Thank you, @becsbuddy! I will take a look at the site you posted and appreciate you being a volunteer mentor! =)

Yes, I do worry about my son. He also has his own struggles and challenges with ADHD and learning challenges and takes medication so I really don't want him to worry about me. Despite my health challenges, I have been blessed with a good job and ability to work remotely so I can continue (for now) to provide for him. He just graduated from middle school (8th grade) and was awarded with honors/high honors (he has to work really hard to get good grades). He starts high school in the fall and I have gotten him counseling off and on to help him through difficult times (may get him scheduled again to help him transition to a new school). I haven't looked into Big Brothers, Big Sisters before and think I should (thanks for the idea!). Since we have no extended family and he is an only child, it would be really good for him to have a positive male mentor/role model.

I agree women patients are not always taken seriously in health care. It concerns me that many doctors are quick to prescribe anxiety/depression medications to women and they never seem to take you off of them. I have been put on many of them over the years for anxiety/depression/chronic pain with various benefits/side effects. I recently weaned myself off of duloxetine (Cymbalta) gradually and now working on weaning myself off buproprion (Wellbutrin) to see how my body feels off of these medications. I want a new baseline to see how I feel before/after my explant surgery (currently scheduled for 7/17, I believe). Anything I can do to reduce the toxins in my body will be helpful. I also need to do a better job of self care and reducing stress since I know this triggers/worsens my symptoms.