Posts by Robert Collins2

Are you kidding me with the alcohol? Just cross it off your list, man. You're playing with fire here—you could end up risking everything, even a stroke!

mistyseal11, look, I wasn't trying to pull that whole "my depression is deeper than yours" or "my dad is tougher than your dad" crap on you. Honestly, I was just trying to drive home the point that if you actually put in the work—like, real soul-searching stuff combined with decent therapy and sheer willpower—you can crawl your way out of even the deepest, darkest holes imaginable. You can do this too, seriously.

Weedeemer, my diagnosis is a heavy-duty F-35, so I’m talking serious levels here. And honestly? I’ve never felt better in my entire life. I’ve been on this medication for three months now, I’m seeing a therapist regularly, and I’ve completely overhauled my whole lifestyle. I didn't really expect the pills to just do all the heavy lifting for me—it was actually the exact opposite. As soon as I started feeling even a little bit more stable, I finally found the strength to get moving again, like I was being pulled straight out of the grave...

Yeah, that photo you posted of the scars on your wrist? That looks like child's play compared to what I went through. I had 17 stitches on my left forearm and 7 on my right, and yet, look at me now!

Romina, don't even worry about it, we're good. I guess I just get super defensive whenever anyone even hints at downplaying depression as a real illness, since it nearly took my life, but you're totally right—it's not just about the meds. The real healing has to come from within us! 🙂

copperridge77, look, you can't just brush off depression if the diagnosis is F32.1 or—God forbid—something even heavier. Those meds are literally what give you the strength and the actual will to get out of bed and move again; I’m speaking from my own lived experience here. So, please, I am begging you, stop trivializing a psychiatric and scientifically proven ILLNESS. This isn't some made-up label or someone's "crazy idea"...

Thanks so much! 🙂

But seriously, look—I’ve been putting in the actual work on myself lately. I'm hitting up psychotherapy sessions regularly, staying incredibly disciplined with my medication, and honestly? I feel better than I ever have. It’s wild because just three months ago, I was in such a dark place that my only real goal was to just end it all and stop causing pain to myself and everyone around me...

Anyway, how are things going with you?

fadedbear92, I actually managed to scale down from 4 mg of Xanax daily to just 0.25 + 0.25 + 0.75 in less than three months. I was working closely with my doctor the whole way through, so there weren't any nasty side effects or anything. I also dropped my dose of Lamictal from 600 mg a day down to 400, while my Effexor stayed exactly where it was—just two 37.5 mg doses. 🙂

Look, Joe, maybe I'm just missing something here, but I honestly don't get how it could have worked perfectly fine at first and then just totally quit on you. I mean, I haven't heard of a situation like that happening before. 🤷

He’d get some attention, even if it was just for a minute, and he’d get his meds. Honestly, if he got lucky enough to land a decent psychiatrist within two or three weeks, he’d probably just move past all those crazy attempts and never even think about doing them again.

Mary, look, if you haven't been dealing with any major side effects up until now, you’re probably going to be just fine. Honestly, I’m on a cocktail of Adderall, an antipsychotic, and a Xanax—and we're talking doses that would make most people's heads spin—but I still get through my day, hang out with friends, and I've even got my driving test coming up soon. I feel totally normal. The big thing for me is staying far away from alcohol, obviously, and that's pretty much the secret sauce. There's really no reason to be terrified of stepping out and being around people, especially if you actually feel up to it and want to. In fact, finding a job can actually be a huge part of the recovery process if you end up doing something you actually enjoy. 🙂

William Reed3 said:I just got hit with a red card for saying:
"Keith Jones76 is acting erratic and mentally unstable. That's my take."

Meanwhile, the depressives over there didn't get flagged for saying:
"I think psych meds are secondary here, and it's more about the fact that you definitely have a mental health issue or some pathological personality traits."

Can someone please strip this moderator of her privileges? She’s clearly lost her grip on reality!

I am signing off on this one, because I’m honestly dying to know which "pathological personality traits" I supposedly have, considering I'm dealing with my very first depressive episode ever, and I never had any issues before this—none at all—because this depression was triggered by actual trauma... 🙄

It's honestly mind-blowing how clueless and judgmental people can be, and then they act shocked when the whole field of psychiatry turns out to be just as messed up. It's absolutely pathetic!

Honestly, Effexor has been a total game-changer for me. It’s only been three days and that heavy apathy and constant anxiety have just... vanished. Helix has been working pretty well too, and my psychiatrist also put me on Luvox because my severe depression had this really intense suicidal component to it—which actually got even worse after my first psych straight up threw 50 mg of Zoloft at me without any other support.

I’ve been on this trio of meds for almost two months now and I feel like a completely different person. In the beginning, I needed a higher dose of Nozinan just to get some sleep, but I've actually managed to taper myself down a bit. All in all, I'm seriously happy with how things are going; the progress has been massive!

coppergardener said:It’s because Michelle Price66 doesn't have a hymen septum, she actually has a vaginal septum, which is also called a double or divided vagina (basically a wall inside the vagina). If the septum isn't huge—which clearly it isn't since it took her third doctor just to notice it—and if it isn't causing her issues during sex or when using tampons, then there’s really no reason to go under the knife if she doesn't want to. Since it's a vertical septum, there probably isn't much risk of complications, I guess... this procedure is definitely easier than a C-section, though maybe not as easy as a hymen incision (I don't know much about the surgery, but I think it requires general anesthesia, unlike the hymen thing) and it’s totally up to her whether she wants to deal with it or not.

@ Michelle Price66: those doctors of yours were absolute idiots, honestly. It feels like you need a tumor the size of a grapefruit before they even bother to tell you what's going on. 😲 Hopefully I won't run into any more of them, looking for a new one soon...

Honey, if some doctor had explained things to me as nicely as you just did, I would have been so relieved.

I went to the public clinic and then a private specialist, and it wasn't until the third doctor in a row—a private one—that she finally mentioned it. I had actually noticed it earlier too; whenever I use tampons, everything feels "fine," but they get stuck when I try to pull them out. Thank God one didn't get wedged in and land me in the ER! Now I just stick to mini or regular tampons, though mostly I just use pads, even if I'm not a huge fan of them. I'm not having any pain or major issues, and I’ll have to have a C-section anyway because I have both a septum and a bicornuate uterus, but oh my God, I am not complaining. I’ll be pregnant and heavy, lounging around in bed and ringing a bell to call a butler!

🙂

In case anyone is curious, the doctor who finally figured all this out for me was Dr. Višnja Tadić, and I am so incredibly grateful for her time and how much she actually cared!

Exactly, there’s really no reason to freak out. Just go in for your regular checkup and they'll spot everything during the standard exam anyway. Honestly, though, I had this one experience where I went to a private OBGYN—it was my third time seeing her—and she suddenly decided I had a uterine septum. She told me I’d definitely need a C-section and warned me to be super careful when using tampons because they might get stuck because of the septum. It felt like such a reach.

So yeah, definitely do some homework on which doctor to pick. Some of them are total amateurs who don't know what they're doing; at least, that’s been my luck so far....

Honestly, what you’re describing sounds like it might be a vaginal septum. I actually deal with the exact same thing—it’s just this little wall of elastic tissue, basically a congenital malformation from when you were still an embryo. Are you dealing with much pain, or do you find yourself using tampons? If you do use them, please be careful because they can actually get stuck; maybe stick to the slim ones or just standard size if you have to.

If it starts causing real issues, doctors usually just go in and surgically remove it. For me, thank God, it hasn't been a major problem, so my OBGYN decided it wasn't worth messing with. Plus, if I end up having kids, I’m planning on doing a C-section anyway.

Look, unless that partition is pretty significant and your period flow is totally normal, you shouldn't really have issues during sex. You probably just need to focus on relaxing and maybe grab some lube to make things easier.

I’d definitely suggest checking out the Drinković private clinic, it's that spot right behind the Upper East Side heading towards the plains...

If you want to actually get a handle on your thyroid, you really need to go in for an ultrasound and get your fT3 and fT4 levels checked. Seriously, don't just settle for a TSH test. TSH is just a pituitary hormone that tells your thyroid what to do, and honestly, doctors here in the States love to play it safe by just checking that one number and calling it a day. It’s so dismissive. A TSH test basically only tells you if your pituitary gland is doing its job; it doesn't give you the full picture of what's actually happening with your thyroid unless you get those other specific markers checked. My advice? Go ahead and ask for a referral for both the ultrasound and a deep-dive blood panel. If you're tired of waiting around—because let's be real, the wait times at most public hospitals or even large clinics can be absolutely brutal—just pay out of pocket at a private lab to get it done quickly.

Good luck! 🙂

P.S. Regardless of whether you actually have mono or not, I’d highly recommend starting some B vitamins. You can find affordable options like Centrum at any drugstore, and they honestly make a world of difference. I started taking them when I was dealing with mono and constant mouth inflammation, and even after I recovered, I kept going. The inflammation cleared right up, my fatigue leveled out significantly, and I even noticed my appetite coming back to normal!

😉

You don't just spot mono through basic blood work; they usually run liver function tests too, and sometimes they’ll even send you in for throat swabs, though I’m guessing they didn't bother doing that with you.

I was actually just about to jump in and say the same thing—you really need to get those thyroid levels checked, specifically your TSH and fT4.

So, I’ve got this issue where my blood pressure just bottoms out out of nowhere. When it hits those super low levels, I’m basically hitting the floor—just straight up collapsing. My fingers and hands start cramping up like crazy, I get these intense tingles, everything goes black for a second, my ears start ringing, and then the nausea and cold sweats kick in... Honestly, could this just be my blood pressure acting up?

Amy Cooper51 said:Oh please, what "illnesses" were you even talking about up there? Honestly, I've been dealing with this (now that I'm in my mid-twenties) every three or four months like clockwork. It doesn't bother me, and it's not like I'm gonna drop dead or anything. If I do, whatever.

Honey, if you actually took a second to educate yourself, you'd realize I wasn't throwing around words like "illnesses," but I was talking about actual medical conditions that can mess with your cycle—things that could be hormonal or related to your organs. 😲

And you’re just sitting there with an irregular cycle like it's nothing? It never crossed your mind to maybe see an OB-GYN to check if you have PCOS or some kind of hormonal imbalance from a thyroid issue or something?

It honestly breaks my heart seeing young women these days just totally ignore their own health and bodies when we literally have everything at our fingertips, from top-tier doctors to all kinds of medicine. Look, I'm not trying to scare you or say you're dying, but having delays like that isn't "normal," and you really should get checked out by a specialist. It might turn out to be nothing, sure, but it could also be anything.