Practical post: Medication versus Symptoms.

I haven't done a practical post in awhile, so tonight is the night for it. The topic? Medication versus symptoms. Medication for any mental disorder, Aspergers, Bipolar, ADHD, anything, can have crazy side effects. One of the most common side effects is INSANE APPETITE. I mean that the person taking the meds is hungry all the time and usually eats all the time. I took Lithium from the time I was 14 until I was 23, ate all the time, and went from 109 to 250 pounds in the time I took the Lithium. I also had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and nephrogenic diabetes insipidus(basically I drank literally 10 gallons of water a day because my body wasn't absorbing the water and I was using the restroom 50 times a day). This was all due to the fact that I ate all the time and was not eating healthy. When my doctor in January 2011 heard this, he changed my meds immediately. So what lessons can I share from my story? Here goes:

Number one: If you have symptoms develop from a medication that are not normal TO YOU, schedule an appointment with your doctor as soon as you possibly can. These things you try to avoid don't just go away and can have massive repercussions health and lifestyle wise.

Number two: If you start gaining or losing significant weight to the point where it becomes abnormal, or if you are either eating all the time or barely eating(on the flip side), TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR. They can adjust the meds so that they don't harm you.

Number three, and probably most important: If you think there is something, anything wrong that isn't normal to you and your life as a result of medication changes, additions, or subtractions, TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR, AND BE PERSISTENT. Even if your family, friends, etcetera think you are being overcautious, do it anyway. I have averted several major disasters by doing this, and also have created several major disasters(like major surgery being necessary) for not doing it. Please, please, PLEASE, listen to your body. You know your body better than anyone. If it is your child and he/she can't communicate, always be on watch for differences(even subtle ones) in behavior or actions, because those who don't communicate verbally communicate through the word of their body. PAY ATTENTION AS A PARENT. If you are high-functioning or have children/young adults that are, teach them this because it will help them in the long run.

Hope I gave you some help in dealing with medication-related health issues :)

God bless!

(By the way, in the name of true success stories, after my doctor changed my meds I am now 32 pounds and counting less than I was on the Lithium[I take Ablify now], no longer have nephrogenic diabetes or high cholesterol/blood pressure :) )

Thinking too much.

I have been told that I think too much. That I read into things way too easily and that I need to stop thinking and just live. That's hard for someone like me! Because I am bipolar and sometimes very insecure, I ALWAYS waaay overthink things! Does this sound familiar? Let me give a scenario.

I have made some mistakes at the church I am a member of, as far as saying I would volunteer to do things and never actually doing these things. FOr instance, I bailed on Easter 2010 service so that I could go see the Jonas Brothers at Angel Stadium on Easter Sunday. That Sunday I was supposed to be a greeter. I didn't greet, and was told by the Director of Guest Services that I would never serve again. That HURT, but after a year and a half and much sticking it out, I was able to volunteer for the Drive Through Nativity Scene that we do every year. Then the truble started.

The LAST night of the Drive Through, I got really sick and dizzy, and had to be led down to the basement(where the volunteers were), and was greeted not only by him, but by the senior pastor and several staff members, which scared me to death because I immediately felt like I had screwed up. I was then sent home, all while seeing the look on the guy's face. I saw it as the same face I got when he told me I would never serve again. When I got home I fired off a long apologetic email that basically said I knew I wasn't worthy to serve again. THIS WAS NOT THE CASE. I was thinking too much, and reading into the situation that which was not there. So what happened?

I saw him the next morning, and he was driving in and actually honked at me to get my attention. I heard the honk and was really really scared because I thought I was going to get the runaround that ended in "Don't come back." I didn't get that. I was told that I was wanted and needed and welcome as long as I wanted to be at the church. He told me to go home because he was worried about my health and about keeping calm and order during the previous night. He also told me that I "think way too much and need to stop reading so much into things." My mother has also told me this and I never listened. The point of this story is, life is easier when you don't assume. After all, you know what they say about assuming, that it makes a *insert word I can't use* out of you and me :P Just calm down and think before you judge others on a look or a word, because they may very well not mean what YOU think they mean. ASK what they mean before you start overthinking. You might just be overwhelmingly surprised. I was, because I went from thinking I wasn't wanted to KNOWING I was. KNOWING is GOOD :)

Merry Christmas to all of you, and may God bless your holiday season.

Lauren Shepherd

:)

Easy Question, Difficult Answer

When I receive a Word from You, Lord, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is from you, do I trust that you will fulfill the Word which I have received from You?

How do we answer this question? Is it "Oh, well I trust if it makes sense," or "Oh, well I trust as long as it falls into my plans,"? Or is it simply "I don't trust this because it can't possibly be from the Lord."?

Luke 1:37 says "No word from the Lord shall EVER fail." Ever is a big word. That to me means it will NEVER as long as the universe exists, fail. So why do I persist in doubting? This is the ultimate question.