Depression and Anxiety

[Stebro]

I'd have to say though, I wish all vitamins are as small and easy to take as vit D.  Having a multi vitamin stuck sideways, halfway down really sucks.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I've taken some omega 3 before, and the ones I used always made my troath hurt, because they were a bit too big. On a side note, I picked up stronger pills of vitamin D today. Also saw a youtube-clip on Vitamin D, where they compared how much you get in Boston, Edmonton, Bergen, and you got the least in Bergen, so living in Sweden I should probably take Vitamin D most days I don't even see the sun now.

 

[hockeyfan1]

I'd have to say though, I wish all vitamins are as small and easy to take as vit D.  Having a multi vitamin stuck sideways, halfway down really sucks.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I've taken some omega 3 before, and the ones I used always made my troath hurt, because they were a bit too big. On a side note, I picked up stronger pills of vitamin D today. Also saw a youtube-clip on Vitamin D, where they compared how much you get in Boston, Edmonton, Bergen, and you got the least in Bergen, so living in Sweden I should probably take Vitamin D most days I don't even see the sun now.

Some vitamins can be sliced in half with a pill cutter, while others come in capsule form.  There's always liquid vitamins which in my opinion can be absorbed much better and more thoroughly.  Not every single health food store has the same brands. 


I take a powder, mixed with half and half of some juice and water, that contains all the amino acids, minerals, vitamins and protein (all from rice and pea protein, no dairy, no animal products), is a detoxifier, liver protector and antioxidant.  It is specially formulated for people with bowel problems, deficiencies, and malabsorption issues.  Works very well for me.


Try to find liquid vitamins if you can, or, capsules which are far easier to swallow with a glass of water.  Here in Canada, Platinum Naturals makes excellent complete vitamins for men and women, all capsules, no fillers.

 

[Wendel's Fist]

I'd have to say though, I wish all vitamins are as small and easy to take as vit D.  Having a multi vitamin stuck sideways, halfway down really sucks.

Some people get a phobia with swallowing pills. I've never had that but I know what you mean when a pill gets stuck.

The best thing to do with a big pill is to swallow some water first then put it on your tongue and fill your mouth with more water. Then move the pill around in the water before you swallow. You probably won't have that problem again.

 

[hockeyfan1]

Just came across this story of actress Heather Locklear, who was rushed to an L.A. hospital after what appeared to have been  a "dangerous mix of alcohol and prescription medications."
She had been struggling with depression and anxiety for several years, coping with a divorce to musician Richie Sambora, and, more recently, a broken-off engagement, as well as caring for her family. 

I remember her having had a strong-willed personality, straightforward and strong, as she was described, and not having had any of the so-called "Hollywood" problems.  Apparently, it goes to show, that depression and anxiety can take it's toll on anyone (triggered by a set of circumstances in that person's life), and the need for help, which is often not sought early enough.

http://tv.yahoo.com/news/heather-locklear-rushed-to-hospital.html

 

[Rick C.]

Some people get a phobia with swallowing pills. I've never had that but I know what you mean when a pill gets stuck.

The best thing to do with a big pill is to swallow some water first then put it on your tongue and fill your mouth with more water. Then move the pill around in the water before you swallow. You probably won't have that problem again.

Good advice!

I take almost 30 pills daily - some in am, some in pm.  The morning ones are 19 of them at once.

Here's what I'm on, since I share my mental health issues with others:
Metformin/Glumetza and Januvia for diabetes,
Micardis for blood pressure,
Allopurinol for gout and kidney stones,
Synthroid for thyroid issues,
Cipralex/Seroquel/Clomipramine/Clonazepam for depression and anxiety,
Concerta to wake me up in the morning, and
Ativan as needed for severe anxiety attacks

 

[Stebro]

Great, things are going downhill again. Being unemployed for longer of periods of time isn't healthy if you already have a depression. I haven't had any kind of treatment for a long time though. Now, I'm open to taking pills again though although it hasn't worked before for me. So I called the place that is closest to me. So what I learned is that they don't have enough staff and I'd have to wait at least 2 months, and I can't go to the ER since I don't have suicide thoughts. After making a few calls another place might accept taking the responsibility. I hope so, because they're better than the other place.

What bothers me is that I don't honestly know what to do. Should I continue to fight it and try to work. Or should I accept being on sick leave and basically make myself impossible to hire. What's frustrating is that I can't see how I'll ever get out of this. It's been going on so long.

What made things worse was that I had applied for lots of jobs and had good hope that I would get hired, and was called to several interviews. But I managed to screw them all up with my social phobia. And they always ask me about the gap in my CV, and I tell them why, and then they always get suspicious and ask stuff like "don't you think that this kind of work might be too much for you?". "We can't afford having people gone". It's like I'm some kind of nuclear waste or something that everyone wants to avoid at all costs.

 

[Bullfrog]

I somewhat know how you feel. I talked to my doctor just a few weeks ago, and his response was the mental health services in Ontario are terribly over-worked and I'd have to wait about four months to see anyone. His advice was to look at private health care providers. Very expensive. I've got some benefits at work, but only enough to cover two sessions at most.

 

[Stebro]

I somewhat know how you feel. I talked to my doctor just a few weeks ago, and his response was the mental health services in Ontario are terribly over-worked and I'd have to wait about four months to see anyone. His advice was to look at private health care providers. Very expensive. I've got some benefits at work, but only enough to cover two sessions at most.

I can also get help from the private health care, but kind of have the same issue, and I'm on unemployment benefits. So I don't really have a lot to work with. Personally I think that if the waiting lists are too long the state should purchase more services from the private health care to help out the patients.

 

[Deebo]

I somewhat know how you feel. I talked to my doctor just a few weeks ago, and his response was the mental health services in Ontario are terribly over-worked and I'd have to wait about four months to see anyone. His advice was to look at private health care providers. Very expensive. I've got some benefits at work, but only enough to cover two sessions at most.

I went to my family doctor in February of 2010 for a referral I finally got a call from the Hospital in late June and was in an IPT group in the middle of July, I stayed in that for about 8 months before I was basically told that I couldn't be in that group anymore.

It helped with shifting how I perceive the actions of others but I still have low motivation to do anything, pretty terrible self-esteem and a paralyzing fear of being alone and like stebro I've been unemployed so long that I can't get any interviews to try and get back on the right path.

 

[Stebro]

I somewhat know how you feel. I talked to my doctor just a few weeks ago, and his response was the mental health services in Ontario are terribly over-worked and I'd have to wait about four months to see anyone. His advice was to look at private health care providers. Very expensive. I've got some benefits at work, but only enough to cover two sessions at most.

It helped with shifting how I perceive the actions of others but I still have low motivation to do anything, pretty terrible self-esteem and a paralyzing fear of being alone and like stebro I've been unemployed so long that I can't get any interviews to try and get back on the right path.

I recognize that too. What worries me is that I was on sick leave before. And I have issues trying to convince them now that it wont be a problem. And if I get on a sick leave again, it will be ever harder. In general I think that the healthcare stinks when it comes to these kind of problems. Because the need is very high in Sweden and I'm sure it's similar in Canada. But what's common here is that each patient get like 10 times of CBT, then they evaluate. And if you need more, you have start over again and wait. It's not always like that, but it's very common.

What happend the last time I was on sick leave is that they only treated me with CBT for panic anxiety, although they said that I have depression and social phobia. And then they basically forced me out from the sick leave again, without CBT for the other problems. So the problems were never really solved. Then I worked for a while and just hoped that it wouldn't end bad, then I lost my job again. And now they are trying to force me to take jobs I'm overqualfied for that doesn't match my education, that I have had health issues with before. The healthcare understands, but the unemployment agency etc doesn't. And in order to get special rules it must be proven that the type of work I don't think is good for me is making my health worse, which is kind of difficult to do.

 

[Bullfrog]

The stupid thing is I stub my toe I can go see my doctor within a couple of days. Have mental issues preventing you from working and contributing to the tax base and need to see a mental health professional? forget it.....

 

[L K]

I somewhat know how you feel. I talked to my doctor just a few weeks ago, and his response was the mental health services in Ontario are terribly over-worked and I'd have to wait about four months to see anyone. His advice was to look at private health care providers. Very expensive. I've got some benefits at work, but only enough to cover two sessions at most.

It's a massive problem.  I was part of a task force a year or so ago that was trying to promote the implementation a British system that brought in mental health services (Psychiatry, Psychology and Social Work).  The numbers are pretty clear that 7-11 sessions of fully paid CBT far outweigh the QALY and CEA costs.  Of course it was hit with stonewalling on all fronts.  It's the big challenge with the Canadian health care system.  The Doctors want health prevention medicine, all of the research says its the best from a health, economic and societal approach and yet the government won't make the short term investments necessary to make it happen.

But hey, they can find money to lose on fake lakes.

 

[BlueWhiteBlood]

The Doctors want health prevention medicine, all of the research says its the best from a health, economic and societal approach and yet the government won't make the short term investments necessary to make it happen.

What is that?

 

[BlueWhiteBlood]

Does anybody else know what health prevention medicine is?

 

[L K]

Does anybody else know what health prevention medicine is?

Slip of the fingers.  I'm trying to study for finals at the same time as running my mouth about hockey/other things. 

I meant preventative medicine - health shouldn't be there.  Just the notion that it costs a heck of a lot less to treat someone for a minor problem and give them the skills to avoid bad outcomes in the future than it does to treat them when they get into the tertiary care centres. 

 

[BlueWhiteBlood]

I meant preventative medicine - health shouldn't be there.  Just the notion that it costs a heck of a lot less to treat someone for a minor problem and give them the skills to avoid bad outcomes in the future than it does to treat them when they get into the tertiary care centres. 

Oh, then I agree.

I'm losing a lot of faith in conventional medicine these days. I'm tired of going to see my physician and coming out with no answers, however with a prescription in my hands. I've turned the corner with these things and have more faith in not only preventative medicine, but also natural medicine.

When you start to research things like Flouride (in water) and the effects of some vaccinations, you start to understand that conventional medicine is way off at times. I'm not saying that conventional medicine doesn't have it's applications, because of course it does, but I understand now that you have to do your own research and more specifically, get more than one opinion on things.

One thing that I've learned is that pharmaceutical companies have their own agenda and interfere with governing bodies to suit their own position, a lot of time giving false information to doctors, which ultimately directly affects the care that we all receive at times. I won't go too much into that, but encourage folks to do their own research in regards to their health.

 

[Rick C.]

I'm taking several dozen pills daily for blood pressure, diabetes, and depression/anxiety.  I'm REALLY lucky to have a great psychologist and social worker at our hospital's outpatient mental health clinic.  They also have several groups that they have ongoing weekly that I can attend.

I've applied for CPP-disability 5 months ago. I don't hold out much hope, and expect that I'll need to appeal.  My mental health team, including family DR, all agree that I'm nowhere near employable right now - and have been like this for 2 years. There's been suicide attempts, 5 different hospitalizations since last May, and they even tried Shock Treatment on my brain 5 different times.  It's a F'n daily struggle to not go back to the safe zone of the hospital mental health floor...

 

[hockeyfan1]

I'm losing a lot of faith in conventional medicine these days. I'm tired of going to see my physician and coming out with no answers, however with a prescription in my hands. I've turned the corner with these things and have more faith in not only preventative medicine, but also natural medicine.

When you start to research things like Flouride (in water) and the effects of some vaccinations, you start to understand that conventional medicine is way off at times. I'm not saying that conventional medicine doesn't have it's applications, because of course it does, but I understand now that you have to do your own research and more specifically, get more than one opinion on things.

One thing that I've learned is that pharmaceutical companies have their own agenda and interfere with governing bodies to suit their own position, a lot of time giving false information to doctors, which ultimately directly affects the care that we all receive at times. I won't go too much into that, but encourage folks to do their own research in regards to their health.

That's exactly what I discovered with conventional medicine, doctors, etc.  concerning my medical problems, that I eventually turned to alternative medicine to address my (health) needs.


You are right on about the pharmaceuticals, it's even worse than tnat.  There had been investigative reports coming out of certain U.S. universities, quite scathing, in that Big Pharma inflates the cost of drug manufacturing by 100%.  Instead of a drug costing $100M,  it is inflated to $1B.  The pharmaceutical manufacturers are, by the way, the largest and most powerful lobbyists in North America.  That alone, should tell us something.

 

[Bullfrog]

It's a massive problem.  I was part of a task force a year or so ago that was trying to promote the implementation a British system that brought in mental health services (Psychiatry, Psychology and Social Work).  The numbers are pretty clear that 7-11 sessions of fully paid CBT far outweigh the QALY and CEA costs.  Of course it was hit with stonewalling on all fronts.  It's the big challenge with the Canadian health care system.  The Doctors want health prevention medicine, all of the research says its the best from a health, economic and societal approach and yet the government won't make the short term investments necessary to make it happen.

But hey, they can find money to lose on fake lakes.

Totally agree. It seems so simple of a concept. That is, preventative health care should save on costs tremendously while creating a more productive society.

You lost me a bit with the acronymns though. What are CBT, QALY, and CEA?

 

[Britishbulldog]

Folks, I don't want to hijack a thread but didn't know where else to put something as a grieving grampy.  Since I had posted in the bragging thread of my joy that my son and daughter in law had twins born healthy in December I wished to share with my many cyber friends here a tragic and completely unexpected update especially for those here who shared in my happiness.  Here is my FB status from last night:

(Again. please forgive me if this is out of line and mods I give you full authority to remove it without me being offended.  Although I lead a full life and have many industry forums, etc I could be active with besides face book, the only place I actually interact with people on the 'net is here.)

"And so ends one of the longest days of my life. My sorrow is deep because of the loss of my dear grand daughter Sarah-Esther Joy Britton. I am not sure the last time when I have cried this much. I typically walk in such joy most have never seen my tears.

2 things I must declare though. First is that through the pain... I have seen my church, my friends and my extended family display such love and sympathy that I humbly lay my head on the pillow realizing how blessed I am. Thank you to all of those who are reaching out to us at this time. I have taken the time to go through EVERY one of your notes, messages and prayers. Even though I haven't been able to respond please realize they are reaching their intended target.

Secondly, in the darkness of such grief there is a hope that pierces through like a sword because our little sweetheart is now with our Creator."