Mental Illness

[Sweetdaisymae]

New meds started today, fingers crossed the shaking, tooth grinding, nausea and visual interruptions go.
These ones seem to have an interesting bunch of potential side effects, ranging from erectile dysfunction to sudden spontaneous orgasm (oh please!) or depression
Will be nice to feel human again before the winter time SAD kicks in.

Having a date for my CT scan might help!

 

[KoPilot]

Making an appt with my GP to try and get on something.

I've been told my whole life that depression doesn't exist by one parent, and that meds don't work by the other. Diet and exercise only help so much, therapy has always been a crapshoot, and I'm deathly afraid of losing my job for not having the energy and mental acuity to just get enough done. I'm a heavyweight from drinking too much and I hear that's a bad thing.

Sick of people getting in my way of what I need, politicizing and moralizing it. I first thoughts about suicide at 8... I think it's been long enough to do what's going to be best for me.

>:|

 

[FurryFury]

Sweetdaisymae,

I hope you are feeling better soon. *hugs* I personally can't read about side effects I'm too suggestive.

 

[FurryFury]

Stag of Oberon,

Ignore anything scary. Focus on what makes sense to you and what you can use.

 

[FurryFury]

KoPilot,

Good for you, get the help you need. Screw anyone who doesn't think you need it or can be helped.

 

[Sweetdaisymae]

Sweetdaisymae,

I hope you are feeling better soon. *hugs* I personally can't read about side effects I'm too suggestive.

Very nauseous please let this pass!

 

[FurryFury]

Very nauseous please let this pass!

*HUGS* Saltines?

 

[DeepGreenEyes]

DeepGreenEyes,

It's difficult work to change life long tendencies and mind sets. *HUGS*

That it is. Thanks. What does Lucy say? "The fact that you recognize that you have a problem means you are not too far gone!"

 

[FurryFury]

And even asking questions like "Am I bad X ________ (Whatever you are worried about) means you care and are somewhat self aware.

That it is. Thanks. What does Lucy say? "The fact that you recognize that you have a problem means you are not too far gone!"

 

[FurryFury]

I do know that some drugs start off making one nauseous but once it builds up, that abates unless you skip taking it. My girl had that issue.

Very nauseous please let this pass!

 

[ecstaticsub]

Does anyone have personal experience with neuro-biofeedback or know someone who has tried it? If so what diagnosis was being treated specifically?

TIA

 

[Sweetdaisymae]

I do know that some drugs start off making one nauseous but once it builds up, that abates unless you skip taking it. My girl had that issue.

Thank you! I am walking around retching at random moments. A little disconcerting when I almost threw up on my daughter
Less dizzy, so that's something!

 

[FurryFury]

*HUGS*

Ginger ale might help. And taking the meds the same time of day - every day. If it doesn't get better soon I'd call the doc.

Thank you! I am walking around retching at random moments. A little disconcerting when I almost threw up on my daughter
Less dizzy, so that's something!

 

[Curious_in_Cali]

Peppermint tea can work wonders on nausea too.

 

[Sweetdaisymae]

It is a little like morning sickness, but if I cough, I do have to physically concentrate on not vomming
I do take then at the same time of day, and these ones seem not to zonk me out quite so much.
Nibbling ginger biscuits and drinking lots of water

 

[KoPilot]

Ohmygoodness S is finally seeing a psych about his long-untreated ADHD today, and it's his first time seeing any kind of therapist/psychiatrist/etc.

I know some folks here have ADHD or partners with it-- any tips I could pass along to him as far as making the most of his time with the doc, or things to look out for that are specific to ADHD or whatever?

 

[BiBunny]

It is a little like morning sickness, but if I cough, I do have to physically concentrate on not vomming
I do take then at the same time of day, and these ones seem not to zonk me out quite so much.
Nibbling ginger biscuits and drinking lots of water

What are the new meds you're currently on, if you don't mind me asking? The reason I'm curious is that one of my meds makes my gag reflex extremely sensitive.

 

[Sweetdaisymae]

What are the new meds you're currently on, if you don't mind me asking? The reason I'm curious is that one of my meds makes my gag reflex extremely sensitive.

I have changed from Sertraline (lusteral) to Citalopram. My gag reflex is beyond sensitive. I am asthmatic and taking my ventolin causes a mass of retching. I really hope it passes.

 

[BiBunny]

I have changed from Sertraline (lusteral) to Citalopram. My gag reflex is beyond sensitive. I am asthmatic and taking my ventolin causes a mass of retching. I really hope it passes.

Oh, man, that sucks. The one that does it to me is Lamictal. I've learned to live with it, since it works so well for what it's supposed to do, but it is a Huge. Pain. In. The. Ass. I'm also pretty sure it's the reason I have ridiculous acid reflux now because I never had that problem before.

I suggest peppermint chewing gum or some type of sour-ish hard candy (I like lemon best). Every time you feel ill, just pop it. The sour candy works best, but peppermint gum is good, too. Also, you might think of spraying the back of your throat with a numbing spray before you take your asthma meds. (I'm a fat asthmatic and have had the same damned problem before with Lamictal/Ventolin inhaler. It's *very* unpleasant.)

Also-also, never, never, NEVER brush your teeth right after you get up. *Shudder* Hit the gum or the hard candy first, and then when your insides feel a little calmer, brush. If you can't handle brushing, flossing, or using mouthwash for any length of time, chew the shit out of some gum. The xylitol in sugar-free gum will kill a lot of the bacteria that cause cavities and bad breath. This is super-important for me because a.) Lamictal causes dry mouth, which makes the user more susceptible to cavities, and b.) I am a vain bitch who doesn't want to lose teeth. Even if you're not as vain as I am, though, the gum will help make up for not being able to brush your teeth for as long as you might otherwise like to.

Finally, if you do have any problems at all with GERD/acid reflux disease, DEFINITELY get that seen about because it makes the problem so much worse. I inadvertently made mine worse with lots of diet drinks. (I think it's just aspartame that does it, but I try to stay away from artificial sweeteners altogether now, except for the ones in the chewing gum.) I had to take Prevacid daily for several months to keep from feeling like I was dying, but I've been able to go off of it in the last couple of months. So yay!

Ok, that was probably way more info than you ever needed to know. Sorry 'bout that. I do hope you feel better soon!

ETA: This was my 9,500th post on Lit. I clearly have WAY too much time on my hands.

 

[FurryFury]

Great post BiBunny.

My daugther has suffered from all of that and it's very difficult to deal with. I used to elevate the head of her bed to help too. She is still having a lot of reflux and throwing up fairly often. It's driving me nuts.

Even though she is off the drug that started it all, she is still having pretty serious reflux issues which I partly blame her diet (soft drinks, coffee, salsa, the last one she uses to help with her sinus issues, also eating without sitting up and so on), for it. She does have this tendency to get into physical habits easily which are not healthy for her though.

I remember when I thought she might have diabetes because she had the urge to pee so much. That was a long way from not even knowing when she had to pee before meds. Turns out she was just in the habit of peeing too often and perfectly fine.

Or the time she started coughing and didn't stop for about three years. I took her to all kinds of doctors over that. One said something about reverse breathing that I'd never heard about before. Researching I found it's a thing. But one day she just stopped. Got too busy with some other thing like Heat Stroke burning her brain up.

 

[Redrosewitch]

I wonder if they're looking at this kind of depression from the wrong angle. I wonder if it's possible that sleep problems cause depression instead of depression causing sleep problems. For instance, with people who don't sleep I know (cause my mom had this issue) that helping them sleep can do wonders for their depression and now you're saying that for those who sleep too much that depriving them of sleep helps.

Things that make you go hm.

It's a viscious circle. The Depression makes me feel very tired, I find getting up in the mornings hard a lot of the time, and getting going with work can difficult.
But the Anxiety side has my brain whirring and I can't settle down, so am often late to bed, which doesn't help the tiredness. It feeds from itself, but who can say where it starts.

I've tried several therapies and thus far Cognitive Behaviour Therapy has helped the most. Just the same it isn't infallible. There are still times when no matter how much I use the techniques I've learned, I still feel that the illness is more in control than I am.

 

[Redrosewitch]

I have changed from Sertraline (lusteral) to Citalopram. My gag reflex is beyond sensitive. I am asthmatic and taking my ventolin causes a mass of retching. I really hope it passes.

* Hugs * I've yet to hear anyone say anything good about Sertraline. I tried it a few years ago and I got the most terrifying sucidal feeling.
Fingers crossed they can find a way around that for you. The last thing you need is necessary meds conflicting with each other.

 

[Sweetdaisymae]

Bibunny, thank you for the tooth brushing tip, that seems to be when I chuck up if I am going to
I am going to try some of the other hints, but I just cannot chew anything with aspartamine in, that has always made me gag.
It is very like morning sickness. The new meds seem to have worse side effects than the old, I am tempted to go back to serataline, the new ones aren't having such a calming effect either, and I really do not want to up my dose!

 

[FurryFury]

So here's a little up date on what's happening with me and mine.

My girl is doing fine atm but her memory for a mid term last week just isn't what it used to be. I've told her to talk to her professor, tell her she can offer medical reports about the heat stroke and get any make up work or extra credit she can.

My son started a part time job yesterday. This job requires him to drive to new places and due to his anxiety I offered to ride along but stay in the car when he goes the first time to each place provided my schedule allows. He will be teaching kids after school and on Saturday morning his sport and paid well but the hours won't be many. Of course there are no benefits either but it's a start!

The news with my mother is not so good. Even though she threatened / promised to not contact me anymore she has called about seven times. The time before last it was to ask (again!) if she should take her savings out of the bank due to economic woes. She keeps getting that idea in her head like she should hide her money.

I wrote her a letter so I have a record of this again. I explained even if the government was in as much trouble economically as she thinks and the banks failed, paper money would be worthless so there is no point.

I also suggested that she stop watching the SDA channel and CNN and instead watch something that makes her happy instead of fearful.

So in her last phone call, she said she didn't appreciate my insinuating she wasn't thinking right. She even said, and this is laughable because it's such bull shit, she always tries to see two sides to every story and not be judgmental. Then she said she'd do whatever I wanted which is completely B.S. and to prove it all I have to do is reference what she said just before that.

So, she wants my help with some insurance form and if I can't help her she will ask her psychiatrist to help. Not sure how that works. I'm pretty sure it doesn't.

I so want to help her. I know she won't really let me help her. She has shown me that over and over again. I just don't want to be constantly attacked by her. I don't want to let that bad energy into my life.

Plus I'm preparing for three gigs so that's when she wants the help, when I'm already busy as hell. Natch.

Contemplating.

 

[richfun]

So here's a little up date on what's happening with me and mine.

My girl is doing fine atm but her memory for a mid term last week just isn't what it used to be. I've told her to talk to her professor, tell her she can offer medical reports about the heat stroke and get any make up work or extra credit she can.

My son started a part time job yesterday. This job requires him to drive to new places and due to his anxiety I offered to ride along but stay in the car when he goes the first time to each place provided my schedule allows. He will be teaching kids after school and on Saturday morning his sport and paid well but the hours won't be many. Of course there are no benefits either but it's a start!

The news with my mother is not so good. Even though she threatened / promised to not contact me anymore she has called about seven times. The time before last it was to ask (again!) if she should take her savings out of the bank due to economic woes. She keeps getting that idea in her head like she should hide her money.

I wrote her a letter so I have a record of this again. I explained even if the government was in as much trouble economically as she thinks and the banks failed, paper money would be worthless so there is no point.

I also suggested that she stop watching the SDA channel and CNN and instead watch something that makes her happy instead of fearful.

So in her last phone call, she said she didn't appreciate my insinuating she wasn't thinking right. She even said, and this is laughable because it's such bull shit, she always tries to see two sides to every story and not be judgmental. Then she said she'd do whatever I wanted which is completely B.S. and to prove it all I have to do is reference what she said just before that.

So, she wants my help with some insurance form and if I can't help her she will ask her psychiatrist to help. Not sure how that works. I'm pretty sure it doesn't.

I so want to help her. I know she won't really let me help her. She has shown me that over and over again. I just don't want to be constantly attacked by her. I don't want to let that bad energy into my life.

Plus I'm preparing for three gigs so that's when she wants the help, when I'm already busy as hell. Natch.

Contemplating.

This a tough situation. All I can say is that as a person with a mental illness, as you have suggested, watching more positive fun things, or music is better than watching the terrible news we get these days. If you wife did try that it would be some help. I am sure being with someone who is mentally ill must be very difficult, my wife (we are still married, but separated) found it to be that way.