I Think I'm Bored with Myself

Is that normal? hahaha Since I can't post my finished SSP yet (but will in about 2 or 3 weeks) I feel I have hardly anything to talk about in here. I'm working on my Fern Lace Stole a bit, here and there, but I'm starting to get a little scared. Seeing how tiny my SSP was before I blocked it, (granted very severely) I'm getting seriously concerned about the size of the Fern Lace thing. It's huge already, and once blocked - OH MY GOODNESS - it's going to be so big I can erect it as a tent or something. I don't think I even have a surface large enough to block it on at it's current size, yet, I'm still knitting it. why? Not sure, actually. It just doesn't seem proportionately lengthy for it's width. What do I know? ha ha I'm still so new to this whole process.

Also, I was thinking, once I DO block it, I definitely can't use the pathetic little pins I used on the SSP, because that barely worked. I had plenty number wise, but I'm thinking the ginormousness of the Fern Lace thing, would eat up the numbers very quickly. SO.... I've decided to invest in some real blocking pins and wires. I know nothing about which ones are best, or if it matters, or what is a good deal. Do any of you have any ideas about blocking wires?

I should really have written this first, since now, I'll probably distract all of you from the question I just asked, but I think that since I've been pretty open about the issues I've had for the last year or so, that I ought to share my latest interesting development. The medications I was prescribed for stability and sleep have some interesting problems associated with a person who has frequent headaches. (why didn't I look this stuff up before?)

Here's the story: I've been on several different things to help me sleep, since that was my MAIN problem to begin with. I've been a stable person all of my life, until I was kept awake for years on end, first by an insufferable nightowl husband, then three kids in row who were all nursed forEVER and then a bout of very infuriating stress and horribleness that gave me insomnia. Anyone deprived of sleep long enough will come apart and start to have mental and emotional problems. In fact ALL of the issues you've ever had with anyone will start to leak out of you pores, gain a life of their own, and start harassing you until you don't know which end is up, what's real and what's imaginary, what's true and fiction. It's not fun. (so get your sleep)

To get me leveled out, so to speak, they put me on Lithium, and like I said before, I've gone through several sleep aids. The first one was specifically given me to make me gain weight, since I was dangerously thin. Once that process was overdone a bit, I tried this and that until I started sleeping again. Then, I don't recall why, I was switched to Trazadone, which seemed to be ok, but it didn't really MAKE me sleep. I think by then I was already sleeping on my own for the most part.

Well, one of the side affects of the Trazadone, apparently, is headaches. (great, right? like I really needed help GETTING headaches) I didn't know, didn't check, none of my doctors (who KNOW I get migraines) bothered to tell me, or check. So I'm wondering, why do I seem to have a constant headache? It's not the same sort of headache that I'm familiar with. Then a real migraine comes in on TOP of the other. OMG! It didn't matter what I took, it didn't touch it. 2 Excedrine Migraines in the morning, no effect. 3 or 4 Advils in the afternoon, no effect. 2 MORE Excedrine Migraines in the evening, no effect. I don't remember if I took anything else, I think I just finally went to bed.

Guess what? Advil and Lithium have a drug interaction issue. (awesome) You see, when you take Advil and Lithium at the same time, Lithium says, "Hey look, it's Advil. OH NO! Quick! Run and hide in the kidneys and lets live here a while and mess things up." I think the way that it's worded in the official language is. "May cause kidney abnormalities" SO... without knowing any of this, my kidneys started hurting. I figured I had overdone it with the pain killers (ya THINK?) and so I totally laid off them and started drinking lots of water and taking my Alfalfa (which is super good for kidneys) and all the stuff I've done before when my kidneys bothered me.

Then I started to swell up. My eyelids first. For two days, my top lids were swollen. (that's attractive) Then I got a blister on my bottom eyelid. (even more attractive) I'm thinking, "I must be allergic to this yarn." And it really did seem so, and I may actually be. I'd knit with the mohair and I'd be more swollen and itchy, of course, by now the swelling was also in my hands and feet.

Every morning I'd wake up with that awful tight feeling in my fingers. Then came the joint pain and muscle aches. By now I'm really starting to worry. Is this early onset arthritis? Do I suddenly have Fibromyalgia? (b/c REALLY, it was ridiculous pain) The problems would, however seem to improve during the day, and it WAS unseasonably hot, which has made me swell before... so I tried not to worry too much.

I mailed off the project with the mohair thinking, "Now I'll have some relief." But every morning was getting worse! So, I finally thought, "I'd better look up this stuff." (I'm slow, right?) What seems to have happened is, once my body started having problems getting rid of the Lithium, it began to snowball or domino and I started having nearly all the side affects AND an allergic reaction to the Trazadone. (perfect)

So yesterday, I informed all my people, sisters and husband. "I'm laying off the meds tonight, just so you know." It's not like I was taking enough of the Lithium to do anything for me, anyway. I started taking half the originally prescribed dosage way back in June of last year when I started feeling dead. (that's a fun feeling) So it's not like I'm likely to start spiraling out of control and end up in an ambulance. (in case you were starting to worry)

What was the result? Well, amazingly, and predictably, my body is mostly all back to normal. No swelling, just a little pain and I can move with out feeling my knees are going to fall off. No kidney pain either. (shocker)

....but I did wake up with a migraine (naturally)

So.... what about those blocking wires? lol