It was a very comprehensive list of questions she asked me and when she asked me if anyone else in my family had bipolar disorder I said my dad, his mother, and 2 of my 1st cousins on my dad's side. She asked what year was your Dad diagnosed. I said ummm let's see he shot himself when he was in his late 30's and it was after that. She said OMG I'm so sorry I asked I said oh no, it's okay he lived, I can talk about it. She asked at what age my grandmother was diagnosed but I have no idea.

She said that my thyroid could fluctuate that much in 3 days (recapping here my TSH was 4.96 then 1.86 3 days later) if enough cortisol was in my system. That is when she started talking about adrenal fatigue. She started explaining how cortisol is a flight or fight response and that it can get turned on and stay on sometimes. She asked if I had been under any unusual stress lately. I explained about my friend's suicide in February and it was after that that she told me that she had a good friend who has bipolar disorder. She said that her friend "has to stick to a schedule and that she can't take on too much but otherwise lives a normal life". And also that her friend would know if something new & physical started with her.

So I am glad that I confided in her what I did about my dad and my friend because I believe that's why she confided in me about her friend. And I trust her more now. Because she knows that we with bipolar are not some dumb, un-selfaware alien species like my endocrinologist made me fee. We're just regular people like her friend.

Also, I want to tell this to you guys. She asked me if I ever read medical literature. I said no, I can barely read an entire magazine. ha! Anyway, she said that there is a school of thought in some medical journal she's read that people with bipolar disorder are rapid metabolizers. I can't remember if it was all vitamins or just the B vitamins. Ya'll ever heard of this?