Bipolar Check-in #40

Today was really good. No voices or paranoia like I had last night. I went to the food pantry to have lunch and get some food for the house. Went to the pharmacy. Read quite a bit. Pretty relaxing day over all, much calmer, mentally, than yesterday. I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving, I get a free turkey basket from the agency my case manager is with, so I can make a Thanksgiving dinner. It's just me and my 2 cats, but it's still fun to do. I miss my mom especially around the holidays, I'll have to see if my sister can take us over to the cemetery to leave flowers for her

I truly hope that your Florida trip is a positive, you need a break. I’m very glad your Pdoc has left the door open to call him you need/want too.

Yes will be good weather next week... My daughter is just happy she’s getting time to jog outside instead of a gym treadmill.

Fort Meyers beach is very nice , I use to go there a lot over the years growing up.

I hope it’s a very much needed relaxing trip

I got off my birth control and I can’t tell if my hormones are out of whack and they are causing mania and mood swings or what. I feel like I’m living a double life though. I just have excellent self control over my mood swings. Anxiety, not so much. I don’t let people know what I’m really feeling or thinking though.

Wow!

Just checking in tonight and am thrilled you; have gotten outside.!
Glad life is getting a bit easier. I hope you have another good night!

Hmm I didn't think of that, I'll give it a try. Thanks!

Hi Scooter! I am sorry you continue to experience brain zaps.
I have heardof them, often, by people taking and/or tapering psych meds. I don't know as anyone has ever known much more about these zaps.

Offthe top of my head, I wonder if anti-epileptic meds might calm the brain; however, these meds bring problems of their own.

As I am writing, it comes to me that magnesium might be helpful, as it tends to calm the CNS. Magnesium is now considered as a very important part of a prophylactic approach to migraine for chronic migraineurs.

Just a thought.
My best!

Thanks WC.

I'll try the magnesium.

About the anti-epileptic, I used to take Lamictal but I can't any more because it was damaging my liver, otherwise I'd try it.

I see my pdoc next week, I'll see what she says. I wonder if this is related to my lower sleep.

My pharmacy didn’t have lithium in stock and had to order it so I still haven’t started it yet. They didn’t bother to call and let me know. This poses a problem since I needed to take a blood panel 5-7 days after starting and that runs it into Thanksgiving and the holiday weekend. I’ll call my doctor’s office for the doctor on call and see if they want me to hold off on taking it.

I’ve determined that I will make it through Thanksgiving and visiting M and if I’m not feeling better then I’ll go IP. Having said that, I feel a bit better this morning although morning is my good time of day.

I don’t have much emotional support in my life at all. I have other forms of support for which I’m very grateful but emotional support is lacking. Just a general lack of thoughtfulness, caring and compassion. I’ve decided to accept it for what it is and to build my own tribe of people who care for me. The first emotional support I’m putting in is my therapist who was happy to hear from me.

I’m also going to do a better job with other methods for managing this like nutrition, exercise, supplements, meditation and some forms of energy healing. That’s all I can think of.

I appreciate PC and the folks on this forum. It really helps just to get it out. Thank you.

Warm regards.

Ugh. What a bad night. I'm up before the sun. Was up half the night cause I fell asleep funny and my arm and hand fell asleep and buzzed at me.

Hey Jennifer, sorry to hear about the issue at the pharmacy. That's frustrating.

I'm glad you've given yourself a realistic goal to work with as far as IP goes. That seems very wise and it gives you something mentally to hold on to when you're struggling.

I work with teams a lot and help individuals grow into better teammates. Part of being a leader of a team is recognizing and accepting the strengths and weaknesses of your teammates. You can help them grow, but you can also change up the team if your realize the effort isn't worth it or you don't have the skill set necessary to inspire those changes.

In your case electing to lean on a different mix of people for your emotional needs seems like a great idea. You can seek out a mix of people who lift you up, who challenge you, who support you unconditionally, who teach you, etc. You can find people who you trust and those who are equipped with the emotional skills to help. Creating a varied and talented team is an art, but you're on the right track!

I also think it is great you're tackling things from a holistic perspective. Caring for my physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health together helped me out a lot. My success ebbs and flows, but it seems to be a solid formula for better health I can continue to align with and find success.

You're in my thoughts. Wishing you all the best!

I just got to my therapist's office for an appt at 10am. I am a bit nervous to talk to her today and I don't know why. I am feeling nervous today for absolutely no reason.

I do have to finish some stuff up by thanksgiving for work. I also have to continue cleaning my apartment. I did do some organizing yesterday, though, so I am happy with that. The problem with my apartment, however, is that I never had enough organizational stuff in the first place (e.g., no shelving, no plastic bins, etc.), so I am actively figuring out what to put in bins and on shelves, and then *where* to put those bins/shelves. I am halfway organized.

On another note, I did go shopping for food and toilet paper yesterday after not going for about a month. Mostly needed the toilet paper because I only had 1 roll left and you can't really flush napkins or paper towels if you use them. (I would know because I was cleaning my kitchen sink with paper towels and instead of throwing the paper towels in the trash, I threw them ALL in the toilet and flushed because I wasn't thinking. So yeah, don't want that to happen again, except this time would be worse because well... it wouldn’t be bathroom cleaner in the toilet... lol.)

You ask excellent questions!
You must be a scientist!

Many people take magnesium at night because it calms their CNS and muscles.

Both brain zaps and sleep are at least theoretically (and potentially) helped by magnesium.

*Here is a very popular line of magnesium supplements actually named "Calm" and is incredibly popular, as an example : https://www.naturalvitality.com/natu...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

Magnesium is well-known for overall calming effects, for restless legs syndrome, regulating heartbeat and more.

If I were to choose attempting to treat brain zaps and/or sleep, I'd want the magnesium over any anti-epileptic, by far. (In hopes I could escape the medication and its side-effects.)

Please note: At some dose, one might experience loose stools and this dose is different for everyone.

*This same formula is available in generic forms in most nutrition stores and only recently in many drug and grocery stores in the U.S.

Oh! The form of magnesium is important. The form in these supplements are the best for this use: calcium carbonate. Other forms of calcium may also be helpful Avoid magnesium oxide, which is not well assimilated by the body.

Please let me know if i can help in any way.

My Best

I am so sorry you are having a tough time.
You are loved and appreciated here, Jennifer.

I think you know I support you and you are invited to contact me anytime. We've briefly touched upon the modalities you have listed here. I cannot always get back to anyone right away; however, I generally do respond within the same day/night.

I care about you very much! You have been a great friend to me for years now.
With Love and Appreciation

Oh no! it must have been in the stars, as I'd slept an hour early this morning.
i hope you can take a nap today!?
Love ya!

You must be doing quite well! I am excited for you! You tend to get busy obtaining groceries and organizing your space. when you have more energy, on all levels.

Any Jimmie Dean?

Love ya!

It looks like I'm someone's mentor

The person whom I'm now mentoring told me that he was looking for a mentor and said that I'm the person to do that!

I'm amazed that he picked me and honored at the same time.

It looks like I'm back to 4 hours sleep. But the bright side is I have much more time for my hobby and other activities.

Mentoring is a wonderful service and learning opportunity. I think it is fantastic you're willing to invest in yourself and someone else in this way. Enjoy

I can definitely see why someone would want you for a mentor!
You show many great qualities here!
I hope you both benefit from this new arrangemant!

Hope your appointment goes well

I understand the organization thing, I don't have many shelves or bins in my apartment either so it's hard to figure out were to put stuff, definitely need to get some

Hey guys! Sorry I haven't posted much over the past month or so, but I've been lurking a little. Hugs to all who want them

I've been doing alright. No major ups or downs, although I am feeling a bit speedy today. My cats haven't been doing so well. One had a severe bladder infection that's all cleared up now, and another has to see a cardiologist due to a heart murmur and some odd behavior. It'll cost $800 just to see the kitty cardiologist, not including any treatment. We still haven't taken our oldest (17 y/o) to her check up, but she seems alright. She's sitting on my lap right now haha I love her.

They're switching pdocs on me. I'm not even going to see a doctor anymore, just a nurse practitioner. Just when I realized my old pdoc is on my side and is actually kinda nice too. I can't even pronounce the name of my new pnurse. I'm hoping she's nice and competent with a good listening ear.