Mental health lawyer, poker player, and gay schizophrenic
Hi all,
For those of you not familiar with my poker blog here, 1/3 Grinding and Bankroll, I started as a drunk tourist player the regs salivated over, playing sporadically for fun. Then life hit me with a baseball bat across the face and I was diagnosed with schizophrenia, but not before I had gotten my law license and started practicing criminal and post-conviction law. Poker gave me a way to pass the time and not give up on life, and eventually the hobby turned into a job and I went pro or semi-pro for several years. I did very well, playing in the biggest games in my room up to 100/200 occasionally but much more often the big live PLO5 games.
I just started my most recent full time law job as a mental health lawyer defending people like me, those with psychiatric disabilities, and I am starting another cool chapter in my life. Now that my poker volume has decreased by a lot again I thought it was a good time for this thread.
Ask away!
DT
Does your family monitor you to make sure you take your meds? Do you ever accidentally skip a dose or a few and notice symptoms coming back? If yes what was it like?
Does your family monitor you to make sure you take your meds? Do you ever accidentally skip a dose or a few and notice symptoms coming back? If yes what was it like?
No, I live independently with a friend/roommate now. No one really monitors me. I never intentionally skip a dose. I rarely miss one here and there, maybe a few times a year. Typically I feel a little more depressed the next day, but nothing major. The medication builds up over time in my fatty tissue so even if I miss one pill I don’t immediately feel symptomatic.
When I was on a lower subtherapeutic dose I had some paranoia but nothing more than that. Once I thought a client was going to put a hit on me if I didn’t get him out of prison. I knew it was just a symptom of my illness though and was able to ignore it as annoying as it was.
You are basically very lucky and it could go downstairs ... One antipsychotic is good. Mostly it is enough.
Most of the schizophrenic guys are on disability money? You are poker pro? how much do you pay for health care? Where i life, you have to pay like 400 euros each month for health care only. Thats a state with very good health care system ...
You are basically very lucky and it could go downstairs ... One antipsychotic is good. Mostly it is enough.
Most of the schizophrenic guys are on disability money? You are poker pro? how much do you pay for health care? Where i life, you have to pay like 400 euros each month for health care only. Thats a state with very good health care system ...
I have insurance through my employer. I recently started a law job again. I pay $125 a month.
Thank her for letting you know about the risks associated with the drug, but as the patient you think the benefits outweigh the risks right now and the benefits to your sleep outweigh the downstream risks of dementia at this point in your life. Remind her you use it sparingly anyway which should reduce the risks. I wish you well. I have been diagnosed with bipolar and schizoaffective and schizo by three different prescribers. Sometimes only you know what's best for your body. Ever consider melat
Yes, I use ativan (I call it lorazepam) for occasional insomnia. I also use regular and time release melatonin and one with theanine. I use ativan very sparingly such that I don't expect my GP doctor to object to a refill request. Before this doctor my regular doctor refused to refill it. He was a real dick. I couldn't play WSOP events without my ativan pills to fall asleep after a long day at the tables. They are worth more than gold. Incidentally they are very inexpensive. The trick is getting the prescription.
