fulwood

Yesterday I was shopping at a store in Mesa. I could hear the cashier was British. Well we started talking and believe it or not she is a forum member! I don't want to give her alias but just thought I'd mention it.. She was lovely as well..

mrs Bucket

It was lovely to meet you too, it is definitely a small world W Mesa!

I was talking to my husband about meeting you and I said whilst you were waiting in the queue you had an English look about you! He knew what I was talking about.

I just logged on after months of browsing without logging in and found a message from another expat that is on this forum whom I love talking too had left me a message in April.

Whilst working at Sprouts I have met quite a few expats and love our chats. Look forward to seeing you again.

Amanda

fulwood

You'll have to explain to me next time I'm at Sprouts what "looking British" means. Yes and it showed to me again how much easier it is to chat to a fellow Brit than it is in my experience been to chat to fellow Americans. My trip next year as I mentioned to you is also going to be used as gauge to see if I can/want to move home for good. I will be there for 3-4 months so the novelty of "me" will wear off soon on my friends and I'll see the real day to day reality. Pleasure meeting you Mrs. Bucket..

Celticspirit

That is such a great story!!
Coincidentally, the same thing happened to me yesterday at Target. I heard the cashier speaking to the customer ahead of me and picked up a UK accent. So I asked her if she was from the UK. She said yes rather bitterly...Came in 1979. Hated the Unions. Hubby's work week reduced to three days. Not happy with USA either. Can't afford health insurance. 61 years old. I said did she miss the UK.....not really.....she looked frazzled and tired.

fulwood

Celticspirit I feel sorry for her. I don't have health insurance but still see my doctor. He is seeing me thru my still difficult times of dealing with brother's death. i still cry every day and it's been 5 months. He charges $80 for office visit and my meds are about $35 a month. God forbid if something serous were to happen to me. I'd be bankrupt. But I just can't afford. Poor lady (not me cashier you met)..

Michael

Check the price of your meds on this web site. The price could be significantly less than you are currently paying. 90 day supplies are many times significantly cheaper than 3 30 day supplies. If you are taking brand name drugs, switch to generic if available. Sometimes you can physically cut a double dose in half and the cost is half the price.

http://www.healthwarehouse.com/simva...tml?ref=goodrx

fulwood

thanks I'll check it out. Appreciate the info..

Michael

You can also use this web site to get coupons for up to 90% off at local pharmacies but generally the price with coupon is not as good as the as the previous web discount pharmacy.

http://www.goodrx.com/simvastatin?gc...FUxxQgodqE8AQQ

amelia123

I always thought to have such conversation but till now I am unable to have it

Michael

Also if you are on antidepressants or anxiety drugs and the drug is not working very well and the doctor wants to change the drug, look at the price of the drugs since the doctor may possibly prescribe a band name drug that is still on patent and generic is not available and the drug could be 20x more expensive than generic drugs in the same class with little difference. Doctors don't seem to know the price of drugs so that is a low consideration when prescribing drugs. A knowledgeable doctor will normally try different generic drugs before prescribing brand name drugs on patient. All drugs in the serotonin class are much the same with a slight difference in chemical structure and the newer drugs (brand name drugs) are not necessarily better than older generic drugs.

Although serotonin drugs are currently the most prescribed antidepressant, older tricyclic antidepressants such as Amitriptyline can sometimes well outperform the new drugs especially in younger people since it generally doesn't have the sleepiness effect after awaking which can occur in older people. It is also dirt cheap at a discount pharmacy especially if you cut the dosage into pieces.

In fact if you are having problems stabilizing, I'd ask your doctor to prescribe Amitriptyline on your next visit and try it for a few days. The doctor will likely prescribe it since it usually has a very little side effects (dry mouth is common) and can normally be used forever and no withdrawal if you stop taking it. I'd give that a try before trying another serotonin drug. The doctor may say it could take several weeks to see an effect but it could take effect immediately. For some people, it will stop their mid from spinning, knock them out when going to sleep, and 8 hours later, they will awake refreshed and happy. Although it may be prescribed 3 times per day (probably 25 mg per dose) for depressions, start at night on a weekend (in case it has sleepiness after effect) and see if that does it and if it works, use it only before bedtime since it could possibly cause sleepiness during the day (but it may not). If it is too strong, cut it in pieces. You'll notice on the discount pharmacy that the price is $3.50 per 30 tablets no mater the dosage so if the doctor prescribed 25 mg tablets, you could get the doctor to prescribe 50 mg tablets and cut it in two pieces using a pill cutter or 100 mg tablets and cut it in to four pieces to save money. Currently it is usually prescribed as a sleep aid in low dosages (10 mg) which isn't a controlled substance like the new sleeping aid Ambien (Schedule IV drug) that also has possible withdrawal symptoms, may require higher dosages the longer used, and shouldn't be prescribed for long term use.

Serotonin drugs are usually much more subtle in the effect sometimes making it difficult to determine if they are working.

How do I know about these drugs? I took Amitriptyline when I was younger (about 35 years ago) and it worked miracles but now if I take it, it doesn't work too well and there is a drowsiness after effect that can last all day. I also gave a small dose (10 mg) to a friend at the time who was having problems sleeping and it knocked her out and she called the next day asking me how to wake up. I've also tried serotonin drugs about 10 years ago when I had tiredness and possibly very mild depressions and they don't accomplish anything for me. Also I have a friend that had serious depressions and was prescribed many different serotonin drugs over several years until they finally found a combination of drugs that worked (doctors didn't try the older drugs and I didn't know he was going though depressions so I couldn't recommend trying the older drugs).

The following is a list of all the available antidepressant drugs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_antidepressants

fulwood

Thanks Michael you sound like a doctor. My doctor is very good - he knows I have no insurance and tries to work with me on that. I am on something called Setraline which is for major depressive order which he says I have. I also am on Clonazepam for anxiety. I don't mind saying what I'm on. Losing my brother is worst thing that has ever happened to me. Also watching him battle cancer for 4 years and having hope/losing hope that endless cycle until eventually there is no hope has taken its toll. I am not normally a pill popper but I have few friends and am trying to manage as best I can. my life is not all bad I have great job working with kids with autism, etc. For example other day I was working with a client who has Down Syndrome but is intelligent. One of her goals is to answer /w/ questions. I read statement about Washington being buried in Mount Vernon. Asked her where he was buried. She said "in a hole".. You gotta smile..

Michael

Sorry about your brother and your problems related to that but it is good that you enjoy your job.

I'm not a doctor but a retired engineer so take everything with a grain of salt.

I know Sertraline which is the generic version of brand name Zoloft and it is much like most other serotonin drugs (it's one of the older serotonin drugs along with Prozac). In my opinion, none of the serotonin drugs pack a wallop but finding the one that helps you can be difficult. Unfortunately some researches aren't even sure that the serotonin drugs work on a large percentage of the population and when they work, they seem to be more effective on deep depressions than mild depressions but blind studies have mixed results. However it may be that someone with deep depressions will keep on trying to find the right serotonin drug or combination until it is found and people with mild depressions may give up trying.

I also know Clonazepam and wouldn't necessarily want to use it if possible since it is a Schedule IV drug, doctors can sometimes push to get a person off the drug, some people have extreme difficulty withdrawing from that drug especially in higher dosages, some doctors write prescriptions for only two months at a time, and if ordered by mail, it must be signed for by the person using the drug. Most anxiety drugs are controlled substances so they all have the same problems. Schedule IV drugs are not narcotics (but are popped, snorted, and smoked as street drugs) so they aren't as bad as Schedule II drugs for withdrawal, addiction, and over usage.

Although you may have depressions and anxiety, I suspect the core problem is depressions and if that can be controlled, I suspect the anxiety will significantly be reduced or eliminated.

As far as Amitriptyline, I believe it can be used at the same time as using serotonin drugs so treatment with the serotonin drug doesn't have to stop to try Amitriptyline. Also I believe multiple serotonin drugs can be used at the same time.

Michael

Since you are working with kids, I suspect that the pay isn't that great. However the Affordable Care Act starts in January and if your pay is fairly low, the cost of health insurance should be pretty cheap since the cost is based on your income. The following is a calculator that gives the estimated price of health insurance and the subsidy that the government pays.

http://www.coveredca.com/calculating_the_cost.html

There are only three plans (silver, gold, and platinum) and suspect the cost for you will be the same no matter which plan is chosen. All plans have low deductibles, low co-pays, and low maximum annual out of pocket expenses but the platinum is the best. I suspect that only families that make more than 400% above the poverty level may possibly chose the other plans since there is no direct subsidy for them. Up to 125% of the poverty level, free Medicaid is provided (if the state doesn't opt out of expanded Medicaid and AZ has opted in) and between 125%-400%, the cost to the family slowly rises but normally not to 100% when 400% of the poverty level is reached.

Maybe when you get health insurance, your anxiety will decrease since going to the doctor more regularly to try to solve the problem quicker won't cost you much and you won't be worrying about health insurance.

Celticspirit

I felt very sad for her also. She was 61 and couldn't wait to get on Medicare. They had never been back to the UK since they arrived in 1979.
Fulwood, it must have been dreadful watching your brother suffer. I do hope that time will ease your pain.

cheers

It must be the heat. I was out two days ago and I was in a shop and I saw a lady, she was probably in her 60's and I was sure she was English. I didn't ask though. She had an English look.

Cheers