Sharing my life with Ms Sophie (Bipolar II)

Thanks @Shaz51 @Former-Member yes we r holding on - I am chief entertainer for four guests for Easter week while MsS sleeps and has no responsibilities as usual ... my holiday not so relaxing - trying to steal moments but difficult ... MsS is adjusting to med change and zonked out tired - hard for her to miss time with her sister and family

Hope you've been looking after yourself the past few days as well @Sophie1, being chief entertainer for a long weekend can be quite taxing emotionally and mentally!

How are things going @Sophie1 ?

@Sophie1

Thankyou so much @Faith-and-Hope @outlander @Former-Member @Ali11 @Shaz51 for your thoughts this last week - after a very bumpy start the week did improve - I had wonderful one on one time with my niece and nephew and peaceful adult time at night with SIL and her hubby ... MsS slept most of week due to med dosage increase but also had a presence with us all occasionally for a few hours at a time which was positive time .. luckily Guests were very conscious of helping cook and do dishes so I wasn’t their slave 🙂 ... now they have gone home and I have my space back and I love the quiet ahhhh.. Ms S has a head cold so is in bed again - MsS encouraged me to go to a friends place for dinner last night and socialise - it was a nice change - now I am seriously looking at how to pace my life out as I return to work and try to not be stressed out

Sounds like that was a great end to the week @Sophie1. It sounds like you've been able to have some downtime and look after yourself too - well done! When are you returning back to work?

Hi @Ali11 im back to work tomorrow and no more holidays until August now .. except for long weekends for public holidays ... just contemplating the week now - with my cat on the bed and a heat pack for my neck - time to catch up on house work and potter about getting ready for the week ... just procrastinating now as I look at the housework in front of me lol

Hi @Former-Member @outlander @Shaz51 @Smc @Ali11 We had a breakthrough today with MsS at long awaited pain specialist appt - finally we have a treatment proposed for the migraines and headaches MsS has been having all her life and since last November almost every day ... it was all very technical but we are thrilled that some possibile causes have been identified - specific nerves blocked or inflamed or something like that - they have some procedures and injections to help alleviate pain they cause - now we wait for 21 may for first test procedure then if that works further procedures in hospital - fingers crossed ... I’m so thrilled MsS has hope for pain relief that may be root cause and not just dulling the pain with pain killers - I was also thrilled as specialist was cognisant of psych meds and interactions looking it up in front of us and ensuring medication she suggested for migraine prevention would not cause a major interaction ... the headache migraine diary I made MsS keep over last 45 days was key to the specialist understanding the magnitude and dynamics of the pain - I can’t aay how helpful that was to clarify that two things are happening - headaches and migraines - different symptoms and different triggers as it turns out - wow wow wow - something going in our favour for once !!!!!!! Bonus was she was able to get MsS to be honest that she is not exercising at all as she doesn’t see the point as in pain all time anyway - specialist gently encouraged MsS the importance of cardio exercise for endorphins and biomechanical benefit - however she was smart to encourage only 15 mins a day as a start with stretches after for the neck - Ms S committed to that and told me that any more than that she finds overwhelming ... so much honesty today it was wonderful and sad as I didn’t know how overwhelmed MsS really was due to constant pain ... eye opener !! Oh bonus was the specialist said I could see her for my car accident injuries that still give me daily pain in neck and hip and TAC will cover it all . . . What a wonderful day xxxzz

That is great news @Sophie1, it must be a big relief for MsS as well to finally have validation of what she's been going through. Sounds like your support and persistence with the journal really paid off, so a big congratulations to you on that. Your specialist sounds like a wonderful medical professional, so it's great she's happy to see you for your own pain. Hope you have a great night, sleep well knowing that you have a way forward and we're wishing you both the best for 21 May.