u/TranslatorLiving7991

28 yo w/ ADHD-PI, PTSD, OCD, Social Anxiety, Panic Disorder, and MDD.

I've tried many, many medications without much success. SSRI's tend to simply make me feel flat w/o helping anything, while adrenergic compounds like Bupropion, ADHD stimulants, and even SNRI's tend to worsen my panic/somatic symptoms. A2A's somewhat help my anxiety, but worsen my mood/depression.

I'm at a crossroads and don't know what to do. I found an outside provider (out of network) that is open to prescribing an MAOI (Nardil/Parnate), but I also have the option of trying to get TMS/Spravato covered by my insurance (Kaiser).

Obviously, each have their drawback. It may be difficult to get TMS/Spravato covered right away, and MAOI's come with dietary and medication interactions/adjustments.

Thing is, I can't really have two psychiatrists at once (Kaiser vs out-of-network).

Thoughts?

Thank you so much 🙏 🙏

So, like many of you (I can only assume), I learned about TM from David Lynch.

I found my local teacher/center and sent them/him an email (through the official TM website) asking about their scholarships and reduced pricing offers (to see if I'd qualify).

I'm a stage 4 cancer survivor who also has PTSD and depression/anxiety, and I'm trying to get back on my feet. I'm 28 years old and don't have much money.

I sent an email simply asking if I'd qualify for a scholarship/reduced fee, and I never got a single email or call back.

I had heard negative things about TM (the org, not the practice) when it comes to money, and I'm afraid that it seems like my experience might reflect that. The shame is that I would've saved up and paid full price, but since they never even contacted me, I'm much less likely to support them with my money (when I can learn meditation from other sources).

What are your guys' thoughts? Do I give them another shot and send a follow-up message?

Thank you

So, I did my first injection yesterday (compounded tirz). I was already in an anxious and rushed state (for various reasons), but didn't want to put off the GLP-1 any longer. So, I did the injection.

I wiped my sweaty skin with an alcohol pad and wiped the top of the tirz vial with one as well, and injected. But, my table was dirty, my hands could've been cleaner, I could've been less sweaty, etc.

I'm probably overthinking it, but I've had serious medical complications in the past (not from Tirz use) that I do **not** want to repeat.

Any input/advice? Thank you!

EDIT: I think that I made it seem like I didn't wash my hands. I did. It's just that I feel like the whole process could've/would've been done better if I had been in a better headspace.

Hi friends, I could use some advice.

I'm 27 and have AuDHD, along with some other things (PTSD, anxiety/depression, OCD, etc.).

I went through a lot at a young age. I developed PTSD at 18, which then got misdiagnosed as schizophrenia at 21. That got me put on antipsychotics for 4 years. Then at 24 I developed stage 4 cancer and went through a ton of complications. Statistically, I probably shouldn't be here.

Even so, it's hard not to hate myself sometimes. I live with my parents, have no higher education, no job, and I'm on disability and food stamps. What do I actually have to be proud of?

I've sought help through therapy and psychiatrists, but I feel like no one truly gets me or can actually help.

I do have treatment goals in mind, but my therapist and psychiatrist tend to deem them too fringe or risky. I won't name specific meds here, but it's an older class of antidepressants. It does carry real risks and side effects, but a lot of experienced psychiatrists feel this class is underused these days and offers unique benefits that modern meds don't for many people.

I honestly don't know what to do, man. I feel like a bum. I'm angry. I'm depressed. My family are all Jehovah's Witnesses, and I'm not sure what my own spiritual beliefs are. Most days I just want to disappear (not die, to be clear, just disappear).

Any tips would mean a lot. Thank you

TL;DR: 27, been through PTSD, a misdiagnosis, years on antipsychotics, and stage 4 cancer. Now living with my parents with no job or degree, struggling to not hate myself and feeling like no one really gets me. Looking for advice

27m 5"11 207lbs

I've had an incisional hernia (from a right hemicolectomy) for a couple of years now. The surgery/repair date finally came around, and it's today. These past couple of days, I've been having panic attacks and haven't slept well. I've also been abusing (prescribed) opioids.

Anyways, today came around, and I couldn't get myself to go. I ate a small meal this AM and called the office asking for advice, but they didn't answer. I left a voicemail. An hour or two went by, and I figured that I wouldn't be going anyway, so I ate some more. I messaged the office via the portal apologizing and saying that I would need to reschedule.

I feel horrible. Absolutely horrible. I finally spoke to a nurse, and she said the OR would be calling me today.

I want to climb into a hole and disappear.

So, I have a complicated medical history. I've had 2 major GI surgeries, multiple infections (serious ones), IBD, ulcers, stage 4 cancer, blood clots, etc. (and I'm only 27).

Nonetheless, my iron is almost always low. As is my ferritin. But, because I'm not **anemic** (at this point), my docs won't give me IV iron. Oral iron has historically not helped me and has only caused GI issues (especially with my GI situation/history).

I don't know what to do. Do I fight my docs, trying to get IV iron approved? Or, should I look into other remedies for my RLS (like dopamine agonists and/or gabapentinoids)?

It feels like my hands are tied (my hematologist won't give me iron, my gastroenterologist won't, and my PCP won't). They're all going by the "well you're not anemic so there's no reason to give you iron" argument. My gastroenterologist even said that there's no correlation between ferritin and RLS (stating that she's seen patients with a ferritin of 7 who didn't have RLS). What a load of horse 💩!)

Any advice, Reddit?

Thank you 🙏🙏

Hi docs. Looking for general perspective, not individual advice.

I'm in my twenties. Current diagnoses are OCD, ADHD, autism, PTSD, depression, and anxiety. Earlier on I carried a schizophrenia diagnosis that was formally revised by later treating clinicians and hasn't been supported since — I mention it only because it shapes my medication history.

Broad strokes on meds: multiple SSRIs left me flat without helping mood, anxiety, or obsessions, and made attention worse. SNRIs increased anxiety — I seem to be quite sensitive to adrenergic effects in general. Nothing daily has held up.

I recently saw a new psychiatrist for a consult. She didn't start anything and referred me to a colleague who does TMS, ketamine, and SGB, on the reasoning that daily orals haven't helped and have been poorly tolerated.

My therapist wants to start EMDR but says my baseline anxiety is too high to work with — it sits around 8/10 in session.

My question is how psychiatrists generally decide the remaining oral options aren't worth attempting. I understand MAOIs and TCAs carry heavier risk profiles and aren't first-line. I'm also unsure where adjuncts fit given the adrenergic sensitivity — guanfacine and prazosin both act on that system, so I don't know whether that rules them in or out. More broadly, when the goal is getting anxiety low enough to tolerate trauma-focused therapy, what do psychiatrists usually reach for?

My therapist's concern is that this moves to third- and fourth-line interventional treatment before standard options have been exhausted, at significant out-of-pocket cost. Is that a fair read, or is there a reason to go interventional earlier when someone has tolerated orals poorly?

I recently started seeing a new therapist and he's great. There's just one thing I'm stuck on.

I was raised in a strict fundamentalist religious group. On a personal level I'm not homophobic and I don't care about anyone's sexuality — but I'd be lying if I said I was completely free of what I was taught growing up.

I'm fairly sure my therapist is gay. I actually had that hunch before I chose him and picked him anyway. But now I'm worried that some conditioned part of me will hold back and keep me from opening up fully.

How do I raise this with him without it landing as an insult? I want to be honest about my own baggage without making it sound like a judgment about him.

Thanks

I have panic disorder, social anxiety, PTSD, depression, OCD traits, and AuDHD.

SSRIs never worked for me. Sertraline in particular did nothing helpful — the emotional blunting actually made me more anxious socially, and it left me tired on top of that.

So now I'm trying to decide between starting with something milder like buspirone or pregabalin, or going straight to phenelzine. I've read that phenelzine is close to a gold standard for social anxiety, which is why I'm considering skipping ahead.

For anyone who went straight to Nardil — do you regret not trying the intermediate options first? And how much did the dietary and drug restrictions actually affect your day to day life?

Obviously this sub is likely to be in favor of MAOIs, so I'm actually more interested in hearing from people who tried something more benign first and got real relief from it. But I'll take all perspectives, of course.

I'm a practitioner — not fully Buddhist, but I listen to Dharma talks and respect/believe a lot of the wisdom from Buddhism, mindfulness, and nonduality.

Lately my practice just hasn't had the same oomph. I find it hard to sit for more than a few minutes. I'm restless, I second-guess my posture ("am I sitting right?" over and over), and I sometimes run into difficult thoughts and emotions (I have PTSD).

This is coming from someone who at one point meditated an hour a day. I know that's light work compared to some practitioners, but for me, that was a long time.

At the moment I just don't see the point in meditating. Intellectually I know the benefits, but I don't **feel** them. Any advice? Thank you 🙏

I'm 27 and honestly don't know where to turn anymore.

I was raised as a Jehovah's Witness and have ADHD, PTSD, OCD, anxiety, depression, and possibly autism.

When I was 21, I was diagnosed with schizophrenia after a traumatic period in my life and was put on clozapine (600 mg) for about four years. Later on, after I became medically very ill and went through a lot of follow-up over time, multiple providers reviewed my history and did not feel a schizophrenia or primary psychotic disorder fit my presentation.

During that same period, I was hospitalized with stage IV colon cancer, sepsis, and a bowel obstruction, and the clozapine had to be stopped abruptly because of the GI blockage. My psychiatrist did not communicate with the hospital or provide taper guidance. Around the same time, I had other serious medical complications, including pulmonary embolisms that were initially missed or attributed to anxiety, which has made it really hard for me to trust the medical system or even my own judgment.

Right now I still live with my parents, have no degree, very little money, and feel completely stuck.

The biggest issue is ADHD. Stimulants tend to spike my PTSD and anxiety significantly. Anxiety meds help somewhat but make me very fatigued and cognitively foggy, which then makes my ADHD worse. It feels like every treatment helps one part of me while making another part worse.

I've been in therapy for over 3 years and I'm trying, but I feel like I'm running out of options and hope. I've also been having suicidal thoughts—not because I want to die, but because I can't see a workable path forward.

Has anyone seen cases like this actually improve? Or does anything stand out in how this might be approached differently?

Seriously, you guys exaggerated so hard on this one.

I’ve been seeing the memes for months, so I finally pulled the trigger on a full bottle of Etat Libre d'Orange’s Sécrétions Magnifiques. I was expecting a biohazard, but it literally just smells like a fresh, metallic spa with a warm, comforting milky drydown. It's basically the ultimate clean "your skin but better" scent.

My girlfriend says I smell like a dead wet dog in a copper bucket and refuses to sit next to me, but I think her nose is just unrefined. This is easily my new summer daily.

Is my batch just crazy good, or is everyone on this sub just hyper-sensitive to metallic notes? Does it need to macerate more to bring out the copper?

So, I met with a new psychiatrist today. Initially, they were all for prescribing me an MAOI (since I've tried so many other meds).

But as the meeting went on, I described how significant my trauma was/is. The conclusion that they/we came to (at least, in the moment) was that my depression/anixety were/are a direct result of my trauma/PTSD.

I'm reflecting on the meeting now, and I'm asking myself, "does it really matter why I'm depressed/anxious?"

I mean, I know this means I'll need trauma therapy (which I'm getting), but it doesn't mean meds won't help, right? And SSRI's have made me feel flat while SNRI's made me anxious (I'm sensitive to norepinephrine).

My eye was/is on Nardil (Phenelzine). My psych thinks I'd do better on Propranolol and psychotherapy.

Idk what to think. I have depression (atypical), anxiety, AuDHD, OCD, Tourettes, PTSD, and trichotillomania.

Any advice/suggestions?

Thank you 🙏🏻

27m dx'd with PTSD, "AuDHD" (yes, I know that's not a medical term), OCD, anxiety (various forms), and depression (w/ atypical features like weight gain, leaden paralysis, mood reactivity, RSD, etc.)

I've tried a slew of meds (SSRI's, SNRI's, beta/alpha blockers, stimulants, gabapentinoids, etc.) without much success. The issue has always been either side effects, or that the med helped in one area but worsened another symptom/condition (ex. stimulants helping ADHD but worsening ptsd/OCD).

At this point, I'm looking into options such as MAOI's or possibly a TCA. I believe that MAOIs have stronger evidence in atypical depression, right?

The two specific meds on my radar are Nardil and Clomipramine.

Do you have any other ideas/suggestions I can bring up with my new psych (who is double board certified unlike the other psych NP's I've met with) in two days?

Thank you 🙏🏻