Member
Posted 06 February 2013 - 10:33 PM
How do you unwind after work? Do you have an evening/nighttime routine? Do anything special to relax?
When I get home, I am so amped up that I don't know what to do with myself. Mentally, I'm usually beat, but I don't end up falling asleep until very late.
In my quest to avoid drinking alcohol to relax, I'm wondering what other people do on a typical weekday evening/night after work. Plus, I'm just curious. 
Thanks.
Member
Posted 06 February 2013 - 11:31 PM
Member
Posted 06 February 2013 - 11:45 PM
Honestly, most days I'm so tightly wound up after work that the first thing I do when I walk in the door is swallow some diazepam to take the edge off. Then I have a set routine which helps calm me down - feed the cats, have a snack, take my early evening meds, watch a dvd, cook & eat supper, water the garden, take my night meds, go to bed and read/surf the net for a bit until the meds kick in. One of my pdoc's repeat refrains is that routine can be a source of comfort for me, and also help me feel in control of my environment, and I think she's pretty much right in that respect.
BPI, current daily cocktail: Lithium 1000mg, Seroquel XR 600mg, Seroquel IR 100mg, Diazepam 5mg prn
Ex meds, as far as I can recall: Amitriptyline, Ativan, Clozapine, Effexor XR, Fluanxol, Lamotrigine, Ritalin, Solian, Tegretol, Thorazine, Trilpetal, Wellbutrin, Zoloft, Zolpidem, Zyprexa
The horror of getting up is unparalleled, and I am filled with amazement every morning when I find that I have done it.
-- Lytton Strachey
Queen of Ergots
Posted 07 February 2013 - 01:37 AM
Maybe have a warm milky drink, like cocoa or ovaltine, in the evening. That makes you relaxed and sleepy.
Dx: Bipolar NOS; GAD; Migraine w/ Aura; Migraine w/o Aura;
Rx: Alprazolam; Botox; Buproprion; Dihydroergotomine via IV Infusion; Imitrex Tablets with Metoclopramide; Lamotrigine; Lithium; Migranal; Prilosec; Promethazine; Propranalol; Sumatriptan injectables
Currently Shelved: Abilify; Amerge; Anaprox; Atenolol; Buspar; Cafergot; Cymbalta; Depakote; Di-Hydro-ergotamine; injected; Gabapentin; Geodon; Klonopin; Maxalt; Namenda; Nortriptyline; Norvasc; Prozac; Risperdone; Relpax; Sansert; Tegretol; Trazadone; Verapamil; Zoloft; Zolpidem; Zomig; Zonegran
Affectations can be dangerous. -Gertrude Stein
Master Ruminant
Posted 07 February 2013 - 09:07 AM
In the winter I eat a huge dinner (ugh) and watch tv until about 8 when I zonk. In the summer I eat a healthy dinner, exercise, watch tv for like an hour.
“Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead.” - Charles Bukowski
DX: Bipolar II with psychotic tendencies, multiple anxiety disorders, PMDD.
Meds: Lithium 1200mg, Klonopin .5 mg PRN, progestin only birth control pills.
Member
Posted 07 February 2013 - 12:09 PM
Member
Posted 07 February 2013 - 04:45 PM
My day doesn't stop when I come home. I've got kids to pick up, homework to oversee, dinner, never ending laundry, breaking up fights between the boys. I don't relax until the kids have gone to bed. Then I either veg out with my DVR tv shows, or read. Sometimes there is wine with dinner.
Dx: Bipolar Disorder I, ADD, BDD
Rx: Lamictal 300mg; Wellbutrin 300mg: Celexa 40mg
FAIL: Lithium; Geodon. Abilify
Member
Posted 07 February 2013 - 08:12 PM
It depends on when I get home, but usually nothing more exciting than fool around with a facebook game and crazyboards while eating dinner (and after for a bit), drink a cup of tea, read, and sleep. But that's largely b/c I'm dealing with low energy level right now.
Dx: bipolar I. Some ADD symptoms, some GAD symptoms. Lots of fun.
current RXs re generics of: Ativan (0.5 mg if needed in a.m. and regularly p.m.), Lamictal (200mg); WellbutrinXL (150mg); Abilify (10mgs). Seroquel (25 or 50 mg) as emergency sleep med.
Also levothyroxine (75 mcg) and allergy drug.
Past Rxs: zoloft (like a sugar pill); lexapro (something nasty); seroquel; ambien; sonata (all worked at different points in time, just changed for different reasons); effexorXR (wonderful for helping to yank me out of an episode; stopped b/c it seemed to be causing some agitation); geodon (sedation issues); phentermine (helped with appetite, but not with energy, which is what I really needed it for); zyprexa (was just for sleep, and strangely it wouldn't induce it)
Member
Posted 08 February 2013 - 02:54 PM
Thanks for sharing. Maybe I need to cut back on the afternoon espresso and drink tea instead hehe.
I admire that you all with little ones and kids running around have the energy and strength to work a "second shift" at home. Your you-time must be precious!
Member
Posted 11 February 2013 - 09:39 PM
I come in put my unpack my lunch bag, flop on my bed (I live in a graduate dorm), and close my eyes for about five minuets. Then I watch some TV, check my e-mail, facebook, pintrest, read for school or for plesure(depends on the day, the mood, the work load). Sometimes i'll do some art, I also knit. Then I have dinner of some sort, watch my night TV show (Monday 2 broke girls, Tuesday nothing yet, mainley hulu Wendsday(i'f i'm home from class in time) Modern family, the middle on DVR, Thursday Big Bang Theroy. I journal most nights, take my meds watch some bad TV to fall asleep to about 45 mins after med time.
"I refuse to Sink"
"The Truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off"
Gloria Steinem
DX: Bipolar NOS or II, GAD, Panic Disorder but who realy knows...
Former DX: MDD,
RX: Brain: Celexa 40mg, 1Xday, Lamictal 200mg, 1Xdaily, Seroquel 75mg 1Xdaily , Clonazepam 0.125 prn
Other: Synthroid 75mg 1xdaily, Metformin HLC ER 500mg 4Xdaily, Givani, Multivitaman, Vitaman D
45minuets of therapy a week, love/hate but important to me
The Iguana In a Room Full of Rabbits
Posted 11 February 2013 - 09:59 PM
Walk in the door, turn off the alarm, put down my things, reset the alarm and walk straight out the front door with the dogs in tow. Take the dogs for their walk, 45-55 minutes depending on the quality of the day's sniffing and how many people want to pet Milo. Return home, turn off the alarm, give the dogs their treat, take them down in the basement and get them settled with their chew toys so I can have some privacy. Check whatever needs checking on the computer, including Crazyboards. Change into my exercise clothes and spend an hour exercising. Stretch, feed the dogs dinner, take a shower, start laundry/put laundry in drier/empty dishwasher/fold laundry as needed. Lie on couch and read for an amount of time determined by whether I'm cooking dinner, or prepping dinner, or not. If not I may also check the boards again. Husband arrives home between 7:30 and 10:00, depending on which day of the week it is. Dinner is usually at 9:00 but can be as late as 10:15. Eat dinner with husband while watching TV or a movie. We favor BBC America and the SciFi channel but are not adverse to Mythbusters or the fascinating program about moonshining that's been on lately. You get the drift. Load dishwasher, run or not depending on how full it is. Repair to the couch in the basement to watch TV and drink 4 oz. of wine with husband, punctuated with frequent looking up of things via iPad on Google, until bedtime, generally 12:00-12:30.
Even when I'm not working, this is how my day goes from about 4:00 on. With virtually no deviations, ever, Saturday through Wednesday (husband has Thursdays and Fridays off, so I do, too, and my weekend routine has a different pattern).
Bipolar I, sports fans. Autism spectrum. With just un soupçon of migraine...
Give us this day our daily meds: 150 lamotrigine, 75 topiramate, 150 Seroquel XR, 100 Seroquel IR, 12.5 Ambien CR, 10 mgs escitalopram
Cyclobenzaprine and Midrin PRN
Past, failed attempts: Effexor XR, Celexa, amitriptyline, Depakote, Geodon, klonopin, ativan, bupropion, busipirone, lithium, trazodone, Lunesta, Rozerem, gabapentine, mirtazapine, Wellbutrin, Temazepam, Sonata
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. -Margaret Mead
