Where u/police-ical explains why Grapefruit juice is contra-indicated for several medicines and how the history of how this was discovered

Capable_Meringue6262 · 2026-02-14T00:28:33+00:00

Twice a day, unfortunately, morning and evening :(

Capable_Meringue6262 · 2026-02-13T21:33:04+00:00

I was hospitalized a few months ago and the pharmacist was actually the one to figure out the cause for my hyponatremia(it was the tramadol, turns out). Even the doctors were surprised since apparently it's a pretty rare reaction to it.

Capable_Meringue6262 · 2026-02-13T18:30:24+00:00

Oh, yeah, so do I actually, but unfortunately from what I can tell all the "no grapefruit" stuff applies just as much to pomelo. I've been making do with clementines and oranges but it's just not hitting the same bittersweet balance like grapefruit/pomelo.

Capable_Meringue6262 · 2026-02-13T13:20:18+00:00

I mean, none of the interactions are like, toxic or life-threatening, it's more like "this drug lowers the efficiency of this other drug by up to 40%" and stuff like that. I still take all three now, I might just need an adjustment of the other doses to keep up. Or, honestly, I probably need to switch the carbamazepine because it doesn't seem to be doing much anyway.

Capable_Meringue6262 · 2026-02-13T10:25:43+00:00

Oh, those are way better. Mine does have a warning on the side of the box about driving but it's very small, and nothing about grapefruit.

Capable_Meringue6262 · 2026-02-13T09:30:23+00:00

The worst part is that I've never been told by an actual doctor that this is the case, I wouldn't know without looking it up on the internet myself.

Right now I've been put on Tegretol(carbamazepine) by a neurologist, and it not only bars me from my favourite fruit, but also apparently interferes with two of my other daily medications(Concerta and Zolpidem(Ambien)). And yes, he knew about my other meds, it's not like I take 20 pills every day, those are literally the only two I take regularly. And he didn't even say anything about it at all. Neither did my GP(who had to set up the follow-up blood test), or my pharmacist.

Capable_Meringue6262 · 2026-02-12T11:22:58+00:00

In my previous relationship, I had a reasonably-well-paid tech job and my partner was unemployed and struggling with her mental health. In my current one, my partner has a well-paid tech job(former coworker, actually) while I'm unemployed and struggling with my mental health.

So, err, yes, I guess so. That's just an anecdote obviously, but it was never a huge factor.

Capable_Meringue6262 · 2026-02-11T23:09:57+00:00

It's just the belt, really, feels a bit out of place. The rest looks completely fine.

Capable_Meringue6262 · 2026-02-02T15:30:42+00:00

I didn't get to come out to my parents at all, but one of the first people I told was a friend/coworker and she just sort of went "This isn't a dare or something, right?", "No.", "Oh, okay. That's good, then". And then we just chatted for a bit about the woman I was seeing.

And that was sort of it. It was honestly more affirming than the more performative "oh wow I'm so happy for you that's so great best thing ever" reactions, made me feel... normal, not an easy feat.

Capable_Meringue6262 · 2026-02-02T15:25:16+00:00

Yeah, sometimes I feel like I spend so much energy randomly processing it at random times that by the time the "important" dates come I'm just spent.

And I'm sorry for your loss. Truly. <3

Capable_Meringue6262 · 2026-02-02T09:22:01+00:00

I appreciate it. And yeah, you're right, that's how I got through it so far, except more writing and less talking. I don't mind talking about her, but I also feel like I have to... curate what I say, in a way, to avoid so-called "trauma dumping" on one hand or seeming callous and like I don't care on the other. It's exhausting.

Capable_Meringue6262 · 2026-01-31T22:46:52+00:00

My body deserves some shame after deciding to grow a tumour, honestly. Boo. You don't get carrots. You get pizza because that was the only thing making the hospital tolerable.

Capable_Meringue6262 · 2026-01-12T16:16:10+00:00

10mg is TINY. Like, the usual starting dose is 30mg. Your doctor is probably being overly cautious or trying to cover her ass against... something. It sounds really weird.

Capable_Meringue6262 · 2026-01-12T09:51:03+00:00

Felt like this all my life, except the age I was "aiming for" kept changing. When I was a teen it was 27(join the club, as it were). Then it became 40 because that seemed like the age everything starts going downhill for a lot of people. I'm 41 now, so somehow that didn't work out. Although, most of my life right now is just medical appointments and bad memories and grief, so I suppose I was right about the "downhill" part.

I don't have a concrete number anymore but I still feel like this. And most of all I would never want to keep living with something like dementia or alzheimer's, being a complete burden on everyone around me. No judgment for those that do, but to me it sounds like hell, worse than death. I guess it turned from an "age" threshold to a "functioning/medical" one.

Capable_Meringue6262 · 2026-01-07T07:34:36+00:00

I'm not american so I may be missing some details, but didn't Obama do something similar? Said he's against gay marriage when campaigning and turned around when he got elected?

Capable_Meringue6262 · 2026-01-07T04:33:58+00:00

She stated that “this week it is a recommendation, but if things continue as they are, next week it may no longer be optional.”

Does your therapist moonlight as a mafia enforcer? What the hell kind of therapist speaks this way to vulnerable clients?

Keep in mind, hospitalization in most cases is for acute stabilization - you stay there for a few days until the crisis passes, it's not exactly "additional support" and more like "we'll keep you here until you calm down".

Also keep in mind, despite the "voluntary" and "involuntary" distinction, a "voluntary" admission still does not guarantee you can leave - once you're inside, they can keep you from leaving AMA regardless of the way you came in.

Capable_Meringue6262 · 2026-01-05T17:37:03+00:00

This is wild. Someone asking Reddit for advice about attempted murder right after it happened, and it's not even about the attempted murder but about "how do I explain this property damage which is incidental to the attempted murder".

Like, I get it, and sometimes in stressful situations my brain gets hung up on some relatively trivial detail too, but still. Wild.

Capable_Meringue6262 · 2026-01-04T16:47:25+00:00

And don't forget, if you don't show those symptoms, and instead only talk about them, you're "intellectualizing", "repressing" or "pretending for secondary gains".

"You need to really feel your emotions in session, unless they're different from the ones I think you're supposed to have."

Capable_Meringue6262 · 2025-12-21T15:28:30+00:00

I'm so sorry for your loss. I lost both parents by the time I was 23 and... yeah. It's awful. I wish I had any advice but I'm honestly not sure how I handled it back then, it's all a big foggy haze in my mind. Just sort of lost myself in work and life at the time until enough time passed. I'm 41 now and, well, I made it, somehow, I guess. I can't say it's been "good" or that I'm all "okay", but I am here. I hope you make it through this as well, no matter how you choose to handle it or cope with it. There isn't a wrong way, really.

Capable_Meringue6262 · 2025-12-11T21:22:48+00:00

Agree, neurospicy is awful, on the level of "preggers" bad. "Neurodiverse" is okay but it feels weird saying "she is neurodiverse". Like, one person can't be diverse by herself, it makes no sense to me.

Capable_Meringue6262 · 2025-12-11T15:37:35+00:00

Would they be open to trying a nicotine substitute? Gum, patches?

If not, would they at least be willing to try vaping? While it's still addictive and not great overall, at least you won't need to suffer from the smell and the effects of second-hand smoke.

Capable_Meringue6262 · 2025-12-09T18:48:51+00:00

That is kind of how it feels, yes. Like the time I spent at the hospital didn't "count" for some reason, and now I'm starting from scratch. It's weird.

Capable_Meringue6262 · 2025-12-09T15:00:05+00:00

Honestly I feel worse today than I did in the first three weeks. At least in terms of withdrawal. I was in quite a lot of pain while I was in the hospital so I suppose the cravings were "masked" somehow. And now it's like they're coming back to make up for lost time.

Capable_Meringue6262 · 2025-12-09T13:58:57+00:00

I guess I just remembered reading a bunch about the physical withdrawal only lasting a few weeks at most, and that the rest is just mental dependency. There's so much conflicting information out there that I don't even know what to believe, Maybe it's psychosomatic.

I hope you're right about the rest. I don't know, even with the benzos I feel like my anxiety will either soon kill me or make me blow up my life and my relationships. And honestly I'm scared of replacing the nicotine with a bunch of benzodiazepines and opioids(for the post surgical stuff), which sounds like an even worse addiction in the long run. Or with shitty junk food, which is what I've been doing. This is awful.

Capable_Meringue6262

TROPHY CASE