Oh my, YES! It is a miracle drug, & has changed my life! My family sees a HUGE difference as well, & it’s the 1 medication my family feels is essential for me to take! I don’t know how my family or I survived w/o it before!

I think it has depression & anxiety meds in it, becuz when I feel it wear off in the evening or if I take the 2nd dose too late in the evening, I get weepy…&. also since it wears off over night, I’m very weepy & anxious in the mornings, until I take it. I have learned to not trust my emotions if we run out & I miss a few doses, becuz I get angry or sad very easy. The world seems “grayer” too, & I can feel numb to happiness.

Before the PBA medication, I had a hard time going places because of the emotions it’d trigger, & it was frustrating that I couldn’t control it. So, I completely stopped attending baptisms & funerals, & in order to attend the LDS temple, where I’d feel so close to God, I needed a priesthood blessing for strength to control my emotions! (In the LDS church, the priesthood is the power and authority of God here on the earth, which is given to worthy males, who can, in time, perform blessings for others.)

I had to “de-sensitize” myself so I didn’t feel the spirit in public, or I’d start to not just cry, but wail, as my PBA made me very extreme on emotions like happiness & sadness, though my anger is extreme too. I’d get super upset at members of my family for stupid things, or I’d wail if I felt proud of my kids, which must’ve been so embarrassing for my family! It was just horrible, & any anxiety (like worrying about how I’d react) just made it worse.

My legs shake every now & then, for about 3 seconds, every 10 seconds for 1 hour–though I’ve had it last longer, & gotten shin splints from running a marathon horizontally! 🙂 Usually the shaking leg is just an annoyance, but it hurts bad with shin splints or if it gives me a Charlie Horse.”

It usually occurs in bed, but it has occurred at church, at the movies, at my computer…often it is anywhere I should be still for a long period of time. And it almost always alternates legs, so I may only get shin splints on 1 leg at a time! I assume it is like restless leg syndrome, & usually is just extremely annoying, but even if it hurts, it worth taking the meds! Yes, PBA is THAT BAD! Lol

My anxiety seems to make it get worse if I focus on trying to make them stop. The doctors also tried to make me stop, by giving me muscle relaxers at night, but that affected me the next day (I was too tired & didn’t have the strength to lift my arm, feed myself, sign, or speak vocally). It was HORRIBLE! So, we just deal with it!

I start horse therapy in September, & I’m actually a bit scared, which is weird cuz I wasn’t even phased when I started it. My best guess is cuz the saddle was MUCH harder than the pad I started with, & I know I’ve lost strength, so I’m a little freaked, yet also excited to get my strength back! I just hope I use the pad at 1st, instead of the saddle! lol But what helps most is my confidence in my therapist—I know she’ll take good care of me!

My dad & mom ordered me the iGallop, which simulates horseback riding, but it hasn’t come yet,& I wish I’d had it before horse therapy ended, so I could retain my strength better. Luckily though, Angie’s son give me pretty good therapy practice which has helped me retain some strength, but not as much endurance.

We eat out, see movies, shop, “walk” the mall, attend the theater (usually to see musicals, though we have seen other stuff, like a comedian) attend church activities, listen to audio books, attend educational seminars (which I enjoy, since I finally get some educational enlightenment), attend state fairs, rodeos, museums, concerts, play card games, watch YouTube, browse the internet, read the scriptures. We do many of these things as a family (some family activities are silly, like an annual pancake cook-off or “themed” dinners, & some more serious, like “FHE”–time once a week to gather as a family for “Family Home Evening” & we can share our spiritual side).

We also do stuff alone. Like I journal, organize things, scrapbook, and do things on my computer or iPad, indoors, while mk does woodworking, & enjoys many outdoor activities, like he puts on amazing firework shows, hikes, camps, plays tennis, & plays paintball–though our kids are usually involved in these activities!