RE: Mental Health Encouragement. (Full Version)

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womaninchrist -> RE: Mental Health Encouragement. (7/14/2008 4:41:17 PM)

I've got to agree that it sounds like the heart of the problem is the lack of a firm bedtime routine (both a time and and a place to go to bed) for J-8 and J-10. Under the circumstances it might be a good idea to see if you can just sleep where ever they're going to not sleep if that's a predictable spot for at least one of them.



DenimDiva -> RE: Mental Health Encouragement. (7/14/2008 6:27:57 PM)

I can't get to J-10's bed because of where it's located. I can get to J-8's bed, but it's full of junk food that she sneaks in there. There's really not a lot I can do. My BIL and I talked today and he said that he'd try to be more proactive in directing them to bed and that he would clean up the trailer and fix the heater and put an A/C in it so that I could at least sleep in there.



DenimDiva -> RE: Mental Health Encouragement. (7/15/2008 12:07:14 PM)

I did get some sleep last night. I injured my leg and foot yesteday (see the Women's Only chat thread.) That caused me to be on the couch the majority of the evening. No one could take the couch from me. So, I got some sleep. I still feel like I need more though.



womaninchrist -> RE: Mental Health Encouragement. (7/15/2008 11:17:46 PM)

Ouch, Roberta. Strangely enough, that sounds like something that would happen to me too. I never have a "good story" to match my more attention getting injuries (for example, who hits their head hard enough to cause worry about a concussion when getting INTO their own car while it's stopped and without assistance of any sort? or who sprains their finger by walking their dog? - that's the sort of stuff that happens to me).



DenimDiva -> RE: Mental Health Encouragement. (7/15/2008 11:20:41 PM)

I take it that you read what I did! LOL! I can laugh about it now, but I felt really stupid when it happened!



womaninchrist -> RE: Mental Health Encouragement. (7/16/2008 1:43:28 AM)

Yeah, I did.



agapetos -> RE: Mental Health Encouragement. (7/16/2008 12:17:20 PM)

I saw the new person today. She's a social worker in the mental health team. We seemed to have been thinking along the same lines as each other regarding my needs and care.

We're meeting again in 2 weeks. I'll probably think of a whole host of things to be wanting from her, but we seem to be off to a good start.



DenimDiva -> RE: Mental Health Encouragement. (7/16/2008 8:58:13 PM)

aga- how are things going between you and the friend you're reuniting with?

I'm glad things are going well for you!



womaninchrist -> RE: Mental Health Encouragement. (7/17/2008 1:52:35 AM)

That sounds like it's going well Agapetos.

I'm changing GP's for sure after today. Long story, but being in this much pain (from my hips) along with all the seemingly(?), potentially (?) related fatigue and fevers is just unacceptable to leave untreated while she continues to guess wildly - and never treats the pain. The fatigue is supposedly either depression or a side effect of my antidepressant (really? after 9 months?). The fevers are now allergies. And for pain to roughly paraphrase I'm "on my own" since I "won't" (when the correct answer is can't) take anything from the NSAID class. Why do I need a doc for that? It sounds like some of of my husband's arguments for this is "really a spiritual problem". [8|]

And now that I've gotten that off my chest, my attitude problem and I are going to bed.



DenimDiva -> RE: Mental Health Encouragement. (7/19/2008 4:10:12 PM)

I need to re-enforce the sleeping boundary again. [:@]

My older brother's wife and kids are getting ready to move to TX. (They bought a house there and my brother should be joining them in a few months..... pray that they won't be separated too long.) Sis and my SIL have had a long standing feud. SIL and I have always gotten along. Sis hates the fact that I visit with them once every few weeks. I got to where I don't tell her that I'm going over there. Tomorrow will be my last chance to visit with them (although I am helping them do some last minute packing before they leave on Tuesday). I let it slip that I was going to spend they afternoon over there tomorrow. Sis is furious! I've had to tell her to bite her tongue more than once today.
I also have a cousin whom I'm close to that sis doesn't get along with (this cousin is also close to SIL). Sis has repeatedly tried to convince me not to be talking to this cousin. This cousin and I have been close since we were little girls. This is a harder boundary to set. I think it has to do with the fact that it's so emotionally charged. All of my immediate family and much of my extended family have been drug into it and that doesn't help either.
Sis hates it every time I explain to her that I know she got hurt. Everyone involved got hurt. However, I'm not going to let something that happened almost a decade ago keep resurfacing and hurting myself and my family. I hate having to set this boundary. [:@]



womaninchrist -> RE: Mental Health Encouragement. (7/19/2008 7:09:14 PM)

Do your best to just enjoy the time you have with whomever you want to speak with - it is after all your time and your life so it's your decision to make, not that of other relatives. I could see the intereference if, say, there was proof of good reason not to go (like a history that shows the relative you're going to visit or someone almost certain to be there presented a risk) but that doesn't sound like it's the story. Just try not to upset the rest of the family too much. That's what has to be done around my family too - everybody has people they do their best to "not allow" you to visit or even phone. [8|]. I admit I come from a dysfunctional family full of meddlers. It takes a lot of practice at boundary setting - and at learning that it's not YOUR fault if THEY take offense or get upset when you are behaving reasonably.



DenimDiva -> RE: Mental Health Encouragement. (7/19/2008 7:13:36 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: womaninchrist

Do your best to just enjoy the time you have with whomever you want to speak with - it is after all your time and your life so it's your decision to make,


I'm trying to do that. My brother and his family leave on Tuesday or Wednesday..... whenever they get done loading the moving van. I'll be over there helping them during that time.

My brother will be coming back around the 5th of Aug. I wish he could just move out there with them, it would make it easier on his wife and children. They've put this off for a long time because they didn't want to separate their family.



womaninchrist -> RE: Mental Health Encouragement. (7/19/2008 9:37:51 PM)

Yeah, I know from experience it's not as easy as it sounds like it ought to be.



DenimDiva -> RE: Mental Health Encouragement. (7/24/2008 12:06:54 PM)

Getting ready to go see my pdoc. Not looking forward to it. She always wants to take my blood pressure. It's always too high. It seems like it's just not gonna come down. I've been exercising more, eating less salt and loosing some weight. I don't know why it's so high.

And the cuff she uses is too small for me and really hurts my arm. ggrrrr.



womaninchrist -> RE: Mental Health Encouragement. (7/24/2008 4:20:06 PM)

If the cuff is too small, she may not be getting the correct reading. Been there, done that with my husband's blood pressure. Clinic was using the small cuff on him (mind you he's 386 pounds AFTER losing weight) and getting readings like 150/95 while his cardiologist (who used the large cuff) was getting lower readings like 130-140/85-90. Clinic wanted him on more BP meds, cardiologist finally found out what cuff they used and about had a cow. Apparently it can make quite a difference and the clinic was given rather specific instructions about how to take my husband's BP (like what cuff and some other stuff that's specific to him) for better accuracy. At least ask for a large cuff. Stress (such as stressing about the appointment or about getting your BP checked) can also mess with the results. And while I don't know about in CA, up here in WA, you can go to fire houses that have paramedics and if they're not busy they'll check your blood pressure. You might look into that as away to double check her readings.

Can you tell that there are a lot of cardio problems in my family?



agapetos -> RE: Mental Health Encouragement. (7/24/2008 5:50:56 PM)

I agree with womeninchrist. Unfortunately, it's a side effect of having your bp taken that the cuff hurts your arm some... but have you asked her if there is a larger cuff?

The fact you know you're going to have you bp taken could be the reason why the readings seem high. It's stress.

My doctor takes my bp 3 times each time she takes it (generally yearly) purely because of this. You're not meant to talk or move while the test is being taken either.



womaninchrist -> RE: Mental Health Encouragement. (7/25/2008 1:59:05 AM)

I thought of one other thing... Some people (and a lot of machines) will automatically inflate the cuff to some really high level just in case the patient is going to have high BP (usually well over 200) and if you know it's going to happen or have developed a fear of it, the stress/fear or even the shock/pain itself can tweak your BP. It'd be worth asking for a larger cuff and to have it rechecked a few times through an appointment as Agapetos suggested.

BTW, anyone here ever taken Lexapro? My doc had me try taking it at night thinking it was why I've been so fatigued (not much change in how much I sleep). But I developed a problem with really vivid dreams, so bad I'm acting them out in my sleep - or waking my spouse to talk about whatever is going on in the dream (like something the other night about feathered air fresheners). Obviously I'll be calling my doc, just wondering if it could be the med...



agapetos -> RE: Mental Health Encouragement. (7/25/2008 6:54:53 PM)

I think I've taken so many meds that I've forgotten a lot of what I've taken ~ I can't always keep the meds I do take straight in my mind ~ for some reason, I keep saying I'm on something that I haven't used in years, then saying that it's not what I'm taking![&:][:D]

Could the meds be causing your dreams? It's possible. Any meds that we take might affect us, whether they are for mental health probs or not. Some of the side effects may disappear after a couple of weeks (up to a month), others may go when the med dosage is altered (and that can be altered up or down).

Do contact your doctor as soon as you can ~ and unless it is dangerous to your life (ie allergic reaction), stay on them until you've spoken to your doctor ~ stopping them suddenly could cause you more problems than staying on them.



DenimDiva -> RE: Mental Health Encouragement. (7/25/2008 7:43:32 PM)

I'm taking Lexapro and don't have a problem with it.

You're right about the cuff, but she's only got one size in her office. She didn't take my bp last time because I told her about the issues with the cuff. She said that she'd work on locating a larger size cuff. I also pointed out to her that when she takes my bp, I've just climbed two flights of stairs.
The appt. went really well and I found out that I've lost 2 more pounds. Since I'm hormonal, I figured that I'd have gained because I usually gain 3-5 pounds during this week.
I talked to her about getting a job. She said that she didn't want me to be working more than 15 hours or so a week. I talked with her about the fact that July is a very depressing month for me to get through. I explained that July 27, 1991 I had an abortion. She said that it is very common for women to be more depressed around the anniversary of an abortion, miscarriage or still birth and encouraged me to seek post-abortion help through "the religion of my choice." She encouraged me to get the fight going again with disability. So I went straight from her office to SSI. It could take up to a year, but I will have to go before a judge. I was at SSI for over three hours!
I got the joys of rush hour traffic on the way home. 30 minute drive was well over an hour! Fortunately I had some Bryan Duncan CDs to keep me company.
I got home and my accountability partner called me. She needed a ride to Celebrate Recovery. I wasn't going to go, but if I didn't go then she and another lady weren't going to be able to go. So I went. I'm glad I did.
I applied for a job today at a place that is looking for someone just 5-10 hours a week.
I went to "Options for Women" and signed up for their post-abortion Bible study.
I got all my Avon brochures handed out and got some new orders turned in. I chatted for quite a while with an elderly neighbor.
I took my nieces and one of their friends to Burger King and got us each sodas and I let them play while I pulled my hair out as they decided there was very little they could agree upon.
There is a church nearby that has a make-shift drive-in. They are showing Enchanted tonight. We're leaving in about 3 hours. In the meantime, it's MY TIME! Recliner- here I come! [;)]



agapetos -> RE: Mental Health Encouragement. (7/25/2008 7:48:45 PM)

quote:

It seems like it's just not gonna come down. I've been exercising more, eating less salt and loosing some weight. I don't know why it's so high.

quote:

I also pointed out to her that when she takes my bp, I've just climbed two flights of stairs.
It seems you answered your own question, though it does depend on how much time elapses between you getting up the stairs and her taking your bp.

If you're sure that the cuff is too small for you, perhaps next time she asks to take you bp you ask her if she'll leave it until she has a bigger cuff?



DenimDiva -> RE: Mental Health Encouragement. (7/25/2008 7:52:20 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: agapetos

quote:

It seems like it's just not gonna come down. I've been exercising more, eating less salt and loosing some weight. I don't know why it's so high.

quote:

I also pointed out to her that when she takes my bp, I've just climbed two flights of stairs.
It seems you answered your own question, though it does depend on how much time elapses between you getting up the stairs and her taking your bp.

If you're sure that the cuff is too small for you, perhaps next time she asks to take you bp you ask her if she'll leave it until she has a bigger cuff?


They usually take me right back. I'm usually the first appt. of the day and the waiting room makes me nervous.



MyCatSmokey2006 -> RE: Mental Health Encouragement. (7/25/2008 10:43:02 PM)

I used to take Lexapro, but it caused me to have suicidal thoughts, which only got worse when my nitwit pdoc at the time refused to listen to me and increased the dosage. As a result, the thoughts increased in intensity to where I actually attempted suicide several times before I could change pdocs and medications.

I'm now on Wellbutrin XL and have a great pdoc who knows how to do her job. As a result, I've not set foot in a psych hospital for over 2 years and don't ever plan on going back.



DenimDiva -> RE: Mental Health Encouragement. (7/26/2008 2:44:39 AM)

We're all different with different body chemistry's. What med works great for one person may not work at all for another.



womaninchrist -> RE: Mental Health Encouragement. (7/26/2008 9:58:28 AM)

Whatever the dream thing is, it started when I started taking the Lexapro at night instead of in the morning. Did a weird thing to my sleep pattern too. I find myelf wanting to stay up really late before going to bed and then get up correspondingly early (and still wanting the naps). And no, of course I couldn't get through to my doc yesterday- their phone system was, yet again, not working. Must find a new doc...

I can't take Wellbutrin. Something about what it can do to seizures and some of my neuro stuff reacts too strongly to seizure triggers... I've asked about it and my neuro says it's a no-go even with me on an antiseizure med because of that. Supposedly though it's one of the more effective and better tolerated antidepressants - as long as you don't have seizures or anything else that reacts to seizure triggers.

I'm off to have my spine MRI. Not looking forward to all that lying still.



DenimDiva -> RE: Mental Health Encouragement. (7/27/2008 6:22:19 PM)

More depressed than usual today. I did blog a little bit about it. I'm not going to go into any details right now, just asking for prayers to deal with the issue.



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