Sunday, September 17, 2006

Energized and full of plans

Well, I'm back on meds. But luckily I was able to convince my doctor to not start me back on lithium. He put me on lamictal instead. And since I was off my meds for so long, he's got me on lower doses to start out with. That means fewer pills. Yea!

Before, I was taking 1500 mg of lithium, 2000 mg of depakote, 4 mg of risperdal, 80 mg of inderal, 15 mg of remeron, and 100 mcg of synthroid. That was 7 pills in the morning and 8 at night. If you ask me, that was a massive cocktail of meds.

Now I'm on 25 mg lamictal, 1000 mg of depakote, 2 mg of risperdal, and 100 mcg of synthroid. No remeron because I'm not depressed. I'm either manic or mixed. No inderal because I was only taking it for tremors caused by the lithium. I'm still on the synthroid only until they're sure my thyroid has stabilized. That's only 5 pills total. 2 in the morning and 3 at night. Much better.

And whereas the lithium was handfuls of huge capsules twice a day, I'm only on one itty bitty little pill now thanks to the lamictal. Yeah, the depakote is still huge, but only half of the previous amount. I guess I can deal with that for now. I'd love to go off the depakote and just be on the lamictal. But I don't know if I could be that lucky.

The risperdal is no big deal. It's the m-tab, which melts in your mouth and doesn't even taste bad. The only thing is it makes me sleepy. Maybe I can get them to lower it to 1 mg. But I think I can only pull that off if I stop seeing things. I'm pretty sure the only reason he resumed the risperdal is when he asked if I was seeing or hearing anything, I told him about the other night when I saw mist rising from the blanket I was wrapped in. I know it wasn't there, but I saw it anyway. It was eerie. So I guess for now, I need it. I don't like it, though. Although, I do have to say I wish all my meds were as easy to take. Just melt in my mouth with a minty taste. Nice, huh? :-)

I'm still feeling a bit on the up side, but I feel a bit calmer now. I'm not sure if it's the meds or just me. I would have thought it a bit early for the meds to be working. I've only been on them again for 2 days. Well, time will tell whether it's me or the meds.

I went to the store and bought the dvd's of the original theatrical releases of Star Wars IV, V, and VI. That was $60.00 right there. But Hubby said I could get them, so I'm not worried that I spent that kind of money. Even though our budget is so tight right now that $60 could make a big difference.

I've also been busy making a Dead Like Me theme for my computer. Background, sound events, icons, the whole nine yards. It's been fun. I would like to make a new mouse pointer... maybe a scythe or something. That would be cool.

I'm just about caught up on the laundry. It seems that our whole wardrobe was dirty. I'm planning on doing the dishes and cleaning up the living room and office tomorrow. I'm also going to finish cleaning our bedroom. I started that today.

I've been having the urge to paint. I'm thinking about painting a copy of my favorite painting Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer. I think that would look good in the living room.

I've also been kicking around the idea of writing a novel. I just need a starting point. Maybe I should write about a woman with bipolar. Don't they say write what you know? Well, I definitely have a lot of experience with that. Maybe I could add these posts in there. Have her be writing in a journal. I could also include previous journals I've kept since I was 18. That would be cool.

Well, I'm off to take a shower. Maybe I'll start a load of dishes tonight before I go to bed. Till next time...