Dit
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| Rank | Group Leader |
| Online Status | OFFLINE |
| Member Since | 11/30/2008 02:47 PM |
| Last Online | 05/23/2013 06:51 AM |
| Gender: | Female |
| Birthdate: | 11/20/1963 |
| City: | Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation: | Homemaker/Volunteer Work |
| A little about me: | I'm a grateful member here. Coming online daily i no longer feel alone. Finally got diagnosed with Bipolar I in the Fall 2007. I told my pdoc to refer me to the Mental Health Centre so i could be re-assessed by new pdocs who did not know me like he did (was seeing him 24yrs). Spent 4 wks in the Intensive Assessment & in 5 days they told me i had bipolar I. Prior to this assessment i was told i had depression & anxiety. What a relief now finally knowing exactly what i have. Looking Back: It was 1982 when i suffered a major depression/psychosis i was 18 yrs young and spent 9 wks in a psych.ward involuntarily. They diagnosed me with Paronoid Scizophrenia. Three yrs later in 1985 saw a new pdoc & I was high functioning & working (im still seeing him) and was re-diagnosed as having depression & anxiety, he took me off of anti-psych. meds and put me on an anti-dep.(Clomiprimine or Anafranil Tricylic family). This med worked well but looking back i was hypomanic most of the time highfunctioning and about 7 yrs later was given Klonopin due to having anxiety. I lived recklessly during my teen yrs smoking marijuana daily and experimented with harder drugs and drank alcohol. I believe this excessive abuse being during my teen yrs stunted my emotional growth and may have brought on the psychosis idk neither do the doctors my grandfather had bipolar its probably in the genes. The drug and alcohol use came to an end when i got hospitalized in '82. I attended out patient program day hospital and lived in halfway/group homes suffered 'severe' depression for most of that time I was not on the right meds b/c i was misdiagnosed. In 1985 I started working was high-functioning I thought i was stable & in full remission this resulted in wanting to 'party' once again so i chose alcohol as my drug of choice; lived recklessly hanging out in bars, was looking for love in the wrong places and was promiscuous and hypersexual. I grew up surrounded by excessive alcohol usage attended Alanon for 2 yrs then I met my husband at 24. I continued drinking alcohol excessively (my husband has been sober now for 11 yrs). At age 32 (1996) my Mom passed away and my pdoc wanted me to go in-patient (did not go) and it was then that Lithium was added. Going on Lithium ended my alcohol abuse. Even though i've had numerous high-stresses and med dosage changes over these 30 yrs i'm truly grateful i haven't needed to go inpatient involuntarily ever again and have never experienced another psychosis. Now: This past yr Im trying hard not to have the Lithium dosage go higher than 750 mgs...i'm in the process of trying Lamictal as a replacement for Lithium, Lithium has worked fairly well and has given stability but I need a change don't like side effects i'm now down to 300 mgs and also taking 200 Lamictal...a few more meds have been added. I've been seeing a therapist for 2 yrs who helps me a lot and has told me i'm progressing very well. Living with bipolar for over half my life has given me more compassion for others who also suffer mental illnesses and addictions. I've been moving forward and when times are tough i keep striving to beat this illness and not let it get the better of me. Feel free to pm me should you want to share or have any questions. There's always hope and this illness can be treatable, mine has been. I'm a christian and its my faith, hope and love of God that's pulled me thru all the rough times "thank you God", I'm happily married for 21 yrs to a very loving supportive man we have a son whos 13 and a daughter whos 15. I'm feeling fairly stable these days, The first time I ever experienced major med changes was in Jan/11 to May/11 i became manic ultradian rapid cycling lasted for 3 mos i'm finally on a good combo of meds. I still get mild bipolar symptoms but can better deal with them. I'm always willing to make new friends. |
My Awareness Ribbons
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"I have bipolar and it will not get the best of me" |
"my nephew has Leukemia my Dad had Leukemia and had COPD" |
"A daughter who self-injures and a friend who used to self-injure, some family have addiction issues and my husband is an alcoholic who's been sober for 10 yrs" |
"My father-in-law has Parkinsons, mental illnesses run in my family and i suffer with bipolar I." |
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My Hugs
 | Hi Dit, have had a couple of shitty days, since Dec., however, I did manage to push myself to train. I'm glad all is well with you. We'll have to get a phone call in the near future. We're having a garage sale on Sat. (((HUGS))) Kelly ;) |
| a good week to everyone,may you do ,or be the best you can . |
| Thanks for your wonderful hug! It felt good! My number, though, was not a negative number. It only appeared that way. It was typed with a hyphen on either side. (-5- ... not ... -5) Hope your number got better as the day went along! ((hugs)) |
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My Diary
Depression or is it a Low Day
Everyday livings
Everyday livings
| Title | Date | Views | Comments |
| Lithium Decrease | 04/20/2013 | 69 | 4 |
| Stressful Easter Morning | 04/01/2013 | 75 | 1 |
| Link to psychology tools website | 03/16/2013 | 69 | 0 |
| Mindfulness Techniques | 03/14/2013 | 72 | 4 |
| Update on Kids Mar.7/13 | 03/07/2013 | 104 | 4 |
| I'm Stressed With My Kids | 03/05/2013 | 96 | 2 |
| Update Feb.23/13 Florida & Therapy | 02/23/2013 | 99 | 2 |
| Florida Vacation | 02/22/2013 | 84 | 2 |
| Update - Dec. 17/12 | 12/17/2012 | 120 | 2 |
| Update - Nov. 10/12 | 11/10/2012 | 139 | 3 |
My Health Topics Contributions
My Photos
Dit's photos are private
My Support Groups
Advocates Support Group
Bipolar Support Group (Group Leader)
Bipolars Only Support Group
Dysfunctional Families Support Group
Friends & Family of Alcoholics Support Group (Group Leader)
Parenting Teenagers Support Group
Self Esteem & Positive Thinking Support Group
Smoking (Nicotine) Addiction Support Group
Bipolar Support Group (Group Leader)
Bipolars Only Support Group
Dysfunctional Families Support Group
Friends & Family of Alcoholics Support Group (Group Leader)
Parenting Teenagers Support Group
Self Esteem & Positive Thinking Support Group
Smoking (Nicotine) Addiction Support Group
My Friends
My Recent Posts
| Daily Numbers - Thursday, May ... | 05/23/2013 | ||
| Daily Numbers - Thursday, May ... | 05/23/2013 | ||
| Tired, discouraged, and desper... | 05/22/2013 | ||
| Should go to therapy but not f... | 05/22/2013 | ||
| Daily Numbers Wed 22 May | 05/22/2013 | ||
| * Emotional Weather Report* | 05/21/2013 | ||
| Daily Numbers - Tuesday, May 2... | 05/21/2013 | ||
| Woke up from the coma! | 05/21/2013 | ||
| Daily Numbers - Monday, May 20... | 05/20/2013 | ||
| Anybody with Bipolar want to s... | 05/19/2013 | ||
| super depressed all morning so... | 05/19/2013 | ||
| super depressed all morning so... | 05/19/2013 | ||
| Geodon Withdrawl | 05/19/2013 | ||
| Jayna - HAPPY BIRTHDAY | 05/19/2013 | ||
| What if you won the Biggest, B... | 05/19/2013 | ||
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