|
stateofgrace -> RE: Mental Health Encouragement - One Stop Thread (11/18/2008 11:56:14 AM)
|
Fritz, times like these I'm glad I don't have your job!
Things have been...well...challenging...on the home front.
The good news first. DD#1 is finishing up her first semester at college, and doing well. I'd like to see her grades a little higher, but many parents have that same issue. The real good news here is that despite the BIG transition into college, she is not showing symptoms of Bipolar. So, she's still stable...I think we're going on 5 or 6 years now. The pdoc discussed the possibility with her of tapering down some of her medication again, but recommended not doing it till after she had gotten used to college. So, that may be next on the list. I have to credit the school she's attending as part of the reason why she's doing so well - she's attending an evangelical Christian college.
DD#2, 15 yo, is a bit of a challenge right now regarding anxiety and mood swings. A lot of it seems to be related to her monthly cycle. She doesn't consider it serious enough to go see a pdoc, and I agree at this point. I'd say she's borderline right now, though (not borderline personality disorder, just borderline on whether or not it's serious enough to consider treatment).
My dear hubby just lost his OTR trucking job last week, 6 weeks short of being employed a year with that company (which may have been one of the unspoken reasons why he lost his job...the company is struggling with the slowdown of the economy, and at a year, he would have gotten a bonus, a raise, and paid vacation). He's dealing with the loss, but showing signs of depression, and being very avoident. The fact that he's on an anti-depressant, a mood stabilizer (that's being given to people with depression these days as well as people w/Bipolar), and ADHD medication means that some companies won't hire him (some will, as long as they have a note from the doctor). So now he has two strikes against him in a new career (being let go from one company and the medication) he's only been pursuing for a year.
Sometimes I just want to give up and say, let's go ahead and apply for disability for you. I'll even do all the work. But I know he's be so much worse off if he was just at home, doing nothing. Only the dogs, and occasionally being bothered by something in the house enough to do some housework, will rouse him.
A few months ago I was having some physical symptoms that I was sure was something like dropping blood sugar. My regular doctors did a bunch of tests, and it turned out that it was panic attacks! I got a real education on that one, since I didn't know panic attacks may not have an obvious trigger. The doctor upped my Zoloft dose, which made me really drowsy in the morning for a week, but seems to have done the trick, because I don't have those weird symptoms any more.
|
|
|
|