I screened out of the depression study although for almost 2 hours we believed I was going on. After I answered the usual questions over the computer, the study coordinator said I qualified to go on and I thought, oh well, must be that it's meant to be. Later, though, we discovered that I'd been dropped. Eh, that's okay. This way I can try out the ultracet the rheumatologist prescribed for the pain in my joints.
Dr. H, the rheumatologist, saw Heidi today too and found that she seemed to have similar symptoms to me. He didn't want to label her with fibromyalgia, though. She's able to manage without pain medications, knows she needs to lose weight and exercise and she'll be okay.
One thing that surprised him, though, was that Heidi's been taking Zoloft since 2001 without really being followed by a psychiatrist. That's because our mental health coverage sucks, I explained. We agreed that Dr. H would recommend that our family doctor try to wean Heidi off the Zoloft. That's one of the meds that can cause weight gain and after 3 years, maybe she doesn't need it anymore? Or ... maybe she does. We'll have to see.
Once I got kicked out of the study, Dr. R decided he wanted to follow me ... maybe. Remember that sucky insurance? Biologically based illness or not, the coverage may not be there.
What an ordeal! Dr. R asked me all these vague and confusing questions ... like, in the past 7 days have you felt sad, depressed, down, hopeless
We didn't get out of there until after 5 and my appointment had been at 2:30. Yeesh!
Ten Things You Look Forward to Doing in 2005
1. Losing weight
2. Feeling better (less or no pain)
3. Swimming in an indoor pool
4. Taking my creative writing class
5. Writing & finishing stories
6. Going on a vacation with TB to ... anywhere! Just away!
7. Having more energy to spend time with my kids & Tomas
8. Reducing my stress levels
9. Going for walks outdoors
10. Going to the beach