paperwork production act

[phinnia]

Neuro/psych appointment took over four hours. Nearly two hours of paperwork, an hour and change seeing the actual doctor and the rest for blood testing. Five vials of blood + a urine sample; I go back in ten days for two hours of more paperwork (this time on computer) and to be fitted for an ambulatory EEG which takes place over the weekend.

...

wow.

He's tapering me off the paxil (among other things it's also interfering with my absorption of pain medication. good times) which I should be off of around Christmas. Replacing that with a lower dose of celexa and eventually something called buspar that I'm not familiar with. The rest will be discussed after the blood test/EEG results are in.

Brainmeats scorecard: severe atypical depression, moderate generalized anxiety, moderate social anxiety, obsessive rumination (no compulsion), profound insomnia, severe fatigue. Really nothing I didn't know except that the depression is worse than I thought, but that's why it's atypical I suppose.

All in all a satisfying day.

Comments

[inlaterdays.livejournal.com]

Urgh, five vials of blood. You are so very brave.

I hope the Paxil tapering-off goes welland the Celexa and Buspar do the trick.

*hugs*

[sushi-kitten.livejournal.com]

I never ever ever remember to take it, but I am pretty sure I enjoy being on buspar. Most other anti-anxiety drugs are heavily sedating, and if you are always almost asleep anyway, like me, taking sedatives is not such a hot idea. So not so sedating anti-anxiety drugs = good.

Also, your brain scorcard sounds sadly similar to mine. *pets*

[cindy-lou-who8.livejournal.com]

2 hours of paperwork? Damn.

I hope the new meds work out! <3

[nemesishamartia.livejournal.com]

/shudder. Your brainmeats scorecard is a lot like mine...

I was on Celexa. Out of all of the antidepressants I've been on, it was... hm. I think it was the one I found decently helpful. Or maybe that was Effexor. I think they were both helpful...... /brain hurts trying to remember.

[wintersweet.livejournal.com]

Ambulatory EEG! Kind of awesome!

I hope this is progress :)

[machineplay.livejournal.com]

OMGYAY. I am SO GLAD. This is amazing news. I am so glad you're coming off the Paxil.

Buspar is fantastic stuff, as far as I'm concerned. It works on some of the seratonin receptors (there are five) that the other drugs don't affect. It also has minimal side-effects for most people (some people really don't like it, but I never had a moment's trouble with it). When Buspar does work, it can be better than Ativan, with no associated issues.

<3

[phinnia.livejournal.com]

*clings to you* I know it's good to come off it; I just wish I wasn't so /terrified/ of the process. Because I was a nasty mean bitch that freaked out over the smallest possible things when I wasn't on the right meds and I /really/ don't want to get that again. Augh.

[kibbles.livejournal.com]

I was on buspar. DIdnt bother me but I was too flakey to take it regularly.

[datagoddess.livejournal.com]

Celexa was my very favorite SSRI. The only side effect I had was very very very nice (think *good* sexual side effect ;-)

Buspar was what I was put on when I went manic on Effexor. I was only on it for a week or so till things got straightened out. I've not needed it since going on Cymbalta.

I'm glad there's an action plan and he's still looking into more stuff for you. <3

[the-new-perfect.livejournal.com]

Keep talking here as you taper off the Paxil: I had a very difficult time with that, wih the appearance of high levels of anxiety. Just remember, it's not you, it's the chemicals. ::squeeze::

[phinnia.livejournal.com]

Thank you. You may need to remind me of that a few times. *huggles*

[marnanel.livejournal.com]

congratulations!

[paradoxhorizon.livejournal.com]

The five vials of blood makes me a little queasy just thinking about it. I've got no problems with other people's blood, but seeing my own actual exiting my body at speed freaks me out a bit. But it sounds like Things Will Get Done with it so that's good.

Profound insomnia makes it sound like you're up all night coming up with wise aphorisms and such.

Exciting, though! Much luck! ^_^

[phoenixsong]

Huh. Just Googled "ambulatory EEG," and the results leave me wondering -- is he just looking for a baseline, or trying to rule out seizures, or what?

In general, I'm impressed by how thorough it all sounds. Hopefully the end results are helpful. *hug*

[phinnia.livejournal.com]

I have had what he calls 'staring spells' since childhood - you know that feeling when you just space out entirely? - and it might be something to do with that, or possibly my headaches.

[phoenixsong]

So it's more a "let's see if we can figure out what's going on up there" than a "I think you're having seizures and just need proof to back it up"?

*looks up "staring spells" and comes up with more epilepsy/seizure stuff* ...um, if you need me to shut up about this because it's anxiety triggery for you, please say so. I'm the sort that's fascinated by how things work, including (but certainly not limited to) bodies and brains, but I don't want to freak you out s:)

I space out a bit sometimes, but usually it's staring off while my brain works on something and tunes almost everything else out.

[phinnia.livejournal.com]

I think it's a what's up with this thing - especially since he's also looking into my migranes and memory problems. <3 And don't worry - it's not bothering me in the least. I love this kind of thing, I've read a ridiculous number of books on the brain lately. <3

[cueballex.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow. It sounds like you found an excellent psych/neuro. Congratulations. I'm impressed.

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

four hours sounds really thorough. this is good, right? i make with the yay. :D what's obsessive rumination, tho?

[phinnia.livejournal.com]

Obsessive rumination is when you keep thinking the same thoughts over and over whether you want to or not? Like getting a song stuck in your head except it's a thought pattern, like "if i'd only done *blah* I would have ..." or something of that sort.

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

What's the EEG for?

[phinnia.livejournal.com]

Either for my headaches or to rule out microseizures, possibly - I've had what he called 'staring spells' (utterly spaced out moments) since childhood. Probably both.

[daisylily.livejournal.com]

Ugh, that's a LOT of paperwork - but it sounds as if they know what they're doing. Fingers crossed that the meds all behave themselves for you.

(I love your 'doctor roulette' tag, because it is...)

*hugs*

[mydwynter.livejournal.com]

Well, that sounds...thorough. (Which is a word I had to try three times to spell just now. It's that sort of day. Sometimes I think I'm one of those undiagnosed types walking around being quietly us. "Pasted on crooked" indeed.) Let's hope it all turns out for the awesome.

And yeah, remember when you're coming off the Paxil to vent here and use your support system (us) a lot; I haven't known you long enough to know if in the past you've personally experienced coming off of something like that, but I've been with someone who has, and Talking About It Is Good.

[phinnia.livejournal.com]

I'm kind of dreading the coming down process, actually. As I said to the_new_perfect, y'all may have to remind me over and over that I'm not crazy in a bad way. <3

[topaz-eyes.livejournal.com]

It's good to taper off the Paxil--that's definitely one drug you do not want to stop cold-turkey. /personal experience

Your neuro/psych sounds really promising, and I'm glad he's being thorough. (((hugs)))

[natalief.livejournal.com]

Well, um, YAY! It is good that he has worked out the thing about paxil interfering with your pain meds - maybe they will WORK in the future! *hugs* and *good vibes* for the taper-off...

[natalief.livejournal.com]

P.S. I think Celexa = Citalopram Hydrobromide = Cipramil - if so it is what hubby and I are on and I have never been this human! Prozac (for example - I have been on SO MANY that I forget what they were all called) just made me numb and unable to feel happy OR sad!