It's Alive....It's ALIIIIIIIEEEEVE!!

I wrote a couple of posts ago that a fantastic resource I'd just found, CrazyMeds, had been taken over by a bottom feeder domain squatter, so I thought it only appropriate that I post its resurrection. Not only is the original wealth of information back online, but the forums, an essential adjunct of the site, is back online as well.

A little background information on the entire sordid story.

Kansas City Shuffle

Reason I'm in town...case you're wondering...is 'cause of a Kansas City Shuffle.
What's a Kansas City Shuffle?
A Kansas City Shuffle is when everybody looks right...you go left
-Bruce Willis as Mr Goodcat, Lucky Number Slevin

I'm finding that a lot of the work of managing depression is finding ways to constantly keep my brain going left...away from whatever depression thought pockets are to the right. Working at art is a reliable base, but I need something else while I'm doing artwork; something going on in the background that is interesting enough to constantly tug my mind sideways, but not so interesting that I'm torn between working a piece and attending to that thing.

TV/movie DVDs work well, but not every movie or tv show works. I'm still trial-and-erroring different DVDs, but I believe I'm discovering a pattern for the kind that will work for me. Basically, the movie and or tv show must a) not be overly dramatic and b) must be heavy on the dialogue and/or c) have a commentary track. Also, unfortunately, it must be relatively new; I can't watch the same DVD over and over because after a while I'll know it enough to tune it out. The elements that tugged my brain fade away.

For those who want to test this theory (or are looking for an alternative depression solution), a list of what's worked for me so far.

1. Lucky Number Slevin. Sharp dialogue and two commentary tracks.
2. The Usual Suspects: See above re: dialogue. Only one commentary track but bonus features with lots of talking heads.
3. The Office, Season Three: Heavy on the funny. The link is to deepdiscountdvds, but I'm not sure if it's the one that comes in the fake paper bag. You want that one; it has a bonus fifth DVD containing a roundtable discussion with all of the actors from The Office. That disc alone makes up for the lack of episode commentary.
4. Arrested Development (any season): This one is a little on the edge as its focused on a family, a trigger point for some, but the dialogue is sharp and there's lots of it. Also, funny as hell.
5. Garden State: Once again kind of borderline (see #4 above about family) but lots of talking and two commentaries both of which are kind of funny.
6. Raines: Ignore this link, get it in iTunes. Jeff Goldblum corners the market on interesting talk and this is an entire series with him as the main star. Unfortunately it only lasted one season.

Feel free to post selections not included above in the comments section; my recent picks (Raines, Bones, both Season One) are starting to get old.

More Mood Enhancers

Puppies. The guaranteed smile-inducer

The Wide World Of Prescription Drugs

I found this while trying to figure out exactly what kind of pill the pharmacy-of-the-week dispensed to me. Normally I would head on over to CrazyMeds to suss out what the pill was, but since they're currently (and hopefully temporarily) offline, I had to hit up Google and one of their results was Epocrates Online which will do nicely.

At least until CrazyMeds comes back. Soon, hopefully.

More Mood Enhancers

This American Life had a wonderful episode last week called "In Dog We Trust". The last story in this weekly trifecta was a fictional piece about a man, his brother and an armadillo. It's also about other, deeper issues, but I was particularly fascinated by the armadillo...so much so that the anxiety/depression cocktail that usually hits me in the morning, didn't.

Then, this YouTube video sealed the deal.



(If it doesn't show up right away, give me several hours. I'm off to do my therapeutic artwork to get me through the wait for my meds to kick in period. Here's a picture of an armadillo until then)

Getting Drugs To Fight Depression Isn't Supposed To Make You Depressed, Is It?

Here's what I did in order to get my script, for the depression meds I have to have to keep sane, filled last month.

1. Drove from 6000 South to 4800 North to visit my psychiatrist for a check in and a paper prescription.



Tedious Back Story The First: Part of my cocktail of meds is Adderall XR...which is a Schedule II medication. Prescriptions for Schedule II medications cannot be called in. The patient must present a paper prescription to the pharmacy, and that paper prescription expires within five days of the written date on said prescription. Also, pharmacies cannot dispense part of a Schedule II medication prescription; they have to fill the entire prescription or not fill it at all. So if I have a script with two Schedule II medications on it, they have to fill both medications; they cannot fill one, give it to me, and then fill the other when they receive it.

2. Drove back home (roughly 6300 South) to call the list of pharmacies on record that accept my health insurance to see if they have the quantities of each medication in stock.

Tedious Back Story The Second: My health insurance gives prescription benefits that can only be used, at least within the city of Chicago, at Osco Drug stores. CVS bought out all of the free standing Osco Drugs about a year ago but, in an extraordinary display of narrow-mindedness, did not extend Osco Drug prescription covereage to all of their other CVS stores. Adding injury to insult, CVS apparently does not keep a working stock of the particular medication I take to combat depression. Unlike, say, Walgreens, where I used to fill my scripts; they never had a problem with insufficient quantities. Long story short, in order to get a script filled, I have to pull up a list of CVS pharmacies that accept Humana, then call each pharmacy and ask if they have the quantities I need in stock. If I'm lucky, I spend 2 minutes making 1 phone call.

3. Had the husband swing by the lucky CVS and drop off the script (he was running errands anyway). I think he was headed back out when the pharmacist called him back and told him that Humana was asking for prior authorization.



Tedious Back Story The Third: My insurance doesn't automatically cover the quantities of AdderallXR and Adderall that I require each month. In order to get coverage, I have to contact said insurance, have them fax my doctor a prior authorization form for him to fill out, which he does and faxes back (and charges me for taking the time to deal with them). 72 hours later, I'm able to get my meds.

4. Since I was completely out of Adderall XR, I had to bend over and take what Humana would cover, which was a third less than my usual supply. I called Humana and found out that my prior authorization had expired and that I would need to go through the aforementioned process (see Tedious Back Story The First directly above) all over again. Next day I called back, gave the rep I spoke to yesterday (getting names and numbers of insurance people is a necessity, not an option, in this case) my doc's fax, she got him a form, he filled it out, faxed it back, and the rep called to let me know she'd gotten it. About a week or so later I called back to make sure that the prior auth. had been approved.
5. Around the last week of October I ran out of Adderall, since I'd only received 2/3 my normal supply at the beginning of the month. After a couple of missed calls and crossed wires over the weekend, I got a paper script from my doctor (long drive north, equally so back south) and dropped it off at the pharmacy. I didn't write it down, but I'm fairly sure I called the pharmacy, my insurance, and possibly both, to make sure that this mid month remainder script wouldn't screw things up come November.
6. November 1st, lather, rinse, repeat on the long drive thing. Once home, I pulled up the list (see Tedious Back Story One) and started the calling. This time? 30 minutes and 5 phone calls before I found a CVS that would both take my insurance and had the quantities I needed. Husband went to drop off the script at the winning pharmacy.
7. Got a call from the husand from the pharmacy. Once again, Humana wouldn't fill the script, only this time their lame excuse was that it was too soon after the last submitted script. Remember the calls I'm pretty sure made, back up around list item number 5? Insignificant. Called Humana, but since it was after 5pm CST, they were closed. Meanwhile the pharmacist put in a call to the higher level pharmacy helpdesk in order to override Humana's decision; they told her they would get back to her and assured her that they were open until 9pm. Which was a big, fat lie; the pharmacist called the desk again after some time had past and got a recorded message that they closed at 6pm.
8. Back on my end, I called Humana, went through the numbered menu to the after hours nurse desk in desperate hopes of talking to a live person. I did, but she told me that, according to her manager, she couldn't do anything. I told her that I'd wait for her manager, which I did for about an hour, then listened as she told me that I should call back during normal business hours. I told her that I had called during normal business hours...several times in fact...and was told my particular problem was taken care of. Unfortunately I didn't find out it hadn't been fixed until after business hours, so I was talking to her now.
   

   Needless to say, she couldn't help, and, to make a long, painful story even longer and more excruciating, we forked over a little more than $500 so that I could get the meds that keep me from spiralling downwards. Unfortunately, given the events detailed above, plus a few other added stresses, I was pretty much already headed that way.

Eventually things got sorted and we got most of our money back but not after I'd peeled paint from our walls and scared our dog out of the room, what with the yelling and the cursing.

It's funny: Humana has all of this crap on their website about preventative maintenance...health tips, personal care charts, calculators...so that you'll stay well (and not spend their money), but they drive your mental health into the ground and your stress through the stratosphere (and consequently your physical well being into the toilet) with their bureaucratic stupidity.