Questions bipolar version #10

Not a one. I wish I could never had one again.

Does your pet sleep with you?

[QUOTE=BeyondtheRainbow;7331723]Not a one. I wish I could never had one again.

Does your pet sleep with you?[/QUOTE

Only if I’m lucky but I love when he does!

HALIEBETH answered the last question without asking a new one. As I don't currently have a pet, I'll answer Nammu's.

Yes, I had a bad cold, and am sure it was one, a couple months back. I had covid 19 during the pandemic, despite vaccinations, and it wasn't the same animal. My case of covid 19 was actually not as bad as the cold...perhaps because of the vaccinations.

What spring thing/experience did you enjoy today, in terms of delight to your senses?

I can't believe this thread is still going! I wish my original one hadn't been moved

Today I enjoyed sitting outside on our patio and vaping. It's a little chilly out today and cloudy, but not bad. I'm just happy I can go outside without a ton of winter gear on!

Keeping in the concept of this BIPOLAR question thread, what's the worst AP you've ever been on?

Risperdal, no question. It made me so hungry, I could get thirds and not be full. As a result, I gained 60 pounds in under a year.

Have you found your "happy medium" med wise or are you still looking?

I think so. My current med mix has kept me remarkably stable during some extremely tough times. Times that might have driven "normies" slightly over the edge. Certainly my use of learned coping skills from years of therapy also helped. Lately I have occasionally popped an Ativan, too. But beyond mood, I do still struggle with some side effects from my medications. Predominately their effect on me, metabolically, such as pre-diabetes, high cholesterol, and the like.

I see my Seroquel and Seroquel XR as "lesser of the evils" compared to other antipsychotics I took. On Seroquel/Seroquel XR, I've never had any akathisia or other movement disorders, no hyperprolactinemia, weight gain that would be beyond what I might have had without meds, or other select ones experienced on other meds in the past. Seroquel/Seroquel XR taken at night doesn't make me tired during the day. It has helped a lot with anxiety, and assists in my getting reliably good sleep.

Ever had a medication side effect that you liked or at least didn't find that bad?

Wellbutrin made me lose weight, but that's because I was so anxious on it. Like to an intolerable level. But the weight loss was nice

Are you a parent? Do you enjoy it? If you're not a parent, do you want to become one some day?

I'm not a parent, though I'm not sure if I want to be one at this point in time. In short, with the genetic disorder I have, I have a 50/50 shot at passing it down to my child. As far as having a biological child, a lot of hard conversations and proper planning would have to be made with my partner. I really don't know.

Have you ever been someone's caregiver?

Yes. I was my grandmother's caregiver when I was in high school.


Do you have a subject that fascinates you?

A couple. I love the Bronze Age, symbols, and goddess. Have books on those areas.

Does the future leave you anxious?

Only a little. I do expect some good years ahead, though, unless I happen to get very sick, physically. With all of the loss I've experienced I've learned to accept its inevitability and try to make the best of my life beyond it. I even try to pre-plan what a life might be if I lose my husband before passing myself. That would be the WORST loss, even above what I experienced losing my mother. However, I could/should go on, but it would be in a place and manner that I would choose 100%.

Approximately how many full blown panic attacks have you experienced these past years?

Maybe 1-2 per year unless something really stressful is going on in my life then more. I've had a lot of teaching of techniques to help so I usually can stop them before they start.

What is your favorite food ethnicity?

It's a split between Indian and Lebanese foods for me.

Do you have a food or foods that you hated when you were younger, but have changed your tune about?

Yes! I hated avocado and all olives. Now, they are among my favorite foods to eat.

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A ballet dancer. And that seemed a possibility back then as I was quite good with an excellent teacher who referred me to audition for one of the best ballet schools in the US. In the end, it didn't happen. That sparked my first severe bipolar episode.

How old were you when you had the first severe bipolar episode that in some way affected your life very negatively?

About 24 or 25. It was an episode of severe depression. I couldn't get a job because of my severe anxiety at the time and we struggled financially.

Cats or dogs?

🐈 🐕

Cats...3 rescued strays...I'm a sucker...

How long have you been on your current med regimen?

Only about six weeks. Lol. We keep on having to change the dose of my seroquel.

What's your favorite book 📚

All-tmie: The Little House on the Prairie series tied with Anne of Green Gables series. I don't really have a favorite adult book.

What do you do to reward yourself for doing something hard?

I take a hot bath with bath salts.

What bad habit annoys you the most?

A: In others: Gossiping; In myself: staying in toxic situations

Q: What would you say is the biggest "quality of life" improvement you've made in the last 2 years? -- Examples could be like traveling, more socializing, trying to be more open minded, Reading more etc.

I started attending a small group (Bible study in my church's lingo) again after a long COVID break. We've been waiting for a while because the group leader had surgery with complications but it will resume soon I think. I also staarted IFS therapy. And we kind of stopped it when I was severely depressed but I'm ready to resume.

What is one thin you learned from the pandemic?

I was absolutely blown away by how many people were taken in but unscientific bs and how many acted out. Really saddened me. We are no more civilized than we were during the black plague.

If you suddenly got a large sum of money would you change your life?

I suppose so. After finally getting the renovations completed on our house, Hubby and I would do more traveling to perhaps figure out where we want to settle long-term. When we would, we would want a slightly bigger house. Hubby would love to live near a lake or sea. I would want that to be in a town that's bigger than our current one. Preferably, the place would be an English or French speaking one. That would be easier for me. In any case, we still plan to do this, but our future home needs to be a humbler one.

Is there a town, city, state or country you'd rather live in than your current one? Where and why?

I wouldn't mind living in the city where my sister lives. We tried to move there 2 years ago but the price of housing was too great. Someday I will move there when my mom is gone. I don't like to think about that so for now I'm very happy where I'm planted.

What temperature is it when you turn on AC?