It’s almost a plan…
Posted by pimpcat on June 8, 2008
So, today I was thinking again about missionary work, as I do every Sunday, but this time there was more of an air of hope, rather than despair. I was thinking about why I’m not currently allowed to serve and if there would be any way to make some slight modifications so that I could go. Let me take you through at least a portion of my thought process.
Let me back up a bit tell you exactly why I’m not medically eligible to go on a mission. Right now I’m taking a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, fluoxetine hydrochloride, better know as Prozac. Apparently, back in the ’80s, there were a bunch of kids who went on missions while taking this medication and didn’t come back because they had popped themselves off suddenly. There has been a documented, yet statistically insignificant, increase in the risk of children and adolescents to commit suicide. However, there has been a better documented and quite statistically significant decrease in the risk of adults to commit suicide. Thus, the solution would be to make 19 y/o males wait a couple of years before going on a mission. But no, anyone who takes the drug is totally barred from going on a mission. Though that is beside the point.
The point is that, today, I learned of a medication that does essentially the same thing, except with different side effects. The side effects of clomipramine (Anafril) tend to be more physical than psychological. There is almost no increased risk of suicide, and yet it does possibly an even better job of what I want it to do than does fluoxetine. To me, it seems like kind of a no-brainer.
The other issue at hand is whether I would actually be able to pay off my debts and have enough money to go by my 26th birthday. At this point, I’ve racked up about $7 000 dollars in debts. I don’t think it would be to my advantage to try to quit school for a few years, pay off the debt, save for the mission, go, and then come back like six years later with no degree and no money with which to finish school. A much better plan, would be to finish school, then pay off my debts within about a year, save for the mission for another year, then go when I was about 24, or so.
Of course, this is all assuming that the best of circumstances roll out in my favor. My doctor would have to agree to give me the clomipramine, which shouldn’t be too big of a deal. I would have to be able to find work basically immediately after, or even before I graduated. The economy would have to remain at least fairly stable. A world-ending nuclear war would need to not happen (naturally.) The missionary department would have to be happy with my choice of medication. And finally, I would need all of my friends and family to not crap their pants. Which could be troublesome…
But hey, at least there’s hope…:D
