This is not a new post. I posted this yesterday, but there was a database crash and I lost it all. Fortunately I had most of it saved on Word.

What have I been doing? Quite a bit actually. Here’s an update on some items:

Mental Health

Nothing but good news here. The past few months have been outstanding. Sure, I get bouts of depression every so often, but nothing like I use to. When they do come I rebound much more quickly. I haven’t had a manic session in a long time and I admit that I miss those.  There is something scary looming on the horizon, though. Because of a change in my Insurers’ formulary, I am going to have to go through a med change. This has both my pdoc and I very nervous. Further details in my next post.

Weight

As we know, bipolar meds can have a serious side effect of causing weight gain. Mine skyrocketed. . Most people gain about 50 pounds when they start on the meds, so I can’t blame them entirely. The meds were just a catalyst to get things going in the wrong direction. Eventually I reached my maximum weight, which was 303 lbs. To put things in perspective, I am only 5’5” tall, which puts my ideal weight somewhere around 150. Yep, I was 153 lbs overweight.

I looked into gastric bypass surgery and it wasn’t for me so I joined Weight Watchers and lost 90 lbs. Unfortunately, I stopped working their program of proper food portions and exercise and my weight shot up again. I currently weigh 263 lbs, which is 40 lbs less than I started with. Given that most people who diet regain all their weight back and more, I give Weight Watchers credit for preventing that from happening to me. I am back on plan now and have been losing again. My goal is to lose 1.5 pounds a week, which comes to 72 pounds this year. That would finally put me below the 200 mark. Wish me luck.

Writing

My transition from non-fiction writing to fiction was rockier than I anticipated, but things are going much smoother now. I’m writing a mystery novel which has a gay private detective and I’m having the time of my life. It’s a helluva lot of work, but I feel confident in what I’m doing. I’m currently on Chapter 10 and I anticipate it having from 21 – 24 chapters. It took a long time to get this far but my skill and speed have dramatically improved. I expect the rest to go much faster.

I’m a member of a writer’s critique group that meets once a week and the feedback I get is priceless.
Here’s something you may find interesting…at least I do. I have a friend who is a reporter and she lent me her copy of The Writer’s Market. This is a book that is published annually and lists publishing houses, magazines, agents and more. When she gave it to me I looked on Amazon to see about purchasing one myself. Instead of searching for Writer’s Market, I accidentally typed Writer’s Digest and Writer’s Digest magazine popped up….and then it hit me. I suddenly remembered that when I was in my 20’s I purchased copies of Writer’s Market and had a subscription to Writer’s Digest Magazine. I completely forgot all about this!

I know, having bipolar disorder can have an effect on memory, as do bipolar medications, but how can such an important thing in my life totally escape me??? I rediscovered all this very soon after I posted the notice that this blog was going on hiatus. I took it as a sign that I was on the right path…and I am.

There you have part of what’s going on in my life in a sloppy, unprofessionally written post. Will likely post again Thursday.