General Chat

Hello all, I have been reading but not posting. Yes, Clairjo, it has been quiet but is certainly picking up now.
Hope you got to do something nice for your birthday, Liz. I always try to take GF- her birthday, mother's brthday and anniversary of latter's death fall close together.
Carole, I am concerned. Hope you saw the Dr. I honestly don't know if you should be back on the tablets, but they take a couple of weeks to kick in and so you might have another couple of weeks of feeling awful. I think you are right, though. It sounds like the worry of your dad is getting to you. The panic attack in the early hours of the morning is a pretty good indication that there is something going on behind it.
It is a while since I used my A-Ds, but used to delay using them until I was really in a bad way (I am supposed to have bipolar, and also take valproate).
Gail, it was good to see you on here. I wondered whether the chooks had got to you. Your brother won't let you grieve? Blow him; you grieve. It's normal and healthy (and with 2 parents and one sister dying young in the 1970s and a close uncle in the 1990s I can speak from experience).
Deanna, always lovely to read your posts. Lady Rach, yours too. Anyone I know that I have missed?-- Sorry.

Hi Colin I had been doing very well up until Dad having to go into hospital. Before I visited them every Sunday for a couple of hours. Now I have to see much more of them!! I can't cope with it very well. Did just manage to hold back the tears in the Dr's.

Been to Dr's just got home with more citalopram. I have to go back in three weeks if I don't have to go before then. Going for a lie down I'm bushed

I put an egg on to boil this morning for my pack up found the kitchen steamed up after my shower and the egg dry!! I'm being very forgetfull Had been on about 50 mins

Carole, the time I did that with an egg it exploded and there was dry yolk all over the ceiling!! So you were lucky, burnt egg shell smells horrible. I hope the medication helps you but I am sure, from what you say, it is down to stress over your Dad.

Claire, what a frightening experience for you, I am so pleased that your lad was found safe and well.

Gail, words as always fail me with regards to your brother who, I assume, is giving you grief again. You make sure you take time to grieve over your Dad, but on no account give in to your bully brother.

Colin, if you have bipolar you do very well without medication. I have a friend who suffers from Bipolar and she too decided to give up her medication and fight it on her own. So far she has succeeded so hope you can continue to stay off it.

Liz, your OH is a real pain isn't he? Sorry he managed to spoil your birthday weekend what a selfish person he is.

Ann
Glos

Colin.... you are Bipolar????
you are wonderful.
I would never have guessed there was anything wrong with you, other that the usual which we all have.
You seem to do better than I do Colin.
Well done, but remember when/if you need to, take whatever they give you.
I am doing so well with my tablets.
Was it you MUMMO who asked me about them?

Well I am off again as tea is ready.... see you all tomorrow.
AND LIZ..... silence is good, keep it up love, you are IMPORTANT!! xxx
goodnight all,
Deanna XXX

Hi Deanna, no not me.
Sorry your feeling so down, wish l could wave a magic wand..........but glad your doing well with your tablets, :)) x
Good evening all, hope you are all coping and things are a bit easy for one and all.
My OH went back to work today and has come home quite tired but as l said its only just over 6 weeks since his heart attack so he is doing well and he is on day 11 of his stop smoking, so am praising him all the time but as he said he has to give up, end of.
I am feeling so much better in myself and looking forward to my mum coming to stay for a while but she has to learn how to do her stoma bag first but l think she's getting the hang of it.
Ann hope your tooth is ok now !!!!!!!!
Well will wish you all a good evening, x
Well l wish you all a good evening, x

((hugs)) and love
Rachx

((((((hugs)))))) to you rach.

Mummo, glad your OH got on Ok at work, of course he will be tired it is early days yet, but well done to him for getting back into the swing. My Mum soon got the hang of her stoma bag and she was 81 when she had the op. In fact after 6 months they offered to do a reversal and she turned it down (rather the bag than the hospital!!)

Deanna, glad you are doing well on your medication.

Ann xx

It has been very quiet on here for a couple of days. Hope everyone is OK, and it is just the nice weather that is keeping you from your computers. I have no news, but have been also posting on "SueMaid with the numbers" Aussies only thread. You don't have to be Aussie, and there are some lovely Brits on there.
I have also been doing a tree of descendants of my 3xgt grandfather, an Irishman sent here for rebellion. On Ancestry, as it's much easier to handle when you don't know the dates for spouses etc yet. You also get links to other trees with the same people which helps when adding children etc. Happy hugs to all. Hope those who are struggling are feeling better soon. Colin

I thought I would just mention this for anybody who can use it.

Not expecting it to even be recoghized,I typed "narcissistic mothers" into You-Tube.

There is loads on narcissism and how to deal with it.

So there is another wasted morning!
Godammit!

Well I am back. Landed home safely at 4:45am yesterday. We have certainly been on an adventure LOL.
Drove straight down to N Carolina, approx 22 hours with stops and rests. Lovely, though basic accomodations. Watching the 4 children seeing and experiencing the sea for the first time was wonderful. Sarah took quite a while to go past ankle depth, but was far out in the swells in no time, once she decided. This led me out too, me in a bathing suit, that's something I hadn't planned on seeing again LOL. She and I were swimming in with the waves, I truly felt exhilarated. Colleen had to stay with Gareth as he is TOO adventuresome and not a strong swimmer yet. miniMary and Emlyn absolutely loved it. Of course we came home with 2 huge buckets of shells, miniM was a bit concerned that she may be stealing them, but Em told her that wasn't stealing, they belong to God and he doesn't mind !!!!!
Back to the motel to swim in the pool, supper and a very good night's sleep. friday much of the same, then about 4 pm Gareth (who had been sleeping on a chair beside the pool) began convulsing, the worst seizure he's ever had. I screamed at Colleen and she ran to pick him up and get him cooled off in the water. By the time they were in the water, 2 doctors (who were also staying there with their families) were at her side, and looked after him till an ambulance arrived. The rest of the day was lost in a blur of ER, the other 3 stayed at the motel with Megan.Turned out he had an infection, being basically non-verbal ,had been unable to tell us the symptoms, so he was given a shot of antibiotic and an Rx for oral A/B. he did NOT appreciate the catheter !! saturday we stayed close to the motel, went to the indoors aquarium in the afternoon which was airconditioned, lost Sarah for 20 minutes but all was well. back to ER as G had spat out every attempt at taking the medicine. Another shot and another on Sunday.
We went on a sunset boat ride Sun evening, which was lovely, M&E went on Sun am with their Mum on a boat ride to collect shells on an uninhabited island. We avoided the beach both days until early evening when it was a bit cooler. They gave us another Rx for a final A/B shot for Monday, as I would have to give it. Picked it up, didn't open the bag until about 200 miles northbound, discovered they hadn't reconstituted the A/B, all I had was powder in the Vial, and no sterile water to dilute it. We lost about 4 hours stopping at various cities trying to get what I needed. Finally was told we needed an Rx for the sterile water!!!! A very kind lady called the original hospital and obtained an RX over the phone and we were finally on our way. We were supposed to meet the dogs about 4pm and finally arrived about 10pm.
Both dogs sniffed at Gareth who couldn't stay awake, both then followed Sarah, and kept her from wandering away. She is usually afraid of big dogs but didn't seem particularly bothered,. I was very encouraged by her response. Both dogs also checked out Colleen several times, often enough that I asked her if she was feeling OK (she has epilepsy), she was fine but very tired, but they obviously noticed her. That was encouraging too.
We were so exhausted that we stayed in a local hotel that night. Stopped at a reconstructed Indian village on the way home which the kids loved,learned to make face paint (Gareth LOVED face painting), and helped scrape a deerskin for tanning. Sarah spent most of her time sitting on a bench inside the wigwam. Then G discovered the creek and of course was in up to the neck before anyone could stop him, his Mum lost her shoes while trying to get him out!! Finally home at sunrise on Wednesday morning. Only 6 days, but a true holiday. Chaotic - as is our norm, but a wonderful break.
I can't say enough good about the medical/nursing staff we encountered, and the 2 docs at the motel. All were 'kindness personified'. The other thing which to me was incredible, we never once, in the 6 days, had anyone stare, or give us dirty looks, seems there is a greater acceptance of autism in NC than here where we live. Dear Claire you will understand how positive this was for us.
Now that I've rambled, I must get back to the laundry, don't return to work for another week, the 3 girls are off to camp for 5 days next week, so G will have some alone time with his Mum.
next Tuesday I have my 2 'scopes' - not looking forward to that - or the cathartic prep'n.
Hugs to all, Deanna glad the little package arrived OK, hope the titles will be of interest to you.
Glad to be back, missed you all.
Hugs
Mary

Thank you everyone who worries about me, I am fine... honestly.
The tablets are doing a GREAT JOB!
And as for YOU MARY...... you are just a lovely lovely lady.
That parcel you sent me was such a surprise and cheered em up no end.... thank you, thank you, thank you....
I started with the book about the man who spent the weekend with God in 'THE SHACK'....a great idea, so different, and the arguments within the book are SO clever.
I'm loving it Mary... thank you again.
Love to all, and I will be back to chat.... but you will understand..... I have a book to read!! ha h aha
love to all,
Deanna XXX

Hi all, sorry I haven't checked in much, been very tired and a bit despondent since my birthday charade. I had worries with my son over money but got him through that and got him a secondhand microwave for a fiver yesterday so if his cooker does give up the ghost, after his washingmachine broke down (new brushes needed so guess who is doing his laundry?) and his old microwave broke, he will be able to manage. All these appliances were secondhand anyway and very cheap so have done well but it's sod's law that things come in threes.

Mary, I am so glad all went as well as it did on your holiday, with just a few blips, and glad too that you received such kindness and help when you needed it. I am sure the things you did will keep you all going for ages now and as you meant it to, have created some wonderful memories for all the family. It will be lovely when you have the dogs so you don't have to worry so much and if they help keep an eye on Colleen too, so much the better.

Deanna, I am sorry I haven't been back to you much but I know you had lots of reading material to keep you busy lol

My son got me a couple of books, from a charity shop but like new, towards my birthday present and I am nearly through one of them, Blessings, by Anna Quindlen - I shall look out for more of her work, it is a fascinating story and one I find hard to put down. I am losing myself in the story as it helps me forget my worries and such at the mo.

Hope everyone has a good day today and Carole, hope you are ok now

love
Lizxxx

Morning
Not been to work since Monday. I had four hours sleep Monday night and thought it was the stress of Dad being ill. Went to Drs Tuesday. Back on anti depressants. But now I'm wondering if it's a virus. I still feel weak but did eat a little more yesterday. This morning don't feel like getting dressed (did yesterday) You know what is like, you start to think is it this, is it that, is it swine flu!!!! My limbs ache like swam the channel. Head ache not quite so bad today.

Mary lovely to see you back home. Sounds like you all had a lovely time despite G's fit. Any photos of the dogs? I read the post on facebook and it's amazing how these dogs are trained to do their jobs. Where abouts did you go to in (was it) nth carolina?

I have to lie down! So sorry to not mention you all.

Nice to see Malc back on the boards this morning did you all see him?

Hello all,
Glad to see you back safely, Maximary- 22 hours! By my calculation that is probably 1000-1200 miles. It would take me three days to drive that far, but my OH doesn't drive. She has partial complex epilepsy, but in the 16 years I have known her it has progressed from brief absences to partial loss of consciousness with jerky involuntary movements. She is aware of them, but I don't know what she tells the neurologist and would be upset if I interfered.
I am glad the children enjoyed the sea. I grew up with it and take it for granted, although I now live about 30 miles from my old haunts. Sydney's eastern beaches are closer, but I don't like them much.
Sorry you haven't felt well, Liz and Carole, and hope you're feeling better now. Another of our regulars told me in a PM she feels much better since going back on the antidepressants.
I have managed to stay off them for almost two years. The big factor was a job change to a company I actually enjoy working for and a boss I like. Amazing, isn't it. True, but I am still on a mood stabiliser to control mild highs as well as mild lows. It seems to work, but I still get moody at times and sometimes feel down, especially in bad weather. I get up about 6.15 to go to work, and it's still pretty dark in my room. It is hard to get up from under the doona (I believe they are called duvets in Britain).
But a job is a job nowadays, although I am looking forward to retirement. Not much more than 4 years to our pension age, but I hope to retire before that.
Maybe I am rambling on too. Besides, I should be in bed- I have to work an extra shift tomorrow. Not too painful but I wish I didn't. Oh well.
Best wishes to all, Colin.

Hi all, only came on to read a bit and say HELLO ALL!
I have had a busy day and I'm tired, so I will finish now and go sit quietly. I need it.
Sleep well everyone and I will be back tomorrow.
Lots of love to all,
Deanna XXXX

Thanks Colin, yes glad to be back. I did drive all the way, it was 1593Kms so your guesstimate of 1200miles is probably pretty close. We used the GPS all the way there and back, it was such a help over a big map!! Colleen did a bit of daytime driving on the way down but she only tolerates about 3 hours at a stretch. She is also officially diagnosed with partial complex epilepsy, in fact has had 9 types of seizures, on the EEG all start as petit mal tracing and then progress to other forms. She does remarkably well, lost her licence for 5 years when the seizures resumed after miniMary was born but now very well controlled on a high dose of Epival (one of the sodium valproate blends), and able to drive. What a change from the days when she needed 3 separate drugs just to keep her functioning!! And a very long way from the 30+ seizures a day she had,age 5-6.
I am actually quite amazed I was able to drive that far and not be crippled when I emerged at the end LOL.
heading out again now, Gareth's b'day tomorrow and his party is today at an indoor pool, to keep them all coralled.he seems to have no ill-effects from the past few days. I have to pick up the 'Wiggles' cake en route.
Catch you all later.
Mary

Hello Mary. Silly me; I thought Canada might still be using imperial measures. Britain, too. We went metric about 35 years ago, but being of mature years I am bilingual. As I understand it, our driving laws forbid driving for two years after a siezure, but I am sure that there is a lot of cheating going on.
My lady was diagnosed at about 9 years of age (1954?) only because her mother insisted there was something wrong.
She began having real problems in the mid 1980s, and had a tumour removed. Fine for a couple of years, with no drugs, but then went down in a heap. She is now on Lamictal, a fairly new drug, which she prefers as it doesn't make her as sleepy as valproate.
When I first started going out with her again in 1993 (we actually met in 1976) she had occasional petit mals, but now they often progress to something. I don't know what they are called but does the term myoclonic sound useful? She does get so embarrassed. We were recently having dinner with an old friend of hers and she had a siezure. Afterwards, she asked me whether the friend noticed. How could she not? She was concerned. But my answer was that I didn't think so. I don't think honesty was needed here.

Morning all. I was up this morning at 4:30 taking head ach/ sleeping tablets I felt awful. No so bad now. Steve started to talk to me yesterday about Dad having to go into a home. I know we will be up against mum and dads wishes but he thinks we need to start looking into it and not leave it any longer incase he is sent from hospital with no plan ready. I felt sick! I feel so weak when I should be there to suport my sister and mum.

Carole, I know it is difficult thinking about care, sometimes it is for the best. I know at this stage saying it is for the best does not help. The thing is your dad will get the extra care that is probably needed. It is a 24 hour round the clock care, and as hard as it is I will be of benefit to him and he is number one concern in this. You can still be there for support to the rest of the family, and your dad. At least if you start looking into care packages now, the decision is still in the families hands and not the system. Well worth a think.

Also thank you for the wedding video, it was great fun to watch.

Mary, sounds like a very eventful trip and such a long way to drive. The dogs sound amazing. I hope G has now fully recovered. Great of you to share this with us.

I have not been on here as much as finally received some much awaited certificates and have been having fun with those. Mostly they just confirmed what I already thought and at least they the added to my knowledge base. I was very naughty and ordered 9 of them. Shhhh! don't tell OH.

Love and hugs

Gail

gosh Gail, I bet you didn't know where to start when the certificates arrived!! I bet you had great fun reading them all.

Carole, it would be best to be prepared by looking at care for your Dad, you wont be letting him down because you are looking at doing the best you can for him.

Mary, what a lovely time you had, despite Gareth's virus etc. Glad the dogs seem acceptable, when will you get them to live with you. Did you get photos of the children and the sea, what memories you have given them, but what a long way to drive.

Colin we have gone metric with some things, such as weights and measures, but not with distance measurements. A mile is still a mile.
Deanna, glad you are OK and enjoying your reading.
Ann
Glos