So as well as community pharmacy, my other passion is poetry. I tend to write either when I’m really happy or really sad- unfortunately usually the latter!

One of my favourite poems is one I wrote about Bipolar Disorder. I deal with a few patients with this as well as a close family member, so I am very well-versed!

It is a serious brain disease where the sufferer has extremes in moods- from the very high to the very low. The patient usually needs a mood stabiliser drug such as Lithium or Quetiapine. Various other medication can be added like antidepressants or antipsychotics tailored to each individual.

It can be a very debilitating disease if not managed well. However, patients can expect to live a fairly normal life if they stick with their medicine regimes and avoid triggers as much as they can.

So.. back to my poem! Here I am trying to envisage what it’s like having such a chaotic mind, where the chemical imbalance in the brain is causing erratic thoughts .. then the medication calms .. eventually the sufferer can see some kind of normality again. I hope my poem helps sufferers and their close ones too. You can do this!

The Bipolar World

The mind becomes a prism

Except the lines are not parallel

And no sides are equal

The blurred edges merge

Like seas with no definite edge

Water moves forward and back

Waves in constant motion

Every second is a spillage

Of the grey, an idea

That has no bounds

No one knows where

The senses are heading

To which sea,

Or to which

Edge of the shapeless day

The brilliance of the brain

Becomes a slave to

Meaningless thoughts

That bounce off the waves

Splashing against the prism.

Until the shape reforms

The edges straighten and

It floats, once again,

Calmly in the sea-healed ❤️

Let me know your thoughts on this!

Until the next time ..

R x

Caffeine is a drug. It has psychoactive properties, and is a stimulant, worth thinking about that when you crave that mug. It’s addictive- so the more you drink, the more you’ll want it. Coffee has the most caffeine content, then tea and then green tea.

It has side effects. When we check blood pressure in the pharmacy, we ask the patient if they’ve guzzled down any tea or coffee in the last few hours. It increases blood pressure in most people. It’s not clear how it does that, possibly by the release of more adrenaline in the body. So be aware of that, especially if you drink more than 3-4 cups of caffeinated drinks a day.

It also keeps you awake, and dehydrates your body. One of the first things we check for sleep hygiene is the over use of caffeine containing drinks.

Caffeine can also interfere with the absorption of some medication. Levothyroxine, a medication for an underactive thyroid is one example. Patients are advised to wait at least 60 minutes after taking the medication before drinking tea or coffee. It also affects some antibiotics.

Anyway, one interesting fact about coffee is that the most expensive variety comes from the poo of wild cats knows as Luwak. It’s harvested from the forests of Indonesia after the wild cats have eaten the coffee berry and then literally poo it out after internal fermentation. People happily drink it. I personally would not be able to get the kitty out of my head while I’m sipping but each to their own! I’m sorry if I’ve offended some die hard coffee lovers (and cat!) but this is just too gross for me.

I would like to end by saying we drink copious amounts of tea and coffee in the pharmacy, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to function. We are usually quite drugged up- on caffeine that is!

Meow.

Rifat x

Welcome to my first ever blog! I will write it just the way I do flat pack furniture- without reading the full instructions. Let’s see how it goes.

Go on a journey without a map and every second will be an adventure.

Rifat

Ok, that’s enough of cheesy quotes. My first post will be a test to see if I can actually manage to write AND post successfully!

A bit about me. I’m a mum of two teenaged boys.. and I do drugs. The legal kind. I’m a community pharmacist, who loves fashion and poetry, oh and a bit of painting.

Once I get the hang of all this, I hope to write something interesting. See you back here soon! Just wanted to end by saying my lovely friend Sara’s blog has encouraged me to start blogging – which I’ve wanted to do for a long time. So, thanks Doc!

Rifat x

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton