FAQs

Sort of. Getting psychiatric care was super difficult. I called about 20 providers who were listed on my insurance company’s website. Most said they didn’t take that insurance. The others said they didn’t have availability for 8 months, or they weren’t taking new patients. I had just started the insurance, and a representative from the company called me to offer an orientation. I asked her for help with psychiatric care. She called 7 or 8 providers and finally found one for me. (They ended up closing the location and I had to drive 55 minutes to their other location.)

The provider was a nurse practitioner who seemed to have very little understanding of psychiatry. She diagnosed me from a questionnaire. She prescribed me a drug interaction, which the pharmacist thankfully caught. When describing my symptoms of psychosis, she asked if anyone had previously died in my home because “sometimes ghosts can cause these issues”.

So, yeah, I kind of have metal health care. I can’t go back to that far away location again. It’s just too far for me.

Absolutely. It figuratively and literally drives me crazy. When the pain is really bad – like an 8/10 or above, that is when the most psychological damage is done. Depression and anxiety are constant, and I’d say that’s a given. If I spend too much time at an 8 or above, it tends to break my mind. Usually some sort of psychosis or dissociative issues. Unreality issues. It’s terrible. I started taking my current supplements to avoid the psychosis. It’s so painful and ridiculous that I would do almost anything to avoid it.