Posted by mars on January 15, 2001, at 5:26:21
hi everyone ~
a too-long introduction and *BIG* thank you:
my name is mary. i've had a long history of refractory depression, like so many here. i'm currently taking 300 mg lithium (lithobid, which i tolerate best), 450 mg velafaxine (effexor), synthroid, and am experimenting with provigil (modafinil), which oddly seems to have a beneficial effect on my chronic insomnia. i was diagnosed as bipolar II in '94; i also have ADD, and was just diagnosed with fetal alcohol effects (FAE)in december, which i am having a difficult time dealing with, to tell the truth. current meds keep me from totally going down, but i've been getting worse and worse since '96.
i want to thank everyone who posts here, and of course our esteemed leader ;-) i really gave up a few years ago - too many years of *this*, coupled with a series of events that someone not trying to cope with treatment-resistant depression would have had a difficult time dealing with. (ack) i totally stayed away from computers for the last year-and-a-half (i believe it's called post-tech support syndrome :), and was too busy keeping up with my job to wander around the web much. now that i'm back on the internet (albeit without a job) i accidentally bumped into this site.
i am *so* glad.
y'all are so great. i find so much here that is helping me to get out of passive, let-myself-go-mode, and get into helping-myself mode. there is so much intelligence and care and thoughfulness here; it's very stimulating. thank you, every one of you.
i'm still working my way through past posts and trying to relearn so many things i have forgotten, as well as trying to study new information. i look forward to reading your posts and perhaps someday getting your feedback about possible medication routes i might explore. Scott has already been very helpful in understand one past difficult episode. resolving it has helped a lot.
i find introductions awkward. i know mine is awfully long, but i hope it's okay.
best,
mary
p.s. about my "mars" handle. it's an affectionate nickname bestowed on me long ago when i lived in oklahoma. the person who christened me "mars" had a system - anyone whose name ended in -ary or -arry was converted to -ars: gary became gars, larry became lars, and i became mars.
poster:mars
thread:51712
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010111/msgs/51712.html