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1 pot of tea + 2 cans of soda + 1 four-hour nap in the middle of the day and I was decently functional without the Adderall. I'm particularly unthrilled by the nap, but since I stayed up until 2AM writing after I woke up, the day still counts as rightly productive. Nice to know my muse is not wholly dependent upon prescription stimulants to keep her going. Yay. Now back to the prescription stimulants. Writing Stuff
Club 100 For Writers 7 500/day 14
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(Deleted comment) "Boy, sounds like adderall really is addictive...You'll probably get used to not taking it, and not need the nap and/or the rest. Or have you tried that before, and it didn't work?" I'm taking Adderall to help counteract the fatigue that my MCTD causes. Before I got on the Adderall I was sleeping something like 12-14 hours a day. So I suspect the napping thing isn't so much withdrawal from the Adderall as much as reverting to my natural state of exhaustion. But yeah, Adderall is addictive, an amphetamine and all. "Ah, pitched battles...may be a challenge to finish in 1.5k then. They always take up more space than they're meant to" It helps that my protag is actually an observer rather than a participant in most of it, but yeah, I ended up needing 2.3k, and I've still got an epilogue to go. Glargh. (Deleted comment) "I didn't know about MCTD. THe website makes it sounds like a really nasty disease. I hope it's not too bad for you." It's definitely one of those things I'd rather not have to deal with. When I first started having symptoms, my doctor at the time diagnosed it as lupus. It was a fairly mild case; she didn't have me see a specialist or put me on meds, and I had on average one flare-up a year that I could wait out by treating the symptoms (they'd last about a week). After I had a flare-up that lasted months, I finally started seeing a rheumatologist who diagnosed it as MCTD--which includes lupus in the line-up. He put me on steroids to get me out of my flare-up (which I ended up having to be on for over a year, ugh) and started me on long-term meds, the first several I ended up being allergic to. But now we've got me on a stable, daily dose of Imuran, I haven't had a flare-up since. But it does mean I'm pretty much screwed if I can't get health insurance once my COBRA runs out. At this point, if I go off my meds, I'll probably have a flare, and considering how hard it was to get me out of my last one, that's a scary prospect. I've heard of folks who've had a flare-up last years. And, of course, my immune system is toast, so I'm exhausted all the time and prone to sickness, especially if I'm stressed or overdo it. There's much sucking to it, but I always tell myself it could be worse. (Deleted comment) "What's COBRA? I'm not familiar with the US health insurance system." COBRA is what the U.S. government has in place to continue group health benefits for those newly unemployed where you can opt to continue the same health benefits you had through your employer for 18 months. But the newly unemployed has to pay 100% of the premium costs, which, of course, a lot of times they can't afford to since . . . they're newly unemployed. Currently, I'm paying about $500/month to maintain my HMO coverage. Fortunately, we got wind of how things were going to fall out well in advance and started saving way back when. And the sad thing is, I've been relieved to be able to hand them that huge wad o'cash every month. I don't know if I'll be able to get any coverage at all when my COBRA expires in August because of all my pre-existing health conditions. I'm hoping that I'll be able to continue with my HMO on an individual plan, but I don't know if they'll approve me or how much it'll cost. I so wish American had some sort of national health plan. This has been a source of much anxiety. |
Found this and thought you might be interested... http://johnhawks.net/weblog/2006/03/13#nano_sight_hamster_restoration_2006 " Scientists partially restored the vision in blinded hamsters by plugging gaps in their injured brains with a synthetic substance that allowed brain cells to reconnect with one another, a new study reports. If it can be applied to humans, the microscopic material could one day help restore sensory and motor function to patients suffering from strokes and injuries of the brain or spinal cord. It could also help mend cuts made in the brain during surgery." |
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