Posts by Joseph Rodriguez3

Sam Hall15 said:Hey Nora—so you’ve been in anesthesia for five years now! Just so you know, that basically lines up perfectly with how they’re standardizing specialties across the entire US and the EU right now. As for your shifts during residency—and honestly, even after you're fully certified—it really all boils down to the specific hospital system you land in and how much they need you. In those massive medical centers, people actually get to pick their lane and specialize in what they love—though, let's be real, if you have the drive, you can technically do a bit of everything. But in smaller facilities, or places where there's a serious shortage of anesthesiologists? Well, you don't really get a choice there; you just jump in wherever the fire is. Of course, that always brings up the big question of job quality and how much focus you can actually give each case. During your training, you'll rotate through all the different branches of anesthesia. You’ll hit intensive care, and if you really put in the work—which I totally think you should if that's your end goal—you can probably touch every single sub-specialty. And then there’s resuscitation, which kind of acts as the glue holding all those pieces together. You’ll also rotate through several internal medicine departments and neurology—I'm not 100% sure about pediatrics, though! At the end of the day, it’s a super individual journey. It really comes down to what you're passionate about—you'll naturally find yourself gravitating toward the stuff you actually enjoy doing.
I really hope I was able to help out even just a little bit!

Thanks a million! 😍

briskmoose90 said:As far as I know, if you miss your pill in week three after having sex that month, two things can happen:
Stop taking the pills immediately. Take a seven-day break, then resume the regular schedule—meaning, don't take that last dose. Or else.
Finish the last pill, then start the next pack immediately. No seven-day break.

If you haven't had any real relationships, just finish this last drink. Take a break. Act like nothing ever happened. 🙂

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Yeah, I’ve got a question too. Spoke with my OB-GYN over the phone. Appointment is set for Monday.

Here’s the situation. I'm on Triquilar, which uses that delayed-release packaging. I missed a pill for the first time, and now I have absolutely no clue what day or week it actually is. I’m completely lost. As a result, I started bleeding halfway through the pack—probably because I missed a dose around then, though I can't be certain—and it hasn't stopped. It's been 15 days straight. It's just light spotting, nothing heavy, but it won't quit.

Ginić tells me I have to take a month off. Wait for my regular period to hit, then start on a new pack.

They’re moving me to Logest. 😕

So, he’s a doctor, but I want to hear from you all. What has your experience been like with your physicians? Isn't there supposed to be a rule against taking such short breaks with pills—like only a month? Isn't that hard on a body that's already adjusted to hormones?

He’s juggling these pills, switching me from one to another. Thinking about changing him.

Actually, you don't necessarily have to take a break at all when switching between different types of pills. Some girls just finish their current pack, take their standard 7-day break, and then move right onto the next one. Don't sweat it too much!😉

Melissa James70 said:I think you’re totally on point for the most part—honestly, I’m nodding along with most of what you wrote! But, if I can be a little bit of a nitpicker here—and trust me, I know I can be—there are a few things that aren't quite hitting the mark or are, at the very least, a bit too much of a generalization. So, let me break it down:

1 Honestly, if you ask me, seeing just two patients a day feels like such a missed opportunity! I really feel like the sweet spot for psychotherapy should be somewhere in that 4 to 6 patient range—you know, enough to stay in the flow, but not so many that you're totally burnt out by lunchtime. Two just seems a bit too light, don't you think?

2 Contrary to what you’re saying, it isn't just that there are a few "idiots" out there willing to do that on a national scale—it’s actually that those very same "idiots" are practically all gathered in one place!Besides everything else...So, I was just thinking about this—you can actually get high-quality psychotherapy through a referral! I mean, if you head over to a specialized clinic, it’s totally doable. It’s such a relief to know that good mental health support is accessible like that!

3 Maybe! I'm not quite sure what you mean by that! You've left me hanging—did you hit send too early? I'm all ears and ready to chat whenever you're ready to dive in! Honestly, I feel like psychiatrists sometimes just take the path of least resistance—it’s like they look for the quickest fix available! Now, don't get me wrong, I'm definitely not saying that *everyone* in the field does this or that they're just handing out pills to every single patient who walks through the door. That would be a huge generalization! But, personally speaking—and I’m including myself in this group here—I know plenty of people who stick strictly to psychotherapy. We go through the sessions, we do the work, and not once have we ever been prescribed a single pill. It really goes to show there are other ways to navigate this stuff!

4 Actually, that’s not quite right! The medication they normally prescribe to pregnant women is Normabel—it really helps calm things down and lowers the risk of premature contractions or even miscarriage.

1. Honestly, let me tell you—real psychotherapy is absolutely exhausting for the therapist! It’s intense work, plain and simple. Unless you’re looking at certain types of group therapy sessions, if a provider tries to see more than two patients a day, they just aren't going to deliver high-quality care—at least not under optimal conditions, anyway! I really mean it. Anyone telling you otherwise clearly doesn't quite grasp what true psychotherapy actually entails.
Let’s look at a real-world example here—say, an 8-hour workday. If you take out a quick 30-minute lunch break, you’re left with 7.5 hours. Now, let’s say your first therapy session takes up 2 hours. Right after that, you can't just jump into the next thing—you have to actually write up your progress notes, which usually eats up another 15 to 30 minutes. On top of that, it’s highly recommended (honestly, it's essential!) that a therapist gets a little breather between sessions, especially after those really draining ones—and let's face it, most of them are! So, if we budget at least 30 minutes for a mental reset, that’s another 30 minutes gone. Basically, between the session, the paperwork, and the necessary downtime, you’ve already burned through 3 hours of your day. That leaves you with only 4.5 hours remaining. If you try to slot in another patient for 3 hours, you’re left with a measly hour and a half. And honestly? That just isn't nearly enough time to give someone the high-quality care they actually deserve!
The number I came up with— 2Look, sure, there’s a theoretical "ideal" number of sessions, but let's be honest—it’s just not realistic. In the real world, if you want actual quality, three patients a day is the sweet spot—and yeah, that actually happens in practice! Anything beyond that? It’s just not sustainable if you want to do good work. That’s exactly why therapy can feel so pricey—because a truly dedicated, high-quality psychotherapist simply can't take on more than three people a day without burning out or losing that focus. Quality takes time, right?
2. I’m just sharing the general consensus I see among therapists—and honestly, I know enough of them personally to really stand behind what I’m saying! Of course, there are always those "idiots" out there (and just to be clear, I’m using that term ironically again, just like I did in my last post!) who go through the whole referral process, and naturally, there are plenty of genuinely talented, hardworking therapists in the mix too. Every psychiatrist working at the local psychiatric hospital practices some form of psychotherapy, but believe me when I say this: anything run by the government over here is just completely overwhelmed. People are working under incredibly tough conditions—it's exhausting!—and because they're stretched so thin, they simply can't provide the absolute best care to their patients, even though most of them truly, deeply want to.
3. I didn't mean to imply everyone—I was really just talking about the majority of people! My bad for not being more specific right off the bat.
4. Honestly, I’ve been thinking about Normabel and Valium lately—it's funny how much those two can weigh on your mind! It really makes you realize how much we rely on certain things to just stay level, doesn't it? Anyway, just some random thoughts swirling around my head today!It’s honestly kind of hilarious when you stop to think about it—all those different brand names on the shelf that are actually just the exact same generic medication! It feels like a total marketing trick sometimes, doesn't it? One company calls it this, another calls it that, but at the end of the day, it's just the same old stuff. So, I was thinking about diazepam today—you know, that classic benzodiazepine everyone seems to have an opinion on—and it really got me wondering how much we all rely on these kinds of meds to just... level things out. It’s funny, isn't it? One day you're feeling totally fine, and the next, everything feels like it's spinning just a little too fast, and you start looking for that steady hand. I mean, don't get me wrong, they can be absolute lifesavers when the anxiety hits like a freight train, but man, the whole "dependency" conversation is always hovering in the background. It's such a delicate balance! You want to feel like yourself, but sometimes "yourself" is a bit too jittery for comfort. Anyway, just a random thought bouncing around my brain while I sip my coffee this morning!Look, I wasn't just using generic terms there—I used actual brand names specifically so we’d all be on the same page about exactly what I'm talking about! And honestly, I still firmly believe that giving Diazepam to pregnant women should only happen if there is a massive, undeniable reason to do so. It shouldn't be some preventive measure—it's definitely not "normal," regular, or standard practice to just hand it out, especially when you're dealing with a situation where a miscarriage is actually a risk. That is anything but normal! If you really don't want to see eye-to-eye with me on this, I can easily give you the full name of my pharmacology professor—she worked incredibly hard to make sure every single one of her students understood the dangers of prescribing medication during pregnancy. If you don't believe me, fine! But at the end of the day, I have three and a half years of intensive studies backing me up, and she has over 20 years of experience and countless scientific papers to her name. So, yeah—I know what I'm talking about!

I only spoke up like that because I wanted to highlight the massive gap between someone just making guesses and actual expertise—which, let's be honest, isn't always "practical" in the moment, but it’s still lightyears ahead of amateur guesswork! Now, don't get me wrong—I'm definitely not putting myself on a pedestal here, and I'm certainly no born genius—but all that knowledge I have? It really comes down to years and years of grueling hard work and endless studying. As for the psychotherapy side of things, though... well, as I mentioned before, I guess I just happened to be born into that world!😁 I’ve got some solid intel from an "inside source"!

Let me jump back into this topic for a second—hospital IT systems are such a high-stakes, sensitive beast! They have all these layers of protection built in specifically to prevent any kind of data loss. It’s actually pretty intense—once you input data into a database and hit save, that information is basically etched in stone; you can't just go in and delete it whenever you feel like it. Plus, everything is stored on servers—and we're talking at least two of them—that have to be kept under strictly regulated conditions. They even have to be physically located at a very specific geographic distance from one another, just to make sure everything stays safe and sound even if some massive natural disaster hits one of the sites!

The whole reason they had to step in with these prescription controls is pretty simple—patients shouldn't be calling the shots on their own medication dosages without talking to a doctor first! Honestly, if we didn't have those guardrails, it would be way too easy to accidentally overdo it or take things that just aren't right for us. It’s all about safety, really. These kinds of oversight systems have been around forever in more organized parts of the world, so it makes sense. And look, I get it—with any big change, there's always going to be a learning curve while everyone—from the doctors and pharmacists to the patients themselves—gets used to the new rhythm. But once we all settle in, even the folks who are freaking out about "Big Brother" watching their every move will see that this isn't some creepy surveillance plot. It’s actually designed with our well-being in mind! 😉

Nicholas Wells74 said:Of course that's how it works! But seriously, why is everyone so quick to just lean on sedatives and anti-anxiety meds? Is it because it’s actually easy to see a therapist—you know, where they sit there and really listen, being all caring and attentive for a full 45 minutes or an hour at a time? Or is it because it's uuuuuuzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzy hard to actually get an appointment with a psychologist or psychiatrist—where you finally get in, they listen to you for maybe ten measly minutes, and then immediately just scribble a prescription for pills? Plus, let's be real, some of them treat their patients like they're nothing more than cattle!

So, I had this totally wild encounter with my psychiatrist the other day—honestly, I’m still processing it! I went in there feeling pretty good, actually, because I finally made the call to stop taking that heavy-duty sleeping pill she’d put me on a while back. You know, the really strong stuff? Instead, I've been sticking to these natural dietary supplements that help me drift off much more gently. Well, when I told her about the switch, she basically shut the door right in my face! She looked at me and was like, "Oh, so you've moved on to alternative medicine now? In that case, I can't help you anymore." Can you believe that?! It felt so sudden—like, excuse me, I'm just trying to find a way to sleep that doesn't leave me feeling like a zombie the next morning! It’s such a bummer because I thought we were working together on a plan, but apparently, if I don't want the hardcore stuff, I'm out of luck. Just one of those moments where you realize how rigid some of these medical professionals can be!

Look—I’m going the alternative route here. It’s common sense, really; everyone knows stuff like valerian root or lavender can take the edge off. Since I haven't officially started a formal treatment program yet, I've just been leaning on those old-school, natural remedies to keep myself steady—it's much more soothing than sitting under some blue light therapy lamp or whatever! But instead of actually encouraging me—or even being happy that I’ve managed to step away from the heavy stuff—she’s acting like this. Honestly, it's frustrating. I even tried seeing a specialist, but unfortunately, I’m still stuck with one doctor who basically tunes me out after ten minutes just to scribble down a prescription and call it a day. I count myself lucky that I only have to deal with that guy once every six months—and even then, it's mostly just so my primary care physician doesn't give me a hard time if I occasionally need a little something to help me relax.

So, here’s the deal—my mom is actually a psychologist, so I know a little bit about how this whole world works! First off, just to clear things up, psychologists aren't even allowed to prescribe medication; that’s strictly in the hands of psychiatrists in our system. And honestly? Most things in life pretty much follow the rule of "you get what you pay for." Private psychotherapy is incredibly expensive—it really adds up! On the flip side, the public options through something like Medicare can be a bit hit-or-miss. The main issue is burnout. For a therapist to actually do their best work, they should ideally only see maybe two patients a day if they're focusing on deep psychotherapy. But instead, they’re often juggling twice that amount—and that's not even counting all the other clinical duties they have to handle! It’s just exhausting. There seems to be this underlying attitude within the healthcare system that says, "Well, no sane person would want to do this kind of intensive work for the government; let the private practitioners handle it." It’s a shame, really, because at this point, quality mental health support is treated more like a luxury than a basic necessity. 🙄
Let’s be real for a second—it feels like some psychiatrists are just taking the path of least resistance lately! It honestly seems like they’d rather just hand out a prescription for whatever they have on hand instead of actually digging into what's going on with a patient. It’s like, instead of doing the heavy lifting to figure out the root cause, they just go ahead and start medicating everyone indiscriminately. It's definitely a frustrating trend to see!
Look, I totally get it—I really do. Everything is a mess right now, things aren't working the way they should, and patients are genuinely suffering because of it. It’s heartbreaking, honestly. I find myself sitting here wondering if any of us will actually live to see the day when the American healthcare system finally starts moving in the right direction—you know, like, actually getting better instead of just spinning its wheels!
Look, things just have to start moving forward somehow—I mean, really! And even if it feels like we’re hitting a wall right now, this whole new rule regarding prescriptions is actually a massive step in the right direction. It might seem a bit much at first glance, but honestly? It's progress!
Look, we really have to keep in mind that there’s definitely a risk of dependency with the medications you're taking—that's just the reality of it. But honestly? If you're ever forced to choose between using "hard" drugs and taking some Xanax, it’s a total no-brainer that sticking with the medication is the right call! You shouldn't feel like you need to quit just because of that risk. It’s more about finding—or hopefully, eventually finding—a better way of doing things that prevents (or at least *should* prevent) anyone from abusing these kinds of meds in the first place.
I honestly just don't get how you can look at people like... Gustavo Give that guy a huge thumbs up! Seriously—his incredibly smart, deeply thoughtful, and super mature post is actually what gave me the nudge I needed to finally jump in here and write something myself.
So, his claim that you can't just walk into a pharmacy and pick up narcotics? Well, he’s technically wrong—though I get where he's coming from! Maybe they don't go by "narcotics" in the official paperwork anymore; they call them opioid analgesics now, which sounds way more clinical and fancy, right? But yeah, they absolutely sell them there. Honestly, though, those aren't even the real issue—I mean, you still need a super strict, special prescription to get anything, and they're kept under lock and key behind the counter in these high-security areas. Getting your hands on them is actually a huge hassle, regardless of what you call them!
Honestly, I think anyone who pays for their own meds should be allowed to buy whatever they want—but let’s be real, that’s just wrong. Doctors and pharmacists spend years—literally decades!—grinding through school just so they can understand exactly why a specific medication works for you personally, or why it might be a total disaster for your body. They know all about those tricky interactions with other drugs you're taking, stuff that goes way deeper than the little fine print in the instruction leaflet we all skim through anyway. If we boil this down, it basically turns into pure, unadulterated capitalism. You’ve got some person out there—let's call them a fool—who decides to take medication entirely on their own whim, without any professional advice. They just want *something* to fix how they feel, right? So, they hear about this one drug that supposedly "works wonders," grab it, and pop it. But then—boom—they get hit with nasty side effects, or worse, they end up with a whole new medical issue or even put their life at risk because they were being reckless with pills. And here’s the kicker: at that moment, that person becomes a massive burden on the entire healthcare system, the government, and the taxpayers—which means me and you! Why should a slice of someone's hard-earned paycheck go toward treating someone who was being completely irresponsible by skipping the doctor altogether? In some systems, like the one here in the States—which, okay, can be incredibly harsh and inhumane sometimes, but hey, it has its perks—someone acting like that would be forced to foot the entire bill themselves.
Please don't take this personally—I really mean it! Taking Xanax is going to trigger a situation like this incredibly rarely (it’s actually one of those few psychiatric medications that even pregnant women can be prescribed if it's absolutely necessary), and honestly, if you're saying you've dealt with addiction in the past, then your whole goal is just to react quickly whenever you start feeling "unstable"—if that's even the right way to put it! But at the end of the day, we need a personalized approach for every patient; deciding what works best in these moments really requires looking at the individual, so for instance, you'd want to make sure psychotherapy is being handled properly before someone even picks a specific medication.
But look, even if this happens to just one single person with any kind of medication, the cost of treatment is massive—something that could totally be prevented through better regulation (though, I have to admit, I'm still a little skeptical because I keep hearing rumors that there are still pharmacies out there handing out just about anything to anyone).

The real issue here is that medications are being prescribed—and used—completely irrationally.
People just love seeking a quick fix in a pill bottle. Honestly, it’s way easier than actually losing weight or pushing through physical pain, right? Now, don't get me wrong—some medical conditions absolutely require medication, and getting a prescription for those shouldn't be an issue at all. But in America, there is such an overwhelming amount of painkillers and psychoactive drugs being handed out, and it is seriously high time we implemented stricter controls in that area. I mean, why reach for Xanax just because life is getting a little tough? There are so many much better, healthier ways to tackle mental health struggles than just popping a pill—tablets are just the path of least resistance.
Also, that much-discussed Anacin—which, unfortunately, I find myself taking quite often too (usually just one or two tablets over a three-month span)—can potentially be dangerous. It isn't good for you, really, and it should only be used when there's absolutely no other way around it. And honestly, the situation isn't much better when it comes to other medications either.
By tightening things up, doctors can get a much better handle on exactly how much of a specific drug a patient is consuming, which is so vital! So many people, the moment they start feeling under the weather, will just up their own dosage on their own accord—not that it even helps them, usually—they just do it to avoid making a trip to the doctor.
I personally think it's a good thing that, finally, prescription meds aren't leaving the pharmacy unless there is an actual prescription for them (even if it's been a bit of a headache for me having to plan ahead to make sure I have enough Anacin on hand in case I get a painful period).
Of course, the system isn't perfect—the staff hasn't quite gotten used to the new workflow yet, and the risk of human error is always hovering there, which is definitely what needs work—but getting rid of it altogether??? No way.

Grace Anderson3 said:Can anyone recommend a private oral surgeon in the San Francisco area or nearby?
I am honestly so done with the endless waiting games and back-and-forth with different dentists just to figure out if a tooth needs to come out or not—I just want to get this over with ASAP.
Does anyone know someone reliable who is great at pulling molars, and any idea what the cost might look like?

I totally hear you on wanting a private specialist—sometimes you just need things handled without all the runaround! But, if you really want the absolute best, I’d highly suggest Dr. Robert Cerović. He’s actually double-qualified in both medicine and dentistry, so he's a full-on maxillofacial surgeon. He works at the hospital over in the Neighborhood, and even though there's usually a bit of a wait, it’s only about a month or even less. I personally went to him to have my wisdom tooth pulled, and honestly, everything went perfectly! 😉

A quick question for the anesthesiologists on call from a med student
So, I’m currently in my fourth year—which basically means I haven't even sniffed anesthesia yet, unless you count one brief visit to the ICU, sedating a patient who was in a coma (she had a GCS of 7, was actually all over the local news for a bit because a massive storm blew her down, suffered a brain contusion, and had to rush into emergency surgery to get a drain placed for ICP monitoring), and witnessing one resuscitation. Honestly, that resuscitation was probably one of the most pivotal moments of my entire medical school career! It happened totally out of nowhere during our internal medicine rotation; a patient just collapsed, and this senior doctor stepped in and immediately started barking orders at us to coordinate who was doing what. Usually, students just stand there and watch the code happen—they don't really let us jump in to do the compressions or the bagging ourselves
Anyway, I wanted to ask: how many years does residency actually take? What’s the deal with the on-call shifts and all those little details? I’m asking because I am genuinely considering this as a career path—it really appeals to me! But whenever I mention it to any of the faculty assistants at the university, I just get these looks like, "Are you insane?" or "Oh man, don't even bother," or "Nobody wants that because it's way too intense"...