OMG, so much drama in the Goodwill! A woman had some kind of attack where she was clearly in pain and yelling a lot, so they called an ambulance, grabbed her a chair, someone was translating (she only spoke Spanish), etc., and by the time it was all said and done, she was refusing to get in the ambulance, talking about some woman who died five years ago, and walking out. And then some fellow shopper said (luckily, not to me) "How much did that just cost us??" Yeah, you know what? If I'm clearly in physical and/or mental distress, I hope someone tries to get me help.

Oh my. I have complicated feelings about all that, although obviously trying to help is the human thing to do. I just have irrational fears that someone will call an ambulance for me and I will have that bill to pay for something that wasn't actually an emergency. In short, all my sympathies are with woman-in-distress and it is totally okay for her to not get in the ambulance.

Steph, I'd also be interested in picking your brain about Gabapentin. Doc just put me on it instead of Buspar, which I didn't like.

Teppy - can you provide any insight on the difference between Pregabalin and Gabapentin?

A quick google [from here -- [link] -- which is not about trigeminal neuralgia, but about other nerve pain, which obviously isn't the same, but is in the ballpark] says that they're structurally similar, but gabapentin is older and doesn't always work for everyone and can have bothersome side effects. Some studies show that pregabalin is more effective at reducing nerve pain, compared to gabapentin. What we're talking here is a 30-40% reduction in pain with gabapentin, and 50% with pregabalin. Pregabalin also starts to relieve nerve pain faster (like within 1 day in some cases).

I'll see what else I can rustle up.

t edit

Steph, I'd also be interested in picking your brain about Gabapentin. Doc just put me on it instead of Buspar, which I didn't like.

For anxiety?

Apropos of nothing, I think I should put more energy into achieving one of my dual but conflicting dreams of raising goats and living above a Chinese restaurant.

t /wine

Timelies all!

Posting from Confluence where I'm listening to a band called Copy Red Leader.

In short, all my sympathies are with woman-in-distress and it is totally okay for her to not get in the ambulance.

Oh yeah, I 100% agree with that. At the time they called 911, it was not at all clear that she was going to be able to talk to say she didn't want to go with them, so.

Yeah, I get how that can happen. Not a bad decision!

I look askance at snide comment maker. And perhaps make disapproving noises.

Steph, yes. I don't have high hopes. Nothing else I've ever tried has worked without unbearable side effects. If this doesn't work, I think I'm done messing with my brain chemistry.

It's raining. Life is good. Thinking. Yes, life is pretty good, with rain.