A Port In The Storm

Great visit with Dr. Awesomesauce this morning. I’ve been more depressed than I wanted to admit, but an hour with him and I feel better. As always, he gave me some food for thought and encouraged me to look beyond the immediate situation, which is hard to do when I have a metaphorical brick wall in front of my face, but not impossible. This is one time when “one day at a time” is NOT serving me well. At least I can see a glimmer of hope now, and maybe these upcoming changes really aren’t the end of life as I know it after all.

We talked about disability again, which he is going to do his best to help me with. I don’t think either of us wanted to think it was the best thing for me, but it is and I’m glad I applied. I’m in the process of gathering documentation, and was going to print a copy of my diagnoses and med list from the patient portal to send in with my other paperwork. Ironically, the only diagnoses I found in my online medical record were depression and anxiety. WTF?

I asked him if he’d changed my diagnosis, which I rather doubted because he ALWAYS talks to me about things before he does them, but stranger things have happened. (Maybe I was hoping he had…..?) Silly me. He was quite amused that I would even think that for a moment and quickly corrected it in the computer, then printed it out and handed it to me. So now all my records match up, and I can quit tantalizing myself with thoughts of not having bipolar. Seems I went through that last fall, and got smacked upside the head with back-to-back mood episodes. I better watch that stinkin’ thinkin’…..it never ends well.

Dr. A is also not going to change any of my meds (read: taper me off Zyprexa) anytime soon. Which makes sense, because even though I’m somewhat down, I’m basically stable and not having manic or mixed moods. So if it ain’t broke, goes the thinking, he’s not gonna fix it. And I have to acknowledge the fact that I’ve been so much better overall since I went on the Z full-time. There have been a couple of very brief hypomanias and some depression, but NOTHING like I used to experience. I just hate it that when I have to go on a new med or increase an old one, I never seem to be able to get back to where I was. There are so many scary stories about long-term side effects in people who have to be on multiple anti-psychotics for extended periods of time, and I don’t want them to happen to me.

But consistency is a good thing, and Dr. A is nothing if not consistent. He is a port in the storm that is my life with this disease, and I feel safer knowing that he’s there to guide me through the rough water. Don’t get me wrong—Will and my family and friends are wonderful and I’m blessed to have their love and support. But it’s also good that there is someone who knows the things I can’t tell my loved ones lest I frighten them, and doesn’t judge me for it. The world would be a far better place if everyone had someone like him in their lives.

Thanks, Doc.