I did that to my pdoc too, though it was a bit of the opposite way around. I gave her pictures (since in the 1990s, I didn't have anything like a digital camera and was still using prints & polaroids) just to hit home how bad to her my anorexia had been. Because I was never hospitalized I don't think she knew. She saw the pictures, and was so shocked, she was like "Oh, my God." Perhaps I need to do it with the new pdoc too, not those pictures exactly (or maybe those too, just so he understands because you can say you have had anorexia, but if it was lost in charts decades ago, if you were never hospitalized for it, people seem to find it hard to believe), but give him a before & after picture of me with my ulcer surgery. I lost over 20 lb., and I didn't really have anything to lose (weighed 120-125 lb. at 5'5" before the surgery). I still get the "But you look so healthy now!" Well, I guess I do, compared to weighing to 80 lb. It's ironic people think I look healthy at such a low BMI; this country is just messed up when it comes to weight, especially women and weight. I saw some ad on TV just yesterday touting a woman's weight loss with before and after pictures. The before picture was like 130 lb., nowhere near obese, and the after picture was 98 lb., and she was raving about her new body and new-found confidence. Yeah, touting her new-found eating disorder, more like to me.

My gababpentin is prescribed to me by my rheumatologist along with the Tizandine (now that one does help) for fibromyalgia. I have to wait until I see her again to bring that up. They can no longer prescribe me a lot of the fibro meds like piroxicam, meloxicam, etc. because they contain NSAIDs.

I hope the med changes will help you not only feel better about yourself but also help with the stuff like high cholesterol and blood pressure.

Careful on the Paxil though...you know SSRIs and BP are often not a good mix for many. They tend to turn me hypomanic and then full-blown manic, but my old pdoc would use them in the short term (mostly Effexor & Wellbutrin), 3-4 months if I was in a deep depression.