Pay No Attention to that Woman Behiind the Curtain
August 20, 2009 11:29am
Well. What do you know?? Wrong again.
Excuse the last journal entry. My profuse and profound apologies. No, really, …
ArdentPacifist
12:19am, August 20, 2009
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About Me
ArdentPacifist
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Nowhere Else to Go
August 20, 2009 1:26am
Well, here I am again. The last refuge when there's nowhere else to go. I have screwed up again, and I am so very tired of screwing …
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Not understanding
August 10, 2009 5:55am
I should write a song - "It's 4 o'clock this morning and I can't sleep again." For just a bit here, the pain is not so …
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It's been a long long time
August 8, 2009 5:22pm
It's been a really long time since I signed on here. I got away from online journaling and chatting, having a few too many people who tried …
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Hugbook
Hug
Thankyou, the link you have sent me has answered the questions that is on my renal friends mind. you have been of great help... Many thanks
Hug
here is a hug to brighten your day
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I’m With You
Hang in there girl. Always remember that this too shall pass. For some people quicker than others.
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Hug
It is Sunday evening for me so I am getting all anxietied out. Every week all the time for so very long. Maybe I will take a med that I can take.
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Hug
Wow that is a lot of birth control pills. Hope you are doing OK today.
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Support Groups
Close Bipolar Disorder
I was put on medications in 2003 that INDUCED symptoms of bipolar, and left on zombie drugs (the doctors figured that if I was quiet, I was doing well) for over 4 years of hell. Took myself off the drugs and all symptoms went away! It's called Bipolar Type IV. Now trying to complete the retrieval of my life. Still very interested in the disorder and people with it. The symptoms may be gone with the meds (almost 2 years now) but the scars will be there forever.
Treatments
- Ativan Working / Worked
- Of course it worked, an idiot doctor put me on 8 mg a day.
- Lamictal Working / Worked
- I think this is the best mood stabilizer out there. Last drug I gave up. Had to get used to not having a "bumper" between me and regular old human moods when I d/c'd it. No side effects except for headache if I took it in the morning.
- Risperdal Not Working
- HORRIBLE DRUG! No earthly need for it - I was told I was put on it to control anxiety! Huge dose, every side effect known to man, horrible hallucinations, made me nauseous, and that was when I was conscious! There is more and more evidence coming to light that this is a terrible drug and can cause permanent side effects.
- Topamax Not Working
- Did not take this for bipolar disorder. I was put on this in 2001 for migraine headache prevention, which it is now WIDELY being used for. Didn't do squat except give me terrible side effects.
- Wellbutrin Not Working
- This is the one that started it all. One possible side effect is that it can TRIGGER mania, agitation, and anxiety. It caused so much agitation that the doctors began switching me from AD to AD, each one causing MORE anxiety and agitation, until I was a mess. Then when I wasn't climbing the walls, I was depressed. That's how I ended up being misdiagnosed bipolar.
Close Anxiety
I have always been somewhat anxious, even as a child, because my father was a perfectionist and there was a ton of pressure to be perfect in all things or face the consequences. While I'm not as anxious as I was while drugged out of my mind by an incompetent psych, I still do have some Social Anxiety and take Xanax to ease it.
Treatments
- Atarax Working / Worked
- I have taken this in the past for Nervous Pruritis (extreme itching caused by anxiety) and it does work. It stopped me from scratching holes in my skin until I bled!
- Ativan Working / Worked
- Worked too well because an idiot doctor decided I should take 8 mg a day regularly. Takes longer to take effect, but the effect is longer lasting than Xanax.
- Breathing Exercises Working / Worked
- A medical fact: deep breathing eases anxiety. The two are mutually exclusive - your anxiety level cannot increase, in fact will decrease, the deeper you breathe. Of course, hard to do when you're ready to claw at the walls and scream in anxiety!
- Inderal Somewhat Helpful
- I didn't take it for anxiety - I took it to prevent migraines - but it slows your heartrate, and I would imagine that would have good effect on anxiety, since it's hard to be anxious when your heart won't race.
- Klonopin Not Working
- Didn't do squat.
- Meditation Working / Worked
- The more the better. Period. When I'm anxious, it's harder to get into a meditative state, but I have certain music or candles or scents that I use as triggers to help. Regular meditation has long term positive effects on anxiety as a whole.
- Paxil Not Working
- Give me electric shocks and caused me to gain almost 40 POUNDS in 3 WEEKS.
- Positive Thinking Working / Worked
- Certainly can't hurt!
- Xanax Working / Worked
- Current remedy. It's faster acting that Ativan, but the effect doesn't last as long. Be careful what drugs you take it with, it can knock you on your butt.
Open Chronic Pain
I've dealt with migraine headaches for 24 years (since I was 17) and with chronic back problems for 6 years, with 2ndary problems from that mounting over time. I moved to a new state 6 months ago and it has taken me 6 months to find a doctor that would treat me!
Treatments
- Flexeril Somewhat Helpful
- When my back muscles spasm to the point of locking (feels like I'm carrying bricks there), Flexeril helps relax the spasms.
- Heat Working / Worked
- A lot of people tell me not to use heat on my back, they tell me that as soon as you get off the heat the pain comes back X10. But that is not my experience. Heat is my best relief for back pain, over and above all medications. It's just that sometimes it is not enough.
- Hydrocodone Working / Worked
- Worked for a time, but my pain level quickly surpassed it.
- Lidoderm Not Working
- I was given these to ease meralgia paresthetica (nerve pain in the quad muscle). Absolutely useless.
- Lyrica Considering
- My doctor has recommended this, but everyone I have talked to had limited success if any, the success was not long-term, and everyone gained a lot of weight, which to me outweighs the possible benefits, literally.
- Meditation Somewhat Helpful
- Meditation does help ease migraines based in tension and vascular migraines. I need to get into the daily habit of this.
- Mobic Not Working
- Useless.
- Morphine Not Working
- Helped my 24/7 "baseline" pain, but did nothing for spiking pain (it's not meant to) and made me sleep 20 hours a day. Getting off of it was HELL - the physical dependency was bad and the withdrawal effects were the worst thing I have ever experienced, to include natural childbirth.
- Naproxen Working / Worked
- This does help with both headaches and back pain, as well as joint pain. However, taking it daily has caused my pulse to increase (running regularly around 100 bpm) and I have almost totally discontinued it; but my pulse has not dropped. It can have long term effects on pulse and blood pressure.
- Nerve Blocks Considering
- Have yet to discuss this with my new doctor, but I'm ready to start talking about it.
- Neurontin Considering
- My doctor has recommended this, but I have been on at least 4 anticonvulsants over the years and never got anything but harsh side effects from each one. Not hopeful about this one.
- Oxycodone Working / Worked
- This is the only thing besides heat that consistently helps. I've been on it for about 5 years with slowly increased doses. Keeping the dosage as low as possible for as long as possible. Very hard to find a doctor willing to prescribe it at all!
- Physical Therapy Not Working
- Been through 2 rounds of this. Feel good while I was in session, but got no relief at home. Did everything from stretching exercises to TENS unit. Eventually could not even do the daily stretching exercises because they caused severe pain.
- TENS Not Working
- Didn't do squat.
- Topamax Not Working
- Tried for migraines. Nothing but bad side effects. Stayed on it for over 3 months and my headaches were actually WORSE.
