Birthday Special

Today is my 45th birthday. In some ways, the timing of my off-meds experiment was on purpose--although this is the right time of year to give it a go--and a gift to myself. The experiment continues to go better each week. Last week was very good overall, but I still don't feel 100 percent yet. One hundred percent of what? you ask. Whatever it is that I expect. I'll know when I get there.

Now, that I have been off Lamictal for a bit over three weeks, I had the first recallable dream I've had in ages last night. I've had recallable nightmares--especially on Seroquel--but not what most of us would think of as dreams. Last night, I dreamed of a scene from an article I just finished writing--I'll get into that closer to its publication date--and I bought an old Ford F-150. Then, I went fly fishing. Don't remember what I caught. Nice dream all the same.

I wonder how surprised my psychiatrist will be when I lay out my Lamictal withdrawal experience later today. I continue to be amazed at the 50 people or so each week who read my Lamictal withdrawal posts of last month. Something is up.

Anyhow, there's been a bunch of good writing out there in the mental health blogosphere.

CL Psych, who like me is on a bit of a break from constant writing, notes that Wyeth's antipsychotic was not approved by the FDA. He also passes along this epic post by The Last Psychiatrist concerning antipsychotics and dopamine occupancy and why drug makers and doctors shouldn't talk about efficacy. It's great funny stuff. Oh, yes, giving people two antipsychotics at once isn't such a swell idea either. He's one of the few people who can make the theoretical end of psychopharmacology interesting.

Will Meek at PsychCentral on job stress and depression in the UK.

Peter Rost is pretty much a rock star in the pahrma blogging world these days. Here he is being quoted in the Los Angerles Times in the paper's series on how Big Pharma creates drugs to treat conditions and, then, goes out and markets the conditions, sometimes creating astroturfing groups in the process. Hm. Have I ever said anything around here like that before?

That's all I've got time for right now. It's good to be away from writing for a while every so often. I need to recharge and dream.