Originally Posted by Moppet

I have to say that at the present I am battling a good case of it with the back and forth that is common with bipolar 1. I will back up and tell you what started it. so you can understand maybe a little better.

I take 300mg of lamictal and 800 mg of seroquel daily at bed time. Now on top of that I have a very high tolerance to pain. the sunday after xmas this past year I was sick not holding food down for the day before christmas eve and waited to sunday to go to the er. I was immediately admitted and tests ran because I was in so much pain I could not stand. it had to get that bad to affect me. on monday morning I had surgery. I had gallstones so bad it was filled to overflowing it went into the liver, the pancreas and gangrene set in. and was up into my stomach also. my liver was shutting down without me knowing it. my surgeon told my husband that he did not think I would make it after the 4 hour surgery that should have been 45 minutes.No one could understand that I did not feel the pain that goes with this. I was in the hospital for 11 days and for 6 of them I was on morphine shots every 3 hours. then went to absolutely nothing for the pain . he saw me daily not one of his associates but him. he finally told me how bad it was and that he was surprised I came through it. he did tell me if I had waited 2 more days. I would have been dead. not likely but dead. this dr saved my life. when I was released I came home with 2 drains and tubes. one to my liver the other to my bile. I lived in pjs for 2 months because that is how long I had them in. then week after them coming out I wound back up in the hospital for a week all due to this issue. I saw this dr every week. Now I had a $25 co pay this dr waved all of it because it was that serious.

I thank God everyday for this Dr. he told me in 30 yrs of practice he does not remember his cases when they are done. but he will remember mine for the rest of his days. he was not sure he would or could save my life. the only thing when I asked him what I owed him personally for doing so was a bottle of vodka. I took him 2. he said no one ever took him serious on it.

Actually I got home about 2 hours ago from seeing him again. for follow up on tests that needed to be done. seems I have a second hernia but this one is not to the point of needing surgery at this time. also I have developed GERD due to the problems with it.. I still see him every 4 months for I know not how long and he is great.

but all this is what started my cycling again. I was embarrassed to go out anywhere, except the dr. not even the library. hubby had to do all the shopping paying bills etc. I was unable to sit for long period of time so could not sew in the sewing room. I had a quilt that I was doing by hand and that is what I worked on when up. I could not handle my large parrots for fear of them biting my tubes into. because he told me if that happened and I could not get to the er quick enough I could die. so they were unhappy also. I could not sit at the computer and play game either. I was not able to do anything with cooking, or anything. just take care of me personally. You do not know what you take for granted daily until you can not do it. I was unable to take a regular shower I had to do those sponge baths for 2 months. the only place I could wash my hair comfortably was the bathroom sink it had a high faucet I stand right at barely 5 ft. I have waist long hair. do you know the pain in the butt it is to wash it like that?
I did make the effort to feed my parrots as they attack hubby because they blame him for me being gone. 2 of them ate very little and one is a problem eater to start with. when I came home all I can say is hubby is not qualified to feed him. he has to be supplemented with bird hand feeding formula and he is a umbrella cockatoo. it was all over his face and up in his crest. took me a good 30 min to clean him up. I put him on his tree stand and had to take a wet washrag to do it. and when I was admitted the 2nd time I was in a week and they took attitude with him again for me being gone. as I am never gone.

I go see the psych dr later this week. I look for them to play with my meds that I have been on for the last 5 yrs. because I am not being able to sleep more than 3 hours a nite. I am down to eating once a day and only a few bites at that and that was one of the things I have battled since the surgery. when I saw him earlier today he stated that I have lost weight. which is what the seroquel is suppose to do knock me out. and it is not phasing me at the present. so I am not a happy camper. But thankfully alive and thanking God everyday for it.

ladies I am sorry this is such a long post.