CHF Recovery: Day 60

Yet again a day behind. This is the update for November 12.

I spent the morning in bed on my laptop, drinking my protein shake and discussing the story I’d written the day before with some friends. Then I took a shower and Celena and I went to breakfast…at Waffle House!

Sean won’t go to Waffle House anymore, so I thought it would be fun to go there. Celena had never been. She had the hash brown bowl, which I’ve not tried, and said it was good. I had the All-Star Special and barely managed half of it XD It was a really nice breakfast. We talked about Star Wars and Disney and various other things.

After breakfast I went to therapy, which was also nice. I talked about how I’ve adjusted to my medicine and also how I feel more able to discuss my wants and needs at home. I’ve been feeling really good lately. I also discussed a private thing that happened that I had various feelings about, and she encouraged me to act on those feelings. I’m not sure I’m actually going to do that, but it was neat to be validated. I’m pretty timid so I think I will take it slower? I dunno.

When I got back Sean was still at work. Celena and I spent some time on our respective laptops, and then I went on my first walk since I started back at work. I’m glad I walked. It was a beautiful day, tons of fall leaves everywhere, bright clear sky and crisp air. Afterwards I sneezed a lot and Celena said “bless you” every time, which was adorable.

When Sean got home he and Celena watched a couple episodes of RWBY, which I had never seen. It looks like a fantasy show rendered in the CGI style of Naruto video games. Then at around 5 o’clock they went to dinner and to see Doctor Strange, so I ordered pizza (yes, this is bad) and cheesy bread (terrible) and watched Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2. I livetweeted them and it was a lot of fun :)

Sean and Celena got back right at the end of Spider-Man 2. I finished up and went to bed, because by then it was 11:30. A nice day all around, though I am concerned about my poor eating habits.

CHF Recovery: Day 59

Forgot to write yesterday, so this is for October 11, 2016.

I accidentally overslept after turning off my alarm, so I didn’t get up until shortly before 7. I quickly showered and headed off for work, stopping for Starbucks on the way. Work was pretty great; I had no meetings so I was able to just plug away at some writing, with occasional proofing interruptions. Also a former coworker, Rashuri, came by and it was great to see her!

For lunch I ran out quickly and picked up Chick-fil-A. On my way back I passed a truck that was literally on fire. It was freaky. There were flames and smoke billowing out from beneath the hood. I was afraid it was going to blow up. Another vehicle was parked some distance behind it with hazards on, so it looked like the situation was being dealt with, but cars were still going right by it. Scary.

After work I was in a really good mood. I chatted with Sean and Celena a bit and then they went to dinner and I goofed off on my computer writing a story that kind of breaks some boundaries of taste. haha. After they got back I went and picked myself up some KFC, then planted myself in the living room to eat and watch Yuri!!! on Ice, an anime about a figure skater. It is pretty fun so far. I got through maybe four episodes, then finally went to bed.

Other than the eating all the wrong food, it was a pretty good day :)

CHF Recovery: Day 58

I snoozed for an hour today because I didn’t want to get up. But then I did get up, and I showered, and I got dressed, and I kissed Sean, and I went to work! On the way I got Starbucks again. I decided to try the London Fog, which is an Earl Grey latte. Celena had told me about it. It was pretty good, but I like the chai latte better. I also got a protein bistro box and a gingerbread loaf, and I really need to stop eating like this.

Work was fine; I got various things done and felt productive. For lunch I quickly ran errands, picking up a prescription and some groceries and then grabbing Chick-fil-A to eat when I got back.

The rest of the workday was also fine, and I left right on time and came straight home, where I ate Zebra Cakes and Oreos instead of dinner. Heh.

I settled in at my desk and wrote some five-sentence ficlets for prompts from various people, and that was fun. Sean and Celena got back from dinner and set up in the living room. I thought about watching TV but couldn’t come up with anything I wanted to watch, so instead I wrote more tiny stories until bedtime.

CHF Recovery: Day 57

This is so fucked up

  • Snoozed for about 20 minutes
  • Got up and checked CNN
  • Skipped shower and got dressed
  • Drank protein shake
  • Despaired

I did not stop for Starbucks this morning, but I ended up eating cheddar-flavored Ruffles and two Reese’s cups at my desk, so bleh. Then for lunch I had McDonald’s, and for dinner I got Chinese food. Obviously sodium was off the charts today; I didn’t even log.

When I came home with the Chinese food I settled down in front of the TV and ate while watching 30 Rock. Then I got on the computer for a bit, but I didn’t do much, other than talk with friends. I talked with friends at work, too. Just trying to figure out where to go from here.

Celena’s visiting; she arrives tonight. Sean is cleaning. I don’t really have anything to do. Thinking about going to bed early (it’s 9:30).

CHF Recovery: Day 56

I was tempted to snooze this morning, but unlike yesterday I did not feel like a zombie, so I got up with my alarm at 8. I went to the bathroom and showered and got dressed and sat at my computer with my protein shake. I still ended up needing to bring the shake and my pills with me to work. I also stopped for Starbucks across from work for the first time in forever; the cashier said “Long time no see!”

Work went fine. I had one meeting and otherwise worked on writing stuff and fulfilling requests. My new work computer is great; it boots up in like two seconds.

At lunch I went to Carrabba’s and read the second chapter of a fanfic that I had started this morning. The first chapter was lovely and romantic and dangerous, and the second chapter dealt with the consequences of the first, and it was so beautifully tragic. It took me some time to be able to write a good comment for it.

I did not feel bone tired all day the way I have been. I think the withdrawal symptoms are finally going away. I am dismayed that my appetite is back in full force; I’ll do my best not to overeat and to watch my salt better. (Today I didn’t log food at all, but I at least didn’t make too horrible of choices.)

After work I snuggled with Sean for awhile, then made myself a dinner of a PB&J, yogurt, and Baked Lays. I am avoiding election results until there is a final winner. I’m just trying not to think about it. I’m terrified and I just don’t want to know until it’s sure.

CHF Recovery: Day 55

I did not want to get out of bed. I snoozed for 45 minutes. I do not want to be out of bed. I would like to go back to bed right now.

Hours-wise I should have gotten enough sleep, but it sure doesn’t feel like it. I remember my dream, so maybe I didn’t sleep well.

Ugh.

  • Got up at 6:45
  • Did not shower; got dressed

Out of curiosity I just googled withdrawal effects for stopping Wellbutrin and I found this:

Since this medication has a stimulating effect and tends to give people a lot of energy, it is common to experience fatigue, lethargy, and sleepiness when someone quits this drug. For most people, the fatigue will subside within a few weeks. This is because this drug was inhibiting dopamine reuptake and norepinephrine – now you no longer have that going on.

“Within a few weeks” eh? Bleh. But hey, at least this means maybe it’ll get better. Eventually.

Also:

Being on this medication tends to make people have less of an appetite.  When they quit taking it, their appetite returns to normal and they eat more.  This is associated with a weight gain that people experience when they quit Bupropion.

eheheheheh well, I certainly have noticed that.

Sigh.

  • Did not pack a lunch
  • Brought pills and the rest of my shake to work
  • Finished shake at work and took pills
  • Worked on stuff
  • Picked up Shane’s chicken tenders and a giant sweet tea for lunch
  • Worked some more
  • Ate a Snickers
  • Came home and got into pajamas
  • Tidied up the kitchen
  • Ate two Oreos
  • Frowned at a recipe and sat down at my computer instead

I am feeling less tired than I was this morning, which is hopefully a good sign (although it could just be due to all the sugar). I am really uninterested in cooking, though :/

  • Poked around online a bit
  • Cooked!!!!!!!!!
  • Ate dinner at the computer
  • Went to bed at 10:50

CHF Recovery: Day 54

I feel like I have lost all motivation. I haven’t walked in days. Done a ton of sleeping. Don’t feel like writing. Or doing anything.

  • Got up at 8:10 because upstairs neighbor kids were running around singing and yelling “Happy Birthday”
  • Sorted out pills for the week, as I do every Sunday morning, and called in a prescription refill
  • Settled in at computer with protein shake

Thinking about how I was supposed to tell myself “I am 100% confident I will succeed at what I attempt” last week. It’s supposed to basically talk me into it because I am not confident of that at all. I am pretty sure I will fail at basically everything. This is why I was so upset last week, because I was starting to feel like maybe I could get to a point where I could do things, but then Reality came back. I feel like it would be better to just accept that I am unable to do anything, than to continue to try and fail. To feel like I should be doing things I can’t do.

I am not in despair right now. I just feel kind of dull.

  • Finally started reading a book chapter I was supposed to have read yesterday
  • Warmed up some of yesterday’s mac and cheese
  • Started the laundry

Okay, so I basically watched TV all day, with a brief nap on the couch. I also ate like crazy, so I guess my appetite’s back. Yeesh.

My mood is stable. Not good, not bad. Just…there.

I did finish the laundry, clean the kitchen, put out the trash, and start the dishwasher. I also took a shower because it had been like three days :x

Sean picked up Ted’s for dinner, which was great: bison strip steak, sweet potato, and fresh tomatoes. And he also got cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory. Yum. We watched the latest Designated Survivor and then some more That 70s Show, which I had been watching before he got home.

I am really tired so I think I’ll go to bed. It’s 9:38pm. :P

CHF Recovery: Day 53

  • Got up at 8am
  • Had protein shake and morning meds
  • Read a fanfic
  • Ate some HelloFresh leftovers

I have therapy today. I am strongly tempted to just go in my pajamas, because I don’t want to get dressed :P I kind of want to go back to bed, really.

  • Managed to get dressed (but did not shower)
  • Went to therapy, where I was literally dozing off
  • Got Starbucks on my way home
  • Watched some That 70s Show and the first episode of a j-drama about an overnight restaurant in Tokyo
  • Went to the apartment office to get this week’s HelloFresh box, which for some reason FedEx didn’t bother to deliver to my door
  • Napped on the couch until around 8pm
  • Got up and made myself some mac and cheese
  • Ate dinner at my desk and took my evening meds
  • Read stuff online and chatted
  • Went to bed at 10:15

CHF Recovery: Day 52

I woke up naturally at 4:45am, but I could tell that I was not rested, so I went back to sleep until my alarm went off at 6. I was still tired then, so I snoozed for 15 minutes, and then for 15 more minutes. Then I got up, but I would still really rather not be awake.

  • Got up at 6:30
  • Showered and dressed
  • Had protein shake but didn’t finish it before time to leave
  • Packed random stuff for lunch and brought pills to work

I was tired for most of the workday. I managed to get through the rest of my emails (the sorting, anyway, not necessarily dealing with all the contents), and we had a meeting, and that was fine. I forgot to take a lunch break, but I went home at 4pm so that balanced out. Today was the last day for three people on my team and one person on the design team, so I signed cards for them and let them know I would write them LinkedIn recommendations (need to do that). I also got my report document updated with what had been accomplished while I was out. I was supposed to get a new computer, but when I took the old one down to trade it in, they realized Windows 10 had not been installed on the new one yet, so they wanted to do that first. So hopefully Monday I’ll get the new one.

When I got home I changed into pajamas and went to sleep. I slept until something like 8:30, and then I got up and made myself eggs and toast to eat with my evening meds. I went back to bed at 10:45.

I seem to have adjusted to the new medicine. The first day, it made me extremely nauseated, but I’m not having that reaction anymore. My mood also seems to be stabilizing. I’m certainly not thinking the things I was thinking when I got scared and called my doctor to change the medicine. The tiredness may be a side effect, or it might just be from going back to work after so long. I’ll have to wait and see.

CHF Recovery: Day 51

Going back to work today.

  • Alarm went off at 6; wanted to snooze but did not
  • Got dressed

I am going to try the routine where I walk at night today. It occurs to me that after the time change, it might not work to do that, because it’ll get dark earlier in the evening. Oh well. We’ll see.

In any case, I definitely need to walk today, as I missed it the past two days.

  • Had protein shake and morning meds
  • Packed a lunch
  • Went to work

Work was fine. I felt very subdued for most of the day. I also felt tired. I spent most of my time sorting through the 2000 emails that had arrived in my absence. I whittled that number down to around 600. I also did some proofing, participated in a fire drill, and attended a meeting.

A couple people noticed that I have lost weight. I didn’t think I looked that different, but I guess I do.

I ate lunch at my desk, and it was just yogurt and cottage cheese and blackberries and Nutty Bars, and that is not sufficient. I did bring last night’s leftovers, but I didn’t feel like eating them, so I was ravenous when I got home.

  • Got dressed in workout clothes
  • Ate a serving of Peanut M&Ms
  • Went on a 31-minute walk
  • Was very tired afterwards
  • Went out for sushi with Sean

I was planning to cook, but I was falling asleep in my chair. Just completely ran out of energy. I don’t think I can do everything in a day that I am supposed to. :/ As a matter of fact, it is 8:45 but I’m going to bed now because I am so tired.

CHF Recovery: Day 50

  • Got up at 8:45
  • Weighed myself and I was heavier, but I was also unable to use the restroom so
  • Had protein shake and the last chicken tender
  • Waited until I was done eating, then had “morning” meds at 11am
  • Took a shower quickly to try and get it done before any side effects started
  • Felt icky when I got out of the shower so went to lie down
  • Doctor called to check in on me so I told him about the nausea and he said to do half-doses tomorrow too if it continues
  • Napped lightly (not particularly well) for about an hour and 45 minutes
  • Got up and read stuff online

I feel shaky and nauseated and I can’t really concentrate well. I just want to sleep for real and not this weird half-asleep thing. I am yawning a lot and that makes me feel like throwing up and then my hands get all shaky. Please let me adjust to this new medication soon.

  • Packed a box to ship
  • Ate a bit of lunch and felt less nauseated!
  • Got dressed

I just found out (4:15pm) that a former coworker of mine passed away this morning. I don’t know how or why, possibly due to an illness? He had just updated his profile picture yesterday, and responded to a comment on it this morning. He was not particularly old, maybe 40s or 50s. I am just sort of stunned and sad and I wish we had spoken in greater depth than Facebook “likes” recently.

  • Took package to UPS
  • Cooked a HelloFresh dinner; it was pretty easy and tasted pretty good (Southwestern Stuffed Peppers with Quinoa)
  • Managed to eat about 5/8th of a serving, gave up and stored the rest

Time to take evening pills, including the second dose of the new antidepressant…I’m a little nauseated already, here’s hoping it doesn’t get bad…

  • Cleaned kitchen
  • Took evening meds
  • Got dressed for bed
  • Poked around online
  • Ate some Dairy Milk
  • Went to bed around 9:30

I feel better than I did last night, but since I didn’t sleep well last night, and I’m tired now, I’m going to try to get some rest. Back to work tomorrow.

CHF Recovery: Day 49

  • Got up at 8am
  • Weighed myself; I am now 135

Should I be concerned? Part of me wonders that, and the rest of me is like Good, let me just keep losing weight, that is something that culture approves of and nothing else matters.

Whatever.

  • Did not get dressed
  • Sat down at computer
  • Had protein shake and morning meds
  • Started writing a to-do list
  • Discussed a silly movie-trailer-esque advertisement and some other stuff with my friend Rae
  • Scrolled Tumblr
  • Sent an email I needed to send, then wrote “Email letter” on my to-do list and crossed it out

My to-do list right now is:

  1. pack and ship box
  2. create some sort of plan for meals
  3. start reading book
  4. email letter
  5. put up Christmas tree
  6. set up Christmas card station
  7. MAYBE do other decorations

These are not in any particular order. I just wanted to visually differentiate “to-do” from “ta-da”.

I thought about putting “kill myself” on there as a joke but decided not to.

#2 is ridiculous. As I said to Rae, “You know that thing you’ve been trying and failing to do for 15 years? Do that today.” I also told her, “I feel like I am screaming at the world, ‘I can’t do this by myself,’ and the world is answering, ‘Too bad. Do it anyway.'” She’s been having her own extremely rough time so she sympathized.

Anyway today I will try to create some sort of schedule system that will be able to take Sean’s work into account. Somehow. Maybe. I should ask him for input but he is at work.

I wonder if, like the day before yesterday, I will suddenly get in a good mood this afternoon. And then the good mood will last through tomorrow morning, and then I’ll be depressed again. Wouldn’t that be a hoot.

  • Paid rent
  • Renewed Costco membership
  • Wrote those things on to-do list and crossed them off
  • Added day-specific to-do lists:
    • 11/1: call Connor (it’s his birthday), walk, shower, pay rent
    • 11/2: walk, shower
  • Tried to use a meal planning website to make a schedule but realized I would rather have a fully robust calendar that can show me everything and I don’t know if that exists
  • Started playing with Google Calendar and got annoyed at how birthdays are imported and displayed
  • Went into Google Contacts and started editing all my contacts to display in the same format
  • Added other contacts from my Christmas card address spreadsheet because why not just do it all in one place
  • Spent a few hours in Google Contacts until I was tired of doing that
  • Warmed up some leftovers for lunch at 1:15 because I guess I should eat

So I ate a bit of the leftovers but not very much. My mood started really spiraling. I had a very disturbing thought, which I do want to share but at the same time I don’t because it would worry people. Although given that I mentioned the whole putting “kill myself” on my to-do list thing, I imagine you can guess the nature of it. It scared me a lot and I wanted to tell someone but I wasn’t sure who. I looked at the side effects for my depression medication and it said to tell my doctor if that sort of thing happened, so I called his office. At that point I was terrified so I was crying on the phone. They had me come in right away. I put all the food I had made in the fridge and got dressed and went in.

I explained to Dr. M how I’ve been feeling and what my stressors are, and we decided to try a different medication. We will evaluate in a few days and see if we think anything else is necessary.

I went straight to the pharmacy to get the new medicine, but it turned out they didn’t have it on hand, so they called it over to another Kroger for me. I drove over there, stopping for a chai tea latte on the way. Once there I had to wait a little bit. At one point I almost spilled my chai on myself. But I was feeling better knowing that I had a plan of action. I guess I can be optimistic sometimes. Or it was the placebo effect.

I got the medicine finally and came home. Sean was asleep. I decided to go ahead and take the medicine with a snack cake and then get dinner later. This turned out to be a mistake; the medicine made me extremely nauseous and fairly dizzy, and I had to lie down for a full hour waiting for the feelings to go away. When I finally did get up at around 8pm I was still feeling a little off, but I went and picked up dinner (chicken tenders) anyway, because I had barely eaten anything today and I needed some protein and calories.

I am still nauseated, especially when I yawn or otherwise open my mouth, but I am determined to finish one chicken tender before I go to bed for real. I hope I can sleep.

So I guess in list format:

  • Got in for an emergency visit to my doctor
  • Picked up new medication
  • Took first dose along with a snack cake
  • Had to lie down due to nausea
  • Picked up chicken tenders for dinner
  • Suddenly remembered I forgot to call Connor; texted him at 9:30pm
  • Chatted with friends and scrolled Tumblr and tried to eat
  • Only managed to eat one chicken tender and a few bites of mac and cheese due to still feeling slightly nauseated
  • Went to bed at 10:30
  • Woke up at 2:15

I am not sure I really slept? It felt more like a not-restful haze that I would swim out of whenever I heard a noise or saw a light. (I’m not sure what the light was, maybe a car’s headlights?) My muscles were twitchy and when I got up I felt dizzy. I decided to try to eat more of my dinner, since I am not nauseated now. I do seem to be feeling better now that I’m eating.

  • Finished the mac and cheese and another chicken tender
  • Went back to bed at 4:45am

Juggling recovery and full-time work

I go back to work on Thursday. It’s very important that I maintain the healthy habits I have formed during my leave of absence. These are the things I must do every day:

  • Weigh myself each morning (~1 minute)
  • Exercise at moderate intensity (at least 30 minutes)
  • Limit my sodium to 2000mg

Those things require me to do these other things:

  • Take a shower (~20 minutes)
  • Cook meals at home
  • Track everything I eat (I use MyFitnessPal)
  • Track my exercise (I use RunKeeper)

Work keeps me away from home from approximately 7:30 to 5:30, including travel time. Since I will not be at the apartment with my fridge and pantry readily available, I will need to:

  • Pack my lunch (~15 minutes)

Eating can take me awhile due to my small stomach. I can eat a decent amount within half an hour, but I can also take hours to finish a meal. For lunch this is not a problem; I can eat at my desk while working. I will just need to remember that in the evenings I will have the following tasks:

  • Cook dinner (assume ~2 hours, just to be safe)
  • Eat dinner (allow 1.5 hours)

Also, I use the restroom in the morning, TMI. I have to factor that in because it takes time. Number two is very different after weight loss surgery. I am trying to figure out how long it took me this morning, and it looks like it took an hour! Ugh. That seems ridiculous. But…yesterday appears to be about the same. I have never paid attention to this before. (My work schedule had always been get up, potty, shower, dress, get on computer for a few minutes, leave for work. I would get up at 6 and leave between 7:30 and 7:45. That…actually does account for all the time, since showering and dressing only takes me 20 minutes. Wow.)

  • Morning potty break (1 hour, good grief)

And finally, I tend to do best on 7.5 hours of sleep.

So, a day’s schedule might look like this:

Walk in the Morning

  • 5:30a-6:30a: Get up and potty
  • 6:30a-7:00a: Dress in workout clothes and walk for 30 minutes
  • 7:00a-7:30a: Shower, dress, and leave for work
  • 8:00a-5:00p: Work (eat lunch at desk)
  • 5:30p-7:30p: Get home from work and cook dinner
  • 7:30p-9:00p: Eat dinner (can do other things like be on computer or watch TV while doing this)
  • 9:00p-10:00p: Woo free time! Although this might be spent cleaning the kitchen and packing the next day’s lunch?
  • 10:00p: Go to bed

…okay HOW. How do people live. I do not understand.

I’m trying to think how I might rearrange this.

Walk at Lunch

  • 6:00a-7:00a: Get up and potty
  • 7:00a-7:30a: Shower, dress, and leave for work
  • 8:00a-5:00p: Work (eat lunch at desk)
  • ~1:00p-1:30p: Walk on lunch break (and sweat at desk for rest of day)
  • 5:30p-7:30p: Get home from work and cook dinner
  • 7:30p-9:00p: Eat dinner
  • 9:00p-9:30p: Clean kitchen, pack lunch
  • 9:30p-10:30p: Theoretical free time?
  • 10:30p: Go to bed

The above is basically as minimal as my morning schedule can get, unless I skip my shower, which to be honest I have done before. What if I move the walking and the shower to the evening?

Walk in the Evening

  • 6:30a-7:30a: Get up, potty, get dressed, leave for work
  • 8:00a-5:00p: Work (eat lunch at desk)
  • 5:30p-6:00p: Walk for 30 minutes
  • 6:00p-6:30p: Shower and get dressed in nightclothes (I guess)
  • 6:30p-8:00p: Cook dinner
  • 8:00p-9:30p: Eat dinner
  • 9:30p-10:00p: Clean kitchen, pack lunch
  • 10:00p-11:00p: Theoretical free time?
  • 11:00p: Go to bed

So like no matter how I slice it, I get an hour of free time per day (plus, I guess, dinner-eating time, during which I can multitask).

Okay. So. Now let’s say I want to prioritize my writing. I know I am the most awake and productive in the morning. So what if I want to put a block of writing time in the morning? I’ll just use that free hour that is in the evening right now.

Since I don’t like the idea of walking at lunch and being sweaty at work, I’m not going to bother working the writing into that one.

Write and Walk in the Morning

  • 4:30a-5:30a: Get up and potty
  • 5:30a-6:00a: Dress in workout clothes and walk for 30 minutes
  • 6:00a-6:30a: Shower and dress
  • 6:30a-7:30a: Write for an hour, leave for work
  • 8:00a-5:00p: Work (eat lunch at desk)
  • 5:30p-7:30p: Get home from work and cook dinner
  • 7:30p-9:00p: Eat dinner (and pack lunch real quick? Also when do I clean the kitchen)
  • 9:00p: Go to bed

OR

  • 4:30a-5:30a: Get up and potty
  • 5:30a-6:30a: Dress in workout clothes, write for an hour
  • 6:30a-7:00a: Walk for 30 minutes
  • 7:00a-7:30a: Shower, dress, and leave for work
  • 8:00a-5:00p: Work (eat lunch at desk)
  • 5:30p-7:30p: Get home from work and cook dinner
  • 7:30p-9:00p: Eat dinner (and pack lunch real quick? Also when do I clean the kitchen)
  • 9:00p: Go to bed

Write in the Morning, Walk in the Evening

  • 5:30a-6:30a: Get up, potty, get dressed
  • 6:30a-7:30a: Write for an hour, leave for work
  • 8:00a-5:00p: Work (eat lunch at desk)
  • 5:30p-6:00p: Walk for 30 minutes
  • 6:00p-6:30p: Shower and get dressed in nightclothes (I guess)
  • 6:30p-8:00p: Cook dinner
  • 8:00p-9:30p: Eat dinner
  • 9:30p-10:00p: Clean kitchen, pack lunch
  • 10:00p: Go to bed

Even though it seems ridiculous to put on pajamas at 6:30pm, I think that last one makes the most sense for me.

Still.

I am not sure this is tenable, long term. I feel like I would burn out pretty fast. (I’m pretty sure this is why my dieting and exercising had fallen by the wayside to begin with.)

There are certain activities like the walking and showering (and writing, if I prioritize it, which I want to) that must be done every day. But maybe I could shift the cooking and lunch packing to the weekend somehow. Cook a bunch of dinners at once, pack all the week’s lunches at the same time.

The weekend is laundry time. Doing laundry involves a lot of waiting. I could be cooking during that time. The challenge would be cooking five unique meals in one day. And then what would we eat that night? Takeout I guess.

I am not super confident about my ability to cook so much all at once, given that yesterday I had planned to cook two HelloFresh meals but could only manage one of them.

I’m open to suggestions here.

CHF Recovery: Day 48

  • Got up at 7:50

I think I could have slept longer, but I’m also not sure I slept well, because I remember my dream. (It involved me propositioning someone for sex o_o) Regardless, Sean was watching some sort of video and the sound woke me up, even though he was in the living room and I was down the hall in the bedroom with the door closed. Sound really seems to carry in our floor plan. Though I’m not sure there is a floor plan where it wouldn’t.

She asked if I was doing anything for Halloween and I said no, then launched into this whole explanation wherein I made myself out to be some sort of victim just because Sean doesn’t like holidays. Okay, fine. I wish he liked holidays. I also wish we had a kid and I could do holiday activities with them. But just because neither of those things happened doesn’t mean I can’t do holiday activities.

I mean, I know this. Sometimes I’m just like, but it’s a lot of work just for me, and no one will help me. Well, so what.

I keep coming back to one main point, which is: if I want something, I need to do it myself. And this is not an excuse to sit around being miserable, this is a reason to actually do things.

(I feel like this is part of my cycle, though? I get really depressed for awhile until I can’t stand it anymore and then I get all Determined to Make Changes and then I don’t actually do anything. Rinse and repeat. Should I start doing FlyLady again maybe? Have some sort of system for goals and things?)

I am really excited about this! I walked all the way to the end of the entire apartment complex, which is kind of three complexes in one, connected by two bridges over some…ravines that lead down to the river. (I’m sure there is a word for that.) So each branch is the size of a regular apartment complex, basically. I got to the end and while walking back I went down every single side branch and loop. Each main branch involves going down a hill and back up, and then some of the side branches also have hills. There is a fairly steep but short one down on the other end, and then there is an intense, long hill off our branch. I DID EVERYTHING.

I’ve been wondering how much distance the whole complex is, and now I know! Next time I want to do a 5k without having to guesstimate distance, I have an option besides going down to the river.

…okay I just looked at the map and realized I actually missed a loop, because I went alongside the apartment clubhouse instead of staying on the street. But the length of that loop isn’t much longer than the distance I actually walked, so it still works out about the same. ;P

That was great. The weather was gorgeous and I got several pictures of beautiful fall leaves. I’m glad I decided to try for a 5k today :)

  • Took a shower and got dressed
  • Made a lunch of cottage cheese, blackberries, half an orange that was left over from a HelloFresh recipe, and one ounce of mixed nuts (I hereby dub this lunch: Look How Healthy I Am. I Am a Paragon of Health)

Sean is at work, but not feeling well :/ He may need to go to the doctor.

While I was out on my walk I received an email confirming my return to work date. I’ll be back full time this Thursday. I’m a little nervous about how suddenly not having nine hours every weekday will affect my recovery efforts. One strategy might be to take my walk at lunch, but I’m iffy about it because I don’t want to sit around sweaty for three or four hours afterwards :/ Maybe I’ll try to do it in the morning, although that would mean I wouldn’t have much time for anything else then. Hmm. I may think about logistics more in a separate post.

  • Wrote a lengthy post about the logistics of work, exercise, cooking, and writing

Well, that was disheartening.

  • Went shopping
  • Came home and sank into a deep depression

Mood swings are fun.

Yesterday it was horrible mood to good mood. Today it was great mood to horrible mood. Just stop.

I am hitting that wall again of “if you want things to change, do it yourself,” and I feel overwhelmed by it, and it seems easier to just do it the way I’ve always done it even though that way is terrible and will burn me out and stress me to hell again.

I want somebody to just…come in here and figure it out for me.

  • Had a minor freakout (at least I could breathe during this one)

Sean had forgotten we had couples therapy today and so he was napping on the couch in his pajamas. I asked him if he wanted to cancel. He said it was up to me. My reaction to this was to think Everything is always up to me and to say aloud “I don’t know, I feel awful right now” or something to that effect. He asked what was wrong and I said it was the schedule possibilities I came up with and how little time that left for anything and how people say I should share chores but that means I have to figure out how and wouldn’t doing all that planning take just as much time as me just doing the chores myself? Then I said “I hate everything! I just hate everything!” and burst into tears and went to bed.

I am 38 years old.

Anyway, Sean came in and started getting dressed so I emerged from the covers and said “You want to go then?” and he said “Yeah.” So I got up and we went.

Due to Halloween traffic, the drive took an hour and a half, meaning we were a half hour late. Thankfully our therapist didn’t have anyone after us. I’m not sure how useful a session it was. Sean expressed that he is very tired. I expressed that I feel overwhelmed. No solutions were reached. We spent a long time discussing the election, as worry over that might be factoring into our feelings.

  • Went to couples therapy

Sean is sick and has been having trouble eating. We’re not sure if it’s allergies or an actual illness. But he was not hungry when we got out of therapy even though it was 7:30pm. I said we didn’t have to have dinner, and I was inwardly thinking that I would just skip the entire meal and go to bed. He said that he supposed we had food at home like sandwich makings, so he missed that meaning, which is fine. My disordered eating is yet another thing to worry about.

Anyway he said he didn’t know what to do. Hibachi would be too much. So I said we should go to the seafood restaurant and he could get something small like an appetizer. He realized he could do a bowl of soup, so we did that. This is good because I had not planned on cooking and I literally was thinking of going to bed without eating.

  • Went to dinner
  • Got me a mini Blizzard after dinner (I could only eat half)
  • Went home

I don’t really remember what I did at home. Got dressed for bed. Poked around online some. Felt awkward and weird and like I would say something wrong to anyone I spoke to.

  • Went to bed at 10:30

CHF Recovery: Day 47

  • Got up at 7:45
  • Had protein shake and morning meds

Mood is Bad. I feel exhausted even though I woke up naturally. I hate myself. Everything reminds me of why I am a waste of space. I got to thinking what I would be remembered for if I died tomorrow, and the answers were “nothing” and “stupid, meaningless stories.” What is even the point of anything.

Whee, depression. I have taken my pill. Maybe a walk would help. I really don’t want to go on a walk, which probably means I should.

  • Read one chapter of a fanfic
  • Got dressed in workout clothes
  • Went on 31-minute walk

I walked down to the river thinking it would be pretty, and it was, but there were also a billion people there because it’s Sunday. I found this very annoying. Still, I think the activity and sunshine helped some.

  • Took a shower and got dressed
  • Told Sean I was going to make noise in the kitchen so if he wanted to sleep more he should go to the bed; he seems to have decided to stay up
  • Emptied and loaded dishwasher
  • Hand-washed items that aren’t dishwasher safe:
    • Metal baking pan
    • Big knife
    • George Foreman grill top

This was very tiring. I stopped to breathe deeply a few times while scrubbing the grill.

  • Finally put vases from flower arrangements away (they had been on the counter since the flowers from my hospitalization died)
  • Sat down at my computer to rest and write this update

I kind of want to go to sleep now.

  • Read another fanfic chapter and ate two Oreos
  • Cooked a HelloFresh meal for lunch: Jamie Oliver’s Shrimp and Rice Salad

This took me about an hour and 15 minutes. The recipe estimate was 35 minutes, but I am slow. I clean up while I am cooking, so maybe that adds time.

It came out really well. The recipe calls for cilantro but I threw that away because I hate it ;) Otherwise I followed the directions. Sean said, “Oh wow, this looks amazing.” (He loves shrimp!) It’s pretty neat, it is pan-fried shrimp on a bed of basmati rice, shaved carrot, green beans, and mint leaves that have all been tossed in a light sauce of low-sodium soy, olive oil, garlic, ginger, lime juice, lime zest, and a small, seeded and chopped red chili. I will have to remember this one.

I am feeling more cheerful now, probably because this recipe was so successful.

  • Ate lunch while reading online

UPDATE: Sean did not actually care for the food! He thought it was too minty (which to be honest I did too) and he also thought it was weird that the rice (the “salad” part) was cold. I am not sure if he would have liked it better if everything was kept warm and there was less mint. Maybe? He did like the shrimp, the shrimp were fine. But all I did to the shrimp was fry them in a pan.

Sorry, Jamie Oliver.

  • Put away the leftover rice (there was a ton; did I accidentally make a whole package when I was only supposed to make half? Anyway we both ate all our shrimp but had like half a plate of rice left)
  • Put our plates and the cookware from making lunch in the dishwasher and started it
  • Did some more reading and chatting online
  • Spent some time with Sean and napped afterwards
  • Got up at around 7:15 and decided I did not want to cook
  • Picked up KFC for me and Taco Bell for Sean
  • Read an extremely satisfying fanfic (great characterization of General Hux, I must say) while eating dinner

I was going to do chicken tenders but Shane’s and Otter’s were both closed. WHY. I have gone over on pretty much everything today thanks to this, but since I do pretty well most days I have decided not to worry about it. Also, the counts aren’t accurate because I don’t eat the skin when I get fried chicken, so it’s probably less sodium than I logged. Here’s the breakdown from MyFitnessPal:

table of goal and actual nutrient intake from MyFitnessPal

Come to think of it, I was actually almost 1000mg under on sodium yesterday. So this is just making up for that ;D

I seem to be feeling rather chipper now. Quite the difference from earlier.

  • Continued reading stuff online
  • Went to bed around 12:30