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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]Shown: posts 1 to 18 of 18. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by obsidian on December 10, 2008, at 23:23:17
concerned about whether or not you're "still on your meds?"
god, that's never a good question to hear is it?
"are you still taking your meds?"
I can't tell if people are over reacting or not.Are you trying to tell me that it isn't reasonable to be angry at the whole entire world?
I can't tell.I guess I'll go take my meds.
Posted by Sigismund on December 11, 2008, at 0:13:13
In reply to you ever have people in your life that are....., posted by obsidian on December 10, 2008, at 23:23:17
Life does not improve with age but peoples' reaction to the meds thing does.
Posted by Phillipa on December 11, 2008, at 1:07:53
In reply to Re: you ever have people in your life that are..... » obsidian, posted by Sigismund on December 11, 2008, at 0:13:13
Hi Sigi. I hear camels are eaten where you live is it true and we're getting on in years so do the makes work better? Love PJ
Posted by yxibow on December 11, 2008, at 3:03:38
In reply to Re: you ever have people in your life that are..... » Sigismund, posted by Phillipa on December 11, 2008, at 1:07:53
> Hi Sigi. I hear camels are eaten where you live is it true and we're getting on in years so do the makes work better? Love PJ
Eek. Camels that are on medication ? The juxtaposition is odd :)
Posted by yxibow on December 11, 2008, at 3:21:44
In reply to you ever have people in your life that are....., posted by obsidian on December 10, 2008, at 23:23:17
> concerned about whether or not you're "still on your meds?"
> god, that's never a good question to hear is it?
> "are you still taking your meds?"
> I can't tell if people are over reacting or not.I don't know, I have an individual who has known me for years and I don't see it as an insult, its just concern and I appreciate that someone thinks about me.
> Are you trying to tell me that it isn't reasonable to be angry at the whole entire world?
Anger at the world is a natural response to having a serious disorder and is one part of coming to terms with things. I suppose its sort of also related of the process of realizing that you can't control the world and coming to terms with what concerns you. Personally at least, I can identify that.
> I can't tell.
>
> I guess I'll go take my meds.There's ways of looking at medication too, I mean, I have polypharmacy and I look at the bottles in front of me and I'm in a situation where I have to take certain medications I'd rather not have to and sometimes thoughts enter about this is the medication I don't want to take, etc. Other times I'm sort of just fatalistic about side effects and just take them as is.
There's semantics to it as well and when I discuss psychotropics (which can be legal or not legal). "Meds" sounds sort of pop-pyschiatry to me. A "drug" sounds more like a street drug. I guess "medication" is what I use, personally.
Speaking of which, I also have to take my medication.
-- tidings
Jay
Posted by Sigismund on December 11, 2008, at 4:28:44
In reply to Re: you ever have people in your life that are..... » Sigismund, posted by Phillipa on December 11, 2008, at 1:07:53
>Hi Sigi.
Hi PJ
>I hear camels are eaten where you live is it true
I dunno, I've never done it
>and we're getting on in years so do the makes work better?
Nothing works better, not us and certainly not the drugs
>Love PJ
Love Sig
Posted by Justherself54 on December 11, 2008, at 9:08:04
In reply to you ever have people in your life that are....., posted by obsidian on December 10, 2008, at 23:23:17
it's even worse when it's followed by "you're just not yourself today"..for some reason that phrase makes me mad at the world..
and I just took my meds..
Sometimes friends and family get overly-vigilant especially if we don't have a passive look about us..they forget we still have and are entitled to a wide range of emotions..
Posted by SLS on December 11, 2008, at 9:22:54
In reply to Re: you ever have people in your life that are..... » obsidian, posted by Justherself54 on December 11, 2008, at 9:08:04
> it's even worse when it's followed by "you're just not yourself today"..for some reason that phrase makes me mad at the world..
When I feel better, I become more assertive and end up at odds with people who never saw this side of me. Some people will react to this healthy assertiveness by becoming defensive. Their easiest way out of a perceived challenge is to attempt to disarm you by asking you if you are still taking your medication, and thus rendering your actions as being a manifestation of your illness.
- Scott
Posted by B2chica on December 11, 2008, at 12:54:44
In reply to Re: you ever have people in your life that are....., posted by SLS on December 11, 2008, at 9:22:54
usually i get comments when my depression lifts, they all think i'm manic when i say what i feel, and am able to say "NO", or can function at work and at home to a normal degree.
you know like keeping house not like a garbage dump, able to take a shower, go to work, drop off and pick up kiddo AND cook dinner.sorry you have to hear it.
its annoying as h@ll.
one exception is that the years before, my DH would ALWAYS ask me in the morning..."did you take your pills?" and i'd get so p@ssed, acting like i'm a kid that has to be reminded.
NOW?
if he doesnt ask me now i many times forget...(lol). so i guess it can turn around from bad thing to good depending on where you are at emotionally. and how close the person is to you.cuz i still get VERY irritated if my 'mother' asks my DH if i'm still taking my meds...or 'how are my meds doing' (to ask another way).
Posted by Sigismund on December 11, 2008, at 13:29:26
In reply to Re: you ever have people in your life that are....., posted by B2chica on December 11, 2008, at 12:54:44
>"you're just not yourself today"
The thing that got me as a kid was being told to 'be myself', usually by people who weren't helping me do just that.
Posted by yxibow on December 11, 2008, at 15:57:46
In reply to you ever have people in your life that are....., posted by obsidian on December 10, 2008, at 23:23:17
> concerned about whether or not you're "still on your meds?"
> god, that's never a good question to hear is it?
> "are you still taking your meds?"
> I can't tell if people are over reacting or not.Hmm... I guess I was sort of tired... I didn't get the real semantics of the message.... as in you have people who know you have mental illness/biochemical imbalance, whatever you wish to call it, and automatically assume you are on medication and pester you about it.
Well -- that's different, no, I haven't experienced that I can say, but then I'm sort of isolated, the people that I am still in contact, when I see them, no, they don't really ask that sort of thing -- the ones who are most empathetic might ask about how I'm doing, especially if I offer my situation, but I haven't gotten nagging comments like that.
I mean other than they have seen me take medication before and have commented that I've brought the pharmacy in effect (I mean even I think sometimes I'm a walking pharmacy because of the polypharmacy of things), not to hurt me, but sort of with me -- I must admit at times I carry around like all my medications to parties or on trips instead of just a small supply because I have worries I'll get stuck somewhere and go into withdrawals.
(Which of course has a down side in that you could lose hundreds of dollars of medication -- note to self, don't leave things on tops of cars. Yes, I left a bag on top of my car and drove off and it fell into the neighborhood, fortunately a nice neighbor found it, and called just as I was driving to retrace my steps)
Anyhow that's a side tangent.
I dunno at the walking pharmacy joke -- I mean, I could say, want some? :) But no, I'm not trying to be sarcastic in this post.
I think that it can make someone's identity feel like they're only mentally ill and not all the other qualities that they have and can offer their friends.But then again that's a common feeling for people regardless of such questions, as to how to define themselves beyond their illness, so I imagine that the reaction for someone who does have an illness might be different if they already feel that way.
Its hard to say completely its nobody's business, since the only reason they would ask that is presumably you've confided with them, but if you hear it a bit too often, why not just say that, yes I'm under control of my situation, thank you, and in some polite fashion say, oh I don't know.. hmm...
that it isn't necessary to ask, as we can see that I'm doing better and I have more functionality and control over my illness, thank you.
For example.
-- just a thought
-- Jay
Posted by llurpsienoodle on December 11, 2008, at 20:26:11
In reply to Re: you ever have people in your life that are..... » obsidian, posted by yxibow on December 11, 2008, at 15:57:46
One of my buddies at school was playing Rorschach cards with me, and I kept giving these morbid answers, really gruesome things. That's honestly how I see the inkblots, though.
he looked at me and said "um, did you take your meds this am?"
Well, I had no idea how to respond. I thought for a moment and said "yes"
He looked a little uncomfortable. I bet he wished he hadn't asked.
-Ll
Posted by obsidian on December 11, 2008, at 22:42:28
In reply to Re: you ever have people in your life that are..... » obsidian, posted by Justherself54 on December 11, 2008, at 9:08:04
> it's even worse when it's followed by "you're just not yourself today"..for some reason that phrase makes me mad at the world..
geez, I hate that "you're not yourself" crap. it always sucks to hear that because you know it might be true :-(
>
> and I just took my meds..
>
> Sometimes friends and family get overly-vigilant especially if we don't have a passive look about us..they forget we still have and are entitled to a wide range of emotions..yeah..I know, if I get angry it's not always because I'm losing it
Posted by obsidian on December 11, 2008, at 23:05:17
In reply to Re: you ever have people in your life that are..... » obsidian, posted by yxibow on December 11, 2008, at 3:21:44
> > concerned about whether or not you're "still on your meds?"
> > god, that's never a good question to hear is it?
> > "are you still taking your meds?"
> > I can't tell if people are over reacting or not.
>
> I don't know, I have an individual who has known me for years and I don't see it as an insult, its just concern and I appreciate that someone thinks about me.hmmm..yeah, I don't know. I wonder if they are just thinking about me?
>
> > Are you trying to tell me that it isn't reasonable to be angry at the whole entire world?
>
> Anger at the world is a natural response to having a serious disorder and is one part of coming to terms with things. I suppose its sort of also related of the process of realizing that you can't control the world and coming to terms with what concerns you. Personally at least, I can identify that.I don't know if I have a serious disorder or not though, that's the thing...it's just that I might do better on medication.
I really don't know Jay
I seriously can't tell> > I can't tell.
> >
> > I guess I'll go take my meds.
>
> There's ways of looking at medication too, I mean, I have polypharmacy and I look at the bottles in front of me and I'm in a situation where I have to take certain medications I'd rather not have to and sometimes thoughts enter about this is the medication I don't want to take, etc. Other times I'm sort of just fatalistic about side effects and just take them as is.oh yeah, the side effects suck
I can't stand the seroquel sedation, but it chills me out, stops the thinking, thinking, thinking
It seems harder to function on less effexor
and the klonopin just cuts the edge off, makes things a little less painful>
> There's semantics to it as well and when I discuss psychotropics (which can be legal or not legal). "Meds" sounds sort of pop-pyschiatry to me. A "drug" sounds more like a street drug. I guess "medication" is what I use, personally.
>
> Speaking of which, I also have to take my medication.I've got a litte pill box. It has a picture of freud on it (laying on a couch) with a little cartoon bubble thing that says ("take your meds!")
>
> -- tidings
>
> Jay
>
Posted by obsidian on December 11, 2008, at 23:08:12
In reply to Re: you ever have people in your life that are....., posted by Sigismund on December 11, 2008, at 13:29:26
> >"you're just not yourself today"
>
> The thing that got me as a kid was being told to 'be myself', usually by people who weren't helping me do just that."myself" can be pretty angry sometimes, medication or not
sometimes though...I can be just generally irritable, and I have a hard time then
Posted by obsidian on December 11, 2008, at 23:28:57
In reply to Re: you ever have people in your life that are....., posted by llurpsienoodle on December 11, 2008, at 20:26:11
I love projectives :-)
and art for the same reason
just the other day I drew a tornado going very dangerously close to a little house up on a hill
it was flinging stuff all over the place
Posted by rjlockhart04-08 on December 12, 2008, at 22:41:02
In reply to Re: you ever have people in your life that are..... » llurpsienoodle, posted by obsidian on December 11, 2008, at 23:28:57
What my definate say is that question: dont just sit there, they asked the question, now they should explain why they asked, and tell their own story, because that represents basically who they are.
Someone told me "you take meds (drugs) because it makes you feel normal"Well, that's because that person wants to control every aspect of my life, including how i feel. Control and Slavery.
And it's not my mother....
But for an occasion if someone asks, just say "yes" "do you have a problem?"
In my case, i argue with this person alot now.
rj
Posted by yxibow on December 12, 2008, at 23:38:59
In reply to Re: you ever have people in your life that are..... » yxibow, posted by obsidian on December 11, 2008, at 23:05:17
> hmmm..yeah, I don't know. I wonder if they are just thinking about me?Could be, in their own way
having a serious disorder and is one part of coming to terms with things. I suppose its sort
>
> I don't know if I have a serious disorder or not though, that's the thing...it's just that I might do better on medication.
> I really don't know Jay
> I seriously can't tellI think I was projecting, there -- I know I have a condition that is more serious than I've dealt with but perhaps its not always helpful to be so serious about things, its not against the law to laugh. Perhaps disregard that characterization.
> > > I can't tell.
> > >
> > > I guess I'll go take my meds.
> >
> > There's ways of looking at medication too, I mean, I have polypharmacy and I look at the bottles in front of me and I'm in a situation where I have to take certain medications I'd rather not have to and sometimes thoughts enter about this is the medication I don't want to take, etc. Other times I'm sort of just fatalistic about side effects and just take them as is.
>
> oh yeah, the side effects suckYes, definitely, and I have gotten, well effects that are rather rare, and I guess I'm sensitive now to some medications.
> I've got a litte pill box. It has a picture of freud on it (laying on a couch) with a little cartoon bubble thing that says ("take your meds!")That's cute. :)
No, I have, and I haven't been doing it in a bit, I've been winging it and I have forgotten some things during the day --
[thats a completely different issue, its a hard choice to be on more medication that makes you more forgetful but more functional or less and be in an equally uncomfortable place] --
, because there are a few that are taken 3 or 4 times, the largest "weekly" tray that pharmacies typically have. It fortunately still fits the amount of medication sans dietary supplements, etc.
But its a pain refilling the same tray with 200+ tablets every week -- yes, I prefer having smaller doses for a prescription because I'm never sure if things are going to need to be adjusted and its always a pain if insurance grumbles about dose adjustments which inevitably happens anyhow.
-- Jay
This is the end of the thread.
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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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