Hi,
How’s it going?
I hope you are doing well today.
I wanted to say two things today.
First, many people ask me over and over again how I am able to get so much done. One is because I am organized and focus.
I highly recommend people struggling to get things done and accomplished pick up this book:
Time Tactics of Very Successful People by B. Eugene Griessman
You can get it at a bookstore or amazon.
I HIGHLY recommend this book. It’s EXCELLENT.
Okay secondly, many people are asking about some posts on my blog.
One person wrote, “Hey Dave, there are some posts on your blog that are crazy. They don’t make sense.”
I know this. We don’t really screen posts that don’t make sense. It would be complicated. We just moderate posts with swear words or hate language.
When you see posts that are “crazy” it’s most likey from people who have a disorder who are very ill. When you have a quarter of a million people who have signed up to your newsletter you’re bound to have several people really ill on your list. It’s just math.
Okay on to today’s topic.
My friend George says that I like to talk. I sure do. I don’t know why. I am the guy that talks to you in line, on the plane, in the train, etc.
I was in line and I met a lady in the grocery store. She was buying lettuce and I was, too.
I picked one up and put it in my cart. She said, “Hey, what are you doing?” At first I thought she was crazy.
Then she said, “You’d better learn how to buy lettuce.”
So I listened.
She basically told me what kind of lettuce to buy, how to squeeze it to make sure you are getting the most for your money, and how to store it.
She said, “Remember, son, there’s a process for everything, even the simplest things.”
I laughed and said “Great suggestions! You should start a business.” She said she had a business, painting.
So then she asked what I did. I wanted to tell her about all the bipolar stuff so I did.
She said, “Wow! My friend has bipolar disorder.”
I said “Really?”
She said the friend has a hard time taking her medication. I asked if the friend is in denial. She said no, just that the friend has trouble remembering to take the medications and which ones she took.
I said, “Well, you need to have a system. Some people buy these plastic containers and put their pills in them. If your friend takes morning and evening pills, they have containers that have a place for morning, and a place for evening, so she would put them in each place. That way, if your friend looks and the place is empty, she knows she took her pills for the day!”
I said to her, “See? There’s a process for everything.”
In my courses/systems below:
SUPPORTING AN ADULT WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER?
Visit:
http://www.bipolarsupporter.com/report11
SUPPORTING A CHILD/TEEN WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER?
Visit:
http://www.bipolarparenting.com
HAVE BIPOLAR DISORDER?
Visit:
I offer other suggestions on how to manage your medications.
For some reason when it comes to bipolar disorder people don’t think about systems and processes. It’s the real key to success.
When I look at my mom and everyone who works for me with bipolar disorder they do well because they have a number of systems in place.
Many of these systems and processes are VERY simple.
Like my mom has a system for going to bed. She takes her mediation one hour before bed. She listens to music for 30 minutes before bed. She gets in the bed at the same time each night. She goes to sleep.
Sound simple? Well it is. However my mom has said for years she never had a process or system to go to sleep. As a result she said that she wouldn’t get enough sleep and then she would eventually go into an episode.
The other day someone wrote me, “Dave, you think you are so smart. You think bipolar is so easy to manage. It isn’t. You don’t know. You don’t have it. Stop telling people they can do it. “
I know this person is frustrated but I am here to tell you today bipolar disorder can be managed.
It can. Period!
Think I am wrong?
FIND OUT WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT ME
Visit: http://www.bipolarcentral.com/testimonials
David Oliver is the author of the shocking guide “Bipolar Disorder—The REAL Silent Killer.” Click Here to get FREE Information sent via email on how and why bipolar disorder kills.
Post responses below
BP cured? No. Managed….CERTAINLY! Not always easy as pie to do, but well worth the effort. Going to bed at the same time, a bedtime ritual like your mom’s (the relaxing music, scented aromatherapy baths and candles also help me)…keeping your blood sugar up, eat at same times each day, or close as possible. Drink lots of fluids, preferably water. No booze or caffeine. Lots of fresh fruit and veggies. Omega 3 fish oil capsules are helpful too. Make lists, make reminders, have a pill container like you said. Keep journals, calendars, whatever it takes to keep you on track. Works for me!!!!!!!!!!!
Great article. How do you get a 13 year old to follow a routine everyday like going to sleep at the same time everyday. It is summer right now so my daughter has the phone attached to her ear at night. She also knows what pills put her to sleep and will not take them until she wants to. She says that the pills do not help her so why should she take them. They do help her to sleep or she would be up until 4 or 5 a.m. She hears voices and they have not been able to find the right meds to help her. I am in no mans land right now. She just does not understand that it takes time to find the right meds to help her. It has been 3 months and she still hears voices. ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Oh yeah, and I forgot something that, although sometimes is hard for bp sufferers to do….exercise. I never “feel like it”, but once I start out for a walk I immediately feel better, and the good feeling lasts long after the walk is done. Walking is the easiest thing to do for most people, that’s why I used it as an example. But whatever type of thing you’re into, go for it! Physical excersice increases seratonin, which we bp sufferers need all we can get of!
Of course it can be managed. In time.
If first way of life wasn’t good enough and brought you to bipolar disorder, rest a little, analyse the actual environment, change what you think you should change and start again.
It’s so easy to say…
HI, I KNOW THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH UR EMAIL BUT A FEW WEEKS BACK I HAD RECEIVED AN EMAIL REGARDING A WORK AT HOME PROGRAM TO MAKE EXTRA INCOME FROM HOME, I DONT HAVE THE EMAIL ANYMORE I ACCIDENTLY DELETED IT, I WAS WONDERING IF YOU CAN SEND IT AGAIN? THANK YOU
Dave,
I glad I have found your website. Do not worry about the haters. The ones that say, “you think you are so smart” or “you think you know everything”. I usually get that sometimes too. I am a mother of three daughters, 21 yrs old-visually impaired, 18 yrs old, teenaged mother, and 16yrs old-bipolar disorder. My mother was mentally ill as was my bother and my living brother is as well. I also work with a private attorney as a paralegal doing Social Security Disability benefits and worked with some clients with different mental illnesses.
Some people fear what they do not know or understand. Some do not want to understand. Kudoos to the nay sayers, because without you, we would not how positive of a impact we have continuing to support those who need it.
Everything ideal, system or strategy is not going to work for everyone. So just read to get some insite on what you may be able to use or try for you or someone you care about. Nothing is etched in stone, so one may have to try a combination of different tactics or techniques to cope. I think each episode that one has can be different , depending or what is envolved, so we have to be able to analysis what lead up to the crisis or an episode. Sometimes they can be the same. Sometimes. like I do, you may just have to let the episode just take its course, short of letting them harm themselves or someone else, because sometimes nothing can soothe them except just to get rantings out.
Dave, you may share my email address with others for comments and/or support or non support.
Hi
David
I read everything you send to me and today you have given me some hope for my 19 year old son when you wrote bipolar disorder can be managed. But he is 19 and I can’t get him on a schedule it is utterly impossible and he wants to move out and start his own life, I am so worried!
Hey Dave I have been reading your emails for a few weeks now and i would just like to say thank you thank you thank you if it wasn’t for you i would be still in the cold about bipolar.I am a supporter and it is extremely difficult to watch a loved one go through the changes and not knowing what is going on.I have been trying to get her to hospital but no luck our doctor she hates and the therapist she is comfortable with but doesn’t trust her.She runs away and is gone for hours she says worms are crawling in her ears and she spends hours with the web cam trying to see them.Depression, crying, freaking out all that i need to get her help but she fights me just today she cancelled her app. for blood work and the therapist.If it wasn’t for you and your staff i would probably walk only because of not knowing thanks to you i am here to help her and be her supporter for life .If anyone can help me get her to hospital please let me know i am so afraid for her ……….Thanks
Hi everyone
I just wanted to kind of say hi, i like reading the comments you guys all make about being bi polar or living with or supporting someone who is. I live in the UK and was very recently diagnosed with bi polar disorder as well as borderline personality disorder.I have been on a destructive path ever since i was 11 and nobody ever gave me a good reason to help me understand the way i was until now. I spend huge amounts of money, self harm, get massively depressed, alienate people, lose jobs, hate being alone, get mad, get abnormally happy and narcissistic, and have tried to commit suicide once which was last year. The constant rotation of conflicting moods and emotions was slowly killing me as i was thinking more and more about suicide again, feeling worthless and not getting the help i need. My sister has aspergers syndrome and my parents have always dont their best for her but i feel like they are finding it so much harder to accept i have a proper problem and i cant control these things about myself. I find this blog and davids emails really comforting and i am still trying to learn from anywhere i can how to deal with my problems on a day to day basis. Its really comforting to know i’m not the only one.
Hello David,
Thank you for all the great emails and support.
I’m currently in a relationship with a person that suffers from Bipolar. On his good days, he is one of the best men I have ever dated…but he has been physical with me on one occasion. THat is when he told me of his illness…which I knew he has based on being in a relationship years ago with someone with the same condition.
We have known each other for a year, dated for 3. I don’t know if I should continue this relationship or just learn to know how to help him when he has these symptoms. Any advice??
Thank you in advance,
Angela
There is a system and a time for everything. It’s like when you go to a fast food restaurant the food all ways tastes the same. That is because they have a systematic way of doing things to make the whole operation runs smoothly. The point you brought up is terrific because everybody, not just people with bipolar stands to benefit from having a process or systematic way of doing things. It’s about routine; if you practice it, you’ll come to expect noting else. It will be a way of life.
Most of the confusion, distraction, forgetfulness, debt, and a whole lot of other misfortunes are due to not having a process. I know that when you don’t have a process most of the time you won’t have any follow through.
Sometimes I will think of a million & one things I would like to do or the most brilliant idea for something but, because I don’t write it down or develop a way to retain it; it’s lost and therefore no good for me or anyone else.
You said this is simple, that’s the part that I have a problem with.
I have tried for years to work a process, well it starts out fine, but some how I get off track and maybe it’s because I try to do too many things or I lose all sense of time. What ever it is that causes me to lack this responsibility; I must not resist making a conscious effort to stay on track. So, I will try to condition my mind to follow the process that works best for me.
If a smoker routinely lights up after eating, or first thing in the morning, or after drinking, it’s because they are conditioned to that process, it’s not just the addiction, its habit. Sometimes we don’t want to commit to the process because it’s not pleasurable, or it’s too time- consuming, or complicated. So we take the easy way out and resort to something we find more appealing. This will only lead to would’ve, could’ve, should’ve if we don’t get a grip.
It’s not hard but it’s not simple either. It’s learned behavior but you must also have the willingness to do so. I constantly have to remind myself that” When you do nothing, nothing happens”
Challenge yourself, only then will you get it right!
David, You are : SO SMART 🙂
To Bill:
You need to get your girlfriend to get that bloodwork done soon as possible, to find out what sort of medications she needs, and what doses. You may have to use “tough love” for now, like not allowing her to cancel her appt., drive her there and go in and wait for her. Tell her you care about her and you will get her the help she needs. Tell her she doesn’t need to suffer needlessly, there is help available and you will be there for her to get it. Do not be afraid of her, treat her softly and with kindness and do not react to any swearing or yelling. But be FIRM about her getting medication and necessary treatment, it is not an option.
Dave, yea i know that bipolar can be managed, but you know that some days are really hard to handle! I’m bipolar, and I am suppose to be stable (thats what my doctor said) but some days are really hard to get through. Your emails help me so very much, more than you know. I just wanted to say thank you for doing what you’re doing and helping people like me to see that things aren’t always that bad, even though they seem to be worse than they should be.
I was a contributor to the “crazy” posts yesterday. i realized after blogging here a bit that this blog is for supporters and not for survivors. I have had a long (two years) hypo manic/manic episode and have been using drugs and alcohol, (This also explains my post here yesterday) and the drugs have been making things worse and keeping the meds from working properly. I have lost many of my support team and WANT THEM BACK! I’ll find the right blog.
Sorry David. Thanks for the emails. You sound like a great, smart guy and I’d like to continue getting support from your site.
xID
Hi Dave,
Although my wife is not diagnosed as bipolar she does have it or something similar ( manic depressive ). Her normal day involves getting up early, shouting at me over something small ie. boxer shorts on flor te kids room bieng at all untidy, her hair, her weight ( she isn’t fat by the way ). The rest of the day follows suit including spending money on ebay or somewhere else on things we don’t need. then shouting at the children me or her father and screaming breaking a few things etc ( i am sure you know the run of things ). I hear you saying it can be managed ut at what cost. My wife refuses point blank to go to the doctors unless 1. it is her friend wo she knows. 2. we conceal almost every part of her problem ie. how much she drinks, the slimming tablets she takes, the abuse ( verbal that me and the kids sufer ) so heh why bother going. I suppose in some circumstances it can be managed nut i have a 15 year old girl, a 16 year old boy ( stepchildren and a fantastic 5 year old son who are all suffering and if mention of medication is made it sparks an episode in which the house gets trashed , my son is exposed to language which at the age of 5 he should not ever hear and i wory for his safety. At what point do you say putting my wife first is more important than our sons upbringing. I am at my whits end
Hi Dave:
Had to leave a comment for you, you talk to people because you have a natural curiosity. You have invested so much of your life in learning about Bi-polar Disorder, talking to people, reading articles, etc. all involve interacting with people. Thank God you were born with this natural curiosity and interest in people, without it you may never have been able to help your Mother and all the rest of us. Thank you!! BTW: There really is a process to everything!
To XID:
No, this blog is for BOTH bipolar sufferers and their supporters, so please stay with us! We do welcome new people. You will find a lot of people here are in your shoes or have been there (eg. I drank on top of my meds for quite a while, and still smoke a bit of dope sometimes). I don’t want you to feel unwelcome or discouraged. David is very understanding and empathetic to everyone here as long as they don’t use abusive language. You are always allowed to express your opinion here. It sometimes helps just to vent, and that is OK!
For Bill: If she is not willing and will not cooperate with you, family, friends and/or doctors; taking her to a hospital will not help. No hospital will admit her if she is fighting, swearing and refusing help. I learned this from experiences with my husband. Unless you have a Medical Power of Attorney that can only be obtained when she is “in her right mind”.
You can have her committed. Call your closest MHMR facility in your city and they may tell you the process you have to go through. There are certain forms that have to be submitted. You will usually have a 24hr window to get everything done. You and others must swear that she is a danger to herself and others; and you must be able to prove it by witness statements, incidents, etc. before a notary. You must obtain a Doctor’s signature. When you have all the paperwork in order, properly signed and witnessed you have to get a judge to sign it. The order will be sent to the sheriff’s department and they will pick her up and transport her to the hospital for an evaluation for a period of time. At this time it is out of your and her loved ones hands. Because of privacy laws no one will be able to talk to her or see her until she and the medical people say so.
Sometimes this is necessary to do, and it is not easy; mostly because of time restraints. I had to run all over town. pay fees, beg officials to see me, interrupt a doctor, find an available judge and take the paperwork to the sheriff’s office myself. Then you have to tell the sheriff’s dept. where and when to find her.
In short, you may have an exciting, stressful, exhausting,
and a different kind of day. But, you will know you have done all you can do to get her help when she is unable to do it herself. She will be safe and
cared for. For awhile.
Hopefully, her doctors will make the correct diagnosis, give her the correct medications and get her stable. This will probable take some time. Be patient. In the long run it will be worth it. The both of you may even be able to laugh about it when everyone is settled down and stable. For awhile.
As always, THANK YOU, Dave, for taking your limited time to write these daily emails! I learn something from nearly every one, and always note how other bipolar survivors are making it.
I agree that there must be a “system” or “process;” although I’ve abused mine (pulling all-nighters, getting up in the early morning hours, etc.), I find if I make myself get OFF the computer at 10:30, I can take my meds (which give me a “rush” for an hour afterward), and go to SLEEP before Midnight, I CAN get up before Noon!! Why, just the other day, I got up at 5PM!! NOT a good way to “run a railroad!” I got into some bad habits for a loooong time, but have finally realized that “normalizing” my routine is the BEST for me in the long run.
BIG HUGS to all bipolar survivors and those who love us. May God bless you real good.
Diane,
Thank you so much!
When I’m not numbing out, feeling and experiencing life for real, I am uncomfortable. I am afraid to face the consequences from the past 2 yrs. I feel like I can’t say enough to the people I love, so I say nothing. I have to prove to them that I am willing to get back on track and in the meantime I am alone and not having good thoughts. David’s site has motivated me a lot I’m thinking of ordering the 7 secrets to living with Bipolar Disorder
I am having a crisis of sorts. I’ve been diagnosed as Bi-polar I, but I thought I was diagnosed as Bi-polar II, a diagnosis with which I agree. The medication I was given (whilst I was under the impression I was on B-PII), was so horrible that I became unable to function throughout a “normal” day. I was weak, naseaus, shaky, hand and mouth tremors, dizzy, with severe neck (muscle) stiffness and headache to mention a few. I was getting worse and when I complained to the shrink he only prescribed MORE and also some different medications. I was on lamotrigine, seroquel, lithium, risperidol, zoplicone, gabapentin, wellbutrin, ativan as well as the medication I was taking before this diagnosis, nexium, celebrex, atacand and concerta!!! I was taken off risperdol when I became paranoid, suspicious and generally off my rocker all together.
Before all of this I was having severe depression and outbursts (when provoked and not listened to when I told people to leave me alone and not push me). All of this behaviour was following a bout of severe stress and subsequent leave from work.
I still have regular bouts with depression (every one or two weeks I have a very low day), and I am now back to taking only wellbutrin, celebrex, concerta, atacand and nexium. I am also still experiencing occasional bouts with extreme neck stiffness/pain/and headache. I found on all of the other medication I still experienced the depression, but also all of the other extreme physical symptoms. I just never had any “highs”, which were very mild. Slightly more energy, good moods and talkativeness (I’ve always talked alot, but I think this is my “manic” symptom.
After asking the Dr. to help my symptoms, which he did not acknowledge the severity I was trying to communicate, I weaned myself off to see how I would feel. I FELT LIKE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PERSON AND SOOOOO MUCH BETTER. when I returned to the shrink and told him I weaned off he “fired” me and discharged me as his patient, telling me that “he would make room in his practice for someone more desperate”! So be it.
I have been off all but some of the ativan and zopliclone occasionally and am feeling much, much better and actual able to almost function normally. I am seeing a psychologist and getting counselling for my marital problems exacerbated by a session with my shrink and my husband (long story).
Any suggestions as to what I should do next. I am certain I am not B-P I, but B-P II. Any experiences from anyone out there similar to mine? I could use some advice, suggestions as to the next plan of action.
Am I in denial? or was I mis-diagnosed?
Thanks!
Having serious problems in getting partner to acknowledge that she has a problem and have been to a couple of Psychiatrists and also to two Pschologists with her, each time she is able to convince them that there is a problem in the marriage and that it stems from my not responding to some of her essential requirements such as getting a house for her independent of her mother in law, whose inherited property it happens to be and who is nowadays confined to her own room and cannot be seen out of it. With each Doctor she insists that I should also be given sessions of my own. From the symptoms listed by you she has about six of them except for the one of about sleep, she sleeps very easily and soundly. I told her about what you mentioned in your podcast that it can take some people upto twenty episodes to admit they have a problem which must be attended to and some never accept it. What to do about such a person?
I am a bp support person….it’s been 4 years and my friend, who has bp disorder and anxiety disorder, has not yet found a way to manage any of it. She is discouraged and very frustrated. She is very compliant, compared to most, on her meds but most of the ones she’s tried cause side effects. This has been very disconcerting. She drags around like a zombie, can’t accomplish any tasks to speak of, including caring for her family, and would love to be able to feel that her illness is manageable, but it sure doesn’t seem that way!!! Things seem to be going from bad to worse……and I’m running out of encouraging, hopeful things to say, other than God has a plan and we have to keep trying. This is the only fact that keeps us going some days.
Dave,
I know you have said that your mother had Bi-Polar, but its different taking care of someone with it, and having it yourself. You dont realize that you can walk away I cant, I can never escape my own mind. You talk like this is an easy thing to fix, like that Meds comment you made, She said that her friend has a hard time remembering her pills, you came up with the solution of putting them in a place where she will remember to take them. Well that answer is logical to a person who has no schedule and doesnt do the same thing day after day. I dont aways go in the kitchen in the morning but if I do and I think about taking my pills going from the counter to the cabinet where my cups are, I get side tracked. This has to do with my ADD partly too. I also have smiley stickers all over my house to make me remember to take my meds. And if I need a schedule, WHICH I KNOW I DO, I dont even now where to start. I have 5 children, a 7 year old, a 6 year old, a 3 yr old, and TWIN boys that are 17 months. Not only am “I” crazy but my entire house is crazy. I dont even have 1 room in my house thats organized, it takes me 5 hours to get ready to go somewhere. (thats with bathing myself and the kids, then FINDING clothes to wear, they are all clean but in BASKETS all over my house. I am at my wits end and have no where to turn. Just like I said you make it all sound sooooo easy. Live a day in my shoes and then tell me how you feel!
Hi dave I’ve been reading your blogs for about a year now. I just want too thankyou for the effort you put into helping perhaps millions of people. I have been married to my husband who is bipolar for six years. The first year and a half everything seemed perfect, in retrospect I think he may have been on a manic high fueled by love. Very slowly things got worse, and by worse I mean really really bad.I almost left because he became a stranger to me in every aspect.I took your advise and the very first step was getting him a new docter who listened not only to him but to Me after all, I was the one who saw the patterns clearly.She hooked him up to a docter more equipped who hooked him up to a psychologist who by trial and error got him on a mixture of meds that so far seem to be working.He also is taking ananger management course which helps control his “mind spinning” as he puts it.Yes there have been ups and dows, but I have learned the signs to look for. He in turn has learned not to put up resistance (well not too much at least) Yes bipolar cannot be cured but with determination and using the right resourses it can be controlled. He says he finally feels “normal”, whatever that is lol. Whatever the case to everyone out there things can get better. My huband was labeled as an “extreme” case, and yes it took him seeing the extreme damage that he had caused our family to finally admit he had a problem. But underneath all that sickness, there was a good man just trying to keep afloat. Anyway, thanks again Dave! Please please keep up the good work. You truly are an inspiration!
Dave,
Continue your doing, It’s GREAT!!! It will help a lot of people. Maybe those who dont want your HELP has denial, leave them. do not entertain them. Focus on those people who believe and accepted your HELP.
Nice Job. More Power to You…….
Bless you Always.
Hi,
Yes, yes, yes, bipolar can be managed. I find my most success with the knowledge that bipolar affects our perspective of life and everyone and everything in it. Some times we are too optimistic, some times negative, and pessimistic. I strive to keep an open mind. Open to the fact that I do not know much. Now I do know a lot, but very little about everything that can happen and that will happen, I cannot read people’s minds, I cannot predict the future, I cannot dwell in the past and let it make me think that what happened in the past will happen for ever.
We have to keep an open mind, one that we can be open to be aware of everything that is going on. We have to ask questions, ask people their intentions, and Stop assuming almost altogether. Assuming and presuming to know people’s intentions has proven to only make me isolate, worry, and fear. That is no fun place to be. I got out of it by going to therapy, has anyone said therapy is critical to successfully manage bipolar yet? It IS! Very much so. I see my psychologist once a week. And have for over 10 years, and will keep going until I die because they help me to think outside the box, the box that bipolar puts our mind into. We think we know what is true and false, what is right and wrong without knowing for sure that it is. We need to verify what we suspect.
I have to ask people their intentions, keep in mind that UNLESS life is SPELLED out in Black and White, which it seldom is, I cannot know what is true or not for sure. Bipolar is manageable. If you are not managing it, find what works for you. It is a disorder that is as different as the people who have it. It is not like cancer, or diabetes. It morphs its self to each person. It is a brain chemical imbalance, each persons brain chemistry differs slightly, we don’t all have the same effects from bipolar though they are similar in many ways, they all manifest differently and require different medication, routines, schedules, plans, line of attack to deal with. What works for me may not work for you, but one thing that works for everyone, bipolar or not, is we all have to keep an open mind that things can be other than what we have believed all this time. Keeping an open mind is healthy, and beneficial in many ways. I would say David Oliver’s mind is always open, and that is what makes him so successful. Well that and he never Quits! He knows what to hold on to and what to let go of when he needs to… The magic recipe for a successful life!
Bob
Dave, I am supposedly Bipolar type 2 (at least that is what my psychiatrist says) I have always had major lows and hypomania but recently over the past few months I have been up higher than normal than I come down but not to normal, then go back up a little higher than before and so on …not sure what this is all about but I haven’t been majorly depressed in about 3 months or so… mainly been very irritable and agitated at every thing or anyone that does or says anything even if I don’t know them. I been also to the point of hurting myself as well. Problem, the meds that helped somewhat made me gain a lot of weight. So I took myself off them before I consulted with the doctor. So he put me one something else for the time being which helped only a little bit. I was still having the thoughts and so on. I was so agitated the day I went to see him and he added on 2 other meds which are supposed to help. Well the 2 new meds interacted with one of the meds I recently stopped taking and I had a very bad spell where I was extremely dizzy and lightheaded and was seeing double. Contacted the doctor and he told me that it was serious enough to go to the hospital even if I didn’t want to go. He also mentioned that I should drink a lot of water to help flush it out of my system and to stop taking the 2 new meds immediately. But being me I didn’t go to the hospital of course and suffered through it for 3 days. On the third day I was ok. The doctor kept in touch with me to make sure I was ok. At the next visit we decided to double up on the one med and since I wasn’t sleeping and such, wanted to add one of the new meds to the list. Now I am afraid to even try the new meds I have for fear of the same thing happening again even if it was just an interaction of the meds combined with the ones I had quite taking. It keeps going through my mind that it will happen again. Anyway I will figure that one out… what I am asking is, is it possible for a type 2 to make a turn to type 1… I read somewhere that it is possible but I’m not too sure on it and I also read that it can get worse the older one becomes. Not sure if this one is true or not either. Anyways have a good one.
Bob- i wish you could sit my boyfriend down and tell him all that. he is always on about the past is your present and your present is your future. and whatever mistakes made in the past will create your future and the beginning of your relationship is the end of your relationship. he talks me into words i dont even know if i am coming or going. so many times i just wanna say, ok move on, which is a saying he hates. he always bring up irrelevent issues, always thinks i am up to something and believes truely that i am hiding things. give you an example. couple weeks ago i receive an sms, hi see your lights are off, obviously u out, so enjoy whatever you doing. ok now that may seem fine but knowing him, it was sarcastic. filled with assumption and poor me i was in bed,sleeping.he does it all the time.goodness i understand a relationship where people have respect for one another in the sense where they say where they are going etc. but surely announcing that i am going to sleep is quite silly.also needs to know my every movement,when i go to the shops,where what time and so forth and so on.and gets very funny if i go visit my mom or a friend and ends up sulking for days and ignoring me. when invited he makes an excuse not to go and if i go without him i am wrong.i cant stop my entire life.have a little girl who will rip the house down if i keep her indoors 24/7 and thats not fair.
i cannot make even the smallest of mistakes cos he will remind me of it every day.he reminds me constantly of what my ex husband did to me and all i want to do is move on with my life.i do not care what the ex did to me.i am not with him anymore so i do not have to deal with that stuff anymore.yes has left me with some scars but hell i do not need the wound to keep being opened.aaahhh its frustrating.and the be end and end all is that he thinks i want to jump into bed with the ex at any given opportunity, not caring about the fact that not once have i ever been unfaithful.my ex and i decided on being ammicable for the sake of our child,which boyfriend does not understand cos society dictates that all divorcees should be enemies and hate one another,well so he thinks.am pulling my hair out.and constantly defending myself for things he has created up in his mind.to make it worse he tells his friends these things and they think i am a one way ticket to disaster.well those are the ones who have not met me.i met one of his friends recently who apparently told him to leave me,well at the end of the day he actually landed up defending me,big time,which caused major havoc cos then i was accused of having gossip sessions with his friend and we were conspiring.funny thing was i never did anything.when his friend phoned he told me to answer and speak to him.anyway now been told not to contact his friend at all and does his friend call me.feel like i am in school again with a forty something odd adolesent.
he does not listen to any point of view,only that which agrees with his way.if i do not agree then he explodes.if i do agree i have no opinion and if i just plain shut up i get told i am unsupportive and always look at him with a blank stare that makes him think i am dumb.meanwhile all i am thinking is how the hell do i answer this,do i dont i.whats the reaction going to be etc etc. very difficult i cannot tell you.
have a good day and thank you for what you said.
Surely as with anything in life be it an illness or affliction the only person who can make a change is the person who has it. For example unless my wife is willing to accept she is ill and needs help there is nothing I can do to help her. So I must put my childrens wellbeing first and either leave or get her to leave.
Chris – you are the only one who can decide on that. its how much you can take and how much is it hurting you and your children? try the threatening to leave. may work. dunno i am on the opposite fence. my boyfriend threatens to leave me most cases even though i am his supporter but thats cos he has these ideas in his head. and wont let em go. he also threatens me cos he is looking for my attention the majority of the time ( like i do not give enough ) i feel your dilemma though cos i have been battling with all this. the being screamed at etc etc. i have also had enough but i just dont know. in 2 minds. all i do know is my little girl will suffer. i do not live with him so at the end of the day its a bit easier to walk away. trust me i have become ill because of this all and living with him, well it would surely kill me. its draining on every part of the human mind, body and soul. such a shame if the ones who do not want to realize this could just, as there is only so much we can do or tolerate.
hope you come right and do whats best for you. have a good evening.
I want to say how much I appreciate your support and your responses to Dave’s emails. I found it was in my best interest to be better organized and to manage my time more effectively. I will certainly read the book you’ve recommended. Another book I’ve read which, has been very helpful, is Organizing From The Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern. There is a process to doing everything. Someone I admire once said to me, “everything in moderation, but don’t overdo it!” I feel this is applicable.
Dave I have been reading your emails and they are helping me I was wondering if there are anythings a person with bipolar disorder could do to regain self confidence and to lose weight?
Dave,
Thank you for all your advice, resources, emails, encouragements, guidance.
I am writing because I tried to find the book on Time management by B. Eugene Gressman (Time Tactics of Very Successful People) .. .Is this title / author correct… It does not come up when I search Amazon, Google…
Thank you for your help.
Processess/schedules/routines…very important indeed, even for someone without bipolar disorder. My daughter was having trouble with mood swings, insomnia, depression… was diagnosed bipolar and thus given medication. She stopped taking it when she’d run away, then was taken off medication. When she was in detention, where there is a strict routine, all was fine. When she gets home she will not follow any type of routine, so everything goes wacky; but “Mom doesn’t know what she’s talking about”.
Thanks for confirming my beliefs and understanding of the importance of routines for our bodies to get accustomed and regulated to ‘feel better’.
sorry my mail address was wrong. Anyway, updated with this comment…Thanks for your information and e-mails. Alot of what you share helps me breathe easier…that is, I don’t feel alone with the way I’m feeling…many times hopeless as to the situations/episodes my daughter goes into that effect our whole family. We all react to one another. With someone who has knowledge due to experience…another supporter for us supporters is really helpful, making it easier to breathe and get on to the next day. Thanks!
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