yes take the klonipin to help you get some sleep.
I take it at night to sleep.... .5mg works for me.
bizi

I started taking 1mg of klonopin to put myself out about a week and a half ago (?) because I couldn't sleep because of the abdominal pain. It's very sedating when combined with 700mg of seroquel. I told my pdoc, and she had no objection. I'm taking a 1/2 now when I know I'm going to need it to sleep.

I did take it yesterday afternoon and was able to get my nap in, but it was later than I anticipated. I should have taken it whether or not I was trying to take a nap.

In addition to going back to 800mg of seroquel, I'm going to have to do a better job of managing my anxiety in general. I might be better off spreading my klonopin out over the course of the day rather than taking it PRN right now. IDK why, but I resist taking it until I get overwhelmed. I've shot up to smoking two packs of butts a day pretty quickly, over double what I was smoking this time last week.

Well your diverticulitis did not help any...sorry you are having anxiety.
((((HUGS))))
bizi

I feel like my diverticulitis might be a little bit better this morning, but haven't been in the BR.

I'm not enjoying my "anxiety" issues right now, but I'm confident that I'm not dealing with an episode right now… that is definitely good news.

The Linzess is not working on its own to treat my constipation, and the last advice I got was not to take anything else and let it do its thing. I want to stay ahead of this, so I've started to take other measures with a little success. I'll call the office when it opens today to see what advice, if any, they have for me.

I decided to keep taking the klonopin PRN, but I took it when I needed it yesterday, and was more comfortable. I haven't upped the seroquel yet, but my pill minder is empty now, so I'll do that today. When that kicks in it should help with the things the klonopin doesn't.

you can take a max of 4 caplets if you need to, I alternate between 1-2.
Thisis the only thing that has helped me. I am so surprised the myralax did not work for you....you drink alot of water? I did not like it because it is messy measuring it out, I would rather take a pill then measure out a powder...I know lazy on my part.

bizi

I don't like the taste of the liquid so I take a tablet also when needed.

I take Metamucil.

Donna :hug::grouphug:

I have a motility disorder because of the MS, so things that work for you guys, or may even have made you very sick in the past, will not work for me.

The NP told me to keep taking the Linzess, and to resume all the meds I was taking before I got impacted and got diverticulitis. That plan isn't going to work. My gastro is out of the office this week, but the NP is going to consult one of the other MDs because constipation in patients with spinal cord injuries and diseases like MS is so difficult to manage (I have two large lesions in my spinal cord). I'm supposed to call back today. I'll call some time after noon because I'm sure talking about my constipation isn't at the top of their to-do list today. In the meantime, I'm considering cleaning myself out again and starting over. SOOOOOO sick of this ****.

My husband broke the toilet seat, so I went to Lowes to pick up another one. Despite cleaning the one we've had for over 6yrs, I couldn't figure out whether I should be buying wood or plastic and had to call my husband, who told me to buy a plastic one. Turns out we had a wooden one. I still spent another good half an hour staring at and playing with toilet seats before I finally decided on one. I have a terrible time making decisions, even simple ones.
It was important to me to buy one that wouldn't slam when you close it, but didn't realize we're both in the habit of closing it gently behind us. This one closes very, very slowly and my husband and the cats are enthralled by watching it lol.

I feel sedated just by adding that tiny 25mg dose of seroquel back this morning. At least I feel calmer. I would love to go back to bed right now, but I have laundry going down the hall. I'll see how I feel after I fold it. The bathroom and kitchen floors really need to be mopped, but even if I skip the nap, I'm not confident I'd get that done because of the sedation.

I got my finger jammed in the dryer door and did a real number on it. I have a deep cut and bent the nail in the middle of the nail bed. At least I have a good reason to flip my husband the bird when he gets home from work today lol.

oh kay, did not know about your spinal cord, when did you injure it?

sorry about your poor middle finger, I know that had to hurt.
OUCH!
I am so sorry about your motility issues.
Wish there was some magic pill.
Have a good day today.
(((((HUGS))))
bizi:hug:

The damage to my spinal cord is from MS... it attacks the white matter coating the brain and spinal cord resulting in lesions that cause a very wide variety of symptoms. It's not the same thing as a spinal cord injury.

bird watching wooden toilet seat
 

I could not find a cat watching a toilet seat but I did find a bird:

Habibi on toilet seat watch - YouTube

LOL… So it IS a "THING"!
My cats are much more entertaining than the bird, but I'm not going to post a video on YouTube though.

I complained about the cost of the toilet seat, but I had no idea it would give us all hours of amusement lol. Both the seat and the lid close very slowly, and the cats are absolutely mesmerized by it. They think it's some kind of witchcraft. I have no idea how long I spent in the bathroom playing with them yesterday… it's so amusing just watching them react to it. I think I'm soft in the head lol.

I slept from about 10:30am past 2pm yesterday and never got to cleaning those floors. I'm starting to feel a little sedated now that my meds are kicking in, but I'm hoping yesterday was an aberration and I don't have to sleep off the effect of the seroquel again. I'd rather take my nap after I've gotten everything I need to get done out of the way.
I have to get those floors done today, and I have to go out and buy more coffee, toilet paper, and bandaids. But if I need the nap, I have no choice but to take it.

I have gone to the BR! And I can tell I have no impactions or obstructions. We can plan the parade route now! :)
I'm taking:
145 mcg Linzess in the morning
15ml Lactulose twice a day
1250mg FiberCon (2 tabs) twice a day
17.2mg Sennakot (2 tabs) twice a day

I run out of Linzess Monday, and I know the rest of the meds won't work alone because that's what I was taking before this episode. I'm sure they will wait until the Linzess runs out, and I can't go again, before they address that issue though.

The pain from the diverticulitis is gone. I'm still waiting for the Protonix to kick in and start helping with my heartburn and reflux, but it should soon. In the meantime I'm using Gaviscon, which is an after the fact miracle worker.

The seroquel seems to be helping so far, but circumstances have also improved. I'm feeling better, am no longer fighting to get proper medical care, and I'm not as worried about a friend. My husband has also been in a better mood, and so far this week has been shaping up to be better for him than he thought :)

Wow.
Glad that things are going better for you.
Thank goodness!
I am happy that things are better for a friend, glad to hear that you have real friends in your life.
I worry about you....
Have a good day.
((((HUGS))))
bizi:hug:

Kay

Just keep doing everything you can.

Donna :hug::grouphug:

Thank you for worrying about me Bizi :hug:
I worry about you, and everyone else too :hug:

Aside from the GAD, I feel like I'm where I need to be right now as far as mood and my other anxiety disorders since adding back that 25mg of seroquel. I'm just hoping it stays this way.

I was frustrated by more phone calls to medical people again yesterday:

- I called to update the gastro's office about my BR situation and got a medical assistant who wasn't familiar with me, was rude, condescending, and tried to tell me I was taking too many meds. I got very short with her and reminded her that dispensing medical advice wasn't within the scope of her license, my gastro is well aware of all the meds I take, and I told her to "just update my chart". I stopped just short of telling her to **** off.

- I use a progestin only birth control device called Nexplanon that is implanted in the arm, and is good for 3 years. I called the GYN's office because it's time to change it. It turned out to be a big ordeal because the secretary had no idea what she was talking about, and had to put me on hold repeatedly to consult with the NP. But I never lost patience with her because she wasn't an ***hole, and eventually everything got sorted out.


I wasn't forced to take a nap in the morning, in part because I didn't take any klonopin until I finished my errands. I picked up a steak at the butcher shop, and was able to pick up everything else I needed, and then some, at Target. Quick and easy.

I finally got to cleaning the kitchen floor yesterday. I planned on using the swifter wet cloths to mop it, but the generics I bought were so terrible, I ended up having to break out the good old-fashioned mop. I expended all my energy there, so I'll have to clean the bathroom floor today. It's also time to run the vacuum again.

It's going to be about 100 degrees and sunny out today, so I'm not going anywhere. I was planning on going grocery shopping tomorrow, but it's also supposed to be in the high 90s and they're forecasting thunderstorms, so I don't see that happening.

Kay,

I hope that you stayed home out of the weather.

You get a lot done with your cleaning. I am usually not up to much except keeping up with the dishes and the laundry.

I agree that swiffer things are annoying. I would rather get on the floor
with an old towel than mess with them.

(For some reason, I cannot figure out mops and those type-things -- takes too
much paying attention, might knock something over with the handle in our tight space, . . .

M

I can sympathize with you Mari. Sweeping and mopping the bathroom floor is such a PITA because the broom/mop handles get jammed up against the walls repeatedly because the room is so small, and getting around the toilet is nearly impossible. Nevertheless, I got it done yesterday.

That is ALL I did before I turned into Rip Van Winkle…
I slept from about 10:30am until after 2pm, then I retuned to bed and slept from 4-5:30pm. I had no problem falling asleep at 11pm, and slept until 5:30 this morning, which is within my normal range. I would swear I have a sinus infection, but I've been on Augmentin for over a week now, and that's usually what I would take for one. I took a Zyrtec this morning, hoping it helps, but I may need some Mucinex.

The NP from the gastro practice called me yesterday afternoon while I was sleeping. I'll return her call when I'm finished my errands.

Today is supposed to be in the high 90s with a chance of severe isolated thunderstorms. It's 8am, and already 83 degrees. Tomorrow will be cooler, but there is a higher probability of rain and storms throughout the whole day…

It looks like today is the better day to go grocery shopping, but I'm going to have to get off my *** early and get going. I also have to pick up a prescription, and have planned a trip to nearby NH to buy cigarettes. Since I don't do well in the heat, I'm not thrilled by everything on today's agenda.

You go to New Hampshire to get cigs? How long is that drive?

Good luck with your errands today stay out of the heat, hope your air works well in your car. Glad that you have a new one in your apartment.
You are cleaning your home alot more than we are....good for you!:)
bizi

The drive to NH is only about 15 minutes away. Since a carton of cigarettes is about half the price there than it is here in MA, the trip is well worth it.

I picked up the butts and my prescription, but that was all I was willing to do. It was WAY too hot for me to be out, never mind going food shopping. It will just have to wait.

I definitely don't consider myself a very good housekeeper, especially considering I don't work, and that's all I'm responsible for doing. How much I can do, and the quality of my work, varies greatly depending on how I'm feeling.

Kay,

You accomplished your goals of getting the butts and the prescription.


Good luck with keeping your cool.


M

On Thursday I wrote:

Aside from the GAD, I feel like I'm where I need to be right now as far as mood and my other anxiety disorders since adding back that 25mg of seroquel. I'm just hoping it stays this way.

But I've over shot my good mood with just that little bit (25mg) of seroquel and all of a sudden I'm showing signs of depression again. I need that 25mg to control my intrusive thoughts and PTSD symptoms, but I guess it's just too much otherwise.

I'm anxious, emotional, and may be a bit overly sensitive. I'm also teary, but usually can't cry at all. I slept a lot Thursday, but I'm also sick or suffering from allergies so IDK.

I guess I'll call Monday to make an appointment with my pdoc. It's not an emergency, but I don't think it can wait until out next scheduled appointment next month. Usually I can guess what she's going to do, but I have no ****ing idea what she's going to do about this. When I reduced the seroquel by 25mg, the intrusive thoughts came back, and I can't take an antidepressant. I do not want to add another med. I take 5 psych meds already… enough's enough.

I haven't had a depressive episode in a long time, I can't remember how long it's been. It's just been constant hypomania and mania for so long.


It will be in the low 80s and a lot cooler today, and they are no longer forecasting rain, so I'll get my grocery shopping out of the way today. Yay!

Sending you hugs Kay.

Donna :hug::grouphug:

I'm definitely dealing with a cold. I'm coughing and sneezing now. Mucinex DM is helping ease my symptoms. I had a fever of 100.5F yesterday morning and felt like ****, so I went back to bed at 11:30am. My husband didn't wake me up until after 5:30pm!!!

So, no grocery shopping- again. No shower either.

Despite all that sleep during the day, I went to bed at midnight and slept until about 7:30 this morning. I'm feeling much better than I did yesterday.

It's going to be in the mid 90s, but I have to do the grocery shopping today. At least my husband will be home, so I'm certain I will have help bringing the bags in, which is by far the worst part of the ordeal.

I hope you feel better soon.
And I hope that you and your pdoc can come up with a plan...can't remember..you have tried lamictal before?
bizi

Did you get the grocery shopping done, Kay?

Was the weather on your side?

M

My psych meds:

Lamictal 200mg twice a day
Topamax 200mg pm
Seroquel 100mg am, 700mg pm
Gabapentin 400mg
Klonopin up to 3mg a day

The seroquel and gabapentin are the heavy hitters and are the only meds she usually moves. They're so strong, I don't know how much of an impact changes to the lamictal or topamax would actually make. My bet is she would reduce the gabapentin.

I haven't been quite as emotional or teary as I have been. I'm still really oversleeping though. I napped from 11-1:30 yesterday afternoon, went to bed at 10:30 last night, and slept until 9:30 this morning. I'm usually up anywhere between 5-7am (I don't use an alarm clock unless I have somewhere to be), and get 6-8 hours of sleep at night. My cold is better, so I can't use it as an excuse for last night's 11 hours of sleep. I guarantee you I'll need another nap sometimes today, too.

When I've been depressed in the past, I've either experienced severe insomnia or hypersomnia, and reverted to a reversed sleep cycle I just couldn't shake. My husband had major issues with my sleeping problems. I've worked really hard to get on, and maintain, a regular sleep cycle and I don't want sleeping to become an issue again.

I'm BPI, but I've been through significant episodes of depression too. I just want to nip this in the bud, but I couldn't get an appointment until August 29th. My pdoc's on vacation this week, but will be (fully booked) in the office next week and I can call for med advice. I will probably reduce the gabapentin to 300mg tonight because it has no effect on my anxiety disorders, but making a change would be powerful enough (but not too powerful) to shift my mood. I can up the dose right back up to 400mg if I start to have issues.


It was 98 degrees out yesterday, but I got my food shopping done anyway. I figured everyone would be hiding out at home, and the store would be quiet because of the heat, but it was a zoo. At least my husband carried in all the bags.

I thought the finger I jammed in the dryer was healed enough to take the nail polish off of it… it wasn't. It hurt so bad! I can't remember when I did it, but it was a while ago. I aggravated it, but it's not infected.

My social security check has been getting deposited into an account separate from our joint account for about 2 yrs now. My husband wants it to stay that way, but in my opinion, the account has served it's purpose. I want my checks to be deposited into the joint account because it's anemic, and I want to be able to track my spending better. As it is now, it kinda feels like I have an extra "X" amount of money to spend every month when I get it. I called today to change the direct deposit info despite his wishes, and there's nothing he can do about it. I will keep the separate account open with a couple of hundred bucks in it in case I have to leave at some point though.

I managed to vacuum the apartment yesterday. I was looking forward to a shower afterwards, but we had no water again. So I sat in the AC in the living room in my underwear and a teeshirt to cool off instead. lol.

I had a 3 hour nap in the afternoon and never got to take that shower, because by the time I woke up, my husband had come home and had beaten me to it. After that, it was too close to dinner time to squeeze one in.

I told him that I was going to have my social security checks deposited into the joint account for now on. He wasn't angry. He actually seemed relieved. The deposits won't change until next month, so I'm going to transfer this month's money from one account to the other.



I lowered my dose of gabapentin from 400 to 300mg last night. I slept from 10:30pm-6:30am, which is my norm. I haven't noticed anything else, but it's only been one dose.

Given my history, I don't know if playing with my medication while my pdoc is going to be out of the office for so long is the wisest decision, but that's exactly why I'm doing it. I don't want to find out what this could develop into if left alone for that long. I know that many of you might choose to do things differently, but I scare the **** out of myself…

Kay, you know your body best....I think you are smart enough to recognize when things need to be adjusted, we will help if we can...
((((HUGS))))
bizi

Kay,

How do you have no water again?

Is the landlord breaking the health code by not providing
running water?

Sorry.


M

Thank goodness for the air conditioning.
 

Kay,

I admire your spunk (hope that is not annoying to hear)

'Good to take care of the money the way that is best. Happy to hear that it worked out.

And doing a little bit of your own medicating within your range sounds
o.k. Keep posting to us about that. It helps to have the "written record."

M

My agreement with my pdoc is that I will report any new symptoms ASAP. I've been doing pretty well, but I still have my share of issues. My treatment goals remain 1) keep me alive and 2) keep my out of the hospital. The differences here are I just won't be able to reach her for a while, and I'm dealing with depression vs. hypo/mania this time. I don't think she'll be upset with my decision to at least try reducing the gabapentin because I think my symptoms are severe enough to warrant a med change like this, and I think that this is what she would do.

How quickly this has developed has scared me. I only added that 25mg of seroquel back in about a week ago and this started a couple of days later. My hypo/mania has been much more difficult to manage in recent years and I don't want to find out how hard it will be to manage a major depressive episode once the ball really gets rolling. This is bad enough. Yesterday I was really sensitive, overanxious, and emotional again. I only took a 2 hour nap yesterday and didn't oversleep last night though. That's an improvement…

Maybe reducing the gabapentin is starting to help already. I just don't want to go too far the other way. There is no way to get to 350mg because the the smaller doses come in capsules that can't be split, and the tablets only come in 600 and 800mgs. So it's either 300 or 400mg.

If the reducing the gabapentin turns out to be too much, I'll resume my 400mg dose and won't attempt any more changes because anything else is above my head.


It does help to have the written record Mari. It has helped in the past, and it does help me to have input from all of you. Sometimes you notice something in my writings that may be a sign something's going on that I may be missing.



We have constant problems with the water being shut off for hours at a time, and problems with having no hot water at times when we need it. In MA, the law regards hot water… the landlord must provide notice that we won't be receiving it except in cases of emergencies. There is no way that every time the water is shut off, it is an emergency. They are in violation of the health code unless they can prove that in every instance they are making emergency repairs. I'm going to start keeping a record.
I've called the leasing office in the past, and it's like talking to a brick wall. They have all of our email addresses and phone numbers, so they have no excuse. Our old apartment complex always provided us notice, even in the case of emergencies.
I think I will call again now that I've looked up the law.


Hopefully once my checks start getting deposited into the joint account, my husband will stress out less about money. As it is, he can't see that we have the extra "X" amount of money in that account, so he worries more.

I did laundry and changed the sheets yesterday. I made a really pitiful attempt to turn the mattress that almost led to Dottie getting crushed by the mattress. She wouldn't get out, I was about to drop it, and I had to pull her tail to get her out (something I would never do otherwise). I got nowhere with my attempt…. don't know what I was thinking.

I have to go to two banks today, and the weather will be mild for once. It will be about 85 and partly cloudy, so I may take advantage of the fair weather and get a couple of other errands out of the way before it hits the 90s again tomorrow.

poor dottie poor you

We're both okay.

She was all over me this morning, so I think she's forgiven me for pulling her tail by now :)

And I took Aleve this morning and my back feels better :)

I missed that your back was sore, glad it is better. Thank goodness for over the counter meds!:)
bizi

I didn't mention hurting my back in the previous post. It happened while I was trying to hold up the corner of the mattress while trying to get Dottie out from underneath it.

I didn't seriously hurt myself. Aleve works well for me. My aches and pains should disappear in a day or two.

one of our cats like it when you pull her tail. Hattie is a bruiser.
Can't believe you turned over the mattress by your self.
We either both do that or jeff does sometimes by himself but he is a big man!
please have your hubby help you to do that in the future.
((((HUGS))))
bizi

It's a no-flip mattress and has to be rotated. I was barely able to lift a corner, never mind rotate it, then the cat got under there.
I only tried it because I've asked my husband to do it multiple times and he hasn't. I won't be trying it again.

Right now, I'm overly sensitive and emotional, and I think I have to spend a couple of days away from the forum until I'm feeling better.

Take care of yourself, Kay. :Heart:



M

Please be careful, I hope you are not isolating yourself.
We are here to help watch out for you.
I am sorry if somehow overwhelmed you.
((((HUGS))))
bizi