Physical Check-In

Thanks for checking on me Christina. I appreciate you!

I'm doing well. I had a month or so of very intense and sometimes disturbing dreams, but that seems to be back to normal. I also went through a period where certain music was triggering memories of the thoughts I was having during psychosis. I was able to process them in therapy and I've decided to stick to less activating music for a while. Luckily I was able to instantly recognize those thoughts as delusions. It basically felt like my brain was having a knee jerk reaction to the music and I need to train it to instinctively think differently by creating new experiences.

I haven't had any mood shifts that seem out of the ordinary everyday highs and lows. I've also had a couple of emotional challenges come up and I've been able to overcome them in healthy ways.

I'm still seeing my therapist every two weeks for a while longer. I'll probably go back to once a month in January. My pdoc scheduled me for one more visit in December and said I would only need to come back again if my symptoms return.

I'm still avoiding triggers and trying to stay focused on holistic health. I've been exercising and eating good foods for the most part. All in all, things are well and I feel blessed.

Bizi, super congrats on your weight loss and continuing sobriety. Please keep up the sobriety, my friend! My family has seen how alcohol affects lives in bad ways.

Christina, good luck with the ultrasound. I hope it happens today and the results yield some plan that helps.

Wild Coyote, I am sorry your pain has continued to be severe.

As of this moment, I feel OK. Yesterday my stress level was so high that the anxiety made me feel physically sick. Luckily I have Ativan. That helped. I may take another one today.

I used to have 0.5 mg Ativan pills, but can't find them anywhere. I have been taking 1 mg pills, but all of them are scattered on the bottom of my dirty pocketbook. The pill bottles my pharmacy gives have caps that come off easily. They poured out there because of that. I will go and ask for a refill soon.

@BirdDancer thank you for your support!
181.2 this morning.
Happy about this. The last time I weighed this was in may. 6 months ago.
bizi
__

Thank you so much!!!!! The material is great in that they stay on with washings. I have regular bandaides that do the same: skin flex.
since I use finger nail polish remover daily...I wonder how the ones you suggest would fair.
Thank you for suggesting them.
bizi

(((((( fern46 ))))))

There are no words...
With Love and Admiration

I feel the same about you!

I think it’s great your catching things as they come alone.. great insight

If I remember correctly I think I had trouble with sounds after I quit Geodon.

I’m so happy for you

Feeling pretty good physically. I got 6 workouts in last week and I'm 2 for 2 so far this week. I still need to research a few new routines to add into the mix to push my body. I've gotten comfortable with my current rotation.

My eating has been decent, but I haven't been tracking. I feel like I need to start doing that again. Maybe I'll take that on one day this week.

Sending positive and healing vibes to everyone for as healthy a week as possible. Much love to all!

I did very well yesterday. Today I indulged after eating barely any carbs today and had a big slice of ice cream cake for my son’s birthday. I am also going to get a sugar free mocha latte from Starbucks later on as a way to waste time between my pdoc appt and therapy appt. sugar free nonfat. Not so bad.

I put this on the check in thread.

But ... my liver ultrasound came back .. fatty liver, it’s the same as the previous one in Florida it’s not worse, thank goodness.

Of course it’s diet and exercise. Now if my lungs will allow..

Had my pulmonary functions test this am.. oh damn it was hard. I’ll get those results December 16th

Liver issues here. I will have an US tomorrow.
Paleo here I come... yet again!

Oh, I am recalling, fern had looked up some exercises we can try if we have limitations.
I am going to take a look at those again. Thanks. fern!

Have sores in my mouth from biting my cheeks really hard in my sleep due to meds. Have had a dentist check them out and they gave me some rinses to help soothe/heal them but it still keeps happening and is a little frustrating because they hurt and every time I move my mouth, talk or eat I can feel them. It keeps happening, every time they heal I end up doing it again either in my sleep or during the day. Concerned I'm developing TD again.. anyway, just a small issue but it's been irritating me for awhile now

All I ate today were two yogurts, two Eggo Nutrigrain waffles with raspberry preserves, berries and a little whipped cream, and a Whopper Jr. (no cheese) and a small fry. Good one, huh?

Hubby is out with his buddies. I was glad not to have to cook, but I am feeling the ill feeling one gets when they don't eat enough vegetables.

Seeing the cardiologist on Monday. I’m at risk of a sudden cardiac event because of a congenital defect I was born with combined with the ‘old age’ of being 48yrs old.
My QTC interval is also prolonged due to AP use. This worries me - I really don’t want a med change as I’ve been stable for 4mths for the first time ever.
I don’t understand how healthcare works in the USA but it seems to be a cruel and unnecessary punishment to withhold pain relief from those who are suffering.

Sorry to hear about the heart troubles. That must be unsettling. I can also appreciate not wanting to mess with your meds if you're stable. It is such an uphill climb to get there and you want to just enjoy the view for a while when you arrive. I hope any changes made work out for you.

Healthcare in the US is a hot mess. The problems do not stem from a lack of abundance. There is more than enough money and the resources are available. However, our political system allows endless dollars to be spent on political lobbyists that ensure laws and policy benefit drug companies and healthcare providers instead of patients. Policies are not written to protect the rights of patients. They are written to avoid the most costly lawsuits. It is quite sad really. We have so much heart and talent and yet caregiver's hands are often tied. They lose hope after years of red tape and failed workflows and patients receive substandard care in far too many cases. I'm a strategist and I've looked at this system from a number of angles. Change will not occur until the root problem of greed is addressed.

Ok this sucks for you why is it when we find something that actually works something else pops up and things must be overhauled.

I hope you can switch over to something and it work as well

The healthcare here is horrible unless your rich basically.

Hugs, Pookyl! I reminded my brother the other day how talented doctors are at treating heart issues. Take good care.

fern, thank you for bringing up the issues relating to healthcare in the US. Everyone needs to fight for improvements in the system so it is available to everyone and doesn't continue to cost an arm and a leg. Voting accordingly is important. Or, if people don't like the party that is proposing these improvements, it's important to stress the need for improvements to the party they prefer.

A good thing I discovered today is that I lost 2 lbs this past week. It wasn't from dieting. More from stress.

This morning, my stress clearly showed itself in a physical way. I don't know how to tastefully describe it, so I'll do so my husband's favorite way. Mud on the playground.

I've had a good week from an activity perspective. I exercised every day this week and rocked out a lot of physical chores. I also played a lot with my kids. There will probably be a few exercise break days next week due to the holidays, so I'm glad I was able to stick to my goals.

I've eaten too many sweets this week. I plan to cut way back to make room for pumpkin pie on Thursday

BirdDancer, oh no! Tummy troubles are the worst and I've also had that happen after several days of intense stress. I know it is a bit bittersweet given everything going on, but I'm glad you'll be relaxing in Florida soon. Feel better!