The Forums › Forums › Medication › WOW! What a revelation › Re: WOW! What a revelation
Yes. A solid block of text is so daunting that, to us, it looks like kryptonite.
We’ve all been there, so we know how hard it is not to just leave the words up there in the same big mass as they spill from our brains. But white space is our friend. Paragraph breaks are our friends, even if we just arbitrarily stick one in, every 5 lines or so.
Now that the formalities are out of the way, @topher, on to your questions…
The thing about disorders of the mood or mind is that there’s no one-size-fits-all treatment. It’s not like a broken leg, where the standard treatment is to re-align the bones, slap on a cast, and leave it for several weeks to heal. With mood or mind disorders, you have to go through a trial-and-error process to find what will work. Sometimes, you’re lucky and the first or second medicine you try is the one that works for you. Other people will spend months or years trying to find the right medicine(s) and dosage that works for them.
With many mood or mind disorders, the best treatment involves both medicine and talk-therapy. The trouble is, while we have universal healthcare here in Canada, which pays for medical and psychiatric care (and a universal drug benefit program to pay for the prescription drugs that lower-income people need), these programs do NOT pay for psychological treatments (talk-therapy). So if you’re poor, and you don’t have an employee benefits plan that includes psychological therapy, then there’s no way you’ll be able to afford that talk-therapy.
I’ve found that making a comparison chart is a wonderful tool for evaluating your options. In your case, I’d suggest making a chart comparing the good things you’ve found with Ritalin (or the generic version), and the bad things. That way, you’ll be able to see clearly whether or not it seems to be the right med for you.
But—even if the bad things outnumber the good things in your comparison chart, NEVER stop or change your medicines on your own. Doing so can be extremely dangerous. Also, most ADD medicines must be gradually started and gradually stopped. Just going cold-turkey will cause withdrawal symptoms.
Take your comparison chart, and a list of the questions you have, with you when you go to see your specialist (or GP, if that’s who’s treating you), and discuss your concerns with him/her. Heck, bring them with you when you go to get your prescription filed, and go through the list with the pharmacist. God knows, you’re paying enough in dispensing fees that the pharmacist can more than afford to sit down with you for 20 minutes to discuss your concerns and questions.
Of course, only your doctor can prescribe medications for you, so you’ll definitely need to see him/her to make any changes to your medicines and/or dosages.
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