Back again after a long absence

Hi All

Here I am. Been on a safari, then climbed Everest, then I joined the British Secret Service part time on the graveyard shift, then discovered a cure for the common cold. You folks that know me from before, don't let on to the new folks that all that was all just a bunch of hooey.

Seem to be doing quite well. Had a rough go there for a while. I wish there would come a day when my pdoc says, "Eureka, you're cured!" Guess that day will never come. I am often asked, "what is it like living with BP?" I know they are trying to be helpful, but I respond with, "What is it like living without BP?" Does anyone really know? How "normal" are we? How un-normal are we?

BP has gotten a bad rap lately. Anyone that is caught using poor behavior (Usually a celeb) is somehow BP. Why doesn't anyone claim their bad behavior is due to foot rot or indigestion?

On other boards, which by the way are nowhere as good as this one, I have seen a listing of famous folks that either had or have BP. Should I feel better that Mike Tyson has BP and he is a bigger ****than me?

Oh well, not a good way to enter back into the party with such an unpleasant mood. My apologies.

But am happy to be back.

Cap

Capn, "normal" is a dryer setting. Why be normal? I know I aspire to be more than a dryer setting.

You are so right! BP gets a really bad rap and I think that too many of us reap what others have sewn. We are chronically ill, not chronically mentally ill. This is more akin to high blood pressure or diabetes, it is physical. Before you let someone tell you THAT is hooey...have you ever been around someone with diabetes when their blood sugar shoots for the stars or drops out from under them? They seem pretty mentally ill and it is probably because they are not taking their meds. It is just exactly the same for a BP person if we don't take our meds.

You won't have a cure because this is an issue of brain wiring and motor neuron firing. There is such a thing as burned out bipolar. You live long enough and it COULD burn itself out. It is like burned out rheumatoid arthritis. It is still there, but it can't do anymore harm. I understand that this CAN happen with BP, but it is not a given. Like anything else, you have to sleep enough (most adults are sleep deprived) and eat properly and not abuse yourself with alcohol, illicit drugs or with things like pushing yourself too hard for too long. It is that same path to the Food Pyramid, 5 servings of fruits and veggies, 30 minutes a day of cardiovascular exercise...

I am not one for self care and it just seems like it all comes down to that. Today is Monday and I woke up with an itchy bumpy rash on my face and a painful 'rrhoid. I have the joy of knowing I am buttugly in more ways than one. The last thing I want to do is take care of myself, I just want to sit like this and ROT. Screw the 5 servings and can't snoring count as cardiovascular exercise?

I'd rather hike up Mt. Everest and go explore the Titanic and jump on the Space Shuttle for a week's vacation. Do these adventures require self-care too? You tell me Capn, you've just returned.

Hey Capnin,

I have been thinking about you since you left. Last I heard you found a great pill that you wished you knew about a long time ago. I think it was xanax.  How long of a ride did it give you?

I know how you feel about being away. When somethings up with me I'm anywhere to be found. But here I am back today catching up on all I missed.

Wishing you wellness, ~Sukay~