Prescription medication and becoming a lawyer Forum

[tangosix]

I was recently (Friday) diagnosed with OCD and General Anxiety Disorder and prescribed 50 mg of Sertraline (Zoloft) daily.
Will this have any adverse effect on my acceptance if and when I apply to a law school? Are personality disorders considered anywhere in the field?

[rynabrius]

Stay mum about it.

[tangosix]

thought about that aswell.


TBH i've yet to get the prescription filled and i probably won't even do it. my symptoms are so mild and my mom made me go so i somewhat went to satisfy here


then again, it's documented that im diagnosed w/ those issues. meh. guess its nothing to fret over

[Marionberry]

SSRIs like Zoloft are so benign and widely prescribed that there's no reason not to take them, unless you're certain that the diagnosis was a mistake. Taking zoloft will have absolutely no adverse effect on your performance in law school (if needed, it may help) or on your admissions cycle.

If a medication is competently prescribed, then it isn't anyone's business as far as your application is concerned. Plus, so many many people are prescribed drugs like Zoloft that even if all your adcomms knew, they wouldn't give a damn.

If you need them, even a little, take the meds you are prescribed.

[servinDizzert]

What about medicinal marijuana? Is that frowned upon?

[Fred_McGriff]

Didn't the Incas use blow medicinally?

[BaiAilian2013]

Remember that OCD is not a personality disorder; it's Axis I.

[Eric475]

I've been shuffling through various psychological medications for months and I'm not worried about applying in the fall you'll be fine

[capitalacq]

thought about that aswell.


TBH i've yet to get the prescription filled and i probably won't even do it. my symptoms are so mild and my mom made me go so i somewhat went to satisfy here


then again, it's documented that im diagnosed w/ those issues. meh. guess its nothing to fret over

imo, try the prescription for a month and then decide whether or not you want it

its not going to affect law school and you might as well get started on this medication during the summer (since the first week or two could be a little rough)

[Marionberry]

OP: You should be taking advice about your medication from a doctor, not from people on TLS.

While the above poster's advice was well intentioned, one month is not long enough to determine whether or not SSRI medication is working or not. It often takes from 3-6 weeks for meds like these to actually begin having an effect. Also, at no point after you've been taking it for a while should you just decide to stop taking it. You will need a taper protocol determined by your doctor to do that responsibly. You're messing with your brain chemistry, take it seriously.

That being said, again, if you need them, take them. It will only help you in law school and in life.

[legalease9]

What about medicinal marijuana? Is that frowned upon?

By the feds who are providing your student loans, yes.

[bows_and_toes]

Didn't the Incas use blow medicinally?

They chewed coca leaves, not the isolated chemical cocaine. More comparable to coffee than blow.

[masochist]

First of all, I should disclose that I am a psychologist. While I certainly cannot provide advice about this specific treatment plan, I can comment more generally about how to handle treatment recommendations when confidentiality is a concern.

It isn’t a very good idea to make decisions about mental health treatment without consulting a psychologist or psychiatrist. I would strongly suggest you bring your concerns back to the prescribing physician or an individual therapist before you decide to ignore the treatment recommendations. I assure you that all of us in the mental health field are used to dealing with issues of confidentiality and will be able to work with you to address your concerns.

Speaking more generally, lawyers as a group are often more worried than they need to be about mental health records. I have treated a number of lawyers and law students and have never been asked to release records of any sort. Even if I had been asked, a licensing board would not be able to compel me to turn them over. Contrary to what most think, it is absolutely impossible for a state bar to access this information without your permission. A lot of lawyers believe the blanket consent they sign as part of their bar application entitles the bar to access to medical records. It does not. The blanket consent does not meet the minimum requirement of a medical release as defined by HIPAA. The bar would have to follow up with an additional, more specific release of information if they wanted medical records. Finally, if all else fails, session notes are not very informative. Here is what one of my notes typically looks like.

01/01/10 Individual therapy 45 min
S/O: clt arrived on time. Mood was “OK” with consistent affect. No SI/HI. Mental status unchanged. Today the clt discussed his relationship with his gf
A: Clt stable and engaged
P: Cont. RTC 01/08/10

Too many lawyers suffer from untreated mental illness because they are afraid that treatment jeopardizes their career. In my experience, untreated mental illness is far more threatening to a lawyer’s career than therapy or antidepressants.