Helth

Mental Health

Urge Surfing: Helpful for overcoming the urge to doomscroll.

My Experiences on Different Mental Health Medications:

Buproprion XL 150-300mg/SR 100mg: My first and longest medication. I took it for 5 years. It helped me focus on my digital art and pull my life back together during a very difficult time. This plus special interest allowed me to draw for hours at a time. Reduced my appetite, which was dangerous for me at that time. However, eating became easier when I wasn't stressed from other factors. After a few years, the muscle spasms and jerkiness set in. I'm sensitive to that sort of thing, so I stopped. Switching to a lower dose of SR gave me annoying blurry eyes, presumably because SR gives you more medication at one time than XL does. Increases anxiety, but makes it easier to get up in the morning.
Hydroxyzine 15-25mg: Eepy. Reduces anxiety, increases drowsiness, but not in a way that's immediately noticeable. Incompatible with other antihistamines like cetirizine, as combining antihistamines can lead to antihistamine toxicity.
Mirtazipine 15-30mg: My beloved! Helps me eat, helps me sleep, even at my larger dose of 30 mg. I noticed few antidepressant effects. Unique in that a smaller dose makes you sleepier, but a larger dose works better for eating and antidepressant effects. First starting on it felt like there was lead in my legs.
Quetiapine 25mg (?): Don't remember the exact dosage, but I suspect it was low, as I'd just started it. Lead-in-legs. It made me too sleepy, all the time, and for that I stopped it pretty quickly.
Adderall IR 5-10mg: Named as such because the generic name is too long. Instant release made me feel blessedly normal and quiet in my brain for 20 minutes or so. Almost tired. My body stopped twitching, and I was able to listen to a friend's story without staring around or shifting too much. Felt it less the second time I took it.
Atomoxetin HCl 18-25mg: Helps me focus, although it doesn't help with energy.
Gabapentin 100mg: Prescribed since I can't take hydroxyzine anymore, and I find it about as effective. More euphoric. Easier to feel, and quicker to set in. A higher dose will send me to sleep and make me loopy when I wake up, but this hasn't been true for smaller doses.

Physical Health

My Symptoms and Attempted Treatments

A catalogue of all unresolved symptoms. Symptoms that have a known cause and have been treated satisfactorily will go at the bottom.

Eyes
Symptom	Frequency	Intensity	Triggers	Attempted Treatments	How Long I've Had It
Blurry vision	1 day/month	Mild	Buproprion, tiredness	Stopping Buproprion	11 months (October 2024)
Photosensitivity	7 days/week	Moderate	Bright colors, flashing lights, scrolling on websites	Avoiding triggers, staying in a well-lit place	11 months (October 2024)
Photopsias	3 days/week	Mild	Going from a light environment to a dark one, using my phone at night	Using dark mode, staying in a well-lit place during the day	11 months (October 2024)
Poor visual processing	7 days/week	Moderate	Tiredness	Adequate eating and sleeping	Birth
Nystagmus	1 day/2 weeks	Mild	Tiredness		Birth

Mouth and Throat
Symptom	Frequency	Intensity	Triggers	Attempted Treatments	How Long I've Had It
Pain below ears	7 days/week	2/10	Wearing over-ear headphones or earbuds, touching my tonsils	Avoiding triggers	4 years
Gum sensitivity	7 days/week	4/10	Sugary foods, cold foods, water flossing	Avoiding triggers	>3 years
Overgrown gums	7 days/week		Brushing too aggressively, eating chips	Avoiding triggers	Birth
Sore throat	1 day/week	2/10	Mouth-breathing, talking for long periods	Lemon tea, honey, omeprazole	2 years
Tonsil stones	4 days/week	Moderate-severe	Dry mouth, using alcohol mouthwash	Flushing with syringe, gargling saltwater/peroxide, extraction via gagging motion and finger/q-tip	>8 years
Tonsil swelling	4 days/week	1/10	Dry mouth, touching my tonsils	Avoiding triggers, gargling salt water/peroxide	>2 years
Tonsil bleeding	3 days/week	Mild	Touching tonsils, gargling aggressively		>2 years
Post-nasal drip	7 days/week		Cold weather, sugar, dairy	Hocking loogies every five minutes, hot showers/steam, cetirizine, fluticasone propionate	8 years (2017)
Wheezing	1 day/week	Mild	Exercise, laying supine with neck flexed or extended, talking for long periods	Cetirizine, fluticasone propionate, wearing loose clothes	>13 years
Shortness of breath	2 days/week	Mild	Exercise, tight clothes on abdomen, laying supine with neck flexed or extended, talking for long periods, hot weather	Wearing loose clothes, cetirizine, fluticasone propionate	>13 years
Trouble swallowing	1 day/2 weeks	Medium	Dry mouth, dehydration, other infections	Lemon tea, hot showers/steam	~2 years
Constricted breathing	1 day/3 weeks	Moderate-severe	Exercise, laying supine with neck flexed or extended	Exercise, stretching, laying flat on back	3 years (April 2022)

Shoulders and Back
Symptom	Frequency	Intensity	Triggers	Attempted Treatments	How Long I've Had It
Bicep tendon pain	2 days/week	3/10	Lifting (Lateral raise, chest press, shoulder press)	PT	~6 months
Rotator cuff pain	1 day/2 weeks	2/10	Lifting (moving boxes)	PT	~6 months
Acne	7 days/week	Moderate	Sweating, wearing tight clothes	Salicylic acid washes, benzoyl peroxide-clindamycin cream, alcohol wipes, mechanical exfoliation, more frequent showering, bedsheet changes	~12 years
Upper back pain	2 days/week	3/10	Drawing, using screens while sitting, writing	Stretching	>10 years
Lower back pain	1 day/week	4/10	Sitting, laying down, standing	Stretching, back support cushions	>10 years

Chest and Stomach
Symptom	Frequency	Intensity	Triggers	Attempted Treatments	How Long I've Had It
Shortness of breath	1 day/week	Moderate	Wearing bra or binder	Wearing loose clothes	>5 years (Fall 2019)
Diaphragm pain (upper left and right quadrant), reaching around sides	3 days/week	4/10	Standing or sitting upright for more than 1 hour	Strengthening exercises	Birth
Upper and lower right quadrant pain	1 day/week	6/10	Sitting unusually, hunched or rotating	Sitting upright/normally	>3 years
Side, abdomen and back pain	7 days/week	4/10	Sleeping	Ibuprofen, acetaminophen	~1 year

Stomach (Internal)
Symptom	Frequency	Intensity	Triggers	Attempted Treatments	How Long I've Had It
Nausea	7 days/week	Mild	Not eating, eating cold things, eating calorically-dense foods, chocolate		>13 years
Bloating	5 days/week	Mild	Eating	Tums Gas-X	>10 years
Lower right quadrant tenderness	1 day/week	2/10	Eating (spicy foods, chocolate)		>3 years
Pain	7 days/week	6/10, wakes me up, burning, gnawing	Going without food for too long/sleeping	Eating before bed, getting up to eat	>13 years

Arms and Hands
Symptom	Frequency	Intensity	Triggers	Attempted Treatments	How Long I've Had It
Ulnar nerve pain	5 days/week	Mild-moderate	Drawing, bending arm for prolonged period, bending arm under load, using phone, using a track pad	PT, ice, heat, sleeping with arms straight, NSAIDs, massage	6 years (December 2019)
Thumb pad pain	2 days/week	Mild	Using a mouse		~2 years
Crunching wrist	7 days/week		Drawing		6 years (December 2019)
Weak finger grip	7 days/week	Moderate	Tiredness	Finger strengthening	Birth
Imprecise grip	7 days/week	Moderate	Tiredness		Birth
Shakiness	7 days/week	Moderate	Not eating, not sleeping, stress	Eating more, sleeping more	Birth

Hips
Symptom	Frequency	Intensity	Triggers	Attempted Treatments	How Long I've Had It
Muscle tightness	7 days/week	Mild-moderate	Stress, keeping legs open for prolonged period, squatting	Massage, stretching, strengthening	>15 years
Sciatica	7 days/week	Moderate	Laying on either side, internal rotation under load, sitting in unstable environment (car, bus), sitting criss-crossed	PT, NSAIDs, using towels to cushion legs and side	1 year and 4 months (April 2024)
Muscle pain	1 day/week	2/10	Stress, random, keeping legs open for prolonged period, squatting	Massage, stretching, strengthening	>15 years

Legs and Feet
Symptom	Frequency	Intensity	Triggers	Attempted Treatments	How Long I've Had It
Knee pain	2 days/week	2/10	Sitting with legs straight out, standing too long	Massage, strengthening	>5 years
Foot numbness	2 days/week	Mild	Being in cold environments, sitting, rapid postural changes		Birth
Acrocyanosis	7 days/week		Being in cold environments, sitting		Birth
Ingrown toenails	7 days/week		Cutting nails too short, wearing tight shoes, walking	Cutting nails straight across, hydrogen peroxide	Birth

Physical Therapy Exercises

I went to physical therapy for 6 months for sciatica caused by a disc herniation, a rotator cuff strain, a bicep tendon strain, and ulnar nerve pain. The rotator cuff pain has resolved. The bicep tendon strain only flares occasionally. The ulnar nerve pain has not resolved, but has lessened. The sciatica no longer hurts during internal rotation and squatting, but it still hurts when I lay on my side, although I can tolerate it more now. According to all my PTs at my last clinic, I need imaging of my back or to go to another clinic, as no significant reduction in sciatic pain after 6 months of 2x-a-week PT is unusual. Nevertheless, I want to share what I did.

Lower Body

These I do every day. They're for lower back mobility and back extension, which takes strain off the herniation.

Lower Trunk Rotations
Book Opener With Cervical Spotting
Prone Press Up with Bilateral LE Extension

These I do three times per week.

Sciatic Nerve Glides
Foam Roll TFL

These I do once a week. Group them up how you like--strengthening stuff with kettlebells and bands could be one day, and stretches another. Don't start with more than five exercises a day.

Bird Dog with Resistance Band
Donkey Kicks
Core Marches
Seated Hip Internal Rotation with Resistance Band
Prone Swimming
Standing IT Band Stretch
Hip Flexion - Runner's Stretch
Reverse Clamshell (Towel Roll)
Single Leg Balance on Foam Pad
Side Plank on Knees
Plank on Knees
Goblet Squat
SL RDL with Kettlebell
Bridges
Transverse Abdominis Activation
Single Leg Sit to Stand
Seated Hamstring Stretch
Piriformis Stretch
Modified Piriformis Stretch

Upper Body

I do these three times a week, alternating with lower body days.

Isometric Shoulder Internal Rotation
Isometric Shoulder External Rotation
Bilateral Shoulder Extension with Resistance Band
Wrist Flexor Stretch with Elbow Extended (Supinated Palm Up)
Bicep Stretch
Ulnar Nerve Glide

Sensory Guides

The below are guides to tasks that minimize sensory and psychological damage for me.

Brushing your teeth is more about brushing your gums, and any amount of plaque buildup disruption is good. I get by on brushing once a day. You can use a softer/smaller toothbrush, more mild toothpaste I use the hello dragon dazzle toothpaste because the flavor is mild enough not to upset me. Try for something that has fluoride. You can also use a wet washcloth alone or with toothpaste. Focus on the gumline and flicking the toothbrush down to get plaque away from the gum pockets.

Washing your face sucks because the water gets on your arms. Don't wear long sleeves or take your shirt off, then let the water run until it's a good temperature. Wet a towel or washcloth and use that to get your face wet (technically not necessary). Then rub the face wash between your hands so that it covers more area, so then you can just slap it on and rub a little bit. You can skip this step if you have a bar--just scrub it on your face. Wipe it off with a wet washcloth.

If you can't get out of bed, keep a spray bottle for washing needs. It's preferable to a normal water bottle for me because my hands are unsteady and I'd rather not spill water everywhere. I just spray my face directly and wipe it off with whatever cloth is close. Can also help with smell in the critical areas of pits, crotch, hands and feet.

I sweat at night and my clothes hold it against my body, so I wake up with painful zits. To help, I don't wear a bra or underwear to bed and try for loose clothes. This is also good if you have a vagina or anything that needs to breathe.

Waterflossing is more effective than regular flossing, according to my old dentist. I use warm water, as cold water on my back teeth feels like dying. The back teeth are highest priority, so I spend the most water and time on them, especially the area between my overgrown back gums and teeth. When I floss regularly, I wrap the floss as loosely as possible around my fingers, then start at the back. Pulling hard will make the floss tighten around the fingers, so I do a gentle sawing motion to work it up between each tooth and gum. A floss I've recently discovered that moves through teeth without much pulling is the Oral-B Glide Deep Clean Cool Mint floss.