Health – Where’s my mojo?

I shared a few days ago, to never cheer too soon. There may always be setbacks. There may always be kinks in the road that make it more difficult than it first appeared. Plus, often a few days are easy to maintain, but keeping it up requires a whole different way of thinking and doing. And I’m a routine person, even though the routine isn’t too good for me.

I was doing well with my calories and exercising. I even lost a wee bit of weight! Which I was kinda proud of, even if it was only like 3 kilo’s… 😊 But keeping it up is hard and now I’m feeling my body resisting to snacking less. I know I’m addicted to the sugar rush, the dopamine release when I snack, and it’s hard to get used to going through the day with less of those moments. They feel so damned good! Why should I resist if it feels like this? That’s the addiction talking, I know. Also a reason why I’m reaching out for help with my eating disorder.

Journal – Week 12, March 2023

The last full week of March has begun. Can’t believe next week April is already starting! Ow my… The weather doesn’t promise much good unfortunately… So I guess we’ll get soaking wet quite a few times if we’re unlucky. Not too many appointments this week, which is nice. Gives some time to exercise and game and relax and all that 😉. Let’s see what this week brought me!

So much rain ☔ 😭 definitely not liking these forecasts…

Trying supplements

Before asking for prescription medications

I recently shared about a lack of Dopamine with many ADHD people. And I feel I’m one of them as well… The post can be found here: ADHD – Low on Dopamine? So I went to explore how I could stimulate that little dopamine factory within me so I’d have less of the effects. There were some supplements that might be helpful and there’s some kinds of ADHD meds that could help.

I chose to try out supplements first, as they’re more natural and don’t require a GP visit. Plus I had Ritalin in 2013 and I didn’t react too well to it at that time. So first the natural way, and if that worked then yay. If it didn’t work or maybe not enough, yeah, I’d plan a GP visit and talk to him about this. So I Googled about supplements that might be beneficial to ADHD people that were running low on Dopamine.

Journal – Week 11, March 2023

A new week has started. We’re slowly getting warmer, but wet, weather. Spring is coming closer. Daylight saving time will not come this week, we’re two weeks behind here and ours will come on March 26th. It would be a busy week, Monday I have back to back appointments, PT on Tuesday, Germany on Thursday and then helping dad, taking my mum to the gym on Friday… Busy busy days!

Warmer weather on some days, but also rain. Temperatures are in Celcius.

Progress?

Don’t cheer too quickly…

While I write this, I’ve had a good week. When I post this, I may have extended that week to two… Or I may have messed it up again… I would like to keep this streak going, as it definitely benefits my health and my mood. But too often I’ve celebrated too early and dug a new hole that I tumbled back into while partying…

It’s a dangerous vicious circle and I’ve been too accustomed to being in it. It even became a part of my unhealthy routine and lifestyle. And I knew I was messing up and some days, I could not care less as it wouldn’t make a difference anyway. But now, I’m trying to change my way of thinking and I’m like “but if I give up too early, I’ll never succeed in the long run”. And it’s easy to think this. To say it even. But acting upon it takes quite a bit of efforts.

Getting help – part 2

I recently shared that I reached out to a health care organization that may be able to help me with my eating disorder. I had contact with them on phone. Which was hard. But I did it as I do want the help…

I got an intake planned. I need to visit the GP first for the necessary papers/referrals. I have my go appointment on the same day as my video call with the health care company. So I’ll write this post towards that day, March 7th, with my experience. And then I’ll add the experience of that day before I share it. So I’m starting this in advance of the first (long) video call… 😊

Journal – Week 10, March 2023

The first whole week of March starts cold, wet and even a chance for snow! I hoped we’d be heading for spring weather. These conditions make my health worse, so I expect I’ll need some more painkillers and I’ll probably struggle more with my gym goals. On Tuesday I have an appointment with my GP and then he will hopefully make a referral for my Tuesday afternoon appointment with the health care company that may help me with my food disorder. Fingers crossed 🤞🏻. If my GP won’t do it, it’s all over 😔. On Thursday mum and I will go to Germany again. Last week mum didn’t visit the gym, I waited for her to ask about it and she didn’t 😔. So I’ll probably need to ask again for this week, if she’d like to work on her health. We’ll see how it goes… Hopefully I can keep my calories relatively low and my activity in a healthy way up.

So much rain and possibly a snow as well 😔 I was hoping to head to better weather as spring comes near. But first we get this painful weather, unfortunately 😔.

ADHD – Low on Dopamine?

As many of you know, I’m ADHD, well, AuDHD. And I’ve been struggling a whole lot with my weight. A few days ago I shared my post on my struggles with food on Mastodon. Someone replied to me, saying he’s also ADHD and he struggled as well. Till he found out that his bad earing patterns were directly affected by one of the symptoms of ADHD, having a low dopamine level. He said it didn’t necessarily have to be the same for me, but he’d been helped a lot with meds to regulate the dopamine levels and he lost over 20 kilo’s because his levels were better now. So yeah, definitely worth checking it out!

So in this post I’ll definitely quote several sites that had information on this topic. I’ll share my own experiences. And remember, just as I was told it may be different for me, it may also be different for you. But if you struggle as well, it might be worth to looking into! 😉

Activity

Many people I know with ADHD love to be active. Some prefer physical activities, some prefer mental ones. But sitting still and doing nothing is not in our vocabulary… Of course I only know a few ADHD folk so I definitely don’t speak for all of them. But for me personally, my brain needs stimulation in any form. Of I don’t entertain it, I get bored and quickly lose interest in many things that I usually really enjoy.

My AuDHD has a focus on the H bit: hyperactive. Not just my brain, but all of me… 😊

Hyperactivity means a person may seem to move about constantly, including in situations when it is not appropriate, or excessively fidgets, taps, or talks. In adults, hyperactivity may mean extreme restlessness or talking too much.

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd

Journal – Week 9, February/March 2023

The last week of February, the start of March… Time goes quick and I don’t mind. I’m trying to make the best of every day, even if some days I experience more pain. Or I’m sad because of things not going too well with my dad. I try to distract myself with fun things. I try to workout. I fail in eating less… I am trying to find help, but they need to be covered by my insurance as I can’t afford any help otherwise 😔. I called last week and they should call back. But I’m grabbing my anxiety and I’ll call again on Monday. Let’s see what this week brings…

They fixed it and I can share this again without too much hassle 😉. The weather forecast for our place… I live in Cuijk, Beers is a town nearby that has the weather station they use.