Posted by Reggie BoStar on September 12, 2009, at 22:24:24
In reply to Re: Perceptions: effexor and pristiq » Reggie BoStar, posted by Phillipa on September 12, 2009, at 21:34:03
Hey Phillipa,
The OCD dominates when I'm hypo-manic. The official diagnosis is Major Depressive Disorder and Bipolar II. When I'm hypo-manic I do things which are OCD. When I'm not hypo-manic, my thinking is OCD.Yes, I like to hear the outside noise too. The type of headphones I use are behind-the-neck (instead of over-the-head like full-size phones) with ear buds on the business end. Earbuds aren't the same as the "In-Ear" phones which plug directly into the ear canal. Earbuds sit on the "flat" just behind the ear canal opening, and so allow street sounds to be heard.
These phones are great. Because of the behind-the-neck frame they stay put and out of the way. I can hear everything that's going on around me, with the audiobook narration added. It's like walking with someone who's reading a book to me.
I use a Fuze (poor man's iPod) to listen to books on MP3. I can't always buy them that way, so I make a big project out of converting regular audio CDs or cassettes to MP3. It's another brain-storming project that keeps me going all the time. The result is a decent MP3 player with a ton of books on it. If it breaks while I'm walking, I use my Palm Treo smartphone as a backup player. It has the same books on it. The only reason it's not my main player is because it's too hard to access the rewind and fast-forward controls in order to replay sections of the books that were missed.
All of this crap requires constant maintenance and fooling around with getting the audiobook files onto the players. More activity to keep me from thinking about the wrong things.
Naturally this constant activity drives uncle Leo crazy. His bad is depression without the mania so he prefers a lot less commotion. The resulting interchanges also help to keep us sane. It's a bizarre household.
I did check out and join the psychonauts group. Right now I'm just a lurker, checking out the posts and current events. The bottom line is that Novartis, who has dibs on manufacturing it in the US for some reason, has delayed the program:
"The company also said today it was delaying Agomelatine, an experimental antidepressant, by about three years. The mood stabilizer will undergo more late-stage trials to study its benefits and risks as well as its journey through the human body, Novartis said."
What they don't say is that the main reason for the delay is to investigate the effects of Agomelatine on autoimmune disorders. There may be problems of some kind there.
What this all means is that the only way to buy and try the stuff is to purchase it from a country where production and sale of it is legal. It may in fact be legal for Americans to buy it that way, but it's a risky proposition to say the least. There's no way to verify the ingredients of the medications.
I'm especially suspicious of overseas medications and don't even purchase the OTC stuff if I suspect or know that it's being manufactured outside the US. In fact I have an internet traceroute program that I've used to verify that a lot of the so-called online pharmacies in "Canada" are actually based elsewhere. I have this thing about lead and melamine in my meds.
I'll be keeping an eye on that psychonauts group as well as Novartis to check on the progress of Agomelatine in the US.
Later,
Reggie BoStar
poster:Reggie BoStar
thread:915804
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090912/msgs/916790.html