Month: September 2016

Physical and Mental Health

Physical and Mental Health

As if I didn’t have enough issues already, I went to my primary care doctor yesterday because my cholesterol is high. Now I have to add a new medication to my current large list of meds. I was told that one of my meds is most likely causing my cholesterol to rise, but no one told me which medication is causing this problem. I think it might be the Clozapine, but that’s just a guess.

It’s getting difficult managing both my mental health and my physical health at the same time. I have also developed some myoclonic jerks, most likely from the Lithium that I take. They’re manageable right now, as long as it doesn’t get worse.

World Suicide Prevention Day

World Suicide Prevention Day

Today is the World Suicide Prevention Day. I have been dealing with suicidal ideations for most of the past year. Besides taking my medication, the thing that has been the most helpful is communicating. It really seems to help when I talk or write about what’s going on with me. I remind myself that my life will continue to have ups and downs. I think that one good thing about having bipolar disorder is that I won’t feel depressed forever. Things will change, nothing is forever. Connect. Communicate. Care.

Emotionally Unbalanced

Emotionally Unbalanced

Not knowing how you feel can be exhausting. For me, I spend chunks of time trying to figure out how I’m feeling, just to end up realizing that I’m depressed, lonely, or confused. I don’t have much to say anymore, to my friends, family, therapist, or even to myself. I don’t have much to write about. How am I supposed to respond to people when they ask me how I’m doing? I feel like I’m lost inside of myself. I usually have way too many emotions to deal with at one time, or no emotions at all that I can recognize. I can’t find a happy medium. It would be nice if I could come close to an emotional balance, but I have no clue how to even begin that course of action.

Overwhelmed and About To Burn Out

Overwhelmed and About To Burn Out

I’m feeling overwhelmed. Too much is going on already. Then I have people asking me for my help, and I can’t say no. I want to be able to help, but I need to learn to set some sort of boundaries. Why is it so difficult to say no to people? I think I just need to schedule my life a little better.

I have too many doctor appointments, it’s very frustrating. Right now, I have to get blood work done every week, but that won’t last much longer. In October, I should only be getting my blood work done every other week. Maybe that will help with this feeling of being overwhelmed.

Boiling Inside

Boiling Inside

Today has been an “off” day for me. Nothing really felt right today. Everything was annoying me. It was even difficult for me to do the things that I normally enjoy doing. I kept pushing my emotions down, over and over again, I tried to keep a lid on things. I felt like a boiling tea kettle, pushed to my limits, boiling on the inside, just waiting some relief.

This doesn’t happen to me too often. Normally, I can brush off anything that annoys me. I guess that can’t happen every time. What I really need to do is learn how to set some boundaries.

Going Through The Motions

Going Through The Motions

I’m not exactly sure why, but for some reason I feel as if I’m just going through the motions. Nothing that I do seems to matter like it used to. I don’t care about things the way I did before. No matter what I’m doing, it seems that the only thing I look forward to is finishing whatever task or event is at hand. I wonder if there will be a time when positive things start to happen again in my life. Will I ever care about things like I used to?

So Many Meds

So Many Meds

Sometimes I feel like I take too much medication. I take Lithium, Tegretol, Clozapine, Cytomel, Mirapex, and Valium for my bipolar disorder and anxiety. I take Zofran, Cogentin, and Metformin because of side effects from my bipolar medication. I have to take hormone replacement therapy because of my hysterectomy. I also take Percocet and Elmiron for my bladder disorder. It’s a long list of medication.

One of the meds has to be taken on an empty stomach twice a day, but some of my other meds have to be taken with food. I take medication about 6 times a day, sometimes more, depending on when I eat. It feels like all I’m doing is taking medication. I hate the fact that so many of my medications are treating side effects of other meds, but I guess that’s how it goes.

I’ve been hoping that one day I won’t have to take medication, but realistically, I know that won’t happen. This is just something that I have to deal with. I think I wouldn’t care about it as much if the meds actually worked. My depression has improved, but my suicidal ideations are still there. In the end, I know that I’m a lot better off taking these meds than I am without them.