Questions Bipolar Version #9

I can change my oil, but not my tires sadly.

Do you have a favorite simple DIY project that helps out in your home or yard?

Not really. I have things I enjoy, like gardening, that I can't do because my meds make me dizzy if I bend down. Working on that.

Do you have any extremely frustrating side effects from meds?

Just the weight gain and accompanying problems that brings. I used to have many more side effects but am down to just this one.

Do you keep a radio or tv on for background noise?

I watched a pretty informative youtube video on Bipolar this morning and thought I would post the link here in case anyone wants to watch it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shoe I watched a pretty informative youtube video on Bipolar this morning and thought I would post the link here in case anyone wants to watch it.

Thank you!

No. I like quiet.

Did you get a lot of ear infections as a kid?

Not a lot, but I did get one particularly bad one. Oddly, I tried to hide it but eventually the school figured it out and then informed my mother. I had to go to a pediatric ENT. He said I might need tubes put in my ears, which frightened me. Luckily it never came to that. I remember having prescription ear drops and maybe an antibiotic, but only for days. Not long-term. I think I was 7 or 8 years old at the time.

Do you tend to hide some sickness (physical or psychological) or the opposite?

I tend to take a wait and see approach . When I was a kid I did ignore illness. I loved school, and I loved learning. Mum had to catch me sneaking out the door to go to 2nd grade school when I had chicken pox cause I wanted to go to school. I had horrible horrible migraines though that decimated me. Those I would hide in a dark cool place. I guess you could say my approach to illness is that of a cat!

Do you take meds as prescribed or do you adjust them to suit you.

Generally as prescribed. I've got a good relationship with my Psych NP where we've established my core meds and have established PRNs when needed. No surprises. No muss. No fuss.

I did tell him if I found that a new med wasn't right for me (side effects or just not feeling right) and he fought me on it for no good reason, I'll stop it unilaterally. No muss. No fuss. Done.

Other than McDonald's, where would you go if you were craving fast food?

I so rarely get fast food. I guess ideally Chipotle although I don't get it often because it's expensive and on the far side of town.

Do you like rollercoasters?

I LOVE rollercoasters! Funny, today I was thinking about how I'd like to go on one. When I was 16 my best friend and I had an all-day pass to a huge amusement park, we went on a rollercoaster that went in an upside-down loop 26 (!) times in a row. Did we ever have a blast!


Do you like to eat ice cream in cold weather?

I do although I don't usually eat it often in the winter. We tend to switch to hot pudding in the winter instead of ice cream as our treat.

What color are your current sheets? And do you sleep with one sheet or two?

Where I live (Czechia) and select other Central European countries, we don't really use "sheets" like many do in the United States. Instead, all comforters have duvet (comforter) covers. These sort of act as sheets. When they are dirty, they are removed and washed. Right now ours is a green, blue, and gray modern design. Flannel. Our fitted sheet below is white. We also often use a duvet cover that is light blue with white and golden flowers. Cotton. We prefer the duvet covers over sheets, but did buy a large comforter that covers Hubby and me together (typical in the US), while Czechs often buy two small comforters (with same size covers) for such large beds. So each person on the bed has their own small comforter. And while we (and most Americans) simply make the bed by putting the comforter flat on the bed, most Czechs fold the individual comforters in half and position them sideways on the mattress(es). Also, though most Czech big beds do have one large bed frame, they usually have two smaller (twin) mattresses in it (side by side) rather than one huge (queen or king) mattress.

Is there something you now do differently than when you were growing up (parents did)?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soupe du jour Where I live (Czechia) and select other Central European countries, we don't really use "sheets" like many do in the United States. Instead, all comforters have duvet (comforter) covers. These sort of act as sheets. When they are dirty, they are removed and washed. Right now ours is a green, blue, and gray modern design. Flannel. Our fitted sheet below is white. We also often use a duvet cover that is light blue with white and golden flowers. Cotton. We prefer the duvet covers over sheets, but did buy a large comforter that covers Hubby and me together (typical in the US), while Czechs often buy two small comforters (with same size covers) for such large beds. So each person on the bed has their own small comforter. And while we (and most Americans) simply make the bed by putting the comforter flat on the bed, most Czechs fold the individual comforters in half and position them sideways on the mattress(es). Also, though most Czech big beds do have one large bed frame, they usually have two smaller (twin) mattresses in it (side by side) rather than one huge (queen or king) mattress. Is there something you now do differently than when you were growing up (parents did)?

(I have a dear friend who is from Bulgaria; she came here when she was 40. She does some kind of wonderful, complicated thing with safety pins and duvet covers.)

Absolutely different. I never abandoned, neglected, screamed at, degraded, or beat my children.

Will you be going to a fair this summer?

I'm going to the state fair Tuesday if it doesn't rain.

Do you still wear a mask inside? Outside?

No. The mask mandates were fully lifted a while back. I write "fully" because for a while they mostly were except in medical and pharmacy settings and public transportation. Putting this aside, both my husband and I recently had covid, but we isolated for almost two weeks. When one of us was close to others, we wore masks and once even gloves. We are fully vaccinated with a booster. Most people are where we are. Luckily this variant seems less dangerous than previous ones.

What about autumn do you like most?

Waking up and seeing the frost on the ground and heading for a walk and feeling the crisp cool air that isn't quite frigid yet.

If you could easily become fluent in any language(s) which would you learn if any?

If I could suddenly hear, I’d like to learn mandarin. I’ve been told it’s a beautiful language. If I’m still deaf then I’d like to learn Latin because it is the language of science.

What language would you love to learn?

(Canadian) French

Did you strongly belong to any cliques in high school?

I suppose the Theater Kids, but I never really sat a "Theater table," went to "Theater parties," that sort of thing.

Are there people you went to school with who surprised you (in a good way) with how they turned out?

Yes, a number of them. One that surprised me was someone who wasn't into academics and then wound up considered extremely good in a competitive field.

What is something you've done in your life that is unusual?

To pick one, I guess when I moved to Taiwan at 23 years old all by myself (a young woman), and then months later decided to travel around Hong Kong and Thailand by myself. Many women that age don't do such independent travel and so far from "home". Though not the whole time, some of the time I rented some mighty modest sleeping accommodations. One was the size of a small shed (maybe 6' x 8' total) and actually was a concrete room (no window) with just a little mattress and mosquito net. I think it cost the equivalent of $5 per night. Showers were outdoor communal showers, with no curtains. Others were hostels with mixed male-female rooms with six to ten beds in each room, some with bed bugs. I recall chaining my suitcase to the beds with a lock. I was a bit manic for some of that time, not even now knowing how I knew how to get around, traveling hundreds of miles to various Thai cities. That wasn't my first time in Taiwan alone, nor my first time traveling abroad mostly on my own. Unlike most parents, mine weren't phased by my journeys and didn't really worry. Often I didn't even call home for several weeks at a time. A few years before, when teaching in Poland as a part of a cultural exchange, the director of the program called me into his office and asked why I never called my parents, while all other participants did frequently. I recall responding "Well, I assume that if anything happened to me you'd call my parents. They know that." I think it surprised the heck out of him, but seemed so normal and logical to me.

What do you like to do in the hour before bed?

I check MSF one last time, watch Colbert, get cheese cubes to eat with my night meds, then read 15-20 minutes before I shut my light off.

What age would you like to revisit? What would you do differently at that age?

As Stevie Nicks sang, "The edge of seventeen." An exciting and wonderful time for me. I honestly can't think of one thing I would have done differently.

What's the first thing you'll do when you feel the first crisp of autumn?

Go outside and stay there more than 5 minutes without getting sick!

Do you wear make-up?