Senegal and other places

Posted on October 23, 2015 in Bipolar Disorder Depression Encounters Mania Vacation 2015

I’ve been in three time zones this trip, mere hours apart. Seven hours separate me now from my normal time zone; the heat and the humidity have been more of a problem that disruption of my circadian rhythms here in Senegal. When I feel a little drowsy in the morning, I have tea or Coca Cola. This augments my Vyvance without pushing me into mania.

A tomato on a sandwich proved to be more of a problem. This morning I had nausea so bad that it broke through my Zofran. The technicolor yawn spilled out of my mouth like the larva came out of John Hurt’s chest in Alien. I handed my shirt and pants for processing over by Mami the maid, took a nuclear grade antibiotic that the tropical medicine specialist gave me, and took a long nap.

The plot that my psychiatrist and I hatched is working. I take two Tegretol first thing in the morning and two more later in the day. There are no visits from Tigger or Eeyore, no wild scenes with strangers. i keep calm under pressure from street vendors; “de-de” is very much a part of my vocabulary. (I have yet to say “Jok fe” which is “Go away”.) They are only trying to make a living.

London is an hour ahead of Dakar and Paris is two hours. We’ve already been to the city on the Thames; we’ve been through Paris twice, but our real visit there begins Sunday morning. I am proud of the fact that I have not lost my temper and raged against the cities. Even when I was pickpocketed (I got the wallet back) I accepted what happened and went on with my life. The trip is a success.