Articles Index
Seroquel Study Ends
At the end of the first eight weeks of the Seroquel clinical study for bipolar depression, participants may or may not start taking pills containing something different from what they took during the acute phase. It certainly seemed that this had happened in my case.
Colon Surgery for Mom
Once it was apparent that my mother's large intestine was going to continue to twist over on itself even when she had not been eating, we were out of options. They scheduled her to have colostomy surgery on October 17th.
Mom's in the Hospital
During my fifth week of participation in the Seroquel clinical study for bipolar depression, my mother became seriously ill. Each doctor had a different opinion, depending on his area of expertise - the gastroenterologist, the cardiologist, the surgeon - we were bombarded with information but none of it told us what to DO.
Seroquel Clinical Study for Bipolar Depression - Week 1
I received my first 8 days of medication for the Seroquel / Paxil / Placebo clinical study on September 6, 2005. The pills made a big difference right away. It doesn't seem possible that I'm taking nothing but placebos ... judge for yourself.
Seroquel Research Study - Screening Visit
After many weeks of tapering off a variety of bipolar disorder medications, I finally had my first visit with the Seroquel study coordinator. I'd hoped to get medication right away, but instead I had to read and sign long forms, fill out questionnaires, answer a lot of questions and have laboratory tests done.
Seroquel Clinical Study for Bipolar Depression - Week 2
From sleep to creativity to temper tantrums - the second week of the Seroquel / Paxil clinical study was filled with contrasts. These pills, whatever they are, are definitely making a difference!
Seroquel Clinical Study for Bipolar Depression
During the third and fourth weeks on the study medications, I didn't recognize what was going on while it was happening. I just enjoyed it ... until cracks started to show.
Taking Stock
Part 6 in an ongoing series tracking one person's life after being diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. This week: more med changes, and taking stock.
The Stresses and Joys of Moving
I had purchased my dream home. Now it remained to be seen whether the incredible stresses of moving would overwhelm the joy I felt about living in my new home and send me into bipolar mood swings.
20 Down, 50 to Go
I've lost 20 pounds in 11 months while taking Seroquel, one of the drugs that is notorious for causing weight gain. My experience proves that it is possible to lose weight and still take Seroquel or a similar pound-packing drug. My weight loss program is completely individual. I hope reading what is working for me will inspire others to find their own weight loss solutions.
Frantic
Situational depression is especially hard on people with bipolar disorder, and that's what I'm dealing with now. Good things are happening, but until the bad things are resolved, my good moods can only last a few hours. The experiences of selling a house and of buying a house were polar opposites. My life was 10% euphoria and 90% black depression.
Living in Elation and Depression
The effort of selling my mother's house after her death and looking for a new house caused mood switches between depression and elation. I was excited and happy, even euphoric, while house hunting, but deeply depressed the rest of the time. It was very confusing. From Marcia's I'm Bipolar Journal.
Flat Depressive Episode
I'm in the worst depressive episode I've had since 1994. Then, all I could do was sit in a chair and worry. Now, all I do is sit on the couch and crochet. I've gone from hypomanic in June to depressed in August, and the best word to describe it is flat. Nothing is getting done, and this is going to cause real problems if I don't get out of this depressive episode soon.
Mind and Body Overdrive
The pressure put on me to get my mother's house, where I still live, ready for sale became greater and greater as the date of our garage sale, a photo shoot and the broker open house approached. Both my brothers and their wives came to help over a ten-day period, and there was a great deal of friction. I found my body and mind too restless to sit still - or sleep.
My Home - Past and Future
Nine years to the day after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, my life is filled with stressors, but I am coping much better than in the past. I have to sell the home I live in and buy a new home. Difficult, exciting and stressful - but my new medication, Geodon, seems to be helping a LOT.
Changes Without Change
The author recaps her struggle with bipolar depression and medications over the last two years. Part of the 'Bipolar Journal' series that began the day of diagnosis.
My Right Ear
A few weeks after my mother died, a chorus began humming in my right ear every time I wasn't already listening to music or talking to someone. This quickly became very irritating. I had enough to deal with in planning a memorial service, dealing with the complexities of my mother's estate, and cleaning out the house my parents bought more than 47 years ago to put it on the market. I didn't need a chorus that couldn't always sing the right notes constantly singing repetitive tunes in my ear!
My Stomach Hurts
After showing signs of what appeared to be stomach flu, my mother became gravely ill. Both the nursing home's doctor and the CNA from hospice told me Mom had at most a few days to live.
PTSD, Rage, Hypomania
Both my psychiatrist and the hospice social worker say that after caring for my mother for six months as she descended into Alzheimer's, I may have post-traumatic stress disorder -- PTSD.
Lessons from Dark Days
A four-day power outage sounds like pure hell - but for me, it wasn't at all, and out of it came lessons that have made a substantial difference in my daily life.
In Mechanical Mode
When it is just too hard to face emotional issues, a person can go into a state of denial where everything is on the surface. Practical. Mechanical. That's where I am now, as my family deals with the hard realities of my mother's condition.
When Meds Meet Stress, Who Wins?
Everyone experiences stress. Stress can occur in situations ranging from noisy children, or problems on the job right on up to a death in the family. People who take medications for mental illnesses like bipolar disorder may find that they can cope better with small and even moderate stresses. But what happens when these medications come up against severe stress? Marcia examines this situation in her latest issue of her online Bipolar Journal.
Fighting A Losing Battle - Part 1
Alzheimer's is a killer disease - for the family. Is it harder on me because of my bipolar disorder? I'll probably never know. But recent events show just how much I am crumbling under the strain.
A Room of My Own
This chapter of my bipolar disorder journal tells about a conversation with my psychiatrist - what I told him about living with my mother's Alzheimer's disease, and what he advised to help me deal with it.
Terrors and Screams
My mother has been formally diagnosed with Alzheimer's. She's declining rapidly, having bouts of terror where she screams, and a nursing home is definitely in the future. Meanwhile, my psychiatrist is more worried about me than her.