Ithaca, NY
Last weekend we drove down to NY state to spend a couple of days with my parents and sister and her family. We hiked in a state park, saw a waterfall and a lot of neat rock formations, and a lot of wild animals!
Animal sightings: ten live deer (and three dead ones), including a fawn. Four wild turkeys running in the road, and a turtle on the road that we had to swerve around. Stan knew I'd be upset if it was run over, so we turned around when possible (it was a narrow rural road) and went back to rescue it, but by the time we got back it had seemingly made it safely. Saw a hummingbird and a fox -- I've only seen a fox once or twice in my life.
The photos are here. They're mostly of Taughannock state park and/or my nephew Andy. Also I went to Tops supermarket and Waterloo, NY (because we live in Waterloo, Ontario).
Normally I don't talk about this stuff, but it has to do with my physical and mental health. I have Irritable Bowel Syndrome, which usually manifests as constipation, sometimes severely so. I've changed my lifestyle a lot over the past couple of years -- reducing or entirely ceasing certain foods which give me problems, eating a lot more fruits/vegetables/fibre, drinking a lot of water, and doing more walking/activity. It's actually helped a lot, but sometimes I inexplicably get badly constipated even when I'm doing everything right. Sometimes it's hormonal, sometimes I don't think there IS an explanation, and it's also become increasingly clear that stress is a major culprit.
Two weekends ago I was very nervous because of the Rogue bang and I was meeting a fellow fan for the first time...so I got really backed up, but began pooping again once the stress was over. This weekend we were driving to the States (always kind of nerve-wracking because the US border guards can be so scary and it's unfamiliar territory), and it was a change to my routine, and I'd be spending time with family. So I got really constipated, and was in a fair amount of pain all weekend. And sure enough, when I got home I started pooping again; not as much as I'd like, but a definite improvement. So it seems clear that stress is a major source.
I told my psychiatrist this week that I wanted to do something about that and he was kind of brushing me off, but when I told him how bad it was and how awful I'd felt (and it was bad), he agreed that sounded problematic. Now I am trying a low dose of Clonazepam to see if it helps chill me out, and I do generally feel more relaxed -- although haven't had anything stressful yet to test it. I don't know if he'd want me to go on it regularly because it sounds like something you don't want to take too often. I'm fine with that, I'd be happy to take it only when I have stressful events coming up, but we'll see what he says next time I see him. It's nice to feel calm for once, I like it, and I only feel a bit drowsy.
Anyway, we're going to see Man of Steel on Sunday! Hope it's good :)
Animal sightings: ten live deer (and three dead ones), including a fawn. Four wild turkeys running in the road, and a turtle on the road that we had to swerve around. Stan knew I'd be upset if it was run over, so we turned around when possible (it was a narrow rural road) and went back to rescue it, but by the time we got back it had seemingly made it safely. Saw a hummingbird and a fox -- I've only seen a fox once or twice in my life.
The photos are here. They're mostly of Taughannock state park and/or my nephew Andy. Also I went to Tops supermarket and Waterloo, NY (because we live in Waterloo, Ontario).
Normally I don't talk about this stuff, but it has to do with my physical and mental health. I have Irritable Bowel Syndrome, which usually manifests as constipation, sometimes severely so. I've changed my lifestyle a lot over the past couple of years -- reducing or entirely ceasing certain foods which give me problems, eating a lot more fruits/vegetables/fibre, drinking a lot of water, and doing more walking/activity. It's actually helped a lot, but sometimes I inexplicably get badly constipated even when I'm doing everything right. Sometimes it's hormonal, sometimes I don't think there IS an explanation, and it's also become increasingly clear that stress is a major culprit.
Two weekends ago I was very nervous because of the Rogue bang and I was meeting a fellow fan for the first time...so I got really backed up, but began pooping again once the stress was over. This weekend we were driving to the States (always kind of nerve-wracking because the US border guards can be so scary and it's unfamiliar territory), and it was a change to my routine, and I'd be spending time with family. So I got really constipated, and was in a fair amount of pain all weekend. And sure enough, when I got home I started pooping again; not as much as I'd like, but a definite improvement. So it seems clear that stress is a major source.
I told my psychiatrist this week that I wanted to do something about that and he was kind of brushing me off, but when I told him how bad it was and how awful I'd felt (and it was bad), he agreed that sounded problematic. Now I am trying a low dose of Clonazepam to see if it helps chill me out, and I do generally feel more relaxed -- although haven't had anything stressful yet to test it. I don't know if he'd want me to go on it regularly because it sounds like something you don't want to take too often. I'm fine with that, I'd be happy to take it only when I have stressful events coming up, but we'll see what he says next time I see him. It's nice to feel calm for once, I like it, and I only feel a bit drowsy.
Anyway, we're going to see Man of Steel on Sunday! Hope it's good :)