Julie A. Fast's Blog, page 116

How are You Today?

I find that a really loaded question these days. Do I tell the truth? Part of the truth? Do I side step the question or do I lie?

When a person is depressed, it can be hard to answer the typical  how are you question with an honest reply.

How am I? Thank you for asking. I [...:]


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Sleepy vs. Side Effect Drugged Sleepy

Oh wow.  At age 46 I started having a very different reaction to my medications. I take brand Lamictal.  I said in an  earlier blog that I would write out the whole story in a newsletter and I will do that soon! If you are not on the newsletter list, you can sign up on the [...:]Related posts:Bipolar Medication Side Effects Tip #1  I take a very high dose of Lamictal  ever day....Bipolar Disorder.. it's always something! I always know I'm depressed if I wake up and...Bipolar Disorder and...

True Hope EMpowerplus Supplements

I just received the following question from Allan:

Julie, do you or any of your readers have any knowledge or experience of an alternative micronutrient product called EMPowerplus sold by a company called Truehope? I have a 15 year old who has still not been accurately diagnosed by some of the best physicians on both coasts. [...:]Related posts:Bipolar disorder medication side effects: Dry mouth? There are a lot of bipolar disorder medications that can...Reader Question: Bipolar Disorder and...

Bipolar Happens Poll – Symptoms and Family Members

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Bipolar Mania and Hypomania Test

Mania and Sunshine Test

I live in Portland, Oregon and we are having a spectacular winter. It's the best I've experienced in my seven years here. We are used to very, very dark winters. It's usually dusk at four and dark at five. It's depression and very bad for bipolar disorder. I was dreading it once [...:]Related posts:Bipolar Disorder Mania- Hypomania Beware of mania if… You had a tough winter depression....Summer Mania Bipolar Disorder Mania Peaks in the Summer! NOw is the...Bipolar...

A Note to Readers from Julie

Hello to everyone,

I want to say thank y0u to all of the readers who leave comments on this blog. I know that we all can learn so much from each others. I get a lot of questions from readers- I want to let everyone know that I read all of them-  I try to answer [...:]Related posts:A Thank You Note from Julie Hello to everyone! I want to say thanks for all of...Julie on Twitter I am on TWITTER once again It is so ubiquitous...A note about the bipolarhappens.com bipolar medications category All...

Bipolar Medication Woes

For an unknown reason, my Lamictal stopped working for a few months.  I do have some ideas on why this happened, but to be honest, they are not great explanations:

1. I really got off track with my dosage for a few weeks. It was hard to remember what I had or had not taken. I [...:]Related posts:Bipolar Disorder and Medication Side Effects Oh the itching! If you follow this blog you know...Bipolar Medication Side Effects Tip #1  I take a very high dose of Lamictal  ever day....Bipolar disorder...

Living with Uncertainty is Hard

I just have a phone conversation with my dear friend Gayathri. She has dealt with serious depression for most of her life. I asked her, "Do you have a hard time with your depression when you're in a situation where you don't know whats going on?" She laughed and said, 'YES! I have learned to [...:]Related posts:Sunday night- finally feeling more stable…. I went to the wedding of an old flame of...Bipolar Disorder Management Secret….. an answer (not THE answer, but an answer!) It's often hard...

Just plunge in and do it Julie!

I have had a ton of trouble with my meds  (Lamictal) for over six weeks.  I will write more about that in a future blog.   Right now it's essential that I keep up with work and life to the best of my ability. When a person gets sick due to the illness- it's sometimes about [...:]Related posts:Bipolar Disorder and Internet OCD! Facebook I believe that I have to practice what I teach....Bipolar Disorder and Working at Starbucks Working without the internet… not acutally working for Starbucks...

Bipolar and Marriage: Reader Comment

I just received the following comment  from Jack. I know I have had the same feelings many times regarding relationships:

Hi Julie,

I have been diagnosed as bipolar type two and have already put my wife through more than I can handle (guilt). We have only been married for about two years. If I had known I had [...:]Related posts:Reader Comment: Bipolar Disorder and Anger Hi Julie, I am going to court tomorrow, and I...Reader Question: Bipolar Disorder and Natural Treatments Julie, I love your...