The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[bikipatra]

I have BP2 and take Lexapro, Keppra, Lamictal, Seroquel and Klonopin. I take Neurontin, also a mood stabilizer, but for neurological purposes. I take 800 mg of Seroquel at night for sleep. The high dose is based on the tolerance I experienced on the medication (they say it doesn't happen-it does) and that when it was prescribed I was in a mixed manic eprisode and found it almost imposssible to sleep for more than a few hours. The good news? On all that I have lost over 80 pounds on MF. It can be done medicated to the gills on loads of stuff that causes weight gain.

[iammissruth]

I am so glad you and your doctor have found meds that work for you. I mean really glad. (Half of my siblings are in denial that they need help. lol. I had to seek help b/c of ppa/d and my marriage.)
Anyways, we are out at Luke. March 1, 2009, dh takes terminal leave and we are SO outta the heat. What kind of base is Nellis? Luke is fighter jets. (I am so sick of them training over our house. Ugh. if I never hear an after burner again, it will be too soon....) And as for the weather, this week it is in the high 80's with a breeze. Perfect weather to go on hikes after work. (which I get to do today. )
I didn't realize that you could lose a job over BP. I honestly can't believe it. But the military is just that... the military. And I guess with the AF down sizing...
As for the journal, I am thinking about it. I only ordered a sample yesterday, so I will have to wait and see how that goes. I told dh about buying a sample and he gave me the look of approval. He knows how bad I want to lose the weight and he sees me working out with no avail, so I think he is ok with me spending the money.
I am trying to think what else you wrote over on my little intro.... And yes it will be totally fun to know someone (OL or RL) that is starting MF at about the same time. woo hoo!
How is day 3? going for you?

[jskm]

We came from Seymour Johnson before this, which was all fighters so I was used to that junk. Then we got here, which is mostly all fighters *normally* except we have TDYs ALL the freakin time and then there's Red Flag twice a year, so we have heavies and the worst is the B-1s--they are SO LOUD. They have the equivalent of four fighter engines mounted on them, so when they take off, there's nowhere that doesn't know about it.

Yep, although there have been a few exceptions depending on jobs (like an office job that doesn't deploy, think a medical job like X ray or something that couldn't deploy b/c they have to work in a fully functioning hosp w/ the proper equipment, kwim?) any mental health condition that requires permanent medication is a disqualifying condition for military service standards. They can't send you to Iraq or some forward deployed location when there's the possibility that you might have an "episode." It doesn't matter how long you've been stable, the nature of bipolar in particular with its ups and downs, is too unstable for them. I knew about as much too and since I didn't want to lose my career I wouldn't go get help for a year or better, and I was doing Baaaaad. A lot of bad things were going on and finally I knew I wasn't going to live much longer if I didn't get help. For AD members, the ony place you're allowed to go for mental help is Life Skills. So I went and sure enough, they started an MEB on me and within a year I was medically retired from the AF.

Day 3 has just started. I'll post some more about it in my journal later.

[jskm]

I The good news? On all that I have lost over 80 pounds on MF. It can be done medicated to the gills on loads of stuff that causes weight gain.

Thank you bikipatra!!!!! There is HOPE!!!!!

[iammissruth]

Is depression considered a lifetime illness to the military?
My friends dh just went from load barn back to the flight line and when the base psych couldn't do anything he was put in their mental hospital for 3 days. He has gone crazy since he re-enlisted to cross train into another field and a month later they denied that. He is litterally a mess atm, my dh is his best friend and this weekend my dh was like, "I think stove is a drunk. he is drinking way too much." And this is from a drinking man himself. So I am worried about my friend and her dh.
Ugh, my dh is in love with jets. but he can't stand the F-16's anymore. On his tdy to Tindall (sp?) last year, he got an incentive ride in an F-15, and they sent into a practice battle against the F-22 and now he won't shut up about that jet....
Anyways, I hope that day 3 goes as well as the first and second day.

[jskm]

Depression is REALLY subjective. Your friend's behavior and what doctor/therapist he sees can have a big impact on how damaging or not damaging it is to his career. For some people, depression is a tiny blip in their record and no one ever even hears about it. For some people, it goes all the way to the other extreme and yes they do get discharged for it. Then there are people all over the middle ground. It really depends on a lot of things. Here's a couple of quotes from the Military Medical Standards for Continued Service pertaining to mental conditions:
" Psychoneuroses (affective, anxiety, somatiform, dissociative, eating, or psychosexual disorders). Persistent or recurrent, requiring hospitalization or the need for continuing psychiatric support. (Incapacity because of neurosis must be distinguished from weakness of motivation or underlying personality disorder)."
"Other Mental Conditions. Unsatisfactory duty performance due to disorders of character or behavior, personality disorders, transient situational reactions, personality disruptions, emotional instability, sexual perversion or habit reactions render an individual unsuitable and subject to administrative separation. Interference with effective duty performance is dealt with through appropriate administrative channels. Alcoholism that interferes with effective duty performance renders an individual unsuitable and subject to administrative separation. Provisions for rehabilitation and disposition are in appropriate directives.

MEB evaluation is indicated in those instances when medical complications or sequelae of alcoholism (for example, recurrent jaundice or ascites, esophageal varices, chronic pancreatitis, organic central nervous system (CNS) disorders, etc.) preclude satisfactory performance of duty and worldwide assignability."

Your dh is lucky he's in a career that doesn't have to cross train to switch to another airframe. I was an avionics troop on F-15s and I wanted to cross train to anything else, but of course they weren't letting any of us out of aircraft maintenance so that got DE-nied, and my unit was the happy place here at Nellis so a PCA was out of the question. So at least one good thing came out of me getting retired--they HAD to let me out of mx!

Day 3 is so-so. I'll be posting later in my journal. I think I'm coming down w/ something.

[iammissruth]

Thanks for that info. Both my dh and Stove are in Weapons: loading, unloading, maintance, etc. My dh replaced him up in loadbarn when his 2 years was done. Stove was trying to cross train into Satalite (sp?) Imaging. He wanted so badly to get out of weapons, but thats out of the question. When that was denied, he put in for orders to Korea. He'll be leaving in March, and I think they will be moving to Germany for his base of choice.
Hmm.. coming down with something? Do you think that it might be allergies? Our 2 states have taken quiet a weather change? Or is it like a cold? dd is teething with a cold and I'm going insane...
Anyways, I hope your day gets better.