Hah.

I've lost seven pounds since I bought the Wii Fit. :D

Is this me maturing?

I just decided it would be a bad idea to answer the question "what do you like best about this class?" with "It starts at 11AM" on a course evaluation.

If it were anonymous, tho? Oh boy.

In which Wren discusses her VAGINA.

Seriously. And, because I am polite, there is spoiler text. :D

About this time last year I went on medication for bipolar I disorder. About a month into that, we realized that my birth control pills, that I had been on for three years and loved so very much, were no longer going to function properly thanks to enzyme competition (I will not wax poetic here involving enzyme sites and uptake rates.) Now, I am not actually on birth control for the sex. I'm on it to deal with yet another medical disorder which causes the lining of my uterus to thicken and cysts to develop in my fallopian tubes and other such ridiculously wrong nonsense. Biologically, this translates to vastly irregular periods that are very painful and involve a lot of blood. A lot. of blood.

So, I'd gone through that in high school, and was pretty used to this "yay, my nethers are behaving normally! :D" Unfortunately, in all honesty, it was is more important for my brain to be behaving normally. My psychiatrist went "oh, it's fine, we'll just find some other sort of birth control."

And thus began the long and often scary quest I have fondly titled "How Many Bizarre Things Can I Stick in My Vay-Jay-Jay?" (My personal favorite was the plastic ring I was supposed to just wedge up there for three weeks at a time and ignore.)

Unfortunately, plastic ring or pill, they all were working with the exact same enzymes that were no longer available thanks to the bipolar disorder medication. My psychiatrist's response? "Just use condoms." My response? "I'm thinking that's a bad idea."

And then I had my first real period off the meds. No one died, luckily, but several pints of ice cream bore the brunt of my rage. "Fuck this," my newly-sane brain said, and my rather pissed-off poon agreed. So off to the gynecologist we went! (Which is anatomically logical, but still amusing to say.)

I explained my problems to her, and her response was "Don't worry about it! We deal with this all the time. We'll just give you an IUD!"

For the record, crotches wince.

But, after some explanation, things settled down a bit. They're not made from copper anymore, but a nice, innocuous plastic that secretes progesterone. I get it put in and can leave it be for six years, and that's it. Even better, there is a good chance I will stop having periods completely. Granted, it is still a T-shaped piece of plastic just chilling in my uterus, but better that than babies.

How could I say no? I'll spare you the details of its insertion. Know simply that I am NEVER having children and walking was the only thing that was painless for four days.

My housemates (who also have vaginas, or at least like vaginas enough to talk to me about mine) quickly dubbed my IUD Gandalf-- "YOU SHALL NOT PASS." Trust me, all the parallels between the bridge, the Balrog, and any possible joke involving orcs have been made, so shut up. (Also, you're welcome for that image. There's spoiler text for a reason!)

Gandalf and I didn't get along at first. I was told I might have "some spotting" for the first two months, but nothing prepared me for the constant existence of blood where blood should not be. Three months. Three months of me going "FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, VAGINA, GIVE UP!" Or, "THE SWORD JOKES WERE METAPHORICAL, GANDALF." At this point the rats still lived in the bathroom, so these outbursts garnered multiple pairs of beady-eyed stares. More than once I considered taking the damn thing out and just getting an ablation.

But! But! It's finally paying off! I've not had a period in two months, which makes me beyond happy.

Unfortunately, I discovered last night that while I may not actually bleed anymore, I still have a sort of PMS where I sacrifice chocolate ice cream to the random craving gods. With a diabolical frequency.

All in all, though, I'd say it's worth it.

*devours pint*

more Wren Prevention

I finally managed to cut down on my soda intake. When I moved into this apartment, I had an epiphany -- if there is no soda in the house, there is none for me to drink. Shocking, I know, but it has been very effective. I've gone as many as four days without having soda this way. In fact, I've given myself two withdrawal migraines.

I've also figured out how to keep myself from obsessively eating bagels when I buy them. You see, bagels freeze rather well, so I buy eight of them, freeze four of them, and am forced to wait for the others to thaw out before I can use them. So far, it has worked rather well.

The same thing goes for cookie dough. If I have it in the house, I will live off of it. But, if it is frozen into 4 1-serving portions, I will eat it slowly.

I'm getting rather good at this.

The One-Week Update

Well, I've been on Tegretol for a week now, and tonight I am supposed to double my dose, so I figured now was a good time for a one-week update on how I've been feeling.

Side Effects:
No bad ones so far. I haven't had more difficulty speaking (than is usual), or thinking. If anything, I've gotten the best night's sleep of...a decade in the past week on this stuff. While this might become a bad thing as I increase my dosage, right now it's a pretty big perk. I've noticed no abnormal bruising, rashes, or weight changes.

Desired Effects:
I haven't had a severe swing yet, though it's unclear whether that's due to the meds or not. I came down from my mania on Tuesday and was rather normal until Friday night. Since then, I've been fighting off a depressive swing. Dunno if this was caused by starting the meds while manic, but it's been controllable so far. Hanging out with people forces me to leave the house, and going to the library forces me to do homework. As long as I keep up with my Wren Prevention, I should get through this okay.

In one week I'll probably do this again. I'm getting closer to an "effective" dose, so
things will probably start changing.

Oh noez.

Tonight, I rid myself of the last vestige of my Southern upbringing.

I'm going to have to start drinking iced tea without sugar.

@.@

Last night I learned never to go to bed low, no matter how dizzy I am. I do not feel well this morning at all, and I also can't remember why I went to bed before finishing my juice. Bad, bad judgement call, Wren.

I have always hated spinach

And I'm pretty sure I always will. But whatever.

There are easier ways for me to be healthier, anyway. I've stopped buying pop and junk food for the house. I also have foods that take time to make, so I'm less likely to eat out of boredom. And I don't carry enough money to buy fast food (I have this thing about credit cards at fast food places. I dunno.)

I've been craving chocolate ice cream for three days now, tho. Or is it four or five? But now I have an attack of stubborness, and I refuse to give in because it would depress me, anyway.

>>

Yes, Wren Self-Prevention at work again. I know me too well. Too bad I won't be able to do this once I'm back eating full-time at the SUB.

A most wonderful sense of freedom

I went into the doctor today, and he gave me the go-ahead to stop physical therapy. He did, however, warn me that if I do not keep exercising regularly and doing strength training for my inner quad and hips I will relapse.

He also told me I NEED to start running again, so for those of you who are worried I'll make things worse...HA. (Yes, I am mature.)

That's the problem with running. Once you start, you can't really stop.

I'm headed off to the gym to work out before I sleep again.

Telly, give me one good reason to post my pic on World of Warcraft Faces.
>.<

myaaaa.

I have decided I am no longer dealing with people that frustrate me.

It was nice knowing all of you. I'll be spending the rest of my life in a hut by a river in the mountains. There are no visiting hours. But I may have a few cats.

Found out why Fam's getting a new laptop. Seems as though she fell asleep with the old one on the bed, knocked it off, and "shattered" it.

My my. This is more reason to keep her away from mine.