kadyellebee

Okay, I survived my dr’s appointment!!! I met the doctor (actually she’s a physician’s assistant) and she was really nice. She had me go over my concerns before any physical examinations. So I kinda just jumped in there, with the calm ones first (sore throat, migraines), and then the bigger ones. Because I want to remember all of this, I’m gonna journal as much as I can remember from the conversation.

Birth Control Pills: Ortho Tricyclene apparently causes weight gain in quite a few people, and she said it wasn’t an bad idea to try a different kind. She put me on Levlite, with is supposed to have a levelling effect, and she said she liked prescribing low-level estrogen pills more anyhow. Still a 28-day pill set. She gave me a months worth to start on and a prescription for the future. I started to read the instructions, but they appear to be the same instructions as OTC has. I need to read a bit closer, I think, just in case.

Migraines: She says that changing from OTC, I’ll probably reduce the migraines quite a bit. But if I do get them more, she wrote me a prescription for Zomig and gave me some samples. She said to take one the instant I feel one coming on and it should zap it! But if this doesn’t do it, or they continue with this form of bcps, we’ll look at other options. It does run in my family.

Sore Throat: Yep, allergies is pretty much the answer. She was gonna give me a nasel spray that should help, but she forgot. Not too big of a deal, as long as its just allergies, I’m not so worried about that.

Stress: the big question: All of the stress pains appear to be related (including the much-tiredness which I didn’t mention in my last post which I remembered while I was there). She said that the last doctor’s idea of removing myself out of the situation was the best. But if that wasn’t possible right now, which I explained was the case, I should at least try and make myself feel better while I’m here. I mentioned the possible depression and anxiety. She said it sounded like these aspects were the direct result of my stress. After the physical exam, she gave me a depression quiz while she left the room (which reminded me of what Stefani said). She said it was to see how much of the issue was anxiety and how much of it was depression. My results weren’t awful - somewhat depressed, but not full-fledged clinical depression. She still feels its related to the situation rather than direct depression. I think after reading the questions that her description of anxiety fits more than depression. I may be sad, but I’m not anywhere near as depressed as I was in high school. Suggestion: Paxil - which helps control the anxiety and depression by balancing seratonin in the brain. She gave me an initial pack to start with, and wants to see me in 3-4 weeks to see how its going. I’m not positive about how I feel about taking drugs to modify my brain, but right now, I’m wanting to feel more energy and less anxiety - if this is how I can help myself right now, I have to try. She said that within 6 weeks, I’ll notice less sleep to be required and feel less anxious, and this solution wouldn’t ever be for more than 6 months to a year (short term control). When she sees me again, she’s gonna evaluate how its working. This could include a recommendation to see a therapist at that time. So that’s where it stands right now. I’m gonna try real hard to keep track of my sleep habits until I see her again. Paxil will do one of two things - make me feel a bit buzzed or make me sleepy. We’ll see tonight

Physical exam went fine - they say I’m healthy, and I weighed less than I thought I would have (152lbs - I figured I was closer to 160. That’s still big for my height, I think I’m about 5'5"). I really should get a scale so I could track that.

So yeah, overall it went very well. I was WAY nervous - you should have seen me shaking before hand and while I was asking my questions - its amazing when the female exam was a breeze compared to the questions - kinda does confirm the anxiety diagnosis, doesn’t it?