Things had been going along really well (hence the lack of posts) - so well that I took myself off the Desipramine a few weeks ago. Of late however, I've found myself easily confused and frustrated, moody, insatiably hungry, and a general pain in the ass to be around in the domestic setting.
Sally mentioned the Desipramine thing. I told her I stopped taking it because the neurologist prescribed it for my headaches, and I wasn't having the headaches anymore. Sally insisted that Doctor Wolverine also prescribed the Desipramine to aid the clarity of thinking - something I forgot - then listed a boatload of potential side effects of going off SSRI's. What were they? See above.
I still had the pills in case this kind of thing were to happen, so I'm taking them again. Man, do I hate popping pills... but I hate having a sucky life just a little more (and making an avoidably sucky life for those I love a lot more.)
The goal is to get my GP to ole the continuation of the Desipramine prescription so I don't have to go back to the neurologist again, since all they do is state the obvious and charge me a specialist's assload for the priviledge. More on that as it develops. I have about two weeks (standard ramp-up and ramp-down time for SSRI's) to figure out if the Desipramine gets me back to normal-ish, or if I'm authentically and permanently retarded.
Until then, I'll be scratching my head since the damned things make my skull itch. Grumble.
03 March 2008
17 January 2008
Discharged
At my Tuesday morning appointment, Steph asked how I was feeling and if I was dizzy. I told her I wasn't and that I felt fine. At that point, she said since my recovery from the relapse was so quick and so complete that she is confident that I can take myself the rest of the way back to 100% (I told her I was probably at 90% - 95% at the time.)
She wrote down a list of the eye execrises she wants me to keep doing and said that so long as I keep up with them and my normal exercise routine, I should be fine. Her words were something to the effect that she didn't feel like billing my insurance company for stuff she knows I can do (and have done) at home.
Physical therapists rock!
I have inched back into my normal exercise routine - even so far as to add back the pushups which started the whole "ping" incident. I'm not pushing myself at all (so to speak) - I started with 12 pushups and I'm adding one a day until it gets difficult. I was on 56 when the icepick went through my brain in August. I've been doing all the other exercises for a few weeks now after Steph gave me the go-ahead.
Things I need to remember - keep my head up and shoulders back. The reflexive reaction to a head-bonk is for the head to stay down and shoulders hunched forward in a protective mode... and since I've had eight of the damned things it's no wonder why I get around like a bummed-out Quasimodo. What I'm doing at the office is picking a spot down the hall ahead of me at eye level and locking in on it while I walk - the top of a picture frame, a coat hook, light fixture, what have you - just to keep my head up. The shoulders tend to fall in line when I keep my head at the right level, so that's a good thing.
I still have a touch of the the crowded-room concentration issue, but no more than I had before #8. I've resigned myself that I'm stuck with that. I still can't find words at times, but I don't get frustrated anymore... I guess I'm just used to it. I get tired a little easier than I did before #8, but not so bad that I can't work around it.
Of all things that helped my quick recovery after the holidays, I think the ridiculously heavy work schedule I have to maintain did me the most good. I have to do tons of detailed, concentration-heavy work (mostly for year-end local tax withholding reconciliations), and failure is not an option. My sense of responsibility kicked the lazies right out of my brain. It makes me a bit of a putz to deal with (sorry, Sally...), but once everything is filed I'll be all the better for it.
She wrote down a list of the eye execrises she wants me to keep doing and said that so long as I keep up with them and my normal exercise routine, I should be fine. Her words were something to the effect that she didn't feel like billing my insurance company for stuff she knows I can do (and have done) at home.
Physical therapists rock!
I have inched back into my normal exercise routine - even so far as to add back the pushups which started the whole "ping" incident. I'm not pushing myself at all (so to speak) - I started with 12 pushups and I'm adding one a day until it gets difficult. I was on 56 when the icepick went through my brain in August. I've been doing all the other exercises for a few weeks now after Steph gave me the go-ahead.
Things I need to remember - keep my head up and shoulders back. The reflexive reaction to a head-bonk is for the head to stay down and shoulders hunched forward in a protective mode... and since I've had eight of the damned things it's no wonder why I get around like a bummed-out Quasimodo. What I'm doing at the office is picking a spot down the hall ahead of me at eye level and locking in on it while I walk - the top of a picture frame, a coat hook, light fixture, what have you - just to keep my head up. The shoulders tend to fall in line when I keep my head at the right level, so that's a good thing.
I still have a touch of the the crowded-room concentration issue, but no more than I had before #8. I've resigned myself that I'm stuck with that. I still can't find words at times, but I don't get frustrated anymore... I guess I'm just used to it. I get tired a little easier than I did before #8, but not so bad that I can't work around it.
Of all things that helped my quick recovery after the holidays, I think the ridiculously heavy work schedule I have to maintain did me the most good. I have to do tons of detailed, concentration-heavy work (mostly for year-end local tax withholding reconciliations), and failure is not an option. My sense of responsibility kicked the lazies right out of my brain. It makes me a bit of a putz to deal with (sorry, Sally...), but once everything is filed I'll be all the better for it.
08 January 2008
Slight Relapse
The second week of Holiday Season was a bit too much activity for my fragile little brain to handle, apparently - as those of you who had the occasion to meet me just before or after New Year's may have noticed.
The most relaxing part of New Year's weekend for me was the New Year's Eve itself - the part where normal people jump around and act the ass (you may have noticed that I'm not normal). Sally and I spent the evening with Karen and Brian drinking many wines, watching much Twilight Zone, talking about everything and nothing and accidentally taking turns napping on their couches. Very good, indeed.
The rest of the time was wall-to-wall people. People I thoroughly enjoy spending time with - good people, fun people - just a whole lot of them all at the same time. I had a pretty severe Pudding moment on Saturday the 29th at Mom's and I think I'm still trying to recover. Of course, being a corporate accountant in late December and January doesn't exactly help move the needle on the old Rest-And-Relax-O-Meter, either.
My exercise program took it in the pants recently (as did my posting frequency), but I had my first regularly-scheduled PT session of 2008 today, and I'm going to try to get back up on that pony. I know he isn't, but it sure *feels* like he's bucking...
The most relaxing part of New Year's weekend for me was the New Year's Eve itself - the part where normal people jump around and act the ass (you may have noticed that I'm not normal). Sally and I spent the evening with Karen and Brian drinking many wines, watching much Twilight Zone, talking about everything and nothing and accidentally taking turns napping on their couches. Very good, indeed.
The rest of the time was wall-to-wall people. People I thoroughly enjoy spending time with - good people, fun people - just a whole lot of them all at the same time. I had a pretty severe Pudding moment on Saturday the 29th at Mom's and I think I'm still trying to recover. Of course, being a corporate accountant in late December and January doesn't exactly help move the needle on the old Rest-And-Relax-O-Meter, either.
My exercise program took it in the pants recently (as did my posting frequency), but I had my first regularly-scheduled PT session of 2008 today, and I'm going to try to get back up on that pony. I know he isn't, but it sure *feels* like he's bucking...
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