Dale Partridge - Don't take your pills for mental health issues, just read your bible

[bea]

That is the analogy I use. Nobody in their right minds would tell my husband, a surgically induced type 1 diabetic (technically a type 3 but...) to throw away his insulin pump and he just needs more faith.

I have two T1 kids.
You’d be shocked (maybe you wouldn’t) at the number of people who think my life should be devoted to reducing my kids need for insulin by not giving them carbohydrates.
There’s also been at least one kid who died (in Canada, IIRC) because his parents wouldn’t give him insulin.
I take medications to manage my brain chemistry, both my kids are on insulin, one of my kids is on medication for HER brain chemistry.
And someone always knows better. No matter WHAT you decide, someone always knows better than you.

[feministxtian]

3 hours ago, bea said:

You’d be shocked (maybe you wouldn’t) at the number of people who think my life should be devoted to reducing my kids need for insulin by not giving them carbohydrates.

No I wouldn't. Hub get the "how can you be diabetic, you're so slim". It's like, what part of he has no pancreas do you not understand???? Then they're all like "I didn't know you could live without a pancreas". Yeah, it's not something you run into every day, but damn...

[smittykins]

11 hours ago, ADoyle90815 said:

The way I view it, if reading the Bible and prayer was all that was needed, medication and therapies wouldn't work at all. It's like telling someone with type 1 diabetes to stop taking insulin and to rely on God.

I remember at least one case where parents took their diabetic son off insulin on the advice of a "faith healer," who then referred to the ensuing symptoms as "lies of Satan."  The child died, and the parents were prosecuted. 

[Bad Wolf]

Do these people think that meds and therapy are from the devil? I'll stick to my 25mg of Zoloft, thank you.

[Granwych]

On ‎6‎/‎9‎/‎2018 at 11:33 PM, RosyDaisy said:

I talk to my minister all the time. She has helped me tremendously. However, she would never tell me to not follow advice from my therapist or stop taking my meds. Having said that, I am very leery of "Christian counselors". I had a bad experience with one, and now, I make it very clear that religion is not and will not be up for discussion. Mental illness isn't a spiritual matter, it's a medical one.

I fired a psychiatrist because of her "give it to Jesus" rants.  To be fair, she also prescribed meds, but pushing religion...no.

17 hours ago, Alisamer said:

I have my living room about 90% clean! One corner is sill a disaster, and I need to vacuum and dust, but you can actually walk in here now, the couch has nothing on it but pillows, and I vacuumed out the crevices between the cushions. It’s crazy how long it’s been since I had the house clean, and there’s still a long way to go, but wow this is better than it’s been in ages. 

I stand in awe.  Whenever I look at the stuff in my house, it seems to magically "grow" into Mt. Everest.  Then I get severely overwhelmed, and nothing gets done. 

[Glasgowghirl]

Thanks for the tip Dale, I'll look out my bible next time I feel my depression getting bad and pray it away. 

[Briefly]

6 hours ago, Glasgowghirl said:

Thanks for the tip Dale, I'll look out my bible next time I feel my depression getting bad and pray it away. 

My icon of laughter is directed at Dale, not you!

People like him and people who believe that crap really make me mad.  They don't really seem to care that the advice they give - not that I consider it to be advice - is harmful and dangerous.

[anniebgood]

I read my bible every morning and sometimes at night. 

I take Venlafaxine ER every morning and TrazaDone at night. I can function as a normal human being and not explode in irrational anger. 

 

[Hane]

@Alisamer, !!! That’s approximately where I am in terms of what a sage calls “unfucking your habitat.” I live alone and have a tendency to let things slide when I feel tired, depressed, or overwhelmed. I took a mental health day yesterday and just dug in. It’s a start.

In related news, I want to hunt down the guys who invented fluoxetine (Prozac) and bake them a cake. I’ve been on it for some twenty years and it saved my life. 

I was first prescribed it for really bad premenstrual depression. I learned from a psychiatrist that it was first devised as a means of treating PMD!

[pook]

Hello from 150 Effexor!

[Alisamer]

1 hour ago, Hane said:

@Alisamer, !!! That’s approximately where I am in terms of what a sage calls “unfucking your habitat.” I live alone and have a tendency to let things slide when I feel tired, depressed, or overwhelmed. I took a mental health day yesterday and just dug in. It’s a start.

I'm actually using the timer in the UFYH app - 20 minutes work, 10 minutes break! I also live alone, and it makes it harder, I think. I was the "neat" (relatively speaking, as I've always been a Messie) one when I lived with my youngest sister. I even did better before my cat died, when it was just me and her - and she didn't care much about the state of the house and did nothing to help improve it! I'm looking forward to the fourth of july - I think it's in the middle of the week which would be a perfect stay-home-and-clean day.

Although today I have managed to injure my big toe (I think the nail is going to fall off) and can barely walk, so there might not be any major cleaning for a few days. I'll aim to not add to the mess while hobbling around, at least. Also, it bled all over my hand-knit socks, which almost bothers me more than the injury! Those took forever to make!

[AliceInFundyland]

Cleaning and chronic pain and depression. I’m sure we could all write a book..

My thing this week was purchasing a well-reviewed device on Amazon to try and clean my bathtub. The back surgery left me unable to clean it for an embarrassing amount of time. There is a layer of grime I cannot remove. I need torque. So if this doesn’t work I’m borrowing a friend’s drill and buying the bathbuddy things that attach to drill heads and going at it with that.

It all takes energy.

[feministxtian]

43 minutes ago, AliceInFundyland said:

Cleaning and chronic pain and depression. I’m sure we could all write a book..

My thing this week was purchasing a well-reviewed device on Amazon to try and clean my bathtub. The back surgery left me unable to clean it for an embarrassing amount of time. There is a layer of grime I cannot remove. I need torque. So if this doesn’t work I’m borrowing a friend’s drill and buying the bathbuddy things that attach to drill heads and going at it with that.

It all takes energy.

If you have just the layers of soap scum, try this:

1 part Dawn (the citrus one) and 1 part white vinegar. Warm the vinegar a bit, mix w/dawn in a spray bottle. Roll the bottle around (like swirl it) until they mix (don't shake then you get bubbles...very bad). Spray in your tub, let it sit for a bit. Wipe up. Repeat as necessary. Works amazingly well!

[pamplemousse]

5 hours ago, Hane said:

In related news, I want to hunt down the guys who invented fluoxetine (Prozac) and bake them a cake. I’ve been on it for some twenty years and it saved my life. 

Prozac is the only antidepressant I've taken that really has seemed to do anything for me, and I've been on quite a few in the 25 years I've been taking them.  Pamelor and Paxil made me want to sleep all day, not to mention that Paxil totally killed my sex drive.  Effexor, Wellbutrin, and Celexa just didn't seem to do anything for me.  St. John's Wort seems to help some people; but that didn't help me, either.  I'm sure I've tried others...I guess the fact that I don't remember what they were tells you how much they helped me, lol.

I also have taken Ritalin and Strattera for ADHD.  Neither one seemed to do much for me, and Strattera practically shut down my digestive system to where I had totally no appetite and, um, was very sluggish in certain other digestive ways.

Then again, during the time I was taking most of these meds, I was living with my parents and working in a career I absolutely hated and felt totally trapped in, which were a personal hell in and of themselves and probably counteracted much of any good they might have been doing for me.

[Hane]

@pamplemousse, my daughter was prescribed Paxil when she was a teenager (her psychiatrist said it would leave her bloodstream relatively fast if it didn’t work well for her and had to stop taking it). She wound up in the ER freaking out, and I learned the definition of the word “labile.”

Prozac was a much better choice for her, too.

[feministxtian]

I was put on Paxil for a bit...it was horrible. All I did was sleep. 

Zoloft worked fairly well but the dose was pretty high. Lexapro has worked the best for me for the past few years. 

[ViolaSebastian]

If anyone out there has tried many anti-depressants that don't seem to do the trick and/or has drug resistant depression, I whole-heartedly recommend having genetic testing done. I recently had this done after 20 years of trying anti-depressants which either failed or crapped out after less than a year. Through the testing, I found out that there are only two anti-depressants which are recommended for someone with my genetic make-up. I've been on one of them for three weeks and I feel better than I've felt since I was a kid. It varies in cost according to insurance, but I've found it to be incredibly worth it. 

As far as faith and depression, I've always wonder how the 'just believe and read your Bible' faction squares the fact that there are many very pious church-goers who also suffer from depression. My childhood priest was very open about his struggles with depression, and he was without question an ardent believer. And, of course, connecting mental illness to a lack of faith drives people underground about their struggles, which is so incredibly dangerous. 

[AuntKrazy]

I finally got up the courage a week ago to talk to my doctor about my depression.  I've been on Celexa for a week now - and I know it will take some time to adjust, but it's already helping me.  As a diabetic as well (LAD - technically - or what they sometimes call 1.5), the SSRI seems to be helping level out the roller coaster blood sugars I had been experiencing along with the depression. 

I've slept through the night for the first time in months since taking it, and even lost 6 lbs just from the stress reduction/sleep.  I told my husband that for me, it now feels like I'm back in the Driver's seat rather than stuck as a passenger.  

 

[feministxtian]

9 minutes ago, AuntKrazy said:

I finally got up the courage a week ago to talk to my doctor about my depression.

YAY AuntKrazy! I'm happy that you decided to reach out. I applaud your courage. Here's hoping and praying that you're on the right med for you and things just continue to get better! 

[wild little fox]

On 6/11/2018 at 9:47 AM, smittykins said:

I remember at least one case where parents took their diabetic son off insulin on the advice of a "faith healer," who then referred to the ensuing symptoms as "lies of Satan."  The child died, and the parents were prosecuted. 

The Followers of Christ in Clackamas County, Oregon. They started in Oregon in the early 1900's and went pretty much unnoticed until the case of the boy who died from untreated diabetes. Before the parents were protected by religious freedom but Oregon changed the law. This was probably my first Fundy rabbit hole since it'll went on not far from where I grew up. 

 

If prayer and Bible worked for my depression and anxiety I would would be a zealot. I still struggle. I have been off my meds for almost two years now. Looks like I need them but it's a bag of anxiety. I was on Zoloft and Wellbutrin, maxed out n both, and the side effects were making my life miserable. I had vertigo so bad I could barely ride in the car and hights were so bad I would nearly faint. I thought that since I no longer lived with my mother I would no longer need them. It's just too hard to make that phone call with all the unknowns. Sometimes I wish I had not left my doctor and therapist in Oregon but I needed to save my life. Quality of life is the hard part now.

As for cleaning... I've had my stuff piled up since we got to our summer camp. Boyfriend has his own bus, so he doesn't deal with my mess lol. I can't decide what to get rid of but at least I'm keeping at it. 

I'm cheering on all of us who know the struggle.

[CelticGoddess]

1 hour ago, AuntKrazy said:

I finally got up the courage a week ago to talk to my doctor about my depression.  I've been on Celexa for a week now - and I know it will take some time to adjust, but it's already helping me.  As a diabetic as well (LAD - technically - or what they sometimes call 1.5), the SSRI seems to be helping level out the roller coaster blood sugars I had been experiencing along with the depression. 

I've slept through the night for the first time in months since taking it, and even lost 6 lbs just from the stress reduction/sleep.  I told my husband that for me, it now feels like I'm back in the Driver's seat rather than stuck as a passenger.  

 

Good!  I am still trying to work up the courage to call a therapist to make an appt.  I was able to tell my MD that my meds weren't working after telling myself for several weeks that I probably should.  I hope by monday to make the phone call.

I find it funny that I can make calls for my patients:  Make appts for them, call and cancel services, yell at the MD's who won't give my patients adequate pain control.  But I can't do it for myself.  As I said,  I am trying to work up the courage to call to schedule an appt with a therapist.  

19 hours ago, ViolaSebastian said:

If anyone out there has tried many anti-depressants that don't seem to do the trick and/or has drug resistant depression, I whole-heartedly recommend having genetic testing done. I recently had this done after 20 years of trying anti-depressants which either failed or crapped out after less than a year. Through the testing, I found out that there are only two anti-depressants which are recommended for someone with my genetic make-up. I've been on one of them for three weeks and I feel better than I've felt since I was a kid. It varies in cost according to insurance, but I've found it to be incredibly worth it. 

As far as faith and depression, I've always wonder how the 'just believe and read your Bible' faction squares the fact that there are many very pious church-goers who also suffer from depression. My childhood priest was very open about his struggles with depression, and he was without question an ardent believer. And, of course, connecting mental illness to a lack of faith drives people underground about their struggles, which is so incredibly dangerous. 

That's good to know.  I'll have to check that out.  I've been on anti-depressants since my early 20s (I just turned 21, err, I mean, 49) and I have been on so many.  I just switched from Vybriid (which stopped working after 4 years) and switched to Trintellix.  I am no longer depressed but I feel NOTHING.  I need to figure out something.  I am going to check out genetic testing.  Thanks for that info!! 

My grandma and her sister were both very devout Christian women.  They were so giving.  Both were loving, generous women.  They walked the walk.  Both also suffered from severe depression.  I had known about my grandma but I didn't realize how bad it was for her sister until my cousin talked about it.  

I have well meaning friends that offer all sorts of advice and try to explain away my depression:  I have a lot on my plate, I have been suffering from a life threatning illness, I have been primary care giver to an autistic child and had been caregiver to my MIL (who never really liked me).  The thing is, I have struggled with depression since I was a child. Even when the only health issue I had was a fried thyroid (I worked in x-ray at a facility with a leaky tube), I have struggled.  And I still struggle.  I really do wish it was all just situational.  But it's not.  And I have resigned myself to the fact that I have depression and it is never going away.  Just like I ahve resigned myself to the fact that my asthma is going to eventually kill me.  They mean well but I wish they would just stop already!

[TeddyBonkers]

On 6/11/2018 at 12:20 PM, feministxtian said:

No I wouldn't. Hub get the "how can you be diabetic, you're so slim". It's like, what part of he has no pancreas do you not understand???? Then they're all like "I didn't know you could live without a pancreas". Yeah, it's not something you run into every day, but damn...

My aunt is the same way. Super skinny, but diabetic and has an insulin pump in her abdomen. I will cut a bitch  when we are out and someonetells her that she needs to eat more, she can't have diabetes, etc. 

[feministxtian]

19 minutes ago, TeddyBonkers said:

My aunt is the same way. Super skinny, but diabetic and has an insulin pump in her abdomen. I will cut a bitch  when we are out and someonetells her that she needs to eat more, she can't have diabetes, etc. 

my hub is so slender that to make sure the cannula doesn't go into muscle, he has it in his behind. His CGM is in the back of his arm for the same reason. 

Now, he eats like a football player at training camp but doesn't gain an ounce...that seems to be genetic. His father was as tall as he is (about 6 feet tall) and at his heaviest weighed about 145lbs. Hubs celebrates if he hits 140. 

[TeddyBonkers]

If we ever find ourselves stationed by you (because Mr. Bonkers has 7 to 800 years left of service to the military), I will  be privileged to prepare my most tasty food for Mr. Feminisxtian. My chocolate chip cookies are particularly of note! 

[feministxtian]

43 minutes ago, TeddyBonkers said:

If we ever find ourselves stationed by you (because Mr. Bonkers has 7 to 800 years left of service to the military), I will  be privileged to prepare my most tasty food for Mr. Feminisxtian. My chocolate chip cookies are particularly of note! 

Ahhh...if only you were Air Force and could get stationed at Nellis!!! Summer has hit here in the desert and I'm already quite over it. The high today was 107. There's a "cold front" supposed to come through so it'll be only in the 90's this weekend...if I didn't hate winter so much and if the price of housing wasn't so damn high, I'd "demand" that we move to Denver...