Medicine

Killed By Fear (Doctor Phobia and the C Word)

by Bill Brenner July 18, 2011 Crohn's Disease

The Fredstock 2 benefit concert Erin and I went to Friday night hit me where I live for another reason besides a love of music: The event was also about raising awareness about colorectal cancer. I’m a high-risk case. Mood music: I never knew Fred Ciampi, the man the benefit is named for. He passed away this winter from colorectal cancer, and the benefit was also meant to help out his wife, Claudia DeHaven Ciampi-Biddle. (Donations…  [Read More]

Prayers For A Friend and His Wife

by Bill Brenner July 15, 2011 Courage

Dave Lewis, a good friend from the information security community, posted this yesterday: “My wife, Diana, was diagnosed with leukemia today.” Mood music: Many of you know Dave (@gattaca on Twitter) as founder of the Liquidmatrix Security Digest. He is also senior security analyst at AMD and someone who works tirelessly to promote events that make security professionals smarter and better. I’m asking those who read this to keep Dave, Diana and their young daughter…  [Read More]

A Visit To The Prozac Nurse

by Bill Brenner June 29, 2011 Coping tools

Last night was my annual pilgrimage to Beverly, Mass. for an appointment with the nurse who manages my Prozac intake. She has done better for me than my primary care doctor did. Here’s why. Mood music: Drugs used to treat mental disorders must be tightly controlled. Too little and it won’t help you. Too much can make your disorder worse. When I first started taking Prozac in 2007, my primary care doctor was prescribing it….  [Read More]

Medical Marijuana For OCD Treatment: Not For Me

by Bill Brenner June 27, 2011 Medicine

I just read an interesting blog post on how medical marijuana could be used to treat OCD. There are medicinal helpers for this disease, but pot would never work for me. Mood music: Here’s an excerpt of the article, from the official website of hemp legalization advocate Jack Herer (originally published on the All Voices site): OCD is a treatable disease. With adequate therapy and correct counseling by experienced psychiatrist and physicians, the intensity of the disease…  [Read More]

Even If Talk Is Cheap, Drugs Alone Won’t Work

by Bill Brenner June 22, 2011 Coping tools

If a recent story in The New York Times is to be believed, psychiatrists are ditching talk therapy in favor of quick-to-the-draw prescription solutions because insurance companies won’t pay them enough for the broader treatment. As someone who benefited greatly from both therapy and medication, I find this disturbing. Mood music: [spotify:track:40T969H60rqt5v1tWZDEMS] From the article, written by Gardiner Harris: Like many of the nation’s 48,000psychiatrists, Dr. Levin, in large part because of changes in how much…  [Read More]

A Boy’s Life on Prednisone: A Class Photo History

by Bill Brenner June 6, 2011 Crohn's Disease

I’ve mentioned before that I had to take a lot of this nasty drug called Prednisone as a kid, and how the side effects were almost as bad as the Crohn’s Disease flare-ups the drug was meant to snuff out. Well, my old elementary school friend Myles Lynch posted some class pics on Facebook that show the physical impact. Looking at them brings back memories good and bad. Let’s start with first grade, before the…  [Read More]

Back Story Of THE OCD DIARIES

by Bill Brenner May 14, 2011 Addiction

Since I’ve been adding new readers along the way, I always get questions about why I started this thing. I recently expanded the “about” section, and that’s a good starting point. But more of a back story is in order. Mood music: Before I started THE OCD DIARIES in December 2009 with a post about depression hitting me during the holidays, I had always toyed with the idea of doing this. The reason for wanting…  [Read More]

Wanted: Psychiatric Specialists in the Emergency Room

by Bill Brenner April 20, 2011 Medicine

A friend directed me toward a disturbing story on NPR’s website about the mentally ill languishing in ERs. Mood music: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkJOZOOXJWk&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0] Here’s the first few paragraphs of the report by Jenny Gold: As he lay on a gurney in the emergency department of Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, Erik grew increasingly upset. He had called the police to report a theft from his apartment, but wound up being taken to the hospital. The ER…  [Read More]

How I Can Be Happy Despite Myself

by Bill Brenner March 29, 2011 Addiction

I see a lot of moody people out there on Facebook and Twitter these days. Though I try not to put random complaints on my wall, my darker moods often come across in this blog. But in the big picture, I’ve found ways to be generally happy despite myself. Mood music: Allow me to share. But first, a couple acknowledgements: 1.) I stole this post’s title from somewhere. 2.) I readily admit that despite what…  [Read More]

Change Is Pain, But Not Impossible

by Bill Brenner March 28, 2011 Addiction

Last night’s 12-Step meeting reminded me of just how hard real change is. I used to measure change by who won the next election. I’ve realized that the only real change that matters is within myself. Naturally, it’s the hardest, most brutal kind of change to achieve. Mood music: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqkxDgCIsOw&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0] Last night’s AA Big Book reading focused on steps 8, 9 and 10: 8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and…  [Read More]

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