Better living through chemistry

I just saw this ad for Requip, which is supposed to relieve restless leg syndrome. I've experienced RLS, but not a severe case - a bit of walking keeps it under control. I'd hate to be one of the poor bastards who has to resort to this crap, after hearing that list of side effects.

Here's a hilarious spoof (adult language).

Hangin' with the guys

I've mentioned that I don't understand a lot of advertisements. This ad for Viagra is a perfect example. I think it can be summed up as: "Hey guys, I'm so excited about my E.D. - let's jam!" One blogger has commented on it sufficiently that I don't feel I need to expand on it.

This one for Sunsilk shampoo, on the other hand, is hilarious - in a good way. I need that stuff.

Phone home

Today we dumped Sprint and switched our phone service to Verizon (but our numbers haven't changed, fortunately). We've got 30 days to decide if we like the service (though I really don't know who we'd switch to if we didn't) and the phones. After spending several minutes transferring my numbers, I don't know how I feel about the keypad, but I imagine I'll get used to it. I'm not interested in spending a lot of money on a phone, and I don't need much (at least not right now - eventually it would be nice to cram everything - phone, internets/email, palmtop computer/PDA, camera, video recorder, music/dvd player, time machine, hope chest, meds dispenser, etc etc etc - into a single portable package). The camera is a nice bonus, but wasn't vital - of course, try finding a phone without a camera in it, and good luck to ya.

I was kind of excited about the new hardware, but I feel a little let down, for some reason. I imagine if we'd gone in for the whole phone/text/picture/web/music thing, and the requisite equipment, I'd be spending the next few days like a giddy kid in some kind of store. But like I said - why would I need that?

Today I went to see - ooh! that dog has a poofy tail!

Today I went back to my pusher, after 5 weeks of taking a higher dose of Wellbutrin and shifting my Depakote to bedtime. These changes were made in an effort to address my inability to concentrate, which in turn is interfering with my summer class work. So, 5 weeks later, no noticeable improvement has occurred. I said, "I'd really like to get some kind of stimulant (like ritalin) to see if that helps." Of course, being the ethical physician that he is, he refuses to hand out drugs without at least some diagnostic evidence of the problem in question. My question is, what's wrong with "reverse-diagnosis"? Give me the drug, if the problem goes away, then that must be what's wrong with me!

So tomorrow I go in to take the TOVA - Test of Variable Attention, and then after they get it scored (Thursday) he will (if the results indicate appropriately) have me pick up a pill, which I will then take on Friday morning before re-taking the TOVA.

Of course, in the midst of all this, my primary concern is getting this coursework done. GRRR!

Binge blogging

I went for a few days there early this month with no entries. I was feeling like crap and avoiding the world, spending as much time as possible unconscious. Now in the past 3 days I've made 9 posts (out of the 13 for this month). Granted, a couple of them are of the Tourette's variety, but still. I'm wondering if friends will be staging an intervention and sending me into a 12-step program. I'm concerned about my ability to control my blogging. I keep telling myself, "I can tell when I've had enough. I can quit when I want to. I'm in control, really." But I'm not sure if I believe it.

Will ours be one of the thousands of homes torn apart by blogging? If I over-blog, will I become abusive and mean? Is this going to affect my ability to hold a job? Can those people over there smell the blog on my breath? Is that an alien-Elvis hybrid watching me from that unmarked government surveillance vehicle!?

AAAAAGGGGHHHH!

Mental sludge

I feel like my brain is full of sludge. My focus is all brokus, my mood is all ... not goood. So I made an appointment to talk to my doctor about Ritalin. Friends have told me the wonders it's done for their concentration, and while I'm loath to add a fourth drug to my daily psychotropic regimen, I am getting desperate enough to try it. So now I just have to wait for two weeks to see my pusher and tell him, "Give me my drugs, man. I can get the money, I just need my drugs!"