#physical issues

Part of the reason I’ve been struggling the last couple years is that my hormones have decided to attack me 😵

If you didn’t know, medications for things like schizophrenia can have a profound effect on your reproductive system and cause early menopause.

Early menopause runs in my family, so combine that with the medications I’ve been on most of my life and I’ve been stuck in perimenopause for 2-3 years even though I’m not even close to the average age to start this shit.

Unfortunately with the schizophrenia, the perimenopause is worsened because why not.

I have hot flashes that last for 4-6 hours

I get extremely confused, unbalanced, shaky, emotional

I’m having anger issues and trouble controlling it (NEVER been a problem before)

My joints are achy

My stomach/digestive system are a mess

I get migraines that don’t respond to pain relievers

I also get cold flashes that can last up to 6 hours

I can’t concentrate on work or hold down a conversation that’s even slightly complicated when I’m in a hot flash

even in between hot flashes I was just hot and sweaty ALL THE TIME

I didn’t know what it was at first, especially since your period doesn’t stop until you’re actually in menopause, and I was in perimenopause.

Once I realized what was going on, it really helped because I thought I was dying even though tests revealed nothing wrong with me.

A few months back my mom mentioned that I didn’t seem to have hot/cold flashes on Sundays and maybe it was because of the gummies I take on Saturday nights to deal with my schizophrenia.

So after some research, I started microdosing THC every night about 5 weeks ago and...

IT WOOOOORKED!!! 🥳🥳🥳

The hot/cold flashes and everything that comes with them are completely gone as long as I take THC every night!

Then there’s the added bonus that my hallucinations have responded to the microdosing too!

I can’t even tell you the last time I hallucinated because it’s been so long!

I’ve tried pretty much all psych meds over the years (except 1st generation antipsychotics like Haldol because DAMN those are rough on the body/brain - 2nd and 3rd gen are still rough but not as bad as 1st gen) and NONE of them took my hallucinations away. NONE.

In fact when I first start an antipsychotic I get about 2-3 weeks of worsened hallucinations before it levels out.

I’m feeling so much better and like I can finally get a hold of my life again.

My family is still shitty and life is always difficult for various reasons for everybody, but I didn’t even realize how much my hormones were fucking with me.

I thought I was having a little trouble breathing earlier because of asthma, did a couple albuterol puffs, and WOW that just throws the panic attack into high gear when it’s not actually asthma.

I’m still shaky even though I used albuterol 2 hours ago.

I actually went 6 weeks (instead of the 2 weeks I thought I’d be doing) without a Saturday night gummy reset, and I’ve learned quite a lot about what it does for me.

cut for length

I hurt my right foot/leg again a few days ago.

Did the same exact thing while doing the same exact thing I did a year and a half ago at the shop.

So I’ve been in a walking boot for a few days. Good thing we kept the boot.

Today it’s ALMOST back to normal.

I lost just over 4 pounds this week!!

And while I’m totally thrilled, I know the recommendation is 2 pounds a week because more isn’t good for you, so I looked into it again. I hadn’t read the reasons why in quite a while.

The main reasons to not lose more than 2 pounds a week are risk of muscle loss (doesn’t apply because I’m gaining -- another pound just this week), gallstones (had my gallbladder out years ago), nutritional deficiencies from a crash diet (doesn’t apply because I’m not on a crash diet at 1200-1600 calories a day and one day a week where I hit between 1800-2000) and I’m taking vitamins and supplements), and metabolism drop.

The metabolism drop seems to happen in people who exercise too much and crash diet. I began staggering my exercise in the last 2 weeks after reading that exercising the same amount every day can get you stuck in a rut, which I got into about a month ago.

Once I started staggering my exercise, weight came off even faster.

The reason I didn’t want to do surgery and/or a heavier weight loss regimen was because I don’t want the excess skin that comes with doing that. The excess skin thing freaks me out and I don’t want to have to get more surgery to take off skin.

I certainly don’t want to run the risk of having to cut off tattooed skin!

Exercise usually fixes that unless you lose weight so fast your skin elasticity can’t keep up with it.

So I think I’m doing okay? My skin has been keeping up, I’m gaining muscle, I’m not crash dieting, and I’m not exercising so hard that I’m having related issues.

THAT MEANS I CAN JUST ENJOY HAVING LOST 4 POUNDS THIS WEEK!!

I’ve now lost 83 pounds total!

This might not help because I’m schizophrenic and it’s more of a brain regulatory/hallucination and mood issue, but I see a lot of spoonies complaining about putting clothing on and off over and over again, which HAS to be tiring.

Have you tried putting half of something on? I know it looks silly, but it works for me, and I especially use it at home alone.

Two socks make you sweat but none and you’re cold? Put one sock on.

Covering up with the blanket is too hot but take it off and you’re cold? Cover half your body (left vs right or top vs bottom). Sometimes I’ll even just cover one leg to get it just right.

Want the feeling of wearing a sweater because you’re cold and sweaters are warm and soft but too hot when you put it on? Pull the front over the back of your head so your chest, belly, and lower back are exposed but the arms and shoulders are covered.

Wear sweatpants on one leg and let the other leg drape over wherever you want it. I like putting my colder hand into it and switching off when it warms up and the other is cold.

If you like it enough and want to do it in public but are worried about people thinking you’re weird, go overboard with it so it looks like a style. Color-coordinate the pieces. Wear one mitten/glove and match it with a necklace or scarf. Wear one super fuzzy and colorful sock and another thin one that shares one color with the fuzzy sock.

I even cut one long sleeve off of one of my shirts and one of my nightshirts. I ripped holes in other stuff to give me some fresh air while still keeping me warm.