April 2013 – Creative Meanderings

Cipralexing Day 4 @15mg

Apr 292013

Thought it was time to do an update on the cipralex since I have not really focused on it lately.

I was sitting waiting for my pizza to be finished at work and realized that I definitely am not thinking about a trillion different things at once. Rather now it’s like hundreds – which is, believe or not, an improvement. I felt a little bit nauseous last night after I took the pill, so it is possible that some side effects are hitting me with the higher dosage, but in general I seem okay.

To be honest, I cannot say for sure that it has kicked in completely yet or not. I will have to get an outside opinion regarding my behavior as I think I haven’t necessarily felt less stressed from the meds, rather work has lightened up a little bit this week for me. So…perhaps the real test is whether or not I can get my head into my studies over the next 7 weeks and 3 days…!

Anyway, that’s the update for now. 😀

-T

Oddities in the Desert

Going Mental No Responses »

Apr 272013

Istanbul - Tulips originated in Turkey not in the Netherlands as commonly believed...07-Apr-2013 11:49, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.01 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa

It’s been a very strange year in the desert with the weather and shakings of the earth. It really makes me wonder what is going on in the environment and if perhaps the true end times are near (if you believe in that kind of thing).

For the past week the weather has gone from clear blue skies to grey and now today there is rain. Now, I am not the biggest fan of the extreme heat, but there is a reason why I live in this kind of climate – I hate rain!! So, what is going on here?

I suppose that I should not really complain given that the heat will surely come. It is still warm out strangely enough, just with rain. So, I will try to enjoy it and use the gloomy outside to motivate me inside to do some work. Yesterday, I organized articles and found some books that I can get from the library.

Today, I will try to read some of the articles before going out to relax in the afternoon with a bit of pampering. 😀

-T 😀

Upping the Dosage

Going Mental No Responses »

Apr 262013

So, I guess I got busy this week and it passed without me writing as much. I’d like to say it was because I was busy writing other things (ie my lit review chapter!), but alas that was not the case. It was just an extremely busy week at work that left me exhausted.

I slept in a bit this morning, which was good because I really need to ensure that I relax as much as I need to on the weekends if I am going to make it through the next two months. Speaking of, it is exactly two months away and I will be enjoying life in Oregon! Yahooooo!

Anyway, last night I took my first dosage of 15mg since it seemed that the 10mg was not going to be enough. I will see how that goes for a week or so. By the end of this week I should be really feeling and noticing the effects, but if not I will go another couple of weeks and perhaps even hit 20mg if I need to.

Generally speaking I am ok just tired more than anything these days. I am now going to try to get a little bit written to feel better about doing nothing the past three weeks. Good luck to me!

-T 😀

Cipralexing Day 3 @10mg

Going Mental No Responses »

Apr 222013

Surprisingly, I still feel fewer effects of the Cipralex with the higher dosage. It is good to not have the haziness, but I am not sure if it also means that I am calmer or if I am not as affected. I wanted to try staying at the 10mg for a while, but have to sort of see how we go with this dosage. It’s only been 3 days and a total of 8 or 9, so it is still early yet.

Anyway, this week has been strangely busy. I am hoping that it is not a lasting trend and just for the week. Part of it is an increase in work demands for the next two weeks and then maybe after that things will remain calm again. In the meantime, I gotta get my arse in gear with my literature review….Strange how I can be very consistent with my blog writing when it comes to needing to write my lit review…coincidence? Methinks not! It’s a good distraction. 😉

With that said, it is time to relax for the day and get ready for tomorrow!

-T 😀

Cipralexing Day 2 @10mg

Going Mental No Responses »

Apr 212013

Strangely, I feel less hazy on the higher dosage. Maybe by this afternoon that will change as I notice I do get a little bit more tired. In any case, no side effects that I can see so far and I think I am calmer, but can’t say for sure. I will just have to be more watchful.

Anyway, this weekend passed so quickly. I feel as if I still need another couple of days to rest at my own pace. Friday was good for that, but then yesterday got me a bit wound up again. So, hopefully that won’t stick.

This morning, I got up and used the treadmill again for the first time in a while. I’m thinking I may do a mix of the walking/running followed by a quick swim since the weather is rapidly heating up. I need to get myself back in shape at the very least before summer. That way I can feast while at home! Haha.

‘Tis all for now…

-T 😀

Turkey Trip March 30 – April 10, 2013

Photo Journeys No Responses »

Apr 202013

Turkey Trip March 2013Mar 31, 2013Photos: 778

Turkey Trip Updated

Going Mental 5 Responses »

Apr 202013

You may or may not have noticed that my April calendar has filled up for posts, which means that I have finished updating my posts on our Turkey trip. There are pics within the posts, or I will make a separate post with just the photo album. There are 778 pics in the album, so if you just want the highlights, I recommend just going to the posts. 😉

Our last free day in Istanbul was spent mostly shopping around and enjoying the last day there. Here are some pics of our purchases –

Istanbul - Found these absolutely adorable shoes!09-Apr-2013 19:24, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.333 sec, ISO 400

View at Picasa

Istanbul - My love09-Apr-2013 17:13, Apple iPhone 4S, 2.4, 4.28mm, 0.059 sec, ISO 500

View at Picasa

Istanbul - craziness! NuvaRing is less than 12USD per pack whereas it costs nearly 30USD in the US!!!09-Apr-2013 23:53, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.625 sec, ISO 400

View at Picasa

Istanbul - bought some spice to take back which was hard to find...09-Apr-2013 23:47, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.04 sec, ISO 200

View at Picasa

Some Grand Bazaar purchases...12-Apr-2013 10:56, Apple iPad mini, 2.4, 3.3mm, 0.042 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa

You might be curious about the boxes of NuvaRings. This is my preferred method of birth control and while it may be a little personal to blog about this, I think sharing this kind of information is important. While I normally pay something close to 30USD or more a box for the NuvaRing, I paid only about 9USD per box in Istanbul. So…what’s a girl to do, but get a year’s supply when the opportunity presents itself!? 😛 It’s really shocking to consider how much medicine is in the States, when it is so much more reasonable in other parts of the world…. Makes one a bit sick to think about the profit that is being made in the US….Anyway, no tangent on politics!

So, that was Turkey.

Today is also the first day of my Cipralexing @ 10mg. Other than a slight headache – probably from it -, I’m doing okay. I was thinking in the car today that I actually like the feeling quite a bit. It’s like being buzzed without the alcohol, which is how R once described it to me and he’s right. I am hoping I will get a bit more used to the haziness I feel, but otherwise I am definitely feeling calmer and my mind seems a bit more settled, if that makes any sense. We will see how we continue to go with the 10mg, but I may just stay with this for now. 🙂

-T 😀

Sleep of the Dead…

Going Mental No Responses »

Apr 192013

Thought a little change in title posts might be refreshing. 🙂

I finished Day 6 of the 5mg of Cipralex and took 10mg last night. I will write more about the uppage later.

Last night I was meant to go out with friends to another wine mixer, but after I got home from work I took a nap and woke up feeling just totally exhausted. It’s strange as I didn’t feel that tired before I took the nap. Still, I cancelled (sadly) and ended up sleeping on and off on the couch until about 11 when R woke me up to go to bed. Then, I got into bed – didn’t read or do anything – went back to sleep and didn’t stir again until almost 10am. So, I’m guessing I really needed to catch up on some sleep!

Today I feel okay. Not overly motivated to do much, though I desperately need to do some literature writing. So, I will try to get my head into it for a little bit. It may take me a little bit as I adjust to the meds, but hopefully I will then be able to work better soon.

Righty-o, ’tis all for now.

Happy weekend!

-T 😀

Cipralexing Day 5 @5mg

Going Mental No Responses »

Apr 172013

Eventually I will stop counting the days, I promise. However, for the time being it is good for me to keep track of the days as I build up my dosage. I’m not sure yet if I will stay on 10-15mg or go to 20mg. Hopefully, by the time I build to that I will have seen my therapist again….

In any case, the only change I really notice is the continued moments of haziness. It’s not all the time nor overly noticeable, but enough that I can sense something different. I can’t tell if I am calmer or not, but it is possible that I focus more….

Anyway, work has been fairly good so far considering the first week is usually tiring. I haven’t been to the gym or working out as I had hoped due to still not being 100% on the stomach bug and also the overall tiredness from the trip and probably the meds. So, I am hoping that this weekend I can get rested up and back on track – in between the socializing!

Well, that’s all for today!

-T 😀

Cipralexing Day 4 @5mg

Going Mental No Responses »

Apr 162013

Day 4 was the best day since I have been back from my trip. I think I am mostly recovered from the food poisoning and the three hour nap the day before along with an early sleep helped with the tiredness. So, it seems I am adjusting.

My head still gets hazy moments, mostly in the afternoons, so am hoping that is just a phase or I guess I will get used to it. I decided to do two more days on 5mg just to allow more time for my body to adjust. Not like there’s a rush in the timeline.

(Lost the rest of my post somehow…can’t remember what I wrote…oh well….)

-T

Older Entries

Enjoy this blog? Please spread the word :)