Scribblings

Study Visit 5

Today was my fifth visit to Dr. R but technically we?re only on ?visit 4?. I think that?s because I was still on the other medications when I came back the second time. Dr. R is definitely a weird doctor, very eccentric. He starts to say something or he?ll start to ask a question and then he stops and goes on an entirely different track. Sometimes it?s really hard for me not to bust out laughing in his face.

We met with Lisa first. She?s the research counselor ? or something. Dr. R oversees the whole thing and so I?m actually assigned to her. So I told Lisa about the trouble I was having sleeping. The Prozac is helping reduce the catastrophic circular thinking I was doing, I told her, and I?ve lost another pound (YAY!!!!) but ? I?m also crankier because I?m not sleeping right.
Lisa said she thought it would be fine for me to take the Prozac in the morning because they do that for other people. Whew.
Part of this study involves me getting on the phone to the pharmaceutical company and answering a computerized survey. It?s the same questions week after week. Zzzz.

After I did that, the nurse came in to take my blood pressure and that was not good. The first reading was like 138/100. Great. A few minutes later, the reading was 141/100. Argh. The nurse tried my right arm. That was like 154/114. Even worse!

It must be stress because I have cut out nearly all caffeine. I don?t even drink a whole cup of coffee anymore and I drink only decaffeinated diet soda. Most of the time I drink water. I don?t cook with salt and hardly ever add it. I don?t eat junk food. I don?t even crave candy anymore! So what else could it be?

Then Dr. R comes in to talk to us. I told him that Lisa said it should be okay for me to take the Prozac in the morning because other people did. He raised his brows and smiled a little and said oh really? I?ll be right back. He said he had to call the company to make sure it would be okay.

After that TB and I began to read. We were there for a good fifteen or twenty minutes. The nurse came back and decided to try my blood pressure again. This time it was 154/94. Geesh. Lisa popped her head in and wondered what happened to Dr. R so I explained to her what was happening and she looked puzzled.

It was supposed to be a short visit.

When Dr. R came back, he began scribbling a bunch of stuff and then said, ?There are alternative treatments for depression, like electro-shock therapy??

Where had that come from? He looked up and saw the look on my face and sort of broke off. He was scribbling again and asked if Lisa talked to us about the dosage.

No, I said. Now I was really confused. I thought that?s why he was calling the manufacturer!

Anyway, to cut the story short, I?m taking the medicine earlier. They can?t come out and tell me that. Oh. They didn?t say that but I think that?s what they meant, Lisa and Dr. R. ?Just take it as early in the evening as you can until we hear back from the manufacturer.? Raised eyebrows. Okay, I think I get it. :P

I had an idea that TB agrees with ? that we should make plans as if there will be NO income. Our credit is going to be ruined, damned Selective! To me, the most important things to stay on top of is the mortgage, the cars, car insurance and heat/electric. If we fall behind with the cars then we?ll lose the house because no one will be able to get to work. And we need both cars because we?ll need us all working. There?s nothing around here but CVS and fast food places so the jobs we get won?t pay much. Even Heidi is looking for a job.

Ho ho ho.