Gee, did it ever occur to you that if calling my doctor and/or rescheduling my interview were options that I would have done that? Sadly, I can’t do either. I’ve got no way to contact the doc, and I can’t reschedule the interview (and the doc’s office won’t open until after my interview). And, yes, I did awkwardly phrase my OP, but at times, it’s pretty fucking hard for me to think because of the shit that I’m going through. It’d be nice, however, if someone could say, point me to a website which can give me some suggestions as to what to do. Or hey, maybe there’s some really bad health effects coming for me if I don’t get back on my meds ASAP, but I won’t know that, because you closed my thread, so it’s not likely to stay on the front page of GQ for very long, which means that someone who might know something thatcould help me, won’t know to email me the information. I hope you don’t have to go through the shit that I’m going through right now, someday.
I don’t mean to be callous but what exactly was your question? All the OP consisted of was a statement. It seems like you were trying to solicit opinions on something. Go ahead and post something similair in IMHO but try and be a bit clearer on specifically what advice you are asking for. If that mean ole Dr. Matrix comes around again I’ll smack him with a trout for you.
Good luck getting your meds and I hope you feel better.
I can see both sides here – yours, Tuckerfan, with the worry etc. mounting, and Dr. Matrix’s. Even if you’d put “What can I do?” – the thread may have been bounced to IMHO.
I think it should have been moved, in truth, rather than closed.
I wouldn’t have minded if it was moved, since I could see how it could turn into an IMHO kind of thing. I just like to know if this shit’s going to get worse, taper off, or what. Not going to look good me blowing chunks in the middle of an interview for a job I desperately need. At the moment, so long as I lay down, and don’t move my head too much, I can put up with it. I get up and start moving around, and I get queasy. I haven’t gotten behind the wheel of a car yet, and I’m going to have to fight Monday morning rush hour traffic to get to the interview.
Tuckerfan, I felt that you were just looking for bit of sympathy. Unfortunately, you got none. I don’t have any advice, but I wish you calm, ease and well-being.
Apart from looking up the medication online, to see how severe the side-effects might be – contacting your doctor if possible sounds the best idea. If you’re still feeling lousy by the morning of your interview, though – you’ll have to cancel, by the looks. Here’s hopes that it comes right.
If I was in the Tucker’s situation, I’d go to one of those walk-in medical centers. I’d explain my situation to the doctor on duty, and see if he could prescribe me two or three pills to hold me over until I could visit my regular physician. SSRI’s aren’t controlled substances, and they aren’t the kind of pills people try to scam prescriptions for, so I don’t see why it would be a problem. If it didn’t work, I’d be out a few bucks for the office visit, but at least I’d have tried.
Not in the sense that I’d treat it as gospel or take any of the advice given here over that of my docs, but it’d be nice to know something, since I’d not really discussed this with my doctor before, because I didn’t give a shit if I stayed on 'em for the rest of my life, and I was even working at building up a reserve of meds so that when I bailed on my employer I wouldn’t have to worry about running out. Sadly, I got the axe before that happened and now I’m paying the price.
neutron star, I have exactly $.09 to my name at the moment. My mother’s sending me a check to cover the costs of my meds and it should be here Monday. I won’t get my first unemployment check until near the end of the week.
No. There was no “What should I do, what should I take?” there. His post came out as a description of how awful he is feeling right now – and stopped short of “asking for medical advice”.
Hmm, this is actually a pretty relevant topic for a lot of people; I also cannot understand why the other thread was shut down so quickly. Maybe pose it in the third person and you’d get some good responses.*
Sorry for your withdrawal. I’ve been through it for a day or two, but never longer – when it comes time to get off SSRIs, I fully intend (and my current GP intends me) to taper off gradually, which I think is the usual method. Accidental cold turkey for 2 days has made me completely insane, not to mention physically ill. It’s very likely your Monday interview will go fine, but expect to vomit and weep afterwards. Sorry, man.
If you know your pharmacist, or the techs who work at your usual pharmacy, it’s just possible they’d give you a pill or two to tide you over. That’s been done for me, in an emergency.
*I feel that the SSRI withdrawal syndrome is something that’s been swept under the rug by both the pharmaceuticals and the public. Brain explosions are not good. See here for a humorous take though.
For what it’s worth, the doctors office may have samples of your med that they can give you to tide you over- all you have to do (if you haven’t already done so) is call them up and ask.
Damn, Tucker, I feel for ya! The situation sucks ass entirely, and for what little it’s worth, I’m sending sympathy vibes your way.
If no other solution presents itself soon, I’d call Monday morning and beg to re-schedule the interview. If you can do that, then on the second interview day be VERY apologetic about re-scheduling and make it clear that such a thing is NOT something you do routinely, but that you were very sick and had no choice (I wouldn’t be any more specific than that you were sick).
It would seem to me that any reasonable person would understand that and not hold it against you.
If, for some reason, it is not possible to re-schedule, then show up and do your best in the interview. But make sure that they know you’re sick (something like this at the beginning of the interview: “Before we start, I need to tell you that I’m sick this morning. So please bear with me if I have to suddenly excuse myself.”), and not at your best at the moment… and cross your fingers! I will for you.
It was posted in GQ, not IMHO. I supect that played into the perception.
Hang in there, Tucker. I have been exactly where you are, broke to the point of emptying the change drawer, and suicidally depressed. In fact I was there 6 months ago, when an amazing job offer came out of nowhere. Hang in there.
You might want to think about seeng if there are any mental health clinics in the area; you may get to see a doc free and get sampler packets of meds.
It’s unclear what the reason is for you inability to get your perscription before Monday. If it is that you are a few days early for the insurance company to approve it - the pharmacist may advance you enough pills until the refill can be processed. I’ve had to get this done for my husband several times for his diabetes supplies. (The insurance company doesn’t allow sufficient suringes to cover 30 days at a time). If you have an expired prescription, your doctor should have an on call service which could authorize a refill.
You shouldn’t have to wait until Monday to get a recurring medication taken care of.
How witty. He must have had a prescription to begin with - anti-depressants are not street drugs. But I suppose providing advice on how to work through the healthcare system is not wanted. Let’s just let him wallow in his misery.
Either he ran out of pills and couldn’t get into the pharmacy to get his refill, or he ran out of his refills and has to see the doctor to get another prescription. Either way, it sucks when you get overloaded, pre-occupied, and don’t keep an eye on your how much medicine you have left, and run out. I’ve done that, the way I solved the problem was to start always going in (with about a week’s worth of medicine left) the first week of the month, usually the 2nd, sometimes later if that day falls on a Sunday. At the end of the month, I check to be sure that I have refills on everything, but even if I forget that, going in with a week’s worth of medicine left usually works, the pharmacy can call for a refill, and if I need to see the doctor there is still time before I run out.
I hope you manage to get through your interveiw ok. Can you maybe find a way to contact your physician at home and see if he can get you an “emergency” dose? They will do these things in the case of seizure medicines, and maybe even your medicine if it’s one that you shouldn’t stop suddenly. It’s worth looking into if you can. You might at least ask your doctor what you should do if you ever find yourself in similar circumstances. Good luck.
Finances is why I’m having to wait, pure and simple. The reason they axed me when they did is so that they wouldn’t have to switch me over to the new insurance company that they picked up a few days later. I got cut from my insurance, and instead of the refill costing me $30, it’s now $115.
And it’s literally impossible for me to reschedule my interview. Machinists jobs are pretty hard to get right now, and any time there’s an opening, they tend to get filled almost immediately, so any delay or hesitation on my part means that I most likely won’t get the job. Given that I’m only to be drawing $270 on unemployment (the max allowed by law) and that if I get the job, I’ll be pulling down close to $500/week (which $200/week more than I was making), I don’t dare miss out.
The good news is that I’m feeling slightly better today, so if I feel the same tomorrow or better, then I should be able to put on a good face during the interview.