Sharing my life with Ms Sophie (Bipolar II)

Thx @Former-Member and @Shaz51 i looked it up and there is an interaction but nothing major so all good ... now after a bit of homemade Christmas pudding I feel a lovely sugar rush and with a bit of Pain killer the world seems much better already lol .... pudding fixes everything !!

How are you going now @Sophie1?

thinking of you @Sophie1

Waves @Sophie1

Hope time with family is going ok.

Hi @Determined@Shaz51@Former-Member@outlander we literally just arrived home an hour ago after a long drive all day interstate .. it’s soooooo good to be home - we both really really need space and peace and quiet - ahhhhh ....

the trip was a success tho - MsS has positive interactions with her parents, siblings and nephews / nieces ...it was just the constant headache that hampered her ... we are off to go first thing tomorrow to get results of ct scan of sinuses and more pain relief to get her through to neurologist appt 9th Jan ... I hope they can shed some light !! I won’t get my hopes up but it can’t make things worse anyway ...

my health is improving which is great - nearly rid of throat infection so thrilled 😁 ... now I just need to brace myself for going back to work Wednesday 😞

Hi @Shaz51@Determined@Former-Member @outlander...sounds like you all are having a hectic start to 2019 - wishing you all a bit of relief and self care .

Ms S is still in pain with headaches and seems sinuses you be one contributor - she is off to get ct sinus scan results tomorrow ... we are also preparing to go on a 2 week international cruise starting later next week so I won’t be online from mid next week until end of Jan ... we are going with my mum and a cousin and have separate rooms so hopefully will be a relaxing time ..

i also started back at work - busy already and I was soooo anxious last night About returning to work and couldn’t sleep till after midnight so ended Up sleepy all day at work too

anyway I’m going to read my paperback book now and see if helps with sleepy factor

Trust you have a lovely holiday

@Sophie1.

Thanks @Former-Member@outlander@Determined@Shaz51 for your support in 2018 - it has meant the world to me and made a massive difference in my resilience

This year is shaping up to be one requiring more patience and resilience ... had to take MsS to gp again this morning as migraine headache last night and she woke up in tears at 3am in pain and feeling sick ... neurologist is this Wednesday. In meantime gp has given pain relief for the holiday and said to make sure the neurologist gives us a plan A, B and C for treatment of MsS ongoing headaches migraines ... the sinus ct scan was clear which is good - another cause eliminated - tick ✔️

so now Ms S is in bed waiting for pain relief to help

Based on the ongoing headaches and migraines I suggested MsS doesn’t take on any new commitments of work or study until we have it improved - she is in pain more days than not and I feel that starting a job would be a set up for failure right now ... so this means being even more careful with money so we can live off one wage ... I think this discussion relieved some anxiety for Ms S about the new year and expectations around her study/ work plans...

Ms S asked that i take her for walks every morning on the cruise so she can build up her mobility as she has been quite sedentary with the headaches since early November- so this is a good sign of trying to help herself

question - how do others advise their bipolar II partners re work / study commitments ?? Any advice ??

It is a hard one @Sophie1. Mr D on DSP but would love to be working; I honestly don't know if he would cope, but suspect he would find it difficult, particularly if there was workplace stress, a major problem previously.

Like you & Ms S, I don't put any pressure on Mr D to get work/study etc. It is not the money side of things that concerns me, more that Mr D doesn't feel he has something meaningful to do. Ms S might be content in a homemaker role but Mr D is not and he is a dreadful cook to boot 😬.

Are there part time/ flexible options in her line of work? Would some sort of volunteer work be an option?

I am mindful that whatever my perceptions are, I do not want them to 'silence' or negate any ambition Mr D has, I do this by acknowledgeding the loss and grief of his diagnosis and what that entails whilst actively supporting the things he can realistically achieve. As we are in our mid 50s when people ask what he does I now say he is lucky enough to be pretty much retired, managing our farmlet. Noticed Mr D repeat this to strangers but I would like to see him involved in volunteer work not related to mental health. (He enjoyed doing some previously but did not resume it after his major crisis).

We effectively live on the equivalent of one and a bit wage (his DSP payment is small due to my income) but the discounts really help. Fortunately our expenses are not too high, groceries seem to be our biggest expense and I am wanting to cut our serving sizes down to help reduce both the $$ and our weight 😀. There are plenty of websites about frugal living.