hope they start to work for you soon though

Thanks for the comment.

When I took Zopiclone alone, without other sedative medication (ie. anti-psychotics), I rarely had amy trouble with it. I slept for about 16 hours once after not having had it for years, but that seemed to be an anomaly.

But Zopiclone + Quetiapine (+ all the other crap) = dodgy. I can absolutely relate to what you say about not even being able to get up for water, and I also think that the longer you take the sleeper for, the stronger its effects become (rather unlike Quetiapine).

It’s a balancing act I guess. It’s a necessary evil, but has to be treated with respect or it screws you over. But it seems like you’ve found the balance Hope you’re feeling much better and completely rid of it soon.

It sounds to me like you are having a rough ride through BP land at the moment. The only advice and comfort I can give is hang in there it will get better eventually. It’s no consolation now I know but once the sun starts to shine through the trees again you’ll be glad that you hung it out.

I lived in the states for 2 years before my diagnosis and whilst I was, in hindsight, going through Major depressive states while I was there, I wasn’t in a position to get any medical help…damn expired visas..well how did they imagine I could possibly stick to only being there for 1 month I ask you it’s just not on. Once I got back to the UK I started looking into what was going on with my health and it didn’t take long for me to connect with a GP who saw the signs that I was having troubles and referred me to the local Community Mental Health Team.. and from there it took about 6 weeks to get a firm BP diagnosis, which is crazy considering many people wait years if not lifetimes to get a successful diagnosis. But I am probably going over stuff I have put on the blog before.

One thing that I hope for my American readers is that the new Healthcare reforms in the USA do something for the population and not make it even harder to get the help you need. From what I have read this should be the case. It only took 60 years to catch up but I am sure in no time all the refusniks will see that the changes are for the better,and who knows those who say no now may need to say yes in the years to come and then who’ll have egg on their faces.

I hope you keep reading and I will surely check out your blog this afternoon.

Thanks again for taking time out to write to me. It’s been a pleasure hearing someone else’s point of view.

Yet, when I’m stabilized, when I feel clear headed, when I know what its like to be “normal”, life is beautiful and its crazy to question why you wouldn’t want to live in the presence of such wonder and beauty. Meds help me find a balance and without them, with my insurance company only covering GENERIC drugs(UM HELLO- different fillers can spell disaster for me! I’m talking to YOU generic adderall, you are the devil!), half of the cost of my therapy and psych appts and costing me WAY more than it should for one, single, undergraduate female. So, what happens to us when the world lacks empathy for the bipolar? We go undiagnosed,remain untreated, feel unhappy and act unruly. If other people, the big wigs, the moneybags, the monoploy guys, the frickin’ shareholders of the world,( I dunno, whoevers in charge- could be the damn CEO of Walmart by know, who the heck knows? , could walk around in our frantic shoes, listen to the overlapping voices in our heads, cry our tears (for no reason- of course), and wreck THEIR lives/relationships/family because of their inability to make sense of their emotions, actions and thoughts… I’m pretty sure all our meds would be covered, free of charge.
Thanks for inspiring me. I’m lucky to live in Vermont where we have the state sponsered health care program VHAP. VHAP covers my meds, my therapy and doctor appts. I had to fight tooth and nail to get it or, you know, just spiral completely out of control TRYING to get help on an employer assisted CRAP health insurance plan that covers nothing. Basically, I couldn’t afford the help I needed and I didn’t qualify to get any extra help for diagnosis/treatments because I was working… I didn’t qualify until I finally did lose it and took off for canada with a big bottle of coconut rum and a full bottle of valluum. After a suicide attempt/cry for help, the state was finally helping you figure out what the hell was wrong with me and figure out my ongoing treatment plans.
We need people to understand how important it is for Bipolar people to have the proper health care coverage. It takes time and perseverance to collect checks from Disability and Social Security. I don’t even WANT to. I bet most of us don’t. I want to go to work and earn my paycheck. I want to set financial goals for myself and not live off the tiny little allowance the government says is enough for me to survive on based on their skewed views of “universal” liveable income. It costs more for everyone when I can’t get that help because now, I’m collecting unemployment. If I wasn’t trying to go to school, I would qualify for food stamps. If the state finds out I’m going to school (even if its part time) AND i’m unemployed, they stop my health care coverage… Does this make sense to you? I can get alot of help from the government if I don’t work and don’t go to school. They will give me free health care AND food stamps. Apparently, all I have to do is do nothing and not try.
I realize in other states, people aren’t so lucky. They can’t get the help they need whether they’re employed or jobless and living on a park bench. If I had my breakdown, night of hypo-manic, accidental suicidal maddness in a different state, I might have ended up dead on the canadian border. Just another victim of the system. Jane Doe from Vermont. So senseless… why did she do it? Thats the thing.. I wouldn’t know. I wasn’t thinking anything that made sense. Call it crazy autopilot. I hope.. maybe things will change, awareness will be raised, and health care will improve for everyone. Everyone should have a right to live their life! Bipolar takes control of you and you are your irratic mood’s slave. I’m lucky (for now) that I can get that help. Is it up to us, the ones affected with mental, mood and personality disorders, to demand that change? It sure would be nice to have more people in our corner… Well.. there’s always the NAMI walk:)