tf_talk | Gloves Off

I notice he painted/blurred out the names of all his meds.

That's interesting, because normally Andy is the definition of TMI. On his tumblr alone he's posted his real name, his phone number, his address, his parent's names, his so-called mental health diagnoses, the "facts" that he was a sex worker and a rape victim, and a bunch of different versions of his entire life story. He's even described himself as abusive and a rapist.

So why the fuck would he care if people know what meds he's on?

Unless, you know, they'd reveal he's being treated for entirely different conditions than the ones he claims to have.

That was exactly my thought upon reading that post.

I'm definitely not new to the Andy canon, but when/how does he claim to have been a sex worker?

http://tf-talk.dreamwidth.org/600.html?thread=164184#cmt164184

AYRT

Thanks for the receipts! And D: at them, of course.

They might not even be *his* meds. They might be his parents' meds. Or they might be his meds, but just the usual stuff people have: basic painkillers and so on. Or even vitamins for all we can see!

What's for sure is that if they supported his claims of being treated for schizophrenia, he wouldn't show-but-really-hide them like that. He'd be more than happy to display them front and center.

+1

Yeah, my immediate thought was that they're not actually his meds. Or maybe some of them are but they're the sort of things you get for non mental health reasons, like maybe he has a bottle of unused vicodin from some recent dental work and a mild thyroid condition that he takes meds for (I say mild because if it was severe we'd all know).

That was my thought too. And it's so him, because if you say "well, he hasn't shown us his meds, he blanked out the details" anyone without context would have a (rightful) fit of OMG OF COURSE HE BLANKED IT OUT HE DOESN'T HAVE TO SHARE THAT WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?! It's just that, like so much else in the context of Andy, it's suspicious that he didn't.

TBH, it reassures me somewhat, because for a while I was worried that he'd managed to get some anti-psychotics from his docs and was stopping and starting them as he needed to in order to keep up his ruse - you only really see that instant reaction to not taking them that he describes when they're not needed, as the brain realigns itself in a hurry; if you do need them to keep your brain level they tend to titrate out slowly as they get used up.

And it's so him, because if you say "well, he hasn't shown us his meds, he blanked out the details" anyone without context would have a (rightful) fit of OMG OF COURSE HE BLANKED IT OUT HE DOESN'T HAVE TO SHARE THAT WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?! It's just that, like so much else in the context of Andy, it's suspicious that he didn't.

I can see no reason why he wouldn't say which meds he takes if he were really psychotic. What people don't want to share when they hide their meds is their illness, not the meds themselves. If someone has lithium in their medicine cabinet, and doesn't want people to know that they are bipolar, then it makes sense to blank that detail out. But once you've shared your diagnosis, the meds themselves have no more meaning than if they were aspirin for headaches. They don't reveal anything new, so there's no reason to hide them.

On the other hand, if he pretends to be psychotic, but doesn't have any anti-psychotics in his medicine cabinet...

(Now that we've discussed this, anyone wanna take bets on how long it's going to take him to casually drop the name of some anti-psychotic in an unrelated post, or anything of the sort?)

AYRT Well, I don't generally share the specifics of what meds I'm on, even though I'm open (online at least) about my diagnosis. But the difference, to me, is what Andy will freely share and overshare.

(IDK, he hasn't taken the bait other times).

AYRT

Yes, this, thank you! I knew I wasn't saying exactly what I meant, but I couldn't figure out what was missing. It's what you point out: he's constantly and freely oversharing. But suddenly, on this particular point, he stalls for no apparent reason. Many people knowledgeable about psychosis have pointed out that nothing in his psychosis narrative holds up, and he could easily introduce a shred of truth into it by simply sharing which meds he's taking. This is what he would do on any other topic, but he does the opposite on this one, going so far as showing a bunch of meds but hiding what they are. This only reinforces the idea that his psychosis narrative is a lie, which is an odd thing for him to do.

anyone wanna take bets on how long it's going to take him to casually drop the name of some anti-psychotic in an unrelated post, or anything of the sort?

Already happened. He complained about craving carbs on Seroquel.

...But why in god's name would he be put on Seroquel if he only has the positive symptoms of schizophrenia, and a history of suicide attempts? (they may be bullshit, but if he landed in hospital they're still on his records).

Methinks somebody's half-assing his research again.

SA

Went and did something else, and then I had to come back because I'm still really hung up on the idea that a top notch psych team, with a bajillion degrees between them, put a trans man with a history of suicide on a drug known for suicidal ideation and 'man-boobs' as a first line attempt at medication - it takes weeks to try, and then weeks to come off, a new drug regimen; there simply isn't enough time in his "I'm fixed!" narrative to try a reasonable number of other drugs before seroquel.

I know kickbacks have wrought havoc on the US medical system, yet still I boggle.

a trans man with a history of suicide on a drug known for suicidal ideation and 'man-boobs'

The history of suicide would be a major concern, I agree, but the 'man-boobs', not so much. Either he hasn't had top surgery, in which case he still has his female boobs anyway, or he's had a double mastectomy, in which case there are no more mammary glands to create any man-boobs to begin with. Either way, not a problem in his case - unless Seroquel can also make female boobs grow bigger? Because *that* could be a problem all right if he's still binding!

I also agree that I wouldn't expect Seroquel to be the first line of treatment for a newly diagnosed case of schizophrenia, AND that he left no room in his recovery narrative for other drugs to be tried first. None of this adds up.

The cis women I know who've been on it have experienced tenderness, which I imagine could be a problem if binding.

There's also that it's generally better for negative symptoms of schizophrenia, and Andy only claims to experience the positive ones, which there are better anti-psychotics for.

Like, dude, seriously, you couldn't have looked into it a little more than picking out a random schizophrenia drug?

But, if he has been diagnosed with something like Bipolar disorder, (not saying he has this, but could have been diagnosed with this since people are rarely diagnosed with something like NPD), that is a med he might have been given, yet it still fits his schizophrenia story.

They'd still be giving a drug that's known to fuck with sex hormones and cause suicidal ideation to a trans man with suicide attempts in his medical history. There are other options for both schizophrenia and bipolar medication, and his timeline isn't nearly long enough for his doctors to have explored those first.

Like, I don't believe he's telling the truth, but if he is then HE NEEDS NEW DOCTORS because these ones are total fuck ups. Either they've taken him on and off other meds potentially-fatally quickly to reach seroquel so fast, or they went with a messed up choice really early on.

This was my first thought as well. Who the hell knows what the truth is, but I'd believe TF was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder way before I'd believe his schizophrenia claims.

The prolactin interference can make estrogen levels sky-rocket, which is what leads to moobs in cis men, and sky-rocketing estrogen levels wouldn't mix well with a trans man's transitioning. Like, it's a really risky choice of drug for a trans man when there are other options out there, and it's a bad choice for a person with a history of suicide attempts full-stop, and it's not even a great choice for positive schizophrenia symptoms, it's better for negative ones.

Either his care team are even shittier than previously believed, or something stinks to high heaven.

AYRT

Do you mind if I ask for a link? Because I tried searching for it, and I first came accross this post: http://andythanfiction.tumblr.com/post/88183520079/want-real-information-about-psychiatric-drugs , which couldn't be more weirdly appropriate, especially considering it was posted 10 months ago. But then I found this post: http://andythanfiction.tumblr.com/post/44287839715/19th-nervous-breakdown from "two years ago", which sent me straight into RAGE mode, so I don't think I want to go looking for more.

So, er, link please, if you have one?

http://andythanfiction.tumblr.com/post/50940433420/is-there-a-horseman-in-town

So, in trying to find assistance with/stretch my meds until my health insurance for new job kicks in, I’ve recently gone to an off-brand version of Seroquel. And in the past few days, I have started having the most overwhelming, extreme urges to absolutely binge on carbs. I’m not talking increased appetite…that’s remained stable.

[Bullshit continues for another few paragraphs]

Technically this would not be Seroquel proper since he's taking a generic version, but Seroquel is just a brand/trade name. The actual drug's name is quetiapine, and the generic version should (in theory) be identical to the original.

Yeah, there can be slight variations in the mix, but unless you have allergies to any of the fillers, the side-effects of quetiapine will be the same.

AYRT

Thank you! And yeah, I know about generic versions: it's compulsory to use them when available in my country, except for a handful of meds where it's been determined through experience that somehow changing from the brand name to the generic has an actual negative influence on the patients (like my Levothyrox, for example). If you insist on taking the brand name anyway, then the difference in price between the generic and the brand name is on you (ie. it cannot be reimbursed by the state Social Security).

About the rest of the post:

1. Let me roll my eyes at how he describes carb cravings as though they were something nobody else ever had experienced. Even Andy Blake's completely common carb cravings are Speshul Carb-Craving Snowflakes.

2. It makes me angry the way he badmouthes the hotline nurse he supposedly called for help:

I have never had anything remotely like this. This is not a “relapse” or an “episode” (thank you hotline nurse for assuming I’m lying about that ) of an eating disorder because I’ve never had one.

So sorry, poor baby, that the hotline nurse tried to DO HER JOB. People lie all the time about having had an ED, and it often takes several times asking them before they admit to it. Checking to make damn sure that there isn't a history of ED even several years past is what she's supposed to do. But I suppose she should have been able to read Mr Snowflake's mind instead.

3. Mind you, this is the same person who is apparently *appalled* that common side-effects of meds should also apply to him:

I called the pharmacy and the service that’s helping me get the meds and all they say is that “significant weight gain is sometimes a side effect.” And it’s like…ok, no shit, Sherlock, if I gave in to this crap I’d blow up like a fucking Macy’s balloon, but WTF?!?

What "WTF?" ? Which part of "it makes you eat like Hell and gain tons of weight" doesn't he understand, exactly? And what does he expect anyone to do about a side-effect which greatly inconveniences everyone who experiences it, but so far nobody has been able to treat? It's like he thinks that they should find a solution *just for him*. Egocentric like woah.

Gloves Off

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