What I Learned On Vacation

We spent the last week at Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm. It was a fantastic trip, and I'm sad it's over. I found the vacation very educational, so I thought I would share with you some of the things I learned.

Anxiety Adventures: Part 6: Amazement

I'm about a month into my medication and I have already felt a difference. It sort of dawned on me last Saturday that, although I could have laid down and taken a nap, I just... wasn't that tired. This is like a miracle for me. I have spent nearly every single day for the last 15 years desperately wishing I could take a nap. 

Anxiety Adventures: A Long Side Note

I was lying in bed this morning thinking about all the various non-medicinal self-help things I've tried over the years to improve my life and/or relieve physical ailments and such, and I realized I've given a bunch of things a try. (I hadn't recognized my anxiety for what it is when I did most of these, and obviously none of them solved THAT for me, because my anxiety gets worse every year...)

Anxiety Adventures: Part 5: Side Effects

It's been a couple of weeks now on my new anxiety meds, and I've done the step-up to the normal dose for someone my size (my doctor tells me I'm "petite", did I mention that? Yeah. She does. So I guess I must be!! Take that, scale!!) which is 75 or something mg. each day.

Three Cool Things 1/20/14

Did you miss a weekly dose of three cool things? I sure didn't. I've been so busy with the holidays and recovering from the holidays and reading books and watching TV and washing laundry and reading other books that I hardly noticed I was neglecting my regular blog posts. I wanted to keep up on them, but somehow it just fell apart. 

Anxiety Adventures: Part 4: Attention, Please!

Anxiety is a funny beast, especially when mixed together with my personality, which craves attention and interaction. I am torn between wanting people to pay attention to me and wanting to melt into the back of the room. I hate it when no one comes to sit by me, but sometimes I like to be alone. Often I want to say something important, but I also want to keep my mouth shut so no one will look at me. 

Anxiety Adventures: Part 3: The First Week

Well, I've had a full week on 37.5mg of Effexor and I've experienced no major adverse side effects. I have had some mild headaches, but it's hard to tell if they're my normal headaches or due to the meds. I have had some mild nausea when my stomach gets empty, and also a little taste of insomnia the last two nights, though. I'm hopeful it won't last. Because today started the 75mg pills.

Other than that, I have nothing to report. No real positive effects yet, but I understand it can take 4-6 weeks to really feel a difference. 

I got an appointment with a Rheumatologist, but they can't get me in until July(!) which is ridiculous, so it will be a long time before we find out if I have an autoimmune disorder/disease/issue,  I guess. Which is annoying. There doesn't seem to be much I can do about that, though.

So the first week is past and life is about the same as it has been.