Where they a part of herr medical records?
And yes, actually I am. When did I ever say I wasn’t?
No, and even if I did suspect I wouldn’t care, but I’m not a BOSS. I’m absolutely aware that I have fucked-up notions about employers and what they can do to you; however, I don’t know exactly how fucked-up they are, and I don’t know if it varies from employer to employer. What if I really want to work for a guy who just happens to shell out a few extra dollars to screen for anti-depressants? What if the boss leads me to believe that he’s cool with anything so I give up information and he turns around and nails me for it? You just never know! In my mind, it’s a snake pit, and even though I know I’m probably wrong I don’t know the extent to which I am wrong. I don’t know that twenty years down the road the world won’t be a completely different place (for the worse) and I will have totally screwed myself by seeking help. Way things are going now, most employers are looking for a reason to can you so they can ship your job overseas. I don’t want to give them any help doing so, even if it might make my life easier and/or better.
No, not really. That’s why I care so strongly about this issue.
Whoa, what’s with the vitriol? I know it’s the Pit and all, but still… Anyway, my aunt never had a teaching job, because her illness was brought on by pregnancy (probably… I’m not sure if it was a direct cause or if it was coincidental but she was hospitalized for the first time right after she had her kid), and she became pregnant right out of college. She never had a chance to get a job in the first place, so there wasn’t anyone to sue (I’m sure the school that didn’t hire her didn’t tell her the real reason she wasn’t hired). And that’s all just a little bit more personal info than I wanted to dish on a public message board.
Well, if the school didn’t say that that was the reason she was hired, then how do you KNOW that it was?
Maybe the vitriol is because you’re pretty much saying that we should defer getting treatment, and hide our problems because otherwise we might never get a job, ruin our lives, and make it worse for the current generation of sufferers? Fuck that shit. Fuck all over that. Yes, I suffer from mental illness. No, I’m NOT going to hide it, because some asshole employer may not hire me.
Plus, this whole thing about, “oh, well, these bosses are constantly breaking the laws and invading our privacy” is bullshit. We called you on it, we pointed out the reason it’s an unlikely scenario. If you delay treatment because of some paranoid fantasy (and yes, it IS a paranoid fantasy!), and advise others to do so, I’m going to tell you that you’re fucking stupid.
And if you don’t want to talk about your aunt’s situation, you shouldn’t have used it as support for your argument in the first place.
Well, I’m looking back on my years of experience, both mine and others.
I had a breakdown in 1998. I didn’t work for three months. After I went back to work at a part-time job, I was hospitalized for 24 hours. I got different meds. I got a different therapist. Within a month I was working full-time and feeling 180 degrees better.
I’ve never been asked about that time period where I wasn’t working. I was all prepared to say I’d saved money so I could explore my options without having to work, blah blah blah (totally not true, BTW. I was pretty much asleep in the dark for 90 days). Never got a second look.
I’ve been open with my employer about needing to go to therapy (because how else am I going to explain needing an hour and a half lunch every Tuesday??). I left that job and moved to Chicago. I doubled my income. When I came back to Omaha, my former employer welcomed me back with open arms and, frankly, a happy dance.
I know others who have much more significant responsibilites at work. Both of whom had breakdowns that caused them to effectively abandon their jobs. One is in healthcare. Ended up in a local hospital. I imagine the healthcare world is insular, and probably rife with gossip as all these people work together in different hospitals. I’m sure you see the same people over and over, just a new location. She’s never wanted for a job since. She has and was given some very significant responsibilities for infants’ very lives.
Another had a more lengthy time out of work, almost a year. More than one hospitalization. She was terrified her time out of work would come up in her interviews. It never did. She’s got a great job, bought a house, and keeps getting promoted.
There are more. Shall I go on?
What I have found is that many, many people struggle with mental illness and emotional problems. To my knowledge, I have never suffered negative consequences for being open about my reality and my experiences. Fuck, I swear you mention that you take meds and suddenly everyone admits they do, too!
Do I share everything with everyone willy-nilly? No. There is discretion one must use. But for chrissakes, I don’t tell lots of people lots of stuff. If I think I need to or it will make a difference or help someone else, I am very open and willing to discuss whatever needs to be discussed, appropriate for the time and place. Those who can’t be trusted to deal with a very common thing, an illness that I did not cause and don’t deserve, well they suck. I don’t tell them about other private things, either. Schumcks are schmucks. But continuity eror, the thing to remember those folks are few and far between. By far, most people are okay with it. By far, most employers are okay with it. And if they aren’t, they aren’t so stupid to do something clearly illegal. We are living in a material world, and they are material… uh… girls? No one wants a lawsuit.
And I will add that I have always been a very high-functioning depressed person. When people find out that I have depression, they can’t believe it. Not because I hide it (anymore) but rather that I am a walking, talking billboard for the fact that treatment works. That there is nothing to be ashamed of. Yeah, I have to monitor it, just like others have to monitor their diabetes.
Life was bad before I “came out” of the depression closet. Life is a million times better now.
Well, technically, “drugged” is precisely what they do to you. It’s a drug. You’re drugged.
Personally, I envy people who can take anti-depressants and not feel drugged. It’s awful to be a step away from taking a dive a couple times a year, but I’ve decided that’s better than feeling thick, slow, and stupid every second of my life. Kudos to you that your experience is different, but quit being presumptuous.
Some antidepressants have a similar mind-altering effect to certain street drugs. They’re definitely not something you can take and function normally while under the influence.
Which antidepressants? Which street drugs? Can you cite cases where a patients were told to continue use of antidepressants their altered their minds like a street drug?
Should be that altered their minds…
Imiprimine comes to mind. And yes, I can. I was told to continue them for a while. Longer than I cared to.
Imiprime is the antidepressant? What street drug does it resemble? You reported mind-altering effects to your doctor and were told to keep on using the drugs? Was this during the preliminary period of treatment?
It reminded me of PCP. And it was for about 10 days. Why…are you a doctor?
Form the Physician’s Desk Rererence:
*Side effects cannot be anticipated. If any develop or change in intensity, inform your doctor as soon as possible. Only your doctor can determine if it is safe for you to continue taking Tofranil.
Side effects may include:
Abdominal cramps, agitation, anxiety, black tongue, bleeding sores, blood disorders, blurred vision, breast development in males, confusion, congestive heart failure, constipation or diarrhea, cough, fever, sore throat, delusions, dilated pupils, disorientation, dizziness, drowsiness, dry mouth, episodes of elation or irritability, excessive or spontaneous flow of milk, fatigue, fever, flushing, frequent urination or difficulty or delay in urinating, hair loss, hallucinations, headache, heart attack, heart failure, high blood pressure, high or low blood sugar, high pressure of fluid in the eyes, hives, impotence, increased or decreased sex drive, inflammation of the mouth, insomnia, intestinal blockage, irregular heartbeat, lack of coordination, light-headedness (especially when rising from lying down), loss of appetite, nausea, nightmares, odd taste in mouth, palpitations, purple or reddish-brown spots on skin, rapid heartbeat, restlessness, ringing in the ears, seizures, sensitivity to light, skin itching and rash, stomach upset, stroke, sweating, swelling due to fluid retention (especially in face or tongue), swelling of breasts, swelling of testicles, swollen glands, tendency to fall, tingling, pins and needles, and numbness in hands and feet, tremors, visual problems, vomiting, weakness, weight gain or loss, yellowed skin and whites of eyes
The most common side effects in children being treated for bedwetting are:
Nervousness, sleep disorders, stomach and intestinal problems, tiredness
Other side effects in children are:
Anxiety, collapse, constipation, convulsions, emotional instability, fainting *
The only mind altering side effect listed is hallucinations. Did you report hallucinations to your doctor and have him tell you to continue with the protocol?
Thanks, niblet_head, that was really inspiring. This is a highly charged issue for me since I may have to seek treatment very soon, so to hear first-hand accounts of people who have undergone psychiatric care and not have it wreck their entire lives (as opposed to people who call me delusional and paranoid because I have some fears which, while unfounded, were instilled in me from a really young age so are hard to break) really helps me approach my issues in a more open way and make me feel not so… self-loathing about my own mind. It’s also very interesting that you work in Nebraska–I suppose I have a stereotype (again unfounded, of course) of your state as being backwards about everything including mental health issues. So maybe if things aren’t that bad in Nebraska, they won’t be bad here.
So yeah, thanks for fighting the ignorance.
No. I’m just interested in finding out about the antidepressants that resemble street drugs.
Have you ever taken PCP? If so, when your doctor took your history did you reveal that? How soon after telling your doctor that your antidepressant reminded you of PCP were you switched to something more appropriate?
Which other antidepressants resemble which other street drugs? Can you provide examples of these drugs being presecribed after the street drug side effect was discovered?
Actually, confusion and disorientation can also be considered mind-altering. And yes, I just TOLD you I was kept on it for about 10 days. The side effects lessened, but did not go away by any stretch of the imagination. You’re the one that posted the information…is this not good enough for you? Is there some reason you don’t believe me?
I’m just trying to get a clear picture of what you are talking about.
Yes, I’ve taken PCP, although that is not what it was advertised as. Did my doctor know? Yes…after I told him the drugs he was prescribing were a lot like PCP. How soon after? about a week.
You sure ask a lot of questions. Which others? Okay desiprimine, which is a toned-down version of imiprimine. I was switched to that because of my delicate physical condition. It was much better, but was still a buzz.
I hope I’m not doing your homework for you. There’s rules against that around here.
Well, you realize the Omaha metro area is 716,998 people, right?
So you were experiencing PCP effects for a week before you told your doctor, and he then told you you to take imipramine for another three days, is that correct?
I’m still waiting for descriptions of any other antidepressants that resemble street drugs, and any cites that are not based on anecdotal evidence.
Not to worry about the homework. You have just piqued my curiousity.
You would probably not have a clear picture of what I’m talking about unless you’ve taken street drugs before and have been on the more heavy-hitting antidepressants other than the more popular ones you hear about every day. I was also on wellbutrin and prozac. Prozac had the least side effects…which is to say “none” for me. However, I found that they lost their effectiveness after a while.