ever thought possible. It’s not that I didn’t like it before, it was just that there were too many layers of tension, and I couldn't figure out why I just couldn't relax. I didn't love myself or my body, and I constantly felt like I wasn't good enough at anything. But deep down, I knew there was something stuck inside me that just needed to be set free...
I totally get it...
I remember going to my primary care doctor to ask for a referral to a psychologist, and when he asked me why, I could barely get the words out. I was crying my eyes out, and the poor guy looked so uncomfortable, telling me, "It's okay, don't cry, there's no problem here," and then he gave me the number for his close friend, a specialist with thirty years of experience. He was such a kind man, and I'll always be grateful because every time I see him, no matter why I'm there, he always checks in to see how I'm doing...
Then, when I had my first actual session and had to go into all those details I couldn't tell my doctor, it was incredibly hard. I fought so hard not to cry, but the tears just kept coming while I talked through everything—even though I hadn't cried like that in years. My therapist just told me not to hold back, that letting it all out is actually healthy...
When I finally got home that day, I was in a bit of a trance for the rest of the afternoon...
I had absolutely no strength left in my body...
But I felt this strange sense of relief, and I remember thinking to myself, "It's started, there's no turning back now, the road ahead is going to be really tough, but I'm finally getting my life back..."
That was the moment I realized just how much power the mind has over our physical health...
It's much stronger than any of us can truly imagine...
So just stay brave, vividmarlin5... that first step is always the hardest, but the reward is far too great to let fear hold you back from taking it...
It honestly gets on my nerves how people constantly try to play detective, digging into who’s posting these threads just to see if they're being "real" or not
Does it even matter???
What matters is that the question was asked, and any bit of advice, lived experience, or word of encouragement could help someone—if not the person who posted it, then maybe someone else reading along who hasn't quite found the strength to speak up about their own struggles yet
And there are so many people out there feeling that way, mostly because they're terrified of being labeled as crazy, hysterical, or mentally unstable
I used to be right there with them, a long time ago... until I finally decided to leave everything behind and fight for the life I wanted to live
We really need to talk more openly, write more, and read up on mental health issues so we can finally strip away that layer of shame surrounding anyone dealing with them
So people don't feel like they have to hide when they visit a psychiatrist, or deal with being looked down on or pitied just because they're seeking treatment
I had a standard IUD for about five years—not used for birth control, just regular use—but my periods were always incredibly heavy during that time... my doctor told me the IUD was likely the culprit, so after one particularly intense flow about four years ago, I decided to switch back to birth control pills
Aside from those heavy bleeding episodes, I didn't really run into any other issues with the IUD, though I did miss the peace of mind that comes with not having to worry about remembering a pill every single day
redgardener5 said:so I guess the gynecologist would know... right? well, if things go south, I can always just switch over to Logest since you don't even need a prescription for that kind of thing...
I actually asked about Logest... and she mentioned it's pretty standard to start with something a bit stronger first, because if the hormone dose ends up being too much, it’s actually easier to scale back...
and here I was thinking it worked the other way around...
my doctor actually started me on the lower dosage ones first, but then when I went in for my three-month checkup and we realized they weren't quite doing the trick, she switched me to the stronger ones...
fadedfalcon11 said:Diflucan works wonders against Candida, though you really have to be careful since it can take a toll on your liver. My little one had Candida albicans on their tongue, and the doctor prescribed Diflucan because Nystatin just wasn't cutting it. I did my own research before deciding not to give it to the baby, but if I ever needed it myself, I’d definitely use it because it truly does the job.
electricdriver78, I honestly always assumed the FDA in the States and Canada registered and approved basically the same medications... I guess I was totally mistaken about that.
Yeah, I used to think that too, but I've actually seen firsthand a few times when visiting my parents that isn't quite how it works...
Around here, almost everything manufactured in the US takes a few months or even years to finally make its way over to us...
And it's not just the medicine either...
By the way, do you know if Diflucan can actually clear out Candida from your stomach?...
fadedfalcon11 said:It’s available here in the States, so it’s probably the same thing over there... you're looking for Diflucan.
Well, we don't have all those different tablet options like you guys do out here... but thanks for the name, I'll go ahead and ask at my local pharmacy...
Around here, Pamprin just showed up about six months ago...😠
redgardener5 said:I haven't had a chance to read through everything yet... so, what's the actual price difference between Triquilar and Logest? I'm actually heading in for my very first prescription tomorrow...😁 and does the gynecologist just ask what you need, or do they basically tell you what to take? oh, and is that one-dose pill really as effective as people say, the one where you just take it once and the vaginal yeast infection is gone?
I honestly didn't even realize those yeast infection pills were a thing...
If you're talking about that one-day treatment from Mionistat or Canesten...
those are actually inserted internally...
and then there's the creams too...
I was pretty skeptical myself until I actually tried it...
Sean Grant85 said:So, Sladja just got prescribed Diane-35, and now what am I supposed to do?
Everyone loves to lecture me about how we aren't using protection, but then we go see the gynecologist and he hands her a prescription for Diane-35, and suddenly you're all going to be coming for me instead of her.....
Honestly, you won't even get a full dose of help from them, let alone some little lecture...
placidfox5 said:The pharmaceutical industry gets really aggressive with their advertising too. Take Minoxidil, which is sometimes prescribed for hypertension; it just doesn't make sense financially compared to using the version meant for hair regrowth. Basically, Big Pharma convinces both patients and doctors that treating baldness is a necessity just so they can turn a profit on the production...
It reminds me of how there was once an antimalarial drug that could have saved countless lives in North Africa, but because that market was so small and poor, the industry had zero incentive to develop it. But once they realized a side effect—reducing body hair—could be marketed to the massive, wealthy American market, suddenly they were all in. I think it involved Merck, though I can't recall the specific name of the antimalarial... It’s such a sad way for things to work... 😢
Over here in the States, direct-to-consumer drug advertising has been legal for years now. You see these commercials on TV or in magazines, and people go straight to their doctor demanding a specific brand. When a doctor refuses, you start wondering if they're being pressured by their insurance provider to save costs, or if the medication really isn't necessary in the first place...
On the bright side, having patients actively involved in their own healthcare decisions is actually a good thing in America. It puts a lot of responsibility on the individual to research different sources, weigh their options, and ask the right questions during those appointments...
By the way, Diane 35 isn't even approved for use in the US...
Look, Stef, that all sounds great in theory, but the reality in the US is that if your doctor writes a prescription for Drug X and your insurance, like Blue Cross, decides it's not covered, you're stuck paying full price out of pocket or taking a generic substitute that might not even work for you...
Doctors barely have any say at all when it comes to which medications actually get dispensed...
Everything is really controlled by the big insurance giants...
Even my parents have top-tier private insurance, and they still run into issues where they can't get a specific brand, only the generic alternative...
For instance, they can't get Nexium for their stomach issues, so they have to take Prevacid—which has been linked to cataracts, but hey, it's cheaper!!!...
People ask if there's any drug out there that isn't harmful, but that's not really the point... the real question is whether the chance of a bad reaction is 0.1% or if it's closer to 25%... that difference changes everything...
For anyone whose doctor tries to brush these concerns off as nonsense... please, just read the information sheets that hospitals and clinics receive with every new shipment of pills, including stuff like Diane... I posted the link to the site earlier... The problem is most doctors just don't have the time to read through it all, but they'd never admit they don't know... they'd rather die than look uninformed...👎
It all started because a journalist dug into the coroner's report regarding my colleague who passed away so suddenly... they went to talk to her sister, and get this, the doctor actually gave her medication even after her sister had already died...!!...
The research they published on that site I shared was actually conducted over in England, and apparently, an alert has already been sent out to doctors across the US warning them not to prescribe Diane for birth control...
They said in Europe they've known about the issues with Diane for twenty years now... but they really should have warned the doctors in our local clinics back then too...!!!...
Kenneth Hernandez67 hit the nail on the head... the thing is, those pills aren't even meant to be contraceptives... they were never officially approved by health authorities in any country as birth control, just as an acne treatment... but the company kept selling them to hospitals and pharmacies as contraceptives because, honestly, who’s going to check every single time a box of pills is sold...?!?... They did it on purpose because the market for birth control is massive compared to acne meds, so there's way more money to be made...
And now we find out that the hormone cocktail inside them also acts as a contraceptive, but it's incredibly risky...
The company behind Diane never wanted to go through the actual approval process for birth control because it's so much more rigorous, expensive, and takes forever—you have to wonder if they skipped it for a reason... especially since birth control is something women take for such long periods...
Then they interviewed a doctor in Germany... I think his name was Jorgen, I can't quite recall... and he says Diane is currently the riskiest option out there because about 65 out of every 1,000 women develop complications... though they didn't say how many actually die...
For now, nobody knows when the lawsuit will officially start here in the States, because they still need to track down every single death linked to Diane...
That company has actually been fined before for advertising Diane as a contraceptive instead of just an acne treatment...
I've been pretty fed up with the doctors around here for a long time... and it looks like things aren't any better over there either...
They actually gave my sister Prevacid, which is used for acid reflux... maybe gastritis or something...
Her esophagus was practically being eaten away by stomach acid...
She was on those pills for nearly eight months before she happened to stumble upon something online saying you're only supposed to take them for eight weeks, otherwise they could cause cataracts... of course, she stopped taking them immediately... when she asked her doctor, she just said she didn't know... and when my sister showed her the warning, she just went, "Hmm, interesting," and handed her a different prescription... I mean, how can you trust them...
If you can follow English, maybe take a quick look at the site I linked in my first post...
But if not, no worries, I can definitely translate what it says for you...
At the end of the day, it’s your call, and I really don't doubt your friend's expertise, but this is just some recent research that came out...
I honestly just wanted to pass along something I heard last night, because I’d feel terrible knowing something was harmful and not warning anyone who might be at risk...
We’ve got another special edition tonight at 9:00—just an hour—focusing specifically on this case...
It involves a massive class-action lawsuit... basically, the families of the girls who passed away from these pills are suing the pharmaceutical company...
Usually, lawsuits like this don't even get off the ground unless there's some pretty heavy evidence behind them...
And there are other types of birth control available too...
darkbison81 said:I’ve never actually used those pills myself, so I was wondering... does the packaging really state they aren't for contraception? if that's true, then anyone prescribing them as birth control is just being reckless...😠 😢
I haven't personally looked at the box... but I saw on the news last night that it's clearly labeled, and even in the medical descriptions sent to hospitals and doctors, it's all there. Apparently, pharmaceutical reps still push them as contraceptives, even though a big company—I can't remember which one—was hauled into court about three years ago specifically because they were marketing them that way...
they paid their fine and now it's back to business as usual...😠 😠
maybe try looking around the website I posted for a bit...
you could even send them an email if you want...
honestly, it just makes me so frustrated when people keep telling you to go see a doctor... it clearly says right there in the product description that these pills aren't meant for birth control—which is the exact info pharma companies give doctors—but they just don't seem to care at all...😠
Last night I was watching a report from the CDC on TV about Diane 35...
I know quite a few girls here use them, so I just felt like I had to share this...
Those pills absolutely SHOULD NOT be used for birth control. Their actual intended use is for acne. If you take them long-term as a contraceptive, they can cause blood clots—four times more likely than other birth control pills—which can actually be fatal...
About two and a half years ago, a colleague of mine passed away at only 25 years old after suffering multiple heart attacks in her final forty-eight hours. Even the doctors were baffled by how someone so young could endure twelve heart attacks in such a short window, so they performed an autopsy... and it wasn't until that TV program last night that they finally mentioned my friend Catherine Angelidis died because of Diane 35 and the blood clots those pills created, which ultimately led to her heart failing...
I used to bite the skin around my nails until they actually bled... it hurt so much, but I just couldn't seem to stop myself...
It turns out my little "obsession" was actually rooted in my mental health... usually, it’s just a physical way that anxiety shows up on the surface...
Maybe try talking things through with a therapist... it's better to tackle what's causing it rather than just fighting the symptoms...
I haven't bitten my fingers in a whole year now... I saw a psychologist regularly for about eighteen months, though I only go occasionally these days... I didn't go specifically because of the biting habit, but it was really just one symptom of a much deeper issue...
I honestly don't know what kind of gynecologists they have over there if they aren't even running basic blood work...
Mine always orders a full panel for me every single year... just to be safe... because those birth control pills can cause a certain level of blood clotting, which is actually pretty normal for healthy women, though that's why doctors usually tell smokers or people with high blood pressure to stay away from them to avoid things like strokes...
Besides, oral contraceptives actually lower cancer risks... I really don't know anyone else in the medical community who claims otherwise...
It’s really just about finding that perfect hormone cocktail that fits the right person...
Back when I was visiting Ottawa, I tried Studeron and it felt absolutely terrible... then they switched me to... I can't quite recall the name now... something European, and it worked wonders...
But here in the States, they put me on Alesse... and I was bleeding constantly... my doctor said they just weren't strong enough for my system...
Now I've been on Entek, specifically Tricyclene28, and I haven't had a single issue for three years straight...
I did look into that three-month hormonal injection that stops your period entirely, but it feels just like Alesse... not potent enough for me...