Good news, everyone! · 3:57pm Mar 11th, 2014
I have just built a time machine out of scraps of metal that Bender left lying round after the last time he didn't get drunk!... Wait, no, that's not it.
No, but seriously, I have gotten my prescription medications again. Why does this matter, you may ask? Well, I assume that since you're reading my blog, you probably want me to finish one of my unfinished stories one of these days. I have a sleep disorder -- the doctors call it "chronic hypersomnia", which is Science for "you sleep too much and we have no idea why." It's not quite narcolepsy, but close. And the meds I use to treat it, as well as every over-the-counter stimulant known to man (this includes coffee, tea and coca-cola), raise my blood pressure... so when I have no health insurance and can't get any of my meds, the rest is my blood pressure's too high, I can't take stimulants, and I can barely stay awake and functional long enough to do my job.
When I was properly medicated I was writing about 2K words a day. Without my meds I wrote... nothing. A few blog posts, a history of the three avatars as told by Zecora (god she is a pain in the ass, although the results are really cool when they're done right), and about a page and a half of a conversation between Discord and Pinkie Pie in which he reveals that a carriage insurance company has been trying to recruit him to do commercial spots talking about how chaotic and uncertain life is and how much ponies ought to buy insurance just in case. Also in which I totally mock the "Discord gave flowers to Celestia but she threw them in his face and that's why he became chaotic evil" meme. And... that's it. For about three weeks. If I hadn't had the really nasty parts of "Elements of Opposition" written ahead, in January, waiting for the more hopeful stuff to catch up with it, I'd have had nothing.
My meds give me terrible headaches and when I first go on them after being off them for a while they dehydrate me completely (the reason I have high blood pressure is the horde of desert elves in my cells storing buckets and buckets of water just in case I ever move to the planet Vulcan... seriously was there a reason I needed seven frickin' pounds of water to be held in reserve in my legs and feet? My body is stupid. My blood pressure meds are the kind that beat the water-hoarding elves over the head with a stick and make me pee seven pounds of water in three days. This isn't helping my headache much.) So I haven't stabilized yet. But I figure in a couple of days I will finally feel capable of concentrating and being focused on writing again, at which point I have a giant backlog of stories to write the next pieces of.
Damn, lady. That sound super-rough. How's it go juggling everything/one else as well?
Fluid build-up is never fun.
My wife has fibromyalgia, which is good because if she had chronic muscle pains it would probably force her to be on painkillers every day of her life. Oh, wait -- she does and it does.
So I can sympathize with your plight. And yeah, renaming a condition in Classical languages doesn't actually do anything to cure it.
Glad you're on meds now -- mainly because you seem a nice lady and I like you, and also because I like your writing.
I'm sorry about your sleep disorder, hope your headaches decrease over time after your body accustoms to your meds. If you can't take any strong stimulants you could always try tea.
And don't worry about the updates, it's not like it's an obligation or anything, it's just plain fun and health is always the top priority. Just write when you feel like it. Get well soon
I have insomnia - if we get our powers combined... (we won't summon Captain Planet) ...but we could have a normal sleep schedule, yes?
Is a good thing you got meds for that, but these are some real nasty side-effects.
I'm curious what you take! I take Vyvanse for the ADHD and Lamictal and Depakote for the bipolar Cyclothmia, OCD, and anxiety.
1918118
Wellbutrin and Nuvigil. The Nuvigil's directly for the sleep disorder; the Wellbutrin's an antidepressant, but it focuses more on restoring energy and drive rather than actual mood. It doesn't mess with serotonin, it works with dopamine and norepinephrine.
Well I'm glad you finally got your meds, though I'm sorry it's gonna be rough sailing until you get re-accustomed to them. But at least now you can feel the joys of writing to help you through the throbbing head pain... maybe.
But don't worry about deadlines of any sort.
1918141 I was on Zoloft and Prozac before my new doctor realized the last two I had were idiots, considering he specializes in neurochemistry. The moment he realized I have bipolar instead of unipolar depression he instantly put me on Lamictal and Depakote. It could explain why I have such bad memory, considering I've been on the wrong meds my whole life and they've fucked everything up. After two years I'm starting to get to some line known as normal.
Just watch out, as Wellbutrin is known as the Happy and Horny pill for a reason. You don't want to be manic on that sucker, but I know what the lack of a drive is like. Problem is I got so many conditions all the drugs are trying to work together to keep me stable. Vyvanse absolutely helps on that end. http://www.crazymeds.us/pmwiki/Meds/Wellbutrin Is a general summary of it that the doctors don't always tell you. My therapist recommended me the site. He's awesome like that.
I can tell you without the Vyvanse I sleep ten or eleven hours a day and feel awful. With it I sleep seven to nine and feel great. It is a life saver for energy, and I need it to cancel out the other two drugs in strength anyways. Lamictal and Depakote put me to sleep at night. Cycle of drugs. Yum yum.