New Here & Seeking Feedback

[Leah - SF Bay Area]

Thanks shadowchaser, will do! Nice to know it's convenient (and hopefully inexpensive...crossing my fingers).

 

[shadowchaser]

there are a couple of free ones on the droid market. One min I'll look up the names for you

 

[shadowchaser]

ok you are looking for Brainwave tuner lite. Under sleep and meditation on the application there is one called relax. That is the one dealing with the brain waves that seam to effect anxiety. Remember you have to use earphones with it. Haven't found anything about it effecting current meds but I would still check with your doc before using it.

Otherwise I think you have to get the cd for it online. Files are to big to email otherwise i would for you. Does anyone know if there is a audio file share on this forum?

 

[Eleanor]

Rats about the SSRI's. Also about all the GI troubles. I hope the restriction diet is helping. On the upside you are now living in the "foodie" capital of the world, so having to eat only good, natural (and somewhat restricted) food is a lot less of a hardship there than it would be in, say, Omaha.

Also, you are also in the alternative medicine capital of the world (ok, maybe Santa Fe holds that title but its a close thing ;)) Don't count them out. There are people who are the real deal out there - just like conventional medicine. yelp them if you want recommendations and don't know enough locals. Plus more beautiful places within easy driving distance than you can shake a stick at. Sometimes there is as much healing to be found in a mountaintop sunset as there is in anything else. I recommend Montara Mountain.:)

Bon Apetit!

One last second thought - re drugs - lots of docs just write prescriptions - they don't actually know much about drug composition - given your allergies you might want to find an allergist and a good compounding pharmacy (I only know about this because I have a friend who has a Pharm D. - yes they are doctors! - who complains mightily about all the unnecessary allergic reactions to standard formulation medicines...). oops. said that before. short memory.

 

[Leah - SF Bay Area]

Also, you are also in the alternative medicine capital of the world (ok, maybe Santa Fe holds that title but its a close thing ;)) Don't count them out. There are people who are the real deal out there - just like conventional medicine. yelp them if you want recommendations and don't know enough locals. Plus more beautiful places within easy driving distance than you can shake a stick at. Sometimes there is as much healing to be found in a mountaintop sunset as there is in anything else. I recommend Montara Mountain.:)

Thanks again, Eleanor! I'm about to go to class but wanted to reply. I don't have a car; I did this past summer (for 3 mos) & did a lot of hiking - it is BEAUTIFUL here...but without a car, it's impossible to get to nature, unfortunately.

I'm all into alternative med., but it's very expensive & I don't have a job, have lots of out of pocket med. costs...am single (always will be, I think)...have no $...am going to declare bankruptcy after grad school (in 2 yrs.). I just don't have the resources to afford altern med.right now. I'm about to cancel psychotherapy cause I can't even afford it anymore on a sliding scale ($20/week).

I'm hopeful that after grad school & declaring bankruptcy, I'll be in a better position to afford the kind of medicine I prefer.
: )

Thanks again!

 

[Leah - SF Bay Area]

ok you are looking for Brainwave tuner lite. Under sleep and meditation on the application there is one called relax. That is the one dealing with the brain waves that seam to effect anxiety. Remember you have to use earphones with it. Haven't found anything about it effecting current meds but I would still check with your doc before using it.

Shadowchaser, thanks again, that's awesome! With my classes and another health problem flaring up (when it rains, it pours), I won't have a chance to look that up until the weekend. I look forward to it. Really, thank you so much for going out of your way to check that out for me! Much thanks. I think it'll be a great tool for me to relax & address my anxiety.

 

[Leah - SF Bay Area]

One last second thought - re drugs - lots of docs just write prescriptions - they don't actually know much about drug composition - given your allergies you might want to find an allergist and a good compounding pharmacy (I only know about this because I have a friend who has a Pharm D. - yes they are doctors! - who complains mightily about all the unnecessary allergic reactions to standard formulation medicines...). oops. said that before. short memory.

Hi again Eleanor, thanks again for this tip. Today I spoke to my psychiatrist about this option. She said that without insurance, it may be very expensive. I'm going to look up compounding pharmacies (is that what they're called?) in SF & see what they charge for that service; I may be surprised and it could be affordable.

My apologies for that last message I posted to you. I didn't need to share all that personal info about my finances. All I needed to say was that I love alternative medicine (have gotten chiropractic, accupuncture, reiki, chakra energy work in the past) and right now I don't have the resources to access it, temporarily. Sorry that last message was over the top.

Thanks again, you've really made me more aware about prescriptions. Have a good week.

 

[OKRADLAK]

Hi Leah-

Welcome! We all share a lot at times and then go GULP. LOL! It's OK. You will see that this is a safe place.:)

I also have gluten trouble and when I went gluten free it helped. It is not a cure for PTSD, don't get me wrong. But it helped with the troubles aside from the the PTSD that made things very hard.​

You are brave to be in grad school! I hope to make it there one day. I love academia but the PTSD has made it so hard. I am working now but do want to go back to school. I am a good student but it takes me a very long time to learn now.​

You will learn a lot here and get a lot of support. Welcome again!​

 

[Leah - SF Bay Area]

You are brave to be in grad school! I hope to make it there one day. I love academia but the PTSD has made it so hard. I am working now but do want to go back to school. I am a good student but it takes me a very long time to learn now. You will learn a lot here and get a lot of support. Welcome again!

Hi Okradlak, thanks for the welcome! I think my chioce to start grad school after a major breakup and a major (not so well planned or wanted) move...was more stupidity than bravery...but that's just my take on it. : ) Now, in hindsight, I see that it was too much. Right now I'm not finishing all my assignments, plus I have a major medical problem surfacing that's complicating everything. I may drop out of school. I haven't ruled that out yet. And if I need to, it'll be okay, because I'm learning to prioritize my health.

Great you're working! In this economy, jobs are hard to find. Congrats on that.

Re: grad school - now they have a lot of part-time Master's programs that aren't as overwhelming. If you're intrigued to go back, I say check out the options near you, you may be surprised. There might be something that works for you. And I bet you like academia more than I do! After 8 weeks I already remember why I was so happy to leave undergrad 17+ years ago! : )

Thanks again for your kind message!

 

[Eleanor]

I'm not sure what would count as "over-sharing" here - but I'm sure you haven't crossed any lines so far! Money is a real issue too - I'm both lucky and good at it - so that sort of thing is pretty easy for me. I'm sorry its a bottle neck for you. As you've found out lots of places in SF do sliding scale - some do barter too. It is worth looking into/asking about.
So sorry you have medical issues coming up that may make grad school not do-able for a while. Kudos for being sensible and taking care of yourself. In the meantime: There is a difference between "dropping out" and "stopping out" as my old professor used to say. One of my dear friends from my graduate program stopped out for ... well 20 years when all was said and done! And none the worse for it, as far as I could see. The great thing about universities is... they are always still there next year. :)

 

[shadowchaser]

So did you try the Tuner yet? I'm excited to hear if you end up using it and how it works for you.