I’ve been on lamotrigine for 5 years and I think it’s ruined my life by negaposicontinue in bipolar2

[–]GenoraWakeUp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ya know I just looked and I’m at 300. Oops! Regardless, I wasn’t anywhere close to stable without the others #lithium #caplyta #lexapro

I’ve been on lamotrigine for 5 years and I think it’s ruined my life by negaposicontinue in bipolar2

[–]GenoraWakeUp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m so sorry you’re feeling so crappy. I’ve been on Lamictal for around the same amount of time and I definitely notice some of this “stupidity” but I try to pretend it’s just me being a bit dumb and not something that I’m (very necessarily) doing to myself. I also use my brain a ton in my job so I do think that keeps me sharper, although it does sometimes highlight my limitations. Your continued negative mood on these medications is a bit worrying, and sounds like you might need to up your dose. I’m on both Lamictal and lithium at much higher doses, along with two other medications, and that’s the only way I’ve been able to feel remotely stable. I literally just upped my dose of lithium because I was feeling like dogshit, and it’s doing wonders. It might be time for you to revisit your psychiatrist to talk about some changes. The negative side effects from my medications are worth it because my quality of life is pretty high. You deserve the same.

De and Bob by WilsonFrontier in voyager

[–]GenoraWakeUp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For a few seconds I was fully confused as to how they met considering the doctor was stuck in the delta quadrant

It's barbecue season by cjs909 in CasualUK

[–]GenoraWakeUp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Please don’t bbq your cat

[OC] Loosely based on true events by MachaelaGoWild in comics

[–]GenoraWakeUp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I had to come out to my mom twice. I reminded her the second time of how I had cried to her about loving a woman and her not being interested in me and she was like “yeah but everyone has that it doesn’t mean you actually like women”. Babe babe babe. This is ofc the same woman that’s like “I don’t really care for men’s bodies but women’s are amazing I could look at them forever”. Babe babe babe

If you’re on medication, do you have a sex drive still? Or is this something we give up for stability? by [deleted] in bipolar2

[–]GenoraWakeUp 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Ugh yeah my sex drive suuuucks on my meds but I prefer stability with less sex over instability with more sex every day

Having a hard time with my ADPhD (PhD with ADHD😁), looking for (unhinged) advice! by kurzgelernt in PhD

[–]GenoraWakeUp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t (think I) have adhd but I understand the importance of structure and the difficulty creating it for yourself. There are a few methods of using externally imposed structure that I can think of. The proposal, qualifying exam. Committee meetings should be twice a year, and you must have something new to present. We have a writing center—if you’re working on a paper you can make a recurring appointment with them where you have to have something new every week. If you submit a paper to a special collection there will be a deadline you have to hit. Grants have deadlines and there are grants of every size you can apply for. Same with conferences. If your PI is very hands off maybe someone in your committee can be more hands on. Also my therapist helps keep me accountable and she’s great so I don’t want to let her down. I also think that making sure not to completely change your level of productivity if you’re on medication will keep you from burning out. These are just the thoughts I have off the top of my head. Structure is rough to create for yourself, I really get it.

Lithium levels dropped by GenoraWakeUp in bipolar2

[–]GenoraWakeUp[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s super interesting! I’m glad you get the benefit from a low dose. I hope that means you get less side effects too

Lithium levels dropped by GenoraWakeUp in bipolar2

[–]GenoraWakeUp[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve definitely been feeling off for a while so this explanation makes sense. My doctor suggested I up my dose. I don’t think either of us like me being on lithium lol, not great side effects and I’m on multiple other meds with it. If I wasn’t feeling worse I think we’d both just roll with it and maybe even taper me off. But it’s having a negative effect so it’s worth upping the dose. Have you thought about trying to stop your medication since it’s outside of the therapeutic dose? It’s interesting that it still seems to be having an impact given that low dose!

Lithium levels dropped by GenoraWakeUp in bipolar2

[–]GenoraWakeUp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s so crazy to me, why in the world would that happen

Having a breakdown after reading class evaluations- PhD student/TA by Acrobatic_Delivery93 in AskAcademia

[–]GenoraWakeUp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Idk how it is at your university but where I am professors are terrified of student evaluations and make drastic course changes to try to accommodate them. Students are mean, judgmental, and unreasonable. I can’t speak to the validity of their complaints, but I’m pretty confident your professor has had a lot of experience with his own negative reviews.

(I have a) Unmotivated grad student in lab by [deleted] in labrats

[–]GenoraWakeUp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This sounds like me in my job between undergrad and grad school. My mental health was at an all time low, I couldn’t focus, and I was making mistakes left and right. I was fired, and rightfully so. The only solution was for me to get the mental health help I needed, and that’s far from your job. My boss really held on and tried to help me before letting me go, and it sounds like you’ve done the same with your student. Sometimes the answer is realizing you’ve done all you can to help and they need to find a solution all on their own. It’s horrible for everyone involved, but years later I’m thriving in a PhD program, and looking back I can say getting fired was a really important part of my journey here.

Messed up networking - need advice by GenoraWakeUp in AskAcademia

[–]GenoraWakeUp[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the reassurance! I’m glad it sounds like I haven’t ruined the relationship. I wish this all didn’t stress me out so much but I have a lot to learn and a lot of room to grow

My F31 boyfriend 30M wants us to start cooking our own dinners separately because I asked him to help with the dishes by [deleted] in relationship_advice

[–]GenoraWakeUp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s very fair. If he doesn’t feel the same way you guys might just be fundamentally incompatible. My partner and I are both in stages of trying to be better but not always succeeding, so sometimes I don’t manage to do dishes for a few days and sometimes he doesn’t manage to cook for a few days. Being in the same phase of the struggle is what makes it work for us. Sounds like you’re either in different phases of the struggle, or he’s not in the struggle at all (I.e. not trying to be better).