Bipolar Check-In #38

It's the face with the tornado in the center and clouds above, here's a link to it on my blog

Schizoaffective Art | The Daily Blue Bird

Thanks! That's cool and represents the illness so well!

Thank you! I had the idea of it in my mind for a long time so finally put it on paper

Wow! I love your artwork!!! It helps me to more fully understand some of what you go throuigh. Thanks so much for sharing so freely and openly in the public community, as well as for sharing here, too. I feel so fortunate to "know" you!!!

Nice Job!!!

I've always been so very impressed with how you and your wife treat your disabled relative! Very thoughtful and kind! I'd be very lucky to have people like you both in my life! Thanks for sharing!!!

HI! It's nice to hear about your weekend!

I took my mom out to dinner on Friday night. I didn't get much done yesterday. I have been out for a walk today. I am , otherwise, working on more paperwork for my disability review, as I have a meeting on Tuesday.

You were touched by your Dad expressing interest in you?
It was very thoughtful of your sister to leave you a letter while she is away?

It seems to be hit or miss with some of these hotlines. I am sorry it was not helpful to you this time. Maybe it will be helpful another time? I think it sometimes depends upon who is interacting with the callers? Not all personalities are the same ; some do better with this. I do hope you will call again if you ever feel a need to do so? When feeling so down, we have nothing to lose by reaching out. I have found this to be true when I need support.

I hope you have a FUN time with your family tonight!
Thanks for letting us know how your weekend is going for you!

It's cold outside. It's cold inside. They've started ripping the shingles off our roof today so all kinds of noise.


Strangely, here I am two days after ECT and feeling below baseline. What's more, it's too cold to go out for a ride.

You must be very concerned! I would get him in for an evaluation and/or in for an admission, if at all possible. He is likely in a very dangerous place. It sometimes only takes a slight increase in energy for young people to have the energy to harm themselves or to take their lives. This is also more likely for young men, who tend to take a more aggressive, more permanent approach simply due to their hormonal status (often a higher amount of testosterone than they are used to handling).

If he goes outpatient and his pdoc increases his medication, please be very careful. This increase can be just enough to give him the energy boost to carry through on his ideation.

It's so much better to be safe than to be sorry.
I am glad you are reaching out here and I hope we can adequatley support you and your family!
Much Love to You and to Your Family!

Ahhhh I’m glad you watched some movies. Good distraction.

Sorry your sick do you think you need to see a Doctor?

I’m glad you got to talk to your Dad. What a nice thing for you sister to do. See you are very much loved

Hope you start to feel better soon

How kind of you to take family out , especially in Fall , beautiful colors ! I can’t wait til the leaves start changing here !!! I’m not fond of the winter that follows tho lol

Oh no, roofers make a lot of noise.
I used to be so very disappointed when it became too cold to ride in the Fall. When I was a youngster (somewhat unsupervised youngster, that is), I often rode my bike to school in the winter. We, otherwise, walked two miles. Some mornings, I was running late and would hop on my bike. I was wobbling all over the place in the snow/ice and we did not wear helmets back then. I feel very lucky I did not get hurt.

All of this to say: I used to hate giving up riding my bike, even in the winter!

I wonder if there is something else you might find helpful?
Have you ever considered setting up a stationary bike in the winter? It is not much of an adventure and the scenery gets old.

Thank you WC! I'm glad to know you too, you are a very kind and caring person

Thank you fern, I'm happy to share

Isn’t he still under age 18 ? If so don’t you feel as a parent that forcing him to truly get into a safe place is more important than his protests??

My daughter was suicidal once and I stayed up for 5 days straight watching her every move, they did a snow her under with either Seroquil or Zyprexa. I was frantic.. I had her a bag packed and I would have just scooped her up and gone, she was over 18 anyway. I wasn’t willing to take that risk.

You of course know your son best , and yes a note from a Doctor would take care of any missed school.

What’s his logic about waiting until his pills are out ?? Is he going to stop taking them , again?

Since I'm seeing the doc soon I'd like to ask him about something for my back, like many places this clinic doesn't do pain meds,....so I'd like to pick everyone's brain here cause I know here there's a lot of experience. Ever since the ambien pooped out and I no longer get a decent nights sleep my back is getting worse. I am going to ask for PT but I need something to get though this wedding too. My cousin was on some kind of non opiated pain med. does anyone here know what that might be? I think there's supposed to be several pills similar but I'm so out on left field my googling isn't returning the right results. Any ideas?

I would not like the cold fur sure.

Do you think the stress of the roof and now being cold is effecting your mood ??

Stay warm!

I don’t know what doctors think of Ultram anymore it, nope just looked it’s now listed as highly addictive. Sigh. I took it for a few years , it was for Fibro and it didn’t help much.

What about a muscle relaxer ? Flexiril? Skelaxin ? Mobic ? I have Feldene I can take it’s basically ibuprofen that last 24 hours but it kicks in rather quickly it has helped with the tendon I damaged while in Florida.

I’ll keep thinking on this..

Is your back problem as least partially due to, or aggravated by, spasms?
Sometimes, muscle relaxants help a lot with not only spasms, but also pain and, sometimes, with sleep.

I will think... I am sure I know of others. Am having a bit of a migraine and cannot think well at the moment.

I hope you find the perfect approach, one which will help you best!

Ooops! Christina and I were writing at the same time.

Nammu, NSAIDs can be used. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
A newer med being used in this region is "meloxicam." It is used for pain, including after ortho surgeries. Many do not experience adequate relief, yet some do.

Still thinking....

Edited:

If your back pain is largely "nerve" pain, it is possible a doc might prescribe a med like gabapentin/Neurontin. It is used for nerve pain, for anxiety, for sleep in some cases. You may have tried this med before? It is used a lot by members here.

For a lot of pain, with an inflammatory component, docs often suggest both Aleve (naproxen sodium) and Tylenol (acetaminophen) together. This is potent enough to often be prescribed after some types of surgery, usually outpatient types of surgeries, though not always outpatient. If interested in this option, please see your pharmacist for timing and dose info. (I have to refrain. I am not a medical professional.)

Still thinking....

PC friends, don't get the wrong idea when I write that my right middle finger is sore It's been doing overtime compensating for the pointer finger being out of commission, as I have been still spending lots of time on my smart phone. One advantage to all of this is that I have recruited Hubby to be my sous chef.

It's so cold that Hubby and I are wearing wool socks. I can't wait until we light the fireplace.

That iis cute!

It's nice Hubby is helping out! I think he does so quite often? You are a very lucky woman!

Oh thanks for the replies. A muscle relaxer might be the ticket. I use Tylenol and Aleve though not at the same time. Maybe that would help. I think it's mostly muscle. After I had my spinal fusion I went into a deep depression and didn't go to pt or even continue my surgery post op check ups. I basicly holed up in my bedroom. That was when I was on my own in Texas so no family to make sure I got up and followed though on my appointments. I was think of that gabapentin, pretty sure that what my cousin was on, but if it's for nerve pain, that's not want this is. The surgery fixed the nerve pain. I think pt is the best but it will take time. I wish acupuncture was covered by insurance because I believe that would help. Down in Austin Texas there were places that did sliding fees. Here there's only one place and it's expensive.

It may be difficult to tell, as I tend to work to sometimes do the "opposite."; however, I am being challenged by a lot of pain right now. It also often helps my mood to post here even if/when being so challenged.

My other option is to isolate, which sometimes is the most helpful thing to do. However, it is not always the best thing to do.

My Love for the community can, often, stimulate endorphins, which can be very helpful. Participating here can be great medicine for me.

I had awakened this morning with a migraine brewing. The heat in ths house, during this cool weather, is giving me a hard time. I went into a full-blown migraine. It is dry heat and is much warmer than I can usually tolerate. I am negotiating some possible changes. I hope they work out. I cannot see living with exacerbated asthma and daily migraines. I will get another humidifier for the living area; I already have one in my bedroom. This should be all worked out within the next 24 hours!

Otherwise, I just LOVE the weather! It is soooo pretty here!!!

Love to all!

I agree with you, a more "natural" approach might be very helpful. As you have mentioned, the trouble, too often, is the expense. If your pain is more muscular, I would suggest a topical named "Penetrex," which is kind of a super Arnica type of a formulation. It does contain Arnica, plus! I have had excellent luck with it, including treating both muscular and sensory nerve pain.

One of the potential problems with a topical is whether or not one can reach the painful area enough to rub the topical in as directed. If someone cannot reach the painful area, it can help to have someone else help. I know this can be a problem.

If one can reach the area of pain/discomfort, then I highly recommend Penetrex. It can be an issue due to cost. It can be found at Walmart, at Amazon and at Penetrex.com. This topical works better the more/longer it is used.

Another option, which may or may not cost less is: Arnica, as in just arnica. I have had good luck with this, too. I have had better luck with the Penetrex formulation wihich contains Arnica. It is rare that anyone will get immediate relief from the first application of these topicals. These work better for the "long haul."

I am sorry you cannot secure the assitance of acupuncture.
Just my two cents!

I hope you find truly helpful relief.

I'm more than halfway through my bowel prep. So far so good although the part where I run to the bathroom is just beginning and is sure to become more fun. So far my stomach is handling it very well which is surprising since I Have to drink the gallon in just a few hours. I"m learning that sips of other drinks between the Golightly helps make it easier to handle and clears the taste. The nurse told me to mix it with crystal light and that has been successful. Still nasty but nasty peach and mango instead of pure nasty. She told me that lemon packet that I was told to use tastes like Pledge. This is not delicious, especially because I do not like the taste of artificial sweeteners but it is better than Pledge (probably also with artificial sweetners).

I do miss my own house for this but no way could I drive up post-prep (and I have to be there at 7:45 so would have to leave before 5 for rush hour traffic).

Fun stuff....I'm sure you are all jealous.