Thursday, January 11, 2018

IF: 003 done, 004 in progress

Last night was the end of fast period 3.

I was hungry for a bit, but carbonated water with lemon did a good job keeping me hydrated and fighting the empty stomach feelings.

I had some pizza for dinner with the kids, and it didn't taste the same, kind of weird and off tasting, but the rest of the family didn't seem to notice. I ended up just picking the pepperoni and cheese off and leaving most of the bread. It's almost like my body is telling me to get into the keto zone, even though that's not my goal right now.

So, diet aside, I want to talk about mental health and medications.

A year ago this spring, I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD), Bipolar disorder, and adult ADHD. I also have PTSD, but not related to my military service - it's from when I got mengeoencephalitis and ended up in the hospital for 9 days in December of 2014. I don't remember that Christmas, or most of that December, really. It's bizarre.

I take Seroquel (quetiapine) 300 mg, which levels out my bipolar swings. I have to take it at night because it forces me into an 8 hour sleep cycle (it's used off-label as a sleep medicine). It raises my heart rate and blood pressure while it's in my system. My resting heart rate went up an average of 10 bps, and my blood pressure is in the mild hypertensive zone now. I cut out iodized salt and only eat non-iodized, which lowered my BP significantly.

My psychiatrist just recently added Rexulti (brexpiprazole) 1mg to my regime because I was having depression. He is hoping the combination will keep me from feeling depressed and angry while not triggering a manic episode. After 4 days taking it, the wife told me today that she definitely feels like I seem happier.

The problem: 2 days in a row now I've gotten sudden nose bleeds when I strain or bend over to do something like tie my shoes. I got 2 yesterday - one when I stretched in bed, and another when I moved position on the couch last night. That last one lasted over 30 minutes and triggered a panic attack. I ended up taking a Xanax to both lower my BP and try to stop panicking (dudes aren't used to bleeding, and I'm a real baby about it). Eventually the combination of the Xanax, a ton of paper towels, and some Afrin, it finally quit.

I don't know if it's related to the Rexulti that we just added this week, or just because of the cold, dry weather...but I hope it stops soon.

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