Dealing with the crazies...

[Laika]

Week 4 and I

[stc1993]

I was kind of like you described. doctor gave me zanax calmed me down & helps you sleep.

Honey,

Congratulations to you & your husband. We need all the good news we can get.

Monte

[Laika]

I thank everyone for their comments so far.  Perhaps I am using the word "mania" a little loosely.  I have known a bi polar person before, and they seemed to have no control at all if they didn't stay on their meds; they might wake up with a hangover next to a stranger in some hotel somewhere.  Believe me, that's not going to happen.  I guess everyone on treatment struggles with assorted instability, and this is just my particular flavor.

I'm with new sojourn on this one: hating shrinks.  I spent a couple of years a long time ago being someone's prozac experiment and didn't care for it much. Indeed, since beginning treatment, I have been embracing my inner speed freak, enjoying the contrast from the former fatigue.  New Soj:  did you not crash from the speediness?...end up with fatigue & depression or both?  I guess what you're saying is yes, but just speed when you're speeding, crash when you're crashing and don't worry about it.  I'll work on that idea.  I'm a worrier and it gets me into trouble.

I will not quit treatment, that much I know...it's not even a remote consideration.  I'm just feeling my way toward the best way to handle this.  If the Lexapro would level out the extreme highs & lows, I'd move in that direction.  But if it's just going to give me some new issues to deal with, then I guess I'll keep zooming & crashing.

pepman, I loved your advice about reading.  I haven't done it much lately and miss it.  The speediness interferes with reading, but maybe just need some different reading material and don't try to read when I'm speedy, just when I'm slow.

Thank you all for responding & helping with perspective.

Laika

[Califia]

HONEY,  wonderful wonderful wonderful wonderful!  

LAIKA,  we _are_ playing it rather close to the vest right now, no lurid descriptions of  weird emotional states and physical disintegration....I know, just no fun.  Worry not, it gets as bad as all that and then a few weeks later you're on the other side of it--ah yes, THAT's how I look, I remember now....

Embrace your inner speed freak, sez New Sojourn.   Great advice, because I think you'll find the high is rather short-lived.   The overall drug effect reminds me of a gray winter's day I spent in the Everglades:  flat gray water, flat gray sky, with an occasional burst of pink flamingo wings shattering the monotony.   And of course the relentless buzz of mosquitoes in the background--NNNNnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.

Brian's great "rest and think" story reminds me of an old walrus-like Russian who was holding court at the shallow end of a swimming pool.  This guy had been reprimanded many times before for slowing the progress of the lap swimmers.   So as I made my approach, this enormous man made a courtly bow indicating his willingness to remove his huge bulk from my path, and inquired sweetly, "You svwim? You rest?"  

This is a time for more resting than svwimming,  I think.  Da?   But first you get to bounce around for a while.

[cuteus]

I was quite energetic for about 5 wks in early tx, but not to the point of mania, i agree with getting a mental health proffessional dx and select the proper med for you, not your GI.  For me it was depression, if that is what you call it, none of the questions in my mini electronic mental Health test at the GI office really addressed it. It was 3 wks of emotional void; did not feel sad, glad, angry, nada. It was scary and on that 3rd wk I was contemplating going for help.  I waitted a little longer and it finally lifted, and I learned to be awared and manage the smaller episodes, but you need a professional, not us to advice you, we can only tell you what worked for us.

[honey1616]

Chev,,,Thanks!!  And yes,,,,Oh Happy Days!!  

Cuteus,,,Yes,,,he is so happy! He has called our daughters and told them that this is definitely good news but still have 2 more tests to conquer...6 and year.  They were literally screaming! ha  Its relief at this very moment and we just never know what kind of a toll this takes on our other family members. Our girls have been worried sick since last year and if anything,,,,I want for them to be able to have a break or peace of mind...
I wanted to ask you,,,,what does that up chances of making it to the 3 month?  Isn't it 80 or 85%?  

Thanks again to you all as seeing the highs and lows that we are all going through and still hanging in here and helping so many!!  I really don't know what I would have done with out all of you!

[missers]

My husband begins second round of tx in a few weeks and he's been trying to decide if he wants to take the Lexapro this time around.  He handled tx pretty well on the first try but said the thoughts that buzzed around in his head were worse than the side effects from the tx drugs.  He did take Lexapro throughout and now he wonders if he can go through tx without it.  He's putting the blame on the Lexapro for his "crazies".  I told him he could always try to go without and if he feels he's "losing it" he can ask the doc for Zoloft again.  

Anyone other than Scruffy go without?