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So, I've been on here about my health before, and I thought I'd give an update.
General Anxiety Disorder and Panic Disorder: I had one pretty 'off' day, where I had a panic attack in front of my English teacher. He was pretty cool about the whole thing, which was especially helpful. I also had one going into Grand Rapids.
Both times I just used my inhaler--got it for bronchitis a few months ago, still have puffs left, helps with my 'I can't breathe' panic attack variant. I view it as a way to tell my brain I'm not dying--and moved on. The second time I also had to read a book for a while--I've realised my love of reading was partially a coping mechanism for my life-long anxiety.
Depression: I had some problems before I switched meds, but Lamictal and Zoloft seem to have mostly covered this. I very, very rarely have 'nope, not getting out of bed' days.
People have mentioned things like how the meds have changed me, but I think they've uncovered who I am under the disorders. From what I understand, a lot of how I act now--outgoing, not-shy, borderline-offensive with foot-in-mouth disorder--is how I acted before I had my first panic attack.
I have noticed a very odd change--I feel like I'm becoming more of a 'girl' emotionally. I know that's a patriarchal term, and I think I'm just becoming more emotionally available, but gore bothers me a lot more, and I find media can push me to strong emotion--largely tears--significantly easier. Here's a list of media that I cried at before medication: (over years)
Click
Dollhouse's finale
Marley and Me
13 Reasons Why
After (just in the past few weeks)
Bioshock (twice)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Arthritis: I have a ton of braces now. An ankle brace, and several elastic wraps, for my knees and other ankle if the pain spreads. Between that and the Ultram, I do pretty well--though I think I'm starting to develop a tolerance for Ultram.
Celiac: A lot of my recovery has to do with going off gluten. People keep congratulating me on this huge achievement, and I'm kinda "yeah, I miss fries every now and then, but I don't sleep 16 hours a day."
I found I've improved:
Sleep: I sleep 4-6 hours now, wake up without an alarm 90% of the time--though I still set it just in case. I know it's quite the opposite from 16, and I wish I knew why, but since I wake without an alarm, I figure that's just my body saying it's done sleeping.
Focus: I don't lose words as often--I once had to try an order a chocolate frosty without remembering the words "frosty" "chocolate" "shake" "ice cream." It was a fun time. I'm also more focused, but not by much.
Pain: excluding last week, which I can kinda blame on stress (finals) and weather (pressure changes), my pain stopped 'spreading' after I went off gluten. I have arthritis in my left ankle, and pain in my jaw, but when on gluten the pain would climb up to my knee, and even jump to my other leg, and I'd get constant headaches.
My gastrointestinal system was always screwed, but now it's not. (Imagine that. a food allergy messing with my gastrointestinal system.) I remember thinking there had to be some sort of connection with what I was eating and how gassy I'd get, as I'd always get gassy on days when I'd get breakfast at burger king on my way to school, but just ignoring it.
I was very skeptical about going gluten-free, but it did actually work. It didn't make all the above issues vanish, but it was exacerbating all of them.
So, if anyone is dealing with any of these issues, I'd be happy to talk about what helped me. I know I'm not everyone--especially considering how different brains are--but maybe there's something you can use.
General Anxiety Disorder and Panic Disorder: I had one pretty 'off' day, where I had a panic attack in front of my English teacher. He was pretty cool about the whole thing, which was especially helpful. I also had one going into Grand Rapids.
Both times I just used my inhaler--got it for bronchitis a few months ago, still have puffs left, helps with my 'I can't breathe' panic attack variant. I view it as a way to tell my brain I'm not dying--and moved on. The second time I also had to read a book for a while--I've realised my love of reading was partially a coping mechanism for my life-long anxiety.
Depression: I had some problems before I switched meds, but Lamictal and Zoloft seem to have mostly covered this. I very, very rarely have 'nope, not getting out of bed' days.
People have mentioned things like how the meds have changed me, but I think they've uncovered who I am under the disorders. From what I understand, a lot of how I act now--outgoing, not-shy, borderline-offensive with foot-in-mouth disorder--is how I acted before I had my first panic attack.
I have noticed a very odd change--I feel like I'm becoming more of a 'girl' emotionally. I know that's a patriarchal term, and I think I'm just becoming more emotionally available, but gore bothers me a lot more, and I find media can push me to strong emotion--largely tears--significantly easier. Here's a list of media that I cried at before medication: (over years)
Click
Dollhouse's finale
Marley and Me
13 Reasons Why
After (just in the past few weeks)
Bioshock (twice)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Arthritis: I have a ton of braces now. An ankle brace, and several elastic wraps, for my knees and other ankle if the pain spreads. Between that and the Ultram, I do pretty well--though I think I'm starting to develop a tolerance for Ultram.
Celiac: A lot of my recovery has to do with going off gluten. People keep congratulating me on this huge achievement, and I'm kinda "yeah, I miss fries every now and then, but I don't sleep 16 hours a day."
I found I've improved:
Sleep: I sleep 4-6 hours now, wake up without an alarm 90% of the time--though I still set it just in case. I know it's quite the opposite from 16, and I wish I knew why, but since I wake without an alarm, I figure that's just my body saying it's done sleeping.
Focus: I don't lose words as often--I once had to try an order a chocolate frosty without remembering the words "frosty" "chocolate" "shake" "ice cream." It was a fun time. I'm also more focused, but not by much.
Pain: excluding last week, which I can kinda blame on stress (finals) and weather (pressure changes), my pain stopped 'spreading' after I went off gluten. I have arthritis in my left ankle, and pain in my jaw, but when on gluten the pain would climb up to my knee, and even jump to my other leg, and I'd get constant headaches.
My gastrointestinal system was always screwed, but now it's not. (Imagine that. a food allergy messing with my gastrointestinal system.) I remember thinking there had to be some sort of connection with what I was eating and how gassy I'd get, as I'd always get gassy on days when I'd get breakfast at burger king on my way to school, but just ignoring it.
I was very skeptical about going gluten-free, but it did actually work. It didn't make all the above issues vanish, but it was exacerbating all of them.
So, if anyone is dealing with any of these issues, I'd be happy to talk about what helped me. I know I'm not everyone--especially considering how different brains are--but maybe there's something you can use.
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