Prayer for my better half

[JHCC]

Hi, Sandy!

[Frosty]

Welcome aboard Sandy, glad to have you. Like puns?

Humor is MY armor it helps make the bad stuff slide off.

Frosty The Lucky.

[ThomasPowers]

Sandy; don't judge us too harshly---we're mainly blacksmiths and you know what *that* means!  Pull up a chair and elbow that galoot next to you over a bit.

How are you doing?  A number of us have chronic issues, Frosty with TBI and me with type 1.5 Diabetes (adult onset of Juvenile Diabetes) etc.  You'll fit right in!

Do you knit or crochet or make chainmail? I've done the last one but not the first or second and found it relaxing.  Also books on tape over TV, (even DVDs tend to get me worked up so I limit what and when I watch them---not having a TV down here in my rental helps that a lot...) I went through a period of Social Anxiety when I was in my 20's and it is rough. (I hit 60 this year and there has been a LOT of stuff I am so glad I got to be around for; and some stuff that stunk and I had to just soldier through one day (or even 1 hour at a time).

As I mentioned earlier my Mother is from down near Altus; she was born on their kitchen table and doesn't have a birth certificate! But I have a passel of stories about her growing up out there...be pleased to trade some with you.

Best Regards,

Thomas Powers

[Charles R. Stevens]

Today we finally got in to see a real psychiatrist (infact mine bent the rules and told her office manager to find room). New diagnosis (surprised me how Sandy opened up to him. schizoaffective bipolar disorder, yikes! Well not as bad as it sounds, being she has made it this long. 

I told her doc was going have a medication throwing away fit! He did. After the list of meds she has tried, and the meds she was on he expressed two possibilities. One, you are really messed up or two they don't know what they are doing! Well now we know...

 

[ThomasPowers]

Great News! At least I have always found a correct diagnosis to be a help.   storm rolling in BYE!

[Frosty]

If a sorta same post shows up from me my last reply got disappeared.

That's pretty darned good news Charles an "affective" suffix on a diagnosis is pretty positive. Sure better than "functional." Better yet is finding a doc with a clue.

This doesn't get you, Sandy or the daughter off the prayer list though I think I'll add a line or two asking for better luck with doctors.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Daswulf]

Charles, another reason I don't trust doctors. But glad you two are making ground if I'm reading it right. Haven't stopped the prayers. 

[Charles R. Stevens]

I apretiate your prayers and kind words. Thank you Thomas for braving the storm gods, Jerry for spending some more of the considerable good will with the powers that be, and Das, thank you, you keep hanging in our corner. 

[JHCC]

One of the best lessons I've learned in my time is that the most useful thing to know -- the best question you can ask -- is "Objectively, where are we now?" It's only when you know that that you can ask, "What do we do next?"

So glad to hear that you know more than you did, and praying that this helps you see your way clearer before you.  

[SLAG]

Charles,

You & Sandy are still on our list of intentions. Getting a specific diagnosis is a real step forward. Chances are that the new meds to be prescribed will prove to be more effective than kitchen sink of the past years.

We are all on your side, and I assure you that you can count on me for support, (& sometimes new medical information as I come across it).

Best regards to the both of you.

SLAG.

[Charles R. Stevens]

Thank you Slag, I look forward to the tidbits you share, even the non medical ones!

[Charles R. Stevens]

Thanks JHCC, slow progress, but progress non the less. Seing boogiesor boggles and hearing them whisper isn't nesisaraly a sighn of mental health issues, lol. But if the medication helps, I'm on board. 

 

[Kozzy]

Butting in here kind of after the fact.  Hope all improves for Sandy as the mental issue side of the medical industry is a tough area to navigate.

Coming from the depression end of the pool, one thing many people don't understand about the mental end of medicine is that the medication issue is a search, not a simple prescription.  Most people need to try several options before they find what works for THEIR chemistry--to use a bad analogy, you might try on 30 pairs of shoes before you find a pair that is comfortable on your feet.  It's not as simple as a "here, this should work" when the issues are this complex.  With the depression groups I've worked with, I'd say the average search took 7 to 10 tries with some getting up toward 20 before they had working combinations.  Its a disheartening process but one that you need to stick with in spite of the speed-bumps.

I bring that up because I have run into so many (general public, not you who are experiencing the process) who think it gets fixed with a pill like thyroid or blood pressure--or worse, think it's all about attitude changes.  Can't tell you how many times some idiot has said something like "just pull yourself up by your bootstraps and it'll be better".  

Anyway--just wanted to throw out that there is such a thing as a psycho-pharmacologist.  They are HIGHLY specialized and quite rare to find or be referred to.  With depression patients, they tend to do a far deeper evaluation of the symptoms and adjust a complex mix of several medications to be more suitable for the INDIVIDUAL patient than just pulling pills out of a bottle.  If you don't seem to be getting the results you need from your regular P-Doc, you might throw out the notion of a psycho-pharmacologist just to see how they feel about the option.

I wish her all the best in the tough climb--as well as you because it's tough on the spouse to see the kind of pain their loved ones are in.  It can get better--tough to remember that when things are at their worst but at least it's a notion you can try and hold on to.

[Charles R. Stevens]

Thanks JHCC, slow progress, but progress non the less. Seing boogiesor boggles and hearing them whisper isn't nesisaraly a sighn of mental health issues, lol. But if the medication helps, I'm on board. 

 

[Charles R. Stevens]

Thanks, Kozzy. Been down this road myself, so I am well aware of the tea leave reading and bone throwing involved. My Shrink is scary smart, and I'm sure if he hits a wall he will do what ever it takes to get Sandy to a place of peace, he already told his clinical director to find her a space in his already full schedual

[notownkid]

nice to find a Dr that cares or tries to care within the limitations of Ins. today.  My wife worked in Long Term Care for many years and the Psyc. doc. were the worse to deal with, no time to listen only kept writing more and more drug orders.  She said the good ones were worth their weight in gold others in manure.  Best of luck going forward to Sandy and yourself. 

[ausfire]

I too am glad you have found a caring doctor who's willing to go the extra mile for you. That must be great comfort for you both. We have been lucky to have had the same doctor for the last 45 years. Small town. Knows everyone. Delivered my son 36 years ago. He's always been there for us in times of need. As I said - lucky.

Best wishes to you and Sandy.

Darryl

[Charles R. Stevens]

Yes sir, Notownkid, many over medicate to keep from getting called at 3 am because their is a problem. Being that we are both severely mentally ill and high functioning makes us generaly underwire or to those kinds of doctors. 

 

An Inviable situation, Darrle. Tho my primary care is a cowboy boots kind off guy, my srink is black euro sedan driving family man. I have faith in them both.