1) A lazy girls’ weekend
Last weekend was pretty good! Bri and I hit the road for Orlando on Saturday morning and got to Jackie’s just in time to love on her pets and then drive to a really cool Asian market for dim sum. It was my first time having dim sum and it was… fine. Asian food isn’t my favorite because I’m the pickiest eater ever, but I’m glad I tried it! Afterward, I made everyone go to The New Romantics bookstore where I proceeded to buy three books without taking a beat. The rest of the day was lazy! I did a lot of reading, Bri and I took Jackie’s dog Pascal on a walk, and I tried to figure out ways to steal her cat Tootles. In the evening, we went to a cute Italian restaurant for dinner.
On Sunday, we were up early to get breakfast before driving to an alpaca farm! We did a painting event that was a lot of fun, but truly the best part was that baby alpacas got to roam around the fenced-in area with us. They got into so much trouble! Trying to steal paintbrushes and water bottles and knocking down the instructor’s easel. Naughty, naughty! We got to feed them treats and touch their surprisingly soft noses and it was everything we could have wanted!
After our alpaca painting adventure, we came back to Jackie’s, packed up, and hit the road for home. I was back home by 2:30 and napping by 3, ha.
2) Medical news of the week
We’re winding down the doctor’s appointments, but I still have some medical news to share! Last week, I did my nerve conduction study and learned my carpal tunnel pain is considered “moderate” on a scale of mild to severe. Yesterday, I had a follow-up appointment with the orthopedic, where we discussed surgery. From what the doctor told me, recovering from carpal tunnel surgery is fairly quick (some people are back at work the next day!) and getting the surgery done before my condition is severe will also help with recovery time. I haven’t scheduled the surgery yet (waiting to get a call from the surgical coordinator), but I think I will move forward with it. It’s not like the carpal tunnel pain is going to get better without surgery. And I met my deductible for the year so why not?!
3) Breaking records
It’s been a wild time in Florida, as we’ve been breaking some long-standing heat records. First, on Sunday, we broke a record that has stood since 1890 – a temperature of 100 degrees recorded! Normally, our actual temps stay around the low 90s, but with the humidity (often 70-90%), it always feels much, much hotter. Then, on Tuesday, we broke another record with a heat index of 119 degrees. I did not experience those temps myself since I don’t live in Tampa proper (I’m in the coastal city of St. Petersburg, where our heat is a little lower thanks to the ocean breeze). It is still disgustingly hot, which means I’m staying inside as much as possible, blasting my AC, and trying not to think too much about how high my electric bill is going to be.
This intense heat is also making me very nervous about hurricane season. So far, so good, but the real test is late August – mid October, so keep your fingers crossed for us!
4) Mental health
My mental health has been on the struggle bus this week. I’m not having spiraling thoughts like I normally do, but I have this constant feeling of dread that refuses to go away. It’s manifesting with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I feel really irritable and I’ve had the hardest time focusing on work this week (which is really unfortunate since it’s end of month and I have so much to do!). And I’ve been crying a lot, which is SO unlike me.
I’ve been trying to figure out the root cause of this anxiety.
Is it my recent hyperfixation with Superman? Seriously, you guys, my whole personality is Superman, David Corenswet, and the cast’s press tour. My IG feed is now broken because that’s all I’m being served now. All of it brings me a lot of joy, but I’m also a bit overstimulated.
Is it a really sad situation happening with a family member? I feel very emotional and helpless about what’s happening to them.
Orrr… could it be birth control? I started hormonal birth control on Sunday, so the timing works out. I did some light Googling and this birth control paired with Prozac can mess with mood disorders and even lead to serotonin syndrome.
I was feeling so anxious on Wednesday night that I took my first dose of the fast-acting anxiety medication my psychiatrist prescribed for me (propranolol). It’s a medication that only works on the physical symptoms of anxiety, and I can’t say I felt much of a difference, but I think it helped a little. My next step is to reach out to my psychiatrist to explain what’s going on and get her advice about the birth control. I’d much, much rather have a few days of really shitty period cramps/heavy bleeding than deal with this level of anxiety. Ugh.
5) Weekend plans
I have some good weekend plans ahead of me, which should hopefully help with my mood. Today, I am getting a massage in the late afternoon, and then maybe I’ll do some retail therapy. I’m not sure! Saturday is my writing date with Mikaela and afterward, my mom and I have appointments to finally get TSA Pre-Check (woop!). And Sunday, I have zero plans. There’s a part of me that wants to go see Superman again, so maybe I’ll do that.
How’s the weather where you are? What are your weekend plans?
I’m so sorry you’re having trouble with your anxiety. It is possible it’s birth control related, which is a total bummer. I know you really wanted help with those nasty periods and cramps! But it might not be worth it to feel that way. The timing does feel suspicious. Then again, maybe it’s Superman? I have not seen it but the guys did and thought it was great. And apparently both of my nieces cried through the whole thing.
OMG 119 heat index! Yesterday it was 35 C (I think that’s about 95F) and the humidity is low, and it felt very hot! I can’t imagine the swamp-like feelings you must have at those temperatures!
I think you’re very smart to consider the surgery sooner than later. After all, things aren’t going to get magically better from here!
ALPACAS OH MY GODDDDDD
I am dead now, dead from the cuteness.
Have a great weekend. BIRCHIE GETS HERE TODAY! I’m so excited!
It is very, very swamp-like with our humidity. It basically just feels like sitting in a sauna at all times, and I hate it very much.
Superman really did a number on me! I was not expecting that from a superhero movie, lol.
I wish I could wave a magic wand and teleport you up to BC for a girls’ weekend with Nicole.
Gah, the birth control timing is suspicious. Overall the pill has been a godsend for both birth control and for eliminating PMS issues, but I did have a bad experience with one particular pill and mood once. It was a dark month.
On a brighter note, the carpal tunnel surgery sounds like a win. One problem completely off the list.
You will love precheck. It’s only hard to set up the first appointment, and after that you can just renew it online.
I am chalking it up to the birth control. I stopped taking the BC on Saturday and today is the first day I woke up and didn’t feel the crushing weight of despair and hopelessness. Progress! I do have some extra medication on the way since I scheduled an emergency appointment with my psychiatrist, so hopefully that will help, too.
The pre-check appointment was a breeze! And we got approved quickly. So yay for that!
I’m sorry to hear you’ve been feeling rough. I would definitely reach out to your psychiatrist to get their thoughts on the interaction of your meds with bc. It does seem like bc could be the culprit. I will say that so far my experience w/ my IUD has been easy peasy. I haven’t had much spotting and this will be my first true period since getting it so it will be interesting to see how it goes.
Your girls weekend sounded delightful! How fun that you’ve become such good friends with Bri’s bestie!
Surgery sounds promising and yes, get it in this fall since you met your deductible already! I ended up taking next Tuesday off because I had 2 dr appts (IUD check and my 6-month rheum appt). So I decided to add a skin cancer check to round out the day. Nothing like a fun day of adulting…
I’m pretty sure birth control was the culprit. It really messed me up! I stopped taking it on Saturday and today is the first day I woke up and felt almost like myself again. I was in a dark place. Sooo… time to figure something else out for my terrible periods! I don’t even feel like trying a different oral birth control pill because of what I went through. Might be time to consider an IUD!
Alpaca’s!!!! Sooooo cute.
I had so many issues with birth control. It was never-ending. I tried for almost two decades to control my heavy periods with birth control (various pills, IUD, Nuvaring) and they all gave me so many issues. Breakthrough bleeding, back pain, anxiety/depression, sore breasts. Finally…FINALLY…I just said I cannot try anymore and was going to get a hysterectomy (in the end going with an ablation). That said, I know so many women that have wonderful results from BC with zero side effects. And I also know people who switched from pills to the ring or to an IUD and found it worked great where one form of BC didn’t. It’s so tricky and from experience I know it can take a long, frustrating amount of time to sort it all out, but I have faith you’ll get there! I know you don’t want to go the ablation route because of the impact to potential pregnancy long-term, but down the road, as an n=1 personally, it has been one of the best decisions of my life.
FWIW, having tried just about everything, in terms of hormonal BC, the Nuvaring was the form that impacted me the least. Not saying this would at all be the case for you, but throwing it out there as something to try!!!
I am pretty sure I can chalk up the depressive episode to birth control. I stopped taking it on Saturday and by Thursday, finally started to feel like myself again. Oof. Now I’m unsure what to do about my periods. Maybe try an IUD, but I do not want to keep trying hormonal birth control options when this one affected me so terribly.
Yeah… it sounds like the birth control, but who knows. I agree- it’s not worth it if you’re going to be depressed and anxious like this. So annoying when you’re trying to fix one problem, and it just causes another one to crop up. BUT. I do think the carpal tunnel surgery is a good thing- I’ve only heard positive
things about it. It would be nice to get that one thing solved, at least.
Your lazy weekend sounds so great! Who would have thought of alpaca painting… ha ha. That photo is so funny.
I hope you enjoyed your massage and that it helped you relax!
The man who owns the alpaca farm came to hang out with us for a while and he had so many great insights on why they do so many fun events at their farm. It makes a lot of sense! They also do yoga and making cookies and so many other things. Such a great idea!
Oh my gosh– that’s what my terrible hormonal anxiety sounds like– the feeling of dread! From nowhere! I hate that! I also HATE HATE HATE hot temps. We have had a few humid days in the upper 90s, and I definitely stayed inside and made it 65 degrees in my house.
The feeling of dread is the WORST. Especially when you have no idea where it is coming from! I’m sorry you deal with it, too. 🙁
Thank heavens for good AC during these hot summer days!
Those mood swings/anxiety bouts sound really scary. I hope you can figure out what is causing this. So exhausting.
My weekend plan got canceled Thursday night and both the husband and I were secretly so so happy since we both just needed and wanted a weekend of nothing. So that is what we did. Sleep in, breakfast at 4pm and in between reading, blogging, tending to my plants, sitting in the sun.
I am pretty sure birth control messed with my hormones BIG TIME. I stopped taking it on Saturday and was pretty much back to normal by Thursday. It was a dark time, though, and I am nervous to try any other hormonal birth control options now.
A weekend of nothing sounds delightful!
The weather seems to be crazy everywhere. It’s non-stop raining in Germany this summer, you’re beating heat records in FL (and I don’t envy your humidity) and here in California…. July has actually been on the mild side and I am not complaining! We’ve barely hit the triple digits a few times and July has mostly been below average. That doesn’t mean it won’t get hot in August/September LOL but at least we don’t have the humidity on top of that.
I am sorry you’ve been dealing with anxiety. I know it’s so hard to pinpoint what is causing what when you’re also taking medications for different things. Are you keeping a symptom journal?
I’m glad you guys are getting some mild weather! Hopefully that means a reduced risk of wildfires. Your state needs a break!
I don’t keep a symptom journal, although that’s a really great idea.
Ugh, I’m sorry you’re suffering, but agree you that talking to your doctor about your BC RX. Maybe a different prescription will give you the relief you need and not cause side effects. Just like looking for the right anti-anxiety medication is a journey, this may be as well. Hang in there.
I’m sorry it has been so hot there! Sometimes it gets up to 110 – 120 here (rarely) but it’s dry so it’s a completely different animal. Thank goodness for a/c, and I’m sorry about your electric bill. Our summer so far has been mild, though it’s suppose to heat up a bit soon.
The humidity really kills me in the summer. It just makes everything feel so HEAVY. Gah. I am ready for a cooldown, but that’s not happening until November at the earliest. Oh well! The price I pay for mild weather from November – April!
I hope your awesome weekend plans lift you out of the mood spirals, Stephany. And I’m glad to hear you have a responsive doctor and a medicative safety net too.
Your pictures from the past week brought a smile to my face, and I hope they make you smile as you look back on them too!
Thank you, friend! I was very happy to get an emergency appointment with my psychiatrist when things got bad. The new birth control definitely messed things up in my brain!
Your girls weekend sounds amazing. I want to spend time with a baby alpaca. Jealous!
I am glad you are doing the surgery. You are right that it likely won’t just get better!
Geesh, I am sorry about the level of anxiety 🙁 I hope you can figure it out. I wonder if your body will get used to the birth control like how it has to adjust to anxiety meds or if you’ll have to go off it 🙁
I stopped taking the birth control. I just couldn’t handle how depressed it was making me. I came very close to going to the ER, that’s how bad it got. But on Thursday, I finally started feeling like myself (stopped taking BC on Saturday), so I am pretty sure it was the BC that caused the depression. Oof.
Holy cow! I am so glad you stopped and are already feeling better!!!!
OK, now I regret my probably overly-detailed and cautious text re: the surgery. That said, I would not count on being ready to go back to work the next day – or, if you do, take it easy! (In other words, do as I say, not as I do!)
I’m SO sorry about the BC causing the anxiety/depression spiral. That sucks. I hope you can find a solution for your periods that does not affect your mood. Did your psychiatrist have any insights?