🤧 As you can tell from my sparse posting, the flu still has me in its clutches! What a virus! I’m now on week two. I’ll be back in action soon! For now, I want to cover the aspects of being sick that can affect bipolar:
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💊 Medicines to treat colds and the flu. Anything containing pseudo-ephedrine such as Sudafed or Thera Flu has to be used carefully. Daytime use is better and careful checking of the mood is essential.
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😴 Changes in sleep. This is always an issue in bipolar. Anything that disrupts sleep for more than a few days can affect our moods.
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🤢 Stomach flu that includes a lot of vomiting so that meds can’t be absorbed. Take this seriously if it goes on for more than a few days!
In many ways, having the flu can HELP bipolar symptoms. I stress the importance of taking notes and making a LOT of lists when it comes to learning the ups and downs of this complicated illness. Take note of the changes you see in a loved one when they get sick. For example, does rapid cycling calm down if a loved one is in bed for days and isn’t able to stay out late at night? Does having 24 hour care with chicken soup and staying in one place help the mood?
My life is about treating bipolar first. It’s my motto for a reason. My type of bipolar is chronic. I react within hours to many substances and am easily caught out by mania. I was using Robutussin for my serious cough and had the thought, “Wow, I fell really, really good today!” For most people, that would be a positive. Not for me. That is almost always a sign that I’m getting high. I went online and read about DXM. It affects serotonin darn it! I didn’t buy another bottle.
It’s not fair and it is such a burden to carry in life. But if I am not careful, the mania will have me and I will do something I deeply regret. I am done with a life of manic regrets, so being a detective, even with something as basic as colds and the flu and how they affect my bipolar. This fits into the triggers chapter in Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder and my daily use of The Health Cards. Careful attention to my mood saves my life!
You can do all of this even if your loved one is not yet ready to be a detective in his or her own life. You can model this behavior. It can be YOUR way of loving someone with this illness.
💛☀️ Julie
