Information and opinions on health from LadyBehindTheMask at HealthCentral.com. HealthCentral.com is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/70100/index http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/70100/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/70100/index http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/70100/124917/remembering-katie Sat, 20 Nov 2010 15:53:46 -0500 LadyBehindTheMask The whole idea that there's a day for this is kind of strange. Nevertheless, here goes. All names have been changed to protect those who are still, in their own ways, attempting to make sense of and grieve the loss of our friend. Katie didn't have friends: she had best friends, more than anyone I knew. And the proof was spilling out of her closet - a rainbow of satin that ruffled and ruched and flounced and flowed from the 14 dresses she'd... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/70100/124917/remembering-katie http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/70100/124659/relieve-blockages Tue, 16 Nov 2010 22:29:03 -0500 LadyBehindTheMask Hi, all. Back after a long hiatus. I just wanted to share something I've been trying that seems to be working.   I've been having a really rough time with word-blocking because of Zonegran ... which is for me not nearly so bad as Lithium in its overall cognitive impact, but it does have this one problem. And I find it embarrassing when I'm talking to someone and suddenly have to say "that place where we keep stuff cool"... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/70100/124659/relieve-blockages http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/70100/46658/mentally-doesnsick Tue, 28 Oct 2008 17:32:16 -0400 LadyBehindTheMask No matter how well trained your doctors are, it's really complicated to keep our meds in sync and our bodies functioning well. And so there are times when our body gets out of whack and the doctors - whether p-docs, GPs, or that helpful Ask-A-Nurse at your insurance - are likely to not have the best solution for you. Here are a few I've hit in the last year, just in case they help anyone else.   Chronic muscle pain --... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/70100/46658/mentally-doesnsick http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/70100/46353/shout-yoplait-pink Sun, 26 Oct 2008 15:25:57 -0400 LadyBehindTheMask Friends, this is just to encourage you to tell your story whenever and wherever you get a chance.   One of my girlfriends, a breast cancer survivor, has a website about how people's faith helps them get through serious illness. She asked me to tell my story. So -- as LadyBehindTheMask -- I did.   Then she entered a contest and ended up featured on the fall Yoplait "pink" campaign cartons. Which got her site all kinds of publicity.... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/70100/46353/shout-yoplait-pink http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/70100/46179/mania-republican Fri, 24 Oct 2008 21:17:56 -0400 LadyBehindTheMask So someone decides Sarah Palin needs clothes and sends someone shopping ... and they come back with more than $150,000 worth??? Can you spell manic binge??? And if her boss approved it, that makes two! http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/70100/46179/mania-republican http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/70100/44417/middle-depression Sat, 11 Oct 2008 20:24:42 -0400 LadyBehindTheMask The last few weeks have been very difficult. I'm swinging down, which has been hard enough. It almost seemed like it was easier to manage the depressions before I was treated, when I was almost always depressed and so I just got used to working through them. (Brief aside: a really helpful book is Working in the Dark: Keeping Your Job While Dealing With Depression by Fawn Fitter and Beth Gulas. Fawn and I have had a few dinners together and... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/70100/44417/middle-depression http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/70100/41719/ada Sun, 21 Sep 2008 13:18:33 -0400 LadyBehindTheMask Congress has passed and we're waiting for the President to sign amendments to the ADA of 1990. The amendments have considerable promise for people with mental illnesses, as well as people with epilepsy and other conditions which are episodic and usually successfully treated with medications. At the same time, it seems likely that it will take a considerable "shakedown cruise" before the implementation really reaches its goals.   For... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/70100/41719/ada http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/70100/40843/underachiever Sun, 14 Sep 2008 15:47:20 -0400 LadyBehindTheMask Like a lot of us, I started having symptoms in my late teens, which means that my college career and professional career haven't lived up to the promise that my IQ and high school career suggested.   About 15 years ago, I was working a fairly demanding job in technical marketing and a friend asked me if I would teach some evening writing courses in a college program that he led. I didn't even think twice. My job, and teaching Sunday... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/70100/40843/underachiever http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/70100/39889/fun-workout Sat, 06 Sep 2008 23:10:07 -0400 LadyBehindTheMask Okay, I admit it -- I've become pretty much of a couch potato. But we all know that exercise is a good mood stabilizer, as part of the overall program. I'd really love to get rid of more of the weight leftover from when I was on Zyprexa. Still, my p-doc's written prescription of 30 minutes of aerobic exercise, 5 days a week, only got me moving for about two weeks.   So my husband and I have been trying to figure out what we could do... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/70100/39889/fun-workout http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/70100/39795/patient-recovery Fri, 05 Sep 2008 23:44:38 -0400 LadyBehindTheMask I was messaging off-line with another community member who commented that she knew when she "became a patient" there was no turning back. I remember for myself, as well, years of concealment, trying to avoid telling p-docs the parts of my experience that might get me labeled as "crazy."   To this day, I'm almost grateful I did, because the meds that were available back then were so dreadful. To have battled bipolar psychosis and... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/70100/39795/patient-recovery