h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Going home in a minute. My prescription was not put through, I've only gone two days without my regular dose (150mg) and I've got the serious wibbles.

Oh dear. I'm sorry you're having to go through that.

Oof! Efexor withdrawal is the worst. You'll b feeling weepy, having bizarre lucid dreams in which you're not sure if you're still awake...

Been there!

Now I have to sit at home and wait for a doctor to phone me to decide if he's going to write one out at all.

No reason why a doctor shouldn't. The withdrawal is notorious. Good luck!

Thanks, sorted now. That was not pleasant. Spent the morning lying on the couch while something tried to escape from my skin. Going to have two now, and rest up a bit.

Apparently it had to be re-authorised and wasn't. Cheers! Good job I'm salaried, that's all I can say. Nice day for it though.

Oof! Doubtless one of the withdrawal symptoms was paranoia and pessimism about it not getting sorted out. I hope you're feeling better. I find that it kicks back in fairly quickly.

On the plus side - it does seem like an effective medication (for me, anyway). I do wish it wouldn't make me sweat excessively, though.

Me too. Especially at night, it seems. Thanks Ed.

>>paranoia and pessimism about it not getting sorted out.

There's a comorbidity issue there - on the one hand, Effexor withdrawal - on the other, the NHS. Still, better than no service at all.

It's bad enough not havig something you need when you need it, without having pessimism and what seems at the time like utter lack of cooperation from every and anyone who can put it right.

Hope you're feeling right again quickly.

(Are non-salaried employees really not eligible for sick or personal days ? I haven't had an hourly job in years, but full-time work nearly always comes with benefits, salaried or no.)

Well this time around I wasn't - I was "pool" staff, pool of what I shudder to think. No holidays but a percentage added to your hourly wage, no sick pay.

Stupid thing is, if I was so motivated I could have just gone into the cupboard and written one out for myself!

Can I have your autograph, Doctor?

Oh... OK. That would suck.

Not as much as not having your prescriptions filled. I'm having issues with my asthma meds, myself. Doctor wrote 90-day scripts so I could switch to mail order (my insurance company pays more if I do); mail order company only accepts credit cards, I don't use credit cards; pharmacy can't fill the 90-day scripts because the insurance only covers a 30-day script unless I mail order.

So... I guess I can sympathize a bit. Though I suspect withdrawal symptoms might be scarier, and more uncomfortable, than asthma, even.

I'll bet the doctors have heard that one before.

No no. This was difficult, I admit - it approaches coming down from bad speed, not nearly as bad as when I overdosed though. But I'd sooner that than a severe asthma attack, any day.

Sounds to me you've got a stack more of an issue if there's so much personal financial and bureaucratic pain to bear down on in the meantime.

I guess I'm fortunate that there's at least no financial burden in my case. That would most definitely make things worse. I guess the simplest solution is going to be to call my doctor and ask him to call the 30-day scripts in to the pharmacy- not a problem. But you know how I like to let these things annoy me. It's what I live for.

If I even had to think about the cost, So many do. I found out that 30 million Usanians could have had free healthcare, with the cost of the war so far.

Jaysus! The casualisation of the public sector workforce is an outrage. The union didn't do their job.

Hey! I bought a new prescription pre-payment certificate last week. At the same time as the Scottish Govt. put our prescription charge down to £5, they halved their price to £17. If I'd had my wits about me (and a card with me), I could have paid £48 for a whole year. The advantages of having a vaguely left-wing party in government.

Got a spare room?

Ugh, I don't want free health care. I want good health care that's affordable. What this country needs to do is change the way things are *billed*. K's last hospital bill was $9,800. But the insurance company gets an $8,800 discount so they only wind up paying $1,000. So why charge $10 for the treatment? Charge the individual the same $1,000 that they're charging the insurance company. Adjust other costs accordingly.

I'd never vote for someone who wanted to take away my chance at having *good* medical care and replacing it with free, crappy care like the ER care I received in Canada. The room I was in didn't even have working light bulbs.