Medication Archives » Page 4 of 6

Bald and Bloated

Nov 2, 2014

F*ck, I’m losing my hair! For a while now my son has been complaining that I’m losing my hair, that he’s finding my hair all over the place, including in his lunch which I make (disgusting!). Is it menopause? Is it stress? Is it medication side effects? Is it due to nutritional deficiencies? I actually think…

So….who are you?

Oct 13, 2014

in Bipolar Disorder, Hearing Advocate, Involuntary Hospitalization, Medication, Mental Health, Mental Health Advocacy

As I begin my training as a Hearing Advocate for those involuntarily hospitalized, I found this post timely. Finding My Sunshine is a mother, wife and PhD student living with Bipolar disorder. In this post, she describes her experience with involuntary hospitalization and multiple ECT sessions administered while prescribed Lithium, resulting in severe memory loss.…

NAMI Week Four

Aug 13, 2014

in Bipolar Disorder, Bipolar Parenting, Depression, Disability, Mania, Medication, Psychotic Thought Process, Recovery

Today was week four of NAMI Peer-to-Peer classes. In week four, we shared our personal stories. I am taking the opportunity to copy and paste my story here: My Story As a freshman at UCLA, I fell into a deep depression, believing that my parents, my sister, the whole world would be better off without…

Sh*t Forgot My Meds Last Night

Jul 29, 2014

in Bipolar Disorder, Medication, Triggers to Mood Cycling

Last night, in the midst of a change in routine, I forgot to take my night-time medication. When I saw that my pill-box still contained last night’s medication this morning, I took a partial night-time dose of divalproex sodium this morning. My current night-time dos is 1000 mg. This morning I took 750 mg; one…

Pregnancy, Breastfeeding, & Medication

Jul 22, 2014

in Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Medication, Migraine

This post is inspired by #medsandmotherhood week at STIGMAMA.COM, most specifically, this article: Pump and Dump, by Walker Karraa, PhD #medsandmotherhood. Before becoming pregnant with my son, I thoroughly surveyed the medical research about antidepressant use in pregnancy and during lactation. Since I had a history of severe depression and suicidal ideation dating back to…

Road Trip

Jul 13, 2014

in Medication, Photos

We are on our way to Mammoth Mountain, high on the eastern desert side of the Sierras, for a week of downhill mountain biking. I’ve never had great balance and divalproex sodium (Depakote) makes my inherent klutziness even worse. So I’ll be sticking to beginner slopes. My husband and son, though, will be risking life…

Doctor’s Orders

Jul 9, 2014

in Bipolar Disorder, Bipolar Parenting, Hypomania, Marriage, Medication, Psychotherapy, Seasonal Affective Disorder, Social Stimulation, Triggers to Mood Cycling

Yesterday afternoon I saw my psychiatrist at group therapy. After confessing that I’ve been spending over ten hours a day (honestly, probably far more) on social media and that I’ve been unable to fall asleep at night, my psychiatrist told me that I am socially overstimulating myself. He pointed out that my online activity is…

Motherhood While Depressed and Bipolar

Jul 5, 2014

in Bipolar Disorder, Bipolar Parenting, Depression, Disability, Hypomania, Medication, Migraine, Motherhood, Stigma

Since I was eighteen-years-old, I suffered from symptoms of moderate to severe chronic depression. Until I was thirty, I coped with chronic depression using psychotherapy. When I suffered a severe breakdown at thirty, I sought medical help for my symptoms and was prescribed antidepressants. Before becoming pregnant in my mid-thirties, I researched antidepressants to determine which was the…