Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Back From Vacation

Back from vacation. I worked my ass off, sat outside in sub zero wind chills, and got up at 4:00 AM every morning.

I also enjoyed it immensely.

My dad is 74 years old, and won't be doing this forever. We sat around in the goose pit trading stories, barbs, and jokes. It didn't matter if we got any ducks and geese, it was the camaraderie that was the key. It certainly wasn't the weather. It snowed one day, and we drove home in TERRIBLE weather. 50 mph winds blowing snow into a white-out condition. There were times we couldn't even see the interstate center line. Wind chills well below 50 below. If we'd had vehicle problems in these conditions we would NOT have survived out there. It's amusing (in a very warped way) to watch the California cars driving the interstate in these conditions, stopping at the truck stops and gassing up in t-shirts. Instant hypothermia.

Out there along the river are many incredible people. In my journeys to this place we have spent time with a person who owns and runs one of the most respected lutheries in the country. We have spent time with a person who owns and runs some of the most repected music festivals in the world. We met and spent time with a pilot freshly home from Afghanistan while between assignments for a private consultant. Businessmen. Ranchers. A well known wildlife artist. Athletes. Politicians. All with chapped lips, hands rubbed raw from the work and the weather out there, all with wind burned faces. And all there because of their love for the outdoors. Great people, all.

While out there I finished my first week on Lamictal. To be honest, I've noticed very few side effects. Racing heart sometimes, nodding off sometimes, but not much more than normal. Except for dreams. I am dreaming much more again. It's not as pronounced or vivid as when I was on Cymbalta, but it is noticeable. Also, my sex drive has not gone away like it did on Cymbalta and Seroquel. This is a VERY good thing.

Kyle was given a prescription, the med's name escapes me right now. But he has no way of paying for it, and it runs over a hundred dollars a month. They gave him the name of a charitable pharmacy that can dispense meds at a greatly reduced price, but he'll still have to call them and fill out an application. He's not capable of doing that, so the wife or I will have to get involved. Again. No big deal, really, we'll do it gladly. But the place we pick them up is many miles away and in a very bad part of town. I wouldn't trust Kyle to bus there, so we'll need to take him there.

But I'm not complaining, Kyle seems to be doing well, and I'm doing well, and the entire family's doing well. Life is good. For today, anyway.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi. Came over from The Rock Bitch. I don't find other's comments interesting usually, but you said "bi-polar" and I always click on that!

I'm Bi-Polar with Psychotic affect, age 30. My oldest child has Aspergers, Bi-Polar, and ADHD- whatta mess. He takes Risperal and Tenex. I'm not happy about the Risperdal, but hey, it sorta works.

I personally take Lithium, Trileptal, Seroquel, and Synthroid. Yay. I hate having to take medications and they all have lovely side affects (one made me super fat, another made me fidget and pace, Lithium gives me acne and a hand tremor, let's not forget that Trileptal killed my sex drive.) Ain't it fun to be US?? Har.

I've actually had my blog up for over a year but it changed locations and I also decided I didn't like how negative I always was (bashing my ex-husband, for one, is not fair), so I deleted a massive amount of posts. But, you can come over and say hi. I don't bite. Much.

Jon said...

Thanks for stopping by, Nilla. I have added a link to your site, and have been by to check it out. I love the pic of your kids, I have 5 myself.

Nicole said...

So glad you're doing well Jon!

:* Princess

Jon said...

Thanks Princess!

ninjapoodles said...

Hey, great about the lamictal! I have another POV about the dreams...Alex always swore, pre-medication, that he just "didn't dream." Ever. Now he does. I suspect that before, he just couldn't remember his dreams, since we know that everyone dreams!

And for your son's med, the expensive one, they have pamphlets at our pdoc's office from just about every manufacturer of psychiatric medications offering info on programs to help people that need them pay for non-generic drugs. I saw an ad just today for Glaxo Simth-Kline's program. It's worth a try, going directly to the source, and I'm sure his pdoc would help.

Jon said...

Thanks for the input, Belinda.