I Made It Through The First Day

I made it through my first day of juicing. I have to admit, it’s not fun. The juices do not taste good. I tried a few different juices. I think the hardest part about drinking the juice is the smell. Now I’m on day 2 of the juicing fast. I’m excited to see how all of this will turn out.

My mind was so focused on the juicing yesterday, that I wasn’t thinking much about how depressed I am. The thoughts of loneliness, depression, hopelessness, and suicidal ideations were not on my mind nearly as much as they usually are. It was nice to have some relief from all of those horrible thoughts. I hope that this type of thinking continues as the juicing continues.

Juicing

So my husband and I started juicing today. We’ve been planning this for a while now. We both want to get healthy and lose weight. My first ‘juice’ today consisted of green apples, oranges, and spinach. It wasn’t horrible, but it definitely wasn’t good. I had to chug it to get it down. I’m also supposed to drink a lot of water, somewhere around 6 or 8 bottles of water a day. The water will help keep me full.

I went shopping yesterday to get all of the ingredients needed for juicing. I got spinach, romaine lettuce, oranges, apples, pineapple, cantaloupe, honeydew, lemons, carrots, bananas, strawberries, kale, and grapes. I don’t normally eat fruits and vegetables, and when I do eat them, it’s in very small amounts. I think this will be very good for my physical health. I also hope the weight loss will help with the depression.

Coyotes Game

My husband and I went to the Coyotes game last night (for those of you who don’t know, it is pro hockey) and we had a great time. We won in overtime! It was a lot more crowded than it normally is; the arena was sold out. Trying to walk anywhere was almost impossible; you just had to push your way through the massive crowds. I had to take more Valium for my anxiety, which I didn’t want to do, so I decided to take half of a pill. It worked perfectly. Plus, my husband either held my hand or had is arm around me the entire time to help me stay calm. He’s so great about doing that. I wouldn’t have been able to go to the game without him.

My face was painted with the Coyotes symbol at the state fair yesterday, and it stayed perfectly all day for the game. The next game won’t be as crowded. Last nights game was the busiest of the year because it was the home opener. I can’t wait for the next game we go to, which is in a couple of weeks on November 1st.

The State Fair

I went to the Arizona State Fair early this afternoon for a couple of hours. It did cause a lot of anxiety because there were so many people there, but taking Valium and being with my husband helped me a lot. We walked through some of the shopping areas, we had some fry bread, we went on a couple of rides, and we even got our faces painted (for the game tonight). It was difficult because people were walking all over the place. No one was paying attention to where they were walking or what they were doing. But my husband held my hand through it all.

I did my best to have a good time at the State Fair despite my fears and anxiety. It probably helped that we only stayed there for about 2 hours. When it felt like I had enough, I listened to myself, and we called it a day at the fair. Now, I have a couple of hours to rest before we go to the Arizona Coyotes home opener.

A Busy and Nerve-Wracking Day

I have a busy and nerve-wracking day planned for today. In the early afternoon, I’m going with my husband to the Arizona State Fair. I’ve lived here for over a decade and have never been to the state fair. I’m from a small town with only 3,500 people. I’ve never seen a fair as big as I’m about to see. I’m nervous, so of course I’m going to need some Valium to help me get through this. My husband knows not to leave my side and to either walk behind me or keep his arm around me so I don’t feel like someone can creep up behind me. My husband makes me feel safe. The fair will be difficult, but I can do it.

Later tonight, I’m extremely excited to go to the Arizona Coyotes home opener. We’re big hockey fans. My husband and I got good seats. Normally, we get cheap seats that are still pretty good, but for some reason, we decided to upgrade to great seats with an amazing view. I’m happy about the seats, but I’m also nervous because I’ve never been to that part of the arena. New things scare me. I hope it goes well. My husband will help me get through it and enjoy it.

The New Support Group Was A Success

Last night, I went to a new support group. My panic attack first hit at 4pm (the meeting was at 5:30pm). I took a Valium and that helped a bit. When it got to the time that I had to leave to go to the meeting, my nerves shot up again. I started texting with a friend who was supportive and encouraging. I entered the room where the meeting was to take place, and I started pacing back and forth. My friend helped keep me calm again.

I sat down at the table and I was happy to see that this was a small meeting of only 6 people. I prefer smaller meetings because each person has more time to share. Plus, large groups increase my anxiety. My leg was shaking the whole time under the table. There was nothing I could do to stop it; it’s something I do when I get anxious. I shared for a couple of minutes at one point during the meeting. I made it through the entire meeting despite my anxiety. I have no reason not to go back again next week. I can only assume that I will become more comfortable with the group over time.

Trying A New Support Group

I’ve been saying for a while now that I will try a new support group, but I just don’t do it. I’m too scared of new things. I miss what my old support group did for me. I met a lot of people there that I really care about and it felt great to have people understand what I was going through. I want that part of my life back.

Last week, someone from my old support group asked me if I knew of any other support groups. I did some research for him and ended up using the information for myself. It’s so much easier to do something for others than it is to do something for yourself. I’m extremely nervous, but in a couple of hours, I will be going to a new support group. My husband and I drove over there the other day to check out where is so I don’t get lost when I go today. I will post again either later today or tomorrow to let you all know how it went.

Starting To See Again

It hasn’t even been a week since I went back on Mirapex, yet I think I see some improvements already. Instead of sleeping all day and night, I’m only taking about one nap a day. I’m also actually getting some things done. I’ve been able to run errands a lot easier than it has been. I’m tired, I don’t care much about anything, I cry randomly, and I’m feeling a lot of guilt and hopelessness. It’s still difficult, but I think I see some changes, I’m starting to be able to see things again in a good way.

The depression has made it hard for me to blog. I don’t have the energy to write, and when I do, I don’t really have much to say. I’m doing my best to keep my blog updated. I know that it’s helpful for me while I try to get through this depression.

Options

My psychiatrist gave me three options. Option #1 is to go back on the Mirapex. Option #2 is to restart ECT twice a week. My psychiatrist says that ECT in combination with Clozapine has good data and experiences. Option #3 is to try IV Ketamine. I’m starting by going back on Mirapex. If that doesn’t help in a few weeks, I will probably try IV Ketamine. The IV Ketamine scares me, but it does have really good results.

Lately, I’m sleeping a lot, more than 12 hours a day. I’m having a really hard time doing anything. All I want to do is just lay down and fall asleep. I can’t seem to get enough sleep. I know it’s the depression. Hopefully it will get better in a week or so, now that I restarted the Mirapex.

Further Down The Rabbit Hole

I had a medication change two weeks ago. I went off my Mirapex, as directed by my doctor, because I stopped caring about things. I was numb, and had been for a while. I started to go deeper into a depression about a week ago. I started sleeping a lot, taking naps (which is very abnormal for me), having a hard time getting things done, forgetting a lot, and caring even less. I waiting to hear back from my psychiatrist as to what my next step is.

My Side of the Pole

Bipolar – Mental Health

Author: My Side of the Pole