Prozac

[Quarrior]

Doc and Lamont,

I've been following this thread with great interest. Mainly because you are talking about me, in a sense, as well as many others who may not come forward about having this disease. Actually, I am bi-polar.

I think both of you have made some good points. One point I would like to bring out which I feel cannot be stressed enough. Anyone with depression whichever form it may take, must 1) be stabilized on their meds, and 2) never ever stop or modify their medications without the doctor's explicit direction.

No Instructor or DM is qualified in any manner to make a recommendation on any medication to anyone, period. Only a doctor can do so.

As for my diving, I am fully aware of the limitations on endurance and concentration (usually resulting from lowered endurance) this disease can place on me. Consequently, on more than one occassion, while having a full day of diving planned and at the risk of disappointing my dive buddies, I have canceled dives. I'm a person that fully believes in the concept of "better to cancel today and dive tomorrow, than to dive today and never dive again."

Yes, every day is a fight, but it is a fight I win every day. Diving for me is therapy and I would suspect it is such for many others. It is the only time I am completly relaxed.

Brian

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

I have no qualifications in either medicine, barristry, or the insurance industry myself, but I do like to read up on things - this is where the internet revolution on information access can be used to good efect for education (now if we could just get rid of all the SPAM on male enhancement, mortgage rates, debt consolidation, etc.).

I like the DAN article that Doc references in his "#3" best too - and with the recent links between SSRI's and risk of adolescent suicide, these medicines seem potentially worse than the cure - or maybe just not the best tool. Newer and trendy aren't always the best fit necessarily. However, 'older' technology medications such a tricyclics have a really interesting note in the article regarding their use - about side effect symptoms going away with continued use for example. The first two paragraphs definitely don't start with a one-size-fits-all approach, and doesn't mention insurance issues once in the whole article. Just seems to be about science, and what is available through science.

I've taken pollen etc. allergy medications evey day since I was a very young child - which ALWAYS have the warnings about drowsiness, driving a car, etc. for liability, but also I don't notice these side effects, nor do those around me - perhaps they also go away with continued use??? I drive to & from work etc. successfully every day, in a variety of environmental conditions, and have a great driving record. What if your drivers' license questionnaire was similar to the RSTC form, and you had to get a physician who has insurance and barristry anxieties to sign off on the form? Having a ton or two of various metals and polymers (would have said Detroit Iron in the 1970's) hurtling at 5 to 75 MPH is more likely to cause harm to myself and others than me wearing life support equipment from my perspective - and there's probably insurance industry statistics on drive related injuries vs. dive related for someone who'd want to research that (I'm not, but I'm betting the drive injuries far exceed the diving ones).

And even non-prescription stuff like SAM-e is mentioned, with a laundry list of things this stuff is supposed to be beneficial for. Heck, I saw that stuff on the shelves at Sam's Wholesale Club.

Here's a link to the whole article.

http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical/articles/article.asp?articleid=31