[giddykitty]

Hey folks!

I've been away for a long time, but am checking in again. Creating a thread, like some other members here do, so that it is just my current updates on my mental (and physical) issues and successes with my wellbeing. I know a lot of the check-in threads on here don't want to dwell on the issues and try to talk about other things, but a lot of that feels private for me and I also don't have a lot of time to come on here regularly to contribute to that anyway, so this thread is mainly a discussion on what's ailing me and, on the flip side, what have i been trying that has been sucessful and what needs more brainstorming.
There may be some day to day other topics mentioned here, but the primary theme is to address and try to solve things that are working or not working towards my personal wellbeing/health. Thanks!

P.s. also, there will be women related things too, hence why i chose this section.

[giddykitty]

Ok, so update 1-

So let's just kick this off with the topic of perimenopause. So, it seems that I might not actually be going through it, or maybe just hints of things to come, but it is definitely in the near future. Also, if i really do have ADHD, well, then, i could have started it as much as 7 years ago. So.

Well, let's look at some symptoms;

Actually as soon as i hit 40, i started having little bouts of dizziness. Ok, spinning is the better word. It didn't happen often, a grand total of maybe 3 or 4 times that year, maybe a little lightheadedness for the reat and maybe the next year, and the episodes only lasted a few minutes. Actually, half the time, i went back to sleep and woke up clear again.

But so that was new and different!

Then i started with the brain fog and memory fails (as i call them.) So brain fog is just that, feels hard to think and focus. The memory fails are those short term memory losses when i think of something i want to do next, usually in another room (although now it can be in the same room, but with a different action in between), and then i forget by the time i enter the room. Like i could literally be repeating the words in my head and by the time i reach there...ok, maybe i am not saying the words at that point, but the point is, i forget what i was doing, possibly if i actually did hang on to a word, i forget what it meant. And so i have to retrace my steps.

That is STILL ongoing and by the way, it was happening several times a day. Maybe now it is a little less, or i just forget about it.

That wasn't necessarily something new new (doesn't everyone forget things like that once in a while and retrace their steps?), but the frequency was something that brought it to my attention and gave me trouble.

Ok, so is this ADHD or perimenopause or what?

I have not exactly noticed any other physical symptoms... oh, no wait!

So like I have to pee a lot! Or rather, i have to get back on or sit for a longer time to get everything out. It was worst in the beginning. Now it seems mostly during my period or after I've had coffee and am sipping on water (so also before bed at night, when i have to take my nighttime meds.) I've been managing mostly now with the nighttime, although i am still awake for 30 to 60 minutes longer than i would like, because i have to pee again. But it has been a little less of a nuisance.

Also, i don't think i have hotflashes. But, with my erythromelalgia, i mean, those are hot flares on my like hands and feet (which thankfully has been better) but can also make me feel hot all over...ok, still, i don't think that is the same as hot flashes. But, i have been noticing the temperature fluctuations during my cycle, and that was new in my mind. I was never aware that my body was heating up or could i feel it/notice it, until i was in my 40s. Um, so new? Although, i still think I'd rather bundle up more in those times than take layers off or need the icebox. That is still something to look into more closely. I know prior to my 40s, i was bundling up on my periods...then again, i was also not on the IUD and was feeling way sick from the cramps. Ahhhh!

Ah yes! The IUD. So i don't suppose that would jumpstart perimenopause? Actually i think it does the opposite, right? Or slows down the symptoms... Anyway that is new. It has been a pain at times (ok not physical pain but mental and frustrating) because my period length has increased. But the cramps are mostly gone, and oh what a HUGE relief! Like omg, i cry just recalling how much pain i used to be in. I cry imagining it ever coming back, it was that bad. So i hope this stays as it is. (God, please!) But yeah, like between pms and the period, that now takes almost 3/4 of the month. 🤦*♀️ (*facepalms, if the emoji doesn't work.)

Ok that's enough. I actually get really nervous talking about that period and IUD because it was so awful! *cries

I want to end this positively, but can't think anymore now. Also a little nervous about the reactions this gets, because i haven't been on here in a while and a couple of times, i think i just caught people on a bad day or something and have had tension. I dont want that, for any of us.

So yeah. Actually all of that isn't what brought me here today, but now i think i have to save that for another day. Ha!

[Tart Cherry Jam]

Which IUD are you wearing?

For dizziness, there is a medication called Betahistine, which you can order with a US prescription sent to a Canadian mail order pharmacy. The medication is widely used in Britain (you can read about it on the website of the NHS) and continental Europe, too, but it was banned in the US many decades ago because of insufficient evidence. It is not expensive to order it from Canada, so if you continue being bothered by dizziness, it's at least worth a try to see if it helps you. The side effects profile is really benign.