The "What's on your mind?" Thread -2017

[foxxycat]

and I am still ticked off about that truck I wanted to buy. tried not to stew all night about it..just crazy! Left a bad review on Yelp. Foxxy cat is me. Those dirty b------s! That is such deceptive selling! No wonder the dumb thing is still listed for 38 days! Found out they have been trying to sell it since AUGUST! OMG I knew there was a reason I can't stand retail. I know they need to make a living but geeze don't lie about the mileage then harass me all day with texts and phone calls to get me in the store to look at this socalled truck. I was expecting a bad title or a lien on it..good grief!

My truck is back at mechanics=he thinks it's that dumb dust shield inside the drum brakes on the left side...GRRR!!! Can I shoot it!?!

 

[NewYork1303]

If people saw the way their old kitties mourned for them when they abandoned them at shelters, I feel like they might think twice before keeping the new kitten instead. Who boots an 8 year old cat from their home since it doesn't get along with a new kitten? Apparently WAY too many people. 

 

[foxxycat]

 
If people saw the way their old kitties mourned for them when they abandoned them at shelters, I feel like they might think twice before keeping the new kitten instead. Who boots an 8 year old cat from their home since it doesn't get along with a new kitten? Apparently WAY too many people. 

 

 

 

 

 

  that ticks me off to no end! I don't understand this lazy fragile society! No one sticks together anymore! No one tries to problem solve but instead take the easy way out!

 

[artiemom]

I never realized dumping cats was so rampant.. and the elderly.. what happens to cats when they can no longer care for their kitties??

We have so many cats who were either dumped for one stupid reason or another.. I could list a million of the supposedly 'reasons' for getting rid of a cat. Many of them have been with their owners for years, and yet they just get dumped as if they were a piece of trash.. or just thrown out to fend for themselves..  It makes me so mad..

Especially the older kitties.. the ones above 5 years old.. these are the un-adopatable ones.. makes me so mad...

So many people: move, leave the cat in the empty apartment, or walking the corridors--those are the lucky ones.. then you have the ones who just leave... and leave the cat outside without any food.. in the cold. 

A sweet housecat is then supposed to defend themselves against the elements and the wild animals... makes me so mad...

I thought this happened occasionally.. I was naive.. Now I am not.. makes me think about what I would do if something ever heaped to me.. what would become of Artie.. or any other cat I would have.. cuz I think I will always have a cat around me.. 

 

[foxxycat]

sadly it happens daily Arties mom. Even up here in New England. I get asked weekly from people I work for who didn't get their cats fixed if I want the cat. Now If I could get a bigger house  I would take on 2 or 4 more cats but for now it's only going to be 2 for us. Honeybee is super jealous of Pumps and I still want a kitten to give her a companion. She wants to lick and groom pumps but pumps hisses and howls at her. Honeybee chases her out of boredom. If I knew my job was secure in the next year I would move to adopt another but right now-everything is on hold to see what the screw balls who own both companies decide to do. And yes many kids forget about their elderly parents and many don't visit. I see it all the time..sad!

 

[tallyollyopia]

 
What's on my mind......

Mental illness, the need for universal health care, shopping sprees and the absurdity of clear polyester thread.

Next month I will being seeing the fifth mental health specialist inside of 13 months.  Yeah, I've been through three psychiatrists and a psychiatric nurse-practitioner in the last 12 months.  And I'm not mentally stable and the nurse-practitioner made me worse.  It really, really sucks.  Dr. #1 was great - and quit the practice.  Dr #2 I saw once, he didn't seem great enough to make up for his office staff's jerkish policies.  (They cancelled my appointment because I didn't call back to confirm that yes I really did remember 48 hours before when they did the typical reminder call.  They made a huge to-do about squeezing me in.  They claimed the doctors demanded that policy and the doctor said that it was actually their policy and the doctors couldn't tell them to not do it.)  Dr #3 was also good, he just had a tendency to cancel due to illness.  And then one day the office was locked and when I called the next day the doctor had to be taken to the hospital and would never be actively practicing medicine again.  NP #4 made me really skittish with her treatment outlook and we decided to mutually part ways.  I'm so hoping Dr #5 is a Dr #1 clone.  Or like Dr #3 without the illness.

What made things bad was losing my health insurance at the end of May due to quitting my job as part of moving out of state.  No insurance means no doctor which means no medicine.  My husband had 30 days to get me on his plan, he procrastinated until day #29.  And then the insurance company kept not adding me and it took an additional month before they finally said that they needed our marriage license to add me.  Ick.  I was a monster, literally, luckily my family is very understanding and since I know I'm sick, I could try to shield them from my unfettered mind somewhat.  Dr #3 got me back on stuff but psych meds aren't the safest thing and he was still pushing things cautiously upward when he went to the hospital.  I was not stable yet.  Better, but not stable.  Still am not, and the NP did something with the medicine (long explanation, the interested can Google bipolar disorder and antidepressants) that made me a lot worse.

I'm just tired.  Tired of trying to find a good doctor, tired of not being stable.  I'm alternating between tears and feeling nothing because I feel so bad inside all the time.

I think part of the instability is driving an unsustainable shopping spree.  In my more rational moments I know I can't keep this up.  But rational thought is rare right now.  I used to never clothing shop.  After moving here, I evaluated the state of my daily wear t-shirts and rags was a good description.  Holes, bleach stains and the folds where the edges are hemmed were splitting in every single shirt.  I went looking for new shirts and found that my tastes have changed, I no longer want t-shirts with pictures or writing.  Then my pants weren't fitting right and I told myself that I wear a lot of cotton stuff and cotton stretches over time if you don't wash it in hot water.  I went to Goodwill and I needed a smaller size, but again, this is used clothes, cotton stretches.  Cleaning my closet, I tried a pair of too-tight shorts on before tossing them and they were now loose.  That's when I discovered that I had actually lost an entire size without realizing it.  Trying on a shirt at Goodwill that had an extreme cleavage cut, I realized that it didn't look right because my bra was now too loose, I had lost weight there too.  So even though I'm shopping exclusively at Goodwill and Target where I work (employee discount) and mostly hitting the clearance racks, I'm still spending far, far too much money in relation to my pitiful income.

I'm short, and hemming is a reality of life.  Pants aren't so bad but capris and skirts are a nightmare.  I have to shorten them so much that the fabric can't just be folded up.  The weight of the fabric pulls out the hems and things tend to be narrower at the bottom, causing a pinching at the hem line.  I actually have to cut off fabric.  I have a pair of denim capris and three skirts that needed hemming today.  Started on the capris.  I can't find my fabric measuring tape and I can't find my good scissors but I improvised.  But I took a needle from my new pack and held it firmly to prepare for stitching and it bent in my fingers.  ***?  What kind of cheap steel is this?  Working on denim the needle was bending like crazy, every time I bent it straight, poking it through the denim would bend it again and I didn't want to waste the thread.  When I used up all the thread I threw out the needle.  Got that done, got the first skirt done, started working on the second skirt.  It's an aquamarine color and the closest matching color thread I had didn't have a lot left on the spool.  I got through 3/4 of the skirt when I ran out of thread.  I tried light blue, despite being really tiny the stitches were too obvious.  Pulled that out and tried dark green, it was even worse.  Looking at my box of threads, I dug out my clear polyester thread.  There's some problems with it though.  It's only about half as thick as regular thread, it maintains the tight curl of the spool when threaded, being invisible means you have a near impossible time threading the needle and you can't see where you've pulled it through the fabric so you don't know where to stitch next.  And that tight curl was constantly wrapping itself around the heads of the pins in the fabric, pulling those out and messing up the planned hem.

At least the last skirt is a nice safe off-white.  I won't need the clear thread for that.  I should just throw it out, but it does come in handy from time to time.

Sigh.

 Good luck with the new doctor. 

 (PS: I know how horrible it is to have to hem with the wrong color thread. Soothing thoughts your way. 

)

 
@arouetta   I am glad you have shared your experience with doctors. I have too experienced similar experiences. My mother too. It's a real bear to live with. And the meds can cause problems. I remember one doctor got my mother so out of it she was sitting at the kitchen table and drooling on herself. My sister got ahold of them and reamed them out. They were over prescribing and doping her up so she couldn't function. My mother had manic depression with psychotic features which is bipolar in today's world. She used to go into long term care for 8 weeks every 2 years. When I was 10 I could tell when she was getting ready to crash=she was hyper and didn't sleep=shopped! Made big plans and ran around like a nut- then slowly fizzled out..to the point 2-6 months later she was sleeping around the clock and crying all the time then things got dicey because she started seeing things that weren't there. The doctors they had for our limited insurance were morons. The nurses in these hospitals were evil mean you know whats. They treat people who are not well in the head with disdane. I saw it with my own eyes. She hated being at these places but she was a hazard to herself and without taking meds it only got worse...So I totally understand how the mind can drive you completely bat____ crazy.

I have clinical depression and have tried various meds-I have good days and bad days. I try to stay upright as much as I can but sometimes I just need to sleep for days. It's hard to find a doctor who isn't trying to push their own agenda. One doctor I had I wanted to try some of the newer meds that came out in the past 10 years and he brushed it off. The one med that did work-they discontinued the formula and that company dissolved. Tried 2 other generics=both give me illness. One gives me heartburn and upset stomach. I recently retried it by taking at night and during the day uggg I was upset stomach most of the day and eating made it worse...then I tried to get name brand and I just couldn't afford it. Even with insurance it was crazy price. I probably should have tried a different drug store but my insurance is at one particular chain and they want you to use mail order=which only has 2 generics. neither works. I have since looked into herbs/spices..and exercise. It's not perfect. But I am hoping in the summer/fall I can find a new doctor and try it all over again. The problem is the crying. Seems all I do is cry and cry over NOTHING. or perceived things that are irrational as my dad always says...I pushed away most family and friends because a wet blanket is no fun and I just prefer to be alone. I don't know if it will ever get better but for now I take my herb tea from Southeast Asia and it helps. It's not perfect but it helps.

I hope you have better luck with finding a doctor. Seems so many have attitude problems or just up and quit. I had one therapist I saw for 4 months and she claimed she was leaving..I knew it was bs. It was just to get rid of me. Sometimes no matter how much we talk about our problems/feelings/perceptions it doesn't make it go away. It's like an odd shaped ball that rolls with us=some days it doesn't roll uphill well, other days you don't notice it there as it rolls nicely..that's how I explain my experience with mental illness. And add the fact that I lost my good insurance and the one left over they switched us to limited my options. Sigh.

The weight loss is a clear sign of depression. That's probably the thing that bothers you the most-not being able to eat due to that pit in your stomach feeling. I have gone on both extremes. I either eat too much-gain TOO much or other times I don't have an appetite=but I was on that medication for 16+years and now it's been almost 2 years without it=the weight gain to me seems to be something I really have to work on-the medication cut the food cravings all those years. I would love to find a formula that works to stop my emotional eating and a doctor who is decent and not a jerk. I have had 20 years of dealing with doctors-guess I too need to start the search and get one but for now...I am managing..but I hope you get some better help. I know sometimes we prefer to do it ourselves but not everyone can do it themselves and it's OK NOT TO!  Sending you HUGS!!!!

Sometimes life just sucks.

 
and I am still ticked off about that truck I wanted to buy. tried not to stew all night about it..just crazy! Left a bad review on Yelp. Foxxy cat is me. Those dirty b------s! That is such deceptive selling! No wonder the dumb thing is still listed for 38 days! Found out they have been trying to sell it since AUGUST! OMG I knew there was a reason I can't stand retail. I know they need to make a living but geeze don't lie about the mileage then harass me all day with texts and phone calls to get me in the store to look at this socalled truck. I was expecting a bad title or a lien on it..good grief!

My truck is back at mechanics=he thinks it's that dumb dust shield inside the drum brakes on the left side...GRRR!!! Can I shoot it!?!

You know, you can sue for harassment if they don't stop. Or just threaten--sometimes just the threat  of a lawyer is all that's needed to make them back off.

 

[tallyollyopia]

I keep thinking of Slipper. It started a few days ago when I was driving home from work and almost hit a cat with the exact same markings as Slipper did. I also keep alternating between raging irritation and weepies; not sure whats wrong. And right now I'm too hot to sleep and now I need sleep because I have work tonight. (And no--I can't be pregnant. As I keep reminding people, it takes two to make a baby and I'm only one. It's also not shark week--that ended about the time this started.) 

 

[foxxycat]

 
I keep thinking of Slipper. It started a few days ago when I was driving home from work and almost hit a cat with the exact same markings as Slipper did. I also keep alternating between raging irritation and weepies; not sure whats wrong. And right now I'm too hot to sleep and now I need sleep because I have work tonight. (And no--I can't be pregnant. As I keep reminding people, it takes two to make a baby and I'm only one. It's also not shark week--that ended about the time this started.) 

I am sorry. Sending you hugs.  It's hard when memories hit you.I remember when you were searching for Slipper   :'( 

 

Those nutheads haven't contacted me since I sent the encrypted text about their deceptive practice of untruthful sales.

 

I also realized something else wrong with the truck=I was checking all the fluids I could reach and they were perfect. Then I leaned over the back bumper and touched everything to see if something is loose=hahaha! The spare tire was rocking!! It's supposed to be snug up inside the undercarriage...called the mechanic and told them..he didn't pick it up yet..probably blow me off..I will get 1/2" drive ratchet and 24:" extension and tighten it myself-there's a key plug=I have to unlock that first-it's inside the bumper=kind of a weird setup=the cable winds down to lower the tire until it drops down or something- never had to do it myself. So I think I solved the mystery noise! A rocking spare tire?!! WTH?!!

 

 

Oh someone said to check the torque converter which is part of the automatic transmission which sends the power to the axles- they said to check transmission fluid to see color and smell=nice and deep red and smells sweet like it should. So no burning up transmission or converter. The fluids can tell you a lot about the health of the vehicle. I always suggest smelling it good to see if it smells strange= sometimes antifreeze gets into the oil and gives it a strange smell..gasoline in the oil too... so I don't think it's anything mechanical-something is rattling and I suspect it's the stupid spare tire rocking as I slow down and speed up. A year or so ago I got a flat tire and it was summer=I couldn't get the tire to come off the cradle no matter how much I pryed on it with a pry bar or oiled it- there's some stupid clip that was rusted up and they had to free it...wonder if it came loose...haha. I either can't get the dumb spare tire down or it's rocking! I can't make this stuff up folks!?!! So for now I hope this fixes the mystery "noise" that has ticked me off something fierce this week.

 

[arouetta]

 
I never realized dumping cats was so rampant.. and the elderly.. what happens to cats when they can no longer care for their kitties??

We have so many cats who were either dumped for one stupid reason or another.. I could list a million of the supposedly 'reasons' for getting rid of a cat. Many of them have been with their owners for years, and yet they just get dumped as if they were a piece of trash.. or just thrown out to fend for themselves..  It makes me so mad..

Especially the older kitties.. the ones above 5 years old.. these are the un-adopatable ones.. makes me so mad...

So many people: move, leave the cat in the empty apartment, or walking the corridors--those are the lucky ones.. then you have the ones who just leave... and leave the cat outside without any food.. in the cold. 

A sweet housecat is then supposed to defend themselves against the elements and the wild animals... makes me so mad...

I thought this happened occasionally.. I was naive.. Now I am not.. makes me think about what I would do if something ever heaped to me.. what would become of Artie.. or any other cat I would have.. cuz I think I will always have a cat around me.. 

If it helps, sometimes there are happy endings.

My first cat walked into my condo and claimed it as her own.  I checked with the shelter and the local vets several times over a month before declaring her mine.  The only lead I got was from a neighbor who said that another neighbor had seen a grown cat and a kitten dumped.  Someone caught the kitten really fast and kept it, the adult cat disappeared.

I don't know if I got the dumped cat, though it seems likely.  The only problem with that theory is that she wasn't lactating and she didn't have big nipples like a cat who recently weaned her kittens would have.  But the odd thing is that she was intact, not in heat and not pregnant.

The only other explanation is that the cat used to live there as the neighbors thought it was already mine as it had been hanging out on my patio for a week.  But the landlords had owned the condo for years and were very anti-cat and the vet estimated her age as 3 years.

So wherever she came from, she was a stray and she decided she was finding herself a home.

 

[arouetta]

 
@arouetta   I am glad you have shared your experience with doctors. I have too experienced similar experiences. My mother too. It's a real bear to live with. And the meds can cause problems. I remember one doctor got my mother so out of it she was sitting at the kitchen table and drooling on herself. My sister got ahold of them and reamed them out. They were over prescribing and doping her up so she couldn't function. My mother had manic depression with psychotic features which is bipolar in today's world. She used to go into long term care for 8 weeks every 2 years. When I was 10 I could tell when she was getting ready to crash=she was hyper and didn't sleep=shopped! Made big plans and ran around like a nut- then slowly fizzled out..to the point 2-6 months later she was sleeping around the clock and crying all the time then things got dicey because she started seeing things that weren't there. The doctors they had for our limited insurance were morons. The nurses in these hospitals were evil mean you know whats. They treat people who are not well in the head with disdane. I saw it with my own eyes. She hated being at these places but she was a hazard to herself and without taking meds it only got worse...So I totally understand how the mind can drive you completely bat____ crazy.

I have clinical depression and have tried various meds-I have good days and bad days. I try to stay upright as much as I can but sometimes I just need to sleep for days. It's hard to find a doctor who isn't trying to push their own agenda. One doctor I had I wanted to try some of the newer meds that came out in the past 10 years and he brushed it off. The one med that did work-they discontinued the formula and that company dissolved. Tried 2 other generics=both give me illness. One gives me heartburn and upset stomach. I recently retried it by taking at night and during the day uggg I was upset stomach most of the day and eating made it worse...then I tried to get name brand and I just couldn't afford it. Even with insurance it was crazy price. I probably should have tried a different drug store but my insurance is at one particular chain and they want you to use mail order=which only has 2 generics. neither works. I have since looked into herbs/spices..and exercise. It's not perfect. But I am hoping in the summer/fall I can find a new doctor and try it all over again. The problem is the crying. Seems all I do is cry and cry over NOTHING. or perceived things that are irrational as my dad always says...I pushed away most family and friends because a wet blanket is no fun and I just prefer to be alone. I don't know if it will ever get better but for now I take my herb tea from Southeast Asia and it helps. It's not perfect but it helps.

I hope you have better luck with finding a doctor. Seems so many have attitude problems or just up and quit. I had one therapist I saw for 4 months and she claimed she was leaving..I knew it was bs. It was just to get rid of me. Sometimes no matter how much we talk about our problems/feelings/perceptions it doesn't make it go away. It's like an odd shaped ball that rolls with us=some days it doesn't roll uphill well, other days you don't notice it there as it rolls nicely..that's how I explain my experience with mental illness. And add the fact that I lost my good insurance and the one left over they switched us to limited my options. Sigh.

The weight loss is a clear sign of depression. That's probably the thing that bothers you the most-not being able to eat due to that pit in your stomach feeling. I have gone on both extremes. I either eat too much-gain TOO much or other times I don't have an appetite=but I was on that medication for 16+years and now it's been almost 2 years without it=the weight gain to me seems to be something I really have to work on-the medication cut the food cravings all those years. I would love to find a formula that works to stop my emotional eating and a doctor who is decent and not a jerk. I have had 20 years of dealing with doctors-guess I too need to start the search and get one but for now...I am managing..but I hope you get some better help. I know sometimes we prefer to do it ourselves but not everyone can do it themselves and it's OK NOT TO!  Sending you HUGS!!!!

Weird.  I have the opposite problems with doctors and new drugs.  I want old for a few different reasons.  Big ones are generic (which saves money) and that all the side effects are known.  I don't want to have a doctor say "Oh they linked it to sudden heart stoppage, good luck" after I've been on it for a while and would need to slowly wean off.  I have tried 3 of the 5 SNRIs and 5 of the 6 SSRIs and every new doctor wants to just try those in different combinations whenever I experience depression.  Um, no, they work worse than placebos because at least with placebos there's a chance of working.  And I've had a good response to Wellbutrin and a really, really great response to a tricyclic, so why are we talking the new crap?

St Johns Wort (hypericum) is supposed to be an SSRI, have you tried that?

Something else to consider, have you been tested for bipolar disorder?  That would explain the increased crying when on an antidepressant.  My mom wasn't even diagnosed until her 40s.

Luckily the weight loss is not tied to the depression.  The weight loss is from the fact that I had to leave a cushy office job where I snacked constantly to keep my blood sugar level and started a retail job where I've been standing and walking all day with no snacks for 6 months now.  At first it was hard, my sugar was crashing all the time but things seem to have leveled out where it's staying stable the entire shift and I don't feel nearly as hungry as I used to.  My depression was situational and the antidepressant knocked it out but the NP wanted to keep me on it to avoid a rebound effect triggering depression by coming off too soon.  Really, really sucks that my ADHD is doing so much better but my moods are far worse.

And a teeny little part of my mind is worried.  I was taken off my tricyclic by a previous doctor because she ordered a routine EKG and found it was causing prolonged QT interval.  You know how it is, one will do anything to get relief, and conveniently forgetting a bad side effect is one of those "anything".  At first I was planning on just being on it a short while, but the fact that my closets and cabinets are now clean and organized makes me want to stay on it forever and just have larger doses of mood stabilizers to counterbalance.

Sigh.  I hate my brain.  I was stable for over a decade, I was normal if a bit quirky, and I just want to get back to that.

 

[Alicia88]

 

 

 

 

 

 

  that ticks me off to no end! I don't understand this lazy fragile society! No one sticks together anymore! No one tries to problem solve but instead take the easy way out!

People see pets at objects, not family.  That's the problem.

 
I never realized dumping cats was so rampant.. and the elderly.. what happens to cats when they can no longer care for their kitties??

We have so many cats who were either dumped for one stupid reason or another.. I could list a million of the supposedly 'reasons' for getting rid of a cat. Many of them have been with their owners for years, and yet they just get dumped as if they were a piece of trash.. or just thrown out to fend for themselves..  It makes me so mad..

Especially the older kitties.. the ones above 5 years old.. these are the un-adopatable ones.. makes me so mad...

So many people: move, leave the cat in the empty apartment, or walking the corridors--those are the lucky ones.. then you have the ones who just leave... and leave the cat outside without any food.. in the cold. 

A sweet housecat is then supposed to defend themselves against the elements and the wild animals... makes me so mad...

I thought this happened occasionally.. I was naive.. Now I am not.. makes me think about what I would do if something ever heaped to me.. what would become of Artie.. or any other cat I would have.. cuz I think I will always have a cat around me.. 

It's so horrible.  I'm keeping my cuddlebutts.  I don't care what happens - I'll find a way.  Circumstances forced me to rehome my little Scrubs several years ago.  It was especially bad because it was the absolutely lowest point in my life and she was doing a lot to hold me up.  But I found her a home - she didn't just get dumped off a shelter.

 

[foxxycat]

 

 
@arouetta   I am glad you have shared your experience with doctors. I have too experienced similar experiences. My mother too. It's a real bear to live with. And the meds can cause problems. I remember one doctor got my mother so out of it she was sitting at the kitchen table and drooling on herself. My sister got ahold of them and reamed them out. They were over prescribing and doping her up so she couldn't function. My mother had manic depression with psychotic features which is bipolar in today's world. She used to go into long term care for 8 weeks every 2 years. When I was 10 I could tell when she was getting ready to crash=she was hyper and didn't sleep=shopped! Made big plans and ran around like a nut- then slowly fizzled out..to the point 2-6 months later she was sleeping around the clock and crying all the time then things got dicey because she started seeing things that weren't there. The doctors they had for our limited insurance were morons. The nurses in these hospitals were evil mean you know whats. They treat people who are not well in the head with disdane. I saw it with my own eyes. She hated being at these places but she was a hazard to herself and without taking meds it only got worse...So I totally understand how the mind can drive you completely bat____ crazy.

I have clinical depression and have tried various meds-I have good days and bad days. I try to stay upright as much as I can but sometimes I just need to sleep for days. It's hard to find a doctor who isn't trying to push their own agenda. One doctor I had I wanted to try some of the newer meds that came out in the past 10 years and he brushed it off. The one med that did work-they discontinued the formula and that company dissolved. Tried 2 other generics=both give me illness. One gives me heartburn and upset stomach. I recently retried it by taking at night and during the day uggg I was upset stomach most of the day and eating made it worse...then I tried to get name brand and I just couldn't afford it. Even with insurance it was crazy price. I probably should have tried a different drug store but my insurance is at one particular chain and they want you to use mail order=which only has 2 generics. neither works. I have since looked into herbs/spices..and exercise. It's not perfect. But I am hoping in the summer/fall I can find a new doctor and try it all over again. The problem is the crying. Seems all I do is cry and cry over NOTHING. or perceived things that are irrational as my dad always says...I pushed away most family and friends because a wet blanket is no fun and I just prefer to be alone. I don't know if it will ever get better but for now I take my herb tea from Southeast Asia and it helps. It's not perfect but it helps.

I hope you have better luck with finding a doctor. Seems so many have attitude problems or just up and quit. I had one therapist I saw for 4 months and she claimed she was leaving..I knew it was bs. It was just to get rid of me. Sometimes no matter how much we talk about our problems/feelings/perceptions it doesn't make it go away. It's like an odd shaped ball that rolls with us=some days it doesn't roll uphill well, other days you don't notice it there as it rolls nicely..that's how I explain my experience with mental illness. And add the fact that I lost my good insurance and the one left over they switched us to limited my options. Sigh.

The weight loss is a clear sign of depression. That's probably the thing that bothers you the most-not being able to eat due to that pit in your stomach feeling. I have gone on both extremes. I either eat too much-gain TOO much or other times I don't have an appetite=but I was on that medication for 16+years and now it's been almost 2 years without it=the weight gain to me seems to be something I really have to work on-the medication cut the food cravings all those years. I would love to find a formula that works to stop my emotional eating and a doctor who is decent and not a jerk. I have had 20 years of dealing with doctors-guess I too need to start the search and get one but for now...I am managing..but I hope you get some better help. I know sometimes we prefer to do it ourselves but not everyone can do it themselves and it's OK NOT TO!  Sending you HUGS!!!!

Weird.  I have the opposite problems with doctors and new drugs.  I want old for a few different reasons.  Big ones are generic (which saves money) and that all the side effects are known.  I don't want to have a doctor say "Oh they linked it to sudden heart stoppage, good luck" after I've been on it for a while and would need to slowly wean off.  I have tried 3 of the 5 SNRIs and 5 of the 6 SSRIs and every new doctor wants to just try those in different combinations whenever I experience depression.  Um, no, they work worse than placebos because at least with placebos there's a chance of working.  And I've had a good response to Wellbutrin and a really, really great response to a tricyclic, so why are we talking the new crap?

St Johns Wort (hypericum) is supposed to be an SSRI, have you tried that?

Something else to consider, have you been tested for bipolar disorder?  That would explain the increased crying when on an antidepressant.  My mom wasn't even diagnosed until her 40s.

Luckily the weight loss is not tied to the depression.  The weight loss is from the fact that I had to leave a cushy office job where I snacked constantly to keep my blood sugar level and started a retail job where I've been standing and walking all day with no snacks for 6 months now.  At first it was hard, my sugar was crashing all the time but things seem to have leveled out where it's staying stable the entire shift and I don't feel nearly as hungry as I used to.  My depression was situational and the antidepressant knocked it out but the NP wanted to keep me on it to avoid a rebound effect triggering depression by coming off too soon.  Really, really sucks that my ADHD is doing so much better but my moods are far worse.

And a teeny little part of my mind is worried.  I was taken off my tricyclic by a previous doctor because she ordered a routine EKG and found it was causing prolonged QT interval.  You know how it is, one will do anything to get relief, and conveniently forgetting a bad side effect is one of those "anything".  At first I was planning on just being on it a short while, but the fact that my closets and cabinets are now clean and organized makes me want to stay on it forever and just have larger doses of mood stabilizers to counterbalance.

Sigh.  I hate my brain.  I was stable for over a decade, I was normal if a bit quirky, and I just want to get back to that.

I have not had good luck with st johns wart. For one it causes sunburn due to sun sensitivity-found that out the hard way in 2014? 2015? I was prescribed Wellbutrin and I was on that for 15-16? years. until the one combination generic went out of business. Arvis Avis or something is the only combo that I can take without the stomach upset-sadly they are slated to be bought out last I heard in 2015-which was why I weaned off of it-they were slowing down production and having trouble filling the scripts so I looked into herbs. It's ok. I miss the thin body and not having being hungry around the clock. I am angry at the industry that keeps messing with people's lives. I have one more option to try-a place I buy Honeybee's meds- I will try their version but it's not cheap. $200 a month. Wellbutrin is expensive. Not sure why. The generics may work for some people but I have had bad luck with them. The doctor for whatever reason said SSRIs would not help me. Wellbutrin is "for Bupropion, a type of antidepressant (aminoketone class) that also acts as a stimulant. It is a norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitor. It blocks transporters for chemicals norepinephrine and dopamine, increasing amounts of both chemicals in the brain." is what I found on google...hense it helps with cravings. For those looking to quit smoking it helps from what I have heard.

I wanted to try latudor. One of the ladies who buys my books started taking that a year ago and she's bipolar with fibro and says it's been helpful. Another person in my personal circle takes two different meds- she recently been treated for bipolar-she was having uncontrolled crying and went into the hospital for weeks trying to find medications to stabilize her.  My own personal doctor that I have had since 2004 retired in 2015 so I just quit going. I have been prescribed stronger anti anxiety meds and I loathe the way they make me feel.  I have a few more options to try-someone in a group on Facebook sent me a grid of various things for different things..I have to dig it up and see if I can get some of the other things. For now I just take it one day at a time..hormones make it a bear at times. The one thing I wish they yanked out. but they didn't. So now I know every so often I go insane and I blame it on my hormones.

Reading books and listening to music is the only thing that keeps me grounded...next to a fast car and good tunes in the car. Something about good music is good for the soul. I really wish doctors would stop dragging their feet when it comes to treatments. They need to stop using us as guinea pigs. And stop cutting money out of programs to treat people like us who could continue to be a functioning member of society. I blame the for profit healthcare system.

I just remind myself=I am older wiser and trust myself.  I just keep reminding myself I have come far and don't need to compare myself to other people.

 

[segelkatt]

I don't adopt kittens. Give me a cat that is at least 4 years old, it won't have bad habits, has had all its shots, is used to people and unlikely to try to run away once it has gotten used to its new home. The Irvine City shelter which is a no-kill shelter and also a "third-chance" shelter will wave the adoption fee of a cat that is at least 8 years old and is being adopted by a "senior" (not sure how old a senior has to be). They call it a a "senior cat for a senior person".  I think it's great that they do that.  My bunch here is 18, 18, 10, 8 and 5 (this last one is a foster who has been here too long and I wish he would find a forever home). They are all indoor only and have no intention to go outside even when the front door is open, they just sit there without ever going over the threshold. The 2nd floor patio is another story, they love it out there. 

 

[arouetta]

 
I don't adopt kittens. Give me a cat that is at least 4 years old, it won't have bad habits, has had all its shots, is used to people and unlikely to try to run away once it has gotten used to its new home. The Irvine City shelter which is a no-kill shelter and also a "third-chance" shelter will wave the adoption fee of a cat that is at least 8 years old and is being adopted by a "senior" (not sure how old a senior has to be). They call it a a "senior cat for a senior person".  I think it's great that they do that.  My bunch here is 18, 18, 10, 8 and 5 (this last one is a foster who has been here too long and I wish he would find a forever home). They are all indoor only and have no intention to go outside even when the front door is open, they just sit there without ever going over the threshold. The 2nd floor patio is another story, they love it out there. 

The shelter I adopted from, they used to have really reasonable rates but the last cat I got, about 8 years ago, their adoption fees were in the three digit range, even for the cats that came in already altered.  I think that's crazy high, how many people have the disposable income handy to drop $150 on an adoption?  How many not so well off people will turn to private individuals, giving those individuals even more reason to keep breeding their animals?

Anyway, so the adoption fee was really, really high but then I found out that they would drop the fee for cats that had been at the shelter for a bit.  Midway had been there 3 months.  He had been adopted out previously but that was a failed adoption so he was brought back 6 weeks later.  (A cat that didn't get along with 4 adult black labs.  Whodathunk?)  I don't know how long he had been there prior to that adoption.  They really, really wanted to place him so his advertised adoption fee was only $30.

[Note:  Adoptions sometimes really don't work out, no matter how much a person tries, and the shelter had always written into their legal contracts that the animal be brought back to them rather than rehomed to someone else if the adoption didn't work out.  And it was one of the few clauses that the worker would read out loud and have you initial in addition to signing the document.  So yeah, legally the previous owners had to take him back to the shelter.]

So that could be an option too, ask the shelter if there's a cat that's been hanging around far too long that they would lower the fee for.

 

[Willowy]

I don't think $150 for an adoption fee for a fully vetted cat is too high. I live in a reasonably low-cost area but it still costs me about $200 to have a cat "civilized" (spay/neuter, shots, de-worming, de-fleaing etc.). I suppose it would be nice for a shelter to be willing to take a huge loss but that's just not affordable in the long run.

I always see a lot of cats being re-homed on craigslist, a lot of them are altered, some de-clawed , and usually free or really inexpensive, just because their owners don't want to be bothered.

 

[arouetta]

I don't think $150 for an adoption fee for a fully vetted cat is too high. I live in a reasonably low-cost area but it still costs me about $200 to have a cat "civilized" (spay/neuter, shots, de-worming, de-fleaing etc.). I suppose it would be nice for a shelter to be willing to take a huge loss but that's just not affordable in the long run.

I always see a lot of cats being re-homed on craigslist, a lot of them are altered, some de-clawed

, and usually free or really inexpensive, just because their owners don't want to be bothered.

What do you mean by "fully vetted"?  You got a cat.  If the previous owners provided vaccines, great, but the shelter didn't.  You got a certificate for a free vet visit from certain vets.  The shelter didn't pay for that, that was a donation from those vets.

All you could guarantee was no fleas and no ear mites.  And yeah, $150 is far too high.  Maybe you have $150 just lying around that is not dedicated to a bill or food or savings or retirement/IRA or college fund or replace-old-items or a million other things a household needs, but most people don't have $150 free and clear with no pre-existing obligations.

Since the shelter was in a constant state of expansion, they clearly were not operating at a loss.  Since they could run a petting zoo that included exotic animals on $5 a head, they were not suffering for money.  So yeah, for what you got, $150 was pretty high.

Pets shouldn't be for just the rich.  Someone on a working class paycheck can provide an equally loving home.

 

[artiemom]

We charge $175 for a kitten; 150 for an adult; and seniors are lower; depending on age.

You have to take into consideration that all cats are fully vetted before they are allowed to be seen with the general public. They have been treated for fleas,  neutered/spayed, gotten all their vaccinations, and are checked for FIV/FELV....(think that is the correct initial)

If they need any additional Vet treatment, then they are given that. We adopt out as healthy a cat as we are able to.. 

They are all in foster care also; then they are allowed to go into Isolation at PetSmart. After 2 days in ISO, they get another Vet visit, in order to clear them for the general public.. 

And the humane society has to buy a ton of supplies: paper towels, cleaning solutions, gloves, trash bags, mops, hand sanitizer...some food, and some litter... some cats are on special diets...and some may need medication.

If you take all of that into consideration, it is a lot of money.. and there are some cats who are just unadaptable; due to age, medical condition, etc... so the adoption fee really is far reaching... 

It is not as simple as: paying $150 for one cat. It is very involved. 

 

[Willowy]

IF they are fully vetted (altered, vaccinated, de-parasitized), it's a steal. If they aren't fully vetted the shelter shouldn't charge that much. If someone doesn't have $150 for an adoption fee, they don't have the money for vetting a "free" cat either.

This is what I pay at my vet:
Spay: $120
Neuter: $80
FeLV/FIV test: $35
Rabies and FVCRP vaccines: $20 each
De-wormer: $2 ($8 for a Droncit shot if they have tapeworms)
Flea meds: depends what I have around

$40 for an office fee but my vet doesn't charge an office fee for routine things like vaccines and testing, just for illnesses.

And in some areas prices are a lot higher.

So I think that's a pretty good price :dk:. Again, only if all the vetting is done. No, pet ownership shouldn't only be for wealthy people but it is necessary to spend some money on pets.

How could you ever get a pet cheaper than that? The only way would be for someone else to pay for everything and then give you the pet. But someone still had to pay for it.

 

[Alicia88]

That all seems pretty expensive for me, but I live in a very low cost area.  Neutering at my vet is $32.50.  He was on vacation when Connor and Murphy needed their surgery so we took them to a different vet and that was $60 each.  And I didn't pay more than $50 a piece for ear mite meds, flea meds, AND all the shots.  But I don't know how much this shelter charges for adoption.  I got Connor and Murphy from my aunt and John found Mickey on the street.

 

[Willowy]

Yeah, I would expect a shelter (that does vetting before adoption) to charge approximately what it would cost for full vetting in that area, so in your area it would be cheaper, in some other areas it would be more expensive.

Wow, I looked up the small limited-admission Humane Society near me and they only charge $65 for a fully vetted kitty. I'd save a bundle if I just adopted cats from them instead of taking in strays . The Sioux Falls Humane Society charges $65 for kittens and $55 for adult cats, $70 if already altered, $50 if considered senior. They don't spay/neuter before adoption but they do give a microchip, vaccines, de-wormer, FeLV/FIV test, and Revolution. That's a great deal!