{"id":7029,"date":"2012-07-18T15:51:24","date_gmt":"2012-07-18T22:51:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/?p=7029"},"modified":"2018-05-15T09:58:22","modified_gmt":"2018-05-15T16:58:22","slug":"guest-blog-from-lauren-r-tharp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/guest-blog-from-lauren-r-tharp\/","title":{"rendered":"Guest Blog From Lauren R. Tharp"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A Simple Blood Test That Could Save You Thousands of Dollars in Psychiatric Bills<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Lauren-Tharpe-pic.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright  wp-image-7030\" title=\"Lauren Tharpe pic\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Lauren-Tharpe-pic-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"286\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>By: Lauren R. Tharp \u2013 <a href=\"http:\/\/littlezotz.com\/\">http:\/\/littlezotz.com<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0I do not have Bi-Polar Disorder.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But, for a while, doctors thought I did.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;Let me explain\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0In my teen years, I was acting, well, a little \u201cmental\u201d as my dad would say. So, of course, I was taken to the best \u201cmental\u201d doctors. Various psychiatrists and psychologists hmm\u2019d at my situation, nodding their heads, and stroking their chins: \u201cBi-Polar Disorder!\u201d \u201cDepression!\u201d \u201cBorderline!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0They had all sorts of ideas about my situation.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0But why did all of my symptoms virtually disappear sometimes, usually right after a good meal? And why weren\u2019t any of these doctors addressing my physical symptoms\u2014like my cold hands and feet, chronic headaches, or sensitivity to light?<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Long story short, my parents took me to a general practitioner. He investigated my physical symptoms, performed a glucose tolerance test, and I finally had my answer: Hypoglycemia.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Once I was put on a proper diet, nearly all of my symptoms disappeared! No drugs needed!<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0All of those years in psychiatric offices could have been prevented with a simple blood test.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0The sad thing is; my case is not unique. Roberta Ruggiero, founder of the Hypoglycemia Support Foundation, has a similar story. She went for over a decade thinking her problem was all in her head\u2014and was even administered electroshock therapy!\u2014before she was finally given a blood sugar test.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Do I blame the doctors?\u00a0 Begrudgingly, my answer is \u201cno.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Bi-Polar Disorder and Hypoglycemia are shockingly similar!<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Do these symptoms sound familiar?\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Difficulty Concentrating<\/li>\n<li>Emotional Fragility or Sensitivity (Big emotional reactions to \u201clittle\u201d things)<\/li>\n<li>Mental Confusion<\/li>\n<li>Brain Chatter<\/li>\n<li>Indecisiveness<\/li>\n<li>Irritability<\/li>\n<li>Exhaustion<\/li>\n<li>Forgetfulness<\/li>\n<li>Chatterbox (Talking more than normal\u2014usually with a lack of \u201cfilters.\u201d)<\/li>\n<li>Difficulty Sleeping<\/li>\n<li>Nightmares or Night Terrors<\/li>\n<li>Antisocial Behavior or Noticeable Withdrawal from Activities<\/li>\n<li>Temper Tantrums<\/li>\n<li>Suicidal Thoughts or Tendencies<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0That was a list of the side-effects of Hypoglycemia. They\u2019re almost indistinguishable from Bi-Polar Disorder, aren\u2019t they?<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0However, if you\u2019re also experiencing any of these symptoms\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Bad Breath<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Muscle Pain (Usually backaches)<\/li>\n<li>Chronic Indigestion<\/li>\n<li>Internal Trembling<\/li>\n<li>Chronically Cold Hands and Feet<\/li>\n<li>Dizziness<\/li>\n<li>Fainting or Blackouts<\/li>\n<li>Chronic Headaches<\/li>\n<li>Light and Noise Sensitivity<\/li>\n<li>Blurry Vision<\/li>\n<li>Numbness<\/li>\n<li>Excessive Sweating<\/li>\n<li>PMS<\/li>\n<li>Heart Palpitations<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0\u2026I would urge you to take a blood sugar test!<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Even if you\u2019re sure you have Bi-Polar Disorder, it wouldn\u2019t hurt to get tested. Even the best prescription drugs won\u2019t help you to feel better if you\u2019re a Hypoglycemic and you\u2019re not eating right for your condition.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0On that note, I\u2019d like to mention that Depression does go hand-in-hand with Hypoglycemia. Nearly all Hypoglycemics experience Depression\u2014whether as an actual mental condition or simply as a gnarly \u201cside-effect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s during these times that I like to keep a copy of Julie Fast\u2019s <em>Get It Done When You\u2019re Depressed<\/em> by my side. It\u2019s helped me to continue working, even when I really, <em>really<\/em> didn\u2019t feel like it. Whether you\u2019re Bi-Polar, Hypoglycemic, or something in-between\u2026 Get that book!<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;d love to hear what you think, please share your comments below.<\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Simple Blood Test That Could Save You Thousands of Dollars in Psychiatric Bills<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Lauren-Tharpe-pic.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright wp-image-7030\" title=\"Lauren Tharpe pic\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Lauren-Tharpe-pic-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"286\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>By: Lauren R. Tharp \u2013 <a href=\"http:\/\/littlezotz.com\/\">http:\/\/littlezotz.com<\/a> <\/p>\n<p> I do not have Bi-Polar Disorder.<\/p>\n<p> But, for a while, doctors thought I did.<\/p>\n<p> &#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;Let me explain\u2026<\/p>\n<p> In my teen years, I was acting, well, a little \u201cmental\u201d as my dad would say. So, of course, I was taken to the best \u201cmental\u201d doctors. Various psychiatrists and psychologists hmm\u2019d at my situation, nodding their heads, and stroking their chins: \u201cBi-Polar Disorder!\u201d \u201cDepression!\u201d \u201cBorderline!\u201d<\/p>\n<p> They had all sorts of ideas about my situation.<\/p>\n<p> But why did all of my symptoms virtually disappear sometimes, usually right after a good meal? And why weren\u2019t any of these doctors addressing my physical symptoms\u2014like my cold hands and feet, chronic headaches, or sensitivity to light?<\/p>\n<p> Long story short, my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/guest-blog-from-lauren-r-tharp\/\">[ Read More ]<\/a><!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7029"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7029"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7029\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11498,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7029\/revisions\/11498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}