Whooshka!! There went a few years!!!! 2017-2020 Summary;

 Ok, so it's been a few YEARS since I posted.  Let me explain;

        - I contracted Hashimoto's disease in 2017/18 (autoimmune disease affecting thyroid);

        - Being on Lithium is mostly what made my Thyroid malfunction;

        - This affected my movement (loss of strength in legs/muscle strength);

        - It affected my mood (depression on top of depression);

        - I stopped the few going out things I was doing (eg : AA) and isolated more;

        - My doctor changed my meds because I was getting anxious (put me on Seroquel);

        - During a hospital admission I Stopped Smoking (May 2018) and commenced Vaping w/Nic

            (NB: I Have been Smoke Free since May 2018....Vaping is amazing; truly the way out of the 

            Tobacco Prison...I couldn't recommend it highly enough; after 30 years of tobacco; no more                         cough);

        - With saved smoking money and increased Seroquel appetite I overdid Uber Eats 2019;

        - Nov 2019 was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes (admitted to hospital w/blood sugar of 19.6);

Meanwhile during all this, my old PDRSS support worker got me onto the NDIS; I applied in early 2018 and was accepted.  It took quite a bit of paperwork.

The first year of NDIS was frustrating because I was agency-managed, the key element being all service providers had to be NDIS approved, and there weren't enough businesses in my area that had been accredited to get me what I needed.

The second year (2019/2020) I changed support co-ordination and was plan managed which was a lot better, and I started to get services I needed.

Now in my third year (2020-) I am getting the hang of it and things are going great so far; within the limitations of lockdown.  It has helped to have an ethical and highly skilled Support Co-ordinator to help me get the supports that I need, for instance now I have a psychosocial OT who helps me quantify my living goals and habits so that I can see how and by how much I can improve.  I also have an exercise physiologist who is like a degree-qualified personal trainer/dietitian/psychologist : whatever, he is the bomb.  I see him twice a week and he puts me through my paces (exercises while we talk).  Additionally I get a housecleaner and gardener and home delivered meals.

You may wonder why I qualify for such help : when you have (1) significant mood swings, (2) a track record of really bad self-care, (3) significant side effects from medication (eg: Hashimoto's & Diabetes) and (4) nobody in terms of friends or family who can offer practical help and (5) an illness which is permanent, although it fluctuates in severity and symptoms; it precludes me from regular work, socialising and a lifestyle which most people can navigate independently - All these things and more - it's a much better way of giving someone like me a leg up and hopefully developing long-lost habits and behaviors which will improve my quality of life.

It helps me feel like life is worth living again.