Posts by Brandon Lopez6

Look, if you’re convinced the meds aren't working, you’ve basically backed yourself into a corner where your only option is hitting up the ER just to get the exact same stuff, just in a different format. Honestly, the mere thought of heading to the emergency room to get a shot might actually calm you down more than the actual medicine. But when you swallow a pill thinking, "this isn't going to do anything," you're basically inviting a countereffect to kick in.

Steven Cook56 said:Look, I've spent way too much time falling down internet rabbit holes researching anxiety, and honestly? Everything points to that. But here's the thing—I haven't even kept any of these pills in my system for more than seven days. Every other day, I'm practically living in the ER because I feel like I can't catch my breath... so the doctor just swaps one med for another immediately. The last ones they tried to put me on—which I refused to touch—were Paxil 20 mg... I'm just lost at this point. Someone even suggested it might just be acid reflux...

What was the deal with why you didn't want to take them?
When you go to the ER, do they actually give you an injection or just hand you another prescription?

Steven Cook56 said:Well, I've been to the psychiatrist plenty of times. Seriously, I was there constantly. But the thing is, they were swapping my meds out every seven days like it was nothing... one week it's benzodiazepines, the next it's sedatives, then some anxiolytics... just always something different. And just to be clear, it isn't always a panic attack. Even when I'm not having one, I still struggle to take a deep breath, my throat feels tight, and sometimes I get this heavy pressure in my chest...

Honestly, sounds like textbook anxiety symptoms to me. They kept handing you stuff to calm you down in the moment, but you probably would've seen better results with actual antidepressants.
Were you actually following the prescription? And are you dealing with a massive amount of stress right now?

So, if you’ve run all the tests and nothing physical is showing up, we’re probably looking at something psychological here. That tight feeling in your throat and the sensation like you can't quite get enough air? Honestly, that's a super common precursor to a panic attack. Have you thought about sitting down with a psychiatrist? As for meds, you really have to give antidepressants at least a month or so to actually kick in before you can tell if they're doing anything—if they don't work after that, then you just pivot and try something else.

Look, I’m telling you, AD and AP are like little mice—they aren't exactly hard to quit. People usually go straight for the anxiolytics instead, which is a whole different beast. Sure, they might kick in faster and calm you down quick, but man, the side effects are absolutely brutal.

For me, tapering off the AP and AD went pretty smoothly, though I can't exactly say the same for the xelex.

Jason Vaughn482 said:They push the hospital option on us, often triggered by that very first depressive episode, and at that point, it's really up to us whether we accept their assessment or fight it...

Look, there's a difference between dealing with a depressive episode (we all know where that road leads) and being told "I don't have any antidepressants to give you." Besides, Paul Newman5 mentioned herself she deals with more anxiety than depression.

Paul Newman5 said:Me too. My job requires a lot of responsibility and I make sure I never miss a beat—everything gets done at home, bills are paid on time, I haven't missed a single day of work. It's just anxiety and depression. Only taken four different antidepressants so far.
No clue why she said that. We'll see at the follow-up. Besides, she isn't the only doctor in the building. Maybe Velafax will finally kick in.
Or maybe she just meant I should take some time off, like a vacation. Probably wouldn't hurt.🤣

Four antidepressants isn't much at all (I've only tried three myself and none of them worked 😳). It's not like you've cycled through forty. You made a good point about her not being the only option, so seriously, think about switching doctors if this one is trying to send you to some damn hospital just because of anxiety and depression. I was in the absolute worst phase of my OCD, to the point where I would've eaten literal garbage or jumped off a building if someone promised me I'd feel better. My doctor told me I wasn't "hospital material," even though I could barely function. Washing dishes felt like a massive daily achievement, and afterward, I felt like I'd run five marathons. Looking at everything you manage to get done in a day, I don't get why she'd suggest a hospital. It makes zero sense.
Give Velafax more time 🙂.

Yeah, take that vacation 🤣. Get lost in the chains 😬.

Paul Newman5 said:I don't know, but my doctor at Mayo Clinic had me in for a checkup last month on September 13th because she said they'd be striking starting on the 18th—she's even acting as some kind of lead negotiator. Regardless, I always have to call her a day or two ahead because things pop up for her, so we'll see. My next appointment is set for October 31st.
Yeah, I'll keep taking it until the checkup. That's two more weeks, then we'll see.
You're right, sometimes I just want to toss all my pills and think I'd be better off without them, even though I tried going without and it didn't work.
The only thing that spooked me last time was when she told me if Velafax doesn't work either, I should come into the hospital because she's run out of options. And I'm scared of that—not the hospital itself, but the idea of getting fired just because I took medical leave.

😲 That sounds pretty unprofessional to me. Based on what you've posted here, it doesn't seem like you need an ER visit at all, so I'm totally lost as to why your doctor would even say that. Not making any sense.

If you’ve got a partial ban on some PDF or PPDF, then you won't even see that file in the first place. I don't think you can say you're "sent to the ban corner" if you're still able to read the damn thing.

Chloe Roberts2 said:Look, as far as my own opinion goes, I’d be a donor, and even if I decided against it, I’d just go ahead and sign the formal refusal. The real headache starts when doctors begin questioning parents or relatives—brothers, sisters, you name it—about what they actually want to do with someone else's organs, even if that person carried a donor card and made their wishes crystal clear.
Then, predictably, the parents just say, "No way."

I heard this one story about a woman in a hospital who was undergoing her tenth surgery, and apparently, they harvested a kidney from her because they were short on supply, though I didn't hear it firsthand and can't really vouch for the details.

Yeah, there was even a case where someone’s leg got amputated because a patient needed one. Look, I'm 100% sure I heard this from a nurse friend of a friend whose sister works at a diner right down the street from the hospital.

OT
Honestly? I'd be down. I've mentioned it to my family and they're totally fine with it. On the flip side, I'd never donate my entire body to science (you know, for those med students to practice their cuts and all that). The whole idea kind of creeps me out, and I'd still prefer to be buried somewhere a bit more dignified.
As for how useful my organs actually are... that's a different story, but I figure at least a few parts would still be good to go 🙂.

Lisa Myers said:For those of you seeing private doctors—do you actually buy your own meds, or do you just take your test results back to a primary care physician to get them prescribed? I’ve heard rumors that a GP can only write prescriptions if they're coming from a "public" doctor. Just curious how you all handle it...

I went to a private specialist once, and yeah, they handed over a prescription just like any doctor at the VA would. Honestly, pretty sure you can't even pick up anxiety meds or sedatives without a script anyway.

this list says it's Vojky.

I’m right there with jadewolf16 on this one. Honestly, being able to work from home would be a total game changer for me.

swiftbear86 said:I'm actually really curious to know which specific medications we're talking about here.

If you always pick up your prescriptions at the same pharmacy, the pharmacist can pull up your profile and see your previous history. That makes it pretty easy for them to explain why a different brand might be sitting in your hand instead of the one you're used to. However, we usually only dive into those comparisons if the patient asks. Honestly, we just don't have the luxury of time to cross-reference every single prescription against a patient's entire history for every visit. We typically just ask if everything looks familiar or if they recognize their usual regimen. But even then, it happens—a patient will tell us, "Oh, I've been taking this exact thing for years," only to get home and realize the box looks completely different.

The good news is that underneath the brand name, the generic name is always listed—things like amlodipine, atenolol, lisinopril, indapamide, simvastatin, or propafenone. That’s how you can always figure out which medication is a direct substitute for another.

So, I was at the pharmacy today, and even the pharmacist had to spend about five minutes just figuring out what we were dealing with. Honestly, she couldn't even tell from the generic name alone; she ended up having to dig through her computer to make sense of it. Turns out, it was some medication my grandpa used to take, but it got prescribed again by mistake. His treatment plan was tweaked during his last checkup—some pills dropped, some added, the usual drill—and he somehow ended up back on this old stuff. Mystery solved.

The meds aren't really an issue on my end since my grandad doesn't live with us. But he called us up this time, totally confused about how to take his pills and what they even are. So my dad headed over there to check things out, but it was a bust—he couldn't figure out what any of them were supposed to be replacing. Now the plan is to just haul everything over to the doctor on Monday (along with Grandpa, who has to get bloodwork done) and finally get some real answers.

swiftbear86 said:Have any of you ever been in a spot where your doctor just writes the absolute cheapest option on the list? Did they actually give you a heads-up beforehand, or were you just caught off guard at the pharmacy counter when you saw something different than what you expected?

How did you handle it?

I’m already on generics, so that part hasn't been an issue for me. But my grandad—he had a stroke about 7 or 8 years ago—just had 3 or 4 of his meds swapped out. We went to pick them up today and realized we have absolutely no clue which one replaces 🤔. The label says it's for blood pressure, but he was given a different BP med entirely, and looking at the drug class, it doesn't even seem to fit with what he was taking before.
The doctor didn't really say much, just a quick "you'll be getting generics," without mentioning which specific med was being swapped for what. Now we're stuck waiting until Monday to figure out if this was a prescription error or not. I don't get it... surely he could take two minutes to write down the changes, especially since we're talking about a guy in his 70s. It's hard enough keeping track without this.

I grew up in a small town just outside of Indianapolis (🙂) and honestly, I’ve never heard of anyone being declared unfit for work unless they were a veteran or someone dealing with PTSD.

I bet things go down exactly the same way in Washington, D.C., because if they didn't, we wouldn't see so many people retiring way too early. In my experience, it all comes down to your GP and how much they're willing to play ball. From there, you're looking at a trip to a state mental health facility for an evaluation, and then you just get labeled as "crazy" by everyone in town—plus, the disability check isn't exactly life-changing. Whether you actually have issues or not, that's just how people around here act. I knew this guy who ended up in a psych ward for reasons he won't talk about now, and the rumors flying around him were straight-up sci-fi. People were acting like he was some kind of domestic terrorist or something.

So, what’s the actual diagnosis? And why do you feel like you can't work or that treatment won't really move the needle for you, if you don't mind me asking?

Check this out regarding work capacity -> click.

Personally, I haven’t heard of anyone actually losing their ability to work because of depression or anxiety. That’s a different story if we're talking about psychosis or schizophrenia. Plus, just because someone deals with a more severe mental illness doesn't mean they can't hold down a job. There are plenty of success stories of people managing psychosis while living full, productive lives. They use medication, obviously, but look—if people can take pills for blood pressure or thyroid issues for the rest of their lives without it being a big deal, why should antidepressants or antipsychotics be treated like some kind of boogeyman?

As for the legal side of things, you should read up on the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act -> click.

The short answer to the question in the title? A massive, resounding NO.
I’ve always been a believer in the whole "a leopard can't change its spots" thing, so I don't buy into this idea of radical rehabilitation for abusers—unless we're talking about years upon years of intense, heavy-duty psychotherapy. If they’re still out there being toxic, then yeah, I have zero interest in playing hero.

Look, I don't wish them any ill will (I try my best to 😁), and I'm certainly not out to hurt them, but I'm also not stepping up to help. Period. Some people call me childish because of that. They tell me I haven't moved past my issues or that I need to be a "bigger person," but honestly, they can talk all they want since they haven't walked a mile in my shoes. Fine, maybe I am being childish. Maybe I haven't moved on, or maybe I'm just a smaller person. But at least I finally have a shred of peace. 🙂