09 May 2017 - False advertising
Hello, it's me again. How are you? It's been such a long time since I last posted.
Day, uh, 75 with escitalopram.
Mood: 5.
Well, my little study on how temporarily stopping Lexapro cold-turkey affects my mood was interesting. As with the first time I didn't take pills, there was a distinct uptick in my mood that lasted for a few days, which was incredibly nice. However, there were also some unpleasant physical effects, symptoms of Lexapro withdrawal - a mild but very persistent headache, nausea, dizziness, and an unsettling awareness of fluid moving in my head (it's probably not actual fluid that I was aware of, but I'm not a physiologist, so this is the best description I have). I also noticed a feeling of pressure behind my eyes, and a slight sense that my equilibrium was off, like how I am after I've ingested a small measure of alcohol. The discomfort of the physical effects outweighed the mental benefits that I was enjoying, so I decided to end the study as planned, after five days.
In a way, taking another pill after having not done so for days felt like being weak, returning to an old habit. I think that I'm going to have to do some reading up on exactly how escitalopram affects the nervous system, and see what conclusions I can deduce as far as why I saw the effects I did when the levels of it in my blood were allowed to decrease rapidly.
Out of my head and into the world, I had two more exams Tuesday - toxicology and multiple stressors in ecology. Neither was really difficult, which was pleasant. The multiple stressors exam was surprising in its ease, though it was incredibly long. Fifteen pages...I want to send my toxicology instructor an invoice for the textbook I rented and never used. That's money that could have gone elsewhere. Like lunch or something.
It felt good to get more exams done.
The evening was split between studying for my biochemistry exam, listening to things on YouTube (I've been on a bit of a vaporwave kick as of late; I only like it ironically), and carrying out my job as final editor of the multiple stressors group project write-up. I'm not going to lie, I kind of half-assed my editing of the last few paragraphs, as they were good enough and I needed to get back to my lab ASAP. However, I'm far more stringent about grammar and structure than a lot of people, thanks to very difficult English courses that I took very seriously, so even if I didn't pour my heart and soul into my changes, it's still going to be good.
This project was the single most involved group assignment I've ever been a part of, but it was also the best executed. The five of us all pulled our weight equally (for the most part; the one guy didn't add much more than citations in EndNote), and were all competent. I doubt that I'll have another experience quite as good as this one before I graduate.
The only other thing of note is that I ordered Jimmy John's for the first time, and was disappointed by how long it took. I waited almost an hour! That is not freaky fast delivery.
Anyway. I'll try to get today's post up today.
10 May 2017
Day, uh, 75 with escitalopram.
Mood: 5.
Well, my little study on how temporarily stopping Lexapro cold-turkey affects my mood was interesting. As with the first time I didn't take pills, there was a distinct uptick in my mood that lasted for a few days, which was incredibly nice. However, there were also some unpleasant physical effects, symptoms of Lexapro withdrawal - a mild but very persistent headache, nausea, dizziness, and an unsettling awareness of fluid moving in my head (it's probably not actual fluid that I was aware of, but I'm not a physiologist, so this is the best description I have). I also noticed a feeling of pressure behind my eyes, and a slight sense that my equilibrium was off, like how I am after I've ingested a small measure of alcohol. The discomfort of the physical effects outweighed the mental benefits that I was enjoying, so I decided to end the study as planned, after five days.
In a way, taking another pill after having not done so for days felt like being weak, returning to an old habit. I think that I'm going to have to do some reading up on exactly how escitalopram affects the nervous system, and see what conclusions I can deduce as far as why I saw the effects I did when the levels of it in my blood were allowed to decrease rapidly.
Out of my head and into the world, I had two more exams Tuesday - toxicology and multiple stressors in ecology. Neither was really difficult, which was pleasant. The multiple stressors exam was surprising in its ease, though it was incredibly long. Fifteen pages...I want to send my toxicology instructor an invoice for the textbook I rented and never used. That's money that could have gone elsewhere. Like lunch or something.
It felt good to get more exams done.
The evening was split between studying for my biochemistry exam, listening to things on YouTube (I've been on a bit of a vaporwave kick as of late; I only like it ironically), and carrying out my job as final editor of the multiple stressors group project write-up. I'm not going to lie, I kind of half-assed my editing of the last few paragraphs, as they were good enough and I needed to get back to my lab ASAP. However, I'm far more stringent about grammar and structure than a lot of people, thanks to very difficult English courses that I took very seriously, so even if I didn't pour my heart and soul into my changes, it's still going to be good.
This project was the single most involved group assignment I've ever been a part of, but it was also the best executed. The five of us all pulled our weight equally (for the most part; the one guy didn't add much more than citations in EndNote), and were all competent. I doubt that I'll have another experience quite as good as this one before I graduate.
The only other thing of note is that I ordered Jimmy John's for the first time, and was disappointed by how long it took. I waited almost an hour! That is not freaky fast delivery.
Anyway. I'll try to get today's post up today.
10 May 2017
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