Off the Meds

INT. DR. COHEN’S OFFICE
Mr. Andrew Largeman?

ANDREW
Yes, hi.

DR. COHEN
There's absolutely nothing wrong with you.

ANDREW
What?

DR. COHEN
Just kidding. How would I know that? Uh...I'm Dr. Cohen. What can we do for you today, Andrew.

ANDREW
Um, I've been getting these really intense headaches. Um, they last for like a split second. It's like lightning, like a surge of electricity, and then it's gone.

DR. COHEN
Lithium? How long have you been on the lithium?

ANDREW
Um, I've been on some form of it since I was 10 or so.

DR. COHEN
And the Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa, Depakote. Did they, uh, help you at all?

ANDREW
No. I mean, I don't know. Uh...It's recently occurred to me I might not even have a problem. Only, I'd never know it because as far back as I can remember, I've been medicated. I left them in L.A. though. This is, uh, the first time I haven't had medicine in my body for a long time.

DR. COHEN
You know that stuff will leave your body pretty fast. I can write you a prescription.

ANDREW
Actually, I was thinking about taking a little vacation.

DR. COHEN
Have you discussed this with your psychiatrist?

ANDREW
Uh, well, my psychiatrist is my dad. Yeah. So I think he'd prefer me to stay on it. He... likes to think it makes me happy.

DR. COHEN
You know, our bodies are capable of doing some very funny things when they're consumed, with stress and anxiety.

ANDREW
Uh...

DR. COHEN
I found my ex-best friend's cuff links in my wife's purse. I couldn't get an erection for a year and a half for example.

ANDREW
Wow. Um...But I don't really think that's it because I don't...I don't really feel like stressed or anxious at all.

DR. COHEN
'Cause all the lithium he's had you on. It's amazing you can even hear me now.

DR. COHEN
Look, Andrew, uh, first of all, I think you do need to find a psychiatrist that isn't your father. That's something that should have been remedied years ago. He knows better. And secondly, uh, I'm in no position to comment on, whether you should stay on the meds or not because I don't know your story. But my opinion, since you're paying for it, is that, yeah, those drugs may help you as a means to an end, but sooner or later, if you're not in some sort of therapy, whatever's going on in your mind will find a way to peek its little head out of the water. Are you all right?

ANDREW
Yeah.

DR. COHEN
Yeah, you're all right. You're alive. Come on. I'll take a look at you. Come. I'll need you to take your shoes off. I have to scratch your feet.

[Andrew gets and MRI.]