I Got Accepted Into A Clinical Trial!

Today was my appointment to apply for a clinical trial for a new depression medication. The day kind of started off poorly, because on the way there, I got stuck in a huge traffic jam, for about half an hour, so I was really late. But the people were really nice about it... not like going to a regular doctor's office where you would just miss your appointment! 


Here's how the process seemed to work. 


1. Doctor A explained how the whole clinical trial would work, about the placebo effect, possible side effects of medications, etc, etc, etc. I also had to read about twenty sheets of paper about it and sign each one.


2. Doctor A and Doctor B interviewed me about my depression symptoms and other medical and mental health history. They asked how long I'd gone through depression, whether I experienced suicidal thoughts, whether I had a loss of appetite, trouble sleeping, lost interest in activities... you know, all the basics. 


3. I had to do a computerized assessment that basically asked all the same questions. 


4. Doctor A gave me a brief physical exam that included getting my temperature, blood pressure, weight, height, listening to my heart, looking in my eyes, ears and throat, etc 


5. Some technicians came to give me an EKG test. I at first thought it was the kind where I'd have to run on a treadmill, but that is called a stress test. This one was easy... I just had to lay on the exam table, and they put little stickers around my heart and on my arms and legs, and then turned on the machine for about a minute.

6. I had to pee in a cup. 


7. The only part that sucked... I had to get a blood test! But even that wasn't bad. Despite the fact that I have small and difficult veins, the technician managed to draw my blood painlessly, and I didn't even get lightheaded! 


8. The best part was when Doctor B came and handed me a check for $40! I did not know ahead of time that I would be getting paid for this. Technically, they said it was travel reimbursement, but it doesn't cost me $40 to get there! I will be getting paid $40 for every appointment I go to. That is a really nice fringe benefit, because I'm a starving student and I don't have a steady job right now, having quit my most recent job because my depression was really getting in the way of my being able to work. (My job involved working with children, and when I was feeling so bad, I just couldn't get my heart into it! Usually I am great at planning activities, etc, but this time I found myself not even caring about the kids at all, so I figured I needed a break until I could get treatment.) 


9. I have another appointment for next week, at which time they will give me the medication. I have a 50% chance of getting the type of medicine being tested, a 25% chance of getting an existing brand of medication, and a 25% chance of getting the placebo. Nobody will know what I have, not even the doctors. I really hope I get one of the medications! 


In the mean time, they are going to run the lab tests on my urine and blood. They have to make sure I don't have any major medical issues that might mess up the results of the medication. I hope I don't have any unknown medical problems! Since I don't have health insurance, I haven't had a physical exam in the last few years, so anything is possible.


After I left the office, I felt so happy, just knowing that medication was on the way! I was driving home in my car with the windows open, blasting the oldies station and singing along, just like a regular person. It was kind of a nice relief... but if Doctors A and B had seen me, they probably wouldn't have believed that 24 hours earlier, I had been crying as I walked through my favorite Six Flags amusement park, because even the rollercoasters couldn't lift my depression that day! 


I will find out more about the results of the lab tests in a few days. I'll keep you posted!

Paying For Treatment

One of the major problems I have right now is that I am currently not on any medication for my depression or ADHD. I can live without ADHD meds... I've developed lots of skills for coping and compensating... but its rough without depression meds. I actually had to quit my new job because my depression was making it too hard to go to work! If I'd had medication I wouldn't have had that problem. But because the job was only part time, I wouldn't have had health insurance from it anyway, so there wasn't even any hope for securing meds in the near future!
In the county I used to live in before I moved back here, I qualified for free counseling and med management, and the doctors at the county mental health office worked with me to help me get my prescriptions for pretty cheap. They would try to prescribe generics that I could get at Target for only $10 or less, and they were trying to enroll me in programs through the prescription companies that would let me get meds for free.
Where I live now is a much larger county that includes a major city. Instead of all low income people in the county going through one mental health center, it goes by the town you live in. For instance, most people in the big city could probably use the city's mental health services. In the suburbs, there are private mental health centers that provide sliding scale services to people in certain groups of towns. If you live in one town, you have to get services from whatever agency is serving your town.
I found out that my town is served by "Creekside Behavioral Health Hospital." At first I was hopeful, because their website boasted a mental health clinic near my house, as well as an outpatient hospitalization program where you can get all the benefits of inpatient hospitalization, but sleep at home. (I was very interested in this option, because my depression was getting so bad, I thought that an every other week counseling session was just not going to cut it this time!)
So I contacted them... and found out their "sliding scale" fees. It would be $160 for an initial evaluation, $100 for a therapy assessment, $80 for each follow-up therapy session, and $55 for medication management. So, assuming I just went to therapy twice a month and got med management once a month (you usually are required to have it once a month in order to get prescriptions for "controlled substances") I would have to have $395 that first month. That is money I just don't have laying around!
I did give them a call anyway... but you have to leave a message with their intake department, and they call you back whenever they get a chance. (Its been a week so far with no call back from them.)
In the mean time, I found a depression study I may be able to enroll in. I have an appointment on the first of August. The study means I will either be on a placebo medication (hopefully not), an already established depression medication, or a brand new medication. I will be on meds (I sure hope its not the placebo) for free for twelve weeks, and if all goes well, I'd be able to continue taking it for free for a year.
Here's the scary news... in order to participate, I'll have to go through a physical exam, including a blood test and an EKG.  I hate blood tests (I usually faint.) And an EKG? Is that the thing where you have to run on a treadmill? I don't think I will do well on that! I really get nervous about physical exams because I don't like strangers touching me.
But... ugh... I guess it is what I'll have to do in order to get on meds!
I also found an ADHD study that I can participate in. I won't get meds, but I'll get paid $10 per hour to do it (four hours of testing) and that is a full tank of gas! I will be doing that tomorrow and Thursday.
If you have depression or another mental illness and you're wondering how I found these studies, I just went on Craigslist and typed "depression" into the Community, Jobs, and Gigs sections. You could also look on the websites of hospitals and universities in your area, since some have links to clinical trials that they are doing.
Anyway... I will be sure to let you know how all of these studies go!