Bipolar check in #39

I'm happy to hear from you. I was concerned. I am glad your pdoc could help. I really hope the med adjustments work long enough to bring you out of this.

So, our power was shut off for a while due to high winds. Yesterday afternoon it was turned back on, but I've gotten a warning from the National Weather Service that we're going to have another red flag warning Saturday night through Monday midday. This means the electricity will likely be shut off to bracket the period of the wind storm. Thus I am here for a bit, but will be absent Sunday and Monday. Hopefully they'll have the power turned back on by Tuesday morning.

It’s probably just new job jitters along with just self doubt because teaching a full class was just too overwhelming. Yes I’m sure that is what your T would advise. You have great insight so your already steps ahead

You can handle it I have total faith in you !!!

Do you have any plans for the weekend??? I hope your son feels better and hasn’t shared the germs to you and RS

Hopefully your brother shows up!

Ahhhhhhj fantastic news about Food stamps or well they call it EBT now, I think ... that is going to ease a ton of stress off of you !!! I’m so happy for you

My husband has done that to my car and yes I wanted to leave it too. But eventually it had to go lol

The med sounds promising, I honestly don’t know much about it ... does it make someone sick if they drink on it ?? Or just curb there wanting it ???

Your Father seeing your Pdoc? I do think if anyone might be able to help him it would be your Pdoc because he knows so much already about him. But would you be comfortable?? What if your Dad shared things about you ? From childhood or maybe current things. Basically will you start wondering if he’s talking about You to Your Pdoc ??

My T saw my husband twice when I first was diagnosed and our marriage was pretty much over. At the end of the second session Richard told him that he wasn’t able to help him as I was his first concern and offered him another T to see..

If it were me I’d think pretty deep about this

Its okay to give yourself a day here and there to just “ be”

Brunch sounds lovely

Ohhh okay I think I misunderstood and thought YOUR Pdoc would see your Dad. .. Doh !

So him seeing your husbands Pdoc might be okay.

Thanks for the positive comments, everyone!

Yes, it’s lithium I am on, 450 mg/day.

It was very bizarre; about 45 min to an hour after taking the first pill, my thoughts slowed down, and I could actually think about 1 thing at a time, prioritize my thinking, and not have 20 thoughts or fragments of thoughts in my head. Took time to build up to a more constant level, but I only started lithium October 3.

I will see the pdoc again on Halloween.

Feeling content, genuine happiness and love really is awesome! . I have been searching for the med cocktail for me over 20 years, minus my pregnancy, over 10 years since I got the bipolar diagnosis. (Though I hope to reduce some meds with the pdoc’s help in the future.).

Don’t give up hope

Maybe after effects from your anesthesia?? Sees awful long tho. But... you have been feeling so sick for so long maybe your body is just demanding what it really needs and that’s sleep and lots of just good rest. ?!!

It’s good that your being proactive !!! Hopefully adding Abilify and Seroquil for right now stomps this out and you won’t need fulltime.

Oh goodness ! I hope the winds die down. I can’t imagine living with the threat of fires.

Stay safe

Yeah, I'm blaming the anesthesia. It says it can last for a while and that's before it's combined with clozapine. I'm normally tired so I guess this just doubled it. Plus as you mentioned, my body doesn't have much reserve right now after the months of sickness.

I did manage to walk the dogs up and down the driveway a few times (it is fairly long). I was actually willing to go once more but they wanted in so we stopped. I was tired but it felt good to move around some. That's an improvement; Wednesday I had to climb and descend these really steep and long steps at my nieces' school and I barely made it. I backed up traffic I was so slow.

Hopefully tomorrow will bring some more energy.

Well Steve’s Son and girlfriend can’t make it. All flights to Nashville are all way over booked. He could use a jump seat since he’s an employee of American Airlines , but his girlfriend could not. My husband is so bummed

But we just have a full weekend of snotty rain. They wanted to head to downtown Nashville and nobody wants to hang out down there in the rain. So another weekend would be better anyway.

My whole body is being a total Bytch !

Hugs and cookies ~

Hi!

I can see you are giving this situation due consideration. It is best to try to troubleshoot this before leaping.

Yes, the situations I had cited were very difficult; however, I am very happy to share with you. I want to try to help in any way I can help.

It sounds like your H's Pdoc would be the better choice, between your pdoc and H's pdoc. He is further removed from you.

I know we tend to think our pdocs won't get into drama. That's not really the biggest concern. Someone with a different agenda, someone who has some interpersonal issues, someone who can/does create chaos in families and/or in social groups, someone who manipulates, will do the same or worse when involved with one of our pdocs/therapists.

My pdocs were not the type to get involved in drama, and that is a part of why I was willing to take the chance, over and over. The person causing drama was so good at it, chaos in the clinic ensued anyway.

I think the very first choice is to find your dad a pdoc/therapist who is not involved with anyone in the family. I am sorry if I have missed this, why is it that your dad's pdoc/therapist might be someone connected to your family?
Are there other professionals trained in dual diagnosis?
Is there a shortage of pdocs/therapists in your area?

If your dad having a totally separate pdoc/therapist is not possible, then out of the two, your pdoc or your H's pdoc, it is less risky if your dad connects with your H's pdoc.

It is critical, for your own healing, that you always protect your relationships with your pdoc and your therapist. This healing space is very important. From my stories you can tell it took some time for me to fully understand the importance in doing so. I was more interested in helping others at the time and clearly did not protect myself and my healing space(s). I can see now that I was not properly protecting myself and the more "sacred" nature of these healing relationships/spaces. I no longer put these relationships at risk.

This is a very difficult decision. We all want to help our loved ones as best we can. Just a word of caution, offering our pdocs/therapists may not be the wisest, nor truly the best, for all parties involved.

I am thinking of you, BirdDancer, as you consider the best course for you and for your dad.

Much Love to You!

P.S. The pdoc who set his patient, your dad, up on a blind date deserves to be reported to at least a couple of regulating agencies.

That’s very weird ! Yes ignore is good

N3 and his gf left saying they were going to a festival of lights downtown. It was nearly dark when they left. Now n3's computer keeps making random noises so I called him to ask why and if I could shut it off but he didn't answer. So she doesnt have to be home until 10 and I'm still in my clothes in case one or both of them want a ride. I have a feeling n3 might walk her home then ask me to come get him. Edit: they are almost back here. He called.

By the way, I had typed this out earlier and the "token expired" so it ate my message! I hate when that happens.

Been reading my book about the elephants. This book just sneaks up on you. I have no idea where it might go next and a quote on the inside cover says it has a surprise ending so yeah.... Fun book!

Ummm I just want to add a bit to this

When I brought Judie into my home for some reason she assumed she would see my Pdoc and T ?!? Hu ? What? Noooooo ... I actually got panicked. Yes she needed to find providers but ...

Anyway I saw Richard a few days later and expressed concern He said that he would absolutely not be her T ... there were numerous other T’s she could see at the practice. He also said that if I was uncomfortable her seeing my Pdoc she could see the NP.

So Richard told me to call him when she made her intake appt so he could note on her account she could not see him or my Pdoc.

Judie was very upset when she was assigned to other providers. NP and T both told her they had a policy about family members and friends.

Judie even confronted me about it !!!!!! I was pretty shocked ! I mean I just saved her freaking life and she’s all mad that she can’t see MY T and Pdoc. I said even if they didn’t have that policy I would have not been okay her seeing them, that she had other options. The first of many red flags !

Anyway.... him seeing your Husbands Pdoc could be okay if your husband is okay with it.

I really really wish you didn’t have to deal with an alcoholic Father at all.

Please do make sure you take care of yourself first and foremost

Is N3 the son who won’t work ?? Sorry I can’t remember which is which

I feel like I am having a breakdown. Things have been rough lately. I feel like I have to be the strong one in my marriage all the time. I shouldn't. I'm fine one minute then crying the next. I don't see my therapist until November 11th. That was the first available appt. That seems like a long way off. God help me.

I had a rough day at work today. It was really busy and I was not feeling good.

I came home and I just sat, not saying a word. I was exploring how I was feeling and I'm marking down that today was a bad day.

But on the plus side, after a while of sitting quietly I started a conversation with my wife. We talked about a few things and it was good.

This weekend is an important time for Indians (my wife is from India). It's probably their most important festival. There's lots of cooking involved, plus visiting friends. So we're going out both days of the weekend. I hope they turn out to be good days.