Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with treatment and medication

Home remedies for kidney stones

CrazyLemonade — Thu, 09 May 2013 10:27:26 -0800

In addition to medical treatment, what else can be done to help kidney stones go away? My maid/nanny just got diagnosed with kidney stones. She was given medication to try to break them down and an appointment to go back to the doctor in a week. I'm doing a little research on kidney stones, in case there's something that can be done additionally to the medication, specially in terms of foods or drinks to take and which ones to avoid, to help her body break them down and throw them out.

The Little Red Bumps Are Firmly In Control

Toby Dammit X — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 17:01:05 -0800

Does anybody know of a cheap, effective way of treating Folliculitis? I've had little red bumps all over my thighs for a few months now, and I think that Folliculitis brought on by bad razors is the most likely culprit. No amount of moisturizer has helped, though I've been putting Neosporin on my legs for about a week and the bumps have diminished in both in size and coverage.

Frankly, I can't afford to see a dermatologist who could confirm my self-diagnosis and prescribe a treatment. So, has anybody had a similar problem, and luck with something that didn't need to be prescribed?

Resuming treatment for Adult ADD after taking a(n unofficial) break?

Anonymous — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 07:53:20 -0800

What is the best way to resume treatment of Adult ADD, after an extended break due to my own flakiness? Background:In elementary school, I was diagnosed with ADD, and treated with Ritalin through 8th grade. I don't really remember it making much of a difference, but my parents say that it did. In high school, I was taken off of the ritalin to see if I 'grew out of it'. I remained off medication throughout high school and a hitch in the armed forces with less than stellar results, especially in the stressful environment of the military and ended up near suicidal because of it.After my contract ended and I landed a job with health insurance, I got help in the form of a prescription for an SSRI from my GP and a referral to a therapist. Through the course of treatment, my history with ADD came up and I got tested for it again (clicking button when a computer beeped or a symbol flashed on the screen), and got what was described to me as a 'borderline positive' score. The shrink then referred me to a psychiatrist in the same office who prescribed some ritalin.Sometime (6? 9? months, I hadn't had too many refills of the ritalin, so I realize it's possible the dosage hadn't been worked out) later I missed an appointment with the shrink, that was rescheduled and then also missed. Since that happened about 3 years ago, I haven't been back to either the shrink or the psychiatrist mostly due to my embarrassment at missing the appointments and never really 'clicking' with the shrink (I never felt like I had the words to talk to him. he'd ask a question and 99% of the time the only answer I could come up with was "I don't know"). I have no real explaination on why I missed the appointments, other than I forgot I had them that day. I have been doing "ok" without any treatment other than lots of coffee since then, but in the last few months I've been having more trouble with staying on task at work. This came to a head today when I was verbally reprimanded for the second time in as many weeks for fucking around on the computer when I shouldn't have been.tl;dr: I was in the beginning stages of treatment for ADD 3 years ago, flaked out on some appointments and never went back, now I'm having some problems at work.Question: What is the best way to go about restarting treatment for ADD in this situation? Talking to my GP? calling the psychiatrists office to see if they still work there and will see me? I'm especially concerned about being seen as not serious about treatment since I quit going with no warning. I live in a city of 20,000 people in a low-population midwestern state so my options on providers within realistic distances are limited.Throw-away email: anonadd62011@gmail.com

I can't really take my 3 weeks of sick leave at once...can I?

sio42 — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:19:28 -0800

The trial-and-error method of ADHD drugs: I am already afraid of screwing up my job and I am concerned about all these side effects I read about people having. I can't spend 3 months spaced out or whatever until I find the right drug cause then I'll REALLY screw up at work. Can you help allay my fears or tell me how you and your psychiatrist and/or therapist worked this out? I can't believe I'm not posting this anonymously, but I wanted to be able to reply more easily than I can with an anon post.

Anyways, after working on my anxiety/depression issues for almost a year, I am SO MUCH better now, without any medication. It was just a lot of things falling into place. My most recent questions had to do with moving and life direction and I see now that it was just more of the same flittiness I've had my entire life and is probably the ADHD. But that's not really what I want to ask here.

I am in a decent job. It is ok, my hatred of the mundane aspects aside. However, I know that my problem with follow-through is a big issue. I never really cared at any other job, because it was either customer service, or I was in college and changed jobs almost every year due to needing to schedule classes. But I need to have A job and we know how the job market is right now.

When I go back and read the posts on here tagged with ADHD, people are often saying "straterra/vyanase/adderall/ritalin made me so spacey/tired/crazy/whatever". I CANNOT go through months of being worse than I am now. My position requires me to be here during the open hours of the office, so working PT or from home is not an option, it's already been discussed in a different circumstance. I'm here or I have no job.

I am meeting with a psychiatrist pretty soon. He and I worked together almost a year ago before we decided to take me off meds entirely but I wanted some personal experiences here. My GP at the time (I no longer see her), over two years ago, had put me on adderrall because she thought I was ADHD, but it made me feel crazy after a little while. I think maybe the dosage was wrong and I was having some severe severe depression at the time. She also had me on Lexapro and maybe that didn't act well with the Adderral. Anyways, I figured I couldn't be ADHD because of the effect Adderrall had on me.

Wow, this is long. I guess I'm trying to answer why this hasn't come up before as a diagnosis until now with my psychiatrist and therapist. Basically, they didn't konw what was wrong with me and were trying to help me manage anxiety/depression, which we did a really good job at. But the other ADHD stuff remains, and I meet all the criteria for it in the DSM according to my therapist.

tl;dr: How can I deal with trial-and-error drug testing that may make me worse at work than I already am? I am afraid to tell my boss. How have you adult-diagnosed ADHD folks dealt with this?

How does one go about receiving an ADD diagnosis and medical treatment these days?

Rendus — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:12:48 -0800

I'm a 28 year old male in Las Vegas, Nevada. When I was in my late pre-teens, I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder, and went through various treatments (Ritalin, Adderall, then eventually easing off medications entirely). Now, due to a promising promotion and other life changes, I need to be able to focus beyond what my self-regulation allows me. What can an adult expect to go through to convince a doctor that they have ADD, and to convince them to treat it medically? Initially, I was diagnosed and treated by a Neurologist, through a referral from our family doctor. Later, I was treated by a Psychiatrist (for ADD as well as manic depression and obsessive/compulsive disorder). I haven't been treated medically for ADD since my mid-teens, so I don't know quite where to start.

As an added bonus, I'm currently uninsured and do not have a regular doctor. If I were insured, I'd just start at a general practice doctor and work my way up the chain from there. I'm hoping there are people here with experience regarding if a general practitioner will be willing to diagnose and medically treat ADD, or if it's still mostly in the realm of (more expensive) specialists.

What can one expect, going to a doctor with this sort of treatment request? At least when I was a kid, there was a great deal of concern regarding abuse of these medications, and they are controlled substances. I don't have medical records for my treatment as a child, and I'm not sure they'd satisfy any concerns a doctor may have anyway.

Any hints as to what uninsured pricing for these medications might be would be appreciated, but of less concern to me than going to the right person the first time, and getting things rolling.

(Please note: I am aware of, and respect the idea of non-prescription treatments for ADD. Unfortunately, they rarely work for me, and not to the degree I've experienced lately through other means. I'm at the point where I'm seeking professional medical treatment for the disorder.)

The Bugs are Gone, but the Bites are Still Here

cucumberfresh — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 11:02:12 -0800

What can I do to make my bug bites heal faster? Last Friday, I woke up with a lot of bug bites. It turns out we had a pigeon mite infestation (yuck) and while the exterminator has come and gone, my battle scars haven't. I have about five inflamed blister-like bites on my arms and several more "regular" looking bug bites on my back and legs. They don't itch anymore, but is there anything I can do to make them go away faster & lessen the scarring? Thanks in advance!

Best treatments for anxiety?

mintchip — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 21:28:34 -0800

Best treatments for anxiety? I have really bad anxiety. I really need to get a handle on this because it creates a lot of problems in my life. What are the best treatments for chronic, intense anxiety? I will consider pharmaceuticals, herbs, supplements, and anything else.

I have tried a number of antidepressants in the past. None of them did a thing except Celexa, which made my anxiety DISAPPEAR!! However, I had extreme side effects that forced me to go off the medication. This experience made me believe that my anxiety is chemically based. I have tried intense exercise; it helps a bit, but not enough.

The more anxious I get, the more I turn to others for reassurance. I fear that I am frustrating those around me with my constant worries, and this makes me angry at myself. However, I can't seem to control it. Mefites, what has worked for you?