Tag: disability

Run around day for nothing

by Midnight Demon, posted in Bipolar Disorder, blogging, chronic physical pain, depression, mood disorders, suicide

Run around day for nothing

I thought I had an appointment at 0900 this morning. I set my alarm at good time to get dressed and brush my teeth. I unfortunately, didn’t get up right away and when I checked my watch, I was late. I left the house hurriedly to catch the bus or I would have been screwed. I had to get coffee or I was going to be a bitch. I was fifteen late only for the secretary to tell me my appointment was canceled and rescheduled! I was so damn pissed. The appointment was reschedule on Halloween so I never got notified. Then I thought maybe an email was sent and I just never read it. My ankle was smarting so I decided to go home before my next appointment, which I thought was at 11 but it was at 1. I was all screwed up today.

I got home and took my meds. I checked for an email and there wasn’t. Now I was really mad. I woke up for nothing and rushed out of the house for nothing. I shouldn’t have come home though. I was getting lazy and comfy so I didn’t want to go out again, but I had to see my psychiatrist. So I brushed my teeth and then left to go to the bus stop. I left really early and so waited. There was a homeless guy at the stop and we made conversation. I felt really bad that I didn’t have any money on me to give him. I knew they were going to give him grief on the bus. I tried to use my pass twice for him but it wouldn’t work. He had to use whatever change he had. I felt really awful.

I got to my appointment okay. I was feeling really tired and hungry as I didn’t eat anything and all this running around was making me tired. I was glad my psychiatrist’s office is the building closest to the train station so I didn’t have to walk too much. I flatly told her I was suicidal. I didn’t say that I had plans but we came to an agreement. I told her that during my pain episodes I am likely to kill myself but am getting worried that not being able to walk might override my walk three feet to the bureau to get the meds I need to kill myself. She wants me to page her, at whatever hour, to talk about it. We briefly discussed the hospital but I told her I wanted my mother’s turkey and I didn’t want to be inpatient as that just sucks during the holidays. I also told her I would go in but they mess up my meds so much that I would be at the med counter forever taking pills. Plus, the way my pain meds are written, I wouldn’t be taking them the way I take them at home. I would be screwed and that might send me over the edge when I got out.

She reiterated that she wants me to page her when I feel suicidal or just need to talk about things. She wants me to be in contact with her more frequently and wants to know how my Thanksgiving went. I told her I would send her a blog. I apologized for not sending her blogs because they have been shitty lately and I know they would worry her.

Despite drinking a lot of caffeine today, I feel really tired. I had four shots of espresso this morning and another two this afternoon when I had my lunch. You would think that would keep me up and not feel drowsy. Yeah, right. I guess I needed the caffeine to help offset all the running around I did today. I just hope it doesn’t back fire on me and then I am up most of the night due to restlessness. Being in pain is going to be a given because my ankle is already sore. There were no seats on the train ride home so I had to stand a few stops before one became available. Then the next stop, a large woman sat next to me, invading my personal space. I was not happy. The worse part was that she was on her damn phone so I couldn’t move. I hate people like that. I know I am not a thin person but at least have respect for the person sitting next to you.

I told my psych about how my therapist’s anxiety is interfering with our sessions. I just feel like all she does is talk and I listen, not speaking what I want to say, which leaves me feeling frustrated and useless. I didn’t tell her that my therapist forced a session on me yesterday. That might not have gone too well. My therapist is nuts though. Sadly, she admits it freely so there is no hope.

Editing nightmare, writing, and other things

by Midnight Demon, posted in Bipolar Disorder, blogging, chronic physical pain, depression, mood disorders, writing

Editing nightmare, writing, and other things

Earlier this week when I was editing, I noticed that one story had given each paragraph its own page. I fixed it and thought that would be it. Tonight, I went to the next story and there was a similar error. I went to the next and found the same error. I panicked. I knew what I had to do to fix it but it was a lengthy process and would take some time and effort to sort through. It was more than 50 pages of work to sort. I had nothing better to do so cut and pasted I did. I fixed the book and in doing so, “lost” 20 pages. I am up to 125, without edits as I still haven’t inputted them but at least there are no formatting errors, least none that I can see right now.

Because I thought I was up to at least 150 pages of work after putting in some dedication and acknowledgement pages, I figured I could publish the book. Now I can’t because it’s too short for my taste. I really would like to get it up to 200 pages, minimum. It’s probably going to take me another six months or so to get another 75 pages written. I am so disappointed. So close yet no cigar.

My mother annoyed me tonight. I told her I was in pain and she said “well you are going up and down the stairs alright”. WTF She doesn’t fucking get it. The other day when my sister was here she was telling her that I go down the stairs “carefully”. But she said it in a mocking voice. I just can’t win with her. Tomorrow she wants me to clean the stairs, both flights. I will clean the bottom stairs first as those haven’t been done in quite a while. Then we’ll see about the other flight.

I just took a strong pain pill because I couldn’t stand the throbbing in my ankle anymore and the regular pain pills aren’t working. I hope I am not up every fricken two hours. I am really tired. It’s funny, when I want to sleep I can’t and when I need sleep, I do. There is no medium. I know part of it is my fault because I am on my bed most of the time so when I feel the need to lie down, I do and usually sleep, no matter what time of day it is. A sleep doc would have a complete fit if he knew my sleeping habits or lack there of.

It’s extremely windy and it is shaking the house. It kind of scares me because I fear the house will fall in. I know it won’t, sort of, but it still scares me when the house shakes. I hope the wind dies down by the end of the night. I don’t need anxiety on top of pain to keep me up. That just isn’t a good combination.

I talked with my aunt tonight. It didn’t go well. She didn’t know who I was and then started crying. It broke my heart. She wanted me to visit her. I wish I had a car to see her but I don’t. I would have to go by public transportation and it’s a pain because I would have to take two trains and a bus to get to her house. It would be worth it to see her though. I miss her terribly. She is the last surviving sibling in the US on my father’s side. I have one uncle in France but he has dementia and is not doing too well. I don’t talk to him because of the language barrier. He doesn’t speak English and I don’t speak French or Italian.

an upsetting chat

by Midnight Demon, posted in Bipolar Disorder, blogging, depression, mood disorders, suicide, suicide attempt

An upsetting chat

Nathaan Demers ‏@Doc_Demers 3h3 hours ago
We need protocols in primary care regarding MH & suicidal ideation. We flag pt records for med conditions- lets do the same for MH. #spsm

I came across this statement while going through the SPSM chat that goes on every Sunday on Twitter. What I find upsetting is that these suicide preventionists don’t realize that suicide and suicidal thinking are time limited. People who think of this in time of extreme distress are not going to think about it down the line. Now if they make an attempt, that is a different matter.

The way I see it, you can let the medical providers know that the patient has mental health issues. I am for that. But telling them they have suicidal ideation that won’t go on like pneumonia is just foolish. Sure you can document that the person had ideation but for what? So that some idiot insurance policy can deny claims because they were going through a tough patch and wanted to get out of it? To me, that is just perpetuating the stigma of suicide. If the patient attempted suicide, then that is cause for concern because the best indicator that we have right now is survived attempts leading to a death by suicide.

This isn’t the first chat that has called for the medical providers and mental health professionals to be working together. But once you place it in the patient’s chart, it’s there forever. You can’t erase it. More thought needs to go into this before I feel comfortable about my own thoughts going into my medical record. We’re not talking about a deathly reaction to penicillin. Those kind of things should of course be documented at every medical visit.

But passing suicidal thoughts that were thought of last week or last month or even ten years ago? Everyone has these thoughts. Not all go through with them. It’s the attempts that should be documented not the ideas if we want to save a life. Granted patients might be ashamed or embarrassed to bring up a failed attempt but it should be asked about. And again, this should all be done with dignity and respect and compassion. It shouldn’t be hurried and passed over once talked about. It should also be respected about the time. If the patient is currently have these thoughts they should be addressed. If it happened ten years ago and the patient is stable, then in my opinion, it should be documented but not be hounded and beaten to death. The crisis is over and dealt with. It’s what is going on now in the patient’s life that should matter, not the long ago past.

a day of sleep

by Midnight Demon, posted in Bipolar Disorder, blogging, chronic physical pain, depression, mood disorders

I woke up about an hour ago and now I want to go back to sleep. My mother will be making hot dogs and beans for dinner soon. I guess it will be good to eat something other than cake. I had three slices of the Nantucket Cranberry cake I made yesterday. It is so good. I really like it. I made myself a cup of tea to try and keep myself awake but I don’t think it is going to work. I can drink several cups of tea and then go right to sleep. But the caffeine might be enough to get me through dinner.

I woke up around 6 in severe pain to start my day. I don’t know how but my feet were not under the blankets and were really cold. It hurt moving my legs because my back was so sore. I was in an awkward position, which is probably why my back was hurting. I reluctantly took two pain pills. I am running low and will run out by the end of the week. Question is, which pain pill will I run out first. I have 4 strong pain pills and 10 regular pain pills. I think my regular pills will run out sooner. I am so sad that this is going to happen and there is nothing I can do about it, other than ration my pills. If I am in any pain for the rest of the day, I will have to take the strong pain pills. I think that with some Ativan will help ease my pain. Last night I went into PTSD mode because I started getting pain down my left leg. I was so freaking out. Back pain radiating down my leg always freaks me out. Luckily the Ativan worked and I went to sleep without incident.

I wanted to watch the baseball game tonight but I am way too tired. I still need to wash my hair because I put gel in it last night and it’s making my head itch. I don’t know if that will be done today. I am so damn sleepy. And it’s not like I have been piling on the medications either. I haven’t taken anything since early this morning. I guess all my activities from yesterday are coming out today, making me really tired. I never had dinner as my mother called and I was feeling kind of full of cake. I also didn’t feel like having hot dogs. I’m not that hungry today so I think I will take my meds soon and call it a day. It’s raining out now.