I’ll be talking, briefly, about my most recent effort to both follow the rules and get a needed prescription. (Spoiler alert: I finally got the stuff, and have maybe three weeks before wading into this mess again.)
But first, an even briefer look at something I’d much rather have been talking about.
Yellowstone: Earthquakes Happen
Turns out, the the Yellowstone region’s next high-risk event isn’t a volcanic eruption.
It’s an earthquake. The last big one was in 1959. Or 1975, depending on how someone defines “big”.
This was among the topics I’ve had lined up for these “Saturday” posts. I still plan to talk about the Yellowstone Caldera,1 North America’s geologic history and whatever else comes to mind while I’m putting the Yellowstone story together.
But not this week.
About the USGS video at the top of this post: its audio abruptly shifts to monaural a little less than a minute in, but goes back to normal a bit later.
Sooner or later I’ll get back to Yellowstone, earthquakes and all that. Again, I’d have preferred talking about that this week. But doing so would have required concentration and free time that simply wasn’t going to happen.
Next, a quick look at why I haven’t been getting much done.
Prescribed Medications, Controlled Substances, and Me
We’re still downwind of Canada’s wildfires, here in my part of central Minnesota.
But, happily, the smoke has often been going far overhead.
That’s not why I’m not getting much done this week. I’ve been — distracted — by another SNAFU involving prescribed medication.
The medication isn’t the problem.
The problem is, has been, and almost certainly will continue being, rules that may have made sense to someone, somewhere, somehow.
I’d better explain that.
I was in my mid-50s before I began collecting a list of psychiatric diagnoses, including but not limited to these:
- ADHD: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, inattentive type
- ASD: Autism spectrum disorder
- Cluster A personality disorder
- GAD: Generalized anxiety disorder
- PDD: Persistent depressive disorder
- PTSD: Post traumatic stress disorder
None of them can be “cured”, but I’ve got options to make some of them less vexing.
One of those options is using a Schedule II controlled substance that makes using my brain a whole lot easier.
Good news: starting when I was 55, fighting the controls to keep my brain working hasn’t been nearly as difficult as it once was.
Not-so-good news: I’m now 71, and have experienced withdrawal several times. Since the controlled substance is a prescribed medication, it’s “discontinuation syndrome”.2
But that’s a tomayto, tomahto situation.
I figure some folks would be just simply horrified at the thought that they were experiencing “withdrawal”.
And “discontinuation syndrome” isn’t associated with socially-undesirable persons. Like me: and my oldest daughter, who has had similar experiences with her meds.
It Could be Worse
Back to good news: I haven’t experienced withdrawal this month.
That’s partly because last week I began taking ¼ the prescribed dose of the controlled substance I mentioned earlier.
Before that, I’d taken my daily dose down to ½ the prescribed amount.
It’s not, putting it mildly, what I’d prefer doing.
But the alternative would have been going from the prescribed daily dose to nothing during the first week of this month. Making what I had on hand stretch as far as I could seemed prudent.
This month I’ve been dealing with two issues related to that medication.
For one thing, there’s a supply problem. The pharmacy I go to often can’t get this particular medication, and this is another one of those times.
For another, the bureaucratic SNAFU demanded each month has been considerably more tangled this time around. I started taking notes last week, and plan on talking about it. Later. Definitely not this week, maybe not next.
But, to wrap this up on good news: although I’m feeling slow, sluggish, defocused and generally — relaxed —
— You know? I’ll leave it at that. I haven’t experienced withdrawal this month. And that is, basically, good news.
Postscript: Success! Until Next Month
And now, even better news. The pharmacy called late Wednesday afternoon.
They had both a valid authorization for my methylphenidate prescription and enough in stock for the permitted 30-day supply.
I picked it up Wednesday evening: and plan on staying inside for the rest of the week.
Smoke from Canada arrives Thursday, and that’s another topic.
I have a great deal more to say about both of this week’s topics. Odds are, I’ll talk about one or the other next week.
Unless I get distracted by something more interesting.
And that, given the way I am, is quite possible.
More stuff that’s not entirely unrelated:
- “Super-Duper Super Earths and the Search for Life“
(May 27, 2023) - “A Prescription, Disorders, Conformity and Culture“
(May 20, 2023) - “My Monthly Request: So Far, Only a Slight SNAFU“
(April 12, 2023) - “I’m Not as Crazy as You Think I Moose!“
(April 9, 2022) - “Still Rejoicing“
(July 2, 2017)
- Wikipedia
- USGS (United States Geological Survey)
- “New views of how magma is stored beneath Yellowstone provided by hundreds of seismic sensors“
Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (July 31, 2023) - Monitoring Earthquakes in Yellowstone National Park
- Yellowstone Volcano Observatory
- “New views of how magma is stored beneath Yellowstone provided by hundreds of seismic sensors“
2 Medication that helps, when it’s available:
- Wikipedia
- “Discontinuation syndrome and antidepressants“
Christopher Bullock, MD, MFA; Carolyn A. Bernstein, MD, FAHS; Harvard Health Blog (April 11, 2019) - Antidepressant withdrawal: Is there such a thing?
Mayo Clinic
Reading through what’s probably a reiteration of your struggles with bureaucracy regarding your prescription medicine, I find myself realizing that your sharp sense of length in explaining that stuff appeals to me. Sure, it’s long, but it feels nicely choice. Not proudly euphemistic, but lovingly honest. And it reminds me of the lessons I had to learn as a Creative Writing student. May you have more worthwhile times with your medicine, then, Mr. Gill!
Thank you! The ‘request authorization’ situation is due to start a little over a week from now. “…Not proudly….” – that’s good to hear. Read.
There are details I left out – and may write about when I think of a way to put them together. Meanwhile, I’ve been collecting stuff for this week’s ‘Yellowstone’ post.