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| Wed, 01-12-2005 - 9:07pm |
Can we do that thing where we give everyone a little background on ourselves? You don't need to participate if you don't want to, it just kind of lets us get to know everyone a little better. Amanda

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My idea this time so I guess I'll start....
I'm 28, I've been married for 9 years and we have two kids. My daughter is 8 and my son is 3. We live in the Houston area. I was diagnosed about 2 years ago and I've been pretty stable (knock on wood). I don't have a lot of support from my husband, but my mom and sister are really supportive (unfortunately they live near Buffalo, NY). Anyhow, I hope to learn more about our newbies and have a refresher on the old folks!!! Have a good day. Amanda
Okay I'll go next. This is one area I feel safe commenting.
I'm 45 as I'm sure everybody knows. I've been married to Gene for almost 10 years. He is my wonderful support. Sometimes I think he's still a little shell shocked about living with bp. He loves just the way I am though.
I've had 2 children by two different husband and lost them do to bipolar and drinking. They luckily had wonderful fathers who raised them.
I've been married 5 times the first two were ruined by me with drinking and my bp libido (or however you spell it) the next one I have to credit with my getting sober. After living with him for 6 months I got a good look at where my life was going and was scared straight. My last husband (who I picked up in treatment) was an alcoholic that never quite got it. My husband now I met in AA we were friends for 6 years. I decide to take 2 years off of dating to just look at me and at the end of that two years I went to San Antonio TX to see my first sponser. While I was there I saw Gene too. We took a little hike and we sat to look at the view and he said "Jamie I've been in love with you all this time". He never would have said it while I was married or on my break but, as soon as it was over he was afraid to wait.
(during the first two husbands I lived in germany for 7 years)
(I've been sober 18 years now.)
I kind of self diagnosed my bp after seeing a movie on Patty Duke. She had bp and told her whole story in the movie. My tdoc at the time thought I was brilliant! Go figure. There is no doubt it was the right dx. Even though I dx'd myself I've gone off my meds several times because I didn't think I needed them.
There's some more about me in my profile just click on the ourcottage up above.
I'm sure I've bored you enough by now.
Love,
Jamie
Love,
Great idea, Amanda, especially since we've got lots of new members!
I'm Marci, 51 live in a century old house (that's going to fall down around my ears if SS doesn't get a fire under it), with my almost 18 yo DD and a host of critters (domestic and univited raccons that live in my attic).
Amanda,
That's amazing! There is always hope.
Love,
Jamie
Love,
hi...
beth, 27.
I'm traci and i'm 38 years old living in northern va.
Hi my name's Amanda and I'm a bipolar and an alcoholic(maybe?). I also joined AA because my friend did and I went with her and did the quizzes and they said I had a problem. I don't think I did looking back now but of course I always make a decision and then try to convince myself the opposite. In any case the only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking and I had that so I don't care if I'm a high bottom or even not that much of an alcoholic, I wanted to stop. I come from a family of alcoholics (my father and both grandparents as far as I know) and when I went from someone who rarely drink to drinking every day I said that was enough. January 1st was my 6 months (although I didn't even go to my group that week) Shame on me I know. I don't even have a sponsor, shame again. I KNOW! lol
I'm 23, never married, no kids, haven't even had a relationship in 5 years. I identify as a lesbian, although I did go out with guys before dating women. I too am one of the ones with no drive (I think it was Traci that said that?). Ah well, I'm content being an asexual lesbian, if that makes any sense.
I AM Canadian! :D
I am a student in my 4th year (of a 3 year program) in university and hope to graduate this year and start my second BA next year and teacher's college the year after that. I don't know about that though since I don't have the grades, unless I can do better second degree. I've always wanted to teach. I don't know what I'll do if I don't. I guess I'll jump off that bridge when I come to it (my version of the saying I've been using since highschool. Yes you may roll your eyes).
I have a twin brother and no other siblings. I don't know why I added that, but hey I think being a twin is pretty interesting.
As you all may or may not know I don't have the official dx yet. I only brought it up with my doc in the last month and got no feedback from him on what he thought of it. I won't be able to see a pdoc or tdoc for 6 months because the mental health clinc is extremely backed up. I also need a letter for the school's disability services, so I guess I'm going to have to bring it up again with my doc and finally find out what he thinks and what we should do about it since it's just me and him for the next 6 months. I have no doubt that I am bipolar though. I've been tracking my moods since the summer when I realized that I seemed to be going in cycles.
I am a musician (piano, guitar, flute, and dreaming of playing the violin one day), a Girl Guide leader, crafty, a poet and aspiring artist. You can check out my sketch on the msn boards I'm on. Here's the link to one. http://groups.msn.com/Lifeinterrupted/mandisstuff.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=434
You do not have to be a member to view it.
Wow, sorry about the novel. I'm starting to think I'm getting a bit manic :D Or maybe just missing the interaction as I haven't seen any of my friends in a long time.
Amanda/Schitz
I'm Jodie. I'm 33 married and suffering from infertility, so the computer desk is more likely to have kids than me. I have probably been BP most of my life. But only very recently did the "light" go on and I pretty much figured it out. I have never drank-simply can't stand the taste of it and it comes right back up. Never smoked-again could not tolerate it. I have been on so many meds I can't list them all. Hosptialized 11 or so times by the time I was 20. All of them were for either suicide attempts or ideas. One of them was a court order. But still was not diagnosed correctly. Probably because I thought all my hypomanic episodes were normal and never reported them to the doc. After all, EVERYONE spends thousands and thousands of dollars! I really belived that. It didn't even OCCUR to me that it was not normal. I always felt so much better when I bought something BIG. And I am talking A LOT of stuff. In four years I bought 3 houses, 5 cars, 6 dogs, refurnished one of the houses, 2 bed rooms groups, 2 TV's complete with entertainments centers, forced my parents to buy a new car, and I don't want to even think of what else! My husband is very supportive but has no understanding of what I am going thru. He's like "But honey, I can't figure out why it BOTHERS you". Uhhhhh...
My parents also live with us, because I pretty much forced them to sell their house and move in before I got married. Oh well! Guess I too have rambled enough! I sure can blab!
Jodie
Jodie
HI! I am 32 years old, and was dx'd bipolar when I was 20. Until January of last year, I always lived in Arizona, but now I live in Buffalo, NY. I moved here to be closer to the man who became my fiance' in the last year.
I used to dream of being an orchestral conductor, and I have a degree in Music History from AZ state, and an MM in conducting from Northern Arizona. The former took me seven years to get- coming down with bipolar disorder near the end of my junior year seriously messed things up! But, I am proud that I managed to finish school to the tune of a master's.
Now, I wish to be a school music teacher. Sure, it's a much easier line of work to get into (understatement of the year), but I have come to believe that a school music teacher really does put as much music into the world as 100 professional orchestras. They teach so many children to make their own music! I so want to do that! I taught for a year in AZ on emergency certification, but that didn't work out, because the principal found out I had a mental illness and discriminated against me. So, I decided to lay off for awhile and actually finish my teacher certification. I came out to Buffalo to do it, to be close to the man I love. I met him on the internet in '99, we were friends until November 2001 when we became a couple. He is the best! He lives in Canada, and after the wedding, we will settle there. I am hoping that Ontario will certify me, but if not, I have applied for another year of school there.
Oh, you guys may want to know how we bumped into each other on the net- well, a psychiatrist dx'd me as having Asperger's syndrome instead of bipolar (he was right about the Asperger's, but wrong in that I was ALSO bipolar...that's another story), and after he did that, I went to a website for info and signed the guestbook. Gary, who not only has Asperger's too but is an activist for autism causes, saw this and wrote me. The rest is history. Because we share Asperger's in common, each of us understands how the other thinks, and though he does not share bipolar with me, he understands and is so supportive.
Sorry for rambling.
Beth "Petrouchka"
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