| Link: "Bras might reduce melatonin and increase the risk of breast cancer" |
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Sunday, July 29th, 2018 20:14:42 GMT |
Bras might reduce melatonin and increase the risk of breast cancer
July 29, 2018 from Non24.com
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| Link: "Blackstrap Molasses, Iron and Ferritin Deficiency, Menstrual Health, and a Yummy Dessert Recipe" |
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Monday, March 19th, 2018 15:05:13 GMT |
I recently posted this to Non24.com:
So, I just thought I ought to post about this here, in case it might be helpful to anyone.
This other page says:
"In fact, iron deficiency is the most common and widespread nutritional disorder in the world, according to the WHO, which estimates that some 2 billion people - or 30% of the world's entire population - have anemia, which is caused by lack of iron."
I also blogged about two other good blackstrap molasses-containing recipes I recently tried:
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| Health diary part 2 - financial help welcome |
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Tuesday, September 19th, 2017 13:17:10 GMT |
Donations and microdonations are welcome, and might help me buy things that will help my health.
However, I often feel too stressed out to even check to see if I got any donations, and I'm afraid it will dishearten me if I didn't, so, I actually might not notice for a long time if anyone sends anything, because I have to be in a particularly good and brave mood to even check to see if anyone sent (or didn't send) anything.
Also, I still don't feel up to even checking a lot of my email, so, sorry for being so unreachable.
Thanks again to all you kind people out there. You people are among the top reasons why I still think life is worth living.
I'm 36 years old, never attended college (partly for financial reasons, and partly because of my severe sleep issues and shyness), and I have a GED instead of a standard high school diploma.
So, please don't blindly assume I know what I'm talking about, and please don't blindly assume that my ideas or personal health habits necessarily have any merit.
This blog post is a personal diary of how things have been going for me health-wise (and sometimes I mention a few details here and there of other things going on in my life), and my thoughts and speculations on the possible causes of my fatigue, headaches, and other ailments, and different things I've tried, or which I'm considering trying, to alleviate my ailments.
I just want to figure out how I can improve my sleep quality regardless of what time it is when I sleep, and improve my well-being and energy levels regardless of what time it is when I'm awake. It would be nice in many ways if I had a predictable schedule (even if it wasn't a "normal" schedule - like reliably being awake at night and asleep during the day, or having a very reliable, predictable forward or even backwards daily shift of my sleep and wake times). But it seems totally impossible for me no matter what I do, so I think I'm better off not wasting my time, and instead working on less impossible things.
None of this blog post is intended as health advice. It's basically just me venting, mendicanting a bit by pointing out that I accept donations and microdonations, sometimes copying and pasting and/or linking to interesting health-related things I find on the web, and coming up with various (informal) theories on what ails me, and ideas of what possible solutions I'd like to try next.
Also, the details I share about myself are often not very complete, because of laziness, tiredness or feeling too bad (except often I actually write more when I'm feeling tired or bad, since when I feel good, I'm often busy with more useful and/or interesting things, like computer programming projects or reading), and because of me wanting to keep some things private. And I'm often not in the mood to write in very thorough detail about all of my thoughts on things I link to or quote.
Please be careful, please use common sense, and please don't blindly mimic me. It's quite possible that some of the things I tried, or will try, are, or will be, quite stupid. If you need health advice, please consult a health care professional.
And, if you actually get anything worthwhile out of reading this blog post, there's a whole lot more like it in part 1 of my health diary.
But I had such a good day after that (when my cold was still mild), I didn't feel like continuing to post updates, so I didn't rush to create a new health diary blog post. I even got some programming done that day.
I also have a croup cough, a symptom I've commonly gotten during colds since I was a child. And at times I could scarcely speak - my voice just wasn't working - but at the moment, I can speak. Had a sore throat, but it went away, then came back, and currently is gone again. And my senses of smell and taste are usually very diminished.
Been eating soup with freshly-crushed cloves of garlic sometimes, though I find it tough to deal with how garlic burns my mouth, so I'm not sure I've been eating enough garlic to do me much good. However, yesterday or so, it seemed to make my gums stop acting up for a bunch of hours (not sure how many exactly). The garlic made me feel like my mouth was on fire, but after that, my gum's lower left sore spot stopped bothering me for a while.
Another thing that seemed to help was drinking a glass of milk with Breakfast Essentials powder.
And a banana/pineapple smoothie made with my nice, cheap, but still very effective blender.
I have such an aversion to plain water, and still worry that maybe I have some tendencies toward adrenal fatigue-related electrolyte imbalance. Really hoping my recent experiments with resuming caffeine aren't too hard on my adrenals.
Been having trouble getting comfortable temperature-wise, and even resorted to my electric blanket last sleep, which I hope was more helpful than harmful. Been fiddling with my air conditioner a lot lately, since I can't find just one setting I can just leave it at and feel continually comfortable. I keep getting too hot or too cold.
I'm a bit headachy as I write this, which I suspect is from caffeine withdrawal, so, I'm having another cup of tea now, since between caffeine and caffeine withdrawal, I'm gambling that caffeine will be less bad for me. Have only been sleeping 4 hours at a time.
Remarkably, I've still been having less trouble with my eyes getting dry or gooey lately. It seems like I don't get those problems as much when I drink tea.
Also, I didn't realize that there's an access panel for dealing with the upstairs bathroom's plumbing in the neighboring room, which is the room with the junk mountain in it, so, that enormous mess probably also needs to be cleaned up before we can bring in a plumber, unless I don't mind only getting the toilet and sink fixed and not also the bathtub.
But, I really want to be able to take warm baths again in a non-disgusting bathtub, and get doses of magnesium that way, since magnesium gel seems to work so much better for me than oral magnesium capsules.
But magnesium gel is kind of inconvenient (especially since we don't always have hot water immediately available for me to wash it off with, because to save money we keep our water heater turned off), and probably will be even more uncomfortable for me to use as the weather gets colder. And cold can be bad for your immune system.
So, I really, really, really want to get the upstairs bathroom fixed, so I can try taking warm baths with magnesium bath flakes or this magnesium oil.
Donations and microdonations are welcome.
And back in Dec. 2016, my dentist gave me penicillin and told me there's still infection around my root canaled teeth, and even said they might have to be extracted if they flare up again. So, the idea that my root canaled teeth harbor infection is not just a speculation of mine - it's a definite fact.
I'm quite reluctant to part with any more teeth, but, I wonder if maybe I would be better off getting rid of my root canaled teeth, even though it would be more difficult to chew. I wonder if my root canals are a big part of why this cold has been so much worse for me than my other relative who got it.
This cold has been so bad that even frequent Vitamin C didn't seem as helpful as I expected it to be. But I consider that a possible clue that I really am in need of more Vitamin D, since I noticed quite a while back that it seems like I need less Vitamin C to soothe my gums when I take Vitamin D.
So, I really hope continuing to drink caffeinated tea will help me more than it harms me, since I don't think my body can handle going through caffeine withdrawal at the moment, and I'm not sure I should quit again even if/when I do feel up to trying to quit, since at times it makes me feel better and more normal than I've felt in quite a long time.
I recently managed to clean my room the slight amount necessary to make my exercise bike useable again, and was very surprised that my nose unclogged quite quickly during my brief ride. (Didn't stay unclogged for long, though.)
There's a useable TV in the junk mountain room, so, that will make cleaning more pleasant.
Lately, I've actually started to develop some aversion to even being in my room, so, maybe I should move to a different room?
Ever since reading scary articles like this one, and this one which I never linked to before, I've felt rather uneasy about there being a power line(?) or something so close to my window.
But, other than all that, I'm feeling a lot better, probably due to a variety of factors, like the 8000 IU of Vitamin D I took earlier maybe finally taking effect, and the 3 grams of Vitamin C I've been taking multiple times per day. And I think Advil probably helped with my possible fever.
The headache soon decreased after I drank some milk.
Also, found we had a vegetable or fruit peeler. (Not for sale on that page, but the narrowest one on that page looks similar to what I found.) It made it much easier to divide the garlic clove up into easier to eat small pieces.
Thank goodness for Vitamin D + magnesium, garlic, Vitamin C, tea (even decaf, preferably made with the carbon dioxide method of decaffeination), and various other helpful things I already mentioned.
I made the mistake of leaving my air conditioner at 72 degrees, and woke up very thirsty and dry-eyed, with a headache, and my cold definitely isn't gone yet. But, since yesterday, I've had a regular cough rather than a croup cough.
As usual, plain water didn't seem to help much with my thirst and dry eyes. My banana/pineapple smoothie (which I added a bit of salt to because I was worried about possible adrenal fatigue-related electrolyte imbalance) seemed a bit better, but maybe not salty enough and I wasn't in the mood to drink something so sweet. Finally remembered I had some nice salty vegetable juice. That was good, but, I still feel kind of out of sorts and verging on a headache.
Tired and wishing I could go back to sleep, but, my headache will make that impossible. Will probably make a cup of caffeinated tea soon, but it seems like such a chore to prepare it, and I'm tempted to just drink a Barq's caffeinated root beer instead.
Maybe I should try keeping some caffeinated iced tea in my mini-fridge.
Momentarily felt kind of overheated (despite the air conditioner being at 66 degrees now), and am hungry for breakfast cereal. Fortunately, thanks to my caffeine habit, eating cereal or other carby foods in my morning is a lot less likely to make me sleepy.
It seems like I often get dehydrated when I sleep, even when I'm not sick with a cold. Wish I could figure out how to solve that - it would probably improve my sleep quality a lot.
Rather unhappy that Great Value root beer's recipe seems to have been changed - the new package says it has 35 mg of sodium, and the old package says it has 45 mg of sodium. But, I have too much of a cold to judge if it actually tastes noticeably different from the previous version.
I don't know if it's just me, or if there's a low-sodium fad in the food industry which is making foods I don't recall having had to add salt to in the past taste under-salted to me, like Thomas's English muffins, and Campbell's chunky chicken noodle soup and chunky beef/country vegetable soup. Maybe I'm still having adrenal fatigue-related salt cravings.
I wish I could make my own root beer with exclusively healthy ingredients - organic everything, and no high fructose corn syrup or anything else bad. And no caffeine. But judging by this page, making your own root beer seems rather complicated.
Also, I didn't know there are some methods of making root beer which actually lead to it containing a small amount of alcohol! I definitely don't want even the tiniest trace of alcohol in my root beer, or anything else I consume - not even cooked foods, since cooking might not remove all alcohol.
Fortunately, that abovementioned page says "Force carbonated root beer is entirely non-alcoholic."
But, not really in the mood to eat or make food or tea. In fact, now that my headache is decreasing, maybe I could even go back to sleep, despite the presumably smaller than my usual morning dose of caffeine. Perhaps that's because a couple hours ago, I had a full dose of Nature Made magnesium citrate without Vitamin D. I thought maybe I still had enough Vitamin D in my body that the magnesium might perk me up (by enabling my body to make use of the Vitamin D) rather than make me tired (as I long ago noticed oral magnesium without Vitamin D tends to do to me), but I guess I didn't. Reluctant to take more Vitamin D supplements already, though - still afraid of possibly overdosing, and also, I'd actually like to go back to sleep if I can.
Still a bit headachy, though. But, starting to wake up a bit more. On second thought, no, I'm still mostly tired. I guess I could take an Advil. OK, did so.
My air conditioner started making odd crackly noises just now, so I turned it off. But my room will probably get too warm without it. I already am feeling overheated. Maybe I am feverish again. OK, air conditioner back on. It's still making odd crackly or liquidy noises sometimes. Oh, well. Minutes later, though, it sounds completely normal.
I wish I felt up to cleaning the next room. Even if we can't afford a plumber in the near future, it would be nice to know that whenever we can afford to bring in a plumber, there will be nothing else stopping us from doing so. Also, maybe I'd feel more comfortable staying in that room. It's bigger, and I'd have a lot more room in my room if I put my bed elsewhere. Maybe I should use my room as an office and sleep elsewhere.
Also, re-reading some of this page about theanine comforts me, and reminds me that maybe caffeinated tea maybe isn't as bad for my adrenals as I sometimes worry it might be.
Maybe next time I make a cup of tea with a prepackaged tea bag, I should also put in a custom teabag containing just decaf, so I can hopefully improve the caffeine/theanine ratio of my tea - as well as the flavor.
I'm glad I tried going back to making tea the way I always used to make it, though - now I'm even more sure I'm better off doing things differently.
I wonder if maybe the new air conditioner I got last June makes it too dehumidified in here. (However, I've had trouble with gooey eyes since at least last winter, if I recall correctly.) Perhaps my usually-on desktop computers contribute to the problem too.
Too bad it often gets too warm in here without my air conditioner. And I'd be reluctant to use a humidifier in here with my computers.
I read somewhere on the web that a hygrometer is what you use to measure humidity, so, going to get this one since it's only $12.59.
Maybe I should try sleeping downstairs, like one of my relatives already does. That probably won't work for me very well during the day because of all the noise, but, might be OK at night.
There's a computer in the next room too, but conceivably it could be moved elsewhere, so I could use a humidifier in there. Or, maybe I should move the microwave out of the upstairs bathroom and use a humidifier in there, a room designed to cope with humidity.
Maybe I could even sleep in there, since no one else uses that room frequently for anything. I could clean the dust and spider webs out of the bathtub and make it into my new bed, LOL. Even without a humidifier in the upstairs bathroom, that might be better than sleeping in my own room has been lately.
Very curious to see if I really will get less dehydrated sleeping in there than I do sleeping in my own room.
So, I think I might really try it once I get sleepy enough. Except it might be too warm in there. But opening the window might help, especially at night.
I'm most interested in maximizing the amount of theanine I get. But I'm also concerned about the amount of caffeine. Given how sensitive I am to caffeine and caffeine withdrawal, I am reluctant to blindly vary my caffeine dosages very much, and really wish I had a way to know exactly how much is in all the different teas I like to drink.
So, maybe I'll be OK theanine-wise using either microwave.
Despite getting dehydrated again as I slept, I feel like my cold has continued to decrease. My nose and ears are less clogged, and I still have no sore throat or croup cough.
Took 3 capsules of Testa vegan Omega 3 today instead of my usual 1, and took my other usual vitamins. I'm still refraining from having more Vitamin D in capsule form - I think it has been doing me good, but I don't want to make the mistake of overdoing it again.
I think my largest "meal" was about half a container of cottage cheese. (Ate so much of that because it was approaching its expiration date, and also because I knew I had to compensate somehow for having eaten so little the rest of my day). Improved my leftover banana/pineapple smoothie by adding orange juice to it. Also ate some peanuts, raisins, 2 packs of oats+honey granola bars, a can of decaf Great Value root beer (the old(?) version with 45 mg sodium), some milk, and 2 delicious mushroom tarts one of my relatives brought home from somewhere. I should figure out how to make those, they were really good.
Today, woke up feeling alert enough, but I'm still not really eager to do much other than sleep, or lie in bed and write this, or read. But, very relieved that I'm still recovering from this cold, even despite continuing to neglect to eat very well.
But, not going to try it in my room until I get my hygrometer (for measuring humidity).
Actually, not sure I'll try the humidifier in my room at all because it will probably make me worry about my computer stuff. Except I have sometimes read that too much dryness in the air can increase the amount of static, which is dangerous for computer stuff. However, I don't know if it's that dry in here, since I never noticed static shocks even on the rare occasions when I tried to do something about my clothes mountain, nor when I used my electric blanket recently (or any time in the past).
It seemed nice outside (though a bit chilly), and when I turned my air conditioner back on, it seemed like air was being pulled in from that window, judging by the motion of my paper and tape window shade. It was very nice to get some fresh outdoor air in here, and I think it felt much better than running the air conditioner with my window closed.
But, I was still worried that too much humidity might be bad for my computer stuff, or that it might rain while I sleep, and that water might get on the computer monitor I have next to my window. And I also was worried about privacy, and didn't like feeling uneasy about the wind possibly blowing my window shade or blinds around, and having to wear more clothes than I usually do while alone. So, I closed the window after maybe only about 20 minutes.
I kind of wish I had a small tent and sleeping bag and could sleep on my house's balcony. (I'd feel safer there than in the backyard.) But, the weather probably won't be suitable for that for much longer.
I feel even more eager than before to clean the junk mountain room. It has a nice big window like my room, and if I make that room nice enough to sleep in, then, I could finally follow the common sleep advice of using my bedroom primarily for sleep and hardly any other activities. I'm pretty sure that won't cure all my sleep issues, but I like the idea anyway.
And I'll be away from my air conditioner, which I suspect dehumidifies my room too much and thereby possibly contributes to me getting dehydrated. And I'll be able to easily open windows and run a humidifier without having to worry about it possibly harming any computer stuff.
But, the book Dreaming While Awake: Techniques for 24-Hour Lucid Dreaming was so intriguing that when I found I couldn't get many more of the author's books via my local libraries' Overdrive websites, I decided to get physical copies of them.
I already received 4 of those books before, and yesterday, I received the rest of the ones I asked a relative to order, as well as one I didn't ask for, but am glad to have too.
My cold and other things have lately distracted me a lot from the above books, but I greatly look forward to reading more in them, probably even quite soon.
I'm definitely not in the mood to write in depth about deep philosophical topics, but, I just wanted to point these books out because reading Dreaming While Awake: Techniques for 24-Hour Lucid Dreaming recently was so thought-provoking and fun for me.
Surprisingly and pleasingly, the blue version's description says it's made in the USA. The red one's description doesn't say that, but, I'm hoping it's made in the USA too. (Addition, Sept. 24, 2017, 2:23 AM EDT. The red tent's label says it's made in China.)
I chose red because according to this page, "Red light has the least power to shift circadian rhythm and suppress melatonin."
Decided not to get a sleeping bag - hopefully I can just use my usual blankets and pillows.
Was woken by thirst at various times. But, I felt alert and well-rested when I finally got up, even though my cold seemed at first like it might have worsened a bit again, since my nose seemed stuffier. But some hours after I woke up, my cold decreased again before I even ate anything except vitamins, and I felt even more recovered than I did the day before that.
Almost forgot to mention that I slept braless that night, though more because of being too lazy or tired or oblivious to put it back on than because of the scary health reasons to go braless. So, maybe that increased my melatonin and made me sleep better. Sleeping braless is something I seldom do, but, maybe I should try it more often, since maybe it's healthier than even the loose, comfortable bras I usually wear, and perhaps my blankets, sheets and pillows sufficiently mitigate the effects of gravity.
On Sept. 22nd, until around 3 PM, I neglected to eat anything but vitamins. Didn't get tired until sometime (not sure when exactly) after eating. Ate some raisins, granola bars, some Swedish meatballs, mushroom tarts, and orange juice. Later, had some milk, some Barq's root beer, some Maui BBQ potato chips, and 2 dark chocolate/peanut butter granola bars.
Did little besides reading (before getting tired), and watched TV with family afterward. Until getting tired, I felt like my mind was sharper and quicker. Maybe taking 3 capsules of Testa vegan Omega 3 instead of 1 has been helping me.
My body felt spry and energetic even at times when my brain felt sleepy.
Was pleasantly surprised to find my gums weren't sore at all when I brushed, flossed, and irrigated today. Feeling a bit sleepy, but it's not that bad, and I still have plenty of physical energy. I feel like the big 4-capsule (8000 IU) dose of Vitamin D I took the other day is still doing me some good, so I'm not going to take more yet.
Have mostly just been reading, as usual. Actually didn't even take any vitamins yet, and all I ate was raisins so far, but, feeling OK - just hungry.
Just recently, with the air conditioner in fan mode almost 2 hours (after having been in cooling mode for hours), the humidity increased to 51%, and temperature went up to 73.2.
So, at least yesterday and today, it hasn't been as dry in my room as I thought it might be. But, the hygrometer seems to confirm my impression that my room's air is usually noticeably drier than the rest of the house. All readings elsewhere were above 50%, and to my surprise, readings sometimes went above 60%, 70%, or even 80% when I held it next to other air conditioners than mine, especially when they were in fan-only mode.
But the humidity reading always goes down when I hold it next to my air conditioner, regardless of whether it's in fan-only mode or cooling mode. (Addition, Sept. 23, 2017, 4:20 PM EDT. Tried it again recently, and the humidity reading actually went up quite a bit when holding the hygrometer next to my air conditioner in fan only mode. So, maybe the situation isn't as bad as I thought.)
Next to one of my desktop computer's vents (which is constantly blowing very warm air), the humidity reading goes down and the temperature goes up. So, my computers probably aren't helping the situation in here either.
Maybe the drier air here is better for my computer stuff, but, I think I feel better in the other air conditioned rooms, and I think maybe I'd rather get a different air conditioner that doesn't do so much dehumidification. Or, maybe I'll use my room as an office instead of a bedroom.
But by the time I returned, that room had cooled down a bit, so the current temperature reading was something in the high 70's - still too hot for me to sleep there without air conditioning. I forgot what the humidity readings were, but, I think they were always above 50% and below 60%.
I think this hygrometer is usually faster at detecting humidity than temperature, but, it seems to work quickest if some air is blowing on it. It goes up a lot quickly if I breathe on it, or goes up or down quickly if I hold it near an air conditioner.
The tent actually might have arrived at the post office today, but I forgot to remind my relative to pick it up, so, since the post office closes at 12 PM on Saturday, and is closed on Sunday, I probably will have to wait at least a couple more days to get it.
So, maybe I'll sleep in the cat litter room until I get my tent, or until I clean the junk mountain room.
I wish everything was open 24/7. It would create a lot more jobs. And if those jobs (or any jobs) were so flexible that I could begin or stop working anytime I wanted, and didn't have a quota of time I'm required to put in, there would be a lot more jobs I could handle doing.
Took a full dose of magnesium citrate before sleep on Sept 21-22nd, but forgot to take that before today's sleep.
Anyway, to my pleasant surprise, my relative did pick up my tent from the post office, and I was able to figure out how to set it up on my own in the past half hour or so. The instructions were missing, but I found this YouTube video which helped.
I was a bit disappointed that the tent actually wasn't made in the USA - its label says it was made in China. But I still like it. It's a lot more roomy than I expected, and quite comfortable for me, since I'm only about 5'4". The only problem is, I'm not sure I'm sleepy enough to actually sleep there yet.
But, it's 62 degrees outside, which is a quite comfortable enough temperature for me.
Still tired and annoyed at having my sleep interrupted. Thirsty and a bit headachy.
Also, the tent's cloth is translucent, which lets a lot of light in, and makes me worried that I might need some additional protection from the sun to avoid sunburn. I also don't feel like I have much privacy when it's light outside, or even when using a flashlight or my phone inside when it's dark.
It's at least free as in price, but I don't yet know whether or not it's free as in freedom.
So, I guess I could try sleeping in the cat litter room, except that's way too sunny now since the window blinds are rolled all the way up with the window cords taped up so our cat can't mess with them.
Too sleepy to clean up the junk mountain room now.
My room's humidity is currently 51% and the temperature is 67.8. Maybe I'll just sleep here.
Now my room's humidity is 55% and the temperature is 68.7. My air conditioner is set to cool to 68 degrees, and is in energy-saving mode, with the fan speed automatically adjusting itself as well. Seems comfortable enough at the moment.
Outside, it's 86 degrees, which definitely feels too hot for me to go back to my tent.
Asked a relative to try to open the upstairs bathroom window, but, apparently, it's totally stuck. So, I guess I can't sleep in the upstairs bathroom.
Feeling too sleepy to get anything important done, and not in the mood to clean. Probably I need to sleep longer and better. And maybe I'm extra-tired because of having done without caffeine (except for dark chocolate/peanut butter granola bars) lately. I wonder if going braless actually increases my melatonin too much?
Maybe if I stay awake long enough and return to my tent to sleep tonight, I'll end up with a temporarily normal schedule. But, I still have a cold, so, it's probably better if I don't put off sleep for such a useless goal.
My room is 68.9 degrees with 53% humidity.
So, I'm going to quit sleeping in my room for a while and see if it happens elsewhere too.
I tried to sleep, but I kind of felt like I was suffocating, so I gave up and went to the cat litter room. I underestimated how much our cat would keep me awake, so, that didn't work out so well either, even though I slept for a while (not sure what times exactly), and it was nice having our cat next to me after he settled down and stopped meowing and walking on me.
I finally returned to my tent at an unknown time. It was still dark but was getting lighter, I think. By then, it was cooler, and easier to sleep. But there wasn't much night left, so, I got woken up by the sun again, though more slowly than the day before that, so it was a bit less annoying.
I experimented with moving the tent inside, onto the mattress on the floor in the cat litter room, so I could keep our cat from walking on me as I sleep, but, Siamese cats meow a lot, so, clearly that wasn't going to help much, and I also thought he might shred the tent's cloth.
Nonetheless, while I had my tent in the cat litter room, and knowing full well he might damage the tent, I let my cat inside with me for a while, and he soon did put a few pinholes in the tent's side when he batted at a dangling strip of cloth inside the tent. But I didn't mind that much, since I think I'd like some more airflow in there anyway. And given the tent's low cost, it doesn't matter that much if it gets damaged. The tent was actually only around $15 rather than $20, since when my relative ordered the tent, Amazon gave my relative a lower price than Amazon showed me.
With all the morning sunlight, it felt too warm in the cat litter room to even try to go back to sleep, and I didn't feel tired enough, so I soon put the tent back on the balcony, and returned to my room, where the humidity is now 61%, with a temperature of 67.8.
I did get thirsty and dry-eyed sleeping in the tent, but that might mainly be because I forgot to bring my water bottle back to the tent when I returned to it after briefly sleeping in the cat litter room.
I think I also might have gotten thirsty and maybe dry-eyed while I was in the cat litter room, but I don't clearly remember. And I was so eager to go back to sleep when I went in there, I didn't check the humidity or temperature in there with my hygrometer.
Tried to poke some small holes (too small for most bugs to get in) in the walls of my tent to try to ventilate it, but, they didn't do much good. I think maybe I need a tent with more "doors" or something so I can get more of a breeze in there.
Maybe I'd be better off with this this hammock + mosquito net.
It has a big window, so, hopefully that tent will be a lot nicer to be in. It's also bigger. The question and answer section of its Amazon page said it's 6 1/2 by 6 1/2 feet, with a maximum height of probably 4 feet (and lower than that in places other than the center of the tent).
My original tent's dimensions: "height of 3.50 feet and 6.25 foot x 4.80 foot". Which was already pretty roomy for me, so, hopefully the new tent will be even nicer.
I definitely like the original tent too, but it just needs a lot more ventilation. I might try sleeping in it again later, but it might be too hot again.
Despite having eaten 2 dark chocolate/peanut butter granola bars, I dozed off for a while in my room from around 1:50 PM to 4:57 PM. Humidity 46%, temperature 67.5 degrees.
I wish I could sleep in the tent, but, it just seems too warm in there, even though the temperature outside the tent seems acceptable. Really looking forward to the next tent. I hope I'll be able to use it during the day too sometimes.
Haven't been drinking tea as much lately because I've been running low on decaf, so, I hope that isn't causing my cold to linger more than it otherwise would have. I still have some decaf, but anytime I get low on something, I tend to stop using it as much to try to avoid totally running out.
Maybe I better have some caffeinated tea or root beer so I can clean my room and hopefully find my Vitamin D.
Also, I think I better just put all my clothes out of my room without bothering to catalog them in a VUE map yet, because with my energy being so unpredictable, chances are I'm never going to get all that unnecessary extra work done in a reasonable amount of time, given that my clothes have been cluttering up my room for over a month since I made a mess of them just trying to find something to wear so I could go see the total solar eclipse in Tennessee.
So, I guess I'll just put them in unsorted zippable pillow protectors and put them in the junk room, or maybe even the broken upstairs bathroom. That's an especially good place, since if it's cluttered up with my own stuff, then it won't get cluttered up with anyone else's stuff, so it will be easier to declutter when we can finally bring in a plumber.
52% humidity, 68.7 temperature in my room. I think it was around 49% or 50% humidity when I first woke up.
My cold seems decreased, but, I still don't feel like doing anything that involves getting out of bed.
I wish I could be outside in my tent constantly, but it's too hot and sunny and the tent is too poorly-ventilated.
So, at some point, I'm probably going to resume drinking some amount of caffeine regularly, especially after I get this organic caffeinated Ceylon black tea, which I'm hoping I'll like more than non-organic PG Tips.
The ones I got (Goodfields brand, purchased at a Walmart) were so salty that my craving for salt seems to be totally satisfied at the moment.
So, maybe it doesn't matter where I sleep - maybe I'm just very prone in general to getting dehydrated while I sleep. So, maybe that's the problem I need to solve somehow.
Don't know what the humidity was in my tent, since I left my hygrometer in my room. My room's humidity seems to be 54%, and it was 51% the last time I checked before sleep, maybe around 1 AM.
Even about a half hour after being woken, all I want to do is go back to sleep, even despite sunlight blasting me for a while. I wonder if the new tent will make it possible for me to stay in there for more of the day. I guess I could have stayed longer in my current tent, but, I was worried about sunburn, and knew it was going to probably get hot soon.
This page says dehydration can decrease your melatonin levels.
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So, maybe I should resume drinking larger amounts of milk. I used to drink a lot more milk in the past, but, have sometimes been trying to avoid it for the sake of being more vegetarian. But, I always liked milk more than plain water or even slightly salted water, even back before I heard anything about adrenal fatigue-related electrolyte imbalance.
Another reason I avoided milk at times in the past several months was because I was worried for a while that maybe I was getting too much calcium, and that maybe I had hypercalcemia from too much Vitamin D from all the Vitamin D capsules I was taking.
But, now, I'm hoping that the jitteriness, excessive energy, etc. I sometimes got before (such as last May, etc.) was from magnesium deficiency from not taking enough magnesium along with my Vitamin D, rather than hypercalcemia from excessive Vitamin D.
But I don't really know what was going on - I'm just guessing. (But it definitely wasn't from caffeine, because I was strictly avoiding caffeine back in May, etc. - even chocolate.)
Also, when I was dealing with those jitters, excessive energy, etc., this magnesium gel helped me feel better fast. (Though oral magnesium capsules also helped, just not as much or as fast.) So, that's another reason I suspect those problems were mainly from magnesium deficiency.
Humidity 53% in my room. Still very sleepy. Was alert for a little while before sleep, but got sleepy again after eating raisins.
At least the more I sleep, the less time there is for me to wait for my new tent. Might need to resume caffeine to get something useful done, but I'm too tired to even care enough about that to drink caffeine. All I want to do is sleep.
Also took 3 grams of Vitamin C.
So, maybe I'll start to perk up more soon. I don't feel like messing with caffeine yet. Wouldn't mind going back to sleep, but, even just the Vitamin D might interfere with that. But, I thought some more Vitamin D might be good for me, since my cold is maybe only 85%-90% gone.
The weather seems much nicer tonight for sleeping in my tent. Can't wait to get the new tent.
Will be getting the next tent quite soon, but might be too tired to do anything with it yet.
It's bigger than the other tent, and also more opaque, so now I feel like I have more privacy. However, it still lets in an amount of sunlight I find a bit worrying when the sun is directly on it. Fortunately, it has gotten cloudier, and the temperature is comfortable.
The "window" is basically a second "door", since they seem to be the same size and made the same way, and both have a mesh covering with a zipper, and a cloth covering with a separate zipper. I can't even tell the "door" and "window" apart. Both are nice and big, so, I assume that will keep my tent well-ventilated.
I definitely like it more than the other tent. But, I'm keeping the other tent out there, since maybe I could store stuff there that I don't want cluttering up my main tent.
It's definitely nice weather today for being in a tent, at least for me. Except it looks like the temperature's going to be in the 40's for part of the night, so I might need a sleeping bag soon. But, for now, hopefully plenty of blankets will be good enough.
It seemed like Vitamin D might have helped a bit for a while, but, unlike caffeine, I don't think it rids me of the problem of carbs making me sleepy. However, I should be sleepy, because I slept so little and so poorly.
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Maybe that's what's going on with me, or part of what's going on with me. And maybe I always was like that, but I just didn't know it because caffeine did so much to improve my ability to function.
I wonder if caffeine might actually get all my molecular clocks better-synchronized with each other somehow? I feel so much better with caffeine than without it, especially caffeine plus theanine (found in tea).
Still didn't get much done - read and watched TV with family. But, hopefully tomorrow I'll feel like getting more done.
It's 51 degrees outside and might go down to 45 degrees by 7 AM, according to Weather.com. But, I think I'm going to try sleeping out there. And because my new tent is much better-ventilated, better-positioned to avoid some sun, and the weather is probably going to be cool again tomorrow, and I might be able to block a lot of sun just by leaning a big piece of cardboard against the balcony's railing or my tent itself - because of all that, I think maybe I'll be able to remain in my tent even after the sun comes up, and maybe I'll have a better chance of not having my sleep interrupted by the sun.
My main goal is definitely not to try to correct my circadian rhythms by getting more early morning light and other daylight. I just like being outside, now that the weather is much better for that.
The tent worked pretty well today. It got sunny maybe around 7 AM to 10 AM, but the tent's new position and nearby cardboard for shade helped, so I didn't get up until around maybe 10:30 AM.
It got pretty cold, but, my many layers of blankets and robes used as blankets worked well enough. Closing both doors also seemed to probably help (and may have boosted the humidity a lot - my hygrometer said 77% at one point). I eventually opened one door (and put up its mesh) around maybe 7 AM since I wanted more ventilation. (A possible side effect of that was, the humidity went down to around 55%.)
Fortunately, even just one mesh-covered door provided adequate ventilation, unlike the other tent. I also like the extra space compared to the other tent. So, I'm quite satisfied with the new tent.
Didn't get very thirsty until sometime after the sun rose. My water bottle was nicely chilled by the cold weather, and probably so was my root beer which I didn't drink yet.
My cold worsened a bit by the morning, but already seems a bit better again, though not quite as gone as it was before sleep. Sleeping out in the cold was probably not the best thing for my cold, but, my cold was (and still is) mostly gone, and I just was curious to see if I could comfortably enough deal with weather in the 40's without a sleeping bag. I think a sleeping bag would've been better, but it worked out OK.
Not feeling very tired so far, but I think I'm going to resume some amount of caffeinated tea.
Again, didn't get much done besides reading and watching TV with family. Moved some bags of clothes to the upstairs bathroom. Dug out some additional warm things to wear or use as blankets, and some more sheets. Still didn't get my laptop ready to use, but almost did, and organized some files on one of my desktop computers.
Going to get a sleeping bag, which oddly didn't have Amazon Prime two-day shipping, so, might not receive it until Oct. 5th.
Was reassured by skimming this article about phones and extreme cold. So, hopefully there's no problem with having my phone in my tent.
Figured out my phone's Weather Channel widget was showing the wrong info. Was able to fix that by changing to a different Weather Channel widget with a reload button, a circular arrow in the lower right corner, similar to this: ↻
But, soon after sunrise, I went out to my tent, and moved my main cardboard sun shade out of the way (though I later put it back) so the sun would more quickly heat up my tent. It gradually went from around 48 degrees to 66 degrees and humidity in the 70's. And, with one door covered with mesh instead of cloth, the temperature was 62, and I think the humidity went down to the 50's.
Slept a while (though not very well) at times between 7:26 AM and 12:50 PM. Still sleepy. I came back in since I smelled smoke and thought that while I'm still recovering from my cold, I might be better off sleeping in a more predictable environment. But, maybe I'll go back for a while, since there probably aren't that many more nice days like this left in the year.
Yesterday was another day of mostly just reading and watching TV with family. Made tea in the downstairs microwave yesterday. Didn't get a huge amount of energy from it, but, that made sense, since I didn't sleep very well before that. But, I definitely got some energy from that tea, and it improved my mood. Will probably have caffeinated tea today too.
Fortunately, my sleeping bag is going to be here sooner than expected - Monday. So, hopefully I won't need so many layers of blankets, etc. anymore when sleeping in my tent.
So, I didn't even try it, and we just sent it back. I'm astonished that things like that aren't banned from being sold at all.
So, I guess I'm going to stick with regular blankets, or maybe go to a real brick-and-mortar store instead of ordering online from a page with incomplete information and no actual pictures of the product's labels.
Tried my laptop out there for a while, but even inside the tent, around 12 PM, the lighting was too bright to use the laptop without turning the brightness up more than I wanted to, which drains the battery.
So, I guess maybe I won't be doing much computing out there, since it has been getting pretty cold out there at night, and I read that my laptop should only be run at temperatures above 41 degrees. I sure wish I had an up to date fully-rugged Toughbook - then that wouldn't be a problem.
So, that was a nuisance because I still was mostly using my desktop computers rather than my laptops, and my Puppy Linux Setup Kit still isn't renovated. But, it was less of a nuisance than usual, because I was already mostly done preparing to switch over to one of my laptops.
But, it was still such a nuisance to get my laptop set up that I didn't get it mostly done until earlier today (Oct. 4th), mostly for lack of trying, since, unusually, I took a long relaxing break from computer stuff. However, I did work for a little while on some new setup scripts on my most easily set up desktop computer, and made some nice progress.
Later in the day, went to a couple brick and mortar stores to try to find a sleeping bag, but, found nothing acceptable, and also found out that there are laws that require toxic flame retardants to be put in camping equipment, including tents and sleeping bags. :-(
Anyway, I'm just hoping that my tent is not actually so toxic that it will harm me, since I'm probably going to keep using it sometimes anyway, until it gets too cold.
I guess if I'm still awake by the time it gets light, maybe I will move out there, because I won't need as many blankets during the day, so there will be less stuff for me to transfer from my room to my tent.
Today, on Oct. 5, slept sometime between 8:27 AM and 3:21 PM. Was in the tent reading a paper book before sleep, but a thunderstorm started, so I ran inside, sometime before 8 AM. I'm not sure if the thunder was much louder because I was outside, or if that was just some really big thunder, but it was pretty scary for a moment.
Have sometimes had a cough or slight congestion. Sometimes got very thirsty with dry eyes during sleep, but, maybe that's just from not drinking enough in general.
Been feeling much better and more alert and energetic overall, I think largely thanks to caffeinated tea.
That's more work than my log maps where my standards are far more relaxed, so I mostly have been adding to my log maps, especially when dealing with topics or tasks where I'm not at all certain or clear on the answers yet.
And I can make the laptop and monitor display different things (instead of just mirroring each other) by using these commands:
And it's quite relaxing to not have to worry about power outages anymore. If the power goes off, my laptop will just switch over to using its batteries.
Both seemed quite good for my mood and alertness, but I think I might have gotten some caffeine jitters from brewing the 1st flush darjeeling too long.
Didn't drink them both on the same day - I'm still limiting myself to only one cup of caffeinated tea per day.
And I just discovered that the new DreamHost parked domain page - automatically added, not by me - is adorable. :-)
That might actually be better than all of my plans for that domain. :-)
Been getting more done, and mostly haven't been in the mood to update this. Been reading, cleaning, and even programming, and haven't had issues with my energy at all.
Not sure it's only from resuming tea - perhaps the probably significantly increased iron in my diet is also helping, and/or sometimes having some Vitamin D and magnesium and Vitamin K2.
Not that everything is perfect. I've sometimes been quite grumpy at the remaining mess in my room, and been feeling a bit premenstrual lately, and my time of the month got delayed somehow, perhaps by my cold (which seems gone now). Not that I really mind it being delayed.
Anyway, overall, I've been feeling pretty much back to normal (or better), and also like I'm sleeping better. And have mostly avoided headaches. At one point I happily resorted to drinking a caffeinated Barq's root beer when I felt a headache approaching, and I think that may have helped avert it.
Been reluctant to bring my laptop out there at night because the humidity goes up pretty high at night, and I've read that high humidity can be bad for laptops. Tried reading an Overdrive book on my phone (which I'm less worried about, even though perhaps humidity could be a problem for phones too), but it would have been better with a phone stand.
Haven't been watching as much TV or Netflix, but, probably the most notable things I watched on Netflix recently were a Korean subtitled movie called Vanishing Time, and a sci-fi movie called Taking Earth.
Earlier, was grumpy about the mess in my room, and also about being unable to easily remove a Flash drive from my laptop because of SFS file glitches.
Spent hours trying to find a true solution, but the best thing I came up with (which was far from ideal, but I guess maybe it worked OK) was running the sync command (to make sure all files would soon definitely get finished being written to my Flash drive), waiting a while, then doing a "lazy unmount".
Then, since I was afraid some glitch(es) might happen if I plugged that Flash drive back in without rebooting, I shut down my laptop. And switched back to using one of my usual desktop computers, which lets me use two monitors instead of one monitor plus a below average laptop screen.
Also realized there was enough room behind my TV and speakers to push all that stuff closer to my small window. Having those farther away makes my room feel surprisingly much bigger.
There's still plenty of remaining mixed up clutter, but it's looking a lot more manageable now, even though I still have my exercise bike in here. It's still not useable due to clutter, but, I still plan on keeping it and resuming using it hopefully soon.
On both Oct. 10th and 11th, I woke up with a slightly stuffy nose, but it soon went away after drinking a little water.
Mostly been reading, programming, or cleaning. Still been feeling premenstrual, but my time of the month still hasn't started, though I hardly mind. Also sometimes been quite irritable, when the mood-boosting effects of my tea wore off (or when I delayed having tea), and before I finished cleaning my room, which improved my mood tremendously.
Will now also have an easier time sorting through my mountain of clothes and cataloguing them by taking pictures of myself wearing them, and adding those pictures and other details to a VUE map.
Weather.com says there's fog, but outside, it appears there's not as much fog as there was on Oct. 10th. But, maybe it will improve later on.
Starting on Oct. 13th, I actually have been microwaving it for 5 minutes, and leaving the tea bag in, which I'm hoping isn't too much caffeine for me. I'm doing that mainly for convenience, since the tea stays hot longer without me having to remicrowave it, and it's less of a nuisance than taking the tea bag out. But I also hope it helps me get more theanine and other healthy substances out of my tea.
The first time I did that (with a mug of just darjeeling and nothing else), I did start to feel a bit too jittery a few hours later. So, to hopefully soothe that away with extra theanine, I had another mugful of tea made with 1 teaspoon of decaf English Breakfast plus 1 teaspoon of decaf Mixed Berry, and I definitely felt like that helped.
Actually, I just found a different, easier, but just as effective way of accomplishing what I wanted, but never yet actually figured out how to do it the hard way, though maybe I'll keep at it just for curiosity's sake.
I used a piece of yarn to hang my flashlight from the hook at the top of my tent, which worked better than I expected once I somehow tied it well enough to stop it from falling.
Each pair of rechargeable NiMH AA batteries I had lasted only about 2 hours in my flashlight - 4 new ones I hadn't charged myself yet, and my 2 old ones which I hadn't charged in months. Tried to charge them once they ran out of energy, but, both my chargers are slow, and eventually I ran out of batteries, so I couldn't keep reading, and I switched to an audio book on my phone instead. Fell asleep while listening to it.
Got up with my phone's camera ready to take pictures (though in retrospect, a video would have been a better idea), and walked to a part of the balcony where I could see it better - but, to my relief, it turned out it was just the crescent moon.
No problem with cramps now, though I needed 3 Advils in all since my time of the month started (though I only needed 1 Advil each time I took it). Don't know why or how my body is so reliable about usually only having trouble with cramps in the first 24 hours of my time of the month, but thank goodness I don't have to deal with cramps for 5 days.
Also got a headache on the day my time of the month started, but that might have been from thirst from sleeping in my tent in the day, when it got a bit too sunny and warm. My headache went away quite quickly after I drank some water.
Tonight, it's going to be cold and sometimes rainy, so, don't know how much time I'm going to spend in my tent.
It's 50 degrees outside, so, probably not going to stay in my tent much.
Earlier, when I finally came out of my room (sometime probably before 7 PM), I found that the wind had blown both of my tents around quite a bit. The green tent I sometimes stay in had been blown into a corner, even though it had a bag of books weighing it down, and the red tent (which was mostly empty) was tipped over.
But, fortunately, my tents probably can't be blown entirely off the balcony unless the railings break.
I think maybe I'd be better off using less caffeinated tea in my tea bag when I plan to microwave it for 5 minutes and leave the tea bag in.
Also, I have no way to know for sure, but, I feel like this organic Ceylon black tea (which I just had) might have less caffeine than this organic 2nd flush darjeeling tea.
So, I definitely should be a lot more cautious in the future with the quantity of caffeinated tea I put in my tea bags.
So tired of my time of the month feeling like an actual illness every month.
Also, it wasn't always that bad. I was able to read earlier, both library ebooks on my desktop computer in my room, and a paper book in my tent.
But, just recently, my headache had gotten much worse, and I started to feel like I might get nauseated if I didn't have some caffeine. It actually worked pretty quickly to make me feel better. And now I'm actually feeling more relaxed and almost like I could go to sleep. Except I feel like maybe I need even more caffeine.
Been doing much better, especially now that I figured out how to modify the Lighthouse 64 Puppy Linux 6.02 Beta 2 ISO to make it possible to set the RAM disk to whatever size I want.
VirtualBox helped with that, since with that, I could test my changes in a virtual machine, without having to reboot a real computer repeatedly.
So, now I'll be able to use more of my computer's 32 GB of RAM for my own purposes, since now Puppy won't automatically sequester half of that RAM - 16 GB! - for itself.
Haven't rebooted my computer yet, because I'm not looking forward to all the not-yet-automated setup I'm going to have to do, unless I update my Puppy Linux Setup Kit more first.
Fortunately, my time of the month is just about done. Just recently woke up and I still feel kind of tired, which could be from cutting back a bit on caffeine, but I'm guessing another factor is probably that I need to build my body's iron levels back up.
But, have been feeling better since increasing my caffeine again, and have been too busy with reading, etc. to be in the mood to add much to this blog post. Been microwaving my tea for 5 minutes and leaving the tea bag in, but using less caffeinated tea per tea bag.
In one mug of tea, I used 3/4ths of a teaspoon of 2nd flush darjeeling tea, and in another mug the next day, I used 1 teaspoon. Both tasted good to me (even though the amount recommended on the package is 1.25 teaspoons), but I think I might stick with 1 teaspoon per tea bag, since that feels like maybe a better amount of caffeine (and perhaps theanine too) for me.
I'm hoping it will help me get more done and feel less confused about what the best things for me to work on would be.
It's expensive, since all available copies - even used copies - are above $45, but, I'm getting that too.
It was so rainy and windy that both my tents got blown around a lot, even though my green tent had a bag of books in it again, four blankets, two sheets, and various other things. And one of the four hooks holding my green tent's roof covering down got unhooked by the wind, so some things inside got a little damp.
I also took down the not-so-great red tent, which was actually a lot easier to take down than the green tent. (But the red tent won't be as easy to put back up again, if I ever want to, which I probably won't.)
Judging by future weather reports, there might be only one sunny day in the next 10 days, so, I don't know if I'll put my green tent up again soon or not, even though it's extremely easy to put up. I don't mind temperatures in the 50's, but I don't really like being out in my tent when it's cloudy or especially when it's rainy, even when it's warmer.
I'd like to get started making plans for what projects to work on next, but am going to probably wait until I get the above books, so I don't get bored with the process before I even start reading those books.
I'm hoping I'll like it on French toast, which I plan to make in our cast iron frying pan. Maybe I'll even try it on regular toast.
I kind of miss my tent already, even though it definitely usually wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep, due to fluctuating weather, temperature, and nearby noises.
Slept sometime between 6:39 AM and 1:45 PM and remained tired for an annoyingly long while after waking up. Not sure if it's because I need more caffeine or more iron, or perhaps both.
Maybe I should drink tea more frequently, even just decaf, to keep myself more continually somewhat blissed out by theanine. I'm not sure letting myself get anxious and discontent has many benefits, except I guess it makes it more obvious what my goals should be than it is when I'm feeling too OK with my situation.
Does liking tea this much make me a drug addict? :-) Well, at least tea is far from the worst vice in the world, if it's a vice at all.
The Walmart my relative went to didn't have blackstrap molasses, so, going to get this kind from Amazon instead. People in the question and answers section of that page say it's manufactured in New Jersey.
Didn't make French toast because I had no molasses to put on it, so I just made 5 scrambled eggs instead, and had them with orange juice since I've read that consuming Vitamin C and iron at the same time increases iron absorption.
Not that everything now feels perfect. I'm so impatient to get the above books about the Theory of Constraints, which are shipping very, very slowly.
Maybe I'm over-caffeinated, or maybe I'm low on magnesium, or both, but, even though I'm feeling better than I was before, I'm still not really relaxed and mellow and satisfied with life, but at least I'm not tired.
What a primitive era this still is. Despite all our technology, it's still necessary to wait and wait and wait for certain books.
Was more relaxed a few hours ago. Spent some hours playing the very addictive computer game Steamband, but, now I guess I'm annoyed that I'm not making vast progress in my real life instead of some game.
Later, had my usual vitamins, and am now having a mug with 1 teaspoon of 2nd flush darjeeling tea, and 1 teaspoon of decaf Mixed Berry.
1.25 teaspoons of caffeinated darjeeling yesterday seemed like maybe a bit too much for me, so, went back to 1 teaspoon again. If that doesn't seem sufficient, maybe I'll try 1 and 1/8ths of a teaspoon tomorrow.
Will be receiving the blackstrap molasses on Friday (Oct. 27). Hopefully that will help my iron levels. I find this article encouraging.
I just read here that licorice is made from molasses. I always loathed licorice, so, I hope the molasses won't taste too much like licorice. But, I always liked molasses cookies.
I think maybe I was doing better when I spent less time in my room due to being able to go to my tent.
I guess another possibility is, I might need more Vitamin D and magnesium. Took 2000 IU of Vitamin D and some magnesium citrate on occasion in the past several weeks, but not recently. But I'm guessing those could easily be part of why I felt much better for a while.
I sure hope I'll like blackstrap molasses, or can make it into something tasty somehow. I read that some people put it in smoothies, so, maybe I'll start using my blender more frequently again.
Will have to modify it because I don't have all the ingredients. I probably can't get chia seeds quickly. And the only vanilla extract we currently have contains alcohol, which I avoid completely, even in cooked food, since cooking might not remove all alcohol.
I really hope blackstrap molasses works out for me, iron-wise - then I'll have fewer reasons to consume meat or eggs. I guess my problem could also be partly lack of enough Vitamin D and magnesium, among other things. But, I especially suspect lack of iron, since I still don't feel like I'm doing as well as I was before my time of the month.
I don't know if I've ever had enough iron in my diet at any time in my life ever since my menstrual cycle began when I was 13 or something. In retrospect, it's really tragic that ignorance about proper nutrition for women may have robbed me of the ability to have a happier youth. Oh, well.
But, hopefully by publicly announcing all this stuff, it will help others, and maybe even myself if reincarnation exists, since it perhaps it will help prevent future female lives of mine from going so horribly wrong. But I really hope I never incarnate as a woman ever again.
Just had vitamins (including 2000 IU of Vitamin D and magnesium) and am now having tea - 1 and 1/8ths teaspoon of 2nd flush darjeeling tea and 1 teaspoon of decaf Mixed Berry.
So, feeling better, and looking on the bright side a bit more. Perhaps someday, science will figure out how to stop and maybe even reverse the aging process, and correct all aesthetic imperfections, and then everyone will have a lot more time to enjoy their youth and beauty.
And if everyone could be young and beautiful if they want, then there would no reason to be jealous of other people's youth and beauty anymore, so maybe the many mean, jealous people in the world who are unfairly prejudiced against people who are younger and/or more aesthetically blessed than themselves would become less mean and jealous.
Also, if everyone were young and beautiful, then, personality, moral character, and intellect might become a lot more important even to the shallowest of people. It would be really nice to live in a world where appearance doesn't matter so much.
I made a smoothie with just pineapple, then added an unmeasured amount of blackstrap molasses to it. At first, I could scarcely taste the molasses at all, so I added more until I could taste it, and it still remained drinkable, though somewhat less appealing, and I wasn't very eager to drink it all, and didn't finish it. But perhaps that's because I just wasn't really in the mood for so much sugary pineapple to begin with.
Some comments on the web compared blackstrap molasses to soy sauce. I've scarcely ever tried soy sauce, but, I agree that it's somewhat reminiscent. However, blackstrap molasses is definitely sweet. I think I like regular molasses much more (at least in cookies; never had it in syrup form before). But, at least I find blackstrap molasses edible, and just about unnoticeable in sufficiently small amounts. I think it probably would even enhance some things it's put in, like baked beans.
Next time I make a batch of sweet and sour chicken, I'll probably try mixing the sweet and sour sauce and molasses together. And also will probably try the chicken with just molasses.
And maybe someday I'll figure out how to be vegetarian without feeling starved and deprived.
I wonder if different brands of blackstrap molasses taste different. Guess I'll find out soon.
Then, hopefully I'll become increasingly capable of making progress with my various projects, and won't lose so much momentum anymore due to my monthly illness - menstrual, premenstrual, and postmenstrual issues.
I hate my menstrual cycle so much that the most tempting thing for me about birth control pills is not the prevention of pregnancy, but the prevention of my menstrual cycle. :-)
But, I probably will never try birth control pills in any case, because I'd be too afraid they might somehow cause me worse problems than the problems they might solve.
I sure wish my books about the Theory of Constraints had been shipped faster. I have tons of other books to look at thanks to my local libraries' Overdrive sites, but they don't have many at all related to the Theory of Constraints.
There's a Sherlock Holmes quote that reminds me a lot of myself (at times): "My mind is like a racing engine, tearing itself to pieces because it is not connected up with the work for which it was built."
And now, I'm having a cup of just 2nd flush darjeeling tea - 1 and 1/8ths teaspoons. And after a tentative experiment with some tea in a separate cup, I put almost an entire spoonful of blackstrap molasses in my cup of tea, and was surprised to find it's still good, I guess because I put in a small enough amount that, at least for me, the molasses flavor blends into the background rather than overpowering everything else.
I put in my usual 1 spoonful of honey, but added only 1 spoonful of sucanat instead of my usual 2 spoonfuls+some unmeasured amount much smaller than a spoonful. And am surprised to find I actually still like it.
One problem is, caffeine can interfere with iron absorption - this article says:
But, I guess still getting 38% of the iron might still be worthwhile. It tastes good enough that I'll probably put blackstrap molasses in my tea again. Might try adding more next time. Or, maybe I should add more right now, since I still have plenty of tea left. But I'm reluctant to possibly ruin my cup of tea. On the other hand, I would like to know how much I can get away with putting in, so I can build up my iron levels quickly.
But, I missed my green tent, so I set it back up on the balcony around 5 AM, even though it was around 50 degrees outside and probably going to rain a few hours later.
I stayed comfortably warm with my fuzzy robe and three blankets. Would have loved to go to sleep out there, but, rain unsettles me since I definitely don't want to be out there if there's lightning. So, now I'm back in my room again.
But at least now I can easily go back to my tent if/when the weather ever gets nice enough.
Wasn't outside much yesterday, but, it seemed like a particularly nice day, so hopefully there will be at least a few more nice days like that.
Then, it would be just about as good as a computer with a tiny but nice touchscreen - which actually looks quite a lot nicer than my Toughbook CF-C1's touchscreen.
I don't know how long I was out exactly, but sometime between 7:06 PM and 8:40 PM. I wasn't freezing, but, I was still too concerned about the cold to be able to doze off. And my back was all crampy when I sat up, and for a little while after I came back inside. So, I guess I'll have to wait for at least slightly warmer weather to be comfortable in my tent.
Still haven't tried this blackstrap molasses yet - haven't even had tea yet, since I think I might like to go back to sleep if I can.
Have been kind of sleepy at times since waking, but maybe that's partly because I took a full serving of magnesium citrate instead of half a serving, and only 2000 IU of Vitamin D. Oh, and I only slept sometime between 10:47 AM and 4:50 PM.
The blackstrap molasses we got from Amazon says a serving is 1 tbsp. (21g), and it contains 20% of the "Daily Value" of iron.
And the blackstrap molasses we got from the grocery store says a serving is 1 tbsp. (15 mL), but it contains only 4% of the "Daily Value" of iron.
I wonder if 21 g and 15 mL are actually significantly different, even though both are referred to on each bottle as 1 tbsp. Or, does the blackstrap molasses we got from Amazon actually contain way more iron for some reason?
I think maybe I might have an easier time eating liver for iron. I guess this molasses+tea is not so bad that I'd rather lick my cast iron frying pan, but, I don't think I really want to continue experimenting with this blackstrap molasses or any other, even though the other kind I tried - Brer Rabbit brand - tastes better to me, both in and out of tea. Maybe I'll try it again someday but at the moment, I just want a nice, normal cup of tea.
I wonder what makes the two brands taste different and contain different amounts of the same nutrients.
Maybe I'd be better off just eating more peanut butter sandwiches, eggs, raisins, pumpkin seeds, cereal, etc. Ooh, this page says sesame seeds have a lot of iron. I definitely am OK with sesame seeds.
Yeah, definitely discarding this cup of tea.
I started to wonder if maybe those cramps were a sign of magnesium deficiency, so, I recently put some magnesium gel on the lower half of both arms, and I quickly became more relaxed, flexible, and un-achy. My back feels normal now.
Also had a mug of tea made from 1 and 1/8ths of a teaspoon of 2nd flush darjeeling tea and 1 teaspoon of Earl Grey. So, in a much better mood now too, though I soon resumed being kind of sleepy after a brief energy boost. Also still feeling kind of unsure of what to do, and lately have been procrastinating a lot instead of working on my various projects. Mostly been reading various Overdrive books, other books, and watching Netflix with family.
The books I'm getting about the Theory of Constraints might not get here until possibly Oct. 31st and Nov. 2nd. So, I've been reading this interesting website instead.
I sure wish I could still sleep in my tent, but it's just too cold. I probably wouldn't be allowed to move the cat litter box out of the room it's in, so I can't stop our cat from visiting me if I try sleeping in that room.
I guess the weather might be getting cool enough that maybe I could sleep in the junk mountain room if I clear enough space in there. Or, perhaps the upstairs bathroom. Maybe I'd get just as thirsty and dry-eyed sleeping in those rooms, but, perhaps it would be better somehow.
Unfortunately, there are actually far worse messes in this house that seem even more impossible to clean up. Maybe the most realistically feasible way to deal with them would be to just move out and leave all that crap behind, and try harder from the outset to keep the new place nice, so it never gets so hopelessly messed up.
Going to stay awake at least a little while longer, just to watch some TV. Then, I guess whenever I get tired enough, I'll try sleeping in the junk mountain room. I wonder if the junk mountain is stable enough for me to actually sleep somewhere on top of it. I think I'd feel safer up there than on the floor.
Both books are now at my family's post office box - so, a bit earlier than expected - but I don't think anyone was able to pick them up today, and I didn't want to walk that far.
Found a nice spot on top of the junk mountain - the tallest remaining spot, near a corner. While laying up there, I'm less than a foot away from being able to touch the ceiling. With blankets and some pillows, I think I might be able to sleep up there, but, I was so tired after having dozed off in my tent that I just slept in my room instead.
And, with the humidity apparently around 37% in my room, I kept waking up horribly thirsty and dry-eyed and headachy. Water seemed to help but only for a few hours at a time or less.
So, I really better try sleeping somewhere else next time I sleep.
Too bad my tent wouldn't fit in my room unless I get rid of my bed and the boxes under my bed, since maybe that would increase the humidity enough to be more comfortable for me.
There would definitely be enough room in the junk mountain room for my tent if I clean it up enough. But maybe it will be more comfortable there even without my tent.
Haven't measured the humidity in the junk mountain room yet, but probably will soon.
Probably going to have tea and just stay awake, even though I slept pretty poorly. My tent was such a nicer place to be until it got too cold.
Maybe I should just put my tent on top of my bed and see if that helps. Still afraid to try my humidifier in here, since I don't want to possibly mess up my computer stuff.
Maybe the best thing for me to do is try to clean up the junk mountain room some more, to make room for my tent, or perhaps for the upstairs microwave (which is currently in our totally broken upstairs bathroom), so then I could run the humidifier in the upstairs bathroom, and maybe sleep in there.
I just physically feel worse in my room than I do in my tent (at least when the weather's nice), and I don't know why.
I wonder if because I'm only about 5'4", that might mean I need less iron in my diet than whatever the recommended amount is.
Currently eating sweet and sour chicken, but, decided against trying it with blackstrap molasses.
Still around 37% humidity in my room, but around 40% or 41% in the junk mountain room and upstairs bathroom.
I wonder if running my desktop computers almost constantly somehow reduces the humidity in here. I sure wish I had a way to put my desktop computers into standby or hibernation mode while using Puppy Linux. I wonder if there is a way.
And, most excitingly of all, I'll probably study my new books on the Theory of Constraints whenever I get them. Then, hopefully I'll be able to get a better idea of what to work on next.
At the moment, though, I'm already pretty sure that improving my sleep quality might be the most beneficial thing I can do, if I can figure out how to do it.
My room doesn't feel like such a bad place to be while I'm awake, but I'm so tired of getting dehydrated so much of the time when I try to sleep here.
Been awake since around 6:36 PM yesterday, and having to get my books is the main reason I stayed awake this long.
As expected, the walk was quite tiring, but, maybe it was a bit easier than it was back in the days before I had my exercise bike, even though I was younger then.
It's 39 degrees outside (according to Weather.com, not my hygrometer), but, I think I might try to read for a while in my tent, since it was quite sunny during my walk, and I'm OK spending a bit of time in overly cold temperatures as long as I'm not trying to go to sleep.
I eventually got tired of the cold in my tent, even though I got the temperature in my tent up to 48 degrees and the humidity up to around 66% (if I recall correctly) by sitting in there with the doors closed, with a ceramic pasta bowl filled with water I warmed up in the downstairs microwave.
Came back inside, and sometime after 3:23 PM, went to sleep in the upstairs bathroom on top of some zippable pillow protectors full of clothes in the bathtub.
Only slept until around 6:12 PM because one of my relatives brought home food and we were going to watch TV. And, since we had enough time, we finished watching Stranger Things on Netflix.
Started to get some vague headaches, but, instead of having caffeine, I just went back to sleep in the upstairs bathroom sometime after 11:12 PM until recently, soon before 5:00 AM. Kept waking up thirsty and somewhat headachy, and the humidity was about 35% or 36% in there, and 33% in my room. But, there are some good things about sleeping in the upstairs bathroom - at least it's darker than my room usually is, and might stay warmer than my room once it gets really cold outside.
Also, I think I probably should resume drinking smoothies more often again.
However, I've mostly been avoiding milk lately because I don't want it to interfere with iron absorption.
Hmm, I wonder if the electrolytes are a major part of why tea makes me feel so much better?
Got sleepy for a while after having a bowl of mashed potatoes. Also resumed being kind of headachy, but that went away after I drank some water.
Definitely not liking the low humidity - around 35% in my room, every time I look at my hygrometer. My eyes have felt a bit dry, some of my knuckles have dry skin, and earlier I was coughing a bit and my throat felt a bit scratchy and sore, though now I only have those first two symptoms. Feeling sleepy now.
Going to try harder to get enough electrolytes, since I'm guessing that not paying enough attention to that is probably why I sometimes end up feeling like plain water is not doing me much good. Maybe getting enough electrolytes will make it easier for me to stay well-hydrated, which might also help me to sleep, since maybe I won't get woken up as much by thirst.
Been reading Overdrive books instead of my recently-acquired paper books because I haven't felt up to much deep thinking today. I felt energetic enough up until that bowl of mashed potatoes. Briefly felt OK a couple hours later or so, but now tired enough to possibly go to sleep.
Was surprised that even before tea, I don't think I felt all that tired, which surprised me, since I thought I didn't sleep very well, since I had often woken up thirsty and overheated.
Slept somewhat poorly in my room sometime between 5:05 PM and 9:50 PM. Got thirsty and too hot, with my room around 36% humidity and 70 degrees, but a few gulps of plain water seemed to help quickly, and I soon started to feel remarkably alert. 37% humidity in my room at the moment, with rain outside. And surprisingly, the temperature outside is going to increase so much overnight that I might be able to use my tent soon.
I'd rather put my tent on a balcony, so I'd probably need an apartment at the very least, which would be way too expensive for me.
If I had a fully-rugged Toughbook laptop that could handle a wider range of temperatures and humidity than my current laptops, or a phone or tablet with over 4 GB of RAM which could run Puppy Linux, and which had a way for me to attach a keyboard and mouse, and which I could charge with solar power or even a crank, I'd probably rather spend nearly all of my time outside, someplace where there's usually nice weather.
So, there's no way I'd want to spend a fortune on rent in California (or anywhere else) unless I had a balcony I can put a tent on.
Also, since big earthquakes are a potential problem in California, maybe I'd need to buy a parachute or hang glider so I could quickly get out of my building despite being someplace above the 1st floor.
I guess I couldn't listen to music with headphones, but, I might be able to get a lot of programming and reading done, and it might be pretty comfortable. And I love cats, and they're easy to take care of. (I love dogs too, but they're tougher to take care of.)
So, maybe that's how I could live in California without needing to pay a ton of money for someplace to live.
It's not something I'd actually want to try in the near future, but, just thought I'd note the idea down, so maybe I'll be reminded of it someday when I re-read this blog post.
So, I think I'm going to resume drinking more milk instead of avoiding it so much. (Except for half and half, which I've never quit because I've never found an adequate substitute for half and half in my tea, Teeccino, etc.) I used to drink quite a bit of milk, so, maybe I accidentally messed up my electrolyte balance by avoiding it and not eating/drinking enough other things that can compensate for the lack of milk.
Even when I was younger, attempting to quit milk was rough on me - like in spring 2012, when my lips became very dry and chapped (though that might have been partly due to other major stress). At least I haven't had that problem recently. But, I keep craving milk no matter how long I keep mostly avoiding it.
So, maybe my electrolyte imbalances and thirst issues are nothing to do with adrenal fatigue?
Greatly looking forward to returning to my tent sometime after 8:30 AM, when the sporadic rain might finally go away.
I read The Logical Thinking Process: A Systems Approach to Complex Problem Solving for a while, then went to sleep maybe around noon or 1 PM, woke up around 7:49 PM, and read it some more.
I might even go back to my tent for a while, until the upcoming rain (which will be followed by thunderstorms) starts.
Very pleased with the book so far, and I think VUE will be a wonderful tool for making the various diagrams.
I was surprised to discover today that my used copy of the book actually did have the software CD the new book comes with which I assumed my used copy probably wouldn't have. So, I guess I'll try that too at some point, on a Windows computer, or in a Windows VirtualBox.
Drank some milk soon after I woke up, and it was definitely more satisfying than plain water, and I did feel like it was probably hydrating me better than plain water. Plain water sometimes doesn't feel very effective at all, but I pretty much always like milk.
I think one of my long-term goals in life is now to move to California, or maybe elsewhere in the USA if anywhere else has such nice weather.
It worked so well I even was able to fall asleep in there for a while, sometime between perhaps 9:30 and 11:30 PM. I think my big ceramic pasta bowl of steaming hot microwaved water might have done more to heat up the tent quickly, but, the electric blanket may have helped keep it above 50 degrees. The temperature in the tent slowly fell from around 52 degrees (before sleep) to around 50 degrees when I woke up. When I woke up, Weather.com said it was 40 degrees outside.
I had both "doors" of my tent nearly totally shut. Smelled smoke outside only once I opened a "door". Don't know what that smoke was from, but, it was nothing to do with me, my electric blanket, etc. - it's a fairly common smell around here when the weather gets cold. And a good reason to not even try to stay in my tent once it gets very cold, even if my electric blanket makes it bearable.
I wonder if solar powered generators like this (which it seems you can also charge by plugging it into a normal electrical outlet) might be helpful to homeless people. If someone has no choice but to be outside in ridiculously cold weather, I wonder if that plus an electric blanket and tent could save their life. I wonder what temperatures, humidity, moisture, etc. that generator can endure?
After around 2 and a half hours with my electric blanket turned up to its highest setting, my hygrometer said my tent was still only 47.5 degrees. But, I was still pretty comfortable under my blanket. Didn't sleep, though - I listened to an audio book.
Anyway, I don't want to have to worry about the effects of cold on the wire leading to my electric blanket's controller, and maybe also the controller itself, and also was worried that cold might damage my electric blanket somehow if I leave it outside, even if I unplug it and bring its controller inside when I'm not using it. And I already found out last year that my electric blanket seems to interfere with my sleep quality.
So, I'm not really tempted to keep using my electric blanket out there. I just was curious to know how well it might heat my tent. It definitely wasn't warm enough in my tent outside my blanket, but it was comfortable enough under my blanket that I think I probably could have stayed out there all night if I had wanted to.
I'm very impressed and eager to get started making my own logic tree maps, hopefully as soon as I finish reading the book.
For years, I already had been making numerous of my own self-designed VUE maps for various purposes, such as to try to figure out what would be best for me to work on next, and even those frequently very freeform messy maps have been helpful.
But, I've been getting tired of so much chaos, so, I greatly look forward to trying to make some maps structured in the much more rigorously logical ways suggested in the book.
I did keep waking up, but mostly because I was worried about the upcoming thunderstorms, otherwise I'd probably still be staying there.
Seems like my tent is reliably warmer than outside when it's sunny in the morning. As long as the temperature inside my tent is somewhere in the 50's, I'm pretty comfortable, even with normal non-electric blankets. So, there might be more remaining nice-enough days to stay in my tent than I originally thought.
And maybe there's also a wider range of places I'd be comfortable living at than I thought. Now, I'd never want to live anywhere where I can't live in a tent on my balcony for most of the year. :-)
Finished reading The Logical Thinking Process: A Systems Approach to Complex Problem Solving on Nov. 6 soon before 5 AM.
So, yesterday and today, using VUE, I worked on a map that was originally intended to be an Intermediate Objectives map. But, I chose such a large "system" to depict - my overall goals in life - that I ended up not really following a lot of the map-making rules.
So, my result looks like a bit like a deranged game of cat's cradle played by at least one invisible octopus. :-)
But, nonetheless, I'm very happy with it. :-) Maybe I'll add a bit more to it, then at some point maybe even share it with the world.
It's just too much stuff to hold in one's head all at once (even despite the practice I get as a programmer)... but it's all important to me. No wonder I've had so much trouble deciding what to do and getting more than a few things done really well.
Looking forward to making more maps with different purposes and levels of detail, once I decide what to work on, which I think might be much easier to do now.
Didn't get headaches, but have sometimes eaten a dark chocolate/peanut butter granola bar or two, so maybe that helped me elude caffeine withdrawal symptoms.
I made it while using the screen-tinting software Redshift, so, the colors might not be as nice to look at without Redshift.
Also, I'm fond of the color blue, so I actually put in a fair amount of blue, despite the circadian issues that blue light is reputed to contribute to.
It's a pretty general map, so it doesn't list out my specific projects, like the Puppy Linux Setup Kit, Astroblahhh Desktop, etc.
Still haven't decided what to work on next, and haven't made any other new maps yet, but, likely will soon.
And ended up making a weird variation on tomato soup - 1 blended banana, plus an unmeasured amount of Diane's Garden brand vegetable juice (which is similar to V8). It was kind of good (though strange) cold, but, I figured I would prefer hot soup, so I microwaved it for a few minutes and added saltine crackers.
It's still a bit weird - like strangely sweet tomato soup - but definitely edible, and I definitely might make it again. I guess I could also try just microwaving the vegetable juice alone - I'm guessing it would probably taste a lot like plain old tomato soup.
There are probably spices or other ingredients that might enhance it. I just added some ground marjoram. A subtle change, but good, I think.
And perhaps the cold is good for me in some ways.
I actually haven't been feeling fatigued lately, but I suspect that might be because maybe I finally got enough iron, since I haven't been avoiding meat lately.
Also, maybe that half-hour walk to the post office on Oct. 31st to pick up my books did me a lot of good.
There has been unpleasantly low humidity, around and below 35%, throughout the house, and even outside during the day yesterday. Nonetheless, as always, I still have much less trouble with thirst while I'm awake. (Hardly any.)
Also, I think I've been having less trouble with water sometimes seeming unhelpful, ever since I resumed drinking milk freely.
I probably still need to stay better-hydrated, though. I have a lot of canned peaches with the expiration date 12/2017, so, since I don't want to let those go to waste, I guess I could try drinking various smoothies containing peaches. And maybe I should add stuff that contains a lot of iron. (Other than blackstrap molasses, since the kind we have which actually has high iron tastes so terrible.)
Would rather not try exercising excessively, or drinking a lot of soy milk, even though at least those ideas scare me less than the idea of taking birth control pills to suppress my time of the month.
I wonder why nature imposes this horrible self-destructive menstrual cycle on women.
And sent an order for items to get from Nuts.com to a relative, so, hopefully we'll get those soon. Finally, I'll be able to try chia seeds for the first time. And will have plenty of sesame seeds, among other things.
Also getting a free pecan pie via a Nuts.com email newsletter offer - one free pecan pie with an order over $75.
And replace with:
I wonder if maybe I actually do have ADHD and sometimes the problem of intrusive sleep (or actually tiredness, in my case) when dealing with things I'd rather not deal with. Except I don't think that happens to me consistently. Sometimes I have a lot more fortitude than other times and can deal quite well with some things I'd rather avoid.
Makes me even more glad that reproducing was never a goal of mine.
The first answer provided a link to this interesting article: Scientists Discover Children's Cells Living in Mothers' Brains
So, if I understand that correctly, the unusual and rather scary gestation process of humans exists because our large human brains require a lot more nutrients than other mammals require when gestating?
And no, I wouldn't want to use the so-called "child support" system for "help". The so-called "child support" system is evil and corrupt and actually harms children in numerous ways, as I and my half-sibling and step-siblings found out from first-hand experience as children. Some more details are on my Self-Help page.
Still feeling a bit out of it and premenstrual. But, thanks to how well I've been doing lately, I'm more confident now that getting sufficient iron in my diet will probably help me recover more quickly than I used to recover from my monthly malaise.
A grim yet also in some ways lovely reminder of why one of my top goals in life is to figure out how everyone can be eternally young and beautiful.
I don't understand much of it, but, I thought I heard something about legumes and cheese, and the title means "Today it is beautiful weather", according to Google Translate - so I'm assuming the words are probably overall more pleasant than the other version's lyrics.
Yesterday, made a smoothie from a banana, a can of peaches, a bunch of baby carrots, and a lemon. Didn't feel like drinking such a large smoothie, especially since at first it was a bit too sour. But diluting it with water helped. Still didn't really like it that much, though. Wasn't in the mood for so much sugar. Ended up discarding it after I thoughtlessly left it sitting on a table for hours and fruit flies found it.
Going to try it without the banana next time, both to make it smaller, and also because maybe I'd like it more without it. I actually have trouble even eating bananas, since I usually find them just tolerable rather than something I actually want to eat. They're better in smoothies, at least if their taste is sufficiently covered up by other ingredients.
Found this page on ways to make smoothies without bananas. I'll probably end up trying some of those ideas. Avocado especially appeals to me.
Feeling sleepy now, and I wish I could go back to sleep, but I don't know if I'll actually be able to fall asleep.
Perhaps sleep issues/circadian issues are a lot more common than we know."
So, I don't know what's right - that, or the pages that say milk might interfere with iron absorption.
But, I feel like I'm probably better off drinking milk than not drinking milk, so, I'm definitely going to continue drinking milk.
If it can work so well for someone with such severe menstrual issues, hopefully it will work well for me with my much less severe menstrual issues.
But, I finally tried it - a spoonful of this blackstrap molasses (which has 20% of the "Daily Value" of iron per serving, but made my tea taste bad) in a mostly-full 8.5 ounce styrofoam cup of cold cow's milk.
At first, it was surprisingly kind of good, though I think it's getting worse the more the milk and the blackstrap molasses get blended together. Now the blackstrap molasses flavor is getting a bit too strong for my liking.
Diluting it with more milk definitely helps. And maybe the organic honey I just put in is slowly dissolving even though the milk is cold.
Added a spoonful of vanilla Breakfast Essentials powder - still could taste the molasses too much. Same with another spoonful. So, I added the entire rest of the packet, and some more milk. There are now a lot of clumps of Breakfast Essentials powder that aren't dissolving, but, I guess it tastes mostly OK now.
Transferred it to one of my smoothie glasses so I could add more milk. Still tastes a bit weird, but I might be able to get used to it. Maybe some other flavor of Breakfast Essentials powder would cover up the molasses flavor better.
Perhaps that would be a better approach, since I've read that Vitamin C can improve iron absorption.
So, maybe I'll try that tomorrow or something.
Here's this encouraging article again to encourage myself not to give up on blackstrap molasses.
I wonder if lack of sufficient iron is the reason I've had a problem for years (off and on, but maybe mostly on) with the edges of my lips being pale.
I'm guessing I probably still haven't been getting enough iron, even though I may have gotten enough to feel better temporarily. But with my time of the month approaching, I guess probably a lot of the iron I consumed got leeched away by my accursed womb. I truly despise being a woman!
I really don't know if anything about being a woman is adequate compensation for the drawbacks of being a woman.
I guess even if I feel dubious about having caffeinated tea, I should at least have some decaf tea for a probably much-needed dose of theanine to improve my mood.
My headache slightly came back yesterday evening but decreased after I ate some Thomas brand English muffins with butter and cherry jelly. Which was actually one of the few things I ate yesterday. Also had some vitamins, some apple cinnamon Cheerios, the aforementioned tea, and the aforementioned milk with Breakfast Essentials powder and blackstrap molasses. Should eat better, but I was more interested in reading.
Rather than just tired, I briefly felt almost a bit euphoric after that, and more relaxed. Seems like it's getting much easier than it used to be. I used to get a lot more exhausted and out of breath after even just 1 minute of that.
Been getting drowsy as I write this, so, I guess I better move on to something more interesting, or else go back to sleep.
But now much happier, because the wonderful Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County acquired XSLT 2.0 and XPath 2.0 Programmer's Reference, which I just recently (Nov. 3rd) recommended.
I already have a physical copy, but, this will be useful too, because now I'll be able to do computerized searches of the text!
And since XSLT is a relatively obscure topic (as far as I know) despite being such a cool and useful technology, the book probably won't be in high demand, so I'll probably be able to borrow it anytime I need it.
Huge thanks to the Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County and Overdrive! :-D
Maybe this will help motivate me to finally update my Puppy Linux Setup Kit to make it easy to automatically install all the things I need to be able to use XSLT.
Now having blackstrap molasses in orange juice. Unfortunately, I can still taste the single spoonful of blackstrap molasses, even though I filled almost my entire smoothie glass with orange juice.
I think I'll probably be able to drink the rest of it, but, I'm probably not going to try that again, since it definitely makes the orange juice taste weird and medicinal.
The next thing I might try sometime is, either hot water, or my favorite root beer (Great Value brand), with 1 spoonful of blackstrap molasses. I'm not feeling very optimistic about it, but maybe I'll get surprised.
One nice thing about blackstrap molasses in orange juice (and also even in milk plus Breakfast Essentials powder) is, it seems like the blackstrap molasses dissolved pretty well, since there was no dark brown sludge waiting for me at the bottom of the glass.
I'm relieved to be done with that. Reminds me of the useful self-help idea (and book) called "Eat That Frog", which I believe I first heard about in this helpful blog post:
Also didn't have tea - didn't feel like I really needed it for my energy or mood or even to avoid caffeine withdrawal, and I guess didn't want it keenly enough to have it despite not needing it. But I am going to have some today for fun and energy, even though I still don't feel like I really need it yet.
Despite not sleeping that well, I don't feel all that tired so far, so, perhaps the blackstrap molasses has already been doing me good. I want to get that over with soon, so, I think I'm going to try it with some Great Value root beer next.
I probably won't like it, but even if I do like it, I probably won't want to drink it that way very often, since I've read that soda is unhealthy, and I've already been drinking much less soda lately.
Got lost in reading for a while, then recently tried 1 spoonful of this blackstrap molasses in Great Value root beer. However, the can I got from my mini-fridge was partly frozen, so, I wasn't able to use an entire can.
The blackstrap molasses, unsurprisingly, made it taste bad, and unfortunately didn't dissolve as well as it did in the orange juice and milk, judging by the fact that one gulp through one of my glass straws seemed to consist mainly of blackstrap molasses syrup. I drank maybe 70% of the foul mixture, then discarded the rest.
Going to try blackstrap molasses in vegetable juice next. I wonder if anything has a strong enough flavor to cover up the foulness of blackstrap molasses. Maybe coffee, but I don't like coffee unless I put in a lot of half and half, but I don't want the half and half possibly interfering with my iron absorption. Also, I don't want to drink that much caffeine.
Definitely wouldn't want to keep consuming blackstrap molasses if it didn't seem to possibly be having some quite good effects on me. It's horrible-tasting stuff, but, I guess it might be worth it if it's really helping my iron levels as much as I suspect it might be.
It seems really weird that I feel so fine today despite not sleeping as long or well as I would like. Didn't even have tea yet, either. Nor even my usual vitamins. Also didn't eat anything yet.
I put 1 spoonful of this blackstrap molasses into less than half a smoothie glass of Diane's Garden brand vegetable juice. (Which is similar to V8, but I think I like it more than V8. My family gets it at our local Save-a-Lot grocery store.)
The more the blackstrap molasses dissolved, the more disagreeable it got, but, it was astonishingly good at first, and diluting it with more juice - filling my glass about halfway - made it good again.
Yes, good! Reminds me of baked beans. I'm guessing I could probably make a pretty good bean soup out of this stuff.
Made a soup out of them plus the abovementioned mixture of this blackstrap molasses and Diane's Garden brand vegetable juice. It was a bit too plain at first, though, so I added unmeasured amounts of salt, black pepper, and butter, plus one crushed clove of garlic.
Now, it's quite good, and probably giving me a ton of iron, which the Vitamin C from the vegetable juice will probably help me absorb. This turned out much better than I expected, so I will definitely be making this again! Probably I should try making it with more exact measurements of ingredients, so I'll be able to share a more exact recipe.
I did get a bit tired recently, but maybe that's because dealing with food is kind of boring to me.
Really happy that getting sufficient iron doesn't seem so difficult to do anymore. If I don't feel like making soup, I can easily just drink about half a smoothie glass of Diane's Garden brand vegetable juice plus a spoonful of this blackstrap molasses.
I don't feel like drinking tea because I think maybe I'd rather just go to sleep.
Anyway, given that I started blackstrap molasses so recently, and so soon before my next period, I won't be too disappointed if my next period isn't already tremendously improved from how it usually is.
Judging by the aforementioned video which helped persuade me to resume experimenting with blackstrap molasses and at least one other video, and other things I've read (not sure where exactly), I'm guessing I'll probably see bigger improvements during (and before and after) the periods after my next period, rather than my very next period.
Going to have tea since now I feel like staying awake.
No more cramps so far. Remained kind of sleepy for a while after waking up, and still am not as alert as I'd like, but tea can probably fix that quite well.
So, I only needed 2 Advils for this period. Sometimes I need 3.
So, perhaps all that iron is already helping me. Today, my period has been unusually light compared to what it's usually like on my 2nd day, though not as light as my 3rd days tend to be. Yesterday was more of an average or maybe verging on heavy day, more like normal for me.
One possible effect of blackstrap molasses that I'm really hoping will work for me at some point is, my time of the month not lasting as long. Mine pretty consistently lasts about 5 days, though by the 5th and often the 4th day it tends to be more brown than red.
It was a bit worrying, and I wondered if maybe that meant I was dehydrated, or perhaps in need of magnesium, so I drank a bit of water and took two Nature Made magnesium citrates. Haven't had that problem at all since, nor any other headaches.
Did start to get quite sleepy in the past hour or so, which I'm guessing is from the magnesium.
Given how horrible blackstrap molasses can be, I'm still astonished at how good-tasting this is. And if it ever gets boring, I can probably make it more exciting by adding some sort of vegetable smoothie made in my blender, or some spices, or something. Or make it into a variety of different hot soups.
Wow, maybe my whole life might have gone better if I had been properly educated much sooner about appropriate nutrition for women.
Or, maybe my life would have gone worse in some ways, because maybe in the past, I was actually better off being so debilitated that I had little better to do than learn to program.
If I hadn't been weakened by poor nutrition, etc., I would have had a better chance of sticking with my time-wasting, mostly uneducational, dead-end nearly minimum wage job longer, among other things I didn't realize at the time I was better off without.
Apparently there's a problem with the furnace, so it's a bit cold. But for some reason, even though we currently can afford to do something about it, we're going to wait until tomorrow to get it fixed.
Anyway, good thing I have some practice dealing with cold thanks to my tent, and I still can use my electric blanket. And I've read tents can be used indoors for warmth. Don't know if that will be necessary or not.
We also are possibly going to use our oven for heat.
I guess maybe my two desktop computers, two lamps with incandescent light bulbs, and two big old CRT computer monitors are helping to keep my room warm.
Haven't measured my room lately, since it takes my hygrometer so long to detect temperature changes, and it seems more important to measure the colder rooms than my room, which still seems OK.
We'll probably get the furnace fixed sometime in the afternoon tomorrow.
So looking forward to my time of the month being over, and hopefully being able to rebuild my iron reserves quicker and better than ever before, and then hopefully feeling like getting more stuff done other than sleeping and reading.
Still not feeling as alert and energetic as I'd like, but, I guess I probably feel better than I usually feel during my time of the month. Skipped tea lately because at times I've eaten enough chocolate that that alone made me feel quite alert and even jittery.
Found a page called Anemia & Chocolate. Apparently chocolate contains some iron. However, the page also says "Don't self-treat your anemia with chocolate".
Of course, I wasn't trying to - I just like chocolate sometimes. But even if chocolate was actually particularly helpful for iron deficiency, I probably would still prefer blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice anyway, simply because I'm guessing it's healthier, and I'm not always in the mood for so much sugar.
Quote:
My room stayed surprisingly comfortable the entire time the furnace was broken. I guess this page might be right. Quote:
A different room, with a big boxy old TV, also stayed warmer than various other rooms.
Slept somewhat poorly sometime between 4:42 AM and 11:00 AM. Have been probably mostly rather tired except when caffeinated or soon after eating chocolate, but maybe not as tired as I usually would be after poor sleep during my time of the month. And I feel like I might possibly recover quickly if/when I sleep well enough.
As usual, did plenty of reading. Also watched a bit of TV. And even tried to figure out if there's a way to make version control software handle XML files better.
Quite tired at the moment. Skipped blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice yesterday and today so far, since I didn't want to have it anytime too close to when I had chocolate, milk, or caffeinated tea, since those might interfere with iron absorption. I should probably just make it a part of my "morning" routine, since anything I put off until my "evening", there's a large chance I might not get around to it at all because I'm too tired.
But, today, our 2nd floor hallway ceiling started dripping rainwater from a new spot, but strangely, not from the old spots it usually drips from.
There's probably nothing I can do about it, since my family's emergencies demolished my credit a long time ago, and I don't want to possibly upset myself by looking to see if anyone sent any donations or microdonations or not, so, I'm just going to try to stay focused on my various long-term projects and rebuilding my iron levels.
I definitely feel like I'm already doing much better compared to how I usually feel around my time of the month. So, maybe once I recover more from my quite possibly low or somewhat low iron levels, maybe I'll finally have more nerve for dealing with things I've been procrastinating for literally years about dealing with, like a lot of my email, my financial situation, etc.
I wonder now if maybe low iron, low Vitamin D + magnesium, and my sleep being interfered with somehow by my electric blanket were the things most to blame for my fatigue, and maybe caffeine had little to do with it. And maybe I didn't have adrenal fatigue at all, or not as bad a case of it as I suspected originally?
Mostly been reading, but also cleaned the junk mountain room a bit more, and also moved my many zippable pillow protectors of clothes back into my room from the upstairs bathroom. Sorting my clothes is definitely not an important long-term goal of mine, but, my clothes have been so disorganized lately that I've been having a tough time even finding a single outfit I can wear if I want to go out.
The hallway ceiling is still dripping, but, a few more buckets "solved" the problem for now.
So, I guess the latter will now be part of my "afternoon" routine.
That's because my Puppy Linux Setup Kit still mostly hasn't been updated, so rebooting would still be more of a nuisance than it ought to be.
But, fortunately, the very thing which made testing my edited Puppy Linux ISO so much easier - VirtualBox - will probably also make it much easier for me to refine and test my Puppy Linux Setup Kit.
Then, I'll save a VirtualBox snapshot, so I can easily and
That will make it possible to easily test my setup kit repeatedly on a fresh, mostly pristine, almost default system, without having to repeatedly reboot a real computer.
And, outside of VirtualBox, I'll be able to edit my setup kit scripts with all the comforts my already fully set up non-virtual Puppy Linux system provides.
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Me too, still, even though I've been doing quite a lot better lately. For a long time I was afraid I'd never get so many of my "spoons" back, but thank goodness, I did.
(Maybe my possible Non-24 is also at least sometimes a factor in my sleep sometimes - and formerly, often - not feeling very refreshing even when my sleep isn't cut short. Except I now think iron deficiency might be more to blame for that in my case, since my sleep - even short sleeps - have been seeming so much more refreshing lately, since I started trying to get more iron in my diet.)
My sleep issues can easily result in tremendous "spoon" loss, during which I have a very difficult time dragging myself out of bed for almost any reason, no matter how bad the consequences of not getting out of bed might be, nor how good the rewards might be.
(No doubt other things help too, like Vitamin C, eating better in general, and getting more exercise - but of anything I've ever done, I think the things I mentioned in the preceding paragraph have been giving me the most obvious and dramatic energy improvements, and have been the most reliably helpful to my energy.)
I'm quite surprised to find that there's so much controversy around spoons. It almost made me not even mention the spoon theory at all to avoid any risk of offending anyone.
But, it seems like a really useful analogy which explains many people's situations very well, and it still applies to me, though to a much lesser extent than it did even as recently as earlier this year.
So, I just wanted to mention it at least once.
Felt fine at first today but eventually started to get headachy, probably from not eating well enough, and maybe also from not drinking enough. Or maybe it's even caffeine-related, even though I had tea hours before my headache started.
Or, it might even be from getting cold, except my hygrometer says it's 68.7 degrees in here. Yet I feel colder than I did on the days the furnace wasn't working, when the temperature was probably usually below 65! I guess that could easily be another symptom of not eating well enough.
In any case, my headache has decreased since I ate a dark chocolate/peanut butter granola bar and started drinking a smoothie.
So, I guess I will start my day with my vitamins and blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice, then have tea somewhat later on, to hopefully avoid caffeine interfering with my iron absorption.
So, now, my mirror isn't hidden at all anymore, which will make it easier for me to take pictures of myself wearing my clothes so I can finally catalog them in a VUE map.
I think I might have preferred just eating the avocado, though. Avocados are actually really good. Even a smoothie containing just avocados, and maybe some salt, and perhaps a bit of melted butter, would probably appeal to me.
Happily, the avocados we got were organic, so, I'll probably be getting a lot more of those.
Still haven't tried any of the new beans and spices yet, but, looking forward to it.
From my food log, I can see that prior to my headache, I had only water, vitamins, tea, a small amount of sesame seeds (not with anything else, I was just tasting them), 2 English muffins with butter and cherry jelly, some pistachios, and vegetable juice+blackstrap molasses. So, definitely didn't eat enough.
I'm really glad I have a hygrometer now which also tells me the temperature. In the past, due to my poor eating habits, I probably often mistakenly misjudged my room to be much colder than it really is.
So, maybe in the future, looking at my hygrometer and realizing that I feel like my room is much colder than the temperature shown will hopefully remind me to eat better and more often.
Maybe some sort of bean and chicken soup would be a good breakfast. I wish I could just be satisfied with a purely vegetarian soup, but I just crave meat so much sometimes. Also, avoiding meat is probably part of what got me into my iron-deficiency mess.
Before sleep, had a mug of milk with chocolate Breakfast Essentials powder, a flavor I never tried before.
Was good, but I think I like the other flavors more. Maybe someday I'll try it with blackstrap molasses in it, as I originally planned.
Been feeling kind of hungry, but not sure what I even want to eat. Maybe scrambled eggs would be good, but, it's such a nuisance to cook them and clean the pan. I wish I could just go back to sleep. I probably would have slept longer if I hadn't been woken up by my headache and feeling cold. And thirst.
Oh, yogurt might be helpful. I'm in that fragile state I sometimes get into where I can't stand to eat many kinds of food since I feel like it might make me throw up, but I can usually handle slowly eating some yogurt, or canned peaches, or canned green beans, or juice, or soups, or small amounts of peanut butter. Fortunately, we have plenty of yogurt and everything else I mentioned.
Seems like the grape juice might already be helping me somehow. I wish I had a bigger refrigerator in my room to keep a wider variety of helpful things in. Alternatively, maybe I could get another mini-fridge and try to make space for it. Sometimes I'm so tired I wish my refrigerator was reachable from my bed. I actually could move it there if I really wanted to, if I move my exercise bike and office chair, but I'm not sure it would be all that helpful.
Maybe I'd be better off with the upstairs microwave in my room too - just am worried that it might be bad for my computer stuff. Except way back in 2002-2004, until my family's microwave broke, I had my own microwave in my room, and it didn't seem to do my computer stuff any harm.
I wonder if a more strict routine for meals would stop me from ending up like this. Anyway, less headachy and more drowsy now.
And I wish the upstairs bathroom was fixed and that we always had our water heater on, like we used to prior to 2005.
Anyway, strawberry yogurt seems to be helping me some. And I think I'm less fatigued now than I usually would be when I get headachy, cold, and scarcely able to eat. I'm guessing this kind of thing is probably totally preventable if I just am more careful to eat enough and eat well.
Not sure it's caffeine-related, except insofar as caffeine interferes with my appetite, and not eating well is what leads to me getting like this.
Feeling a bit too warm with my fuzzy robe on now, so, maybe I'm getting better. Still a bit headachy, but it seems to be decreasing. Had two strawberry yogurts so far. Might like to go back to sleep.
Yesterday, found The Spoon Theory Demonstration choose-your-own-adventure game, which seems much too reminiscent of how my life has too often been, especially in recent years. Though my life hasn't been quite that bad, hopeless, and unwinnable.
Things have overall been getting better rather than worse. Maybe I just need to pay more immediate attention to my body's hunger signals, rather than often thoughtlessly ignoring them until they go away and then unignorable symptoms eventually start. And I'm probably better off having tea in the middle of my day instead of my "morning" so it doesn't suppress my appetite.
I guess it could be more caffeine-related than just a headache from not eating well enough, since maybe my sleep issues and varying tea times finally have resulted in caffeine withdrawal issues.
Having a Barq's caffeinated root beer at last, since I didn't feel like making tea. Feeling a bit better. Except still wondering if maybe I should rearrange my life and priorities, just in case I'm going to die many years sooner than I think.
Anyway, I guess I'm lucky that this hasn't happened more often despite my reckless inattentiveness to exactly what times I'm consuming caffeine.
But, I think I'm feeling a bit better already and less on the verge of throwing up.
I wonder if maybe I should try living with one of my other relatives, since not having to do without warm water most of the time might be much better for my health.
It would be so nice to get rid of a lot of my stuff and become a nomad, I guess probably via house-sitting. I'd want a fully-rugged Toughbook with a much nicer screen, though.
And now I'm not as enticed by daydreams of totally running away from my entire life here. :-)
I guess the idea of living elsewhere actually still appeals to me a lot, but, rather than just abruptly leaving without much preparation, I'd rather recover my health and energy more first.
Ate a dark chocolate/peanut butter granola bar, a Taco Bell beef chalupa a relative got for me, a Great Value root beer, and later, another dark chocolate/peanut butter granola bar.
Been doing better, and haven't felt sleepy, but still worried my headache might come back. It's 69.8 degrees in my room and 28% humidity, and my fuzzy robe feels much too hot to wear in my room now.
Might have tea, even though I might try to go back to sleep soon. Caffeine interferes with my sleep a lot less than migraines do.
My room feels too hot now, so, I just turned the air conditioner on. It's kind of squeaky but might be working well enough.
Oh, I guess another thing that might have wreaked a bit of havoc with me was eating so many chocolate-covered pretzels several days ago, but then, on subsequent days, mostly just going back to my usual more restrained caffeine consumption.
Didn't have tea, and I feel like I might not need it yet. Ate my other Taco Bell beef chalupa. Sleepy, and might go to sleep soon.
I feel like I have some energy today. It's 67.1 degrees in my room with 29% humidity, but I don't feel too cold. My lips got a bit dry again.
I think my improved iron levels are probably the top reason my sleep has been feeling more refreshing lately. But I think the magnesium gel probably helped too.
Maybe I'll try making some bean soup today, probably containing blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice. But, I don't think I want it for breakfast.
All I ate so far was vitamins and pistachios, but, will probably eat better soon.
But, I'm glad to have that done, as well as good notes enabling me and others to easily repeat the process without having to remember it or figure out again.
Still have scarcely actually worked on my Puppy Linux Setup Kit yet, recently.
But, involving VirtualBox in the process will probably make it much nicer to work on.
Yesterday, tried chia seeds 3 different ways - soaked for less than a half hour in water, grape juice, and root beer (not all in the same glass). It reminded me of tapioca, but I ran across lots of worrying pages about chia seeds as well as praise, and I'm not sure what to think. I kind of like them, but don't want to eat too many of them if they have excessive amounts of antinutrients or might interfere with digesting other food or might block my intestines or something.
Also, I ran across something about someone's esophagus getting blocked by chia seeds, and people talking about cases of intestinal blockage from chia seeds. Apparently chia seeds are very absorbent of water and other liquids, and I've seen claims that they might dehydrate you by soaking up fluids inside you, but also claims that say chia seeds (soaked before eating, I presume) can provide you a lot of hydration.
I also ran across the ideas of sprouting chia seeds, or soaking them for many hours, being healthier. And various concerns about "phytic acid", reputedly an antinutrient which interferes with the absorption of many different nutrients, including iron.
So, I probably am not going to eat many chia seeds, at least for now.
I didn't run across a lot of scientific study web pages about chia seeds yet, so, I guess at some point, I should probably try specifically looking for some.
I guess I'm probably not very caffeinated at the moment, since I skipped tea yesterday, and only had a Barq's caffeinated root beer then, which seemed to give me plenty of energy.
Definitely feeling like I could go back to sleep.
Finally slept sometime between 3:15 PM and 8:07 PM on Nov. 24th. Have been kind of tired, but wasn't woken by thirst very much, and my right eye was annoyingly gooey and itchy rather than dry. Turning on my room's 2nd lamp seems to make a big difference in how alert I feel. Will probably have tea soon, and already had 1 dark chocolate/peanut butter granola bar.
Never got around to having blackstrap molasses+vegetable juice lately, but planning on it later today.
I wonder if I might have avoided that migraine days ago if I hadn't changed my caffeine routine by eating a lot more chocolate than usual for a few days (chocolate-covered pretzels). Fortunately, haven't had any headaches since that last migraine.
Didn't do much more with VirtualBox and my Puppy Linux Setup Kit yet.
But, I'm very glad I can now easily get started on that anytime I want, and I no longer have to do without copy and paste between my real and virtual systems. And I finally can use VirtualBox's seamless mode, and can drag/drop files from my real system into my virtual system.
The lack of copy and paste - and also the fact that VirtualBoxes running GNU/Linux were terribly slow on my former best desktop computer - were why I was stuck for so long having to use Astroblahhh Desktop in a Windows XP VirtualBox instead of a Puppy Linux VirtualBox.
So, maybe I can finally resume using Astroblahhh Desktop more frequently again, despite not yet making it 100% useable without a web server and without a database server.
I'll also feel a lot more comfortable running graph database servers inside a VirtualBox with no internet access. So, maybe I'll finally start doing more with graph databases too.
Still been trying to get iron despite no blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice, such as by eating Cheerios, meat, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, cashews, etc.
But, I think I felt best when I was also drinking blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice. So, am going to try not to skip that again today.
Yesterday, felt much better after tea. And I finally had blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice toward the end of my day, and woke up feeling good and relaxed, like I do when my magnesium levels have been significantly improved, a feeling I believe I also had after the other times I had blackstrap molasses.
So, I definitely want to continue that daily. I'm guessing the vegetable juice probably helps me a lot too, with its Vitamin A, Vitamin C, 4% of the "Daily Value" of iron, and probably various other things I'm not remembering (or which aren't on the label). So, maybe I should have it in my morning. Or just whenever I feel like it, maybe even more than once per day if I feel like it. I'm hungry for it already.
Maybe I'll also finally try more bean soup made with blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice, garlic, and other things. Still haven't made more of that yet, but, maybe I'll start making more interesting food more often once I have my own ceramic pasta bowl.
Yesterday, did 2 separate minutes of fairly high intensity exercise biking, and scarcely got tired from that at all.
So, I think blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice probably have been improving my sleep somehow, since I think I feel better overall now than I did on the days when I skipped those, though I still am not yet as energetic as I'd like. Getting a bit tired as I write this, but, maybe I'm just bored with writing this.
Tea helped a lot yesterday. Maybe my body is still adjusting to my recent decrease in caffeine consumption, from me not continuing to eat so many chocolate-covered pretzels.
Also watched a bit of Netflix. Found a cooking show which (quite unusually for a cooking show) captured my interest - Chef vs Science: The Ultimate Cooking Challenge. Definitely fun to watch, and much more gentlemanly than this other epic battle of chefs. :-) If it was a series, I'd probably watch the entire series.
And also episodes of Star Trek Continues.
And, as always, so many books to read. So, definitely no shortage of things to help me procrastinate.
Feeling more alert now, I guess because I'm looking forward to that stuff, and also am glad to be nearly done writing this update. Also very glad that I feel like I have enough energy and alertness to work on my Puppy Linux Setup Kit and other projects.
Doing pretty well now, though a bit tired as I write this. Yesterday went so well that not even eating 3 pierogies (containing mashed potatoes and cheese) made me tired, even though potatoes sometimes seem to make me tired.
Still didn't get very much done, though. Read various things, and watched various things, such as some hilarious Epic Rap Battles of History.
And Star Trek Continues, which was awesome, and so nostalgic.
I definitely think I should avoid eating large amounts of chocolate in the future, and maybe I should stop eating those dark chocolate/peanut butter granola bars too.
My headache seems to be decreasing now that I'm drinking my daily partway-filled glass of blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice.
But got a better idea of what to work on next just by thinking things over a bit.
Maybe if check my food log for all the caffeinated things I've consumed over the past couple weeks, maybe it would reveal some interesting patterns. But, too tired and headachy to do that now.
Anyway, I definitely don't like chocolate enough to put up with headaches from it, so, I probably ought to be a lot more cautious with chocolate. Which won't be that hard for me to do, since there are tons of things I like more than chocolate.
Was somewhat sleepier yesterday, and needed tea sooner, but still had plenty of energy.
Today, was somewhat tired since I woke up, perhaps because I skipped blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice before sleep because I got too tired. Drank two uncaffeinated root beers instead. I don't think I got especially thirsty, but I still didn't sleep as well as I seem to when I drink blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice before sleep.
It took much longer than I thought it would, I guess because I've been getting overly detailed, but, I'm pretty happy with it now, and glad to be just about done with it. Too sleepy to publish it right now, though.
Quote (from the second link):
I wonder if things are different than that for men with Non-24-hour Sleep-Wake Disorder or other circadian disorders. (Like maybe even depression or ADHD, since I suspect those might, at least in some cases, be at least partly circadian disorders, judging by articles I linked to in various places in part 1 of my health diary.)
Regrettably (or actually, not at all regrettably), I have no facial hair, so I can't investigate this first-hand.
Not sure what that means for me, but, for a lot of my life, I was probably excessively thin, and at least one person I knew in high school mistakenly thought I was anorexic.
Since quitting tea last year, I gained some weight, but, fortunately, in flattering amounts and places. But I still wouldn't mind losing some of it, even though someone told me I have a body like Sophia Loren. :-)
I wonder if drinking vegetable juice alone might improve my sleep. For a long time, I usually haven't been drinking it, except for when I have it with blackstrap molasses.
At the moment, I feel reluctant to even get out of bed. Would kind of like to go back to sleep, but I suspect if I don't have vegetable juice and possibly also blackstrap molasses first, I might wake up feeling insufficiently rested again.
Still never did try any new bean soups yet. Not about to right now, because I'm too sleepy and not hungry.
Currently having about half a smoothie glass of plain vegetable juice. I think I actually like it more with blackstrap molasses in it. Which is good, since I suspect it's probably healthier for me with it than without it.
Not sure if I'm going to be sleepy enough again soon to go to back to sleep, though. Turning one of my lamps on seems to have woken me up a bit.
Been wondering if maybe I haven't been getting enough Vitamin A, and if maybe that's why vegetable juice seems so helpful.
So, maybe the Vitamin A from vegetable juice helps me sleep better. Maybe lack of enough Vitamin A is also why I've had trouble with (mostly) my right eye being gooey or dry.
I don't think I've been mentioning my eye issues as much lately, but they still come and go, and my right eye has been gooey today, though it seems to be decreasing now. Recently ate some carrots, inspired by my recent reading.
So, that will motivate me to keep getting enough Vitamin A. But only through food, not supplements, because the list of Vitamin A overdose symptoms is very scary.
This other page says:
The upper limit of vitamin A set by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences is 10,000 IU per day. This limit refers to pre-formed Vitamin A, which can be found in foods and dietary supplements as palmitate, acetate or fish liver oil, all of which are derived from animal sources. Although vitamin A is an essential nutrient, an excessive, chronic intake of these forms of vitamin A can be toxic, leading to hair loss, confusion, liver damage, and - we now know - bone loss.
The form of vitamin A that I recommend in our Vitamin Advisor is beta-carotene in addition to other mixed carotenoids. These are precursor forms, meaning the body can make all the vitamin A it needs from beta-carotene, which is not toxic, unlike the animal forms of vitamin A."
Women Can Make New Eggs After All, Stem-Cell Study Hints
New Method of Creating Stem Cells is a "Game Changer"
New stem cell invented that can grow into any tissue in the body, study finds
So, I guess stem cells aren't a miraculous cure for everything (yet?).
Woke up feeling OK at first (despite scary but cool dreams which were like a combination of 2 TV shows - The Flash and Stranger Things). But didn't feel as relaxed as blackstrap molasses seems to help me feel. And eventually I got sleepy again, and my right eye has been quite gooey and itchy since yesterday.
So, I guess I do need blackstrap molasses, not just vegetable juice and carrots. I don't mind, since it makes the vegetable juice taste better to me.
Also finally got another 16 ounce mug like this - had one from Feb. 2012 to July 2015 (when I accidentally dropped and broke it), and I might switch to this one for tea, since that's the amount I was used to for years.
It's actually only a little bigger than the mug I got in early 2016, so I guess "12 oz. capacity" is a typo.
In retrospect, I wonder if I would have been better off sticking with around 12 ounces of tea per day. That was the amount I was used to for many more years than the years I drank around 16 ounces.
However, I still had problems with headaches back when I used to drink only 12 ounces. (Addition, Dec. 4, 2017, 10:34 AM. So, things definitely weren't perfect back then either.) So, maybe what might have made me even better off might have been to make my own custom teabags containing both caffeinated tea and also plenty of decaf tea, to give me some extra theanine to take some of the edge off of the caffeine.
That's what I do now, and I think it has made my tea more enjoyable than ever before. (Addition, Dec. 4, 2017, 10:34 AM EST. Not that doing that eliminates all my headaches. But, theanine seems to have a very mood-boosting effect on me. Maybe it helps with headaches too - haven't really experimented with it much for that purpose, since when I get a (probable) caffeine withdrawal headache, I'm more likely to try drinking fully-caffeinated tea rather than just decaf to get rid of it.
I think what helps most for me to avoid caffeine withdrawal headaches is avoiding random unscheduled caffeine consumption, like significant amounts of chocolate at random times. And I also pretty much never consume more than one cup of fully-caffeinated tea per day. And I mostly try to avoid going for too long without tea, though if I avoid chocolate, it seems like I can maybe get away with skipping tea for a day or so.
And, if I do get a caffeine withdrawal headache - other than caffeine itself helping, I think magnesium, especially this magnesium gel, helps me a lot. Or Advil if all else fails.)
Anyway, here's my food goals VUE map, with a pretty messy and informal design.
I started out by trying to make an "Intermediate Objectives" map, like in the book The Logical Thinking Process: A Systems Approach to Complex Problem Solving, but ended up breaking the rules again.
Didn't expect to spend so much time on it, and it got more complicated than I expected, but, hopefully it will serve to remind me of things I might otherwise easily forget about, despite their obviousness.
Would be nice if I could automate the layout somehow, since there are things that probably should be shown as connected to each other, but aren't, just because I didn't feel like rearranging the entire darn map just for that.
Found this interesting article:
I wonder what gave the scientists the idea of using caffeine for that.
Anyway, I don't know if that means caffeine in general doesn't harm stem cells, but, I find it encouraging.
Found this page which I can scarcely understand at all:
I wonder if I'll ever learn enough about science to be able to understand that page.
Finally having blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice. Hoping it will help me sleep better again.
I can't even think of another food besides this blackstrap molassses (1 spoonful, mixed into a bit more than half a smoothie glass of vegetable juice) that makes me feel like I got a nice relaxing dose of magnesium. The vegetable juice alone definitely doesn't make me feel like this. I wonder if blackstrap molasses has magnesium in a particularly absorbable form or something.
Feeling much better now than I have in days. And the last time I had blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice before today around 12:59 AM was Nov. 28th, sometime around 2:05 PM. And I haven't been taking any magnesium capsules, and also haven't been using magnesium gel, since it's so inconvenient and messy that I avoid using it despite how great it makes me feel.
So, I definitely feel like this blackstrap molassses is really good for me.
And thank goodness I found some palatable ways to consume it - such as by putting 1 spoonful of it into vegetable juice. And it was also good that one time (so far) that I used blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice in a bean soup. I definitely want to make more soups like that again.
And it's an Amazon Prime item, so the shipping will probably be faster than the Amazon page I was linking to and bought from before, which doesn't appear to be an Amazon Prime item.
And, even my lips are looking better - fuller, with better color. Maybe they've been better for a while - I hadn't been checking recently.
And I cooked pasta. And my pasta bowl lived up to its name, since all the pasta I made - an entire boxful - fit in it.
My energy seems like it's fading a bit now, but, that certainly was a much better day than I expected to have so soon, with me back to feeling like I have so much energy I almost don't know what to do with it. Tiredness didn't obstruct me at all, and even boring things didn't give me ADHD-like intrusive tiredness.
And hopefully blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice will keep helping me sleep well enough to have a lot more days like this. I'm still not sure which things in blackstrap molasses are helping me so much - probably multiple things.
But given how good magnesium, especially this magnesium gel, has been for me and my sleep in the past, and given that blackstrap molasses seems to make me feel like I had a dose of magnesium, I'm guessing its magnesium might be a big part of why my sleep suddenly improved so much. And probably the iron helps too.
And probably its other nutrients are good for me too, though I don't know off-hand whether they might affect my sleep or not.
Got hungry and cold, but was too tired to make food, so, I drank a bit of milk and had some walnuts. And turned off my air conditioner, since I was too cold even though it was around 66 degrees.
Slept sometime between 3:15 AM and 10:27 AM. Woke up feeling sleepy, and overheated with my room at 70 degrees. And my right eye is gooey, and has been since several hours before I went to sleep. I wonder if the melatonin from the walnuts hasn't worn off yet, or if I would have been OK if I had gone to sleep earlier, maybe around when I started to get sleepy.
Did have blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice, but it was hours before sleep since I unexpectedly stayed up later than I thought I would. It was pretty tough staying awake, but the conversation was too interesting.
I actually managed to avoid eating any until last night, even though I've had them in my mini-fridge since whatever day in mid-November they arrived. But they're so superb, I definitely want to eat more. Maybe I will right now, since I want to go back to sleep anyway. I feel sleepy enough that I think I probably could go back to sleep without even eating any.
So... maybe some stuff I ate that day other than blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice especially helped me out?
The day before that, Dec. 2nd, I had my usual vitamins, my usual tea (1 and 1/8ths of a teaspoon of 2nd flush darjeeling tea, and 1 teaspoon of decaf Earl Grey in the same tea bag), pumpkin seeds, a lot of baby carrots, and a bit more than 2 bowls of Apple Cinnamon Cheerios.
On Dec. 4th, had my usual vitamins, tea with (unusually) only 1 teaspoon of darjeeling (since I thought, since my new mug seems a little bit bigger, it might be a good idea to compensate for that by using slightly less caffeinated tea - and it's also more convenient not to have to use two measuring spoons) and the usual 1 teaspoon of decaf Earl Grey.
Also had pasta with tomato sauce, parmesan, and some yummy "Italian Seasoning", containing "MARJORAM, THYME, SAVORY, ROSEMARY, SAGE, OREGANO, BASIL" all in the same spice bottle. 1 uncaffeinated cream soda, a dark chocolate/peanut butter granola bar (which maybe I shouldn't have had, but I wanted to stay awake for TV), vegetable juice + blackstrap molasses, then some milk and walnuts.
Judging by my eye getting gooey, maybe that means I need more Vitamin A already. It wouldn't be difficult for me to simply eat more carrots, or yams, or even cayenne pepper. (Except I've sometimes suspected that cayenne I spilled in my room a long time ago, and maybe still haven't adequately cleaned up despite vacuuming some of my room at least once, might be why this problem keeps recurring. But it's odd it's usually only my right eye.)
Feeling less sleepy now. Still haven't eaten any walnuts - maybe I should skip them after all and just have tea already.
Anyway, it's really sad that I'm not cured yet. If I'm still capable of having such a good, energetic day, why is it so difficult for me to keep having good, energetic days? Why can't it just be easy?
Finally having tea (with 1 teaspoon of darjeeling and 1 teaspoon of decaf Earl Grey, in my new, slightly bigger mug), but I don't think I want to have walnuts along with it.
Going to get this measuring glass, so I can more conveniently and more precisely measure how much water and half and half I'm using in my tea. Perhaps I'm so sensitive to slight variations in the amount of caffeine I drink that I need to be this careful. Also, maybe I should try going back to drinking somewhat less than 12 ounces of tea per day, instead of close to around 16 ounces.
It's also very possible that I simply haven't been eating enough. Maybe I should try counting calories to make sure I eat enough. And should try harder to actually implement many more of the ideas I put in my food goals VUE map.
Earlier, watched The Flash on Netflix for a while, but it was kind of difficult to concentrate. But, now, tea is definitely improving my mood, alertness, and ability to concentrate.
I think I'm going to switch back to my old mug, though, since I think my tea stays warmer longer, maybe because less heat escapes out the top of my old mug, which has a diameter of a bit more than 2 and a half inches, while my new mug's top opening has a diameter of a bit less than 3 and a half inches.
Maybe I should get this 10 ounce tea cup, even though that's a bit smaller than I'd like. But maybe that would be a good amount of tea for me, who knows.
Maybe the most useful thing I could do right now would be to finally make my food-related VUE maps a lot more well-organized, with a lot more pictures, and more like a restaurant menu. That might help me make better decisions about what to eat once I get hungry.
Except I'd rather do something more fun and interesting, like keep reading (or at least glancing through or skimming) my tons of library ebooks.
So, I guess my willpower - my ability to force myself to do things I'm not really in the mood to deal with - is still not all that great at the moment, even though I feel more alert and energetic, for now.
Vitamin A (retinol and beta-carotene)
Beta Carotene Conversion - Are You Making Enough Vitamin A? Up to 55% of people might not be!
I sure hope my body is good at converting beta carotene. Would be so interesting to get a genetic test. I at least feel like the carrots, canned peaches, vegetable juice, etc. I had lately probably did me some good, even though I might not have eaten them with fat.
Those sandwiches are best fresh rather than after having sat in the fridge for a while, and I thought I probably ought to compensate for eating rather poorly recently, so I ate the entire sub. It had turkey, lettuce, tomatoes, spinach, black olives, and banana peppers, with Italian herbs+cheese bread. And I added some MSG-free ranch dressing to it, for Omega 3, and because some nutrients (like Vitamin A) might be better-absorbed if consumed with fat. And also for flavor's sake.
Never had banana peppers before, but, I quite liked them, and will get them again.
Fortunately, we ordered this 10 ounce tea cup, so, that will make it easier for me to try drinking less tea. Filling my usual mug only partway makes me feel deprived, so I'm better off just getting a smaller cup.
As I write this, it sounds like the heat is on, so, maybe the furnace is still working.
My right eye has still been gooey and itchy, though not that bad.
I sure hope I sleep better. Not in the mood to deal with magnesium gel even though that might help me sleep better, so maybe I'll just take a magnesium citrate capsule, and have blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice.
The temperature in my room already went up to 63.0 degrees.
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Slept sometime between 1:21 AM and 10:06 AM. Woke up feeling pretty well-rested today. So, it seems I don't always have to drink blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice before sleep to sleep well.
Also, I didn't skip tea yesterday, so, it seems like it didn't interfere with my sleep so much as to make me feel unrested today. So, I don't know if drinking less tea will really be necessary or helpful or not.
All I had yesterday was my usual vitamins, 1 can of peaches, 1 dark chocolate/peanut butter granola bar, tea, the abovementioned Subway sandwich, a big glass of orange juice with it, and 2 Great Value uncaffeinated root beers.
That's not a huge amount of food, so, hopefully that means it won't be difficult for me to keep eating at least minimally well enough to sleep well enough.
My right eye is still a bit gooey, but, I'm going to probably try to consume more Vitamin A from probably mostly vegetarian sources today, and hopefully that will help.
Didn't get much done, but, I was so energetic a lot of the time, I even was in the mood to use my exercise bike for a few minutes.
And even though my room has been around 62 to 66 degrees the whole time, I mostly haven't felt cold. I think I started to feel a bit cold in the evening, perhaps from eating nothing for maybe 8 hours after I had tea. But, fortunately, one of my relatives happened to give me 2 Taco Bell beef chalupas. So, I didn't have to figure out what to eat.
A few hours ago, made the possible mistake of having numerous small Hershey's Cookies n' Creme candy bars, which contain some chocolate. Otherwise, maybe I'd already be asleep.
Ate a lot of baby carrots after that, then a few more small candy bars.
Perhaps I should have cooked the carrots and put butter on them, to possibly increase the amount of Vitamin A I might get from them. But I wonder if all the fat from those candy bars could help with my Vitamin A absorption?
Recently had blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice.
My right eye recently started to be a bit gooey again, so maybe this problem has something to do with sleepiness. But the problem went away again as I continued to write this.
Energy-wise, it was maybe about 85% as good of a day as Dec. 4th was. Which is encouraging, even though I still am not sure how to make every day like Dec. 4th, and can't confidently predict how I'll feel tomorrow.
Maybe I also need to resume more aggressively trying to increase my iron levels, since I might not have gotten close to 100% of the "Daily Value" of iron for a while lately. So, maybe I should eat some bean soup, or at least Cheerios. Oh, and I forgot about all those sesame seeds I have, and the sesame seed tahini I haven't figured out a good way to eat yet. (It's like the sesame version of peanut butter, with a lot of oil.) And I still have some pistachios.
Don't know if reducing my caffeinated tea from 1 and 1/8ths teaspoons to 1 teaspoon was a good idea or not, but, 1 teaspoon did seem to provide me adequate energy yesterday.
I wonder why I have such a hard time staying hydrated. Maybe for some reason my body just doesn't let me know very well when I need more fluids? Also haven't been drinking milk as much lately. But I don't want to mess up my iron absorption by drinking milk too often.
Feeling a bit more alert already. Maybe water helped.
62.8 degrees in my room, but I don't feel too cold. And 20% humidity, which I don't like, but have been getting used to lately. My hygrometer says the 24 hour low was 17% humidity, and the 24 hour high was 23% humidity.
Started my day with vitamins and the last 4 small Hershey's Cookies n' Creme bars I had. That's probably my favorite candy bar. I know that's not the best breakfast, but, they sure were good.
Anyway, this is just the same old bad situation I was in prior to June, July, or August 2014, so, I'm pretty used to having no medical care and probably being unable to afford it if disaster strikes. Who knows - maybe seeing the doctor would have done me more harm than good anyway. I'll just keep trying to solve my problems on my own.
I guess the best thing about this situation is, I no longer have to worry that I might accidentally get myself or my relatives kicked off of Medicaid if I get too much income, either through jobs, or via donations or microdonations.
Have been more alert since then, except now, it's getting darker, and I neglected to turn my room's lamps on, so, maybe that's why I started to get a bit more sleepy again.
Seems like I'm the only one who even eats leftover food anymore. I think my other relatives are concerned about the fridge not cooling as well as it used to. But, I've been OK despite eating stuff from that fridge.
It's 61.5 degrees in my room, so, it seems to be getting colder, probably partly because it has been a bit windy outside.
I'm not sure more exactly measuring the water and half and half I use in my tea is actually going to help me much, but, I guess I might as well try it.
So, perhaps I should have known better than to switch to a 16 ounce mug instead of a 12 ounce styrofoam cup, way back in early 2012.
Not sure how much extra caffeine I was getting as a result, though. I'm not sure my tea steeps as well as or as fast in the kind of mug I got back in Feb. 2012, since with its wider brim, I don't think it holds heat as well as my preferred mug does.
Recently, when using the kind of mug I got back in Feb. 2012, it seemed like my tea was weaker even though I made it the same way I make it with my my preferred mug - microwaved for 5 minutes, and then just leaving the tea bag in instead of ever taking it out. Though I guess another reason it tasted a bit diluted was possibly because I probably used more water and half and half than my other mug permits.
So, who knows, maybe I get similar benefits just from relatively small amounts of caffeine + theanine from tea, thanks to my caffeine sensitivity.
Taking something like Adderall would terrify me - not only because the idea of taking pharmaceutical drugs scares me in general, but because even just caffeine can be so strong for me that I suspect a stronger stimulant might be quite dangerous for me.
Also, I'm guessing Adderall probably wouldn't be as mood-boosting as theanine is for me. No way for me to know, though, because I probably would refuse to try Adderall even if I had the chance to try it.
No wonder stimulants are thought to be so helpful with various ADHD symptoms, which suspiciously resemble many of the symptoms of insufficient sleep - maybe because they actually are symptoms of insufficient sleep!
My sleep issues have always been so extreme, and caused me such unignorable tiredness, that it was impossible to overlook the fact that my absentmindedness, flakiness, lack of motivation, etc. are most likely primarily the result of inadequate sleep. (Especially since those symptoms largely go away when I feel rested or caffeinated enough.)
But, perhaps if my sleep issues had been more subtle, maybe I wouldn't have realized how insufficiently rested I actually was - maybe I would have just been more subtly debilitated, and blamed it on ADHD or other things, instead of sleep issues?
So, maybe I'm not such a rare freak of nature, with my possible Non-24-hour Sleep-Wake Disorder - just more extreme than the average circadian-disordered person who might be (mis?)diagnosed with ADHD or depression.
Guess I'll have tea soon. Maybe I'll actually try an amount closer to 12 ounces rather than 16 ounces, just to see how I feel. Will use 1 teaspoon of 2nd flush darjeeling tea and 1 teaspoon of some kind of organic decaf tea. Will microwave it for 5 minutes in the stronger downstairs microwave, and leave the teabag in the entire time I drink it.
Added my usual approximate spoonful of honey and a little more than 2 spooonfuls of sucanat (though perhaps I should have used less, since there's less liquid than usual). Wasn't sure how much half and half I usually put in, so, since my measuring glass doesn't seem so good for small amounts, I used one of my measuring spoons to put in one tablespoon at a time. It finally started to taste normal to me when I put in 4 tablespoons.
It's definitely a good cup of tea. Still not finished drinking it.
Anyway, some reasons I think it might be good to try decreasing caffeine again are because I kind of did OK drinking only around 12 ounces of tea per day from 2000 to 2012, and the years since I started drinking around 16 ounces of tea were overall not as good, especially 2014 onward.
Perhaps just getting older is partly to blame, but even my much older relatives don't have as much trouble with their energy as I have with mine, so I don't think that's my top problem.
I already tried mostly doing without caffeine from September 2016 to August 2017, but that didn't work out so great for me, so, maybe a small amount which won't mess with my appetite as much will be healthier for me. And maybe it will be better for my sleep too.
Skipping tea on Dec. 3rd and then having such a great Dec. 4th also made me wonder if I slept better simply because of having less caffeine in my system than usual.
Dec. 4th was such a good day that I feel like I must be very close to somehow figuring out how to get better and stay better. I guess I just need to keep trying various things until I figure it out.
And I feel like I have enough of an appetite right now to finally try having some bean soup. Maybe I'll even add some chicken to it, and butter, as well as vegetable juice and a spoonful of blackstrap molasses, and garlic. And spices. And maybe even some other vegetables. Mmm, that definitely seems appetizing at the moment.
I used 1 can of pinto beans, 1 can of butter beans, 1 can of chicken, about 1 and 1/3rd cups of vegetable juice (plus an unmeasured amount of extra vegetable juice from the already-open bottle from my mini-fridge), 1 spoonful of blackstrap molasses, 1 big clove of garlic, half a stick of butter, and some black pepper and salt. And saltine crackers are good in it too, and thicken it a bit, so maybe its wateriness isn't really a problem.
I tried to microwave it all in my pasta bowl, but it didn't heat up enough for my liking, so, I used my 1-cup measuring cup to transfer some into my largest mug, and microwaved that.
Definitely good enough to make again. I'd probably even happily order it at a restaurant.
I guess that's another recipe should make more exact, and then publish. But it seems like it probably doesn't really need to be very exact to turn out well enough.
Mmm, it's good with Italian seasoning too. (Marjoram, thyme, savory, rosemary, sage, oregano, and basil, all in the same spice bottle.)
Storing this in my crowded mini-fridge might be a bit difficult, and it's too late in the evening for my relatives to be hungry. So, I hope it will be just as good reheated. And I hope I don't get tired of it. I guess I could just add new ingredients to it to make it seem like a different soup every time I eat it.
Getting sleepy now, but I have to put the soup away before I sleep. I wonder how much iron I got from eating this. Not really in the mood to drink half a glass of vegetable juice + blackstrap molasses now. Craving milk, actually, but I'll wait a while before I have that, just in case it might interfere with iron absorption.
I guess if I stored some in my largest mug with some saran wrap over the top, all I'd have to do to make that into a meal tomorrow would be to take off the saran wrap and put the mug in the microwave.
Quite sleepy now, and not really in the mood to clean all these dishes and things. I guess if I store soup in my mug, I won't have to clean it! Yeah, I'm going to do that.
Still haven't slept at all yet, and my right eye is still gooey and itchy, and my room's humidity is 16%, but, I've somehow already been feeling better nonetheless. Not alert and energetic - I'm quite drowsy, as I should be after being awake for so long. I just feel better somehow.
Exercise biked a bit more than usual (like a minute or so more than usual), and though it was a bit tiring at first, it seemed to maybe result in more energy later on, which encouraged me to try doing it more often.
My eye issues varied too. Sometimes my right eye was gooey and itchy, and other times, my eyes were fine, and they got dry before sleep.
I don't get as much energy from tea made with just 10 ounces of water and a bit more than 4 tablespoons of half and half, and I don't think there's as much theanine either, but, I've sometimes had so much energy before having tea that it's OK. And I could easily get more theanine just by drinking a big mug of organic decaf tea by itself, or maybe mixed with rooibos ("red tea"), for flavor, and to hopefully provide me other healthy substances that tea alone doesn't provide.
Felt more interested yesterday in trying to get stuff done, so, in addition to reading a lot and watching some TV with family, I pondered how to improve my Puppy Linux Setup Kit.
And definitely interested in returning to what I was working on yesterday - mainly, figuring out how to improve my Simple App Installer for my Puppy Linux Setup Kit.
I don't feel like I'm getting caffeine withdrawal symptoms now, but, maybe I'll have tea earlier in my day today.
16% humidity and 68.9 degrees in my room - warmer than I'd like. So, I guess the furnace is working fine now. And I might actually have to go back to using my air conditioner again even though it's December.
Got very thirsty again while I slept. But, feeling more alert and rested now, probably.
I feel like I might be close to a caffeine withdrawal headache, though, so I better have tea soon.
I put in 10 ounces of water, knowing some of it would either boil away or boil over after 5 minutes. A lot of it did boil over, and I didn't measure what was left.
I used my usual amounts of tea - 1 teaspoon of 2nd flush darjeeling tea, and 1 teaspoon of organic decaf Earl Grey. And 1 spoonful of honey, 1 spoonful of sucanat, and 4 tablespoons of half and half.
Tastes good, but, this does seem like a disappointingly small amount of tea for me. So, I'll probably keep using my preferred mug, which, conveniently, also seems less likely to tip over if I set it on my bed. I'm sure I'll find some other good uses for this tea cup - since it's ceramic, it can be used for baking in the oven, and I can also use it for storage, or to eat soup, if I don't want a large amount of soup.
One of my packages of tea recommends using 8 ounces of water, and 1.25 teaspoons of tea. But it always tasted great to me anyway no matter how much water I used, after I waited long enough.
Also ate a mugful of bean soup, which was just as excellent as it was the other day. However, next time I make it, I'm not going to add butter and garlic until I've transferred some of it to a mug and am just about to eat it, because butter makes my dishes so much harder to clean. And I don't want to microwave the garlic because maybe the fresher the garlic is, and the less I heat it, maybe the healthier it is.
Still didn't get much done today, but if I keep feeling this much better, I'll probably be able to get a lot more done.
Today, I mostly just read a lot, and also watched The Flash for a while.
After reading this page, I decided to try them again, and to try to worry less about various other things I read about them.
Also, I found this page which says Vitamin C can counteract phytic acid. Quote:
So, maybe I'll mix my chia water with grape juice, which I usually drink diluted anyway. I'm also probably going to try to drink that soon before sleep, in the hope that maybe I won't get as dehydrated while I sleep.
Quoted from the first article:
Using a meter, I discovered I was still exposed to unhealthy levels at a distance of 30 feet, so when I'm not using my cellphone, I always keep it in airplane mode and/or inside a Faraday bag."
I scarcely use my cell phones at all anyway, so I probably should turn them off and unplug them, rather than leaving them on and constantly charging in my room. I thought I was probably far enough away for them not to be a problem, but who knows.
Maybe I should even try unplugging my USB wireless internet adapter from my computer while I sleep. Or I could at least disconnect from the internet.
Physically, I don't think I feel any different so far. But, emotionally, I feel better about not wasting electricity on things I rarely use, and which might (or might not) even be harmful.
So, since I'm probably going to go to sleep soon, I had 1 magnesium citrate capsule, some walnuts, and am now drinking grape juice mixed with the water and chia seeds I started soaking maybe around 8 PM. Probably won't drink the whole glass.
Maybe I could try soaking some chia seeds in a glass of vegetable juice + 1 spoonful of blackstrap molasses. Too sleepy to do much now, though.
Now my room is 60.4 degrees. I'm a bit cold now, but somehow not as cold as I was earlier when it was warmer. Sounds like another windy day, so that's probably part of why it's so cold.
I think maybe I want try these Nuun electrolyte tablets at some point. I don't want to drink Gatorade because of the artificial colors and all the sugar. (Addition, Dec. 10, 2017, 1:21 PM EST. Decided against trying Nuun electrolyte tablets because all the ingredients lists I checked contain "natural flavors", which I find objectionably vague.)
Also am wondering if maybe I should try using this magnesium gel more regularly. Would probably use small amounts rather than covering most of my body with it, since I'm not sure I need that much magnesium at the moment, and standing naked in the bathroom for 20 minutes is boring. And I'd have to wait 30 minutes for the water to heat up, because to save money, we usually keep our water heater turned off.
Fortunately, for some purposes, such as cleaning greasy dishes, I can just heat some water in a ceramic pasta bowl in the microwave. That could probably make the magnesium gel more pleasant to clean off, too.
Eventually got kind of sleepy around 7 PM. After that, finally had accidentally a bit less than 10 ounces of tea (plus a bit more than 4 teaspoons of half and half) in my preferred mug, but I'm not sure it helped much. But was watching TV in a darkened room with family, so maybe that made me sleepier than I otherwise would have been. I did start to feel more alert for a while after returning to my room, where I have both my lamps on. (But perhaps that's partly because I ate a dark chocolate/peanut butter granola bar). Have been getting sleepy again for a while. Still programming, though.
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I wonder if that's part of why I get dehydrated so easily. Really tired of thirst interfering so much with my sleep. Maybe that's my top remaining problem. I think if my sleep was better, I'd probably be doing much better overall.
I probably ought to get more smoothie glasses with lids, so I can store a wider variety of things at the same time.
Drank some diluted grape juice + chia seeds sometime in the evening, and am also having some now. No clear ideas or feelings yet on what chia seeds might be doing for me, aside from the fact that I like how they make my drinks seem a bit reminiscent of tapioca. I sure hope they're healthy, since even just the nifty tapioca-like texture they add is reason enough for me to want to keep eating (or drinking) them.
I think I probably am dealing with PMS and some mild caffeine withdrawal.
Also started to wonder if maybe ground flaxseed (warning) was doing me even more good than I realized. Haven't been eating it at all for quite a while now - none since September - though mostly because it's inconvenient and I haven't felt lately like I needed it as much.
Sometimes I'm tempted to try Omega 3 fish oil capsules, especially now that I'm no longer even trying to be somewhat vegetarian, but I'm still worried about the various pollutants in the ocean such as mercury, etc. Maybe I should just take more of my vegan Omega 3 capsules than just 1 a day, even though they're awfully expensive and contain carrageenan.
I don't have excess earwax, but I think I might have excessive thirst (at least when sleeping), maybe excessive urination, and sometimes I have dry eyes, except it's mostly my right eye and it's usually gooey (when tired?) or normal (when more alert) rather than dry.
So, I think I might continue drinking liquids containing soaked chia seeds for a while.
So, that will probably make it much easier for me to store various things. Juice bottles take up so much room in my mini-fridge, so, in the future, maybe I'll just transfer their contents into my smoothie glasses instead.
Looking forward to being able to more easily store a wider variety of soups, and liquids with and without chia seeds. I'll also be able to always keep a glass of vegetable juice + 1 spoonful of blackstrap molasses ready to drink, or to use as (or in) a soup.
What I probably won't store in them is smoothies, because I realized a while back that I like those much better fresh.
Meanwhile, my bean soup was really great every time I had it. Was just as good even after being stored in my fridge in smoothie glasses (or my largest mug with some saran wrap over it) for a couple days.
We were mostly prepared for this, since we got a big cooler some months ago. No ice, but we have a lot of frozen food, so that will probably keep things cold enough.
Currently eating walnuts. I've been tired for several hours anyway, so it doesn't really matter if these make me more tired.
Didn't get as much programming done today. And my right eye has been quite gooey and a bit itchy for the past few hours. But at least it's better than dry eyes.
Noticed that I sometimes get a bit of nasal congestion (on the right side) when my right eye gets gooey.
Slept sometime between 4:49 AM and 1:57 PM. I got a bit thirsty, but maybe less than usual. Yesterday, I took 3 Testa vegan Omega 3 capsules, so, maybe that helped me.
When I woke up, my right eye was so gooey it was blurry, but I cleaned it with some moistened toilet paper. Am going to try to avoid rubbing my eyes with my fingers at all in the future, since I think that might irritate them. My eyes are fine now.
Been feeling mostly pretty alert, though I got a bit tired after a bowl of Apple Cinnamon Cheerios earlier. Now having tea.
Been reading and programming, and watched TV with family. Probably going to keep programming for a while, unless I give into the temptation to eat some walnuts, which will probably make me too sleepy to continue.
I feel like I slept pretty well, and I'm having a much easier time concentrating today than I did last night toward the end of my day, which made programming rather frustrating. Even writing this feels easier than usual.
Yesterday, later in my day, I craved a dark chocolate/peanut butter granola bar, but didn't eat it because it was the last one and I wanted to leave it for the other person who likes them.
We still haven't tried turning the fridge back on. I heard that our cooler has actually been keeping the milk, etc. colder than the fridge has been for a while.
Got my 12 new smoothie glasses with lids. So glad to finally have all the storage I need for a much wider variety of things - soups, soaked chia seeds, ready-to-drink glasses of vegetable juice + 1 spoonful of blackstrap molasses, various other kinds of juice without having to store entire bottles, carrots or celery soaked in water to make them more crisp and appealing, etc.
One of the first things I did to try to save space in my mini-fridge was transferring my mostly full gallon of cow's milk into them. But, to my surprise, that required 6 glasses, which took up more space than the original jug. So, I guess I'm not very good at estimating that sort of thing. But at least now I have a much less vague idea of how many glasses of milk are in a gallon and when I might run out of milk.
Didn't make any new soups so far, but might do so soon, because they're so good and convenient.
Getting sleepier as I write this, so, maybe I should stop writing this and try to return to programming or reading. It probably would be better if our TV-watching coincided with the end of my day, so I could spend more of the time when I'm more alert on more important things, but my recent sleep so-called "schedule" hasn't been making that possible lately.
And I don't want to try to forcibly adjust my sleep "schedule". It's possible and I've done it many times, but it's always only temporary for me, and rather unpleasant, and (I'm guessing) unhealthy. And in recent years I thought it was getting harder to do, and assumed it was just from getting older - but now I think maybe it was harder mainly because of my electric blanket and probably excessive (for me) caffeine messing up my sleep quality. And probably also often not getting enough iron, exercise, etc.
So, I guess decreasing my daily caffeine dose was the right move. I wonder how differently my life might have gone if I hadn't foolishly assumed in recent years that I was probably handling close to 16 ounces of tea just fine. I now suspect I actually probably never fully adjusted to it.
I also think getting more iron in my diet has helped a lot, too. And maybe I wasn't as iron deficient as I feared, since I've improved so much so relatively quickly.
And I feel like even rather small-seeming amounts of exercise (like less than a minute of high-intensity exercise biking) do me a lot of good.
I wonder how long it will take for my sleep patterns to shift to something better. I wish I had an easier way to graph my sleep patterns that didn't involve non-libre Windows software. But, haven't been curious enough to actually try to find (or build) an alternative yet.
Finally starting to feel premenstrual again, and am quite irritable that I have to reboot my computer at some point because VirtualBox recently mysteriously stopped working, and I don't know how else to fix it. Even newly-created virtual machines won't run at all. Not even when I made VirtualBox re-create its config settings from scratch by removing the symlinks to my original settings and existing virtual machine. Still the same error.
So, at the moment, I can't keep working on my Puppy Linux Setup Kit using VirtualBox. So, I guess the best thing I can do for now is take better notes and get a bit more organized so my next partially-manual setup goes more smoothly, with fewer forgotten little details.
At least I'll finally get to see if my slightly modified Lighthouse 64 Puppy Linux 6.02 Beta 2 ISO (which, at startup, lets me specify the RAM disk size) will work as well as I hope on a real computer instead of just VirtualBox.
But, made some progress getting my files a bit more organized, and am feeling alert enough now, even without tea so far.
Might put off rebooting until I get things even more organized.
For my last couple sleeps, I used my sleep mask at least part of the time, and perhaps that helped me, even though sometimes I partly woke up to adjust it.
And have been continuing to take 3 Testa vegan Omega 3 capsules per day, since Dec. 11th. At that rate, it will only take me 20 days to get through an entire pack of 60 capsules, but, perhaps it's worth the inconvenience and cost, if that has anything to do with why I'm doing better lately. (However, on Dec. 4th, one of my best days recently, I hadn't yet tried taking more Omega 3, nor even many soaked chia seeds yet, so maybe my improvement has more to do with me getting enough iron.)
Been feeling quite alert and energetic, despite waking up with a slightly clogged nose again.
Lately, it seems so much easier to think and to do things, and I feel much quicker and sharper. And I don't feel particularly premenstrual today, so far.
After being defrosted, the family refrigerator now seems to be working fine again.
I guess I'm probably still better off with at least a little caffeine rather than none. Still haven't had any yet, though.
Ended up mostly reading and watching TV so far today. Should probably try to get something useful done, but I'm not sure I will today.
Maybe feeling a bit more premenstrual today. Anyway, I might get quiet again for a while because of having to reboot my computer, or just because of not feeling like updating this, but I'm still doing OK overall. Often, the better I feel, the less patience I have for updating this blog post, so my quietness here is nothing to worry about.
Was rather fatigued during it and a little while after, but surprisingly not for long. My energy has fluctuated lately, but was surprisingly pretty good a lot of the time, even though I've often just happened to skip tea. I think Dec. 29th was my best day, since among other things, I got a lot of cleaning done, so my room is finally tolerable again, and I washed all my smoothie glasses and other dishes.
On Christmas, it was very windy, which always seems to make my room colder than usual. It was so cold I was wondering if the furnace was acting up again - it was 52 degrees at one point. But, this is the first year I even had a way to measure my room's temperature, so, maybe that's actually typical for my room in winter on windy days.
In any case, it was so cold I resumed using my electric blanket. Been trying to resist the temptation to keep using it, especially while sleeping, but, was surprised on Dec. 29th when I had a quite energetic day anyway, as though my electric blanket hadn't interfered much at all with my sleep. Still, I'm too wary of it to keep using it.
Fixing up and releasing my VUE-Related Bash Scripts helped. Almost all year, I was using some earlier unreleased versions, but they were a hasty mess and weren't always working properly. But now, I can reliably and easily create new VUE maps using whatever template I want, set aside maps I'm done with, make small images for my maps, and navigate to and browse all my maps despite the fact that I keep them in numerous different folders. Which all makes it much easier to manage my maps and keep them tidy.
And once I can easily install PHP and XSLT again, I'll be able to (again) do even fancier things.
Had blackstrap molasses + a full smoothie glass of vegetable juice on Dec. 27th. Haven't had more since then, nor bean soup including those ingredients, but I should, since I think that was quite helpful, and was part of why I felt like I recovered so quickly from my time of the month.
Surprisingly, I often feel like simply eating Apple Cinnamon Cheerios does me a lot of good.
Had to do without vegan Omega 3 capsules for a while due to a shipping glitch of some sort, so, I tried a bit harder than usual to get Omega 3 from my diet. Sometimes have had walnuts before sleep, and felt like I woke up refreshed. Baby carrots with MSG-free Litehouse brand ranch dressing (which has plenty of Omega 3) might also have helped me. And I finally resumed ground flaxseed (warning) yesterday, and I think maybe that also helped reduce my dry eyes.
And found a temporary cure for my dry eyes in the form of this blog post, which moved me to tears.
I might go back to being quiet, since I've been doing so much better lately that I have much less to vent about here. I'm fairly convinced now that possibly the top factor in my fatigue was not enough iron in my diet, though other things besides iron definitely helped me a lot, too.
So, I think if I keep consuming enough blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice, bean soup, Cheerios, and other iron-containing foods, hopefully I'll be fine.
Here's my website's disclaimer. I'm not a health care professional, just a layperson who sometimes takes an interest in health and nutrition.
By the way, even though my severe circadian sleep issues which might be Non-24 Hour Sleep-Wake Disorder are one of the top factors that ruined my life, I have resigned myself to that probably being incurable, so, I long ago gave up on even trying to force myself to have a "normal" schedule.
My other health diary blog post got so big I encountered a web error one of the last times I tried to update it.
Unfortunately, my cold soon worsened quite a lot after that. And I suspect resuming having tea the higher-caffeine way I used to make it before quitting tea might have contributed to that by interfering with my ability to sleep. Another big factor interfering with my sleep has been my stuffy nose and some kind of throat issues sometimes making it more difficult to breathe through both my nose and my mouth.
I got so scared about how sick I am that I resumed Vitamin D. (I had been avoiding Vitamin D in supplement form for a while due to how alarmingly jittery I sometimes had gotten a while after taking a lot of it, which made me worry that maybe I had overdosed on Vitamin D, but perhaps it was just magnesium deficiency from not taking enough magnesium along with such large quantities of Vitamin D.) Took 8000 IU of Vitamin D today (and 2000 IU yesterday), along with other vitamins.
Yesterday, I tried sitting in the downstairs bathroom with hot water steaming up the room to try to reduce my croup and congestion, but it didn't seem to do much.
As I expected, money problems are again going to stop us from getting the upstairs bathroom fixed in the near future. We have roof trouble, recently dealt with some car trouble, and we still have some refrigerator trouble.
Today, instead of just resting, I'm actually probably going to try to clean the junk mountain room, since we really need to fix the upstairs bathroom for the sake of my health, since I procrastinate about even going downstairs at night because I don't want to accidentally wake up my relative who sleeps downstairs, and I procrastinate about going downstairs during the day because I often don't feel like dealing with social contact, so, I often don't eat as well as I should, and I also procrastinate about brushing and irrigating my teeth and gums, which probably is not only bad for my teeth and gums, but bad for my immune system, because I have gum disease which I believe might have been partly or perhaps even mostly caused by my 3 root canaled teeth.
Now feeling considerably better today than I did yesterday, so, maybe the Vitamin D, garlic, beef/vegetable soup, and even my caffeinated black tea are helping me, among other things, like Vitamin C, Vitamin B Complex, magnesium, etc.
Also, back before I got so extremely stressed out in May/June 2016 that I eventually tried to quit tea in the hope that might ease my fatigue, it seemed like I used to need less Vitamin C to soothe my gums (and I wasn't even taking Vitamin D back then), so that makes me wonder if tea really does help your immune system.
Also, it seems like exercise and standing up and walking around actually helps my nose get unclogged, while sitting and lying down tends to make it worse, so, hopefully cleaning the next room will be good for me physically too, in addition to emotionally comforting me by making me feel like my hope of finally having a working upstairs bathroom again after all these years is that much closer to really happening.
The most fun thing I did yesterday was watch Legends of Tomorrow with my family. It took my mind off my symptoms better than anything else yesterday.
Addition, Sept. 19, 2017, 3:07 PM EDT. Didn't get much cleaning done - ended up watching Netflix, and then got drowsy. But got a bit headachy again, and not so drowsy, now that I've returned to my room.
Today, I figured out a much better way for me to eat fresh garlic cloves - buttering up an English muffin, microwaving it, then adding pieces of garlic to it. Chomping on the bread instead of directly on the garlic keeps the garlic from burning my mouth as much. (Fresh garlic is sometimes so spicy-hot that, for me, it's sometimes even worse than too much cayenne pepper, even though I like the taste of both.) My senses of taste and smell are still very stifled, but it seemed good.
Very relieved that my poor sleep didn't wreck my ability to fight off a cold. Yesterday I felt so bad I was pretty scared, but today I feel like I could defeat this even if I continue sleeping poorly. And especially if I start sleeping better.
Addition, Sept. 20, 2017, 2:12 AM EDT. Managed to sleep longer today, sometime between around 6:15 PM and 1:40 AM. But, slept poorly, though some of my dreams were unusually vivid.
Addition, Sept. 20, 2017, 4:15 AM EDT. Decided to just drink a Barq's caffeinated root beer. Due to my cold, it tastes different, but still good.
Anyway, now that I had a Barq's caffeinated root beer, I guess I better switch back to making tea with a custom tea bag with less caffeinated tea than a pre-packaged tea bag. That tastes better anyway (especially when I don't have a cold).
Addition, Sept. 20, 2017, 5:03 AM EDT. Feeling unheadachy and more comfortable temperature-wise, so now in a much better mood, and getting more eager to do something useful.
Addition, Sept. 20, 2017, 10:15 AM EDT. Got sleepy again, so ended up doing nothing except reading a bit. Fell asleep sometime between 6:41 AM and 9:03 AM. Some vivid dreams, but woke up incredibly thirsty again, and my eyes I think started out dry but soon became gooey.
Maybe the daylight is putting me in the mood to stay awake. Having a Barq's caffeinated root beer now since I don't feel like making tea yet.
Addition, Sept. 20, 2017, 11:30 AM EDT. Another good reason to sleep in the upstairs bathroom is because it's very dark in there, even during the day, since its window isn't very big and is pretty well-covered by a shade. (Here's a helpful web page about the differences between blinds and shades.)
Addition, Sept. 20, 2017, 12:42 PM EDT. I think I might get this cooking thermometer too, to help me figure out more precisely how much longer I ought to microwave things in the 700 watt upstairs microwave than the seemingly higher watt (but confusingly labeled) downstairs microwave.
Here's a research article which says microwaving improves the extraction of various substances from tea, except theanine:
"The typical household conditions only extracted 62% (61 mg/g tea), 76% (24 mg/g) and 80% (10 mg/g) of the catechins, caffeine and theanine, respectively, from the five varieties of teabags analysed. However, using microwave assisted extraction (MAE) by first brewing a teabag in 200 mL freshly boiled water for 0.5 min before irradiation for 1 min in a microwave oven (hot MAE), improved the extraction of the catechins and caffeine to 80% (80 mg/g) and 92% (29 mg/g), respectively, although the extraction of theanine was not affected."
And, judging by the marvelously detailed PDF file linked to from this page (which I previously linked to in my health diary part 1 blog post) - hot water might only be a little more effective than cold water at extracting theanine.
Addition, Sept. 20, 2017, 2:46 PM EDT. Partly cleaned the upstairs bathtub. It definitely feels too warm in that room. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out how to open the window, since it has these mystifying paint-covered ropes and pulleys which I don't know what to do with. So, I might not be able to sleep there yet.
Addition, Sept. 21, 2017, 2:24 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 3:40 AM and 8:48 AM in my own room. Had some fun vivid dreams. But, woke up with a headache and very thirsty and a bit dry-eyed. Fortunately, it only took a little plain water for those problems to go away, perhaps because I had forgotten to turn the air conditioner back on before I dozed off, so maybe because of that, I got less dehydrated than usual.
I think I had two caffeinated Barq's root beers total yesterday, and no other caffeine, and not even decaf tea, but, somehow did pretty well energy-wise, despite my cold, and despite still not eating as well as I should.
I now have a humidifier - a warm mist vaporizer, since I read that cool mist humidifiers can harbor bacteria, and ultrasonic humidifiers can spread dust all over the place. This page was helpful.
Still haven't figured out how to open the upstairs bathroom window. But, around 3 AM, I briefly opened my own room's big window - which was quite tough because it's very big and heavy, and somewhat inaccessible behind my cheap substitute for a window shade - taped together pieces of blank white paper, which I put up to make the sunlight a bit less bright (but no less aesthetically pleasing), so I can still look at my computers even on sunny afternoons, and also to increase my feelings of privacy, because even perfectly intact Venetian blinds have way too many holes for my liking. I wouldn't mind getting some totally different window coverings, but I'm not sure what yet.
I don't think the upstairs bathroom will be tolerable to sleep in until I figure out how to open the window, so, maybe I'll try that again later.
I seldom go out of my way to try to acquire physical books anymore, since I already have so many books that if I get too many more, I could almost swim in them like Scrooge McDuck swims in money. And lately I've mostly been reading ebooks, thanks to my local libraries' marvelous Overdrive websites which legally let you borrow tons of ebooks for 21 days, at no cost.
Addition, Sept. 21, 2017, 3:58 PM EDT. I didn't realize small tents were possibly so cheap, like only $20. So, going to get this small red tent.
Additions, Sept. 23, 2017, 2:39 PM/3:37 PM EDT. The sleep before last, on Sept. 21-22, I slept sometime between 10:57 PM and 8:52 AM. Not sure how many hours I slept with the air conditioner in fan-only mode, but eventually I woke up, felt too hot, saw the temperature in my room was 75 degrees, and put the air conditioner into cooling mode, which eventually cooled my room down to around 66 degrees.
My only caffeine on Sept. 21st was 1 Barq's caffeinated root beer, and I ate even worse on Sept. 21st than I did the day before that, so, it surprised me that I woke up feeling so alert and well-rested. On Sept. 21st, all I ate was two English muffins with butter and cherry jelly, some carrots, and some cottage cheese.
On Sept. 23 (today), slept sometime between 1:34 AM and 9:42 AM, rather poorly, since I kept waking up because of thirst, and because I got too warm because I didn't always have my air conditioner on. Also, out of habit, continued to wear my usual loose comfortable bra, despite the scary health reasons to go braless. I still have a cold, but it still seems to be on the mend.
Got my hygrometer (for measuring humidity) yesterday. It seems to usually be around 40%-45% humidity in my room, with the temperature around 67-69 degrees when the air conditioner is set to 66 degrees. With the air conditioner off for hours, the detected humidity was around 47% and temperature around 76.6.
The hygrometer seems to adjust to big temperature changes pretty slowly, since when I went up to the very hot third floor yesterday evening, it took many minutes for the temperature reading to creep upward to a plausible-sounding number. It took so long I finally just set the device down, and came back some hours later, and saw that the all-time high temperature on the device had changed to 84.6.
Finally realized that I could actually sleep in the air conditioned neighboring bedroom. The only problem with it is it's kind of gross since our cat's litter box is there. But at least it's a room with an east window, so it might be less confusing to circadian rhythms than my room and the junk mountain room with their big west windows. Both my room and the junk mountain room get the most daylight in the afternoon.
I wish post offices, banks, etc. were open 24 hours a day. The "normal" hours for post offices and banks to be open (like around 8 AM to 5 or 6 PM, and 8 AM to 12 PM on Saturday) are oppressive even to people without sleep issues, since anyone who has to work from around 9 AM to 5 PM doesn't have much time to go to the bank and post office. And who wants to have to wake up early on the weekend, or have to waste any part of their weekend on chores like going to the bank or post office?
Additions, Sept. 23, 2017, 4:49 PM/4:56 PM EDT. Another thing I forgot to mention about yesterday was that it seemed noticeably easier than usual to lift 3-liter bottles of water. Today, that seems more difficult again.
Addition, Sept. 24, 2017, 2:23 AM EDT. Without really meaning to, went to sleep for a while in my own room sometime between 5:39 PM and 9:13 PM. Woke up thirsty and too hot, since I had my air conditioner set to 72 degrees.
Addition, Sept. 24, 2017, 8:58 AM EDT. It was a nice place to sleep until the sun came up. But by around 8:20 AM I was too hot to keep sleeping.
Found a helpful Android phone app called Twilight which basically does for your phone what Redshift or f.lux does for your computer - tints the screen red to decrease the amount of melatonin-stifling blue light. Twilight optionally can dim the screen also, which is useful because even my phone's absolute lowest brightness setting still seemed too bright.
Maybe as the weather gets colder it will get easier to stay in the tent in the morning. And maybe once the sun isn't directly shining on it anymore, maybe I'll be able to go back in there. But, judging by Weather.com, it's probably going to get much too hot.
Addition, Sept. 24, 2017, 12:31 PM EDT. Ended up staying awake because there was something on TV I wanted to watch. Slept braless and have continued to be braless because of the scary health reasons to go braless, and also just to see if I feel better in general. Hopefully gravity isn't harming them, but they don't feel bad.
Addition, Sept. 24, 2017, 1:57 PM EDT. Now that my tent isn't getting as much direct sunlight, it's almost nice to be in again, despite the heat. I might even be able to get some stuff done out there with my laptop. Except I'm still too sleepy and unmotivated, and don't want to bring my laptop out into such heat.
Addition, Sept. 24, 2017, 7:12 PM EDT. Fell asleep for a while in my room, sometime between 2:10 PM and 6:56 PM. Got thirsty and dry-eyed again, and when I woke up, I saw the humidity was 45%. My eyes soon became gooey instead, but still, I'm so tired of feeling like this when I wake up.
Addition, Sept. 25, 2017, 10:31 AM EDT. Again tried sleeping in the tent, starting around maybe 1 AM. But, it hadn't gotten cold enough yet. I think my hygrometer said it was around 70-74 degrees (despite weather reports saying it was around 66 degrees), and the humidity was around 70%-85% at various times.
Still kind of tired, and I still have a cold. I'm tempted to take more Vitamin D, but it seems to be misplaced. Maybe I better just resume caffeine again so I can function well enough to try to get my room cleaned up at least enough so I can find my Vitamin D.
Addition, Sept. 25, 2017, 1:05 PM EDT. Cleaned the junk mountain room a little. Found out my tent isn't quite as bug-proof as I'd like, since a tiny spider got in, probably through the small hole where the "door" zippers meet when the tent is as closed as it can possibly be.
Addition, Sept. 25, 2017, 5:18 PM EDT. Getting this other tent, whose price was $27.99 regardless of whether I or my relative looked at its Amazon page. There were only two color options - blue with orange parts or green with orange parts, so I chose the latter.
Addition, Sept. 26, 2017, 1:05 AM EDT. Been tired and I still have a cold, but hopefully that will be gone soon. Didn't have more caffeine, and didn't locate my bottle of Vitamin D. Just been reading or watching TV.
Addition, Sept. 26, 2017, 9:57 AM EDT. Slept in my own room, sometime between 1:08 AM and 8:52 AM. Got thirsty and dry-eyed, and still feeling tired, and my cold still isn't gone.
Addition, Sept. 26, 2017, 10:03 AM EDT. Suddenly already feeling more alert, don't know why. Increasing daylight from my big window, perhaps?
Addition, Sept. 26, 2017, 12:07 PM EDT. Got sleepy again. Will probably receive the next tent on Thursday. Will also receive more Arbor Teas soon.
Addition, Sept. 26, 2017, 2:23 PM EDT. Been more alert again for a while. I think maybe I got drowsy earlier because I ate some raisins (carbs). So annoying! I think maybe I really am better off as a caffeine addict, so I can eat whatever I want without it making me tired.
Addition, Sept. 26, 2017, 6:08 PM EDT. Been feeling much better and untired, even though I haven't eaten anything yet (except my usual vitamins and the raisins I mentioned earlier), nor had any caffeine. But, still have mostly just been reading rather than getting anything done.
Addition, Sept. 26, 2017, 7:47 PM EDT. Just found out that I like pumpkin seeds, salted and in their edible shells. Hopefully that will help me get more iron in my diet, among other nutrients.
Addition, Sept. 27, 2017, 8:46 AM EDT. Slept in tent sometime between 2:08 AM and maybe 8:15 AM. Being woken up too soon by the sun is as unpleasant as anything else waking me up too soon. Got thirsty and dry-eyed, too, but after drinking some plain water, my eyes are starting to get gooey instead. My right eye was especially gooey last night before sleep.
Addition, Sept. 27, 2017, 9:40 AM EDT. Been feeling more alert at times, but I still want to go back to sleep. But, browsing the web kept me awake.
"While many know dehydration can affect their waking hours, what they do not know is the negative effects their lack of water is having on their sleeping hours. Chronic dehydration reduces the amount of essential amino acids needed by your body to produce a natural chemical called melatonin. Melatonin is created in the pineal glands and its creation is linked to a natural circadian rhythm � that is, a normal sleeping and waking schedule. Dehydration can act as a powerful roadblock to your body�s production of melatonin, making it hard to both fall asleep and stay asleep. This means that drinking an appropriate amount of water literally affects the quality of every hour in your day."
This other page suggests sometimes drinking milk instead of plain water.
"Of course, drinking plain old tap water can help enormously � sipping 12 ounces when they�re fatigued helps almost 100 percent of women feel more energetic within an hour, according to studies at Connecticut�s Manchester Memorial Hospital. But if you�ve been physically active, consider pouring a tall glass of milk (plain or chocolate) instead. �Milk rehydrates better than water because it replaces the sodium, calcium and other electrolytes lost in sweat � and that�s key to quickly restoring your body�s fluid balance,� says Brian Timmons, Ph.D., lead researcher of the McMaster University study. �Plus it�s a great source of protein, so it can actually help prevent fatigue by keeping your blood sugar steady and your muscles well-nourished.�"
Addition, Sept. 27, 2017, 5:06 PM EDT. Slept a while in my room, sometime between 1:12 PM and 4:50 PM. Used sleep mask, and had no idea it was still so early until I took it off. Got thirsty and dry-eyed again, but already getting gooey-eyed after drinking some plain water.
Addition, Sept. 27, 2017, 5:24 PM EDT. Suddenly saw my lost Vitamin E in the mess, and soon found my lost jar of nicely-seasoned Great Value peanuts too. Hoping I'll run across my Vitamin D soon.
Additions, Sept. 27, 2017, 5:42 PM/6:17 PM EDT. Found an informative but annoying list of foods that inhibit iron absorption.
Addition, Sept. 27, 2017, 6:19 PM EDT. Finally found my Vitamin D, but still haven't taken any yet.
Addition, Sept. 27, 2017, 6:52 PM EDT. Just took 2000 IU of Vitamin D, 1 capsule of Nutrigold Vitamin K2, and a full serving of Nature Made magnesium citrates (2 capsules) because
this page says:
"When you're taking magnesium, you need to consider calcium, vitamin D3 and vitamin K2 as well, since these all work synergistically with one another."
Addition, Sept. 28, 2017, 12:50 AM EDT. Perked up for a little while, but got sleepy again while watching TV with family.
Addition, Sept. 28, 2017, 8:30 AM EDT. Took a while to fall asleep and didn't sleep too well, and then the darn sun ruined everything. The temperature eventually got pretty cold, and I had to add some layers while I was half-asleep, but I was well-prepared with three nice soft warm robes (used as blankets rather than worn), 2 sheets, and 1 blanket. But the sun made it too hot quite fast, and also much too bright. I wish I had a thick dark curtain to hang up in front of my tent.
Addition, Sept. 28, 2017, 10:27 AM EDT. Got the new tent, and put it up already, which was much easier than the other tent. It was confusing at first since each tent pole was attached to its opposite end and had to be pulled apart, which I accidentally figured out.
Addition, Sept. 28, 2017, 1:32 PM EDT. Took my usual vitamins, plus 4000 IU of Vitamin D, 1 capsule of Nutrigold Vitamin K2, and a full serving of Nature Made magnesium citrates (2 capsules). Am much more alert now.
Addition, Sept. 28, 2017, 5:04 PM EDT. Getting sleepy again, so, haven't yet managed to copy all the stuff I want to copy to my laptop so I can use it in my tent.
I just read a wonderful, very informative report about Non-24-hour Sleep-Wake Disorder, which was recently announced on the Niteowl mailing list.
"When allowed to sleep on their own cycle, some individuals with N24 will find relief of their symptoms of insomnia and fatigue, at the cost of the ability to maintain a schedule required for social and occupational requirements. However, some people with N24 will continue to experience fatigue, grogginess, malaise and disrupted sleep on any schedule, possibly because of continued desynchronization of their internal circadian rhythms. Recent research has documented that in addition to the central clock in the brain, virtually every cell in the body has a molecular clock, and scientists speculate that desynchronization of multitude of clocks is what underlies these symptoms."
Addition, Sept. 28, 2017, 11:56 PM EDT. Stayed awake because of drinking 1 can of Barq's caffeinated root beer. (Perhaps having more magnesium citrate also helped.) Been feeling much better, and like my cold is maybe 96% gone.
Addition, Sept. 29, 2017, 11:11 AM EDT. Not sure when I went to sleep - sometime after 12:11 AM, but possibly after 1 AM or 2 AM. Kept waking up, but might have slept OK at times.
Addition, Sept. 30, 2017, 1:41 PM EDT. I guess I might need a better microwave, because it just doesn't seem like I get as much of a caffeine jolt from tea made in the upstairs microwave. But, I was more energetic yesterday, though I was feeling a bit jittery and like I already needed even more magnesium, perhaps because of taking more Vitamin D lately.
Didn't feel like going to sleep during the night, nor sleeping in temperatures in the 40's again, especially since I felt like my cold worsened a bit again - my sinuses(?) felt vaguely congested, I had a slight cough, and my voice got a bit hoarse. I almost just stayed in my room.
Addition, Oct. 1, 2017, 1:52 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 2:34 AM and 1:05 PM, in my room, since it was 39 degrees outside last night. Maybe slept pretty well, and started to feel alert pretty soon after waking.
Addition, Oct. 2, 2017, 6:49 PM EDT. My sleeping bag was a tremendous and scary disappointment, because its label had a warning which said:
"CALIFORNIA PROPOSITION 65 WARNING: This product contains one or more chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects, and other reproductive harm."
Was in my tent most of the time between 10:49 AM and 5:48 PM, and managed to sleep there, even though it got a bit warmer than I would like, around 74 degrees. Slept OK, and didn't get very thirsty and dry-eyed, even though the humidity went down to something like 27% out there.
Addition, Oct. 4, 2017, 4:56 AM EDT. There was a power outage sometime in the evening on Oct. 2nd, but I don't know when exactly, because I didn't notice it because I was in my tent.
But, it was such a nice day, I soon went out to my tent to read a paper book. Was alert, felt sharp and full of good ideas while programming, and was in a pretty good mood most of the time, probably partly thanks to caffeinated tea, despite only sleeping between around 8 PM on Oct. 2nd to sometime around midnight on Oct. 3rd, and sometime between 6:05 AM and 10:39 AM.
Probably too tired now to move my many blankets, etc. back into my tent, even though I think I can mostly handle temperatures in the 50's, and it warms up pretty soon after the sun rises. And now, my laptop is set up almost as comfortably as my desktop computers, and in the dark outside, I could probably read the screen easily at its lowest and least battery-draining brightness setting.
Additions, Oct. 5, 2017, 4:35 PM/6:38 PM EDT. On Oct. 4, slept inside sometime between 6:24 AM and 1:14 PM.
Mostly have just been reading. But also have been trying out a new way of making VUE notes. Now, for various topics or tasks, I've been making two maps:
My Toughbook CF-C1 laptop's screen is definitely not as nice to look at as a monitor, but, fortunately, I can easily connect my laptop to a monitor because of my KVM switch, which also lets me share the same monitor with one of my desktop computers.
xrandr --output LVDS1 --above VGA1
xrandr --output LVDS1 --mode 1280x800
Found out yesterday that I like the taste of 2nd flush darjeeling tea more than the taste of 1st flush darjeeling (which reminds me of a green tea).
Addition, Oct. 5, 2017, 4:57 PM EDT. I forgot to mention - yesterday, I had to pay for Apollia.com (which I bought years ago but still haven't started adding anything to yet), and I decided to also buy Apollia.org.
Addition, Oct. 8, 2017, 7:52 AM EDT. I feel so much better drinking caffeinated tea that I haven't had as much to vent about lately.
Haven't been sleeping in my tent as much, due to rainy or worryingly cloudy weather, or due to it being too warm in the day. Also, I think I like it best out there during the day, so I don't have to listen to creepy noises at night like growling cats. I think maybe I like reading out there more than I like sleeping out there.
Addition, Oct. 10, 2017, 1:58 AM EDT. Was quite grumpy and premenstrual for a while, but 2nd flush darjeeling tea greatly improved my mood when I finally drank some.
Managed to put most of my clothes into zippable pillow protectors, and got a lot of them out of the way.
Addition, Oct. 10, 2017, 2:42 AM EDT. It's foggy outside - one of my favorite kinds of weather. And it's reportedly 60 degrees, so, I think I might stay in my tent for a while.
Addition, Oct. 12, 2017, 1:59 AM EDT. Slept in tent on Oct. 10th, and also read a paper book there for a while, since it was a lovely day with a pleasant temperature. Would have slept there last night, but the weather report said it was going to rain in the morning, and it did.
As of around 12:42 AM, finally got my room as clean and organized as I intended (for now). It's actually nicer than it has ever been. My room seems bigger, but still cozy, rather than too big. I can actually walk most of the way around my bed, can use my exercise bike again, and can open my mini-fridge without difficulty. And I can even stand far enough away from my big mirror that I can see myself belly-dance without having to put the mirror on a chair.
It's a pretty comfortable temperature outside - 60 degrees. But, it might rain around 7 AM, so, I don't know if I'm going to sleep out there, because of the possible rain, and also because I'm not really tired yet.
Addition, Oct. 15, 2017, 6:07 PM EDT. Finally, my time of the month started yesterday afternoon, so, I've been extra-tired from that, though mugs of caffeinated 2nd flush darjeeling tea still helped. I also like mixing it with other decaf teas, such as 1 teaspoon of Earl Grey.
In the past several days, have been reading, and aggravatingly, got very stuck on a programming problem for a while, but finally successfully solved that.
At times, it has been surprisingly good weather for being in my tent. Was in my tent most of the time since yesterday evening until the morning, since, surprisingly, the temperatures never got below the mid-60's, and I wanted to see how long my rechargeable batteries would keep my flashlight on while I read a paper book.
At one point soon before sleep, I got afraid maybe I was seeing a UFO in the sky, since I suddenly started to see something large and bright with a weird shape behind some tree leaves which mostly hid it from view.
It got uncomfortably warm and too bright and sunny in the morning, so I moved back inside to my room, and slept much better there after taking an Advil to deal with my menstrual cramps.
Addition, Oct. 16, 2017, 2:54 AM EDT. A bit headachy again. Don't know if it's because of my time of the month, or, perhaps it's from increasing my caffeine consumption, and then neglecting to have tea (or any other caffeine) so far today.
Addition, Oct. 16, 2017, 4:55 AM EDT. Feeling much better and more relaxed after tea, though still a bit headachy.
Addition, Oct. 16, 2017, 6:10 PM EDT. Woke up headachy and mostly stayed headachy for hours until I finally started drinking a Barq's caffeinated root beer.
Addition, Oct. 16, 2017, 6:31 PM EDT. Feeling even better already, now that I'm done with my caffeinated root beer. I probably should have just had some caffeine sooner, or at least an Advil, but, I kept hoping my headache was going to just go away on its own.
Addition, Oct. 18, 2017, 4:14 AM EDT. Felt fine even without more caffeine on Oct. 16th.
Addition, Oct. 19, 2017, 4:31 PM EDT. Still haven't restarted my computer yet.
Addition, Oct. 21, 2017, 9:25 PM EDT. I think maybe I've been a bit more absentminded lately, which I suspect might be at least partly from me losing so much iron due to my time of the month.
Addition, Oct. 21, 2017, 10:19 PM EDT. By the way, I'm very excited to be getting this book soon:
Addition, Oct. 22, 2017, 9:36 PM EDT. Found out from this page that there's a newer version of the above book:
Addition, Oct. 23, 2017, 7:25 PM EDT. Around 6:30 PM, finally figured out how to put my green tent away in the small bag it came in, thanks to this video.
Mostly have just been reading and not getting much done. Oh, and my libido improved quite a lot, though I'm not sure why. But, I hope that means my health is improving.
Addition, Oct. 24, 2017, 5:11 PM EDT. Probably going to try blackstrap molasses soon, since I read it has plenty of iron, which I suspect I need.
Was sometimes more tired than I'd like on Oct. 23rd, even just a few hours (I think) after tea. But perhaps that's because I didn't sleep that well on Oct. 23rd because my two favorite blankets and pillows were in my tent instead of the place I fell asleep - my room.
Addition, Oct. 24, 2017, 6:12 PM EDT. Having tea and already feeling much happier. Having 1.25 teaspoons of 2nd flush darjeeling tea, microwaved for 5 minutes, and haven't removed the tea bag.
Addition, Oct. 24, 2017, 6:21 PM EDT. Found this article with this amusing captioned picture.
Addition, Oct. 24, 2017, 10:17 PM EDT. Still feeling sufficiently alert from the tea, but I think the theanine wore off kind of fast, judging by my mood swings. I guess I could start adding decaf to my darjeeling tea bags more frequently.
Additions, Oct. 25, 2107, 3:20 AM/3:25 AM EDT. Hours ago, had a mug of decaf tea with 1 teaspoon of Mixed Berry and 1 teaspoon of English Breakfast, and have felt much better since then.
Addition, Oct. 25, 2017, 3:13 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 7:19 AM and 1:46 PM. Have scarcely felt tired at all since waking up, but am definitely in need of some tea-induced bliss to make it easier to deal with various things I'm reluctant to deal with and would easily procrastinate about and avoid, without tea removing my tiredness and improving my mood and willpower.
Addition, Oct. 25, 2017, 6:20 PM EDT. Started my day with 5 scrambled eggs and orange juice, and felt a bit tired after (but mostly during) that, but that passed quickly, and my mood and will to get things done were a bit improved.
Addition, Oct. 26, 2017, 1:41 AM EDT. Already been feeling tired for hours. But, perhaps it's because I didn't sleep very well, due to getting very thirsty.
Addition, Oct. 26, 2017, 4:06 PM EDT. Slept rather poorly because of getting thirsty and dry-eyed. Also, I think my air conditioner in energy saving mode - in which it turns itself off and on automatically instead of running constantly - disturbs my sleep too, so, I finally turned it off completely.
Addition, Oct. 26, 2017, 4:22 PM EDT. Perhaps I'll try a modified version of this Iron Woman Gingerbread Smoothie.
Addition, Oct. 26, 2017, 6:22 PM EDT. Still feeling tired. Didn't have vitamins yet nor tea - but, had a cheeseburger from Wendy's for iron's sake, and fries (which I guess might have made me tired, since potatoes seem to do that to me).
Additions, Oct. 26, 2017, 8:16 PM/8:24 PM EDT. Even without having vitamins or tea yet, started feeling less tired.
Addition, Oct. 27, 2017, 3:06 AM EDT. One of my relatives found some blackstrap molasses at a local Giant Eagle grocery store. It definitely is reminiscent of licorice, but somehow I find it more tolerable than licorice. But, it's definitely not something I'm really eager to just spoon into my mouth.
Addition, Oct. 27, 2017, 3:52 AM EDT. Have been in a much better mood, and only recently have started to get tired, like sometime in the past hour.
Addition, Oct. 27, 2017, 4:24 AM EDT. Forgot to mention, on Oct. 26th, I slept sometime between 5:43 AM and 3:34 PM. Starting to feel tired about 12 hours after waking has always seemed normal for me, so, I guess I'm doing OK.
Addition, Oct. 27, 2017, 6:19 AM EDT. My mood worsened a bit again for a while. I wonder if getting enough iron in my diet will eventually (or soon?) ease my mood swings. Once I start feeling like maybe I got enough iron, I'll probably resume using my exercise bike more often, which will probably help my mood even more.
Addition, Oct. 27, 2017, 6:53 AM EDT. Was surprised and dismayed to read on this page:
"In fact, iron deficiency is the most common and widespread nutritional disorder in the world, according to the WHO, which estimates that some 2 billion people - or 30% of the world's entire population - have anemia, which is caused by lack of iron."
Addition, Oct. 27, 2017, 3:03 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 8:09 AM and 2:21 PM. Got quite thirsty while sleeping, and woke up still feeling a bit tired, but, quickly felt better after drinking some water.
Addition, Oct. 27, 2017, 7:20 PM EDT. Got so sleepy I almost dozed off around 5:30 PM while I was reading, but somehow I suddenly got a lot of energy after that, and decided to get up for the day, take my vitamins, etc. Have felt surprisingly alert - much more than I expected after being so drowsy earlier - and did a few very short high-intensity exercise bike rides.
"Drinking coffee lowers the absorption of nonheme iron at the same meal by about 35 percent, but drinking tea can lower the absorption by up to 62 percent, according to a study published in "Human Nutrition, Applied Nutrition" in 1982. "
Addition, Oct. 27, 2017, 7:31 PM EDT. Added another spoonful of blackstrap molasses. The flavor is a lot more noticeable now, but surprisingly to me, the tea is still rather good. I'll probably use less molasses next time, though, since this is verging on too much molasses for me.
Addition, Oct. 28, 2017, 8:06 AM EDT. Been increasingly tired since around 2:30 AM, I guess.
Been too worried about humidity to bring my laptop outside. I sure wish I could put Puppy Linux on my phone, and connect a keyboard and mouse.
Addition, Oct. 28, 2017, 9:04 PM EDT. It has been around 39 degrees outside, but, I decided to try for a while to see if I could stay warm enough in my tent if I used all my blankets, plus sweatpants, socks, a hat, and two fuzzy robes.
Addition, Oct. 28, 2017, 9:51 PM EDT. Wow, there seems to maybe be a lot more iron in this blackstrap molasses than the brand we got from a grocery store.
Addition, Oct. 29, 2017, 1:29 AM EDT. Tried a spoonful of this blackstrap molasses in my tea, but, it does seem to taste different and worse (in my opinion) than the other kind, so, I'm quite tempted to discard my tea now. It reminds me too much of some sort of bad-tasting medicine.
Addition, Oct. 29, 2017, 5:07 AM EDT. My back was still rather crampy at times for hours after I came back inside the house and warmed up. The cramps decreased after I drank some water, but didn't go away completely.
Addition, Oct. 29, 2017, 1:49 PM EDT. My room just seems like a bad place to sleep lately. I get so thirsty and dry-eyed while sleeping in here, even with my air conditioner off and the heat vent as closed as possible. My hygrometer says the humidity is 40%, but I wonder if it's actually even lower than that.
Addition, Oct. 29, 2017, 3:09 PM EDT. Too tired, so it's kind of difficult to function. I guess I ought to just clean the upstairs bathroom or junk mountain room the minimum amount to make enough room for me to sleep there. Maybe the junk mountain room would be better, since at least I can open its window if necessary.
Addition, Oct. 29, 2017, 3:34 PM EDT. Tired, but having tea and am in a very determined mood now. So, I might be able to get a lot done despite being tired. Cleaning is a lot easier than programming, at least.
Addition, Oct. 30, 2017, 2:33 AM EDT. I managed to make a valley in the junk mountain. But, I'm not sure if there's a spot yet where I'll feel unworried enough about a junk avalanche to fall asleep. So, will have to clean more at some point when I feel in the mood.
Addition, Oct. 30, 2017, 5:55 AM EDT. Been vaguely tired for a while, but have been mostly OK ever since tea yesterday afternoon.
Addition, Oct. 30, 2017, 6:53 PM EDT. Was sunny outside in the morning, and I wanted to get a blanket from my tent, so, even though it was quite cold outside (maybe around 40 degrees?), I ended up staying there and dozing off for a couple hours, until it got less sunny and hence too cold. It seems the greenhouse effect of my tent helped the temperature enough that I was comfortable with just 2 blankets for a while.
In my tent, the humidity gradually crept upward the longer I stayed in it, until it was around 47% humidity (I think) when I left it.
Addition, Oct. 30, 2017, 7:51 PM EDT. Seems like the upstairs bathroom and junk mountain room are both around 40% humidity, so, not much difference.
Addition, Oct. 31, 2017, 1:30 AM EDT. Made progress cleaning the junk mountain room. Had tea a while back, which made me feel untired for a while. But now, my body is energetic but my brain feels kind of tired.
No special plans for Halloween. Among other things, going to keep cleaning. Maybe my relatives and I will finish watching Stranger Things on Netflix, but, we're probably more likely to watch The Voice on TV.
Addition, October 31, 2017, 9:53 AM EDT. Finally got my books. My relatives couldn't make it to the post office during the post office's unfortunately limited hours of 8:30 AM to 5 PM, so, I walked there myself. I seldom really like going out, but I really wanted these books, and also figured the exercise would be good for me.
Addition, Nov. 1, 2017, 5:37 AM EDT. Was too tired to read very much, but, still quite excited about the books.
Kept drinking plain water, but I felt like it wasn't helping me much at all, so I think probably I need more electrolytes. Maybe I'll try some of the ideas from this page and this page. Or maybe I'll just drink more orange juice or vegetable juice.
Addition, Nov. 1, 2017, 5:43 AM EDT. Just found out from this page that milk also contains electrolytes.
Additions, Nov. 1, 2017, 5:58 AM/6:00 AM EDT. This page actually suggests using black tea, or green tea, or herbal tea, as part of an electrolyte drink. I guess I could try adding a bit of salt to my tea.
Addition, Nov. 1, 2017, 5:03 PM EDT. Felt better for a while after tea, and 1/64th of a teaspoon of salt scarcely affected the taste at all.
Addition, Nov. 2, 2017, 12:30 AM EDT. Here's a page which gave me a more exact idea of the quantity of electrolytes in black tea.
Been missing my tent a lot, so I searched the web for places with the nicest weather. I read this page, and now I wish I could live in maybe California. However, I definitely wouldn't feel safe setting up a tent just anywhere outside.
Addition, Nov. 2, 2017, 1:52 AM EDT. I wonder if I could be a house sitter. My severe sleep issues cause me to often be wide awake at strange hours, which might discourage burglars.
Addition, Nov. 2, 2017, 4:01 AM EDT. Found an article about milk being better for rehydration than water: Milk and Other Surprising Ways to Stay Hydrated
The humidity is now 40% in my room, which is still lower than I'd like, but I think it feels better.
Addition, Nov. 2, 2017, 4:56 AM EDT. Found this interesting article about milk tolerance:
Addition, Nov. 2, 2017, 11:56 PM EDT. It was such a nice day after it stopped raining that I spent just about all day in my tent. It even was sunny for a while, maybe around noon.
I feel like I slept much better in my tent. It seems like higher amounts of humidity than what's usually in my room are just more comfortable for me. I did get thirsty (since I forgot to bring my water bottle to my tent), but, I think I was less thirsty than I get while sleeping in my room.
I put an extra 2 Weather.com widgets on my phone - weather for San Diego and weather for San Francisco, and so far, it looks like San Diego has more appealing (to me) weather.
Addition, Nov. 3, 2017, 11:57 PM EDT. Managed to artificially lengthen my stay in my tent through a somewhat silly, almost Mr. Bean-like solution - a long extension cord and my electric blanket.
Addition, Nov. 4, 2017, 8:55 AM EDT. Around maybe 5:30 AM, returned to my tent with my electric blanket again, mostly out of curiosity to see how high my electric blanket could bring up the temperature without me bringing in a bowl of steaming hot water. Didn't pay much attention to the outside temperature, but noticed Weather.com at times said it was in the low 30's.
I'm more than halfway done reading The Logical Thinking Process: A Systems Approach to Complex Problem Solving.
Addition, Nov. 4, 2017, 10:56 PM EDT. It was cold but sunny (and hence warmer in my tent than outside), and it got even warmer later, so, I stayed in my tent sometime between around 9:43 AM and 10 PM. Didn't get much reading done - listened to an audio book, then slept maybe from 11 AM until around 9:41 PM.
Addition, Nov. 7, 2017, 12:35 PM EST. Been doing well, though the weather hasn't been good for staying in my tent.
I already feel less lost and confused, now that I have that big tangle in a concept map instead of (mainly) my mind, and also fragments in many assorted other maps, none of which are such a comprehensive yet fairly succinct overview as this one.
I'm in quite a good mood now, despite the fact that I neglected to even have any tea at all today and yesterday, and maybe also Nov. 5th. (However, I did have 2000 IU of Vitamin D and half a serving of magnesium citrate yesterday, and have been continuing to drink cow's milk as much as I want.)
Addition, Nov. 8, 2017, 9:30 AM EST. Finished preparing my VUE map of life goals.
Additions, Nov. 9, 2017, 12:42 PM/12:51 PM EST. We have a bunch of ripe bananas that we need to use up, so, I started reading more again about smoothies, and also soups, since I wasn't particularly in the mood for a sugary smoothie (even if all the sugar is from fruit).
Addition, Nov. 9, 2017, 3:55 PM EST. Spent almost an hour in my tent, reading. It's still nice out there sometimes, as long as my tent gets some direct sunlight.
Addition, Nov. 9, 2017, 6:39 PM EST. Found this interesting page: Possible use of repeated cold stress for reducing fatigue in chronic fatigue syndrome: a hypothesis
Additions, Nov. 10, 2017, 2:50 AM/3:09 AM EST. Have still been having trouble with waking up thirsty and sometimes dry-eyed, though. So, that makes it even more surprising that I haven't felt very fatigued - even on the days when I neglected to have tea. Unfortunately, now I'm starting to feel premenstrual. And I would like to get some more sleep.
I wonder if maybe I can just will my time of the month to stay away, or to be light instead of average or heavy.
Additions, Nov. 10, 2017, 4:10 AM/4:39 AM EST. Soon started to feel more alert after writing the above, even though I haven't even turned my room's light on yet.
In fact, here's everything I asked for - since I managed to easily turn the below URLs into HTML links using some regexes (regular expressions) in the Geany text editor:
And here are the regular expressions I used in the Geany text editor.
Slept sometime between 8:34 PM and 2:12 AM. Still undecided about whether to stay awake, and starting to feel a bit drowsy again.
Addition, Nov. 10, 2017, 8:27 AM EST. Been feeling much better and not tired, even though I didn't start drinking tea until quite recently.
Addition, Nov. 10, 2017, 9:32 AM EST. Found this spooky page: Why do women have periods? What is the evolutionary benefit or purpose of having periods? Why can't women just get pregnant without the menstrual cycle?
Addition, Nov. 11, 2017, 5:50 AM EST. Found another interesting though disturbing article: War in the womb: ferocious biological struggle between mother and baby belies any sentimental ideas we might have about pregnancy
I'm so glad I never wanted to become a mother. I have nothing against babies and kids, but, being poor, I know I couldn't give them the wealthy, opportunity-filled lives they deserve, and I would feel very uneasy just trusting someone else to financially support them, even their father(s) or the government.
Anyway, I think I slept better today and wasn't woken up by thirst as much.
Addition, Nov. 11, 2017, 7:18 AM EST. Some of the above reminds me of this lovely, relaxing song with, be warned, mostly depressing lyrics and many depressing visuals.
Additions, Nov. 11, 2017, 12:54/12:58 PM EST. And here's the same music, but instead of the depressing lyrics sung by one of my favorite singers ever, it has someone else speaking in French.
Additions, Nov. 12, 2017, 7:15 AM/7:24 AM EST. Instead of mostly just reading, I got a bit of cleaning done yesterday and today - but just routine stuff like taking out garbage, rather than making progress in the junk mountain room, etc.
Didn't sleep as well or as long. Maybe it has something to do with me probably not drinking as much milk yesterday. My habit for months has been to avoid it.
Addition, Nov. 12, 2017, 7:43 AM EST. I just found this article from Sept. 21, 2017:
So, perhaps I was barking up the right tree in my older health diary blog post when I said on August 2, 2017:
"I wonder if circadian issues cause ADHD, rather than ADHD causing circadian issues? What if maybe lots of conditions people are (mis)diagnosed with are actually the result of sleep issues/circadian issues?
Addition, Nov. 12, 2017, 9:51 AM EST. Found this page: Calcium from milk or calcium-fortified foods does not inhibit nonheme-iron absorption from a whole diet consumed over a 4-d period
Also might try experimenting with blackstrap molasses again. This great video helped persuade me.
Addition, Nov. 12, 2017, 11:21 AM EST. I kept finding claims on the internet (such as on this page) that blackstrap molasses mixed into milk is delicious. I was skeptical, and also thought that putting blackstrap molasses in milk might be counterproductive, since the main reason I want to consume blackstrap molasses at all is for its iron, and I've sometimes read that milk can interfere with iron absorption.
Addition, Nov. 12, 2017, 11:50 AM EST. Another idea I read somewhere - maybe a YouTube comment - was the idea of mixing blackstrap molasses with orange juice. If I recall correctly, the person said they couldn't even taste the molasses.
Addition, Nov. 12, 2017, 12:58 PM EST. Another page: Blackstrap Molasses for Heavy Menstrual Bleeding
Addition, Nov. 12, 2017, 1:15 PM EST. My lip issues are reminiscent of some of the pictures on this page. But that page makes no mention of iron.
Addition, Nov. 12, 2017, 1:44 PM EST. Getting a headache, perhaps because I delayed tea because I was so undecided about whether to stay awake or try to go back to sleep. Also feeling almost nauseated, so, I guess this is some sort of migraine. So, I guess I better have tea.
Addition, Nov. 12, 2017, 2:22 PM EST. Well, that didn't last long. Scarcely drank any tea yet and am already feeling much better.
Addition, Nov. 12, 2017, 2:45 PM EST. Tea is definitely one of the best things in the universe. :-)
Addition, Nov. 13, 2017, 6:10 AM EST. Slept sometime between 9:22 PM and 4:58 AM. I feel like I slept better today, and am actually feeling less premenstrual.
To my surprise, another thing that seemed to decrease my headache temporarily was high-intensity exercise biking for about 1 minute. My headache came back sometime in the next couple hours, but was never bad enough that I felt like I needed Advil.
Still determined to keep trying to eat blackstrap molasses, since maybe part of why I feel better today is because I had some yesterday. Today, going to try it in orange juice. I also read that you can put it in a cup of hot water, so, maybe I'll try that at some point too.
Addition, Nov. 13, 2017, 9:22 AM EST. Still premenstrual, judging by my mood swings. Feeling physically OK, though. For a while, got quite upset about something going mildly awry.
Additions, Nov. 13, 2017, 5:09 PM/5:12 PM EST. Read a while, and fell asleep again sometime between 11:44 AM and 3:01 PM. Haven't been tired again since waking up (except for the first several minutes after I woke up).
Addition, Nov. 13, 2017, 5:43 PM EST. Managed to finish the glass a while back. I just drank it as quickly as possible without pausing to try to taste it.
Addition, Nov. 13, 2017, 6:15 PM EST. Another great blog post:
Addition, Nov. 14, 2017, 9:37 AM EST. Didn't sleep particularly well, sometime between 3:20 AM and 8:56 AM. Got too thirsty. Out of habit, didn't drink much milk yesterday.
Additions, Nov. 14, 2017, 12:27 PM/12:38 PM EST. Have felt astonishingly untired today, and not very premenstrual.
Addition, Nov. 14, 2017, 12:56 PM EST. EUREKA! VEGETABLE JUICE!
Addition, Nov. 14, 2017, 1:54 PM EST. Didn't realize the canned black beans we have here have so much iron in them. I thought it was 15% of the "Daily Value" per can, and didn't notice that there are 3.5 servings per can. If I had known that, I probably would have tried sooner to make black beans more palatable.
Addition, Nov. 14, 2017, 2:28 PM EST. Still sleepy, so, maybe not sleeping well finally caught up with me. Or, maybe it's just the same old problem of eating sometimes making me tired if I'm not caffeinated.
Addition, Nov. 14, 2017, 4:40 PM EST. Didn't sleep. Feeling less sleepy than before, but still a bit sleepy, and starting to feel more premenstrual, both mood-wise in some ways (anxious, a bit sad), and because of some lower abdominal almost cramp-like (except for not being painful) sensations.
Addition, Nov. 14, 2017, 5:13 PM EST. To my surprise, my time of the month already started just in the past several minutes. No painful cramps yet. Don't know if I should preemptively take an Advil, or just wait and see what happens, for the sake of curiosity.
Addition, Nov. 14, 2017, 5:34 PM EST. Already took an Advil, since I feel like my cramps are starting to get painful, so, didn't want to let them get any worse.
Addition, Nov. 14, 2017, 6:03 PM EST. Definitely should have taken the Advil sooner. I haven't had such bad cramps in a while, since normally, I do take Advil sooner. But I think they've already been fading because Advil works pretty fast for me.
Addition, Nov. 14, 2017, 6:15 PM EST. Finally feeling OK again, though tired. Only partway done with my tea.
Addition, Nov. 15, 2017, 10:01 AM EST. Slept sometime between 1:01 AM and around 2 AM, when I was woken up by the return of my cramps. Took Advil, and managed to fall asleep again sometime between 2:30 AM and 8:08 AM.
Addition, Nov. 15, 2017, 1:03 PM EST. Still no more cramps. I'm guessing they probably won't come back, since they usually don't after they've been gone for a while.
Addition, Nov. 15, 2017, 11:00 PM EST. Definitely wasn't very energetic today, but, before I got really tired, and even before tea, I felt fairly sharp and clear-minded rather than spacy and foggy-minded. Spent a bunch of time reading.
Around 5:19 PM I got an odd symptom I never had before - a fairly strong, sharp pain in the right side of my head, quite different from my usual headaches, which are more like dull, much weaker continual pain. In contrast, this was just a few sharp pains, all in about the same spot, that lasted only a second or so before completely vanishing. And there were only a few of them, maybe 3.
Now concluding my day with half a smoothie glass full of Diane's Garden vegetable juice plus about 1 spoonful of this blackstrap molasses.
Addition, Nov. 16, 2017, 12:31 PM EST. Slept sometime between 1:18 AM and 10:34 AM. Haven't been feeling tired, and I think I might be feeling less weakened than I usually feel during my time of the month.
Addition, Nov. 16, 2017, 7:08 PM EST. Dozed off for a while sometime between 2:58 PM and 6:15 PM.
Addition, Nov. 16, 2017, 7:19 PM EST. My hygrometer says it's 64.0 degrees in my room, so, that's still pretty comfortable by tent standards, though noticeably colder than it usually has been lately in my room.
Addition, Nov. 16, 2017, 8:37 PM EST. Somehow my room is staying at 64.0 degrees, according to my hygrometer, so, maybe it won't get excessively cold, even though it's 37 degrees outside and expected to get colder, according to Weather.com.
Addition, Nov. 16, 2017, 10:41 PM EST. In the kitchen, it was 57.6 degrees last time I checked. Haven't used the oven so far yet.
Still haven't had tea so far today, which might be part of why I dozed off. Definitely am not totally cured of menstrual issues so far - still some mood issues and energy issues. And usually my period on the 3rd day is lighter than this, but, perhaps my 2nd day being lighter than usual made my 3rd day a bit heavier than usual.
Addition, Nov. 17, 2017, 1:08 AM EST. Found this interesting page: Study Links Low Iron to ADHD
Additions, Nov. 17, 2017, 1:55 PM/2:04 PM EST. I think the furnace still isn't fixed yet, but, I don't think it ever got very cold here. I heard that briefly running the oven raised the temperature in the kitchen from 55 degrees to 57 degrees. And when I checked recently, the temperature in the kitchen was 52.7 degrees.
Addition, Nov. 17, 2017, 2:08 PM EST. Found another page about iron deficiency, which mentions chocolate.
"Remember that chocolate, although it contains iron, also contains substances that prevent efficient iron absorption, so don't over-indulge, even though you may feel as if you need an energy boost; chocolate is not the answer."
Addition, Nov. 18, 2017, 12:22 AM EST. It seems our furnace is now fixed. Its motor or something had to be replaced.
"A reason why your room may be hotter than the other rooms of the house is caused by electronics such as computers and TV's. Anything electronic generates excessive heat especially computers. One tip to implement is to turn your computer completely off when not using it. A large desktop computer can actually raise a rooms temperature by as much as 5 to 15 degrees. Lamps and anything containing a light bulb will also generate heat."
So glad my time of the month is probably nearly over. Today was a pretty typical day 4, maybe a bit lighter than usual.
Addition, Nov. 18, 2017, 12:57 PM EST. Slept sometime between 1:32 AM and 12:11 AM. Had vitamins, and am now drinking blackstrap molasses + Diane's Garden brand vegetable juice. Not feeling very tired, and my time of the month seems pretty close to done.
Additions, Nov. 18, 2017, 3:25 PM/3:35 PM EST. I heard from a relative that the furnace was acting weird around 4 AM, but it seems to be working OK now.
Addition, Nov. 18, 2017, 8:43 PM EST. Haven't had tea yet, but, have been OK, and will probably feel great once I do have tea.
Addition, Nov. 19, 2017, 2:50 AM EST. Been feeling so much better ever since tea that I now think it's probably more important for that to be part of my "morning" routine than blackstrap molasses+vegetable juice.
I still have never rebooted my computer yet ever since editing the Lighthouse 64 Puppy Linux 6.02 Beta 2 ISO to make it possible to choose a RAM disk size at startup.
I'll install the VirtualBox Guest Additions software inside my virtual Puppy Linux system to make it so I can access data from my non-virtual system, such as my Puppy Linux Setup Kit, via VirtualBox's shared folders feature. (I've done that before, so I already know it's possible.)
instantly (Edit, Nov. 23, 2017, 4:33 PM EST: actually in about 10 seconds) restore my entire virtual system to the state it was in after I installed Guest Additions and mounted some VirtualBox shared folders, but before I ever ran my Puppy Linux Setup Kit.
Additions, Nov. 19, 2017, 5:00 PM/5:23 PM EST. Earlier today, I found this excellent page, which explains what it's like to live with a major energy-sapping illness, far worse than most anything I've had to deal with so far:
'When other people can simply do things, I have to attack it and make a plan like I am strategizing a war. It is in that lifestyle, the difference between being sick and healthy. It is the beautiful ability to not think and just do. I miss that freedom. I miss never having to count "spoons".'
I guess I'll probably never be totally free of "spoon-counting", simply because of my possibly incurable possible Non-24-hour Sleep-Wake Disorder, which will force me to "count spoons" anytime I have to deal with anything scheduled to take place at a time that clashes too much with whatever time zone my body thinks it's living in that day.
But, at least my overall "spoon total" (when my sleep issues aren't getting in my way) has gone up quite a lot starting last year, thanks (I believe) to things like iron from blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice (which I started just recently) and other foods containing iron, caffeine + theanine from tea, Vitamin D3 (mostly in capsule form) + magnesium (in capsules, or, even more helpfully, as a magnesium gel), and having quit my somehow sleep-disrupting electric blanket back in Sept. 2016.
I'm hoping as my iron levels continue to improve, maybe I'll even miraculously end up with more "spoons" than I've ever had since my menstrual cycle first began when I was a teenager. So many spoons that I might start to worry that some people might accuse me of "spoon appropriation" if I keep using the spoon analogy while being so healthy and energetic (except for when my possible Non-24 gets in my way).
Addition, Nov. 19, 2017, 5:31 PM EST. Found this humorously twisted retelling of the story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
Addition, Nov. 21, 2017, 12:22 AM EST. Have still often been getting thirsty and dry-eyed while I sleep, but surprisingly, I think I've been sleeping better regardless.
My energy is still not lasting as long as I'd like. I'm thinking tea might better in the middle of my day rather than my "morning", since I need it less in my "morning".
As usual, I read a lot. Also tided up my room, so most of my zippable pillow protectors of clothes are piled in the junk corner.
Made a smoothie from an avocado and 1 can of peaches, and I actually kind of like it. Subtle, rather than overpoweringly sugary.
Asked a relative to get 1 can each of any kinds of canned beans we usually don't get, plus a few random spices we don't already have. Given that beans contain so much iron, and given how well my black bean soup turned out, I thought it would be a good idea to try to find out which beans I never knowingly tried before I might actually like.
Also probably going to get another ceramic pasta bowl soon, since my ceramic chili bowl has often proved a bit too small for my various culinary experiments, and I don't want to monopolize the family popcorn bowl.
Addition, Nov. 21, 2017, 1:08 AM EST. Yeah, feeling too cold all the time is definitely a possible symptom of not eating enough, according to this page.
Additions, Nov. 21, 2017, 2:17 AM/4:05 AM EST. Since caffeine definitely affects my appetite, that's probably another good reason to have tea a bit later than my "morning".
Addition, Nov. 21, 2017, 12:25 PM EST. Still been feeling cold and headachy, but got overheated earlier when I put on a fuzzy robe as well as a blanket. 67.3 degrees in my room, and I'm wondering if my hygrometer might be wrong.
Haven't eaten much yet - drank some water, a bit of milk, and ate some plaintain chips. Still remained headachy, so now I'm drinking some diluted grape juice, which I remember seemed to help me a long time ago when I felt kind of like this. Back then, I also ate a few spoonfuls of peanut butter, which also seemed helpful, but I haven't felt like eating that yet.
Addition, Nov. 21, 2017, 1:08 PM EST. Less headachy and less drowsy now, but still not back to normal. I hate this low humidity - 27%!
Addition, Nov. 21, 2017, 1:35 PM EST. I really feel like living here is making me sick in a lot of different ways. I hate this weather, among other things.
Addition, Nov. 21, 2017, 1:38 PM EST. Actually, I don't hate everything about this weather. Currently, according to Weather.com, it's 54 degrees and sunny, and my tent is still outside, so... maybe I'll spend a little time out there, though it might be too cold unless there's some direct sunlight on my tent.
Additions, Nov. 21, 2017, 3:05 PM/3:22 PM EST. Before going out, I started to get overheated, so, going out into the cooler air was pleasant. Had some direct sunlight on my tent, so, it was nice for a while, though windy, and eventually I got cold and headachy again. Listened to an audio book for a while.
Addition, Nov. 21, 2017, 4:48 PM EST. Briefly dozed off after covering my eyes with the edge of a blanket, which revealed to me that my headache is a light-sensitive migraine. Got overheated again, so took off fuzzy robe again.
Addition, Nov. 21, 2017, 5:02 PM EST. Feeling a lot better, and drank maybe less than half of my caffeinated root beer so far.
Addition, Nov. 21, 2017, 5:32 PM EST. Still not feeling right, though I drank most of my caffeinated root beer. Maybe I should try magnesium gel too, though not very much because I'm too cold and can't take a nice warm magnesium bath instead because our only working bathtub is disgusting. And the water probably isn't even warm at the moment.
Addition, Nov. 21, 2017, 5:36 PM EST. My hygrometer says it's 69.4 degrees, but I'm very cold and feeling tempted by my electric blanket.
Addition, Nov. 21, 2017, 5:45 PM EST. I put magnesium gel on the back of my left hand and lower part of my left arm. It's stinging a bit, I guess because of dry skin from this horrible dry weather.
Additions, Nov. 21, 2017, 5:52 PM/6:26 PM EST. I wish I had all of my books in computerized form. Overdrive has tons of books, but not everything I own.
Addition, Nov. 21, 2017, 6:07 PM EST. Yeah, I think the magnesium gel helped already. That stuff is incredible.
Addition, Nov. 21, 2017, 6:34 PM EST. Definitely doing much better now. Energetic from caffeine, and more relaxed and pretty much headache-free.
Addition, Nov. 22, 2017, 12:37 AM EST. Dozed off briefly between 6:48 PM and 7:28 PM, Tried to sleep longer, but soon decided to get up again instead.
I guess if I want to get anything useful done, maybe I need to be more spoon-aware, and less hyperfocused, so I'll be less likely to neglect necessities like food and avoiding caffeine withdrawal.
Addition, Nov. 22, 2017, 3:52 AM EST. Been feeling much better, and my right eye has been gooey instead of dry, and my lips also became much less dry too.
Addition, Nov. 22, 2017, 3:04 PM EST. Slept sometime between 4:40 AM and 2:30 PM. Woke up feeling rested and without a migraine. During sleep, eventually got thirsty a couple times, and maybe only woke twice to drink water. My right eye is a bit gooey rather than dry, and my left eye seems fine.
Skipped blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice yesterday, and didn't even take my usual vitamins until the end of my day.
Addition, Nov. 22, 2017, 6:23 PM EST. Started to almost get a bit drowsy, but turning my 2nd lamp on helped and now I feel fine again.
Additions, Nov. 23, 2017, 4:14 PM/4:41 PM EST. Started to feel a bit burnt out by the time I was done with this blog post, which was plenty more work than simply doing the things described in it without noting them down probably would have been.
Skipped blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice again yesterday, as well as bean soup.
Oops, accidentally added this to the wrong blog post before.
Addition, Nov. 23, 2017, 5:48 PM EST. Kind of sleepy today. Slept sometime between 8:57 AM and 3:34 PM, and got a bit thirsty. My right eye is currently gooey.
Addition, Nov. 23, 2017, 6:22 PM EST. One of my favorite web pages of affirmations I ever found so far:
Addition, Nov. 25, 2017, 2:28 AM EST. On Nov. 23rd-24th, became more alert after turning my 2nd lamp on, and having various caffeinated things, like Barq's root beer, 2 dark chocolate/peanut butter granola bars, and best of all, tea. Ate a bit better than usual - some Thanksgiving leftovers brought home by a relative.
Read a lot yesterday (and a bit so far today), and watched Netflix with relatives - a new (to us) show called The 4400, and the fascinating documentary Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond.
Got sleepier while I was writing this, and am tempted to just go to sleep without having tea.
Addition, Nov. 25, 2017, 10:08 PM EST. Slept sometime between 2:26 PM and 9:20 PM.
Addition, Nov. 27, 2017, 1:23 AM EST. Only slept sometime between 5:36 PM and 10:40 PM, but, I think I slept better then I did during my last several sleeps, since I have felt more rested and not tired so far, even though I haven't even turned my room's lights on yet.
Yesterday, and today so far, I mostly read. Also made a small improvement to my VirtualBox containing my Puppy Linux Setup Kit, but didn't actually really work on my setup kit yet - just gathered some of my scattered setup kit files together.
Ooh, there are new Epic Rap Battles of History that I haven't yet watched. :-)
Addition, Nov. 28, 2017, 1:10 AM EST. Slept pretty well sometime between 2:40 PM and 12:34 AM. Maybe having blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice soon before sleep, as I have been doing, stops me from getting as dehydrated as I frequently used to during sleep. I got thirsty recently, but I think I might have been mostly OK before that.
Feeling a bit confused about what to do next with my Puppy Linux Setup Kit, so, perhaps I'll soon return to the book The Logical Thinking Process: A Systems Approach to Complex Problem Solving, and try to make more logic tree maps in VUE to help me figure that out.
Additions, Nov. 28, 2017, 1:00 PM/2:15 PM EST. Was doing quite well for a while, but started getting headachy, though not as bad as the migraine I had on Nov. 21st. Used magnesium gel on my arms (mostly on my left arm), which seemed like it might have helped for a while. But, my headache came back after I ate my 2nd dark chocolate/peanut butter granola bar sometime before 12 PM. (The other one, I ate around 5:30 AM.)
Read a lot, watched a couple episodes of The Flash on Netflix, but didn't get much programming done, and didn't make any new VUE maps so far.
Found this excellent article:
Addition, Nov. 28, 2017, 2:38 PM EST. Still been a bit headachy at times. Don't know if I should just have more caffeine, or not.
Addition, Nov. 29, 2017, 12;30 AM EST. Headache-free now, but got thirsty and dry-eyed while sleeping. But still slept surprisingly well, I think. Slept sometime between 4:58 PM and 12:08 AM. Feeling alert enough and in a pretty good mood. So, I don't really feel like writing more right now.
Addition, Dec. 1, 2017, 12:38 PM EST. The most notable thing to happen recently was, I found this hilarious Jurassic Park GIF. :-)
The day before yesterday, I had plenty of energy even though I delayed having tea until later in my day than usual.
Been working on a food-related VUE map in a format kind of similar to my life goals VUE map. Still didn't really follow all the rules from the book The Logical Thinking Process: A Systems Approach to Complex Problem Solving.
Addition, Dec. 2, 2017, 5:37 AM EST. Found some interesting articles about circadian clocks.
'"While we don't yet know if human hair follows that same clock we found in mice hair, it is true that facial hair in men grows during the day, resulting in the proverbial 5 o'clock shadow. There is no 5am shadow if you shave at night," says Panda.'
Addition, Dec. 2, 2017, 6:36 AM EST. Skipped blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice before sleep again, and now I'm much sleepier than I should be after sleeping sometime between 9:41 PM and 4:20 AM.
Addition, Dec. 2, 2017, 7:37 AM EST. Woke up a bit more, mostly because I was curious to see if my scheme for avoiding having to go to the downstairs bathroom as often would actually work - a plastic funnel, an empty water bottle, some toilet paper, and a Ziploc bag. Fortunately, it worked! I wish I had thought of that years ago.
Addition, Dec. 2, 2017, 1:56 PM EST. Felt better after the vegetable juice earlier, but eventually got drowsy again, so slept for a while sometime between 10:19 AM and 1:09 PM. Might have slept better, not sure, but I still feel kind of sleepy, so, I guess I'll go back to having vegetable juice with 1 spoonful of blackstrap molasses, since that might be healthier for me and also tastes better to me.
Additions, Dec. 2, 2017, 5:39 PM/5:45 PM EST. Been feeling good and sufficiently alert since tea.
I think I linked to this interesting article before, in part 1 of my health diary:
Anyway, while I was reading about Vitamin A, I ran across this interesting (though scary) article:
"You are right to be concerned about vitamin A toxicity. But first, please note that vitamin A comes in many forms. It is the animal form that is toxic, not plant-derived beta-carotene, which is the form I recommend in the Vitamin Advisor.
Also found this interesting article, though I feel sorry for the poor mice:
Other interesting pages:
However, I also found this sad story:
Here are some encouraging pages:
Addition, Dec. 3, 2017, 10:25 AM EST. Slept sometime between 2:12 AM and 7:53 AM. Deliberately skipped blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice, since I wanted to see if vegetable juice and carrots might be enough by themselves to help me sleep better.
I recently got my own ceramic pasta bowl, so that will make it much easier for me to make soup.
Additions, Dec. 3, 2017, 10:38 AM/10:56 AM EST. Before getting a ceramic mug for tea, I used to use styrofoam cups, which I think were 12 ounces.
Addition, Dec. 3, 2017, 12:05 PM EST. Still so sleepy.
Addition, Dec. 3, 2017, 5:04 PM EST. Slept a bit more sometime between 1:25 PM and 3:30 PM. Still didn't have blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice, but ought to at some point. And also still need to eat better in general - all I ate earlier (before sleep) was vitamins, pumpkin seeds, and water. Still kind of sleepy now.
Finally thought of searching for "stem cells caffeine" (without quotes), since I wondered what caffeine might be doing to my body's stem cells.
Also stumbled across this other article, which has nothing to do with caffeine:
Addition, Dec. 3, 2017, 5:42 PM EST. Searched for "theanine stem cells" without quotes.
Also found this page, which says:
"L-Theanine modulates the activity of several antitumor drugs and has been reported to stimulate self-renewal of human embryonic stem cells."
And this page which says:
"Amino acid analog of glutamine, commonly found in green tea. Binds to AMPA, kainate, NMDA and group I mGlu receptors. Displays neuroprotective and cognitive enhancing effects. Also shown to modify self-renewal properties of cancer stem cells. Blood-brain barrier permeable and active in vivo."
I don't know what to make of all that, but, I hope it's all good.
Addition, Dec. 4, 2017, 12:59 AM EST. Just stayed in bed most of the day, mostly just reading. Also watched a bit of Netflix with family. My energy improved when I ate some canned peaches, but other food later on seemed to make me tired. Didn't have tea because I've been wanting to just go back to sleep.
Addition, Dec. 4, 2017, 7:14 AM EST. Only slept sometime between 1:03 AM and 6:33 AM, and got thirsty and dry-eyed eventually, but, I think I do feel more rested now than I did from my other sleeps.
Addition, Dec. 4, 2017, 7:45 AM EST. Found this other Amazon page which sells packs of three 15 ounce bottles of Plantation brand organic blackstrap molasses for $24.00.
Addition, Dec. 4, 2017, 9:46 AM EST. Still feeling well-rested and alert, and I haven't even had tea yet.
Addition, Dec. 4, 2017, 4:40 PM EST. What an amazingly normal-seeming day so far - normal from years ago, I mean. So much energy, especially after tea. I tidied my room (especially the messy shelves), washed all of my smoothie glasses and 3 of their lids (other than the lost one), and my 3 glass straws (other than the lost one), my ceramic casserole, and my new ceramic pasta bowl.
So, hopefully if I keep having blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice, I'll be well-prepared for my time of the month, and maybe I won't get as wiped out by it as I used to.
Addition, Dec. 5, 2017, 10:58 AM EST. Started to get sleepy around 7 PM, but stayed awake to watch various documentaries (sleepily and somewhat inattentively, even though the idea of humans traveling to Mars is very exciting), and also to chit-chat with a relative.
Maybe I'll be OK if I sleep longer. Or maybe walnuts before sleep are a bad idea for me. But I don't know when else I can eat them. Maybe hours before sleep instead of just before sleep? I like them more than chocolate, so, I don't really want to give them up, but I guess I will if I have to.
Additions, Dec. 5, 2017, 11:17 AM/11:33 AM EST. All I ate on Dec. 3rd, before my best day in recent memory (Dec. 4th), was my usual vitamins, pumpkin seeds, 1 can of peaches (expiring in Dec. 2017), more pumpkin seeds, water, a few plantain chips, 1 piece of pizza with yellow peppers, pepperoni, and mushrooms, and blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice.
Addition, Dec. 5, 2017, 11:28 AM EST. I just had a great idea - I could have tea and walnuts around the same time, and see how alert I feel afterwards. :-)
Addition, Dec. 5, 2017, 1:16 PM EST. Still kind of sleepy, but, turning both my room's lamps on helped. Still didn't have tea nor walnuts yet. Had my vitamins and 1 can of peaches.
Addition, Dec. 5, 2017, 3:02 PM EST. Had a dark chocolate/peanut butter granola bar, and have been starting to verge on a headache.
Addition, Dec. 5, 2017, 3:51 PM EST. I wonder if my upcoming time of the month is already depleting my body's iron reserves. Maybe I should finally try having bean soup again.
Addition, Dec. 5, 2017, 4:40 PM EST. Feeling quite a lot better now, though I still didn't eat anything more yet, and I don't have much of an appetite now, probably because of tea.
Addition, Dec. 5, 2017, 5:28 PM EST. Found these pages about Vitamin A:
Addition, Dec. 6, 2017, 1:02 AM EST. My relatives decided to get Subway sandwiches. So, that simplified my day a bit.
Feeling better overall, but still have been sleepy, I guess because something (or maybe a variety of things) messed up my last sleep.
The furnace might be acting up again, since one of my relatives noticed the furnace shutting off unexpectedly, and my hygrometer said my room was at 62.4 degrees. So, I turned my air conditioner off. I haven't felt cold at all - seems like a nice temperature, actually.
Been thinking I might prefer to eat cooked carrots with butter and salt rather than raw carrots, so, I was pleased to find this page:
"On the other hand, some nutrients become more potent when exposed to heat. That includes the antioxidant lycopene in tomatoes and certain other vegetables as well as beta-carotene levels in carrots."
Addition, Dec. 6, 2017, 11:30 AM EST. Deliberately went to sleep without having magnesium, blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice, nor walnuts, just out of curiosity, to see if I'd sleep better despite not having any of those to help me.
Seems like eating better might be the top reason I slept better.
Have had air conditioner off, but the temperature in my room is 64.8 degrees, which still feels quite comfortable at the moment.
Addition, Dec. 6, 2017, 11:35 AM EST. I actually am feeling a bit sleepy now, but maybe it's because I haven't eaten anything yet.
Addition, Dec. 7, 2017, 3:42 AM EST. Still didn't go back to sleep. I actually somehow got quite a lot more alert after my last update, after I ate 2 pieces of pizza with yellow peppers, pepperoni, and mushrooms. Tea also helped. My right eye even stopped being gooey.
Feeling quite sleepy now, so I guess that's why I'm finally in the mood to update this. Before I got sleepy, I mostly just read and web browsed.
Addition, Dec. 7, 2017, 12:32 PM EST. Slept sometime between 4:18 AM and 11:58 AM. Feeling sleepy. I kept waking up due to thirst. I guess I need to stay better-hydrated somehow.
Additions, Dec. 7, 2017, 12:58 PM/1:21 PM EST. Perhaps I should have seen the doctor while I still had Medicaid. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm on it anymore, because one of my relatives switched to Medicare, and since my Medicaid was somehow entangled with my relative's Medicaid, I assume I no longer have Medicaid. And this happened sooner than I expected, so, I wasn't able to see the doctor at the last minute.
Addition, Dec. 7, 2017, 1:06 PM EST. Feeling plenty more alert now, perhaps of the chocolate. Also in a good mood since realizing that I'm now free to make all the money I want, if I feel like it.
Additions, Dec. 7, 2017, 4:50 PM/5:02 PM EST. Started to get sleepy again around 2 PM. Had canned peaches, and also leftover spaghetti. For some reason, that just seemed more appealing than the idea of eating bean soup, even though I like bean soup and maybe could use the iron.
Still haven't had tea yet. I got my measuring glass today, and figured out that my preferred mug definitely holds 16 ounces when almost full to the brim, and my other mug is also pretty close to 16 ounces, but it has more spare room at the top.
I remember once, way back in 2003 or so, I temporarily used a slightly bigger styrofoam cup than usual for the same kind of prepackaged tea I usually drank, with the same size tea bag as always - and I was quite surprised to find that resulted in me feeling quite a bit more jittery instead of pleasantly more energetic.
Anyway, maybe it's somehow more good than bad that I am so caffeine sensitive. I don't know if I have ADHD, but, a lot of people with ADHD claim to be helped a lot by stimulants like Adderall, which I read is very expensive, and there have been shortages in recent years.
How interesting it is that ADHD might possibly be caused by sleep issues.
Addition, Dec. 7, 2017, 5:09 PM EST. Already feeling much better soon after turning on both lamps in my room.
Addition, Dec. 7, 2017, 6:04 PM EST. Used 10 ounces of water, which didn't boil over even though I microwaved it for 5 minutes. I considered reducing the time, but decided not to.
Addition, Dec. 7, 2017, 9:54 PM EST. I guess that helped my energy a bit. I also had a dark chocolate/peanut butter granola bar. Watched Netflix for a while with relatives. My right eye has been a bit gooey, though. And I have that sort of spaced out feeling I seem to get when trying to gradually reduce my caffeine consumption.
Even though I possibly mistakenly thought I probably adjusted fine to drinking around 16 ounces of tea per day instead of around 12 ounces, perhaps it interfered with my appetite too much, resulting in me gradually becoming more iron deficient and more malnourished in other ways than I might have been in the past. (And trying to be somewhat vegetarian also might have contributed to those problems.)
I'm guessing another thing I should do is try harder to keep getting enough iron. I haven't been trying as hard to do that lately, so, maybe that's part of my trouble lately.
It's currently 61.0 degrees in my room, but, I'm warm enough with my pink fuzzy robe on.
Addition, Dec. 8, 2017, 12:09 AM EST. My bean soup turned out pretty well, though a bit more watery than I might like. Next time, maybe I should just put the beans in by themselves without all the liquid they were immersed in.
Addition, Dec. 8, 2017, 12:34 AM EST. That was easier than I thought - all the remaining soup fit into just two of my smoothie glasses with lids.
Addition, Dec. 8, 2017, 1:24 AM EST. Found this article about caffeine being very bad for most insects, but generally less bad for humans.
Addition, Dec. 8, 2017, 3:05 AM EST. Another interesting article about the effects of caffeine on things other than humans. And humans too.
Addition, Dec. 8, 2017, 5:46 AM EST. Haven't eaten anything yet since my bean soup - just drank a tall glass of orange juice, and a Great Value root beer recently. And some water.
Addition, Dec. 9, 2017, 10:21 AM EST. On Dec. 8th, slept sometime between 5:55 AM and 12:20 PM. Woke up feeling pretty good and like I probably slept better, but, I was kind of tired at first. But my energy kept fluctuating that day.
Today, slept sometime between 2:16 AM and 9:32 AM. Had nightmares, and was very thirsty when I woke up, but, been feeling rested enough and like the quality of my sleep was OK, even though I skipped blackstrap molasses + vegetable juice and didn't eat more of my bean soup yet.
Addition, Dec. 9, 2017, 1:56 PM EST. Went back to sleep again, sometime between 10:49 AM and 1:48 PM.
Addition, Dec. 9, 2017, 4:45 PM EST. My energy has varied, but, I have been feeling quite alert since eating some Apple Cinnamon Cheerios.
Additions, Dec. 9, 2017, 6:09 PM/6:28 PM EST. Finally tried my new 10 ounce tea cup, Using my measuring glass, I figured out it's only a bit short of 12 ounces if filled to the brim.
I guess I could probably get away with putting less tea in my teabag to brew such a small cup of tea, but, I wanted to see how the taste compared to my usual amount of tea (somewhat less than 16 ounces), if I changed little besides the tea cup size, and the amount of water and half and half. Seems about the same, but I think it steeps quite a bit quicker with less water. With close to 16 ounces of water, I had to wait more minutes for the flavor to get strong enough for me.
A while after drinking my small cup of tea, I feel more energized than I was, but I was already pretty energetic before I drank tea. Still craving more tea - not that I need more energy. I guess it's probably just caffeine withdrawal making me want more.
Addition, Dec. 10, 2017, 12:20 AM EST. Still quite energetic and alert, though perhaps it's partly from eating 4 dark chocolate/peanut butter granola bars.
Also have been soaking 1 tablespoon of chia seeds (measured with a measuring spoon, not an actual table spoon, which seems smaller) in water in one of my smoothie glasses.
"Vitamin C appears strong enough to overcome phytic acid. In one study, adding 50 mg of vitamin C counteracted the phytic acid load of a meal. In another study, 80 mg of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) counteracted 25 mg of phytic acid."
Addition, Dec. 10, 2017, 2:57 AM EST. Found some spooky articles about the bad possible health effects of wi-fi, cell phones, etc.
"On average, a person will experience biological effects from a cellphone at a distance of 12 feet.
Addition, Dec. 10, 2017, 3:41 AM EST. I unplugged my Roku too, since that uses wi-fi, and I scarcely have been using it lately.
Addition, Dec. 10, 2017, 4:40 AM EST. Been feeling kind of cold lately, even though my air conditioner is off and it's 65.3 degrees in my room.
Addition, Dec. 10, 2017, 12:50 PM/12:57 PM EST. Slept sometime between 5:08 AM and 12:12 PM. Still got thirsty and dry-eyed, and I'm not sure it happened any later than usual, but maybe. Fortunately, I think I feel rested enough anyway.
Addition, Dec. 10, 2017, 1:06 PM EST. Maybe I should try drinking a lot of milk before sleep, since milk contains electrolytes, and "milk is superior to water and sports drinks at replenishing fluids following exercise."
Additions, Dec. 11, 2017, 2:17 AM/2:26 AM EST. Have been doing so well I was in the mood to program a bit, and did so, to tidy up some of my Bash scripts that I use for dealing with VUE-related things.
Found this article:
"ASAP Science explained that your pituitary gland controls the release of the anti-diuretic hormone (ADH). In normal circumstances, ADH travels to the kidneys where they stimulate the retention of water to keep our body at a happy medium of hydration. Caffeine inhibits the release of ADH, which results in less water being reabsorbed into your body and more being converted into urine. Caffeine belongs to a group of chemicals called xanthine, and these are able to block the body's reabsorption of sodium. When this occurs, rather than returning to the blood stream, the sodium stays in the fluid where it becomes urine."
Maybe I'll trying soaking chia seeds in cow's milk at some point. I wonder if it will be more or less hydrating than cow's milk by itself.
Addition, Dec. 11, 2017, 2:56 PM EST. Slept sometime between 5:19 AM and 1:39 PM. Got thirsty, and felt rather lousy at first, but, have been feeling better and much more alert recently, even though I didn't even have my vitamins yet nor anything else but water.
Wondering if maybe I've been needing more Omega 3 lately. Both flaxseed and chia seeds are reputed to contain a lot of that, and so far I suspect the chia seeds are probably doing me some good, though I think ground flaxseed has more mood-improving effects on me.
Found this page of Omega 3 deficiency symptoms. I don't have most of those symptoms, but, it does mention "Some people may experience excessive thirst and excess urination. Dry eyes and excess earwax buildup may also develop."
Addition, Dec. 11, 2017, 3:17 PM EST. Getting 8 more smoothie glasses with lids soon, because currently, they only cost $10.99 for 4 of them.
Addition, Dec. 11, 2017, 4:32 PM EST. Getting 4 more smoothie glasses with lids - so, 12 new glasses in all - since I probably have room for them in my mini-fridge.
Addition, Dec. 12, 2017, 2:30 AM EST. The family refrigerator stopped working, but, we're hoping that once it defrosts, it might start working again, just like last year.
And, speaking of cold, I'm feeling quite cold now, even though it's 64.4 degrees in my room. Not sure if that means I'm not eating enough, or what. My most recent big meal was spaghetti and meatballs around 5:30 PM.
Watched various TV shows with family. The one that intrigued me most was The Healer. Quite amazing, if that's real. And also very comforting.
Addition, Dec. 12, 2017, 4:38 PM EST. I think the family fridge is still defrosting.
Addition, Dec. 13, 2017, 3:58 AM EST. It seems like my chia seeds soaked in both undiluted and diluted grape juice didn't turn out as well as the ones I soaked in plain water. Not as tapioca-like. I'm reluctant to even drink much of that grape juice now.
Addition, Dec. 13, 2017, 2:16 PM EST. Slept sometime between 5:46 AM and 12 PM. I think I haven't been woken up by thirst in the middle of my sleep as much, but, in the end, woke up thirsty with dry eyes. I drank some water, and then milk, which I think helped more. Haven't been drinking vegetable juice + blackstrap molasses since Dec. 7th, but, maybe ought to resume that, or make some more bean soup.
Not craving even tea at the moment, but probably the earlier I have that, the better, to avoid the caffeine possibly messing with my sleep. Except it will mess with my appetite.
Additions, Dec. 14, 2017, 3:47 AM/6:54 AM EST. Still not really tired, perhaps because I had tea later than I intended, around 7 or 8 PM.
Did much the same stuff as yesterday - reading, programming, and watching TV with family.
Been feeling so much more back to normal lately. Did around 1 minute of high-intensity exercise biking today. Deliberately and for exercise, I went up and downstairs numerous times to wash 10 out of my 12 new glasses, one at a time. And was so impatient waiting for 5 minutes for my tea to finish microwaving that I paced around a while. So, plenty of energy even before drinking tea.
Addition, Dec. 14, 2017, 7:21 AM EST. Been too sleepy to get any more programming done, so, I just read and web-browsed instead.
Additions, Dec. 14, 2017, 4:17 PM/4:34 PM EST. Slept sometime between 7:29 AM and 2:05 PM. Slept probably OK enough maybe, but got a bit thirsty, and my nose was a bit clogged at times.
Addition, Dec. 15, 2017, 12:42 AM EST. Still didn't reboot my computer, since I fell asleep again sometime between 7:15 PM and 11:52 PM.
Addition, Dec. 15, 2017, 3:34 AM EST. Been feeling quite alert (even though I haven't had tea yet), and in an increasingly good mood since I'm finally getting various messy collections of computer files organized.
Addition, Dec. 15, 2017, 5:16 PM EST. Slept sometime between 9:16 AM and 2:12 PM, after feeling somewhat sleepy for hours. Skipped tea, but haven't felt like I'm getting caffeine withdrawal so far. Yesterday, finally had part of a partway filled glass of vegetable juice with 1 spoonful of blackstrap molasses.
Still haven't rebooted my computer, since I still am trying to get more organized first.
Addition, Dec. 16, 2017, 12:34 AM EST. Got a bit tired many hours ago after eating Apple Cinnamon Cheerios, though I got more alert again a while after that.
Addition, Dec. 16, 2017, 3:25 PM EST. Slept sometime between 5:27 AM and 1:43 PM. Still had trouble with thirst and a slightly stuffy nose waking me up.
Addition, Dec. 31, 2017, 1:50 PM EST. My time of the month was later than I expected, and started Dec. 23rd around 7:48 AM. Needed 2 Advils for my cramps in the beginning, but later on only needed 1 more Advil, and, as usual, none after the 1st day.
Still haven't rebooted my computer, but, as of today, I finally made enough useful notes and reorganized my files enough to feel prepared to do so.
I sometimes have had trouble with dry eyes (mostly when I get tired), but, I think maybe magnesium, Omega 3, and getting more Vitamin A in my diet might be helping me with that and in other ways.
Slept sometime between 6:07 AM and 11:25 AM. Felt kind of sleepy while writing this, but, am more cheerful and alert now that I'm just about done writing it. Just wanted to post at least one update here before the year ends.
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| Oxalates and their interference with the absorption of nutrients |
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Sunday, August 14th, 2016 01:39:27 GMT |
(Here's my site's disclaimer again, since this blog post is about health-related topics, and I'm not a health care professional, just a layperson who sometimes takes an interest in health and nutrition.)
However, earlier this year, sometimes I mistook that jaw pain for possible toothaches in my top and bottom backmost right teeth - except usually the ache felt more spread out rather than localized to my teeth. (I was similarly confused by some sore spots on my gums which were quite probably from gum disease - but I think that's probably a problem separate from my jaw pain, since my gum issues mostly went away months ago thanks to Vitamin C.)
When I saw the dentist in February, I found out the only cavities I had were on the opposite side of my mouth, and they were all so small I didn't even need to be numbed to get them filled.
I almost couldn't believe there was nothing wrong with my right backmost top and bottom teeth. But, the pain wasn't consistent, and it seemed like drinking enough liquids and taking magnesium helped. (Taking magnesium, Vitamin C, and drinking more liquids were all ideas I found and tried on my own - none of those were suggested to me by the dentist.)
But lately, I've been feeling like magnesium hasn't been working as well for me.
So, that made me wonder if somehow some new factor in my nutrition (or life) was making me extra deficient in magnesium.
So, I started reading about oxalates, and found this page which quoted some unknown other source which said:
And the Antinutrient page on Wikipedia also mentions oxalates.
That interested me because I had started taking two 500 mg Vitamin C's per day back in April, since it seems to tremendously help with my possible gum disease.
But, I think it wasn't until the past few weeks that magnesium started to seem significantly less effective for me.
Maybe some of my ailments are side effects of quitting caffeine. It's hard to judge since I didn't carefully log exactly what things happened when.
Though I've also read that even just being extra stressed out can contribute to magnesium deficiency, and that could definitely also be a factor for me.
(Addition, Aug. 15, 2016, 5:08 AM EDT. This blog post I found describes a slow recovery from caffeine withdrawal which took up to 5 months! So, I now think it's very possible that caffeine withdrawal is a bigger factor in my ailments than I realized before.
Here's a blog post by me where I've been adding updates on my efforts to quit caffeine, or at least reduce how much I consume.)
And also, now that I've sampled the majority of Teeccino flavors, I'll be less likely to drink more than one mugful per day. A lot of why I drank so much was simply to try all the new (to me) flavors as soon as possible.
But, I quite like Teeccino, so for now, I'd like to keep drinking it daily, and find a good way to adjust my diet to compensate for the possibly higher amounts of oxalates I've been consuming.
So, perhaps having more Vitamin B6 might help me. For years, off and on, I have been taking Nature Made Stress B (which also contains Vitamin C and zinc). But I often have neglected to take it, since it tends to upset my stomach unless I eat something soon before (or soon after) taking it. I usually don't eat a large breakfast, so I can't just take Stress B first thing in my "morning" (or whatever equates to morning for me, due to my severe sleep issues).
I'll just have to do a better job of remembering to take Stress B after I eat enough food.
I got magnesium citrate because I read in various places that some forms of magnesium are better-absorbed than others.
But I was surprised at how little effect magnesium citrate seemed to have on me compared to magnesium oxide. It's reputed to be better-absorbed than magnesium oxide, and (until lately), even just 1 Nature Made magnesium oxide seemed to have very noticeable effects on me, sometimes making me feel very tired about 2 hours after taking it (unless I'm well-rested enough that it just makes me feel more relaxed and calm).
However, I started taking magnesium citrate around the same time I started drinking Teeccino, so, maybe that's why the magnesium citrate seemingly doesn't have very noticeable effects on me.
So, I think maybe I'd rather get extra magnesium from my diet instead of supplements, or at least just avoid taking more than 1 magnesium oxide at a time.
I've continued to take 1 serving of Nature Made magnesium citrate daily (in my "morning", usually). But, judging by my jaw aches, I suspect I need even more magnesium than that.
This page suggests consuming more calcium.
Unfortunately, judging by this other page, Vitamin K2 sounds like it might be a nutrient which might be hard to get directly in a purely vegetarian diet. (Reminds me of the difficulties with getting some forms of Omega 3 in purely vegetarian ways.)
However, this page points out various things suggesting that it might be possible for the body to convert Vitamin K1 into Vitamin K2.
I hope that's possible, since I'm pretty fond of kale (which has a lot of Vitamin K), and I could (and probably should) eat kale more frequently.
(Additions, Aug. 14/15, 9:41 PM/12:46 AM EDT. There seems to be conflicting info on the web about whether kale is high in oxalates or not. Here's a page that says it's low in oxalates. I tried to find the Harvard data that page referred to, and found something, though I don't know whether or not that's what that page was talking about. But the file "Oxalate Content of Foods.xls" says kale is low oxalate, with 2 mg of oxalates.)
I also am fond of gouda cheese, but it's kind of expensive, and I still feel guilty about not being 100% vegetarian.
Magnesium not having such a strong effect on me as it used to was just such an unusual difference for me that it seemed worth investigating and writing about, even though I'm not a health care professional nor anyone else who is officially licensed to come up with theories about any of these topics.
As more details come to light, I might update this post in the future.
Since earlier this year or late last year, and also on occasion even as far back as 2006, I've sometimes had jaw aches, mostly on the right side. Fortunately, that has been scarcely bothersome at all compared to my headaches.
However, my jaw aches have been more of a problem lately, especially the past few weeks. Usually the effects of magnesium on me had been far more noticeable - in addition to seeming to probably reduce my jaw pain and rid me of some annoying twitches near my right eye, it made me feel calmer and better able to sleep, and it sometimes made me feel very tired if I took it anytime I wasn't well-rested.
A while back, when reading about chicory (one of the main ingredients in Teeccino, an excellent "herbal coffee"), I ran across this page which said chicory is high in oxalates and not recommended for people with arthritis or who are prone to kidney stones.
“oxalates strongly bind to minerals and vice versa (e.g., calcium, magnesium, zinc and potassium), and reduces the absorption of your minerals as they both come out via your urine.”
I also somehow ran across stuff related to Vitamin C and oxalates, such as this page, which says "vitamin C can be metabolized to oxalate".
But, my current top theory is that maybe all the extra oxalates I've likely been getting lately from Teeccino and (to a lesser extent) from Vitamin C have maybe been interfering with my magnesium absorption.
Anyway, since Teeccino lacks caffeine and thus isn't addictive, it will be easy for me to experiment at some point with temporarily abstaining from Teeccino.
This aforementioned page says near the top that "High doses of vitamin B6 may decrease oxalate production".
I already tried taking extra magnesium. A few weeks ago I started taking Nature Made magnesium citrate (except, unlike that page, my bottle just says "Softgels" instead of "Liquid Softgels").
I also tried extra Nature Made magnesium oxide. At times, it seemed to do surprisingly little for me - at one point, I tried taking 3 at once, and didn't feel much difference. Though at another point, I tried taking 2 at once, and a few hours later, it seemed to make me feel crappy (literally).
Perhaps another good approach might be to consume additional amounts of other nutrients that oxalates are reputed to interfere with the absorption of.
And this page says:
"When you're taking magnesium, you need to consider calcium, vitamin D3 and vitamin K2 as well, since these all work synergistically with one another. "
I wish I could have figured out the perfect cure(s) for my various ailments before posting this. But, oh, well.
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| Still trying to quit tea; hoping quitting will reduce my headaches |
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Tuesday, August 2nd, 2016 12:03:28 GMT |
(Addition, Sept. 26, 2016, 6:12 PM EDT. Since I've added so much to this post since I first posted it, I decided I ought to add a link to my site's disclaimer, and also point out yet again that I'm not a health care professional, just a layperson who sometimes takes an interest in health and nutrition.
I'm 35 years old, never attended college (partly for financial reasons, and partly because of my severe sleep issues and shyness), and I have a GED instead of a normal high school diploma.
So, please don't blindly assume I know what I'm talking about, and please don't blindly assume that my ideas or personal health habits necessarily have any merit.
This blog post is a personal diary of how things have been going for me in the process of trying to free myself from caffeine, and my thoughts and speculations on the possible causes of my headaches and other ailments, and different things I've tried, or which I'm considering trying, to alleviate my ailments.
I hope it's interesting, but none of it is intended as health advice. Please be careful, please use common sense, and please don't blindly mimic me. It's quite possible that some of the things I tried, or will try, are, or will be, quite stupid. If you need health advice, please consult a health care professional.
End of addition.)
But, in my eagerness to be done with tea forever, I guess I rushed too quickly through the gradual-decrease phase and tried too soon to stop drinking it completely.
Result: headaches.
I guess I better keep quitting gradually instead of abruptly. Fortunately, simply drinking tea makes me feel better pretty quickly.
However, I no longer like the taste of tea as much as I used to, since Teeccino (which is "herbal coffee" with no caffeine) tastes so much better to me in comparison. So, I'm going to try to mixing my tea with Teeccino. (I wasn't mixing the two before because I wanted to see what pure Teeccino tasted like, and I was hoping I could quit tea sooner and less gradually.)
(Addition, 4:03 PM EDT. It turns out they both taste better separate, at least the way I tried to mix them. Maybe with effort the mix could be improved, but I don't feel like making the effort, since I doubt the mix will ever taste better than pure Teeccino.)
I nearly always resisted the urge. But, maybe that craving was an indication I was even more addicted than I realized?
So, maybe at least some of my problems with occasional "random" headaches will finally go away once I get free of caffeine addiction.
Today it seems I mistakenly drank too little tea to totally get rid of my headache. I'm so annoyed by this I think I might go ahead and just immediately quit completely, so I can hopefully get through this withdrawal nonsense as quickly as possible.
So, I'm probably going to be particularly boring and useless for a while, since I'm going to continue mostly avoiding stressful things, and probably mostly read a lot and binge-watch Netflix and YouTube.
That sounds like a tiny amount. But, maybe it isn't tiny for me, since I'm only 5'4" and maybe 120 lbs. (Just guessing since I don't have a scale.) In any case, tea definitely has had very noticeable effects on how alert I am and how well I'm able to concentrate, and also tends to improve my mood.
But, the good effects don't last long enough for my liking, and I'm tired of feeling overly tired without caffeine, waking up feeling insufficiently rested, and especially tired of the possibility that perhaps a lot of my headaches are related to not drinking enough caffeine at the "right" time, whenever that is - which might be particularly hard for me to figure out due to my messed up circadian rhythms.
Hopefully the withdrawal won't last too long because I already had been working on gradually decreasing my tea intake. At the moment I'm feeling mostly OK, just tired now, probably partly because the last time I slept, I only slept about 4 hours because of a headache.
I guess I probably am hypersensitive to caffeine, though at least I'm not so hypersensitive that I experience nothing but negative effects from caffeine. But I think roughly 12 ounces of tea per day must have been at least a little too much for me. But maybe if I simply drink less per day, that will work for me, hopefully with all good effects and no bad effects?
I got a new, larger mug earlier this year. Didn't realize that might cause me trouble. But even the previous amount I was drinking might have been too much, if caffeine withdrawal was a significant factor in a lot of the headaches I've gotten over the years.
Trying to quit tea has been such an annoying disruption to my life and ability to get anything done that I've decided to resume drinking tea, but from an 8.5 ounce styrofoam cup instead. I just had some and already feel a bit better.
I tried that coffee a few years ago and liked it a lot, so I'm guessing the flavor will probably blend well with Teeccino.
Here's the most interesting article I've seen recently about caffeine and its effects:
Quotes:
[...]
"jet lag isn’t just the fact that your brain is in another time zone—it’s that your liver might be in a different time zone than your brain.”
I got my new mug (which I thought was 12 ounces but actually was larger) back in February, so I guess I had been at least slightly overdosing on caffeine since around then.
I don't know if still having a little caffeine is helping, or making things worse. I think now that I'm so close to having no caffeine, I'll just go without it completely for a while.
I guess another possible contributor to my various ailments might be Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), but, for now, I don't want to get into the details of why I think that. I'd rather focus on positive things.
So, maybe I finally really will try bellydancing and a standing desk sometime.
It seems like I'm OK as long as I don't have too much caffeine. So, yesterday evening and today, mostly just for flavor's sake, I put a small amount of coffee - probably less than a teaspoon - in my Teeccino.
Still, no headaches. And, no caffeine since Aug. 12th or possibly Aug. 11th. I got my Teeccino Boutique Sampler on Aug. 11th, so I mostly avoided putting coffee in them since I wanted to see how they tasted without it.
Another symptom I neglected to mention, which has been a problem for maybe years now, is that I often wake up very thirsty, and this often wakes me up repeatedly while I'm trying to sleep.
And I've had some jaw pain from time to time. My current top theory on that is, maybe it's from magnesium deficiency caused by consuming too many oxalates. (Oxalates are antinutrients found in many common foods.) So I wrote a new blog post on those topics:
Additions, 1:30 AM EDT, etc. Don't know when I'll feel normal again (without resorting to caffeine). But, even though I've felt tired, I still feel less tired and better-rested compared to the past several months. But I think I better keep avoiding stressful things and instead do less challenging things like reading books and watching videos.
Despite my tiredness, I've still been learning a lot from The Art of Unix Programming by Eric S. Raymond. I wish I had read that years ago.
Addition, Aug. 14. 2016, 7:20 PM EDT. Decided to probably continue adding small amounts of coffee to my Teeccino, since I like the taste, and even a small amount of caffeine seems to make me feel better and more capable of getting useful things done.
I'm actually comforted to know it can take that long, because I was worried that I should be much more recovered by now, and worried that maybe my various remaining ailments were caused more by other things than by caffeine withdrawal.
So, that helps rid me of some anxiety. I also read that muscle aches can be a symptom of caffeine withdrawal, so, that could at least partly explain my jaw aches.
That blog post's description of Month 5 gives me something to look forward to.
However, I'm going to probably slightly increase my daily coffee dosage, because I think I need a bit more to minimize my withdrawal symptoms.
The past couple days, I had to wake up too early for various reasons, so, I'm probably tired just because of that. But also, I think even the small amount of coffee I had - maybe about a teaspoon - probably made me stay awake longer than I otherwise might have.
So, I'm going to try having an even more minimal and less frequent amount of coffee, like, less than a teaspoon and not daily. My main goal is just to minimize caffeine withdrawal symptoms.
I think I need more sleep, so I don't expect to accomplish much of anything in the very near future. But, in the past few days, I made some progress with XSLT and VUE: Visual Understanding Environment. Which is actually getting me interested in learning more about functional programming in general.
And I've even made surprisingly good progress with XSLT, though I still find it pretty confusing. But I finally did manage to extract node label data from a VUE: Visual Understanding Environment concept map!
So, I hope to read Learn You a Haskell for Great Good! and Real World Haskell at some point. I sure hope I have the brains to learn this stuff. :-)
I guess this is a particularly good time for me to study Haskell, because if it turns out to be hopelessly difficult, I can blame my caffeine withdrawal symptoms, tiredness, etc. And if I actually do get somewhere with Haskell, I'll feel particularly pleased with myself for being able to do that despite my caffeine withdrawal symptoms, tiredness, etc. :-)
I think more often than not, throughout my life, ever since I was a child, I have been regularly consuming some amount of caffeine, either in the form of caffeinated soda, tea, or more rarely, coffee.
I wonder if I was always more sensitive to caffeine than I realized? Maybe this is yet another possible cause of my severe sleep issues.
Of course, I always knew better than to drink caffeine too near bedtime. (Even as a child, I was aware that was a bad idea, thanks to being told by my relatives.) But maybe I always was so caffeine-sensitive that the sleep-disrupting effects persisted longer for me than they do for many people?
I very much doubt that completely quitting caffeine would completely cure my my severe sleep issues, since I think there were probably times in my life when I wasn't drinking caffeine regularly and I still had sleep problems. But, I'll just see what happens, I guess.
And, also, I finally tried my $10 (ten dollar) used bike for the first time since I was given it a few months ago. I hadn't ridden a bike since I was maybe 9 or something, but, it seems science was right - I hadn't forgotten how to ride.
And I even managed to avoid falling off at all, even despite zipping around a corner at slightly worryingly high speed, due to not realizing that the brakes were controlled not by pedaling in reverse, but by squeezing some things attached to the handlebars.
Should have made sure I knew how the brakes worked before I started going a bit fast, but, oops. :-) Going uphill and into some grass also helped slow me down.
Anyway, I just found it interesting that my increased exercise coincided with my jaw aches being quite reduced. Though I don't know whether or not exercise actually had anything to do with that, since correlation does not necessarily imply causation.
Still have been getting jaw aches. Haven't gotten anything interesting done. I actually fell asleep at an unusually early time in my sleep/wake "cycle", though only for a few hours. I think maybe I fell asleep because I've been eating dried sour/tart cherries, which are reputed to contain a lot of melatonin - even more melatonin than walnuts, which themselves sometimes seem to have a pretty strong effect on me, and sometimes seem to make me sleepy in less than an hour (unless I'm already quite well-rested at the time I eat them). (Addition, March 20, 2017, 11:57 AM. However, I wonder if dried sour/tart cherries have a different amount of melatonin than non-dried ones?)
Earlier this evening, all my relatives (all of whom also ate those dried sour/tart cherries) also went to sleep earlier than usual, even though one had also taken a nap during the day.
I had two small handfuls of dried sour/tart cherries a few hours ago, and have been on the verge of sleep for a long time since then, though I've been successfully resisting it so far. However, I think maybe I better avoid eating those except when I really want to feel sleepy.
I really wish I could just quit caffeine completely and immediately, but, that doesn't seem like a good or feasible idea with these horrible headaches and inability to get much of anything done. At least my jaw aches have been pretty much gone since a few days ago.
Next, I'm going to get some small measuring spoons so I can measure more precisely how much coffee I'm having.
Anyway, hopefully just measuring the coffee more carefully, and having it daily, but continuing to decrease the amounts, will help.
I haven't been totally unable to do anything lately. Until yesterday, I think I was mostly feeling OK, which I guess tricked me into thinking I was less caffeine-dependent than I actually still am.
Been glancing at lots of different legally-available ebooks via my local library website Clevnet. But, I actually borrowed then returned so many different ebooks in such a short period of time that Clevnet automatically restricted me from borrowing anything else for 7 days! (Addition, Sept. 7, 2016, 9:07 AM EDT. Seems it was only 5 days, since now I can borrow books again!) I mistakenly thought the only restriction was that you could only borrow 20 books at the same time. I don't even know where I could have found out (without accidentally reaching the limit) that borrowing and quickly returning 100 books (or whatever number I borrowed) isn't allowed.
I guess in the future, I better use the Sample feature more, instead of briefly borrowing entire books just to see if I actually want to read them.
Fortunately, I still have 15 already-borrowed books to look at. Probably the most useful ones I have are:
So, today, I had 1/8th of a teaspoon of coffee in my Teeccino. Looking forward to decreasing the amount of coffee, because I've been feeling too tired again lately.
And I just got these books (among many others) today on Clevnet:
I've only had a very small amount of dizziness lately - just for a minute or so while I was sitting (or partway lying) on my bed several days ago or something. But maybe back in April, I remember once I felt dizzy and faint when I stood up, though that quickly passed.
Dizziness has definitely not been a frequent symptom of mine, so I'm not particularly worried about it - just curious. I've never known what my blood pressure is since I never had a way to measure it myself.
So, I wonder if maybe frequently taking my temperature will give me some sort of insight into my possible Non-24-hour Sleep-Wake Disorder.
But, I feel like I'm able to concentrate pretty well (even though I haven't had any coffee yet), and I managed to finish reading XSLT For Dummies. I feel like I learned a lot and am well-equipped to proceed with the little XSLT project I began days before finding XSLT For Dummies.
I don't feel very physically energetic, but I feel eager to read a lot more and quite possibly get back to my XSLT and Perl coding.
Despite the hot weather, I still have been using my electric blanket all year, since I keep my room pretty cold with air conditioning.
So, since someone just happened to give me some new non-electric blankets recently, I decided to use just them. Today, I woke up around 5 AM since I finally got cold, but, I just put on an extra blanket and went back to sleep for another few hours. And I might have stayed asleep even longer, except my nice, big, heavy old keyboard (which is so old it has a PS/2 plug instead of a USB plug) fell off my bed and woke me up.
So, I slept from about 8 PM to 8 AM today! I haven't been keeping a spreadsheet of my sleep lately, because I haven't yet figured out how to make a Gantt chart (or whatever else I need, whatever it's called) using Gnumeric. So, I mostly don't have nice charts of my sleep patterns yet. (Ooh, maybe this is another thing XML and XSLT might be useful for?)
Probably the longest I ever slept was about 25 hours. I don't remember the exact circumstances or when exactly that happened, just that it was probably sometime in the past 10 years. But, I think probably I was just recovering from having been awake far too long for some reason(s) soon before that. It probably sounds unhealthy to sleep so long, but if I recall correctly, I felt much better after I did that, and I quickly and without trying got back to my "normal" (for me) schedule after that.
But after getting out of bed, my increased energy was really noticeable. I actually feel largely back to what used to be normal for me (when adequately rested) - having so much energy I almost don't know what to do with it!
I have more of a spring in my step, and have been cheerfully zooming up and down stairs, and fidgeting a lot more. :-) Doing physical things seems much more effortless now, rather than a chore that I need willpower to force myself to do. And learning to bellydance seems a lot more feasible now. :-) (I actually scarcely tried bellydancing ever since I first mentioned it, and also scarcely tried my standing desk, which is covered with junk now, along with my office chair, since I usually hadn't had the energy to clean my room.)
And now I'm having 1/16th of a teaspoon of coffee in my still not-yet-finished pumpkin spice Teeccino.
I'm so relieved. I feel reborn, or like I've youthened about 10 or 15 years. Hopefully this will last. :-)
Yesterday, I had a pretty good day, but started to feel more tired around 6:20 PM. Still, yesterday was very encouraging, and I think I still feel overall better than usual today.
But, the mental fogginess I seem to get when low on caffeine has been coming back despite my greatly increased physical energy. So, maybe I'll try a little more than 1/16th of a teaspoon of coffee. But, I think maybe I'd rather not have any coffee right now because I think I might like to go back to sleep soon.
I think I'm going to just keep decreasing caffeine (or maybe quit it entirely), and use painkillers to deal with the headaches, since this has dragged on long enough.
Yesterday was the most dramatic improvement I've had for months, and it coincided with me ceasing to use my electric blanket.
I'm sure reducing caffeine has helped me too, but I'm really surprised and delighted at what a difference quitting my electric blanket may have made.
I suspect now that my problem probably wasn't adrenal fatigue (or maybe I had a bit of that before, but have recovered from it a lot). I think now my main problem was probably chronically poor sleep, primarily due to my electric blanket, and probably also because of formerly having too much caffeine, partly because of not realizing I had a 17 ounce mug instead of a 12 ounce mug.
And since quitting my electric blanket seemed to make such a profound difference so quickly, I now think caffeine was probably much less of a problem than my electric blanket - even though decreasing caffeine definitely seemed to help too, just not as much.
But, even though caffeine was quite possibly less of a problem for me than I thought, I'm still not eager to resume drinking tea or larger amounts of coffee. I'd rather totally do without caffeine for a while. Maybe I'll resume it someday, or use it just on occasion when I actually have a reason to forcibly keep myself awake.
But, since I'm not even sure if I ever did without caffeine longer than a few weeks or maybe months ever since the year 2000, I'm quite curious to see how life seems without caffeine.
Before that happened, I already hadn't been at my best for quite a while, but, I wasn't feeling bad enough to seriously consider giving up caffeine or my electric blanket, and, while I was a bit worried, I rather cynically assumed maybe my tiredness was just an unavoidable part of getting older. (Or that maybe I was getting diabetes, or who knows what.)
But, after that misfortune happened, I was so upset and stressed out that it caused my tiredness to get much worse. So, that motivated me to look for solutions, got me even more interested in nutrition and exercise, and made me more eager than ever before to quit caffeine and even my electric blanket.
If that misfortune hadn't happened, it might have taken a lot longer for me to do all that, and I might have continued gradually getting more and more unhealthy and exhausted.
So... at least that misfortune had a silver lining in the end. It's still sad, but, that's life, I guess. Those were some really sour lemons, but at least this is some great lemonade, which might have changed the entire course of my life for the better, since now I have a lot more energy and ability to work on my numerous projects and goals.
The thing that currently most tempts me to drink a bit of coffee is, the hope of getting rid of the slight foggy-mindedness, so I can more easily proceed with my XSLT and Perl project that I've scarcely returned to working on yet.
But compared to a headache, this is scarcely an obstruction at all. I still managed to quickly brainstorm some probably good ideas for someone who asked for my feedback on something. I just feel a bit weird, and am a little forgetful.
Good thing I've been taking at least two 500 mg Vitamin C's per day since last April, since judging by that article, it's possible I would have been worse off otherwise.
Lately it has seemed like I need even more Vitamin C than just 1000 mg soon after I wake up, because the lower left sore spot on my gums has been coming back. So, I'm going to take at least one 500 mg Vitamin C later in my day as well, in addition to my usual Nature Made Stress B.
Maybe I need extra Vitamin C due to caffeine withdrawal?
But, after eating that, I got tired. Actually, even before that, I was feeling a bit tired. I'm guessing this is probably related to having no caffeine at all ever since the morning of Sept. 12th. Still, I'm doing much better than I was before quitting my electric blanket. Even when sleepy, doing physical things now still seems much easier than it did before quitting my electric blanket.
Since I have no job or any other pressing reason to stay awake, I might just go to sleep sometime in the next few hours. Except I'd kind of like to read or something, so, that might or might not keep me awake.
Went to sleep around 11:40 PM, and today I felt like I slept so long and well that I was surprised to see it was only 8:59 AM instead of 2 PM when I woke up. Still lots of energy.
Haven't needed to take extra Vitamin C beyond my usual two 500 mg Vitamin C's when I wake up, since the sore spot on my gum has been OK ever since my first 1/64th of a teaspoon of coffee today, though it was bothering me a little before I had that coffee.
My energy lasted a while, and I didn't feel foggy-minded until getting tired around maybe 6:30 PM. Still, didn't get much done today. I watched TV, vacuumed a room (which is something I do rarely), and read a little. And worked a little on my XSLT project - made some notes and some hopefully good design decisions, but didn't actually write code today.
But everything seems better than before I quit my electric blanket. Even just thinking seems easier than it has in a long time. So, I've been making progress with XSLT.
As planned, had 1/32nd of a teaspoon of coffee in my Teeccino this morning.
My sleep schedule has been interestingly close to normal-seeming for the past several days, since I've been sleeping at night and awake during the day. I'll be quite surprised if that lasts.
I wish I had some nice sleep charts like these for recent months so I could get more of an overview of what has been going on with me.
Before quitting my electric blanket, I seldom was even able to fall asleep for a nap, despite frequently feeling tired enough to do so. So, I think this is probably progress too.
My lack of sleepiness definitely hasn't been lasting all day (even though physical activity still seems much easier than it used to while sleepy), and if Netflix hadn't kept me awake last night, I might've been able to fall asleep any time from around 6:30 PM onward yesterday. But it makes sense that it might take longer than less than a week of good sleep for me to recover from the fatigue (or whatever) caused primarily by my electric blanket which I got back in Nov. 2014, and my mistakenly oversized tea mug which I got in Feb. 2016, which was 17 ounces instead of 12 ounces.
And also to recover from caffeine withdrawal, which (according to this aforementioned blog post) can take 5 months for some people. And I suspect that includes me, since even though I never drank a huge amount of caffeine, I think it affected me a lot more than it should have, since I now think I am probably much more caffeine sensitive than I originally realized.
1/64th of a teaspoon is such a tiny-looking amount of coffee, and yet I think I've felt a difference even just from that. Unless it's just a placebo effect - but, even if that's all it is, fine, since I'm definitely feeling better in any case.
But it's a good reminder that I definitely prefer the part of history I'm now living in. I'd probably rather live in the future (assuming things get better and more like Star Trek someday), but, at least the present seems a lot better in a lot of ways than probably most of the past.
That show reminds me of some of my notions about my past lives. I kind of hope reincarnation doesn't exist, because life can be pretty depressing at times. But, believing that I might have future lives at least gives me even more motivation than I already had to try to improve the world. And to improve myself - since who knows, maybe it's possible to carry talents into future lives.
I'm well-aware that reincarnation might not exist at all, but, daydreaming about future lives (and what I can do in the present to improve them) is a lot more fun than thinking about things in the nearer future, like turning 40, 50, and so on.
Today, instead of taking Nature Made magnesium citrate in my "morning" as I usually have been lately, I decided to try taking it closer to the end of my day.
Since magnesium can make me tired, skipping my "morning" magnesium might be why I haven't gotten at all tired yet.
Not much else to add, since my life is pretty boring. :-) I still am having trouble making myself do boring things like clean my room and finish my little XSLT project, but that's nothing new.
I'm so relieved and grateful that I actually have been recovering from my fatigue! I'll never sleep with an electric blanket again.
And I'm in an especially good mood now because I managed to get Saxon/C to work with PHP 5.6.13!
So, now I can use XSLT 2.0 with my favorite programming language, PHP!
I already tried Vitamin D in the past, but, I always stopped quickly before, because it seemed like it made me feel jittery. But that could be because I wasn't aware that it might be best to have it in combination with other nutrients.
This page says:
I'm pretty sure I'm not getting enough Vitamin K2 from my food, but, hopefully I'm getting a lot of Vitamin K1 from all the kale I now eat, and, maybe my body is converting that to Vitamin K2, if this page is correct.
Since Sept. 18th onward, I've been taking 5 Nature Made Vitamin D3 2000 IU per day, and definitely felt more jittery in the hours afterward, until taking extra magnesium. Yesterday, I took 2 Nature Made magnesium citrates with my Vitamin D, and for hours after that still felt so jittery that I took 2 more magnesium citrates, which seemed to make it easier for me to fall asleep.
On the 19th I got a slight headache, a lot of jitteriness (especially after the Vitamin D), and felt almost like I was starting to get a stuffy nose, but, that went away by today, even before I had any coffee. Still doing pretty well overall, but, I think I'm getting a bit of foggy-mindedness from lack of caffeine, so maybe I'll have another 1/64th teaspoon of coffee.
It's not obvious to me yet what good Vitamin D is doing me (which is another reason I never stuck with taking it), but, I'm just going to keep taking it for a while and see what happens.
Next time I take Vitamin D, I'm going to take 2 magnesiums instead of just one. Just took a 2nd magnesium now. Might take even more than that if necessary.
Also, I'm switching to Nature Made magnesium oxide, since (if I'm not mistaken), it's cheaper, and it seems maybe about as effective for me as the Nature Made magnesium citrate, which I'm running out of. I might also decrease the amount of Vitamin D.
Or, perhaps I should just go out in the sun for 10-20 minutes sometime between 10 AM and 2 PM, as the book Vitamin D: The Sunshine Vitamin suggests. (Addition, Sept. 26, 2016, 3:57 AM. Now I'm not sure that's safe, so I'm quitting sunbathing
Addition, 11:38 PM EDT. Already feeling better. But, I think I will take Vitamin D (except sunlight) less frequently and maybe in smaller amounts.
Addition, 11:58 PM EDT. Found this interesting forum discussion about allergic reactions to Vitamin D. Looks like a lot of people seem to react much worse to Vitamin D than I just did.
But, since I don't know of any definite way(s) Vitamin D has benefited me so far, and taking it definitely didn't seem to make me feel better than I felt before taking it, I'm tempted to just stop it entirely for now (except for sunlight).
And I even woke up in time to get some sun. But, I only did that for about 10 minutes since it was boring, hot (at least in the sun), and too bright to comfortably read. And I might easily get sunburned.
I guess sitting in direct sunlight might become more pleasant to do as the weather gets cooler, but, Vitamin D: The Sunshine Vitamin said:
And here in Hubbard, Ohio, I'm at about 41 degrees north.
(Addition, Sept. 26, 2016, 4:00 AM. I'm quitting sunbathing
That problem won't affect me so much, because I rarely take showers because I rarely have to go out anywhere, and it saves money not to use so much water and heat, since my family keeps the heat turned off until someone actually needs to take a shower.
We've done this ever since 2005 when we couldn't afford to pay our gas bill for about 3 months in the spring or summer. Most of us got accustomed to usually only having cold water. (As for me, I just didn't take a shower for 3 months. :-D ) So, that company was really stupid for shutting us off, because the result of that was, we found we liked using less hot water and paying them less money. :-)
Fortunately, wasting less energy and water is probably better for the planet somehow.
I don't want to have more caffeine so late in my day, so, I just had an Advil.
I wish I could figure out the perfect amount of coffee to have for me to avoid headaches (and all other symptoms) and keep making progress quitting caffeine. I don't want to be stuck having to have even just 1/64th of a teaspoon of coffee per day.
Maybe a spreadsheet and some graphs would help me figure this out.
The symptoms of my monthly cycle - mainly the cramps - are so unpleasant it's similar to having an illness every month. But, fortunately, it's seldom bad enough after the first day for me to need painkillers after the first day, and usually the painkillers get rid of all the pain. I find it interesting how consistent and reliable that pattern has been ever since I was a teenager - in contrast with the mess my sleep so-called schedule has usually been for my whole life. The timing of the start of my cycle can be delayed a lot if I'm stressed out, but, once it gets started, the way it happens is very reliable - the first day is the worst, then it's much less bad after that.
Anyway, if quitting caffeine doesn't turn out to be a sufficient cure for most of my headaches, maybe I might as well keep having a tiny amount of caffeine, since maybe it actually helps more than it harms.
It almost seems like a cold, but I strongly suspect it's just caffeine withdrawal and will probably go away when I have enough coffee.
XSLT has been quite difficult to figure out, but, I love how it can accomplish so much with such relatively compact scripts. I'm increasingly fond of it and XML.
I skipped sunlight today. (Addition, Sept. 26, 2016, 4:01 AM. Which may have been a good thing. I'm quitting sunbathing
Felt close to a headache, maybe starting around 6:30 PM, so I had 1/64th teaspoon of coffee around then, and have felt fine since then.
I've divided my time between cleaning my overcrowded mess of a room, and struggling to figure out how to do something in XSLT which I assumed would be much easier than it actually is.
None of that is very exciting to do or to write about. But, it's so nice to actually really feel like doing things again. I was still capable of getting things done before solving my fatigue (particularly if I did them soon after waking up), but, it took a lot more effort.
And also, so I'll finally have enough space again to work on learning to bellydance, without having to stand on my bed.
But I might just go back to sleep again for a while.
I really like that book, and I'm now quite convinced that doing something about my probable Vitamin D deficiency is worthwhile.
I particularly like the fact that Vitamin D might reduce symptoms of PMS, and also can help with dental problems. And tons of other things.
Maybe I'm getting accustomed to lower amounts of caffeine, since I don't feel like I have as much foggy-mindedness now. I have a slight craving for coffee, but other than that, my most noticeable symptom has been a very slightly stuffy nose. And the sometimes recurring sore spot on my gums has been OK (actually absent) too.
But, if I'm somewhat hypersensitive to caffeine, then, maybe even the "brief" appetite suppressing effects last longer for me than the average person?
For many years, I often have had trouble with a poor appetite, and often ended up neglecting to eat for unwisely long periods of time. And at times I could scarcely stand to eat anything except yogurt, fruit, some kinds of vegetables, soup, milk, and/or juice (vegetable or fruit), since even the thought of other, more substantial foods was nauseating.
I often have had much more difficulty than the rest of my family making myself eat whatever food is around. And I wasn't just being "precious" or a "diva" or "picky". I think maybe in some ways I'm just a lot more hypersensitive and fragile than average, though fortunately some of that's reduced when I get adequate sleep.
Definitely not in the best mood - I haven't even looked at any XSLT today but I still feel overwhelmed by it, and the mountain of other things I want to do which are likely to take a long time and be very difficult, especially if this foggy, out of it feeling doesn't go away soon.
Oh, well. I'll probably feel better once I make some progress. Even just finishing cleaning my room will probably make me feel better. Didn't attempt that yet, either. But, I still have lots of physical energy. Just didn't feel like doing much of anything besides reading the web.
Anyway, hopefully the longer I can tough this caffeine withdrawal out, the quicker I can fully rid myself of caffeine addiction. And hopefully Vitamin D will help too somehow. At the moment, one of the only reasons I'm staying awake is just so I can get about 10-20 minutes of sun sometime between 10 AM-2 PM.
I found a comforting blog post which says the author's migraines were reduced by 80 or 90 percent perhaps 2 months after giving up caffeine.
I found this web page a bit discouraging, since it says:
[...]
You awake after the greatest sleep of your life, having gone to bed at the appropriate time. This is essential for successful, safe sunbathing, since our ability to repair UV-derived damage depends on a well-functioning circadian rhythm. If you didn’t sleep well or are running on a chronic sleep deficit, you may want to hold off on the sunbathing until you get your sleep in order as your skin won’t recover as well."
So, maybe I shouldn't keep myself awake just to sunbathe. In fact, maybe I shouldn't sunbathe at all (even though, ever since quitting my electric blanket, I have been well-rested lately, despite my perpetually and possibly incurably messed up circadian rhythms). Maybe I'd be better off just taking Vitamin D supplements instead.
But, hopefully it's OK as long as I don't get sunburned. (Addition, Sept. 26, 2016, 4:06 AM. I'm quitting sunbathing
Despite the fact that bright light is supposed to influence your circadian rhythms by waking you up, I still feel tired enough to probably go to sleep pretty soon. So, I probably will - but maybe not, who knows.
I almost dove into that, but, my family was going to watch Marco Polo on Netflix, so I joined them.
Now I'm sleepy again. But I'm feeling very encouraged by feeling so much better, not getting headaches, and not craving caffeine. Didn't expect to feel so much better so soon. Maybe Vitamin D from the sun is actually having good effects on me and my mood, without making me jittery, unlike the Vitamin D supplements. (Addition, Sept. 26, 2016, 4:08 AM. Not sure now how much Vitamin D I actually got from sunbathing at this time of year! And I'm quitting sunbathing
Didn't get sunburned. (I wore no sunscreen, since in addition to often containing harmful chemicals, sunscreen can block the UVB light which causes your skin to produce Vitamin D.) Will soon receive a bikini and beach towel. (Addition, Sept. 26, 2016, 4:09 AM. I'm quitting sunbathing
Started out feeling quite tired, but that went away. But now, I've got a bit of a headache, though not a bad headache so far. So, it looks like my caffeine withdrawal (or PMS?) hasn't been miraculously totally cured by Vitamin D. But, I'm glad to know that such good days are possible for me even while totally doing without caffeine. And who knows, maybe the Vitamin D did have something to do with that.
Very interesting site, with a lot of impressive scientific-looking stuff I'm not particularly qualified to understand, about things like adenosine, etc. I was pleased to see that someone who seems to understand science, biology, and medicine far better than I do had much the same theory as me - that perhaps many headaches are actually caused by caffeine, which is too often overlooked as a possible cause.
I greatly look forward to seeing if quitting caffeine really will leave me headache-free (or mostly headache free). I don't think I ever quit long enough before to find out if that really would cure me. Even if it takes 2 months to greatly reduce my headaches, or 5 months to be rid all symptoms of caffeine withdrawal, I'm really determined to stick with not having any more caffeine. Especially now that I know really good days are probably possible in the quite near future.
Quote:
It should be noted that this represents a very small portion of the total radiation from the sun that reaches the earth's surface. Much is filtered out by our atmosphere. So due to the physics and wavelength of UVB rays it will only penetrate the atmosphere when the sun is above an angle of about 50° from the horizon. When the sun is lower than 50°, the ozone layer reflects the UVB-rays but let through the longer UVA-rays."
See that article for info on how to use that page.
So, luckily, I actually just happened to sunbathe at some of the least-bad times of day available here in Hubbard, Ohio in the past several days. But none of those times were ideal, because when I sunbathed, the sun was always lower than 50° altitude - it ranged from 48.7° to a low of 47.6°.
Oh, well. I'm giving up sunbathing
At least I'll soon be the proud owner of a beach towel.
And here's a magazine article I found on Academia.edu. The mention of 45 degrees is, amusingly enough, found on page 45 of the magazine.
So, maybe my time sunbathing wasn't wasted. But, I'm starting to feel rather put off by reading about things like photo-aging, DNA damage, and so on. Maybe I better just take Vitamin D supplements instead.
Just found this interesting page:
A couple quotes I found particularly interesting:
[...]
I even feel a noticeable amount of extra alertness from a single chocolate bar, and that's not supposed to have much caffeine at all. (Google says 9 mg of caffeine for 1.5 ounces of milk chocolate.)
So, I've been avoiding chocolate too.
Quote:
I wonder if that means somehow increasing my serotonin might help reduce my headaches?
(Addition, Sept. 26, 2016, 5:10 PM EDT. Found a page with some answers:
Quotes:
[,,,]
I knew (and still know) little about serotonin, so, I didn't know it was possible to get too much. I'll try to avoid that.
Personally, I am scarcely at all inclined to try to increase serotonin in any way besides natural ways, such as food that contains serotonin or which causes your body to naturally produce serotonin. Except I am willing to take Vitamin D supplements rather than getting Vitamin D via the sun.
This article about Vitamin D mentions that Vitamin D can help increase the production of serotonin.
Also, I could be wrong, but I'm getting the impression from what I'm reading on the web that Serotonin Syndrome might usually be associated with pharmaceutical medications which tamper with your serotonin levels.
The only medication I ever take is an occasional Advil (ibuprofen) painkiller (and I even try to avoid that). So, I could be wrong, but, I suspect I'm not at much risk of Serotonin Syndrome.
But, since use of pharmaceutical medications is worryingly widespread, I guess a lot of people might be at risk?
End of additions.)
[...]
Over the years, I haven't carefully logged my headaches and their circumstances, but, I sometimes have had the impression that I tend to get headaches more often when I get tired, and that if I can manage to go to sleep despite them, my headaches tend to go away. (Though sometimes they came back within maybe a few hours after waking - but before, perhaps that had to do with my poor sleep quality from my electric blanket and perhaps also from caffeine.)
So, if adenosine contributes to migraines, and sleeping reduces adenosine, I guess that maybe might explain why sleeping sometimes seems to help my headaches?
Quote:
So, who knows, maybe excessive caffeine actually did give me a bit of adrenal fatigue for a while. (And stress made it worse, but above all, I think the worst thing for me was the poor sleep quality which I believe primarily resulted somehow from my electric blanket.)
Quote:
I do believe it might take longer than that for some people, judging by what I've read by some people on the web. And a woman I know who gave up caffeine said it took months to feel normal again. (Meanwhile, a guy I know who gave up caffeine said he had no withdrawal symptoms whatsoever. But that's the guy who almost always seems to do amazingly well with amounts of sleep that would have been totally insufficient for me.)
If I understand that site correctly, the basic theory is that, since caffeine increases people's sensitivity to adenosine, caffeine thereby makes people more headache-prone or migraine-prone. (Sorry if I got that, or anything else, wrong somehow.)
I don't agree with absolutely everything that was on the CaffeineAndMigraine.com site, but, I sure hope some scientists are investigating those ideas, since, from my layperson's perspective, I find many of them quite interesting and plausible-seeming.
Lots of energy until I got rather tired around maybe 1:30 AM. Around maybe 3 AM, I started to feel almost on the verge of a headache, but, that feeling keeps fluctuating, so hopefully I'll avoid an actual headache. I suspect if I went to sleep around when I started feeling tired, I might have avoided that entirely. Probably ought to go to sleep soon.
Didn't clean my room more at all yet. And I still didn't do anything more with XSLT. I might be so stuck I might have to resort to posting questions on the internet. But, I'm probably first going to try reading things like the aforementioned XQuery 1.0 and XPath 2.0 Formal Semantics (Second Edition) and related pages. But not right now.
No headaches so far. Have felt a bit tired, premenstrual, and increasingly spacy the longer I'm awake. But still lots more energy than before quitting my electric blanket. Also haven't been craving caffeine.
Today, I took five Nature Made Vitamin D3 2000 IU and two Nature Made magnesium oxide at the same time, then ate a bit of kale (for Vitamin K). Instead of just getting jittery, I first got more tired, then a bit jittery and more alert, but not as strongly jittery as the times when I took Vitamin D without much magnesium at about the same time. My mood has varied between anxious and good, but some of what I was feeling might have just been from caffeine withdrawal. Next time I take that much Vitamin D, I'll take 3 magnesiums.
Definitely haven't had a difficult time concentrating today, even while jittery or spacy.
But, slept well enough, with better dreams than in the past. No headaches. I felt like I might be close to a headache for a few minutes sometime in the afternoon, but the feeling passed surprisingly quickly. Slight jaw aches.
And, a typical symptom (for me) of PMS - vague and unpainful lower abdomen sensations I call "preliminary cramps". (It's definitely not from bellydancing, because I still have scarcely even tried that yet.)
Also, it seems like I might need more Vitamin C, since my lower left gum sore spot has been coming back a little. (Even before quitting caffeine, that has seemed typical for me when having PMS and the unpleasantness that follows PMS.)
Hopefully my tiredness, etc. will improve a lot after my impending time of the month is over.
I wonder why PMS (and what follows) is so debilitating, and if sufficient Vitamin D might really make it less bad. Perhaps Vitamin D already is helping.
In the past, I had the easiest time getting things done soon after waking, and soon after tea. After my tea wore off, I usually continued with whatever I was working on anyway without having more tea, but it was noticeably more difficult. And anytime I got a headache, I was pretty much useless.
It's really nice not having to deal with all the ups and downs from caffeine. And it's so comforting to know that even if I do get a headache, it might not be very bad, judging by the last headache I got days ago.
The highlights of my day were watching part of a Thor movie on TV, and Impractical Jokers.
Been getting quite tired, but, the reminder of melatonin gave me the idea of doing a Google search for "melatonin adenosine" (without quotes), just to see how those two things might relate to each other. So, I've been staying awake to read.
I found this page very interesting:
Quotes:
But the genetically-mutated zebrafish, which were incapable of producing any melatonin, lost all circadian pattern or rhythmicity to their sleep. Without melatonin, the fish larvae could not maintain circadian cycles of sleep and wakefulness. This was a surprise to researchers, and strongly suggests that melatonin is not just useful and helpful to circadian sleep-wake cycles, but essential to them."
[...]
This phase of their experiment suggests that one function of melatonin may be to help trigger the adenosine build up in the brain that in turn leads to feeling the need for sleep.
These findings also suggest that melatonin may be a bridge between the two powerful systems that govern sleep: the circadian system and the homeostatic sleep system. We know these two systems both exert influence over sleep, and together create our basic 24-hour cycle of a long, consolidated period of sleep followed by an extended period of wakefulness. But science has yet to establish or uncover a direct, concrete link between these two systems. This research offers a lot of new detail about how melatonin actually may work on behalf of sleep, as well as the first evidence of a direct connection between our two sleep systems."
Quote:
I feel a bit silly for not having known already about the "homeostatic sleep system". But, I guess I just have been so preoccupied with things other than my severe sleep issues, and so convinced they're probably incurable, that I just never read in sufficient detail about sleep to stumble across (or notice) that term before.
But in any case, maybe unwittingly tampering with my adenosine and adenosine receptors by consuming caffeine might have caused even more chaos in my sleep patterns than my messed up circadian rhythms alone made me prone to.
But I don't really know exactly what causes my sleep issues or if it's anything to do with being melatonin-deficient, so, I'm just speculating/thinking aloud here.
I sure hope eating foods with lots of melatonin can't mess me up somehow, because walnuts are my favorite nut. Not that I eat them constantly - they're too expensive for me to do that, and besides, I don't have to eat a large amount of them to satisfy me (or for them to possibly make me sleepy).
I tend to avoid eating them until I'm about ready to go to sleep, though if I recall correctly, they don't seem to make me tired when I'm well-rested. And they definitely don't seem to make it impossible for me to resist going to sleep, though perhaps they would if I was absolutely exhausted before eating them.
And neither do dried sour/tart cherries, which I read have a lot more melatonin than walnuts. But I almost wish they had less melatonin, so I'd feel more comfortable eating them more often.
Around maybe 11:30 PM on Sept. 28 and 6 AM on Sept. 29th, took 2 Nature Made magnesium citrates (a total of 4), partly because my jaw aches started to get worse soon before I went to sleep. And now I'm out of magnesium citrate, so, I'm going to be using only Nature Made magnesium oxide from now on, unless/until I try some other kinds of magnesium.
Definitely not eager to try to take Vitamin D daily, because even just one makes me feel jittery. But, if I understand correctly, Vitamin D accumulates in your system rather than passing through it quickly. (This page says "Vitamin D accumulates in fat tissues where it is stored for a few months.") So, I don't think I need to take it daily.
Haven't accomplished much yet today, but, I guess I'll just try to finish cleaning my room. Then, my cat will be able to visit me again.
I'm basically a hoarder, so, I have lots of stuff (or junk) in lots of boxes. (I should probably sell at least some of it.)
As of today, most of the boxes are now in good out of the way positions. About all that remains is for me to sort various loose junk, formerly plastic-bagged junk, and clothes into various zippable pillow protectors. Then, I'll toss those newly-filled bags in the newly-uncluttered corner.
I was quite pleased to find my 3.5mm to RCA cord which lets me plug my laptop's audio into my stereo. So, now I can listen to Clevnet audio books while I clean.
Perhaps I'll be done cleaning in another day or two.
Anyway, I was just reflecting on how it was not only unfortunate but possibly also fortunate that over the past almost 2 years, I mysteriously (until I recently figured out why) got increasingly fatigued, primarily because of starting to use an electric blanket in Nov. 2014, and accidentally increasing my caffeine dosage since Feb. 2016 because my new tea mug was larger than I knew.
If I hadn't resumed using an electric blanket (I also had used one years before that until it broke, but I forgot what years), nor accidentally increased my caffeine dosage, then, it's possible that I might have gotten my life together a lot more in 2015-2016, because I would have had a lot more energy to do it. Though I would likely have still been plagued by caffeine-related symptoms such as headaches, and ups and downs instead of a far more pleasant steady amount of energy, since I probably never would have had sufficient reason to quit caffeine.
But overall, perhaps that might have been a quite good outcome, especially if I somehow succeeded in figuring out how to make an adequate living.
But would it have really been the best outcome? I'm not so sure, because in all the downtime I had, I learned a lot, and came up with some pretty good ideas which I might never have thought of if I had been overly busy with trying to make a living, which very easily could have been a thoroughly time-wasting, hamster-wheel-like pursuit, and I'm not at all sure I ever would have succeeded or thrived.
I don't know if I ever will anyway, but, I feel far better-equipped to do so now than I did back in Nov. 2014. These last 2 years didn't go totally to waste, since I was far from totally stifled in all that time - otherwise I would have tried to do more about my fatigue much sooner. But my decline had been (usually) so subtle and gradual that I originally misattributed it to getting older, or possibly getting diabetes or something.
I wonder if my sleep patterns are becoming a bit more regular than before quitting caffeine. Someday, I need to make some more sleep charts.
My main goal for now is to keep cleaning my room and hopefully get it all done. The only problem is that I might need even more zippable pillow protectors. Which isn't insurmountable - if necessary, I can just toss the remaining junk back in the pile in the corner, similar to how it used to be, but somewhat more organized.
Or I could just use more boxes, which at least are sturdier and less annoying than plastic bags. But for clothes and other light objects like junk mail, I prefer zippable pillow protectors, since they hold more than the now mostly small boxes I have, and I don't have to hold them upright (or tape them shut) to keep things from falling out of them.
This is the nicest corner. I edited the brightness, contrast, saturation, and gamma in mtPaint because the original picture was so dark and didn't really look as nice as it actually looks. However, the below actually looks even nicer than it looks in the real world.
Original Picture without brightness, contrast, saturation, and gamma adjusted with mtPaint
Clearly, I should pursue a career in interior decorating. (Just kidding.)
The wide painting isn't by me, and I don't know who painted it. Astonishingly, it was only $2 - two dollars - from a local live auction!
The smaller, more colorful picture is a Thomas Kinkade print called The Garden of Prayer, and if I recall correctly, it also was just $2 - two dollars. Found it at a local thrift store.
I've only bought a few things like that in my entire life, since I usually didn't have much money, and I don't really have too much physical space for merely decorative things. Most of the others are in the second nicest corner of my room, which I forgot to take a picture of.
I guess most of my excessive stuff is books bought for usually extremely low prices (or given to me). Too many books and only 3 shelves, so most of the books are now in boxes.
Unfortunately, my room is now even less cat-proof than it was. I just have too much junk in precarious stacks, since it turns out the only way I can keep this much stuff in my room without it being intolerable is to try to maximize my use of vertical space.
So, since I'm not yet ready to sell off a lot of stuff, and can't afford to move someplace where I'd have more space, I'm giving up for now on the idea of making it possible again for my cat to visit me in here.
So, I mostly haven't done anything with the junk mountain between my bed and door, even though I now have several more zippable pillow protectors. Maybe I'll just go back to sleep, since even with both my lamps on to make my room as bright as possible, I still feel tired.
I'm not too worried that this might be my old fatigue coming back, because this tiredness is a very typical PMS symptom for me. Also, I still feel better and more energetic than I did before quitting my electric blanket.
Because of the headaches, that was probably my most difficult day since completely stopping caffeine, but I still think it's probably more due to PMS than caffeine withdrawal. But it wasn't that bad - surprisingly, despite my headaches, I made a lot of progress with XSLT.
5 hours of sleep tends not to be enough for me, but, XSLT might keep me awake again. Also, I still need to clean up all this junk in my room.
No headache yet, and also not feeling that tired yet.
Addition, 5:49 PM. On second thought, I probably could go back to sleep at any time. But making progress with something as difficult as XSLT is exciting.
There were numerous other times in all these years when my room was tolerable, but it was never this well-organized before. Recovering from fatigue certainly hasn't "cured" my hoarding (which I don't consider much of a problem anyway, compared to my lack of space and lack of enough money).
But at least my hoarding is much more manageable now that I have the energy and inclination to deal with all this junk.
No headaches so far, but, too tired to continue cleaning, so, maybe I'll get it done in another day or two.
Been varying between a bit tired and very tired, but, at times, I have been plenty more energetic than I'd expect to feel at my time of the month - especially the 1st day, which reliably tends to be worse than the other days. And, no headaches.
But, I mostly haven't felt like doing much of anything besides watching TV and reading books, or going back to sleep. Probably should have gone back to sleep, but there were too many things I wanted to read and watch.
This wasn't as difficult as my headachy day, but at times it was the closest I've felt to being back to my old fatigue. Which is quite typical for my time of the month, so, I doubt it's my old fatigue coming back, and I look forward to probably recovering soon.
But, I'm still not in the mood to do much of anything, and going back to sleep doesn't seem out of the question either. Read a bit, wrote a bit, but didn't accomplish much at all today.
I took 2 Nature Made magnesium oxides before sleep, which I think helped me sleep longer and better than the other days (when I neglected to take any magnesium, and didn't have walnuts either).
Definitely feeling better than yesterday, but, as usual, I'll be very glad when this monthly nonsense is over.
Even such a short nap helped with my tiredness and mood. Still have only felt like reading rather than putting away my small mountain of still-disorganized junk, but I'm sure I'll get around to that eventually.
Maybe I'll nap some more. During my time of the month, I sometimes wish I could just sleep for about 5 days straight until it's over. :-)
I'm so glad I don't have a job and/or school, because those would definitely be harder to do now, even if I didn't also have severe sleep issues.
Hopefully someday the USA will have menstrual leave in some sensibly-implemented form. Or better yet, hopefully someday people won't need to have jobs or money to be able to have pleasant lives. Maybe technology will make that possible someday. A Star Trek-style replicator would be so wonderful and could end world poverty, hunger, etc.
Still feeling rather tired after all that sleep. I sure hope this all goes away when my period is over, since I am getting afraid of my old fatigue coming back. But for now I'll just assume that my period is to blame. And maybe my caffeine withdrawal is worsening? I don't think I've had any since Sept. 22nd. But I haven't craved caffeine ever since the last time I mentioned not craving it (early Sept. 28).
Addition, Oct. 6, 2016, 12:11 AM EDT. I also have that very bothersome foggy-minded, out of it feeling I haven't had in a while. But, I think I might have the energy to finish cleaning my room today. Not having to climb over a small junk mountain to get in and out of my room (or bed), and having an easier time finding stuff, will definitely reduce some stress, save some time, and improve my life.
Addition, 12:54 AM EDT. Definitely not as tired as my old fatigue. But maybe sleeping even longer would be a good idea. Still not really in the mood to clean.
But, fortunately, today, I remembered we have corn on the cob, which is surprisingly quick and easy to make using the microwave. To make it, all I had to do was peel off the husk, wash the corn, put it on a plate, microwave it for a minute or so, put butter and salt on it, then eat it. Quite good.
Ran out of both zippable pillow protectors and patience, and kept losing already-labeled zippered pillow protectors in the mess, so I mostly stopped trying to sort things and just divided the junk into bags of clothes and non-clothes. Still didn't put all that stuff in the corner yet, but now I can actually walk between my door and bed.
And I can once again sit (and spin) in my office chair, and even travel a bit around my room in it.
Now, with that pretty much done, I can return to more important things, like bellydancing and XSLT.
Very sleepy now (but not until I started writing this). But no headaches (though a few hours ago I felt like I got close), and my aforementioned foggy-minded, out-of-it feeling went away a long time ago.
Today, slept sometime between 6:10 AM and 1:12 PM. Other than an odd cramp in my neck, I feel fine. (Except a bit tired because dog barking woke me up earlier than I naturally would have woken up.) And my time of the month is almost over.
I think I'm convinced now that probably my fatigue is resolved (or well on its way to resolving), and not likely to recur (except slightly around my time of the month). And I'm not sure how much caffeine withdrawal is affecting me anymore. So, I don't know if I have much more to add to this blog post. I guess I might still add to it a bit, but probably less frequently.
I'm going to just keep taking it easy and avoiding unnecessary stress.
Not much else to say, I guess. My next top goal is to finish the XSLT project I've been working on from time to time since August. That will help pave the way for many of my other projects.
I often haven't been sleeping as well as I should, but, I've still been doing much better compared to before quitting my electric blanket (and compared to my time of the month). Even when insufficiently rested, I have usually had much more energy than before.
Maybe Nature Made magnesium citrate (which I ran out of) actually does work better for me than Nature Made magnesium oxide to make me more relaxed and able to sleep better. Or maybe I just need more magnesium than I used to for some reason.
Have avoided headaches, though at times I got close. I've sometimes been having the problem of sometimes repeatedly waking up very thirsty.
But, I think I have a better appetite now that I quit caffeine, even though I still need to eat better. And it's also helpful that, thanks to cleaning and rearranging my room, I can once again run my box fan to block noise while I sleep.
And I've still mostly been avoiding my public email and mostly haven't been maintaining my forums. So, sorry if anyone wrote and is awaiting a reply or something.
I just still don't feel up to dealing with a lot of stuff, other than my software projects.
Still going to keep avoiding stress for a while. But fortunately for my software projects - though I often find programming difficult (especially XSLT), I don't find it stressful. Compared to stressful things I'd rather avoid, programming is relaxing. It's also a lot more satisfying than leisure activities that accomplish little beyond momentarily amusing me, and which don't give me so much hope for a better future.
Been sort of tired (but still not as bad as before quitting my electric blanket). But, I think maybe that's largely related to my poor eating habits - habitually neglecting to eat enough (especially if nothing available appeals much to me), and usually avoiding going to the trouble to prepare any food that is too time-consuming or elaborate to make.
I think maybe caffeine used to veil the true impact of my poor eating habits, by making me artificially feel energetic despite eating poorly. So, now that I'm not having any caffeine, now I'm more easily able to observe fluctuations in my energy levels from eating or not eating.
I think I was doing better before I ran out of goldfish crackers. Going to get more soon.
I sure wish I had a robot chef, but I'd want one which is free (as in freedom), libre, and open source.
Yesterday, I didn't constantly feel bad, but I had moments where I felt nauseated, and I was often tired and sometimes had that foggy-minded, out of it feeling again. Sometimes I wondered if I was fighting off a cold, or if I still had caffeine withdrawal, or something else. Or just poor nutrition in general.
I think the best I felt yesterday was a little while after I first woke up around 8:16 AM, after I drank some water.
I keep waking up very thirsty and sometimes with a slightly stuffy nose. And it sometimes seems like I need extra Vitamin C later in my day to make the sore spot on my lower left gum go away.
I think I also do better when I don't skip Teeccino. I was running low on honey for a while, so I drank Teeccino less frequently to try to avoid running out of honey. But today I got more honey, so I was able to return to my daily routine of having one mug of pumpkin spice Teeccino soon after I wake up.
And, now I have goldfish crackers again. I find it comforting to have them around, since, unlike many foods, they're not something I have to struggle to make myself eat. I actually have been craving them and their saltiness. So, maybe now I'll sleep better as a result of not going for so many hours eating hardly anything.
Quite possibly one reason I wake up so thirsty is because of not drinking that much before sleep because I don't want my sleep interfered with by needing to go to the bathroom. But then my sleep gets interfered with by thirst. :-/
So, maybe that's part of why I crave salty goldfish crackers so much and why I seem to feel significantly better after eating them.
I sure hope I'm really recovering from my fatigue. Maybe sometime I should really start bellydancing or otherwise exercising.
It seems like I have more pleasant dreams when I sleep better. I almost never have flying dreams, and when I do, they're usually scary (and not really flying), like a car flying off a cliff. But today, I dreamed I and a few classmates were flying by holding onto ropes (or sitting in seats hanging by ropes) hanging off of a giant bird. I was a bit scared the first time, but the second time, I was totally calm and just enjoyed the beautiful scenery far below (castles and greenery), even though I had no way to control where the bird was taking us. But it was somehow a perfectly safe and reliable method of transportation for our school.
I had a very gentle landing at the edge of a forest, and it might not even have been necessary for me to grab onto a tree branch to make sure it was a gentle landing. Then, to my nastier classmates' amusement, I accidentally stepped in a massive pile of dinosaur droppings, and consequently had to go clothes shopping, but fortunately, there was a Goodwill thrift store nearby and I had enough money to buy whatever I wanted.
I also had another nice dream today before that, but don't want to go into detail. Nice but not perfect, similar to the other dream.
I still woke up thirsty at times, and also either too hot or too cold. But so far I feel pretty good.
I think quite possibly I really have had the problem of adrenal fatigue-related electrolyte imbalance, since I felt (and slept) so much better so soon after resuming eating my current favorite salty snack, goldfish crackers. And also haven't had the frequent urination problem.
Still, didn't get much done - mostly just talked with relatives and watched TV together, and cooked a shared meal of microwaved mashed potatoes, since I had the energy to do so. And, in the evening, had to fix a glitch with my websites, which kept me awake a bit longer than I otherwise might have stayed awake.
I have a bit of a headache now, perhaps partly because of staying up. And maybe partly because I might need to drink more liquids in general. And perhaps partly because I might actually be getting an actual cold. Not sure, though.
But today, my nose got slightly stuffy while I was watching TV, which was unusual since lately I usually have only had that problem at times when sleeping. So, I took 2 more Vitamin C's a few hours ago in case that might help.
I guess I better keep taking it easy and avoiding stress.
I think this probably is a cold rather than merely caffeine withdrawal symptoms. So, I guess I probably ought to go back to sleep whenever I feel capable of doing so. Interestingly, I feel like I have quite a bit of energy, despite this possible cold. Energy-wise, at the moment, I'm definitely still doing better than I was before quitting my electric blanket.
But I feel out of sorts, my gum's sore spot has been acting up a lot lately (which I suspect means I need even more Vitamin C), and the worst part is the headache, though I don't think it's as bad as a lot of my former headaches.
For all this time, I've been drinking plain water when I wake up during my "night" or in my "morning", even though for my entire life, I usually found plain water to be one of the least appealing of all beverages (though it's more tolerable if it's ice cold), and I doubt I ever even got close to drinking 8 glasses of water a day. (But this NYTimes.com article says the idea that people need to drink 8 glasses of water a day is a myth. So, in that case, it's likely good I never made much of an effort to drink so much.)
Never thought of adding a little salt to my water, but I definitely like that idea and will try that soon.
I added a couple small raw garlic cloves to the mashed potatoes I'm eating as I write this, since someone I know has recounted various stories of garlic being amazingly good for quickly getting rid of various infections and illnesses, and I've also read various good things about garlic on the web, like this article.
I should probably start eating garlic more often. I just need to more frequently eat food which garlic tastes good in, since it would be pretty unpleasant to eat by itself. Pasta would be especially good.
Ooh, that reminds me of this idea I forgot about - Oatmeal: A Decent Substitute for Pasta.
Slept better this time. Didn't wake up as thirsty, and no stuffy or runny nose. I do think slightly salted water is better for me. For me, it only takes a tiny amount of salt to change the taste. I'm not sure exactly how much water I had in my glass, but, I put in only 2/64ths of a teaspoon of salt, then ended up diluting it with slightly more water to make it less salty.
Yesterday, feasted upon another great salty snack - croutons. I meant to eat them on a salad, but I ended up eating a bunch of them straight out of the bag. They always were one of my favorite parts of a salad. Rather than embellishing a salad with croutons, I probably ought to embellish my croutons with salad.
Feeling pretty good now, but I'm going to keep taking extra Vitamin C and try to work some more raw garlic cloves into my food, and won't hesitate to go back to sleep if I feel like it.
Just not sure yet what other Omega 3 I should switch to. I wish salmon (which is high in Omega 3) was a fruit or vegetable. I miss salmon and other fish so much sometimes. Even though I wish I could be vegetarian, I'd be extremely tempted to eat fish if I wasn't afraid of mercury and other pollution.
I wonder if maybe my second-worst problem after my electric blanket was my possible adrenal fatigue-related electrolyte imbalance? I'm so glad I stumbled across that idea, since now I have more specific ways to try to make myself feel better than my former somewhat vague (though sensible enough) solution, "eat more often and more nutritiously". Ways such as eating salty food, drinking slightly salted water, and eating foods containing potassium. So far, that really seems to help me.
Maybe it would also be good for me to regularly take more than just two 500 mg Vitamin C's per day, and eat raw garlic cloves more frequently.
I'm amazed at how much better I'm doing, since I looked up how long recovery from adrenal fatigue can take and it ranged from less than 6 months to 18 months - a year and a half.
But, I guess fixing my possibly adrenal fatigue-related electrolyte imbalance, and eating better in general, may have done wonders for my sleep quality. And/or, I fought off my mild possible cold.
At the moment, I don't feel like it's going to take 6 months for me to recover from adrenal fatigue, and/or whatever remains of my caffeine withdrawal. Still, I doubt it's a good idea to push myself too hard, so, I'm going to keep avoiding stressful things.
Mostly, Clevnet books kept me awake, so I didn't go back to sleep until sometime after 6:19 PM, then slept until about midnight. Woke up a bit thirsty with a slightly stuffy left nostril, which cleared up after drinking some unsalted water. (I recently was too lazy to prepare a glass of salted water.)
I don't think my stuffy nose is always a cold symptom, and I don't really feel like my possible cold is coming back. But, I guess I can't slack off too much anymore with managing my possible adrenal fatigue-related electrolyte imbalance (which until recently I didn't even realize would help me so much), and I should maybe try a bit harder to not neglect to eat.
I feel like I could maybe go back to sleep soon, though my energy is still tremendously better than before quitting my electric blanket. And overall lately, I've felt far more clear-minded, instead of foggy-minded and overwhelmed by stuff like XSLT. Even just thinking feels much easier now that I'm not so fatigued. But also, I'm probably just getting more used to XSLT.
Addition, 1:25 AM EDT. At the moment, judging by various typos, I am a bit absentminded. And I definitely feel like going back to sleep.
I didn't make up too well for my recently poor eating habits. I had my usual Ovega 3 and Vitamin C that I pretty consistently take in my "morning". But, I lazily actually only ate a bunch of goldfish crackers! And, at various times, drank water (mostly unsalted) or cow's milk. At least all that definitely seemed to give me more energy and made me more inclined to stay awake.
I now have some slightly salted water ready to drink. Since waking, I've still only been eating goldfish crackers so far. Meant to sleep longer than around one and a half hours, and felt more capable of going to sleep before eating, but now, I think I might stay awake for at least a little while.
I haven't taken Nature Made magnesium citrate since Oct. 17th, and my jaw aches seem to be coming back a bit now, so, I guess I ought to resume taking magnesium, especially since magnesium often seems to make me tired and seems to help my sleep quality. I guess most of the reason I've been neglecting it is because when I get tired, I get less inclined to do even simple things like taking vitamins, and I prefer to take magnesium toward the end of my day because it seems like it can make me tired.
Things aren't entirely different, though - it seems caffeine is definitely not the only thing to blame for my disinterest in food. (But I already thought that.) And quitting caffeine also hasn't magically cured my possible Non-24-hour Sleep-Wake Disorder. (No surprise there.)
But it does seem like my headaches are now reduced, and I think the few I got were overall less bad than my former headaches. And I really like having more steady, consistent energy rather than a temporary high from caffeine, then a low partway through my day when the caffeine wears off.
And my good days are now much better than any of my days before quitting my electric blanket and caffeine, and the not-so-good days are also better. So, already (and especially since Sept. 10th/11th, the first night I slept without my electric blanket), it was definitely worth going to all this trouble to quit my electric blanket and caffeine.
It's so nice to know that really good, untired days are possible for me when I take better care of myself. (And I don't even have to try very hard to achieve that. Even idly eating goldfish crackers makes a good difference for me, though of course that alone doesn't make for a perfect day.) And even when I'm not having one of those really good days, I still feel overall better than I did before quitting my electric blanket and caffeine.
Had pumpkin spice Teeccino, and even felt like making a package of sweet and sour chicken, despite the fact that it wasn't microwaveable, and had to be cooked for 20 minutes in the oven.
Definitely have been sleepy and not at my best today, but, I still feel like I'm functioning amazingly well compared to the past. In the past, I never noticed food being so energizing to me (though even lately, sometimes it makes me tired, like now).
Previously, eating ordinary non-caffeinated food mainly only had effects on me like reducing hunger, making me feel better both physically and emotionally, sometimes easing headaches, and making it easier for me to sleep whether or not it actually made me tired soon after eating (and it sometimes did). Previously, only caffeine (whether coffee, tea, or chocolate) provided me an energy boost I found noticeable.
So, food sometimes actually making me feel more energized and awake (even if I start out tired) is an interesting and nice change. And I have the impression now that I'm probably going to sleep much better soon.
I wonder if fixing my possibly adrenal fatigue-related electrolyte imbalance possibly helps my body generate more melatonin. (Not in the mood to google for info right now.) At the moment, I have the kind of tiredness that I tend to get within about a half hour of eating some walnuts (which are reputed to contain a lot of melatonin). But I didn't eat any walnuts today, and maybe none since Oct. 11th. Didn't even have magnesium yet.
So, I guess I should probably go to sleep soon.
Not much else to say, I guess. I don't know if anything really notable will happen or if I'll make any interesting new (or new to me) discoveries worth writing about, so, I might add to this less frequently in the future.
I think now I'm probably on the road to recovery, as long as I keep taking care of my nutrition and my possibly adrenal fatigue-related electrolyte imbalance.
On Oct. 23rd, slept sometime between 6:45 AM and 3:21 PM, and only woke up that early because of some noise outside which I could hear because I left my box fan off.
On Oct. 24th, slept sometime between 4:13 AM and 1:25 PM, and again because I left my box fan off, I was woken up by our dog barking. That day and the next, I finally gave in and ate some chocolate hazelnut Piroulines someone gave me a few weeks ago because he didn't realize I was trying to avoid chocolate as well as tea and coffee. Only noticed a slight caffeine-like energizing effect which lasted maybe a couple hours, and also a bit of jitteriness. But I don't think eating them caused me any actual problems, which makes me glad, since I definitely don't want to give up chocolate for the rest of my life.
On Oct. 25th, slept sometime between 7:07 AM and 1:57 PM. And on Oct. 26th, slept sometime between 4:54 AM and 11:14 AM, and 1:28 PM and 5:23 PM.
Mostly been continuing to read lots of Clevnet books, and sometimes have been messing with my XSLT project. I was surprised Clevnet had any XSLT books at all, but happily, there's one - the aforementioned XSLT for Dummies, which definitely helped me a lot.
Recently, I was very pleased to find that there's a generously large sample of XSLT 2.0 and XPath 2.0 Programmer's Reference - 279 pages (at least in my web browser) even when using the smallest font size. It looks like a really useful, wonderful book, and I hope Clevnet will acquire it.
I got through about 42 minutes, then got distracted by some books. It's definitely more difficult than it looks, but, reassuringly, the instructor emphasized that a lot of those moves take a lot of practice to get right.
It was surprisingly tiring, but fun enough. It will probably be more fun when I get better at it, and also when I get some appropriate attire, and lose a little weight. Though, for someone who gets hardly any exercise, I still look pretty good.
I think the exercise put me in an overall better mood, and a few hours later, I feel more energetic than before. I even feel like I'm getting more ideas for my various projects, and more motivation to actually implement them. So, I'm definitely interested in continuing to study bellydancing.
But, I feel energetic and overall good. Today, I made a pot of hard-boiled eggs (mostly so they wouldn't go to waste, since they were past their sell-by date), and two pumpkin pies, since we happened to have all the ingredients.
Soon, I'll be getting a physical copy of XSLT 2.0 and XPath 2.0 Programmer's Reference. Hopefully studying that will make it possible for me to complete my XSLT project, or to build it better than I would have without studying that book.
And, today I feel more flexible and even like it's a bit easier to navigate around some of the still-obstructed (or newly-obstructed) areas of my room.
Maybe I'll eat more protein (especially before exercise) to try to encourage my body to produce and maintain a bit more muscle, which (if I recall correctly) uses up more calories than other types of cells.
Rather than fiddling with my meal timing and portion sizes, I'd rather just exercise more.
Maybe I need to be really strict about taking all my vitamins - probably shouldn't have skipped magnesium and Nature Made Stress B.
I guess I feel energetic enough, but emotionally, this was at first a pretty bad, sad day, even though nothing happened that was bad enough to really justify such an emotional response. So, maybe it's just PMS.
Hopefully these two books will help:
Something that already helped was setting up my mirror in preparation to bellydance, and seeing that bellydancing already appears to have done me a bit of good. I'm actually a bit surprised, since it didn't feel like that strenuous of an exercise.
Definitely nice to know that my physique isn't hopelessly at the mercy of my recent goldfish cracker binges. :-)
So far, I actually like it. It's really easy to concentrate on reading while standing, fidgeting, sometimes dancing (which is particularly fun with my own music collection), and also doing more mindless exercises like squats. Whenever I get tired of it, I can sit on my office chair, or even my bed.
Anyway, in Is It Me or My Hormones?, adrenal-related stuff is mentioned, and I found the author actually wrote another book called Is It Me or My Adrenals?: Your Proven 30-Day Plan for Overcoming Adrenal Fatigue and Feeling Fantastic Again, which isn't available on Clevnet.
It's interesting that this stuff is all connected. And also sad that PMS and related problems are so common, and it sounds like a lot of women have it much worse than I do. Anyway, hopefully this book will have some good solutions. Definitely interested in reading the rest of the book, and also the Happy Hormones book.
It would be so nice to find to a way to cure all or most of my menstrual symptoms. At least I haven't gotten a headache lately.
But, after maybe a half hour, I started getting a bit tired, cold, and my nose got a bit runny and my gum's sore spot acted up again, so I stopped, and took some additional Vitamin C from time to time. I think maybe I had another mild cold, but I'm feeling better now.
I forgot to mention before that my relatives also had slight cold symptoms too back around when I felt most beleaguered by cold symptoms a couple weeks ago, so I'm now pretty sure what I had back then was a cold rather than caffeine withdrawal symptoms.
Definitely still interested in reading them all, particularly the ones about hormones, since menstrual issues have been a problem for me ever since my cycle first began. I'm not even sure how old I was - anywhere from 11 to 13, I guess, so, that's around 22 to 24 years of roughly monthly afflictions. In comparison, adrenal fatigue is a relatively new possible problem for me.
But I'm sure resolving my hormonal issues will probably help my possible adrenal issues, and vice versa, since those books said hormonal issues and adrenal issues are very related.
Alas, I never was able to figure out what caused that unusually not-so-unpleasant period, so I was never able to replicate that. I think at the time I thought maybe it was somehow related to me recently eating yams (sweet potatoes), but when I tried that again soon before or during other periods, it didn't fix my problems.
My time of the month was never so bad that I felt really inspired to carefully investigate what I could do to alleviate it other than taking painkillers, so I always just tolerated it.
But, now that I'm possibly in the middle of recovering from adrenal fatigue, I'd especially like to learn how to avoid another period-induced slump, if possible.
It definitely feels much easier to think and concentrate lately. I can't wait to get my copy of XSLT 2.0 and XPath 2.0 Programmer's Reference.
Slept better on Oct. 30th, sometime between 2:44 PM and 11:04 PM, and I feel much better than yesterday.
On Nov. 1st/2nd, slept sometime between 7:28 PM and 1:58 AM. Had some slight congestion both before and after sleeping. But, felt well-rested enough, though not really in the mood to exercise. Started to get a bit tired around 8:30 AM, but overall was in a good mood, even though I was feeling more and more menstrual. Didn't get a headache on Nov. 2nd, though I got close.
On Nov. 2nd, slept sometime between 3:55 PM and 11:00 PM. Nov. 3rd was my worst day recently - cramps, a headache, and my gum's sore spot acting up (which Vitamin C and eating better helped with). Probably my cycle is going to start very soon. Also had sometimes been sneezing and coughing, so, maybe I still have a slight cold. Wasn't really in the mood to exercise, but was still a lot more energetic than I was before quitting my electric blanket.
On Nov. 3rd/4th, slept sometime between 9:28 PM and 3:20 AM. Didn't wake up congested, but I was pretty thirsty and have had a slight headache (but no cramps), and haven't felt like doing much of anything today besides reading, trying to go back to sleep, and updating this blog post. So... I'm definitely back in a slump again, though still better off than before quitting my electric blanket.
A symptom I hadn't had before (which I first got on Nov. 3rd) was an odd cramp in my back. Taking off my bra helped a lot with that. And avoiding lying on my side while I use my computers. Fortunately, it hasn't come back yet today.
Was in a quite bad mood on Nov. 1st when I was stuck struggling to make my web browser add-on work, but by (or on) Nov. 2nd, I got it working well and pretty close to done, which put me in a quite good mood.
Misrecalled the date of my last cycle, and thought my cycle might start later, so, I mistakenly thought I had more time than I actually did to read the books on hormones before my monthly malaise began. Guess I ought to hurry up and read them, though at times (particularly yesterday) I was tempted to rush to release my web browser add-on.
On Nov. 5th, slept sometime between 12:03 AM and 4:50 AM. All day felt close to my cycle starting, but, I think maybe it got delayed by stress.
I rarely mind when my cycle gets delayed, even though it's always nice to know I'm not pregnant. But a welcome side effect of a delay is that my worst symptoms like cramps and headaches tend to go away. I didn't feel totally back to normal, but much better. But started to get a bit congested with a slightly runny nose the more tired I got. Not sure if I had (or have) a lingering cold or what. I guess that could be another thing interfering with my cycle.
On Nov. 6th, slept sometime between 1:09 AM EDT and 7:08 AM EST. Was feeling especially menstrual in the hours after I woke up, but that faded. Still wasn't at my best, but still much better than before quitting my electric blanket.
These past few days, I mostly have just been reading books other than the books I intended to read, browsing the web, and (unusually for me) watching a lot of political TV with my family. Made various notes related to my programming projects but did little actual programming. Also wrote a blog post on political topics, but didn't have the nerve to actually post it. Even just trying to decide whether or not to post it stressed me out so much that that might be part of what delayed my cycle.
So, I finally decided totally against posting it, since if even just thinking about posting it stressed me out that much, it probably would've been way too stressful for me to deal with actually posting it, especially while I'm still recovering from possible adrenal fatigue. Though I've never been really good at dealing with stress even when I didn't have possible adrenal fatigue.
On the other hand, I should probably give myself a bit more credit, because if I couldn't handle stress at all, then, years ago, my chronic sleep deprivation from my severe sleep issues would have prevented me from getting excellent grades in school on tests and in some classes, and I wouldn't have been able to do such a good job at the only job I stayed with long-term (Nov. 2002-Jan. 2004) that my employer said I did the work of 3 people. And I wasn't even taking Vitamin C (the "Stress Buster") back in those days.
So far, definitely not in the mood to do much of anything today. Just going to take it easy, relax (which doesn't necessarily exclude working on my programming projects, which I find relaxing), and await my recovery from my monthly malaise.
I'm very glad to finally have my physical copy of XSLT 2.0 and XPath 2.0 Programmer's Reference. It's a nice, sturdy hardcover with 1316 pages, and I'm sure it will be tremendously useful when I return to my XSLT project.
Not much to add. Had headaches at times, which might be related to eating a bit too much chocolate for too many days in a row. Or else related to my monthly malaise. Fortunately, that ended yesterday, which made me feel much better regardless of anything going on in the world.
However, I'm still going to stay off of political topics, not because I have no opinions, but because it would still probably be too stressful for me to say anything.
I think Vitamin C (the "Stress Buster") has been helping me a lot, but, I still don't want to push myself too hard.
Lately, got re-interested in compiling PHP, PHP-GTK, etc. for use in Lighthouse 64 Puppy Linux 6.02 Beta 2. Hopefully that will help me get the increasing disorganization on my laptop under control, by making it possible for me to work on (and use) Astroblahhh Desktop, and return to renovating my Puppy Linux Setup Kit. And then I'll also be able to use Saxon/C (and hence, XSLT 2.0) on my laptop instead of only my desktop computer.
At some point (not sure when) I'll do the last boring things I need to do to make my web browser add-on releasable.
But today, I woke up without congestion. I momentarily had what felt like a strong menstrual cramp (which seems unusual since I don't usually get cramps very much after the 1st day of my cycle), but perhaps it's only from practicing bellydancing yesterday.
Hadn't been bellydancing that much lately, but I still feel stronger and more flexible than I was before I started, and I definitely enjoy it enough to stick with it a lot more than boring exercises. It's even more fun while wearing amusing outfits like body stockings. :-)
Still been drinking slightly salted water to deal with my possible adrenal fatigue-related electrolyte imbalance. Definitely makes water taste better to me. Now, I'm repelled by the taste of water without salt. (Actually, for my whole life, I very seldom really liked plain water.)
I think I'm going to go back to avoiding chocolate, at least for a while, in case that had anything to do with my headaches.
Overall, feeling much better, though I wonder why my mild cold symptoms lingered so long. Forgot to try eating garlic.
At first I had some energy, but, at some point this turned into another sluggish day, and I probably should have just gone back to sleep, but mostly didn't. Watched TV, read, listened to an audio book and very briefly fell asleep during it, around 5 to 5:15 PM. Got a bit of congestion again later in the evening.
Glanced at a bunch more hormone books from Clevnet. Too tired to comment much, but, I was amused by the title This Gland Is Your Gland: Your Hormones. :-)
I think I better strictly avoid all chocolate for a long time, since maybe it's overstimulating for my possibly still fatigued adrenals, and I wasn't having so much trouble with headaches until after I started eating chocolate again.
I'll miss it a bit, but, I like avoiding headaches more than I like any of the caffeinated treats I've quit. And non-caffeinated treats such as pumpkin spice Teeccino, pumpkin pie, pumpkin donuts, etc. are a far more than adequate substitute, at least for me.
Addition, Nov. 15, 2016, 2:35 AM EST. Another day spent on books and TV. And an audio book, which I only got because there wasn't an ebook copy available on Clevnet - The Hormone Secret.
I usually prefer to avoid audio books since skimming visually is faster. But, at least Clevnet lets you increase the speed. And it's easier to avoid getting distracted, since I tend to just close my eyes and listen, which makes me less prone to start doing other things, like wandering around the web.
I still didn't get far in the audio book yet, but, I learned a bit, and now think that boosting my testosterone might help me.
Also, interestingly, that audio book mentioned that Vitamin D is a hormone rather than a vitamin. Which reminded me, I haven't taken Vitamin D in a while (probably none since I last mentioned it), so I might try that again too.
I vaguely remember Vitamin D seemed like it might have helped my gum's sore spot too, so that's another reason I'm interested in resuming Vitamin D.
Took my usual "morning" vitamins - one 500mg Ovega 3, two 500mg Rite-Aid Vitamin C.
Also took 5 Nature Made Vitamin D3 2000 IU. Plus two Nature Made magnesium citrate (which add up to 250 mg, since it's 2 capsules per serving), to try to avoid Vitamin D possibly making me jittery.
Also will eat some kale salad for Vitamin K, and keep drinking cow's milk for calcium, since I read before that magnesium, Vitamin D3, Vitamin K2, and calcium "work synergistically with one another".
And will try harder not to forget Nature Made Stress B. The Hormone Secret audio book said Vitamins B, C, and D might all help with testosterone. I definitely feel better and also less headache-prone when I take Nature Made Stress B.
Until listening to The Hormone Secret audio book, I didn't realize testosterone was so beneficial even to women and that women can actually be deficient in it. Too bad it would take several hours for me to get through the rest of the audio book, even playing it at 1.5x speed. It would be about 5 1/2 hours at normal speed. It seems like a good book so I'm actually tempted, but perhaps I should move on to books I can just read instead.
I really hope I can figure out how to consistently feel fine. I think eating chocolate at all was a mistake. Maybe even that was part of what delayed my cycle.
Another interesting thing The Hormone Secret audio book mentioned was that women are having hormone problems much younger in life nowadays due to most people's lives being more stressful, and more exposure to chemicals like pesticides (if I recall correctly).
In retrospect, it's pretty clear I've had hormonal problems ever since I was a teenager. I wonder if and how they relate to my severe sleep issues.
Another thing I might try is avoiding or decreasing high-glycemic-index foods including (but not limited to) sugar, since maybe my body will have an easier time generating the appropriate hormones if it's not so busy generating insulin to deal with sugary and/or other high-glycemic-index foods.
I feel better than I did earlier, but almost like I could go back to sleep. Maybe I should. Or I guess I might as well continue listening to the (or an) audio book, since doing that while tired is easier than reading.
I guess eating all that chocolate might have worsened (or brought back) my caffeine withdrawal. Won't make that mistake again.
Additions, 5:01 PM/5:03/5:28 PM EST. I think I'm going to give up on most of my already rather minimal efforts to be vegetarian until my health improves. So, maybe I'll even try a non-vegetarian fish oil Omega 3 at some point, if I can find one that I can trust is free of mercury, radiation, and other pollution.
On the other hand, worrying about pollutants might stress me out more than fish oil might help me, so maybe I won't take fish oil.
Just took two more Nature Made magnesium citrates. I wonder if having four of those in my "morning" would have kept the Vitamin D jitters away all day?
I wonder if maybe part of my problem lately had been, my body's Vitamin D reserves recently finally started getting low, after perhaps several weeks when they had been adequate (or at least, far better than usual) thanks to the large amounts of Vitamin D I took in September, and perhaps even my sunbathing back in September. (Though I still don't think I want to sunbathe again - explanation here.)
Good thing The Hormone Secret audio book reminded me of Vitamin D. I think Vitamin D really does make an overall good difference for me, and quite possibly is part of why I have the impression that I might have been doing better overall in October than most of November until now.
Too bad taking Nature Made Vitamin D3 2000 IU seems to make me jittery even if I only take 1. So, it's definitely not something I want to take daily. I'll just have to experiment with different brands, amounts, timing (once a week, or even less often?), and amounts of magnesium and other nutrients to have along with the Vitamin D.
I tried having unsweetened pumpkin spice Teeccino. Unlike unsweetened tea or coffee, I found it pretty close to drinkable, but ended up putting in about two spoonfuls of raw organic honey without any sucanat. Was definitely still excellent.
Though surprisingly, even my half and half has sugars - one brand I use has 2g of sugars per two tablespoons, and the brand I usually use has 1g of sugars per two tablespoons. Hopefully that's not a lot. In any case, I don't think I can give up half and half. Though actually, I forgot to even try my Teeccino without half and half. Guess I'll try that tomorrow, though I doubt I'll like it.
But I feel so much better now. I think Vitamin D is helping me get back on track.
Didn't take any more magnesium, but gradually got calmer, and I think probably the Vitamin D jitters have worn off completely by now. I feel capable of going to sleep soon. The old frequent urination problem has come back, though.
I'm guessing the Vitamin D jitters aren't so good for my adrenals. But, other than that, I think Vitamin D is very helpful to me. Lately, before taking Vitamin D, I had to take Vitamin C much more often than in the past to get rid of my gum's sore spot, but after taking Vitamin D, my gum's sore spot felt better even though I didn't keep taking Vitamin C every several hours today.
So, figuring out how to take Vitamin D without having to go through the ordeal of jitters definitely seems a worthwhile pursuit.
Feeling fine now, even though sleeping longer probably would have been better. Maybe magnesium before sleep would've helped me do that.
Now that I feel better, I'd rather focus on other things than health-related stuff, even though I probably ought to read more health-related stuff, and maybe I will. Not really in the mood to write much, so, guess that's all I have to say for now.
Still not in the mood to write much. I'd rather make more progress with my projects that all this health stuff has often distracted me from.
Don't know if that cereal I've been eating from time to time since several months ago always had sucralose, or if the sucralose was recently added. But it sure gave me a fright several hours ago when I finally noticed sucralose in the ingredients list.
That fright probably wasn't good for my adrenals. But, at the moment, I feel largely OK, perhaps because after that horrible discovery, I took a lot of extra Vitamin C (the "Stress Buster").
And, even though I probably should have waited until I was more calm and relaxed, I also tried a different brand of Vitamin D3 - Walgreens Vitamin D3 Bone Health 2000 IU Softgels. I took just 1, and so far, I haven't felt jittery. So maybe I'm just allergic to something in Nature Made Vitamin D3 2000 IU.
But overall, I think I'm doing much better - for a while I felt a lot more energetic today, and maybe the situation with my hormones is improving too, judging by my increased amorous interest. Except now I'm getting a bit sleepy again.
But, I feel more like I did during the good parts of September and October, and I think it might be because of Vitamin D. And I suspect my caffeine withdrawal back in September/October might have been much worse if I hadn't had so much Vitamin D around when I quit caffeine.
Still haven't gotten any possibly Vitamin D-related jitters so far, but judging by the other day, I guess that might take a while, if it happens at all.
Going to eat more probiotic yogurt to try to undo some of the harm sucralose might have done.
And I'm pleased that Teeccino contains a prebiotic called inulin, according to the Teeccino website.
Didn't get jittery at all yesterday (or today so far) despite taking Vitamin D! So, I guess I'll stick with Walgreens Vitamin D3 Bone Health 2000 IU Softgels rather than trying multiple other brands, since that seems to work fine for me.
Wonder what I was sensitive to in Nature Made Vitamin D3 2000 IU. Two people I know who take that said it doesn't make them jittery at all, and one of those people takes it before bed.
Not sure how many Walgreens Vitamin D3 Bone Health 2000 IU Softgels I'll take and how often. I definitely don't want to overdose on Vitamin D, but I don't know if there's a way to measure your Vitamin D levels except a blood test, which seems like too much trouble. So, I'll just be cautious.
I might go back to sleep again, though. Still seems best not to push myself too hard.
A substitute I read about, mashed cauliflower, also sounds tasty. Lots of butter, salt, and spices on that sounds really good. And garlic, too.
Mmm, garlic bread. Maybe I can figure out how to make garlic bread using the quinoa flour I got. Still not really in the mood to cook unless it's very easy, though. Would really like to get back to my various programming projects.
Almost returned to compiling PHP, etc., but ended up reading instead. Started to get tired again around maybe 2:45 PM. Happily, my gums haven't been sore even though I only took 2 Vitamin C's today, and 3 Walgreens Vitamin D3 Bone Health 2000 IU Softgels.
That annoying foggy-minded spacy feeling I sometimes had before has come back a bit. Also have sometimes been verging on a headache. Maybe all that chocolate I had on and before Nov. 11th made some of my caffeine withdrawal symptoms come back. But, at least I haven't had jaw soreness for a long time now. Not sure what day that stopped.
Perhaps someday I'll try to figure out what amount of chocolate I can eat without ending up with caffeine withdrawal. But it's far too soon for me to experiment with that.
I guess I ought to go to sleep soon, but I think an audio book might keep me awake for a few more hours.
Nothing really interesting to add at the moment, but, I definitely feel much better overall, and hope I'll soon feel like returning to my programming projects.
Wasn't extraordinarily energetic today since I probably could have slept longer and better. Didn't have as much of that foggy-minded out of it feeling at the start of my day, but have gotten it a bit more as I get more tired.
But, overall, I've felt mostly fine. Finally had a particularly nice dream for the first time in a while. Not going to write about it in detail, but, I think that dream was probably a hint that my testosterone levels are probably improving. :-)
Haven't done much with those yet, since after that, I went back to watching TV and reading. But, hopefully that all will make it much easier to renovate my Puppy Linux Setup Kit, among other things. I even got Saxon/C installed, so now I'll be able to work on my XSLT project on my laptop instead of only my desktop.
I still don't feel perfect all the time, of course - still varying amounts of energy, varying moods, varying sleep/wake times, etc.
But no headaches lately! It seems I'm definitely better off avoiding caffeine entirely - even small-seeming amounts of chocolate.
Seems like a really excellent book, though currently, I don't have the patience to go into detail about all the things I found interesting.
Just not sure I'm going to write much about it. Writing feels like such a difficult, time-consuming chore sometimes. So is programming, but at the moment, I think my software projects are more likely to do more good, both in my life and hopefully the world.
But, hopefully the stuff I'm doing with XSLT, the VUE: Visual Understanding Environment concept mapping software, PHP, PHP-GTK, my Puppy Linux Setup Kit, and eventually probably the graph database software OrientDB and perhaps Neo4j will help me solve these problems even better than Astroblahhh Desktop ever did so far.
Astroblahhh Desktop already was a tremendous help, but there's still tons of room for improvement.
Not sure exactly what I'll work on next or how long it will take. But, I might (or might not) be more quiet for a while.
Even though today I'm feeling physically better than I have in weeks, I still don't think I should do anything too stressful.
Also, Happy Thanksgiving.
On Dec. 1st, I had a pretty bad headache, and also slept very poorly because I was too cold. But I also had hot flashes, so, I kept fluctuating between being too hot and too cold.
And the usually dormant sore spot on my lower right gums suddenly got much worse than ever before - even plain cold water made it ache for a while, so much that I was afraid it was a toothache, even though it wasn't unbearable.
Another reason I thought it might be a toothache is because usually, it's my lower left sore spot that acts up, and the one on the lower right hadn't bothered me in quite a while, except for bleeding more than usual lately from flossing. I actually mistakenly thought maybe the gum disease around that spot had been going away, and that maybe it was only bleeding because maybe I accidentally injured that spot through perhaps not-gentle-enough flossing.
I also got an X-ray that day - and it turned out that at the tip of a root-canaled tooth to the right of the sore spot, there's some bacteria which is apparently the remnants of a severe infection many years ago! (Probably was in 2006, since that's when I had a major toothache and got that root canal.)
The dentist also mentioned that he often recommends Vitamin C for gum disease (a remedy I had read about on the internet and tried without asking my dentist), so he was glad to hear it was helping me.
However, even during the worst flare-up, it didn't bother me constantly - room temperature water was pretty much fine, eating actually didn't bother it much, and only cold water made it ache a while, though not unbearably. Other than that, it felt normal.
I was surprised when that sore spot calmed down again pretty soon, and already wasn't troublesome anymore by the time I got to the dentist, probably because I had taken Vitamin C soon after it started acting up. (Actually, I think on Dec. 1st I forgot to take my "morning" Vitamin C until after I ate something, and that sore spot flared up.)
It flared up again later, but, in addition to taking more Vitamin C, I tried the warm salt water rinse, and that immediately helped. And, instead of brushing my teeth with only water as I had lazily been doing for a while, I resumed using toothpaste more frequently.
I was doing so well that I decided to see if all this alone (without resorting to penicillin) might be adequate to fight off the infection, and surprisingly, I usually felt fine. So I didn't even take penicillin at all before my next dentist appointment on Dec. 8th.
This made me wonder if the sore spots from my gum disease all might be related to my root canals. I think I actually only have had two recurrent sore spots, and both are near one or two of my three root canals. My usual sore spot at the lower left is near 2 root canals, and my lower right sore spot is near 1 root canal!
Since my lower left sore spot always bothered me more frequently than my lower right sore spot, that made me wonder if an X-ray might reveal infection near my lower left sore spot too.
Unfortunately, it turned out the infection around my lower right sore spot (which usually wasn't sore) was still there, so the dentist recommended that I take the penicillin I hadn't yet started.
Surprisingly to me, there turned out to not be very much infection around my lower left root canals, but it sounded like the dentist thought there was some. I should have asked more questions so I could get more certain about what's going on, but, my social anxiety gets in the way and often prevents me from even thinking of intelligent questions or things to say until it's too late.
But, from what I've been reading about root canals (like this aforementioned article), I think maybe extracting all of my root canals might be healthiest anyway, and probably healthier than "re-root canaling" them and leaving them in, for $1100 apiece (or $3300 in all for all 3).
If I understand correctly what I've read on the web, root canals can harbor infection, and antibiotics probably can't entirely disinfect them, because the antibiotics can't enter a dead tooth as well as they can a live tooth.
Nonetheless, I started taking my penicillin yesterday (Dec. 8th), and will be eating probiotic yogurt at the same time and afterward, since I read various pages (such as this one) saying that's a good idea.
Hopefully the penicillin will kill the infection that presumably made its way out from my root canals into my gums - but, I don't know if the penicillin will permanently eliminate the problem, since I'm guessing penicillin alone won't be able to completely disinfect my root canaled teeth.
I don't know if my theory that my gingivitis might totally go away if I got all my root canals extracted is correct, but, it's comforting to imagine that the mystery of why I only had those two recurrent sore spots (close to my root canals) instead of gingivitis all over my mouth has possibly been solved, and that perhaps my chronic gingivitis might be curable by getting rid of my root canaled teeth.
I'm now glad that it was financially unfeasible for me to afford a root canal for the tooth I had to have extracted in May 2013. Maybe I would have been better off if I had never gotten any root canals at all, even though having three less teeth probably would have made it more difficult to chew.
Also, on Dec. 1st, I found something which seems quite helpful for my PMS. I had been avoiding eating flaxseed (warning) (ground up with a coffee grinder) for a while because I was afraid the estrogen-like stuff in it might disturb my hormone balance somehow, so I wanted to read more about that and hormones in general before I tried it again.
However, I actually had never before noticed any good or bad effects that I could be sure were related to eating ground flaxseed (warning), and I was in a bit of a reckless mood on Dec. 1st since I was so worried about my teeth, and I also found a web page which says ground flaxseed (warning) can help with PMS - so, I tried ground flaxseed (warning) on Dec. 1st soon before my dentist appointment, and my headache and hot flashes soon went away!
I've been having two (or at least 1) tablespoons of ground flaxseed (warning) most days since then, and have definitely not felt very menstrual at all lately, which is a very good thing.
However, I had only 1 spoonful on Dec. 5th, and skipped ground flaxseed (warning) on Dec. 6th and most of the 7th - then on Dec. 7th, I got in a very sad mood. But I felt much better after I resumed eating ground flaxseed (warning).
Also on Dec. 1st, since I think my room being so cold is part of what brought on my gingivitis flareup, I got another electric blanket (mostly since I couldn't remember where I put the old one's controller), which I intended to only use while awake.
But, today, I did end up sleeping with that new electric blanket. And though I think the warmth did help me sleep, and being warm is probably better for my immune system than frequently being too cold, I suspect the electric blanket might have interfered with my sleep quality to an extent, even though I'm doing OK so far today and feel energetic enough and not tired. But I guess I probably shouldn't keep sleeping with it.
I probably should try to go back to using multiple layers of regular blankets (plus my unplugged electric blanket), a thick robe, sweatpants, socks, and a hat. And maybe gloves too. It's awfully tempting to keep using the electric blanket, though.
Still mostly haven't returned to reading books on hormones, adrenal fatigue, etc., since I'm more interested in my programming projects and other topics.
So, I'm probably going to continue to only infrequently update this blog post.
Just thought it was particularly interesting that my gingivitis might be caused by my root canals, and that ground flaxseed (warning) seems to do wonders for my PMS. And that my energy levels have been pretty great, too.
(But if I'm having an early, perhaps stress-induced menopause at the age of 35, that wouldn't be all bad, because then I wouldn't have to worry about pregnancy ever again, around 15 years sooner than I expected!)
I still have had recurrent gingivitis despite the penicillin, but, it has never gotten as bad again as it did on Dec. 1st. And having even more Vitamin C than usual, and eating better than usual, also seems to help.
Haven't had any headaches lately! And was in the mood to resume bellydancing yesterday, which somehow improved my mood even more.
I've mostly been preoccupied with Clevnet books (mostly not on the topic of health), and the wonderful XSLT 2.0 and XPath 2.0 Programmer's Reference, which has already greatly deepened my understanding of XSLT, even though so far I've only gotten to page 122 out of 1316 pages.
Can't wait to finish that, so I can continue making progress with my various programming projects.
I really don't mind if that possibly played a part in delaying my cycle, because when my cycle is delayed, I tend to feel much better! I'd probably like to delay it permanently if I could. There are things I like about being a woman, but my cycle is not one of them.
And starting yesterday (after a few days of my lips being in much better shape than they had been in a long time), I got very dry lips and some lip discoloration, which I've read can be related to hormonal issues, though I'm guessing it's also probably related to the winter weather and the resultant dry air, and likely also from not drinking enough liquids. (I also have long had a tendency to get lip issues as a result of stress. I first noticed that happening to me way back in May 2005, over a year before I got any root canals.)
But taking so many vitamins so frequently was a bit annoying (though I can swallow 3 all at once pretty easily). So, on Dec. 15th-16th, I didn't take as much extra I had been. But, judging by my lips (since my gingivitis has been fine), I think I was doing better when I was taking the extra Vitamin C - so, I think I want to continue taking extra Vitamin C.
I read in this article from Mercola.com that the famous Nobel Prize-winning scientist Linus Pauling is said to have taken 12,000 mg per day. (I'd have to take 24 of my current brand of Vitamin C's a day to get that much!)
And I also recently found this long, fascinating page about frequently-administered massive doses of Vitamin C apparently being amazingly good for tons of different ailments, even things as serious as polio, among many other things. I'm not in the mood to deeply research how credible that web page is (or any other that I've mentioned), but, I found it very interesting regardless, so just thought I'd point it out.
So, I'm going to again quit sleeping with it, even though I haven't reached the point of being really fatigued again. My energy levels are still quite good.
Could be from not sleeping well enough, or my time of the month (which feels imminent), or both. Maybe also from not emphasizing protein in my "morning" and mostly emphasizing carbs. And Vitamin D3 also seems to give me an energy boost - haven't had Vitamin D3 in a few days.
Starting feeling close to a headache around 4:20 AM, but I think the ground flaxseed (warning) might have started to work, since the almost-headache soon went away. (Not sure when exactly, since I was busy reading.)
I'll be thrilled if ground flaxseed (warning) will even make my actual time of the month (rather than just my PMS) less bad. I wonder if I'll be able to skip Advil for my cramps?
Overall, feeling OK, but might go back to sleep soon. But I don't really want to, because I still am not so tired that I can't concentrate on reading.
However, I kept waking up repeatedly very thirsty with very dry lips and dry eyes. Drank a lot of unsalted water (since I didn't have a glass of slightly salted water already prepared), and surprisingly didn't soon end up needing to use the bathroom. So, I probably haven't been drinking enough liquids.
It definitely seems like I've been drinking more water than usual lately, judging by how much faster I've been using up the bottles of water I keep in my room.
But, if I had, maybe I wouldn't have found out about the bacterial infection from the toothache I had in 2006 still living in at least one of my root canaled teeth, and oozing out and possibly causing my gingivitis.
Even if large doses of Vitamin C might enable me to fight off the bacteria from my root canals forever, I still wonder if it might be better to get rid of my root canaled teeth, to give my immune system a break from being constantly besieged.
But I suspect maybe the biggest positive differences were made by greatly increasing my Vitamin C, and eating better and more frequently. (Because before I did that, I still was having a bit of trouble at times with gingivitis despite taking penicillin.) And using toothpaste more frequently instead of often brushing with only water. And I also think Vitamin D3 might have helped too.
Guess I'll see if this lack of gingivitis lasts, and keep taking six 500 mg Vitamin C's at a time at least a couple times a day, possibly more.
So, I guess my gingivitis wasn't 100% cured even by penicillin. But, Vitamin C seems to be a reliable enough way for me to control it, especially if I boost my dosage in times of stress, or if I might be getting a cold, or my time of the month. So, for now, I'm not eager to get my root canals extracted anytime soon.
I actually woke up with an adrenaline rush just from the sound of a vehicle with an unusually loud motor driving by, which scared me awake. So, my adrenals seem to be working. :-)
Besides magnesium, perhaps some other things that might have helped with my anxiety were Activia probiotic yogurt (which I've eaten at various times for months now, and also while I was taking penicillin, and afterward, though maybe not in large enough quantities) and Bigelow probiotic lemon ginger non-caffeinated tea (which I tried for the first time today).
Probably should have been consuming those more frequently, since supposedly anxiety and other problems could be related to the balance of bacteria in your gut, and antibiotics can tremendously interfere with that.
My time of the month still hasn't started. It felt more imminent yesterday than it does today. Didn't eat any ground flaxseed (warning) yesterday, but probably will have some today. Don't know if that will make my time of the month more or less likely to start soon.
I've been itching to do or make something instead of mostly just reading, and sometimes noting down ideas for my projects. But, I still think I need to learn more before I can make much progress, so, I don't expect to do much in the near future besides reading and experimenting with XSLT, etc.
I never noticed any seeds other than flax having an effect on my cycle or PMS, but, that could be because I was never on the lookout for such effects. (For the same reason, I originally didn't even notice flax doing anything for me.)
Fortunately, I like all the seeds mentioned (especially sunflower seeds, though I haven't eaten any lately), so trying that seed rotation diet wouldn't be difficult for me.
Not sure I like the sound of that (since maybe I'd rather suppress my ovulation and avoid the nuisance of menstruation), but, eating 2 spoonfuls of ground flaxseed (warning) per day seems to be making me feel better overall, so, I'm going to just keep doing that for a while regardless.
Just thought I should point that out, since even though my own experiences with ground flaxseed (warning) have been quite good so far, that doesn't mean it would be good for everyone. (Which probably could be true of many other things I mentioned, too.)
Addition, Jan. 29, 2017, 7:01 PM EST. Today, I found something worrying I wish I had found sooner. When I curiously looked up ground flaxseed (warning) and headaches, I ran across a mention of cyanide here, so I searched for flaxseed (warning) and cyanide, and ran across these other scary pages:
I don't know if ground flaxseed (warning) has been doing me any harm - I actually thought it was probably helping me, but who knows.
Not sure what to think of this yet, but, just thought I should point it out.
So, personally, I don't feel too worried about ground flaxseed (warning), even though I will likely eat less of it in the future.
Another interesting quote:
Sounds great to me. :-D
That same page also says:
I guess I'm probably OK with that too.
Yesterday, I managed to get OrientDB 2.2.13 and PhpOrient 1.2.5 working on my Lucid Puppy Linux 5.2.8 version 004 desktop computer without an internet connection. (I think I might have figured that out before, probably with earlier versions, but if so, I misplaced my notes and had to figure it out again.)
Despite that, and making some progress figuring out how to improve Astroblahhh Desktop, I still had an emotionally rough day, even though I had ground flaxseed (warning). But I probably didn't eat enough food yesterday, so, maybe that's what's wrong.
But maybe delaying my period with ground flaxseed (warning) isn't such a good idea. I don't think I usually have as many emotional issues during my period as I do soon before it, so, maybe I'd be better off not eating ground flaxseed (warning) as often, so my time of the month isn't delayed.
Still been fairly energetic, though not so much yesterday and today. Probably would have slept better if I ate better.
Didn't try to do anything special to make it happen. I just took my usual "morning" 1 Ovega 3 and (recently usual) six 500mg Vitamin C's.
Then found I was too tired to stay awake despite having slept already for about 7 hours, so I went back to sleep for another couple hours. Woke up with major cramps, and had to rush to the bathroom to put on my biohazard equipment (maxi pads) which I didn't realize I was going to need so soon.
I got a bit confused about ginger earlier today, due to hastily misreading this web page. But I soon found various other pages (like this one) which pointed out it can induce menstruation. I think maybe I believe that now.
However, I think I vaguely remember trying ginger for that purpose in the past - almost forgot about that. Not sure if it really did much for me - I have the vague recollection that celery seemed to maybe work better for me. But it's possible ginger helped more than I realized.
Might've been interesting to see if ginger is actually good for cramps, but, my cramps were so bad I rushed to take an Advil, since I already know that definitely works well for me. Less than an hour later, I felt fine, and I think my pain might've started decreasing about 20 minutes after I took Advil.
Not sure what made me suddenly get worse PMS symptoms recently. Since I mostly avoided headaches, my worst symptom was feeling emotionally awful and anxious even though nothing really bad and actually some good things happened. Don't know if extra ground flaxseed (warning) (beyond the 2 spoonfuls per day I was already eating) would have helped or harmed. Anyway, so far, I feel like it's probably helping me.
I'm so glad that I somehow managed to mostly avoid PMS headaches. And it seems like maybe I had fewer and less severe PMS symptoms in general until very soon before my time of the month started (though it's possible my anxiety around the 18th might also have been related to PMS). I even got less of my usual unpainful non-quite-cramps I usually get beforehand (which I sometimes think of as "preliminary cramps" even though they're so mild I probably shouldn't call them cramps at all).
Might go back to sleep again soon, or maybe not. I'm so glad I mostly haven't been this fatigued lately.
I think I usually tend to get headaches before my period rather than during it. But, that one could have been from not eating well enough again, since I started feeling better after eating a microwaveable frozen dinner (chicken fried rice, which I added tomato sauce and parmesan to).
I used to think my PMS-related emotional issues were probably mostly due to being in pain from headaches. But, judging by what happened recently, it seems these are two not-necessarily-related symptoms. I'm quite surprised at how emotionally messed up I recently was before my time of the month, despite not even having a headache. But, at least not having a headache at the same time made it less bad.
So, it seems something, or things (perhaps ground flaxseed (warning)? Or lots more Vitamin C? And/or both? And/or other things?) may have changed my usual patterns for the better.
I guess I should really go back to reading those books about hormones, adrenal fatigue, etc., to see if I can improve my situation even more (since clearly there's still plenty of room for improvement here).
So, sometime before 6 AM on Dec. 23rd, I took 2 Nature Made magnesium citrates, which helped and definitely made me somewhat tired and calmer, but I still felt like I could probably use some more, so, I took 2 more around 1:24 PM.
Then, I slept an especially long time - sometime between 1:30 PM on Dec. 23rd to 4:10 AM on Dec. 24th - and I feel much better overall now. Haven't had such a good long sleep in quite a while, if I recall correctly.
I think maybe I usually haven't been getting enough magnesium lately mostly because I prefer to take magnesium toward the end of my day (since it can make me tired), and the problem is, I tend to get lazy about doing anything (even simple things like taking vitamins) once I get tired.
I was particularly intrigued by the parts about "Deaf Smith County, Texas, and the justly famous residents whose teeth refused to succumb to decay".
But I was only awake for about 13 and a half hours before that. But I felt pretty alert and energetic for most of that time (and now), so, compared to my previous times of the month, I haven't been in so much of a slump.
Skipped ground flaxseed (warning) yesterday, and am still feeling fine.
Still been getting little done besides reading, and pondering what to do next with Astroblahhh Desktop and my Puppy Linux Setup Kit.
Merry Christmas and Merry Grav-Mass. :-)
I was still timid and shy even when my mood was better, though, so, it's not like I was feeling perfect before. Anyway, even that imperfect sleep improved my mood, and so did eating.
Starting the day with an emphasis on protein, simply by eating at least 2 hard-boiled eggs in my "morning", definitely seems better for my energy levels than just eating whatever, whenever. That's another thing I should have done yesterday. (Resumed that today.)
I don't want to get too dependent on the Java platform, but, given that I probably don't have the ability to recreate the graph database software OrientDB or Neo4j in some other language or platform, I might be stuck using Java for a while anyway. So I might as well enjoy what there is to enjoy about it and learn what I can.
I've always been apprehensive about Java's reputed security problems, but on the other hand, I always thought it was cool that Java is cross-platform (like one of my favorite platforms, the Z-machine). Java is also used in Android phones. And Java has been around for a pretty long time now, and I assume the Java ecosystem is probably thriving and full of cool already-built stuff to play with and use in your own projects.
Fortunately, even my unrenovated Puppy Linux Setup Kit works well inside VirtualBox, and I have enough RAM to comfortably run even multiple VirtualBoxes if I want. So, this is all pretty feasible, even though I might just end up mostly reading and getting little else done again.
Overall, that was probably one of my least unpleasant periods in a long time. Maybe my 2nd least bad period ever, a distant second to the aforementioned unexplained not-so-unpleasant one from when I was a teenager. I had a lot more energy (while it lasted) than I usually do during periods, though I still got tired rather early.
Still didn't get much done besides reading, and still haven't returned to health-related books.
I definitely seem to be improving overall, so, I don't think there's much else to say for now.
I think it might have been more related to lapsing into my old bad habit of neglecting to eat well enough due to being more interested in reading or programming than in preparing and eating food. Also, since Dec. 30th until yesterday, I skipped my daily two spoonfuls of flaxseed (warning) ground up with a coffee grinder.
Still mostly been having not-so-fun dreams. The most amusing one lately (today, in fact) was a nightmare in which I looked in the mirror and saw I had 4 extra boobs. :-)
And somehow my body has reverted to not having to have as much Vitamin C to avoid my gum's sore spots flaring up. I've been taking a minimum of 6 500 mg Vitamin C's per day, usually taken sometime in my "morning", plus usually one or more large doses later in my day, and/or just before sleep. But on a couple days recently, I only took six 500 mg Vitamin C's in my "morning", and I was fine.
Anyway, even though I could probably get by without taking so much, I think I might not ever go back to my former much smaller amounts, since overall, I've been doing much better, and I think Linus Pauling probably was right about huge amounts of Vitamin C being good.
Actually, I probably still didn't set it up totally correctly, since I didn't yet bother to do anything with the rest of the .classpath file. But even so, VUE still compiles.
And I was able to use Eclipse's Javadoc feature to automatically generate informative pages like these, except probably more up to date.
I've been trying to figure out how to make VUE use the GTK "look and feel", so VUE will fit in better with my nice dark GTK desktop theme, unlike the annoying overly bright "Metal" "look and feel" which is a Java default.
I tried changing that a long time ago (maybe sometime in 2015 or even 2014), but somehow it caused VUE to freeze up and become unresponsive. But this time, it somehow mostly worked, except now the main window somehow is stuck in split-screen mode.
I guess I probably need to learn how to use Eclipse's debugging features. There's a variety of things I want to track down and fix (or modify). But even if all I manage to do is make the theme nicer to look at, that will make VUE tremendously more pleasant for me to use.
But now (and ever since Jan. 4th), I feel much better, and my craving for tea (which I successfully resisted) also went away.
Not sure yet what the maximum amount of caffeine I can consume without problems is, but I don't recall having any trouble with the medium-size caffeinated Barq's root beer I got from Burger King on Dec. 1st. Didn't even have a craving for tea.
I'm not really eager to continue to risk getting headaches, but it would be nice to know how much chocolate I can eat without problems.
But, I decided I'm going to mostly use Mercurial to privately track my changes to VUE and make it easier to edit the source code on multiple computers. Then, when (or if) I'm ready to actually publish some changes, I'll add those changes to Git and GitHub.
But, I felt better after sleeping a while and having more ground flaxseed (warning) and Walgreens Vitamin D3 Bone Health 2000 IU Softgels.
As usual when I'm getting premenstrual, my gums started to bother me a bit more again, though that has subsided again now that I've resumed larger amounts of Vitamin C.
Still have been continuing (even on my best days) to avoid my public email and forums, though - same as usual, I guess. I don't know how long I'm going to keep feeling that way, but I guess even before I got possible adrenal fatigue, worsened hormonal issues, and/or possible PTSD, I was seldom really eager to deal with such things.
Guess I'm going to resume my daily 2 spoonfuls of ground flaxseed (warning), since I feel like I might need it. Haven't felt like eating sunflower seeds, and I have no pumpkin seeds, so I didn't yet really try the seed rotation diet.
Not sure whether or not the ginger had any effects on my testosterone, but, I'm guessing it probably didn't hurt, and who knows, maybe it played a part in why I had a bunch of good days.
I think maybe I ought to try eating ginger even more frequently. But, ginger is so spicy-hot it's difficult for me to tolerate large amounts of ginger in my Teeccino, tea, or other food.
So, maybe the best way, or the most fun way, for me to increase my ginger consumption would be to figure out how to make ginger cookies, or something. That would probably be cheaper than buying already-made cookies, and also has a good chance of tasting much better.
I call it exercise since it's not artistic enough for me to call it bellydancing, even though some of the moves are inspired by bellydancing. Anyway, even just those few minutes of exercise here and there definitely seem to be having a good (though subtle) effect on my physique.
I think it might improve my mood, too, though I think longer, more strenuous exercise is probably more effective for that, judging by my results after going through most of the Learn Belly Dancing video routine. I probably should do stuff like that more often, but usually haven't since October.
I also sometimes have been sort of weightlifting, just by repeatedly lifting up my big heavy old box fan (which is still difficult for me). I just want to have a bit more muscle, so I don't have so much trouble lifting heavy objects, and also so I can effortlessly burn more calories. And hopefully it will also help increase my testosterone to whatever amount is healthy for a woman.
I'd like to try to eat more sunflower seeds in the near future (even though I haven't really been in the mood for them for months), just because they're a suggested part of the seed rotation diet.
I doubt I'm going to ever strictly follow the seed rotation diet, because I really like ground flaxseed (warning)'s effects on me so far, and it seems like it helps me at any time of month. (Though I should probably mention again that some people have very bad reactions to flax.)
I wonder if the good effects on me are from the high amounts of Omega 3 in ground flaxseed (warning), or the lignans, or both? I'm guessing both.
And my slightly modified VUE is helping a lot too. It's already my most comfortable and somewhat HyperCard-like way to quickly and easily make my own nice-looking custom graphic user interfaces consisting of pictures or icons, nice backgrounds, text, and inconveniently tiny buttons. Unlike in HyperCard, those buttons can't yet be resized or styled, and aren't scriptable within VUE. But at least they can launch external scripts, programs, and web pages.
I'm also glad I finally figured out how to detach images from VUE bubbles, since now I can decorate my maps more nicely.
Among other things, I made some VUE maps about food (with pictures), to increase my appetite, remind me of what's here without me having to go to the kitchen or refrigerator to look, and to make it easier for me to decide what to eat, cook, or buy. Definitely nicer than relying on my memory, text lists, and/or web browsing for food-related ideas.
It's kind of luxurious, like having my own personal, customizable restaurant menu to choose from. Except I have to cook the food myself, at least until I someday create my own free (as in freedom), libre, open source robot chef. :-) Maybe I really will do that someday.
Hopefully someday I'll feel like dealing with that stuff again, maybe after I finish more of my own projects.
And I finally also had some salty roasted sunflower seeds around 2 PM yesterday. I can't be sure exactly what those did for me, but, I definitely feel better today than much of yesterday.
I felt kind of scattered and anxious for much of yesterday (before sleeping), and continually hungry (probably simply because of mostly grazing on snacks rather than having good-sized meals), but now I feel more relaxed, and it's easier to focus. Feels like the effects of magnesium, so maybe it's from magnesium in the sunflower seeds (since I neglected to take Nature Made magnesium citrate).
And/or, perhaps sunflower seeds (a part of the seed rotation diet) really do have a good effect on hormonal issues. I guess I've just been kind of tired of them because a while back my family got 25 pounds of them, and lately, for a salty snack, I've been preferring goldfish crackers (which we also got 25 pounds of, but I'm still not even close to tired of them).
Anyway, I still like sunflower seeds, and I definitely don't really mind eating a few more of them, particularly if they turn out to reliably make me feel better and ease at least some of my hormonal issues.
Eating sunflower seeds is actually more fun than my usual way of eating ground flaxseed (warning) - which is more reminiscent of taking vitamins, since rather than putting ground flaxseed (warning) in my food, I just shovel two spoonfuls into my mouth and quickly wash it all down with water. :-)
Been doing much better since then. I think Vitamin D might possibly be one of the very best things for my overall energy levels and mood that I've tried so far. I just wish I had a more precise idea of how much I need, and when.
For the past few weeks, I hadn't taken very much, and (unless I forgot to note some down), I only took 2 on Dec. 12th, 1 on Jan. 1st, and 5 on Dec. 30th, since I was trying to avoid possibly overdosing on Vitamin D, after having taken 4 or 5 almost every other day for a while around the beginning and middle of December, and varying amounts every several days around the end and middle of November.
I doubt I even got close to overdosing, judging by this page, but, I just figured I might as well err on the side of caution.
I wonder if maybe I had recently ended up somewhat Vitamin D deficient again because of taking it so infrequently. I guess I'll try taking it more frequently again for a while.
But yesterday, it got particularly bad, and I got a bit sneezy, slightly congested, and my right nostril ran a little. So, now I think maybe I have pink-eye (conjunctivitis), or a cold which has pink eye as a symptom. That might explain why it seemed like my gums' sore spots were getting more sensitive rather sooner than than I expected. My gums' sore spots getting more sensitive and needing a lot more Vitamin C to control that are premenstrual symptoms I've learned to expect. But it also seems like my gums' sore spots getting more sensitive sometimes is a clue that I'm getting a cold or something.
The day after I just happened to eat a whole raw tomato, my eye's pink-eye symptoms subsided enough that I assumed whatever the problem was (like maybe some small irritant in my eye like an eyelash or something), it was gone now. Then it recurred, so, yesterday, after reading that Vitamin A might be good for things like this, I ate another tomato, and today, though I'm still a bit sneezy, my eye is less gooey, not itchy, and less bloodshot.
I wonder if I should have continued taking Walgreens Vitamin D3 Bone Health 2000 IU Softgels instead of skipping them for a day yesterday.
A few hours later, I also had my usual 2 spoonfuls of ground flaxseed (warning), partly because I started to feel close to a headache, and also because I hadn't had any yesterday despite feeling increasingly menstrual. Feeling better now.
My cold and/or pink-eye symptoms have been mostly gone so far today. The thing that most bothers me (but not very much, and only when flossing) is one of my gum's sore spots, which is a bit sensitive to floss. (It's my third sore spot, which was dormant for so long I forgot about it, but which is on the opposite side of the root canaled tooth that my usual lower left sore spot is to the left of. The other two sometimes sore spots are currently fine.)
I'm guessing without all these vitamins, I probably would've gotten a far worse cold (or pink-eye or whatever this is - or was?), and also might have noticed sooner than I was getting it. But all the symptoms were usually so mild and ignorable (or attributable to something else) that it took me a while to even figure it out.
I'm guessing I might have done even better if I were more reliable about having my meals, vitamins, ground flaxseed (warning), and sunflower seeds. I'm usually fairly reliable about anything I regularly do in my "morning", but not as reliable about stuff I try to do later on. I probably ought to start using my Relative Scheduler more often again.
Not much else to say, I guess. Just been reading, and sometimes working on my Puppy Linux Setup Kit.
Still didn't get to try it yet, since I needed to upgrade GCC: The GNU Compiler Collection, so I could try to upgrade to a newer graphics driver, which required me to upgrade Cmake so I could build LLVM, which turned out to be so huge I ran out of disk space.
So, in the end, I gave up, but at least now I know it's possible to upgrade to a newer GCC without switching to a whole new Puppy Linux. And now I have a Go compiler and even a Fortran compiler to play with. :-)
Larger hard-boiled eggs are more convenient, since I don't have to peel as many. And the larger eggs I boiled somehow turned out to be much easier to peel than the smaller ones.
Hours later, I had a small coughing fit because of a tickle in my throat. Went to sleep around 10 PM and first woke around 4:43 AM, with a slightly stuffy nose. I also felt cold, so I actually turned my electric blanket on and went back to sleep for another couple few hours, and woke up feeling better. (But I'm going to keep mostly avoiding using my electric blanket except sometimes while awake, because it probably would interfere too much with my sleep quality.)
I guess my cold briefly came back probably partly because as usual, as I got more tired, I didn't stick to my routine as well and skipped or delayed meals and vitamins. But at least my pink-eye-like symptoms haven't come back so far.
I feel like I'm getting into a slump again because of PMS, though ground flaxseed (warning) definitely seems to help for a while. Wonder what would happen if I ate more than two spoonfuls per day. Not sure yet if sunflower seeds help or not, but I didn't eat that many at a time yet. (Too tired of them to eat many of them.)
I guess I should return to those books on hormones, etc. But all I want to do is finish renovating my Puppy Linux Setup Kit. Not that I'm even close to finishing it.
Oh, well. At least my hormones are now wrecking fewer of my days than they used to. But I still wish I was born male instead of female.
Here's another page on that.
And also decided to try to at least temporarily reduce my habit of storing notes in NoteCase, because I want to see how storing a lot more of my notes in my slightly modified version of VUE: Visual Understanding Environment turns out.
Still doing mostly well this morning. My right eye seems fine now, and my left eye has some leftover bloodshot and gunk (which I cleaned off), and is not really itchy now, and seems closer to normal today. My mood is very good and I'm still quite energetic, and was yesterday too. My time of the month seems imminent but nonetheless, I feel mostly fine.
I wonder if maybe I'd do best with at least a little Vitamin D daily, instead of having around five at a time every few days. I wonder if my body maybe uses up Vitamin D faster than average because of my besieged immune system, resulting from my chronic gum disease, which was maybe caused by my root canals? (Similar to how my body requires extra Vitamin C around my time of the month and other times of stress, or else one or more of my gums' 3 sometimes recurring sore spots - all next to one of my 3 root canals - get sore.)
Also got some new organic flaxseed (warning)s recently, so, my ground flaxseed (warning) now tastes different and fresher than the ground flaxseed (warning) I made from seeds that have been in my freezer for months. Maybe it's more nutritious and more effective at influencing my hormones for the better, too.
Figured out the biggest remaining obstacle to me using VUE: Visual Understanding Environment for most of my notes is not being able to press F5 to insert the current date and time. So, that's one of the next features I'm going to try to add to my slightly modified version of VUE.
Didn't try taking Vitamin D yesterday, just lots of Vitamin C. My cold is still lingering a bit, though my eyes are doing better. My left eye is less bloodshot, and my right eye has sometimes been a bit gooey, but not constantly.
I wonder if my immune system was stronger back when I was still drinking black tea, which is reputedly good for your immune system. If that's the case, that tempts me more than anything else to go back to drinking tea. (But less than I used to drink, of course.)
I think maybe I did more seldom get colds back when I drank tea. But I still got them on occasion, sometimes quite severe ones (worse than any I've had since quitting tea), so, I guess I shouldn't be that tempted.
Most of my cold symptoms seem to be gone at the moment, and my eyes are mostly back to normal. Took two Walgreens Vitamin D3 Bone Health 2000 IU Softgels earlier, among most of my usual other vitamins.
Ended up watching TV instead of struggling with Java programming. I hope I'll be able to get that done soon. I can already press F5 to insert new VUE bubbles, they just don't have the date/time in them yet. And also, I still need to figure out how to append text to an existing bubble's label. It's really close to done, and hopefully I'd finish it today if I weren't so sleepy.
Today, I managed to add some new improvements to my slightly modified version of VUE: Visual Understanding Environment. Everything other than making F5 insert the current date/time was pretty easy.
I'm looking forward to getting these glass straws because I'm sure they're probably healthier to use (and better for the environment) than plastic straws. Also, they're made in the USA. :-)
Yesterday evening, had a slight headache and also some moodiness, perhaps because I had my usual 2 spoonfuls of ground flaxseed (warning) later than I intended. But my timing was still pretty good, I think, because both the headache and moodiness lasted probably less than 20 minutes.
Been having two or three Walgreens Vitamin D3 Bone Health 2000 IU Softgels per day, among my usual other vitamins. Seems to work well for me.
I haven't switched to using VUE exclusively for all my notes, but, now I can much more easily find many of my notes, and they're much nicer to look at. And I can also much more easily find other things on my computer, thanks to VUE's ability to launch external programs and scripts.
This is having such a positive effect on my life (and my debilitating tendency to be disorganized) that it's comparable to Astroblahhh Desktop, which I've thought for years ought to have an optional VUE-like interface.
I'm much more comfortable using VUE now than I used to be - both because of my modifications, and because I now feel comfortable enough with XSLT (even though I still haven't finished the XSLT project I was writing about above a while back) that I don't feel at all anymore like my data is (somewhat) locked into VUE's XML format for concept map files, with no immediately plausible, relatively easy way to export or convert my data into useful other textual formats.
XSLT seems strange and verbose at first, but I suspect even using my favorite language, PHP, to try to somehow process XML procedurally and imperatively, without using XSLT (which is considered a declarative, functional programming language) would probably result in far more complicated, verbose scripts and might even require a lot more work and thought.
And maybe I'll end up exploring my idea of using XSLT to convert portions of VUE maps into runnable source code. Maybe someday (but probably not in the near future) I'll figure out how to make VUE a bit more like Code Bubbles. Or even, a bit more like HyperCard.
So, there's plenty to keep me busy for a while.
So, I'm not sure I'm going to have much that's on topic to add to this particular blog post for a while, unless (or until) I return to the aforementioned books on hormones and/or adrenal fatigue.
Definitely still not eager to return to dealing with anything stressful, so, I'm going to continue mostly focusing on my hobbies - especially reading and programming.
And today, when I curiously looked up ground flaxseed (warning) and headaches, I ran across a mention of cyanide here, so searched for flaxseed (warning) and cyanide, and ran across these other scary pages:
However, there are lots of other things that might've caused my headaches, like sleeping poorly, eating poorly, hormonal issues, and/or maybe not taking enough magnesium. (I suspect my increased amounts of Vitamin D maybe are making me require more magnesium than I used to.)
I think I might actually be feeling a bit better after today's 2 spoonfuls of ground flaxseed (warning), even though that didn't rid me of my headache yesterday. (My headache started before, not after, having ground flaxseed (warning), and my headache is actually what reminded me to try ground flaxseed (warning), since it seemed like ground flaxseed (warning) might have helped me with headaches before.)
Still, I'm soon going to add a warning link next to most every mention of ground flaxseed (warning). I'd be very surprised if ground flaxseed (warning) was doing me harm, since it seemed to me like it has probably been helping me, but who knows. At this point I think I'm most likely going to keep eating it sometimes, but probably not have such heaping spoonfuls anymore. And definitely am not going to have more than 2 spoonfuls a day.
So, personally, I don't feel too worried about ground flaxseed (warning), even though I will likely eat less of it in the future.
Won't be using my electric blanket, since now it's unplugged.
Up until those headaches, I was making some progress on various projects (despite being more tired than I should have been, probably largely because of sleeping with my electric blanket). Also found I'm quite happy to use my slightly modified version of VUE: Visual Understanding Environment for most note-taking.
But, lost momentum ever since those headaches, my worst headaches in a while. Maybe being more tired than usual made them worse. Probably shouldn't have used my electric blanket. And also shouldn't be lazy about taking enough magnesium (except I think I really need to take it later on in my day, so it won't possibly make me tired in my "morning" and "afternoon").
At least I don't have a headache now, I'm just very tired.
Another interesting quote:
A couple weeks ago someone got me a wonderful faux (fake) fur robe by "Crofts & Barrow" from a thrift store. It's probably the softest, most comfortable thing I've ever owned, and it's so big (at least compared to me - I'm 5'4") I can even use it as a slightly undersized blanket. It's so warm it's sometimes actually too warm to wear.
Really relieved I recovered so quickly from the headaches and/or excessive tiredness of the other days.
Not much else to say here for now. Impatient to get things done, but unsure of what to work on next, but not really in the mood to publicly write about all the many possibilities.
Partly because of reading that, I've been taking Vitamin E more reliably lately.
Been sleeping much better since then, and my cold and pink-eye symptoms soon went away again, and my gums' usual sometimes-recurring sore spots are absent. (Today, there's just one sensitive spot someplace which mostly hadn't bothered me since 2008, but maybe that was from accidentally flossing too hard.)
For several days sometime before cleaning my room, I switched to 4 Vitamin C's at a time instead of 6, but, I think I do better with 6, so I went back to 6 at a time.
Testa's box says it has ">450 mg" of Omega 3, with ">250 mg" DHA and ">125 mg" EPA.
Both containers have a footnote about the DHA and EPA quantities, which reads: "Minimum levels. Amounts may be higher than those indicated above."
I don't know how much the amount could vary, but, it looks like probably Ovega 3 is the one with more Omega 3.
So, I can't really judge whether Ovega 3 or Testa might be better, since so far it seems like Ovega 3 and Testa's effect on me are about the same. No obvious effects. Though I suspect Omega 3 probably has had good long-term effects on me, or else I wouldn't keep taking it.
Maybe I ought to try taking more, but, sadly, both Ovega 3 and Testa contain carrageenan. If one of them didn't have carrageenan, I'd probably prefer that one, and also would feel more comfortable taking it more often. (Though I'm actually not sure if carrageenan really has any harmful effects on me.)
I really wish the makers of things like this would stop putting carrageenan in them. This annoys me so much that if I were rich, I would buy or start a vegan Omega 3 company just to make Omega 3 capsules exactly the way I want, and free of anything objectionable such as carrageenan. And I'd also make the price as low as I could possibly afford, to make it available to as many people as possible.
I went back to taking 5 Vitamin D's at a time again to try to get rid of my cold, and have mostly been doing much better. Except I made the mistake of taking magnesium in my "morning" yesterday, and ended up tired all day and my cold worsened, but it seems mostly gone again now.
And have been reading various books, including one which has an appropriate theme for Valentine's Day - The Psychology of Romantic Love, by Nathaniel Branden.
I've only read up to page 48 so far, but I'm enjoying it. It provides an interesting overview of the historical roots of the concept of romantic love, and how practical and unromantic many past societies were, and how freedom, the increasing equality of women, and even capitalism contributed to the evolution of our modern-day concepts of romantic love.
I think it really did help me sleep, but I think maybe I'd be better off taking only 1 capsule at a time instead of the suggested 2 per serving, because I woke up about 4 1/2 hours later with diarrhea. But, after a few hours awake (during which I got some useful things done), I managed to go back to sleep for 6 1/2 hours, more than I usually manage after having slept several hours already.
In the future, I'll try taking just 1 capsule before I intend to sleep, since I think 2 might've been a bit too much for me.
It definitely feels like an effective form of magnesium, with the usual positive effects, like making me feel calmer, and more capable of falling asleep.
Going to try red tea (rooibos) soon, partly because of its many benefits, and partly because I really like the taste. Happily, it's caffeine-free.
The Safari Spice has become one of my favorite herbal teas. The Madagascar Vanilla is OK, but like most vanilla teas I've ever had, it seems kind of bland. Adding some ground Ceylon cinnamon helps, but I'm mostly going to stick with Safari Spice.
(Addition, March 24, 2017, 8:42 PM EDT. Found the Madagascar Vanilla is improved by microwaving it for 5 minutes. I originally only microwaved it for 2 minutes.)
So, since I had never before tried taking Vitamin C quite that aggressively and reliably, I tried it, and it seemed like it really worked!
I didn't get any indigestion from taking so much Vitamin C - I just sometimes got a kind of heartburny feeling very soon after swallowing them, but drinking more water got rid of that quickly.
Been taking five Walgreens Vitamin D3 Bone Health 2000 IU Softgels daily for a while. I hope that's not too much. I feel like it might be having a very good effect on my mood (even though PMS can still interfere with my mood if I don't eat ground flaxseed (warning) ), and it also seems like my gums haven't been acting up as much ever since I started taking so much Vitamin D, even at times when I'm lazy about taking Vitamin C.
I'm finally mostly satisfied for now with my modified version of VUE: Visual Understanding Environment.
So, now I have to figure out what to work on next - which, fortunately, is even easier now thanks to VUE, which is now my favorite notetaking tool I've ever used.
I wonder if drinking black tea again would help my immune system. Clearly something has been messing up my immune system lately, because I never used to have colds that lingered like this.
Anyway, I still prefer the taste of Teeccino or Celestial Seasonings Safari Spice red tea, so, I don't expect to have trouble refraining from having black tea daily.
Don't know how much black tea I would need to maximize its immune system-boosting effects, but, I suspect my former daily amount (around 16 ounces, and also around 12 or 10 ounces in the more distant past) maybe really was doing my immune system good.
But I'm hoping less than that will help, since I don't really want to go back to drinking that much black tea daily. Don't want to give my adrenals a hard time, and don't want to get headaches. But if I can handle small amounts without problems, I guess, why not drink it?
But, according to this page, safe methods exist, so, maybe I ought to try black tea decaffeinated with the "carbon dioxide" method that page mentions. Preferably, grown and made in the USA.
Found some very expensive organic green tea grown in the USA (Hawaii), but it doesn't appear to be decaffeinated. Oh, well.
This page suggests that out of black, green, or white tea, that white tea is healthiest.
This other page also seems to favor white tea.
I think I tried a Celestial Seasonings white tea a long time ago. It was OK, but I preferred the taste of black tea. Usually didn't like green tea very much either. (Red tea isn't the same plant species, but I like red tea more than white and green tea, too.)
So, hopefully black tea's and red tea's health benefits are good enough.
Then my cold improved when I slept, though I only slept for about 5 hours. And I feel more awake and alert than I usually have at the start of my "morning" lately, so, I suspect the caffeine might still be affecting me to some extent. But it doesn't feel bad - it feels familiar and more "normal". Except maybe I am starting to verge on a headache already. Maybe even a bit more than half of a 17 ounce mug was a bit too much for me.
Not sure if the tea did much for my immune system yet. Maybe I'll have more today already (but probably less than I did yesterday), even though I know the more I have, the more I'm risking headaches and perhaps worsened sleep too. But my so-called schedule never straightened itself out while I did without caffeine, so at least I'm not concerned about it making my schedule more unpredictable.
I think I should probably eat some "breakfast" before I have tea, though, because tea definitely suppresses my appetite. (Yesterday, my appetite started coming back about 4 hours after I had tea.)
Soon after writing the above, had some cottage cheese (spiced up a bit with black pepper), since even when I don't have caffeine, it seems to really help my energy levels in my "morning",
Interestingly, rather than reducing my vague verging-on-a-headache feeling, having more tea actually seemed to increase it a bit. But I still felt mostly OK, energetic, and in a good mood. The headache hasn't gotten really bad so far (and actually went away by the time I finished writing all these paragraphs). But, I feel pretty certain now that a lot of my past headaches were indeed related to caffeine.
Probably should have had ground flaxseed (warning) today for my hormones, just in case that headache was at least partly hormonal, and also because I felt a bit feverish, which either was hot flashes or maybe an actual fever. (Didn't take my temperature.)
Fortunately, my cold symptoms have decreased all the time I've been awake, and my gums have been mostly behaving, even though I only took my usual 6 Vitamin C's in my "morning", then nothing more until about an hour ago, when I took 4 more. I also didn't take my usual "morning" vitamins other than vegan Omega 3 and Vitamin C, just to change up my routine a bit. (Finally took most of them recently, along with my Vitamin C.)
I definitely like the tea highs, but sure didn't miss the lows. Of course, since my time of the month is so close, some of this could just be hormonal issues, especially since I neglected to eat ground flaxseed (warning). Also, I should've slept longer.
Might or might not have more tea tomorrow, but will probably try much harder to avoid having so much. Perhaps there's some ideal amount I can have which will give me mostly benefits and few drawbacks.
Maybe I should find a decaffeinated tea I like, made with safe methods, and drink that regularly so I can get some immune system benefits, and avoid problems from caffeine. (Except decaf is reputed to still contain a small amount of caffeine, but I think I can probably handle that.)
Trying white tea again (which might be healthier than green and black teas) also seems like probably a good idea. At least I like the taste more than green tea. And non-decaffeinated white tea is reputed to have less caffeine than other teas.
Returned to my usual vitamin routine today. Except I have been skipping magnesium lately, since it seemed like it was making me feel too tired, and I got the impression that when it made me tired, I became more vulnerable to my cold recurring.
Guess I'll probably continue with my usual black tea sometime soon, unless I go back to sleep. No headache today so far.
Stayed awake yesterday, but didn't have tea, and started to get a headache around maybe 10 PM or 12 AM or something (was too busy to pay attention to the time). That faded and returned throughout the night and morning, though my cold symptoms stayed pretty mild. Around 5:30 AM I tried having a bit more tea to ease the headache, but it only helped a little.
Finally went to sleep around almost 10 AM after taking this magnesium. But, I think I'm going to stop taking that kind at all, because I think it's a lot stronger than I need, even if I only take one (as I did today). In the past, I even have felt strong effects from supposedly "poorly-absorbed" magnesium oxide, So, maybe I'm actually better off with magnesium oxide so I can't absorb too much.
But my cold hasn't recurred as badly as it did those days it got the worst, since my eyes aren't gooey and itchy again, or at least not yet. And, I'm already starting to feel better (perhaps partly because my usual "morning" Vitamin C.)
So, other than giving me headaches and interfering with my sleep (which is probably not good for my immune system), I have had the impression that black tea might really be helping my immune system .
I mostly neglected Vitamin C yesterday (which probably wasn't a good idea, but if I had kept taking huge amounts, it would have been harder for me to judge if the tea was helping, or just the huge amounts of Vitamin C).
All I had was my usual six 500 mg of Vitamin C in my "morning", but surprisingly, my gums handled the lack of any more than that later on in my day much better than I expected. There was only one sore spot acting up, the one on the lower left (to the right of my leftmost root canal) that is usually dormant.
And, even though it only took about two days for me to get readdicted to black tea to the point of getting worse headaches than I have had in probably months, I guess I'll try to adjust to it and keep having a little sometimes to try to avert the headaches, and see if I can find an amount that still has benefits but doesn't so easily lead to headaches. (An almost full 17 ounce mug was definitely too much for me. I think I used to handle it better, but I guess now my body isn't accustomed to caffeine anymore.)
I hope I can find an acceptable organic tea decaffeinated with the carbon dioxide method, and grown and made in the USA. I guess second best might be an organic, grown and made in the USA, still-caffeinated white tea or green tea. At least white and green tea are thought to usually have less caffeine than black tea, in addition to possibly being healthier overall.
Neglected to have ground flaxseed (warning) recently, so my cramps' reduction wasn't from eating that. Perhaps it was from eating carrots yesterday, along with MSG-free Litehouse brand ranch dressing (which has a surprisingly high amount of Omega 3, though I don't know why that's not mentioned on their website. My jar's label says there's "1090 mg ALA Omega 3 per serving", and a serving is 2 tablespoons).
I feel like I might actually be able to do without a painkiller, though I might take one preemptively anyway, just in case.
And, my cold symptoms were mostly gone. My eyes were and still are a bit bloodshot, though.
Today, I slept from around 5:30 AM to about 3:13 PM, and woke up with a slight headache, but still don't feel like I have a cold. I still feel tired, but that could be from my time of the month.
But, on the other hand, I really think tea might really be helping my immune system, and might be a large part of why I did as well as I did in the past, despite having three root canaled teeth in my mouth ever since 2006.
So, compromising a bit and resuming a little tea-drinking seems logical to me, since I think maybe the headaches bother me less than the weirdness (for me) of having a recurrent cold that kept going away then coming back repeatedly for over a month. (Perhaps something similar was going on with me in October and November, too.)
And the idea of going back to drinking a bit of tea to try to help my immune system is definitely less scary than the idea of getting three root canaled teeth extracted, just in the hope that it might make life easier for my besieged immune system. (What if that wouldn't work - what if all I got for going to all that trouble was three less teeth to chew with?)
So, I'm officially not 100% quitting tea anymore, since I now plan on drinking some amount of some kind of tea(s) on occasion. Just not sure exactly how much and how often (except probably not daily), and I'll probably end up trying a variety of different kinds, preferably with less caffeine than the average black tea, and preferably all grown and made in the USA.
Alas, my ideal tea might currently be nonexistent. So, instead, I'm going to try this caffeinated green tea grown in South Carolina. Even though it's caffeinated, at least it will probably contain less caffeine than my formerly usual black tea. And green tea might be healthier than black tea.
Also, I was pleased to read on the Charleston Tea Plantation's Environmental Commitment page:
Perhaps I ought to start a new blog post to add updates to, especially since this one got quite long.
Might try to avoid more tea until I get some of this caffeinated green tea grown in South Carolina.
I've never tried many green teas, but, I think this is probably the best green tea I've ever had. It has a pretty mild flavor and only mild mintiness. I also brewed a second cup with the same tea bag, and the flavor is even weaker, but I'm still content to drink it.
Happily, it also definitely feels like less caffeine than my usual black tea. It feels like a mostly full 17 ounce mug of this stuff gives me much less of a caffeine jolt than even around half a mug of my formerly usual black tea (PG Tips). I wouldn't even describe it as a jolt, because it just feels mildly stimulating.
So, I'm very happy with this tea. It's too soon for me to know if this probably smaller amount of caffeine might eventually result in headaches, but, so far, I'm fine.
Before I resumed having tea on March 2, I was wondering if maybe my cold might be close to recurring, since my gums seemed to be acting up a bit more again. So, my cold slightly recurring wasn't totally unexpected, but, I was hoping the tea might totally avert any recurrence. Anyway, who knows, maybe the tea did help stop it from getting any worse than that.
Haven't had any trouble with headaches. My original plan on March 3rd was to avoid drinking more tea for a while, just to see how long it might take for me to get a caffeine withdrawal headache, if I got one at all. But, after waking up with that slight congestion, I decided I'd rather keep trying to suppress my cold, so I eventually had another cup of this caffeinated green tea grown in South Carolina around 11:30 PM on March 3rd.
Also had a cup of red tea, and reused my green tea bag in that. It was still good, but I think I prefer them separate.
Whatever amount of caffeine is in this caffeinated green tea grown in South Carolina feels almost unnoticeable to me, which, for me, is a very good thing. Because of that, perhaps drinking it daily might be feasible for me.
So, today, I tried microwaving my mug for 4 minutes instead of 2. The taste got stronger, and it feels like the caffeine did too, making my last cup of green tea a lot more similar to my last cup of black tea (though probably still not quite that strong). Still tasted great, and hopefully is more healthy, even though I probably got more caffeine out of it than is ideal for me.
Woke up today still feeling tired (and very thirsty again) after sleeping from around 11 AM to 6 PM. (Had woken up tired and very thirsty on other days too, but, mostly blamed my time of the month for the tiredness.) Also had slight congestion again, but that went away quickly.
This last cup of green tea (which I guess I had around maybe 8 PM) gave me a lot more energy than the other two did. Going to spend some time cleaning the most disorganized room in the house, partly in the hope that getting more exercise will give me more energy and hopefully somehow make me less prone to fatigue.
Maybe I should go back to brewing the tea my usual way,so I'll end up with a weaker cup of tea. Anyway, still no headaches.
Hmm, actually, I guess I'm already getting tired again. But, I guess I'll try to get some cleaning done anyway.
I don't like being fatigued again, but, I think I prefer it to having a cold that kept coming back repeatedly for over a month. Other than waking up with a bit of congestion, I've been fine, cold-wise.
Addition, 6:04 AM EST. Seems like physical activity does make me a bit less tired. I made some reasonable progress moving a junk mountain that was taller than I am. Then, I took what might have been my first shower since 2016. :-)
There's still a ton left to do, but, I look forward to having a useable nearby room where I can keep my bike, which I want to convert into an exercise bike.
I guess I'm doing OK. No congestion. Before I went to sleep, my left eye got a bit gooey, but hopefully that was only because I got a bit of water in it when I took a shower.
Got a headache while I was sleeping. I managed to mostly keep sleeping, and it's mostly gone now, but it sometimes still feels close to restarting.
Magnesium oxide seems to have a reputation for being relatively poorly absorbed, but I think maybe I absorb the other kinds too well. And I've noticed for many years that usually even just 1 magnesium oxide feels like it has calming effects on me, which can even make me tired if I'm not well-rested enough.
Another thing tea might've done for me was, it might have helped me effortlessly stay thinner. I haven't gotten fat since quitting tea, but I did gain some weight. Now my 34G bras don't fit as well anymore, wahhh! :-) Why must life be so hard? :-)
So, that's another thing that tempts me to keep drinking green tea, brewed strong instead of weak. Here's an article which says green tea boosts your metabolism.
I never regularly drank green tea, but even just black tea seemed like it made it easier for me to stay thinner (maybe partly because it seemed to suppress my appetite for a while). I never had to work at staying thin before and seldom tried to, though I probably should have exercised more anyway, because exercise is so healthy and seems to make me feel better almost anytime I bother with it.
Been feeling probably cold-free, but, woke up briefly and unpleasantly around 1:46 PM because my last Nature Made magnesium oxide seemed to have the same result for me as two capsules (a single serving) of this magnesium - diarrhea.
So, maybe that means I'm actually not even close to magnesium deficient, since this article says "too much oral magnesium will result in diarrhea." I only took one 250 mg Nature Made magnesium oxide around 11 AM on March 6th, and one around 2:45 AM on March 5th, then this happened.
So, I guess I'll resume not even bothering with magnesium for a while. Lately, it seems like I need it less, only every once in a while. Didn't even get anxious after my last tea, but took magnesium anyway just in case - a mistake I'll try to avoid in the future.
I think maybe I'll be better off just getting reaccustomed to tea and caffeine, and being careful to drink it regularly. I'm hoping I'll be able to handle it better now than I did in the past, because I still suspect my electric blanket was even worse for me and my sleep quality than caffeine, and I'm no longer using my electric blanket at all.
Looking forward to trying the
Another thing I like about microwaving my tea for 4 minutes instead of 2 is, it stays adequately hot for a while even after I put in honey, sucanat, and half-and-half.
Maybe once I start exercising more after I get the next room cleaned up, maybe that will somehow improve my sleep. I think I tend to sleep best after I get exhausted.
Definitely no intention (at least for now) of quitting tea again. I think I just feel much better with it than without it. I actually feel happier and more back to normal.
After cleaning, I ended up binge-watching Netflix (Luke Cage) and looking at Clevnet books, so that kept me awake despite my sleepiness.
Then, there finally was a power outage for the first time in quite a while, starting maybe around 6:35 PM and ending around 7:04 PM (if I recall correctly). So, since I still haven't gotten around to adequately updating my Puppy Linux Setup Kit, that was more of a nuisance than it otherwise would have been, also because due to the cold weather, I've been using my desktops more than my laptops.
I was too tired to deal with it and just went to sleep maybe around 8 PM, without even plugging my computer stuff back in. Woke up around maybe 1:10 AM or something.
So... I guess one of my top priorities, besides cleaning the next room, ought to be to work on my Puppy Linux Setup Kit, so I can more easily get back useful new things I haven't yet added to my setup kit, like Pale Moon, Saxon/C, Schematron, my modified version of VUE, and updated components of Astroblahhh GLMP-GTK.
Or, I could try to get more sleep. But, not sure I feel tired enough anymore. Or actually, maybe I do.
Had tea around 2 PM (March 9th), when I started to feel like I might get a headache if I didn't have tea. Managed to avert that.
Tried the loose version of this excellent caffeinated green tea grown in South Carolina. The only thing disappointing about it was it was made up of shredded leaves rather than full leaves (unlike what the Amazon description said).
In my own paper teabag, I experimentally put somewhat less than a tablespoon. Probably since I used less than what is in a pre-packaged teabag, it turned out weaker than my usual cups, but other than that, it tasted the same to me.
I like the convenience of the pre-packaged teabags, but, I also like the easier customizability and possibly lower cost of loose tea. Might be fun to mix different loose teas together.
Maybe I should go back to drinking slightly salted water, not just for a possible adrenal fatigue-related electrolyte imbalance, but because it tastes better to me, so maybe I'll be more likely to drink enough water before I sleep to avoid getting so thirsty when I sleep that it wakes me up.
I did wake up feeling tired again, but, as usual, that tiredness has already decreased, even without drinking tea. I've only had water (unsalted, actually) and my usual vitamins so far.
Feeling pretty rested today. No headaches since I last wrote except one when I first woke up thirsty, but it quickly went away when I drank some water.
Was too tired (and thus lazy) before sleep to prepare some slightly salted water, but certainly will today. It's supposed to be good for adrenal fatigue-related electrolyte imbalance, which maybe I still have.
I'm guessing this is because my paper teabags have a different shape than the pyramid-shaped teabags used in the already-bagged version.
Another reason I like loose tea is because if I ever decide to decrease my tea intake again, it'll be easier to do that with loose tea than with pre-packaged tea bags.
Also, my energy hasn't been lasting as long as I'd like lately.
I guess I'll go back to pre-packaged tea bags and see if that helps.
And I suspect now that maybe my paper teabags weren't letting all the healthy substances (or flavor) in the tea out of the teabag as well as the pre-bagged tea's pyramid-shaped non-paper mesh or net. Not sure what it's made of (maybe nylon?), but whatever it is, it seems to work well.
Addition, 1:26 PM EDT. Just found this worrying article on nylon tea bags. But, I refuse to worry about everything, so, I'm going to keep drinking it anyway.
Addition, 1:33 PM EDT. And here's another worrying article which I probably won't do more than skim until after I'm finished with my tea.
Addition, 1:35 PM EDT. Just noticed my tea box says "The Charleston Tea Plantation is pleased to share the fact that this box, woven mesh pyramid bag, string and tag are made from sustainable (renewable) resources and are 100% biodegradable." OK, that's comforting. :-)
Maybe it's because I've been eating too poorly or sleeping too poorly lately (or both).
Oh, well. Anyway, I guess I'll try some more ground flaxseed (warning), because maybe my hormones are acting up and making me overly negative and cynical about my chances of ever recovering from all my ailments. It seemed to help yesterday.
Had green tea, two spoonfuls of ground flaxseed (warning), and a bowl of cereal.
Anyway, today, I felt better for a while, but my mood went to heck again. Almost went to sleep again earlier but had to stay awake for something.
Anyway, I'll see if things improve over the next few days, and if not, maybe I'll quit tea - again. Or at least reduce it a lot, maybe.
But, I probably will go back to grinding my own flaxseeds, (warning), since I suspect freshly ground flaxseed (warning) works much better on me than the packaged already-ground flaxseed (warning).
Before that, had been spending many hours (too many?) trying to design a way to do some sort of visual programming with my modified version of VUE: Visual Understanding Environment, using XSLT to extract data from VUE maps (which are in XML format) and transform it into useable scripts.
I'm hoping that if I get somewhere with that, it might make my future programming much easier. multifiles-apmod.el helps a lot, but I think being able to use VUE to edit code might turn out to be better than even that.
Today, I tried the plain, non-mint version of this excellent green tea grown in South Carolina. It's good, and tastes pretty similar to the mint version, but, I like the mint version more.
Mostly been playing video games so far today. Hopefully I'll soon feel like returning to cleaning, and doing stuff with XSLT.
Felt a bit tired after eating some ginger snaps, but that passed, and I managed to clean up some of the mess that has gradually reaccumulated in my room.
I'm amazed at how much better and back to normal I feel overall. I was so worried when my cold recurred, and when I kept feeling tired, and sometimes had trouble sleeping. I was afraid I might never get this much better again, that maybe caffeine was worsening my possible adrenal fatigue again, and wearing me down so much that maybe whatever boost my immune system might have been getting from tea was being negated.
But now, I feel like I'll probably be OK. But, I'm going to continue to be careful, take it easy, and avoid stressful things.
And here's an interesting page about theaflavins, which are found in black tea.
That page mentions, "Either black tea or supplementation also appears to reduce the absorption of fatty acids, cholesterol, and starches from the intestinal tract which can reduce nutrient absorption quantities (and secondary to inhibiting starch absorption, there may be some probiotic effects similar to dietary fiber)."
Maybe that partly explains why I was thinner back in the days when I regularly drank black tea. Not sure I like the idea of reducing nutrient absorption.
Here's another interesting article on theaflavins.
I think I'm going to keep drinking primarily green tea, but I might sometimes drink black tea for variety's sake, and also in case it has any health benefits that green tea doesn't have.
(Though the 2nd article says some forms of green tea can have around the same amount as black tea. Quote: "Gyokuro and matcha tea have as much as 46mg per cup".
Wouldn't mind trying gyokuro and matcha if it was grown in the USA, but I'm guessing it probably isn't. Correction - maybe it's available here, but, it's probably too expensive for me. I'm not even going to try that, because I don't want to get hooked on something I can barely afford.)
Since green tea reputedly contains less caffeine than black tea, I think I'll mostly stick with green tea for a while for that reason. From what I read, it sounds like theanine might help counteract some of the effects of caffeine - except in my experience, I definitely felt like my formerly usual black tea gave me a stronger caffeine jolt, and I think for now I prefer the milder effect of green tea.
But, some black tea might be nice for me every once in a while. I just hope my adrenals are OK with all this caffeinated tea. Fortunately, I feel fine at the moment.
Yesterday, I finally got my room adequately cleaned up again. Also made a little progress with the next room.
Got a little irritable yesterday afternoon (before I was finished cleaning), but that went away even without ground flaxseed (warning), perhaps because having my room nice again, and my bed and office chair uncluttered with junk, put me in such a good mood.
Now, with that distracting nuisance out of the way, I can finally more easily return to other things, like XSLT.
Been thinking over how to design at least a very basic visual programming system, and feel like I've been making progress.
That seems like more fun (and potentially more beneficial in the long run) than a lot of other things I could work on. So, even though I probably ought to update my Puppy Linux Setup Kit at least a little, I haven't yet, because I'm itching to be able to update it (and work on many other scripts) using my increasingly unvaguely imagined visual programming system. :-)
However, I'm now wondering if this might be related to the red cayenne pepper I spilled quite a while back, not sure when. When I was cleaning my room, I found a lot of it was still under various junk. My eyes actually didn't get at all gooey while cleaning it up, nor afterward until yesterday and today (if I recall correctly), but, while cleaning it, I got very sneezy and my nose ran a lot.
So, not sure that's the cause of my problems, but, perhaps I ought to vacuum in here to try to get rid of whatever trace amounts of cayenne might still be in here.
I probably should have stayed asleep longer, but, wasn't sure I felt capable of going back to sleep, and ended up staying up.
Had lots of energy yesterday - in a single evening, I cleaned a mess that had been piling up for probably almost 15 years. (Not in the next room - that's still a mess.) That day, I microwaved my tea for 5 minutes instead of 4, so, perhaps my tea was more strongly caffeinated that day.
Today, finally returned to doing more with PHP. But I'm getting too sleepy to even do much more of that.
I wonder if maybe I'd be better off drinking my formerly usual amount of caffeine. I drank black tea pretty regularly ever since 2000, and functioned well enough a lot of that time. Or, I guess I could keep microwaving my green tea for 5 minutes instead of 4.
I don't know, maybe there's just no true cure for what ails me - just temporary alleviations such as caffeine.
I wonder if sufficient caffeine actually reduces those problems for me? I don't think it's a cure either, but, maybe it actually improved my situation (before I possibly got adrenal fatigue, that is).
I sure hope my roughly 5-month break from most caffeine was enough for me to recover a lot from my possible adrenal fatigue and go back to my old caffeine habits.
Anyway, now I'm feeling more awake again. Seems like eating potato chips (and other carbs) too early in my day really does make me sleepy. And eating cottage cheese in my morning seems to help a lot with my alertness (but I skipped that today).
And I think maybe I do best emotionally (and with other PMS symptoms) when I reliably eat two spoonfuls of ground flaxseed (warning) per day. (Another thing I skipped today until recently.)
And remembered I hadn't had magnesium in a while, so, I tried a capsule of this again - Advanced MAGNESIUM (by InnovixLabs). Highly Bioavailable Bisglycinate + Malate Formula - and I feel like I slept better. Unusually rich and detailed dreams.
I think I still want to sleep more, though. Only got 7 hours so far. (Slept sometime between 9:18 PM and 4:13 AM.) I seldom wake up really feeling like I want to stay awake - at first, at least, I almost always feel like I need more sleep. Sometimes I try, but it seems like my body often just reaches the point where it refuses to sleep anymore, lately around 7 hours after I go to sleep.
But maybe now I am sufficiently magnesiumed up that going back to sleep is more of a possibility. I guess I could even eat something carby (or with melatonin, like walnuts) to try to make myself even more tired.
And this list, which also mentions walnuts, which have always tended to make me feel sleepier (unless I'm very well-rested before I eat them). Maybe I should try eating before sleep more often, but I tend to get really lazy about doing anything when tired.
Maybe I should start paying more attention to my Relative Scheduler so I don't lose track of time and where I am in my so-called schedule so easily. And probably ought to find (or make) some timer software to make it so I can more harmlessly lose track of time while getting absorbed in tasks like programming, or even just reading.
But for now, I guess I'll just try to go back to sleep again. Still feeling like I want to go back to sleep.
I think maybe I ought to put a bit less salt in my water, in case there was too much. It tasted OK, but I drank unsalted water too in case the slightly salted water might be making my thirst worse instead of better.
I feel so much better. I wonder, though, if maybe my body isn't generating enough melatonin on its own to make me sufficiently tired to sleep, or to sleep well when I do manage to sleep. I've read that older people generate less melatonin than younger people. Here's an interesting article I found about melatonin.
I've never tried over-the-counter melatonin, since I'd rather just eat walnuts. Or dried sour/tart cherries, which are also reputed to contain a lot of melatonin, even more than walnuts. (Except I wonder if there's more or less melatonin in dried sour/tart cherries than in non-dried cherries?)
Anyway, even just walnuts tend to work pretty well on me, so well that despite them being one of my favorite foods, I mostly avoid eating them during my day so they won't possibly make me tired. Then by the time I get tired, I tend to avoid eating them just because I get very lazy about doing anything that involves getting out of bed. So, haven't been eating them much at all for months, partly because I usually forgot I had some.
Definitely in a much better mood today. Very pleased that I managed to sleep a lot longer than I thought I might be able to, and that I woke up feeling like I finally got enough sleep.
I wonder if caffeine maybe messes even more with my melatonin and circadian rhythms than I realized. There are lots of articles, like this one, which say caffeine delays the circadian cycle and one's nightly melatonin peak. Still not sure whether the effects of tea are more bad than good, or more good than bad, for me.
It would probably be interesting if I could somehow easily get a clear idea of what my circadian-related bodily functions are up to, and whether they really are out of sync (like a jet-lagged person) or not. But, not sure I'm really in the mood right now to research that in depth, because there are too many other things I'd rather work on.
Computer programming is often so annoyingly difficult and time-consuming for me, that if I can make a visual programming system that makes it much faster and easier for me to do programming, it will give me a lot more time to do other things.
Happily, I found some useful timer scripts written in PHP-GTK - one with minutes and seconds and one with minutes, seconds, and hundredths of a second - from one of the best websites I've ever found about PHP-GTK.
I haven't tried these scripts in the already-released Astroblahhh GLMP-GTK or Astroblahhh PH-GTK, but my guess is they would probably work fine, since most PHP-GTK scripts I ever tried from there have worked fine with Astroblahhh GLMP-GTK and Astroblahhh PH-GTK.
And they definitely work fine with my unreleased Astroblahhh GLMP-GTK update which runs in Lighthouse 64 Puppy Linux 6.02 Beta 2, and uses PHP 5.6.13 and PHP-GTK 2.0.1.
Mostly been tired since then. But, this was still my best day since I don't even know when. Didn't even need ground flaxseed (warning) for my mood today.
I guess next time I wake up tired, maybe I'll just try much harder to go back to sleep, and try eating walnuts for their melatonin again. (Have to be cautious with magnesium, though, since too much gives me diarrhea.) Apparently, enough sleep is all I need to feel much better.
Anyway, maybe I'd be better off quitting tea again, don't know. Wonder if sufficient melatonin would give me enough of an immune system boost to compensate for my root canaled teeth possibly giving my immune system a hard time. Then maybe I wouldn't need an immune system boost from tea, nor an artificial energy boost from caffeine, since I'd be sleeping better.
One thing I definitely liked about quitting tea was, not having to worry I might get a headache if I don't get up and have tea despite still feeling tired.
So... maybe I'll start decreasing tea again. I don't know if I'll quit it as strictly this time, since I think I might like a cup every once in a while, as long as it's not enough to readdict me.
Had almonds instead of walnuts before sleep. I don't think they're as effective on me for making me sleepy, but, just thought I'd try them. Maybe they helped some.
Found various interesting articles, such as this one, this one, and this one
Here's one called 10 Ways to Lower Estrogen Toxic Load. It mentions both flaxseeds (warning) and green tea as being helpful, among many other things.
I think I'm going to try this organic kind, which numerous Amazon reviewers and commenters say is tremendously cheaper at Walmart.
Definitely still feeling like I should sleep more, so... I guess I'll try now. Maybe I'll try just 1 walnut instead of 5 or whatever I had the other night, and see if that does anything for me. For some reason, it's not hard for me to avoid eating many walnuts - I love them, but somehow I'm satisfied with just a few at a time.
Forgot to note down exactly what time I ate a walnut, but, probably soon after the previous update. Might be feeling some effect already, not sure.
Maybe another thing I ought to do is get easily opened and closed light-blocking curtains, since light and darkness definitely do affect me to some extent. I don't mind if I get totally out of sync with the world as long as I'm sleeping well.
Anyway, I guess I probably should quit tea again, because maybe it worsened my adrenal fatigue again and is interfering too much with my ability to sleep.
I hope my health wasn't permanently ruined by the emotional shock I got last May/June. :-( But I guess I'd probably be even worse off at this point, if that hadn't gotten me to quit my electric blanket, and tea (for a while).
Addition, 11:12 AM EDT. Plus, I found a lot of beneficial things for my health that I otherwise might not have found if I had continued mostly ignoring my declining health.
Anyway, judging by my probably PMS-related unhappiness at the moment, I probably shouldn't skip ground flaxseed (warning), and maybe I'd even be better off eating more of it.
But, judging by yesterday, it's likely that good-quality sleep would be even better for me. Though caffeine also temporarily alleviates the fatigue. But maybe without any caffeine, I'd have less fatigue to alleviate.
Asked a relative about how I could install some curtains. Also finally put the Redshift screen-tinting software on a Lighthouse 64 Puppy Linux 6.02 Beta 2 computer I use frequently but wasn't already using Redshift on.
Getting sleepier now, so I guess I'll risk skipping tea, and also have a few more walnuts and some extra ground flaxseed (warning), and try again to sleep.
Guess I might as well start my day. Won't skip tea entirely, but won't brew it as long, so I can get started reducing caffeine again. Then, I guess I'll see what programming I can finish off, or at the very least, library books.
And also one of these curtains. I was tempted to pick burgundy or even orange, but I thought that such rich colors might get tiresome after a while, so I picked a milder color - sand.
Anyway, I finally feel able to focus again on other things besides figuring out how to improve my sleep and fall asleep more easily, yay. :-)
Kept waking up thirsty, much too frequently. I suspect this might be related to my possibly adrenal fatigue-related electrolyte imbalance maybe getting worse again lately. Except I think lately, I might have been (and might still be) low on potassium more than salt.
Eating some smoked almonds during the night seemed to possibly help. When I got up and googled them to see how much potassium they have, I found they have what looks like a lot. And so do sunflower seeds, but I think the sunflower seeds we have maybe got too old to taste as good to me anymore. Or I'm just tired of them.
Also had a craving for orange juice before sleep (which also has some potassium).
I think its melatonin possibly did work on me to make me sleepier. But since I didn't measure how much I had, diluted it with a lot of water (also unmeasured), then only drank a little of the diluted juice, I'm not sure exactly how much I had. Going to avoid drinking very much of it just to try to avoid getting desensitized to melatonin.
I also had another capsule of this Advanced MAGNESIUM (by InnovixLabs). Highly Bioavailable Bisglycinate + Malate Formula, despite feeling wary about diarrhea. Fortunately, didn't get it.
My eating habits are terrible sometimes. And, because I pretty consistently keep a log of what I eat, I can easily look back and see how terrible they are. Which doesn't always inspire me to eat better, but, sometimes it does. At the very least, my food log preserves a lot of the specific details (which I otherwise would easily forget) about why I feel like crap.
For example, what I had yesterday after I woke up was vitamins, mint green tea (microwaved for 4 minutes), and a lot of Utz brand sour cream/onion-flavored potato chips. Then, early on March 22nd, I had a fair bit of cottage cheese with black pepper (before sleep, instead of the time it makes more sense to have it - after waking, since high-protein foods seem to be good for my energy in my morning), and some orange juice.
Then I had some smoked almonds almost in my sleep. And water - some slightly salted, which I didn't feel was helping, so then I switched to unsalted water.
So, I definitely should have eaten better recently. (And on many days before yesterday, too.)
But, nonetheless, I'm feeling much better and much more well-rested today than yesterday, even though it seemed like I was waking up very thirsty every couple of hours. Slept sometime between 3:59 AM and 11:46 AM.
Today, thanks to feeling well-rested enough, I already feel like I'm going to have a much easier time doing whatever it is I want to do today. (Haven't decided yet, but, I'll probably have an easier time deciding, too, because even just thinking is easier when I'm well-rested enough.)
Earlier, my libido surprisingly returned. (My tiredness had suppressed that before.) Anyway, that led to me ending up so tired I almost went back to sleep already around 2:15 PM. But surprisingly, I started to wake up again instead of falling asleep.
I was surprised to read here that only 1 in 6 women sleep better after sex. I wonder if that's really true? I always thought it takes so much energy that probably it has a sleep-promoting effect on most women (and men)... but maybe I was wrong.
I don't know if I mentioned it before, but that's another thing that can do a lot to help me sleep. (That was the case even when I was younger, more energetic, and probably healthier.) Too bad I often get too tired to go to the trouble or to even think of resorting to that possible help for my sleep problems. Anyway, that was something I neglected to mention before that helped me before my best, most well-rested day recently.
I'm probably going to usually continue to neglect to mention such activities, for false modesty's sake. :-) But, that definitely has such a powerful and beneficial effect on me (particularly if I intend to soon go to sleep) that it seems worth mentioning at least once.
Didn't get much done besides reading, and now I'm drowsy again, even despite lots of sunlight earlier from the big window that's in front of me.
Even though my energy didn't last all that long, this was my second-best day recently.
So, hopefully things will continue to improve, even despite PMS and my time of the month approaching.
Given that a lot of my possible cold symptoms might have just been a reaction to traces of spilled cayenne pepper in my unvacuumed room, maybe I don't need the immune system boost of tea as much as I thought I might.
Didn't expect to end up having so much trouble feeling energetic for more than a few hours every day, and also so much trouble even getting a sufficient amount of good-quality sleep in the first place. And I think my mood swings might have gotten worse lately. And getting so tired I got even more lazy than usual about eating right didn't help either.
So, it seems now like the drawbacks for me of caffeinated tea outweigh the benefits.
At least I haven't had much trouble with headaches during this experiment. Good thing I mostly experimented with green tea rather than black tea (which is said to have more caffeine).
And I used to be able to handle caffeine much better, but now I apparently can't, so I'm guessing I probably really do have adrenal fatigue. Wonder how long it takes to get better from that. Maybe I'll never be able to drink caffeinated tea regularly ever again? Oh, well.
But, having caffeinated tea occasionally will hopefully be satisfying enough. And maybe someday I will recover sufficiently to have it more frequently.
After waking, got over my initial tiredness much quicker than usual, and felt well-rested enough for a while, but, started to get a bit sleepy around 9:50 AM after some vitamins around 9:30 AM, including a new one I started yesterday evening and had again this morning - Full Spectrum VITAMIN K2 (by InnovixLabs). Provides two essential forms of K2 (MK-4 + MK-7).
Then I found a forum discussion about Vitamin K2 which had some quite worrying anecdotes, though also various positive anecdotes, as well as anecdotes with both good and bad-sounding effects.
One woman even described how she grew in height and her face changed shape! :-O
And also have been decreasing my Vitamin D again lately because I don't want to possibly overdose on that.
My energy this morning has increased again after eating some cottage cheese. But, I'm feeling out of sorts, perhaps because of PMS. Lately have sometimes felt a little achy and somewhat weak.
Haven't tried it yet, but, I think instead of green tea today, I'll have a partway full mug of that, microwaved for 2 minutes or less, to try to reduce the amount of caffeine I'll get from it.
Out of concern for my adrenals, I discarded most of it, with a slight twinge of regret. But I think I like this mint green tea more.
Maybe I'll try avoiding caffeine for a while until I start to feel like I might get a headache.
Before tea, was very irritable, which is probably partly from tiredness too. I also might need more ground flaxseed (warning) already.
I wonder if there is some sustainable amount of caffeine I can have regularly mostly without bad effects.
Anyway, I sure hope I can get back to normal someday. I should at least have more energy than this.
I'm glad I discarded most of that mug of Earl Grey black tea, because if so little, microwaved for only 2 minutes (plus a little extra just to warm it up some more after adding half-and-half; can't remember if I had taken the teabag out by then yet or not), has this much effect on me, then all of it probably would have been way too much for me.
Definitely not going to microwave my green tea for 4 or 5 minutes anymore (for the initial heating with the teabag still in). Maybe I'll try 3 minutes. (But not right now - I'm still trying to do without tea for a while until I feel close to a headache.) It would be really nice if I found there is some amount of caffeine I can live with.
Had a lot of croutons. Been starting to get drowsier, despite lots of sun from my window, but not as drowsy as I feared I might get.
Been reading a bit. Not sure if I'm up to returning to programming. (That was going OK soon after I woke up, but then I got tired again.)
Wonder how long that will take. This page says:
I wonder if it's possible that the effects could last even longer than that for some people.
Anyway, I don't expect to have months of withdrawal symptoms after only having one mug of green tea per day for I think less than a month. Hopefully I'll recover pretty quickly when my sleep improves. I felt pretty great just the other day (March 20th), when I managed to get around 12 hours of sleep. (Which was at first only 7 hours, then about 2 hours awake, then, surprisingly, 5 more hours of sleep.)
So, that's comforting. As much as I like tea and its pleasant effects on my mood (at least right after I drink it), I still prefer the pleasant effects of good-quality sleep.
Might stay up a while longer to read, eat, and/or watch TV or Netflix with my family, though.
Started to feel more relaxed yesterday, and still feel that way today. Hadn't even realized how unrelaxed I had been until the absence of as much caffeine in my body naturally allowed me to relax more.
Had only Omega 3 and Vitamin C so far today. I sure hope nothing in those makes me tired. Wonder if I can find a brand of Vitamin C without magnesium stearate, since magnesium in general can make me tired, and also, I've run across some worrying articles about that specific form of magnesium. Though other pages claim magnesium stearate is harmless. And I don't know what to believe, and wish I understood enough about biology and chemistry to have a better idea of which pages are actually making sense.
Returned to programming since I feel able to concentrate better again now that I'm not as tired. I feel like I could be better, though, and that maybe I still need to sleep some more. (I felt better when I first woke up.)
No headaches so far, so, I'm going to keep avoiding caffeinated tea.
Could be PMS, could be caffeine withdrawal, etc. Oh, well. I hope someday I'm cured of whatever is wrong with me, because I can scarcely get anything done.
Anyway, it wasn't that long ago that I was doing much better overall, so, hopefully I'll get back to normal again somehow.
Guess I'll try increasing my Vitamin C, since it's supposed to be good for adrenal fatigue, and I've been lazy for a while about taking it multiple times throughout my day. I pretty regularly take 3 grams in my morning, then little or nothing later on. Sometimes the only Vitamin C I take later on is Nature Made Stress B (which also contains Vitamin C, and which I've also been lazy about taking lately).
I just hope the magnesium stearate in my Rite-Aid brand Vitamin C isn't actually doing me harm. I've had so much Vitamin C with magnesium stearate, that if magnesium stearate really is bad, I might be in big trouble now. But, it has never felt to me like that brand of Vitamin C has been anything other than good for me, so, I'm not really that worried about it. Still am going to try to find a brand of Vitamin C without magnesium stearate, though.
Anyway, that unintentional nap helped my energy a bit, and improved my mood too.
Still no headache.
And another scary forum thread about Vitamin K2.
My last Vitamin K2 was yesterday, and I'm going to avoid it for a while, even though I'm not sure whether or not I had any effects (good or bad) from any brand I've taken. I think I started taking Vitamin K2 in the latter half of December, and took 1 daily most days since then.
I think probably I underestimated how bad caffeine would be for me. And caffeine withdrawal isn't great either. And PMS often wipes me out too.
Still been feeling tired, but didn't go back to sleep at all yet, and even actually managed to make some progress with programming. For some reason, PHP programming is so comfortable and relatively pleasant for me, even when I'm not at my best (as long as I'm not too tired). Somehow, things just work as I intend (or expect) a great deal more easily than code I try to write in other languages. Which puts me in a much better mood. :-)
Earlier, found that Celestial Seasonings Madagascar Vanilla non-caffeinated red tea is much improved by microwaving it for 5 minutes instead of just 2.
Anyway, unsurprisingly, resuming more Vitamin C yesterday throughout the day helped me. Took 2 grams of Vitamin C about every 3 or 4 hours (until 10:45 PM). My gums felt better and so did I.
I guess today I'll keep programming. Not going to try too hard to make my code nice and unmessy (even if I release it), because hopefully doing that will become much easier once my not-yet-created visual programming system is made. Wonder how long that might take.
Addition, 3:36 PM EDT. Forgot to mention, I also had Celestial Seasonings Madagascar Vanilla non-caffeinated red tea sometime before the last addition, and sometime after the Omega 3, I think.
Still no headaches, even though I haven't had any green tea or other caffeine.
So... it seems I'm definitely better off not having caffeine regularly, even the amounts found in green tea. And quitting caffeine last year was probably a lot more helpful than I realized. Probably if I hadn't still been using my electric blanket back then (which somehow interferes tremendously with my sleep quality), it would have been obvious that quitting black tea (and the occasional chocolate and very diluted coffee) was helping me a lot more than I originally thought.
Anyway, I'm glad it didn't take very long for me to feel better, and also that I'm maybe not having very much trouble with caffeine withdrawal. Haven't even craved caffeine or chocolate very much, though I have been tempted at times to eat a peanut butter/dark chocolate granola bar, since we have some. (And already did eat 2, on different days, before I started quitting tea again.)
Feeling like my time of the month is close, and also getting that vaguely spaced-out feeling I used to get which I suspect was related to caffeine withdrawal, since I stopped getting that after I did without caffeine long enough.
No headache at the moment. Anyway, I just want to be done with caffeine and caffeine withdrawal again as soon as possible, so, I'm just going to keep avoiding tea, chocolate, etc. rather than gradually reducing it.
Nonetheless, I managed to slightly improve and release the Salty XML Transformer version 1.0.
Not sure yet if it's worth announcing in its own blog post. I wish I had my Puppy Linux Setup Kit stuff done so I could make it super-easy to set up everything required to use that.
But, not in the mood to work on that (or pretty much anything programming-related) until I hopefully get somewhere building my visual programming system.
Quote:
End of quote.
Interesting - only "most", but not all. So, for some people, it can take longer than 48 hours? Wonder if that includes me.
Wonder if I'd be OK drinking just one cup of green tea, then waiting 48 hours or more before another cup, instead of having it daily. Not sure I want to try it now - just am wondering.
Anyway, I found the abovementioned scientific paper about kale's effects on caffeine and other drugs is available from this page in PDF format - a file format I detest because it's so unnecessarily difficult to do anything useful with it, such as even just copy and paste. And also, I've heard that PDFs can contain viruses.
Still can't understand much of the paper, but, it seems very detailed, and looks like it probably says something interesting if you can understand it.
But, because PDFs suck, I must type it instead of copying and pasting it.
A quote from just before the Acknowledgements section:
End of quote.
I still don't know if that means kale makes caffeine's effects stronger or weaker, or longer-lasting or shorter-lasting. But, judging by the last sentences, it sounds to me like they don't know how much kale a human would have to eat to be affected. However, the first sentence clearly says that "people should be cautious about taking kale and drugs metabolized by CYP enzymes".
But, I guess I won't worry about it, and just keep on eating kale sometimes. Haven't had any since the last kale salad I mentioned, but the above isn't going to stop me from eating it, especially since I haven't had any caffeine since March 23rd. Which, coincidentally, was the same day I had a kale salad. :-) Wonder what that did with my body's caffeine levels (if anything).
Definitely interesting that actual scientific studies have shown an effect of some kind. (But I hope the rats were OK.)
And now I'm more relaxed and actually so sleepy I could almost fall asleep before I even add this update.
I guess I feel overall OK, though still maybe a bit spacy and probably not done with caffeine withdrawal. But, the fact that I feel more than theoretically interested in doing things other than sleeping is a good sign.
Been quite enjoying this Celestial Seasonings Madagascar Vanilla non-caffeinated red tea lately. I had two mugs of it yesterday.
Haven't had a huge amount of energy today, and mostly didn't feel like cleaning today, but, sometimes felt like I had some surplus energy, and used a bit of it pacing around and randomly exercising sometimes, such as while waiting for food or non-caffeinated red tea to finish microwaving.
Still no headaches. Also haven't needed ground flaxseed (warning) for my mood, because I've been in a much better mood.
Getting a bit tired now, which is probably a combination of PMS and caffeine withdrawal, and possibly also because I ate a bunch of granola bars (containing plenty of carbs).
Anyway, even though I don't feel perfect yet, I assume I'm probably recovering from my fatigue and caffeine withdrawal, and that will probably be more obvious to me after my time of the month is over.
So, that puts me in a much better mood again.
Not much else to add. About all I did today was programming, reading, and trying to decide or plan out what to do or work on next.
Mostly have just been reading today, but have been much more energetic and inclined to move around, and to stand, fidget, and/or exercise while I use my computer. And I look forward to the weather getting warm enough that I'll be able to comfortably go outside with my laptop even at night.
I think I might be starting to feel better than I did before starting green tea. Wonder if it's partly because of going back to taking lots of Vitamin C (about 2 grams every 3, 4, or more hours - whenever I remember to).
Also, I forgot to look for one made in the USA.
So, that's how I'm going to get my Vitamin K2 for a while. Definitely more fun than taking vitamin supplements, since gouda is quite possibly my favorite cheese. And, unlike Vitamin K2 supplements, I haven't yet read about anyone's adverse reactions to gouda cheese. And I don't plan to look, because I just want to enjoy my cheese in peace. :-)
One reason I'm not as tempted to drink green tea anymore is because it seems like green tea actually didn't do very much to help me lose weight. And even if it did help, probably those benefits were largely undone by me eventually ending up so continually tired that almost all I wanted to do was sleep.
I'm guessing one reason black tea seemed to probably work better to effortlessly keep me thin was because black tea used to suppress my appetite a lot more than green tea, possibly to an unhealthy extent.
Or, maybe it really wasn't as bad for me in the past because maybe I was a lot more desensitized to caffeine, and/or my caffeine metabolism was better when I was younger.
But I suspect it probably was always bad for me to some extent, judging by the headaches (which, thank goodness, I mostly didn't get with green tea, nor even during caffeine withdrawal). And also, I was always a rather anxious person with inadequate endurance for stress.
But, having little ability to put up with crap is not necessarily a bad thing, because I'm pretty sure I would've been even less happy with how my life turned out if I had had the endurance to stick with things like my nearly minimum wage job (a waste of time that I could have used on building valuable skills), among other things.
Anyway, who knows what might have been. I'm just glad I focused so much on my computer skills, since I'm not sure anything else would have helped me as much with my top goals in life.
Addition, 4:43 PM EDT. I should've taken Advil sooner, but, somehow just didn't think of that until it was too late. Anyway, I think it's starting to work already. Also had 2 spoonfuls of ground flaxseed (warning).
I probably should have eaten better yesterday, since I think my time of the month tends to be worse if I don't.
It's useful, but, I feel a bit reluctant to announce it in its own new blog post because until I update my Puppy Linux Setup Kit, it might be quite a nuisance for people to figure out how to install PHP, PHP-GTK, etc. And updating my Puppy Linux Setup Kit could take a while. And after all that work, I don't feel like doing much of anything now except fun stuff. So, just announcing that app here for now.
Anyway, hopefully that useful little app will help me manage my time better, and not lose track of time so much when absorbed in programming, reading, or whatever.
Finally got a headache recently, which I'm assuming is probably just another menstrual symptom, but I felt a bit tempted to drink green tea to try to get rid of it. (Didn't do that.)
Going to try being more reliable about having ground flaxseed (warning), since I think maybe I do better with it than without it.
My next programming task will be to make Salty XML Transformer capable of passing arguments to XSLT.
But, too tired to do much of anything at the moment, though my headache has been easing as I write this.
Having some green tea to see if it helps at all. Microwaved for 2 minutes, steeped a bit longer than that for flavor's sake. After not having it for a while, I'm even more sure I definitely prefer the taste of red tea or Teeccino. Maybe I won't drink it all, since I really probably shouldn't have caffeine.
Got a little programming done earlier, but couldn't continue because of this headache. It now seems quitting tea was definitely the right decision and I probably shouldn't have tried to resume it. I still got headaches sometimes in the months when I was mostly or entirely caffeine-free, but they weren't as bad. Seems like my other menstrual symptoms were worse this time too.
As I write this, it feels like the tea is helping ease my headache a little, but, I'm only going to drink a little more and then take an Advil. I sure wish there was a way to have only the good effects of caffeine and tea and none of the bad effects, but, perhaps that's impossible.
Advil seems to be working pretty well and quickly, as usual. But, I slept pretty badly, so, maybe I'll go back to sleep soon. Or maybe not, I don't know.
Anyway, I was never a huge yogurt fan in the past, so I guess that's why I never thought of doing this before. Fortunately, I ended up liking it more than pre-packaged flavored yogurt.
So, now I have another high-protein food I can eat in my morning other than cottage cheese (which is convenient and tasty, but has been getting a bit boring), or hard-boiled eggs (somewhat convenient once made, except for having to peel them; but also getting boring for me).
I just hope the carbs won't be troublesome for me. Surprisingly, even the yogurt itself has 9g of sugar per serving. (But I don't think I had a full-sized serving.) Will be trying other brands too.
Anyway, I think I've been feeling a lot less tired since eating that, and a lot better than I expected to feel on a day when I slept so poorly and had a headache for a while.
Ooh, I could try adding canned pumpkin, or coconut milk, or both at the same time. :-D All kinds of unusual (but hopefully still healthy) combinations. Maybe some of those concoctions will be so good they'll be reminiscent of (or almost indistinguishable from) an excellent pudding.
Could also try making frozen yogurt.
Anyway, I'm not surprised, even though having such noticeable reactions to different kinds of food still seems like a strange novelty to me, after so many years of being able to eat almost anything non-caffeinated (except walnuts) without feeling much difference in my energy levels and amount of tiredness at all, thanks(?) to my caffeinated tea habit (I assume).
I probably ought to just go back to sleep anyway, since I definitely slept poorly today.
In a very good mood now, because now that Salty can pass parameters to XSLT, I can finally much more conveniently do clever things with XSLT, like easily change the background color of any VUE map to whatever I want. XSLT may look weird and verbose at first glance, but it actually enables you to be very lazy, which I love. :-)
And PHP is such a pleasure for me to work with. So comfortable, and it makes it so much faster and easier for me to get things done.
I guess my next little project will probably be, making an XSLT sheet to easily customize my personal templates for new VUE maps - which is something I've been having to do partly manually because I didn't have Salty yet.
Salty is probably going to be part of the basic infrastructure (or plumbing) of my visual programming system. And I'll probably use it in my renovated Puppy Linux Setup Kit, too, along with my modified version of VUE.
Anyway, mostly was pretty energetic today except when carbs made me sleepy (an effect which wore off after a while).
Recently had some grape juice mixed with tart cherry juice, diluted with water, and am getting incredibly tired now, even though I didn't have very much. Maybe I'm just tired for other reasons, but, if the melatonin in the tart cherry juice is actually doing something, it feels like a stronger effect than walnuts.
So, I guess I better go to sleep. And probably have even less tart cherry juice than that in the future. Didn't measure the exact amount of tart cherry juice, but it might've been less than 1/4th of my glass of unknown size, mixed with a larger amount of grape juice and mostly water. Didn't fill up the whole glass, and didn't even get close to drinking all of it. Saving the rest for tomorrow and will probably dilute it even more.
Mostly just read today, and noted down ideas for my various projects.
Makes me want to re-read this essay: Income Tax: The Root of All Evil, by Frank Chodorov.
Haven't had more yogurt since the last time I mentioned it. Sometimes actually felt like eating some, but just didn't feel like going to the trouble of preparing it. Unlike cottage cheese, I can't just open the container and start spooning it into my mouth. Have to get a bowl and mix the yogurt with some sort of fruit to make it edible.
Did a bit of tax-related stuff, and watched a bit of Netflix with my family. And plenty of reading. Among other things, returned to XSLT For Dummies, and will probably soon return to XSLT 2.0 and XPath 2.0 Programmer's Reference.
I wonder how long it takes for the amount of melatonin I was getting from tart cherry juice to wear off of me? I wonder if I possibly still had too much melatonin in my system from that even after waking up yesterday? (Before that sleep, I had diluted the juice more than before, but I also drank more. And also had a few walnuts. So, not sure how much melatonin I got. Maybe too much?)
Definitely feeling more normal so far today. Wonder if that's anything to do with the 1 extra Testa vegan Omega 3 I had before sleep. (Usually I only take 1 in my morning.) Neglected to have ground flaxseed (warning) until relatively late in my day, but eventually remembered and had that too (about 5 hours earlier than the Testa Omega 3).
Wonder if I'm still dealing with caffeine withdrawal at all, or not. Anyway, definitely feeling much better so far today.
I just read some surprising things about caffeine metabolism. This page says:
Surprisingly to me (since I was beginning to suspect I'm a slow metabolizer), the description of what fast metabolizers experience sounds a lot more like how tea works for me, depending on what "relatively quick" means. I get a dip in energy several hours later, not sure how many (but it's usually sooner than I'd like).
In any case, the initial energizing effects of tea don't seem gradual at all for me. Though I suspect it does take a while for all of the effects of caffeine to wear off of me, judging by my noticeably poorer sleep quality soon before I quit tea again, a problem which seemed to decrease the longer I went without caffeine.
So... now I don't know how fast or slow my caffeine metabolism actually is. But, either way, I'm pretty sure I'm more sensitive than average to caffeine. And I think I'm probably better off without caffeine.
Wish I could get a genetic test, but, I'm not sure I'm curious enough about this to spend a lot of money on something like that.
I wonder if I would have had so many issues with my energy levels if I had quit tea when I was younger. I wonder if caffeine was concealing problems I had the whole time?
Or, maybe I still haven't gotten over caffeine withdrawal yet.
Wonder what would happen if I resumed my formerly usual amount of caffeine. What if larger amounts are somehow actually easier for my body to deal with than smaller amounts? Maybe larger amounts would be more effective at desensitizing me to caffeine than smaller amounts. So, maybe I'd somehow actually handle it better than smaller amounts?
Or maybe I'm just a caffeine addict trying to find some logical-sounding justification to allow myself to resume caffeine.
I'm just so tired of not being able to just get back to normal and have my old energy back.
Have been mostly avoiding Vitamin D for a while, so, maybe I'll feel better if I resume that.
Was maybe a bit less tired for a while, but now tired again, and still a bit headachy. But my mood has improved a lot, so everything seems better now even though very little has actually changed.
For a timer, I used my Simple Countdown or Countup Timer.
And, I did much better than I thought I might. Despite being so tired, I got 26 out of 30 on the word memorization test and 28 out of 30 on the number memorization test! Everything I remembered was in the correct order, I just couldn't remember 4 words (all next to each other) and 2 numbers (both next to each other).
Still a bit sleepy, but I seldom wake up instantly feeling great and wide awake, so hopefully I slept well enough, even though I kept waking up thirsty as usual.
No headachiness now. After I turned my lights off last night, I noticed my headache got less bad, so it was another light-sensitive headache. So, I guess maybe caffeine is actually what made me prone to those. Not sure if any of the headaches I got after mostly avoiding caffeine for a long time were light-sensitive headaches.
Also haven't had many carbs so far today, and in my morning, had cottage cheese with black pepper and a bit of ground flaxseed (warning).
Exercised a bit today while waiting for my non-caffeinated vanilla red tea to finish microwaving. Not sure if red tea has an effect on my energy or not. So far, I've never felt like it makes me tired, even though I put honey and sucanat in it.
I actually have the impression red tea might even be slightly good for my energy levels somehow, though I'm not sure whether or not it's really doing anything for me. In any case, even just the flavor makes it one of my favorite hot drinks ever, so I hope it is good for my health too somehow. I feel like it might be.
Didn't get much done today besides reading and watching Netflix with my family. But, definitely feeling more comfortable with XSLT thanks to XSLT For Dummies and XSLT 2.0 and XPath 2.0 Programmer's Reference. So, that will probably lead to some interesting things in the future.
Sometimes felt like I was about to get a migraine, with some nausea - another type of headache I hadn't gotten in a while after mostly going without caffeine for a sufficiently long time. Fortunately, that remained only a vague, slightly nauseated, slightly headachy feeling, rather than a full-blown headache with nausea.
Slept sometime between 9:01 AM and 4:30 PM today. Again, could have slept better. Was often thirsty, as usual. Will try more Vitamin D today.
Didn't feel like updating yesterday since I was so busy with reading, a bit of Netflix, and XSLT.
XSLT is still darn difficult, and Salty XML Transformer still sometimes has annoying unsolved problems with Unicode.
But, going to stick with it, because I'm so tired of programming the old-fashioned way. without a visual programming system.
Maybe it's impossible for me to have as large a beneficial effect on the world as I would like, but, I think it's best to keep trying, in case unavoidable reincarnation might exist.
Haven't started that yet, though, because I've been getting my various VUE maps more organized, now that I can more easily create customized new maps using Salty XML Transformer. So, now I don't have to manually fiddle with various navigational bubbles I like to have at the top of most of my maps.
Perhaps I might be able to do some primitive visual-programming-system-like things already somehow with VUE and Salty XML Transformer, as long as I don't get too elaborate.
But I'm still not sure my pink-eye-like symptoms are only from cayenne, because it really seemed like I had less trouble with this when I was drinking tea.
Anyway, my energy seemed to increase noticeably today after I had non-caffeinated vanilla red tea. Or maybe my 5 Vitamin D's finally took effect around then. (I sure hope I'm not overdosing on Vitamin D.) In any case, definitely been feeling much better than various not-so-good days, though not as good as the days when I slept better.
Anyway, hopefully things will keep improving overall, and there won't be too much more to add to this blog post.
And resuming caffeine and trying to quit it again seemed to increase all those nasty symptoms again. Maybe caffeine also worsened my PMS and menstrual symptoms too.
So, that's definitely stuff I can do without. I almost could have tolerated it if it didn't mess up my sleep quality, but, that alone undid most of the benefits of tea for me (feeling more energetic and in a better mood, temporarily).
I much prefer the mood-boosting and other beneficial effects of Vitamin D and ground flaxseed (warning). Which feel more natural and seem to last much longer.
Today has been quite a good day so far, energy-wise, in contrast to most of the time I was awake before my last sleep, when I was tired most of the time and frustrated with being tired.
Except I was surprised even on that mostly-tired day when somehow, after a few hours of tiredness since waking, my energy increased and tiredness largely went away for several hours. Not sure what might have caused that - there are many different things that might have helped, like cottage cheese+black pepper, Vitamin D, Nature Made Stress B , Vitamin C, red tea, ground flaxseed (warning). Or perhaps another thing or combination of things I haven't thought of.
Last sleep (in contrast to many of my other sleeps), I slept with my noise-blocking box fan on the entire time I slept, which I'm sure helped. So, I'll continue doing that. Also had some walnuts actually a rather long time before i went to sleep - had walnuts around 4:15 AM and went to sleep around 11:31 AM. (Had stayed awake to read and work on some things even though I was tired.)
Almost getting a little headachy now, but, still very encouraged that I'm feeling so much better.
I've been feeling wide awake and untired quite a lot of the time, almost like I'm back to normal. I suspect this is mostly from resuming Vitamin D. Also, probably my caffeine withdrawal symptoms are decreasing, even though I've been a bit headachy lately.
Anyway, I think another factor in my possible adrenal fatigue and possible PTSD has been where I live.
I really hope I can someday, somehow make enough money to make things better and possibly even move out. Partly thanks to my programming hobby, I usually manage to avoid thinking about how bad it is here, but, sometimes, like around Tax Day, it gets unignorably bad.
But, fortunately, Tax Day will be over soon enough. And once I have my Puppy Linux Setup Kit at least minimally updated, that will make it much easier for me to proceed with my other projects, and hopefully start focusing more again on figuring out what to do for money.
I still seem to get a bit tired after eating certain carby things, but the effect seems a lot less pronounced lately. Actually, until today, I had mostly been having snacks rather than actual meals - but, have been doing surprisingly well nonetheless. Or maybe not that surprising, since my snacks were mostly healthy things such as nuts. And I've been drinking more vegetable juice lately.
The meal I had today made me more tired for longer than probably any of my snacks lately (except walnuts, of course), but that passed pretty quickly, maybe in less than an hour.
And, my slight headache went away. So, at the moment, I feel better than I did before resuming caffeine, as well as better than I did even during the good parts of my brief return to caffeine.
Still not eager to deal with anything stressful, though, so, I'm just going to keep working on my various projects, and hopefully eventually figure out some sort of sensible career plan.
Anyway, was doing pretty well until today, but have been tired and headachy all day. I mistakenly kept thinking the headache would probably go away soon, since sometimes it faded, so I didn't take Advil until quite recently.
I guess the reason it wasn't this bad for me the last time I quit caffeine was probably because I already tapered down my caffeine a lot by the time I stopped caffeine entirely (sometime in the latter part of September 2016). But this time, I quit with hardly any tapering.
I probably also should have been eating better, but today I've felt too bad and/or nauseated to feel like eating or doing much of anything. Didn't feel this bad when I first woke up, so ate a bit then, thinking that might ease my headache. It has fluctuated but mostly got worse over time.
So, I definitely am not going to resume caffeine again, because these headaches are truly disabling. No wonder I had such a hard time repairing my life.
Maybe I should have tapered down caffeine instead of just quitting, but, I was hoping green tea (with reputedly less caffeine than black tea) wouldn't be such a problem for me.
Advil is helping now. I hope I won't need another Advil, usually just 1 works for me.
Fatigue definitely seems less a less bad problem for me to have than headaches, because bad headaches make it nearly impossible for me to get anything done (except very easy things). But if I'm just tired, I can sometimes still do surprisingly well even with programming. But yesterday, I couldn't even fix something which (minutes ago) unsurprisingly turned out to be a quite easily-fixed simple glitch.
Still feeling tired enough that I could maybe go back to sleep. Haven't really felt a craving for caffeine lately, but am wondering if tiny particles of instant coffee might make things easier for me, headache-wise. But I don't want to possibly prolong the problem. On the other hand, I don't want to take Advil too frequently, so I might be more comfortable with taking tiny particles of instant coffee instead.
Anyway, hopefully things will just get better rather than worse, and hopefully I won't have to do anything besides try to eat better.
Yesterday, I was still slightly headachy for a while, but nowhere near as bad as the day before that. Didn't need Advil.
Anyway, it seems like maybe magnesium helped - hadn't taken that in a while, and perhaps taking more Vitamin D lately increased my requirements for magnesium. I forgot to mention taking a magnesium citrate along with my Advil the other day. Took another magnesium citrate yesterday before sleep, and woke up feeling much better today. Also ate better yesterday. And was craving cantaloupe, so had some cantaloupe.
Also, my gums have been giving me much less trouble lately, even though the only Vitamin C I took yesterday was 3 grams in my morning, and one Nature Made Stress B (which also has Vitamin C and zinc) before sleep. I wonder if this is an indication that my body finally has an adequate amount of Vitamin D (since I noticed in the past that I seemed to need less Vitamin C for my gums after a while of taking Vitamin D).
Skipped ground flaxseed (warning) since April 15th, will probably resume if/when I start feeling menstrual.
Been making some progress thinking up a good new design for my Puppy Linux Setup Kit.
Yesterday, was so energetic I mostly cleaned up another room.
Mostly been reading, and working on my Puppy Linux Setup Kit.
Been reading a lot. Have been having trouble making myself work on the Puppy Linux Setup Kit today, though I did a lot with it yesterday and some other days.
I sure wish I had my visual programming system already finished and useable. But, I'd rather not work very much on that until my Puppy Linux Setup Kit is sufficiently updated that power outages and switching to a different computer will once again no longer be much of a disruption.
So, still not sure what that's from. Not sure whether it's really just from cayenne pepper, because the problem went away while I was drinking green tea, and I don't think I had vacuumed my room at all yet back then.
Also have been feeling rather weak at times, but I think exercise and eating better have been helping me with that.
I'm wondering now if maybe daylight (and light in general) is waking me up more easily than it used to.
So, will soon be getting this Wrap-a-Nap - Travel Pillow, Sleep Mask & Ear Muff in One, which is made in the USA.
Two of my favorite quotes from its reviews:
My eyes have been a lot less gooey since April 22nd, maybe because I resumed trying to be more careful to avoid thoughtlessly rubbing my eyes.
And another weird thing about it is, it has been rather light and I've largely avoided my usual symptoms. Didn't need Advil for cramps since I scarcely got cramps. April 27th was the first day that I got especially tired - too tired to do much of anything - but it took a while for me to start feeling that way.
I also eventually got a slight headache, which got much worse later on - on April 28th around 3:30 AM before I went to sleep, I had such a bad migraine with nausea that I threw up. (Advil helped with the headache, but the nausea remained, but fortunately that went away quite soon after I threw up.) Sometimes I felt too hot, but soon ended up so cold I was shivering - so I actually resorted to sleeping with my electric blanket. Fortunately, I feel fine now.
Lately, most days, I've also been eating 2 large spoonfuls of ground flaxseed (warning). My worst mood was on the 25th, but, rather than blaming PMS as much as I should have, I thought I was just particularly annoyed because the power went off when I was about to post an update, so most of what I wrote got lost (since I've been using my desktops more than my laptops lately). And, since my Puppy Linux Setup Kit isn't updated yet, getting things set up again wasn't as quick as it otherwise would have been. But, as usual, I felt much better a while after eating ground flaxseed (warning).
Anyway, other than the migraine with nausea, I've been feeling so much better lately that I think these strange changes are probably (or hopefully) not a bad sign. Maybe if I hadn't probably been Vitamin D deficient for most of my life, my times of the month would have typically been much more symptom-free, more like this? Will have to see what happens next month.
I don't think the slightly light-sensitive migraine with nausea was directly from the Vitamin D - I think it's probably caffeine-related, and I'll probably be less prone to them after another month, judging by this aforementioned blog post whose author's migraines went away after 2 months without caffeine. (I've only done without caffeine for about a month so far.)
Perhaps another factor in my headache was, maybe I still haven't been taking enough magnesium, even though I've taken a bit more because I've heard (and have felt like) Vitamin D makes you need more.
I still worry that maybe I'm taking too much Vitamin D, even though I've felt much more good than bad lately, so, I skipped it on April 28th, and only took four 2000 IU Vitamin D's today.
For covering my eyes, I still prefer the edge of the thin black velvet+leopard pattern blanket I already had. The problem with that blanket is, it easily gets moved out of place, especially while I'm sleeping.
My time of the month is still ongoing, but if the length of that part of my cycle hasn't changed, I expect it to end soon. As usual, the 3rd day was the lightest, and it came back after that, though it has been lighter than usual the entire time, except for day 3, which was about the same since it was almost always light in the past too. I wonder how my body manages to be so consistent about doing that.
Feeling OK and energetic enough so far today. Took 3 Walgreens Vitamin D3 Bone Health 2000 IU Softgels today.
Anyway, I really have to make my Puppy Linux Setup Kit my top priority, so future power outages (or even just turning off my computers on purpose) won't be so annoying anymore.
Still lots of energy. Had lots of energy yesterday too, so, I finally reorganized a lot of junk that had untidily accumulated in my room. I am so overwhelmed with clothes, even despite all my zippable pillow protectors, though at least those help a lot.
And, since I previously sometimes felt jittery and almost too energetic, and was also rather achy, and pages like this one recommend taking Vitamin D and magnesium together, I've been emphasizing magnesium lately, and surprisingly, it wasn't even making me tired if I took it during my day - just calmer and more relaxed. But, perhaps now I have enough magnesium in my system, so it's having its usual tiring effects on me again?
Also, despite the worrying Vitamin K2 anecdotes I ran across before, I resumed taking Vitamin K2 daily since May 1st, since pages such as this are so emphatic about the importance of having enough of both Vitamin K2 and Vitamin D.
And now I'm back to the old familiar fatigue again, despite many days of being remarkably energetic. Maybe once again I've underestimated my need for Vitamin D, and maybe I should resume taking more already?
Anyway, I sure hope I'm close to figuring out how to consistently have enough energy. Until today, the past couple of weeks were probably my best yet, energy-wise. And my last period was one of the strangest I've ever had, but at least it was less unpleasant than 99% or maybe all of my previous periods.
Now it's even more obvious to me than it already was that part of my problem is perfectionism. I can be incredibly productive as long as I'm not overly worried about the quality of the final result.
Quoted from the book:
[...]
"The fact is, I am a horizontal organizer. I like all the things I am working on spread out on a surface in front of me, where they can beckon me to continue working on them. When I put something in a file, I never see it again."
Maybe that's part of why I'm so fond of the concept mapping software VUE. In VUE, I can freely scatter text, images, lines, and currently unresizable and unstyleable tiny grey buttons (which open web pages or files), across a pleasantly infinite-seeming surface, limited only by computer memory constraints.
And Astroblahhh Desktop made it so I could find things without having to struggle to remember exactly what folders I put files in, or exactly what files I put some interesting scraps of text in. Instead, I can just give all related things the same search tag, and when I search for that tag (or just click a hyperlink which automatically runs that search for me), everything appears all in one convenient web page. (Except URLs, ideas/text scraps, and files can't be mixed together all in the same page - yet?)
However - despite the fact that I often seem to be better off keeping many different, even unrelated things in one place so I can more easily find them again, or at least having the illusion of everything I want to work with being in one place (which is what VUE, Astroblahhh Desktop, and multifiles-apmod all give me) - I created quite a foldery, mazey mess when I made the Puppy Linux Setup Kit. No wonder I keep wishing I could somehow manage all that stuff with VUE and Astroblahhh Desktop.
But, surprisingly, I've ended up feeling very energetic, jittery, and kind of like I need more magnesium, even though I took a serving of Nature Made magnesium citrate about an hour and a half after my "morning" vitamins - five Walgreens Vitamin D3 Bone Health 2000 IU Softgels, along with my usual vegan Omega 3 and 3 grams of Vitamin C, and, unusually, 200 mcg (2 capsules) of Vitamin K2 instead of my usual 1 capsule.
It was not until recently that I started to feel jittery and overly energetic. I wasn't sure if the magnesium I had earlier (less than 3 hours after waking) would make me tired or not, but, I'm guessing maybe it just prevented me from getting jittery and overenergetic sooner than sometime in the past couple hours. I wonder if that quantity of Vitamin D is starting to be too much for me?
At least this feels better than being fatigued, and I'm guessing that as usual, more magnesium will easily tame this excess energy and jitteriness. And exercise might help too. There's still a ton of cleaning left to do here. And, there's no reason I have to keep taking so much Vitamin D if I'm uneasy about doing so. Judging by the past couple days, it would probably be easy for me to go back to feeling fatigued if I want to, just by decreasing Vitamin D.
Perhaps there were other factors involved in the recent return of my fatigue, or the even more recent return of my energy, but it really seems like Vitamin D (or lack thereof) might be one of the top factors making a very noticeable difference in how energetic I feel.
I sure wish I could measure my Vitamin D levels without having to spend a chunk of money or see a doctor, so I could have a better idea of whether or not I'm close to overdosing on Vitamin D. After having had so much fatigue, it's bizarre to feel so back to normal, as though I'm younger and caffeinated. :-) But I definitely feel more good than bad. I hope it lasts.
Earlier, that was definitely more energy than I really needed so late in my day. And even though I prefer jitteriness rather than fatigue, I would rather not be jittery either, for the sake of my adrenals, even though it wasn't that bad, and at the same time, I was also pleased that I actually felt like exercising (and did so, a bit).
So, I don't intend to take all the same amounts of vitamins tomorrow. (And by tomorrow, I'm referring to the start of my next day, whenever I wake up, which will actually probably be later today on May 7th.)
And another interesting article by the same author: Vitamin A Plays an Essential Role in Setting the Circadian Rhythm and Allowing Good Sleep
As someone with blue eyes, this quote particularly interested me:
End of quote.
Fortunately, I like vegetables, even though I probably don't eat enough of them. The idea of a nice warm bowl of mixed vegetables with butter and salt, and perhaps some interesting spices, is actually making me hungry, even though I'd rather just go to sleep now.
Frustratingly, haven't been able to borrow as many Clevnet books as usual lately because again, I apparently borrowed and returned too many in a short period of time. So, I finally emptied out my wishlist and pared down my holds list. At least that will reduce the daily inflow of tempting new distractions. Except I still have about 140 episodes of The Vampire Diaries to watch on Netflix. :-) Anyway, hopefully I'll somehow get something useful done eventually.
Already feeling quite energetic (but not so jittery) even though I've scarcely eaten anything yet.
This page says:
Maybe I got tired before that because of magnesium in my morning, and too many carbs and not enough protein. Since my last update, I had a bit more Jarlsberg cheese, and also ground flaxseed (warning), which seemed to greatly improve my mood. And some carrots, and rice milk. (Edit, 5:42 AM. And also some potato chips hours after I started to feel more alert - which probably didn't help, but I don't remember if I got tired or not after them.)
I even started taking more of an interest in working on my Puppy Linux Setup Kit again. (I actually already had been making some progress on that lately. Reading and Netflix aren't all I do, even though those are two of the most effortlessly easy things for me to fall into doing.)
Also started out in a bad mood at first, but my mood greatly improved even before I had ground flaxseed (warning).
Had potato chips (which sometimes, but not always, seem to make me tired) and cottage cheese (which often seems to make me more energetic) around the same time. And, since I'm now tired, it seems like maybe the potato chips are winning. Or maybe I just need to sleep longer and better. Or, who knows.
Maybe I shouldn't have taken a break from Vitamin D? Don't know, just want to sleep now (probably).
But, I was able to borrow 10 Clevnet books today, so, that might keep me awake longer than I might think. But it's so difficult to predict.
I think I might try going back to larger amounts of Vitamin D for several days, but also try to get more Vitamin A from food by eating more kale, carrots, and tomatoes than usual. And perhaps cantaloupe too.
Anyway, I still feel vaguely tired, but at least I'm getting more done now. I'm not at my best but this is better than just feeling tired. Been neglecting to take as much Vitamin C lately since I haven't needed it as much for my gums lately, but, I'm guessing I probably ought to resume taking it more often just to help my adrenals.
Started my day with a kale salad with MSG-free ranch dressing, a tomato, and croutons.
Inspired by this page, I think I'm going to try Epsom salts at some point. Will try this kind.
However, our only working bathtub is rather disgusting, so, I'm not going to soak in there. I wish we could get the other bathtub fixed, along with the entire upstairs bathroom, for that matter - everything in there has been broken for so long I can't even recall how many years it has been like that.
Anyway, I think probably before, I underestimated how much magnesium so much Vitamin D was going to make me need. So, though I think I was mostly OK at first, I think by now I probably have gradually become magnesium deficient, partly because I've typically been reluctant to take magnesium during my day, since it can easily make me tired.
(But, frustratingly, often not tired enough for me to feel capable of going to sleep - just tired enough to debilitate me. Except lately it has often just been calming me without making me too tired, though it still can easily make me tired if I take it late in my day. And sometimes even lately it seems like it can make me tired early in my day, depending on probably a variety of different factors, like, how well-rested or not I am, how much Vitamin D I took, etc.)
So, perhaps my magnesium deficiency has been interfering with my sleep quality lately, and maybe if I finally get enough magnesium, I'll sleep better again.
This page says:
End of quote.
I wonder what would happen if I took a larger-than-usual dose of magnesium to accompany my morning 10,000 IU of Vitamin D. I don't think I ever tried that before - maybe I'll try that soon. But perhaps I should reduce Vitamin D again, at least for a little while. Not sure.
I guess probably I'll take less Vitamin D in the near future. Maybe once my magnesium levels are up again, my body will use whatever amount of Vitamin D it gets more effectively, so maybe smaller amounts of Vitamin D will work fine for me.
Also, decided to get this magnesium gel. I'll probably end up trying that sooner than the Epsom salts, since, due to my lack of an acceptable bathtub, I'm guessing the gel will be more convenient for me.
Been getting sleepy, but that's normal, given how long I've been awake.
I think maybe resuming taking such large amounts of Vitamin D without doing more to build up my magnesium levels was probably a mistake. So, probably going to take much less Vitamin D for a while.
Took 1 vegan Omega 3, two Walgreens Vitamin D3 Bone Health 2000 IU Softgels, 3 grams of Vitamin C, two Advanced MAGNESIUM (by InnovixLabs). Highly Bioavailable Bisglycinate + Malate Formula, and two Nutrigold Vitamin K2.
The achy stiffness in my back slightly returned before going to sleep (after having been gone for a while), and, though I woke up with less of it, it's still there and I'm hoping it doesn't get worse.
But other than that, I guess I feel better, and thinking feels a lot easier than it did before I went to sleep.
Hoping trying to take a lot of magnesium throughout the day won't make me continually tired, but it very easily might. Part of the reason I took Vitamin D today was to counteract that effect, at least for a little while.
Had cottage cheese in my "morning", which also probably improved my energy levels.
Didn't get much done yet because I was watching Netflix with my family.
But, surprisingly, I usually remained rather jittery, and didn't start feeling particularly relaxed until after the 4th serving (which I had at 7:10 AM). That also was the point at which I switched back to Nature Made magnesium citrate.
I think perhaps I did finally end up with maybe too much Vitamin D in my system, so, going to take a break from Vitamin D for a while.
I thought maybe it was from not eating well enough, since I watched a video where someone talked about the effects of fasting, and he mentioned feeling weaker and like gravity is stronger than normal. That sounded a lot like what I recently experienced, and, since I hadn't been eating as well as I ought to have been, I assumed my problems might simply have been from that.
I have been eating somewhat better lately, but, perhaps not eating well enough could still be a possible cause of some of my problems.
Days ago, I got some rice milk to see if that would help me stop drinking cow's milk, so I've definitely been drinking less cow's milk than usual lately. I like rice milk, but, it still doesn't seem like a perfect substitute for cow's milk.
I guess another possibility is that cow's milk relieved my achiness a bit because morphine is a painkiller? I think milk's painkilling capabilities, if it has any, probably aren't very strong, though - since I never noticed it having an effect on my menstrual cramps or headaches.
Still feeling a little weak, but less achy and stiff today. Didn't take magnesium yet, because I didn't want to possibly make myself tired by taking it too early in my day, but will probably take some later, maybe after I start getting tired.
Had an amusing dream about having a deep philosophical conversation with a talking Samoyed dog, who was very intelligent and wise. I don't remember what we said, but it was definitely not a one-sided conversation in which only I said clever things. :-) That was probably my best dream in weeks.
Hopefully my magnesium gel will arrive later today. I never tried anything like that before, so, looking forward to seeing what happens with that.
I ate various things at various times, don't feel like listing all the details. Had a bit of kale, Celestial Seasonings Safari Spice non-caffeinated red tea, ginger snaps, a Cheeseburger Mac microwaveable frozen dinner, a tomato, carrots and MSG-free ranch dressing, and gouda cheese. And Nature Made Stress B, 2 grams of Vitamin C, and 1 Vitamin K2.
Very quickly felt better (though not completely better) after having plain Cheerios with cow's milk and sucanat, probably sometime soon after the later serving of magnesium.
I left it on from around 9:50 AM to 10:12 AM. Watched Netflix, and got so absorbed in the shows I didn't even think to keep checking to see if I felt better yet.
Then, when I stopped watching Netflix around noon, and I started to stretch before getting off the couch, I noticed I felt flexible, tremendously lighter, and even more normal than I did the last time I said I felt mostly normal.
So, that's very encouraging. And, I've been feeling even better since then. But, I think I better take it easy for a while to let my body recover from whatever was causing it to go awry before in such a worrying way.
I think I can easily get enough calcium and potassium from my diet, so I'm definitely not going to try calcium or potassium supplements.
The achiness and stiffness only slightly came back by the time I woke up. Instead of taking magnesium capsules, I tried more of the magnesium gel, and forgot I had it on, so may have worn it for about an hour (until around 11:45 PM) instead of 20 minutes. Doing OK so far, but, will probably keep taking magnesium capsules too, just because it's often more convenient.
I started out mostly fine to begin with today, so, I haven't noticed any drastic improvements, since there just wasn't that much room for improvement left. But, I do think the gel might have helped me already. Despite not taking any magnesium capsules yet today, and also despite the fact that haven't eaten anything yet, and only drank some water, and only took 1 vegan Omega 3 and 3 grams of Vitamin C - I feel even more flexible than I did when I woke up, about as light as usual (or maybe lighter), and mostly ache-free.
This page says:
Quite impressive for such a small amount of gel. I didn't measure exactly how much I used, but, I used larger amounts than before, and applied it above both my knees, on the lower half of the front and sides of my thighs. I wore a miniskirt instead of my usual nightgown, to make it even less likely for the gel to get on my clothes.
On the other hand, I don't always like feeling that calm and relaxed. In ancient times, back when I had a part-time job, I used to avoid taking magnesium before work, not only because I was afraid it might make it harder to stay awake, but, because my job was to be a fast typist and copy editor. And even though magnesium didn't always make me tired, I felt kind of slowed down by it (even though back then, I regularly drank caffeinated tea before work, and I wasn't always poorly-rested before work), so going fast didn't feel quite as effortless.
Mostly was fine yesterday. Got a little achy and stiff at times, but, I took a long shower, put magnesium gel on most of my body, waited about 20-30 minutes (until around 7:50 AM, I guess), then took another shower to clean that off. Unlike the first time I tried it - yesterday, I did notice it stung a little on some parts of my skin, like around a couple tiny scratches on my right arm I didn't even realize I had until after I put the gel on. But, it was mostly fine, mostly just gooey. And, unlike an Epsom salt bath, I was able to stand (and dance) naked in my living room watching TV until it was time to wash off.
And I think the gel probably did help with the achiness and stiffness, since I soon felt better and more flexible again, even before I washed the gel off. Later on, I also started to feel more relaxed, the way magnesium usually makes me feel. And I think I slept pretty well (despite not such great dreams again, and getting thirsty), and now, I still feel relaxed without feeling fatigued.
All I had was cottage cheese, 1 serving of Advanced MAGNESIUM (by InnovixLabs). Highly Bioavailable Bisglycinate + Malate Formula, 2 packs of these granola bars, a bit of milk, a kale salad with MSG-free ranch, a tomato, and croutons, 2 spoonfuls of ground flaxseed (warning) (in an effort to improve my rather irritable mood; and that, or perhaps also the magnesium gel, seemed to help with that), a chunk of Jarlsberg cheese with saltine crackers (which unfortunately covered up the taste of the Jarlsberg), and a bit more milk. Also had 2 Vitamin K2's and a Nature Made Stress B.
So, now I don't have to put as much thought into deciding what to eat or remembering what we need to get from the grocery store. I also don't have to struggle to remember what's in my crowded little refrigerator, nor dig through it to find out what's there and where it is.
Before, I already used to make plenty of textual lists, but, looking at pictures is quicker and more effortless than reading words, and also is more likely to make me feel hungry and motivated to prepare or get food.
My new illustrated food "menus" got me to make a kale salad, and also reminded me that we have cheese and crackers. And also reminded me of the existence of pumpkin pie, so maybe I'll make a couple of those soon, once I obtain the ingredients.
Anyway, I guess I'll just try to eat much better today, since I suspect eating poorly is what caused these problems to come back.
At least I'm not feeling tired and/or headachy.
And, since I'm already feeling jittery and like I need more magnesium again, I just took one serving of Nature Made magnesium citrate. Also took a Nature Made Stress B, and 4 grams of Vitamin C.
I think later on today, I'll make a rather hearty meal I haven't made in a long time - microwaved potatoes, canned chicken, oatmeal, butter, and a bit of salt, all mixed together in a bowl and microwaved. Maybe I'll put some gravy on it too, and maybe pepper. And maybe a side of canned green beans or something.
I might not be able to take a shower today because we usually leave the water heater off to save money, so, I probably won't use as much magnesium gel today. Not sure such a large amount would be wise to use every day, anyway.
Seems like it might have had much the same effects - I am more flexible, less stiff and achy, and I feel stronger and lighter. Except my back still is bothering me a bit.
Had Celestial Seasonings Madagascar Vanilla non-caffeinated red tea and a macaroni and cheese microwaveable frozen dinner.
Still feeling a bit jittery, though, I guess because it's scary to sometimes feel so weak. And maybe I need even more magnesium. Anyway, hopefully I'll get back to normal somehow. I guess I just need to be extra careful for a while not to neglect to eat.
And I'm probably going to keep taking plenty of magnesium, since it feels like I need a lot of it. It was so nice yesterday to feel calm, relaxed, and able to sleep better. Though it's also nice in many ways to not feel at all sleepy - which is my current situation.
And, since no one was around, I repeated the same magnesium gel routine, and now I feel even better - my backache is gone and I feel calmer now.
However, the gel definitely can sting. Didn't sting me all over, just a few places. And other places started to feel a bit dry and itchy. And now, some of my skin looks a little dry, but my skin feels OK and not itchy, now that the gel is washed off.
The instructions for the gel do tell you to "moisturize" after using it, but, I don't have any moisturizer on hand, so I haven't done that at all so far. I wonder if coconut oil or olive oil might work.
So, I guess I probably I'll use the gel less frequently (maybe once a day at most), and keep taking magnesium supplements. I'm astonished that I've been able to take so much magnesium without ending up with diarrhea and without it easing my jitters much more easily. In the past, usually just one serving was all I needed for it to relax me or make me tired, and sometimes even just one serving used to be too much and gave me diarrhea. Wonder how long this is going to last.
Anyway, I guess I'll probably be fine eventually. Going to keep avoiding Vitamin D supplements (since I suspect at least part of why I ended up this way was from taking too many of those), and keep trying to consistently eat better.
And I hope I won't go back to being fatigued once I've recovered from whatever this is.
Instead, I was relaxed, only a little weak (if at all weak), and only a little achy, and mostly pretty flexible. Maybe slept OK too, despite getting thirsty.
I don't think I started out as tired as I got later on, after I took a serving of Advanced MAGNESIUM (by InnovixLabs). Highly Bioavailable Bisglycinate + Malate Formula, which I assumed I probably still needed (judging by my slight achiness).
About 5 hours later, I also took a serving of Nature Made magnesium citrate. I switched to that because I feel like its effects are more mild than the other kind.
Skipped the nearly full-body magnesium gel routine today because I didn't feel like I needed that much magnesium today. Great stuff, though - I suspect it might have taken me days longer to get back to normal if I hadn't used so much of it.
Anyway, now I'm ache-free, not stiff or weak at all, relaxed, but also kind of tired. But still managed to make a bit of progress with my Puppy Linux Setup Kit.
Also, in the past few days, my libido recently improved, sometime after I began using the magnesium gel.
Today, so far, I've had some smoked almonds, honey-roasted sunflower seeds, the last remnants of a nearly empty bag of potato chips, and a cup of Celestial Seasonings Madagascar Vanilla non-caffeinated red tea. Have had a noticeable appetite, and am now eating a kale salad.
And, as I've sometimes noticed in the past, my energy seemed to improve when I had the red tea.
Which is a bit annoying, but, for now, I think I prefer to relax, recover, and be tired for a while rather than risk going back to being so jittery. So, probably not going to experiment with more Vitamin D supplements in the very near future.
But slept pretty well overall, and am still feeling flexible, non-achy and non-weak.
Today, I'm going to wait until later in my day to take magnesium, since it seems to be having its normal (for me) tiring effects on me again.
Yesterday, until maybe the early afternoon, I felt fine and had enough energy, rather than too much or too little. But, I eventually started to get a bit weak and achy again, so, over time toward the end of my day, I had 3 servings of magnesium, one serving every several hours. I ate better than usual yesterday, but, I probably should have emphasized more protein and fat instead of so many carbs.
Had plain cottage cheese, a big piece of French bread with butter, 1 bottle of vanilla Breakfast Essentials, a pack of these these granola bars (there are 2 bars in a pack), more French bread with butter, another pack of these these granola bars, carrots with MSG-free ranch veggie dip, a Salisbury steak microwaveable frozen dinner, more French bread and butter, grape juice, some Activia non-GMO probiotic yogurt, honey-roasted sunflower seeds, and popcorn.
I started feeling less weak, stiff and achy after the microwaveable frozen dinner and my first serving of magnesium.
Got rather irritable in the evening and probably should have had ground flaxseed (warning), since it seems to help me with that. But what might help even more is being able to afford to move out and live in my own apartment or something. But I'm very unlikely to even consider moving out into my own place until I have enough savings that I would have nothing to worry about financially even if I stopped working for many years.
I'm doing so much better overall, I'm not sure I'm going to be in the mood to update this blog post as much anymore. I already am feeling quite impatient with writing this update, and would rather program, and/or maybe even clean.
Have had more trouble with feeling weak (at times) than with feeling sleepy, which seems like progress, also since I haven't been as achy. But, I suspect maybe I lost some muscle before from not eating enough. Now that I seem to be less headache-prone, I guess less was stopping me from neglecting to eat enough for long periods at a time.
Fortunately, even just two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (each on a single piece of bread) were enough to make me feel better recently, so, this seems like an easy enough problem to solve.
Have made excellent progress with my Puppy Linux Setup Kit. But I still can't make a confident prediction of how long the rest of that will take.
Still not feeling especially fatigued, though I am somewhat tired. Managed to sleep sometime between about 5:03 AM to 2:01 PM.
Had some fun dreams, in which my favorite vampire from The Vampire Diaries TV show was in love with me. :-) And fortunately for me, no vampiring took place. I wasn't myself in the dream - instead, I was the top love interest of my favorite vampire. Guess I won't mention more, since I don't like to bring up possible TV show spoilers.
Still making plenty of progress with my Puppy Linux Setup Kit. Was secretly hoping I could get it mostly done before June, but, that doesn't seem very likely now. Oh, well.
I took two Walgreens Vitamin D3 Bone Health 2000 IU Softgels, and a serving of Nature Made magnesium citrate at the same time, and rather then getting more tired, ended up feeling much more alert.
Haven't taken more Vitamin D so far since yesterday, but I guess I still feel somewhat better and less fatigued, though I should have slept longer.
But, I'm pretty clear on its future design now, and I've made a small number of useful tools already, some of which I consider almost releasable. (However, I'd like to finish more of everything else before I start releasing things.)
And it looks like GtkDialog (included by default with many Puppies) will probably work great for the GUI (graphic user interface) stuff I want to make.
I seem to do better on days when I have a glass of milk with this vanilla Carnation Breakfast Essentials powder. And peanut butter sandwiches also seem to help. But all I ate today so far was a bit of cottage cheese, popcorn, and my own pumpkin pie (made a few days ago) with vanilla ice cream.
Had a lot of good days lately, and I didn't even need ground flaxseed (warning) for my mood. But it seems like doing so much programming is starting to make me feel a bit burnt out.
I wish I could just be done already with the entire Puppy Linux Setup Kit. There are so many pieces of it left to build. But at least the finished pieces, and also VUE, GNU Emacs, and multifiles-apmod.el, have been making the rest easier to finish. Plus all the helpful educational info and examples on the web about Bash, GtkDialog, etc.
Anyway, made some particularly good progress with Puppy Linux Setup Kit, which may have improved my mood better than even the Vitamin D.
There's still a lot left to do, and tons of tempting books for me to look at on Clevnet, and I can't think of much else to say here. So, I guess I might go quiet for a while again, since when I'm feeling fine and getting things done, I don't have as much reason to vent on my blog about my fatigue, mood, etc.
So, hopefully I'll soon be getting this thing which converts a normal bicycle into an exercise bike. Thanks to all the cleaning I did in recent months, there's enough room for it somewhere nearby, or maybe even in my room (temporarily) if I put my office chair elsewhere.
I guess other options are a swimming pool membership, or simply riding my bicycle outside, walking, or jogging. But, I don't like hot weather, having to socialize with people, or even wearing a swimsuit in front of random strangers. Even something that would cover most of me, like this, might still look like an overly enticing catsuit on me. Maybe some sort of figure-concealing blobsuit would be better, but I probably still wouldn't feel comfortable swimming in public in any case. I wish I had my own private swimming pool.
Been getting kind of tired again lately, so, am considering taking one 2000 IU Vitamin D capsule. But probably not now, because I feel like going back to sleep and would rather take Vitamin D in my morning.
It definitely seems a lot easier to thoughtlessly neglect to eat now that I no longer have a caffeine addiction regularly getting me into the kitchen. But I seem to be getting by OK eating mostly peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, this vanilla Carnation Breakfast Essentials powder with cow's milk, vitamins, and a few other things here and there.
I'm astonished at how long the kale I got a while back has remained good to eat. I don't even remember when I got it, but I vaguely recall that when I first put it away in a Ziploc bag, I added some water in the hope it would last longer if I did that, and it seems like that may have worked.
I removed a lot of my holds on Clevnet books, which provide me endless distractions. The setup kit has been so boring for me lately that I'd almost rather learn how to do dollar origami. :-D
So frustrated with my Puppy Linux Setup Kit. I guess maybe I'm overcomplicating it too much. I'm so tired of working on it at all. Maybe I need to take an official break from working on it, instead of just drifting into procrastinating and avoiding it and feeling very annoyed with myself for being unable to keep forcing myself to work on it almost non-stop until it's all done.
Maybe I need to make a different project my top priority, an idea which I believe The Art of Procrastination mentions. The urge to procrastinate on my new top project might confuse me into working on my setup kit instead.
Anyway, I haven't felt this distraught for a while, so, I'm guessing that might be another sign that maybe I need more Vitamin D. And/or a complete vacation from putting any pressure on myself at all.
Also, self-help books and even religious books have been making me feel better. And reading about cooking and voice acting. :-)
Not sure how good I'd be at voice acting, though. I liked some of my results almost 16 years ago when I tried reading some quotes (mainly of Marvin) from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and used some audio software to alter my voice to sound deeper, slower, and more robotic. But, my personality was so much like Marvin's back then, I'm not sure that qualifies as acting. :-)
Now that I'm not as much like Marvin anymore, portraying him might be more of a challenge. Could be fun to try at some point, though. Especially now that I have much more disk space for such experiments, and better software than 68k Mac software from probably the 1990's.
So, since I haven't been able to renovate my setup kit as quickly as I hoped, I finally decided to just add new old-style scripts to it (not yet released, and probably won't be for a while). The current version of the setup kit is sort of like an embarrassingly overly elaborate Rube Goldberg-style contraption, but nonetheless, it still works pretty darn well. And adding old-style setup kit scripts, as cumbersome as it is, is at least much easier and faster than building something completely new has turned out to be.
Not sure whether or not this page is applicable to the task of figuring out what to do with my setup kit, but, if it is, perhaps my mistake was overly optimistically leaping ahead to step 4 (trying to do drastic new improvements) without doing enough with steps 2 and 3 (making the most of the already-existing, still quite useable enough setup kit). Perhaps I even also ought to focus more on step 1.
But, worked on that a bit, and I feel much better and like I'm back on the right track. If I had known renovating my setup kit would take this long, I would have updated it the old-fashioned way a long time ago.
Also am very happy to have found out that my favorite vampire from The Vampire Diaries TV series is one of the main characters of a spinoff TV series, The Originals.
Today, I finally had some more ground flaxseed (warning) for the first time in a while, and my headache soon started to ease, though it almost came back some hours later. But I seem to be doing better now.
Kept forgetting to even try to convert my bike into an exercise bike, since I got so preoccupied with reading, and working on my Puppy Linux Setup Kit. Too tired to do anything with my bike now, but, for the past few hours, have been able to do a bit more programming.
I still can't predict when I'll be done with everything, but, the more pieces of the setup kit I finish, the easier the rest of it has been getting. And I recently released a few more components of it on GitHub - Ramize-Physave, termwin, and a re-release of Some Puppy Linux Basics as an XML/XSLT page instead of HTML. And also a simple little script called is-this-pet-installed.
Along with Ramize-Physave, termwin, and other things, I think it's going to end up being another important part of the infrastructure of my not-yet-finished renovated Puppy Linux Setup Kit.
Nonetheless, before that happened, I re-released the old legacy versions of my Puppy Linux Setup Kit on GitHub:
I am probably going to update that with new old-style scripts. There are actually quite a few I never got around to releasing, such as my Lighthouse 64 Puppy Linux 6.02 Beta 2 setup scripts. I might even try to improve the legacy setup kit a bit in some hopefully clever ways that will strive not to break the old scripts.
Not announcing this on the front page of my blog yet because I don't want to feel obligated to finish any of that in a timely fashion, and I didn't add anything new yet other than a short new Readme.
Didn't sleep well, so I dozed off earlier, but my cramps mostly stopped me from sleeping. Took 1 Advil at 11:56 AM and another at 1:50 PM, and am still waiting for it to start working.
Maybe I should have kept eating ground flaxseed (warning) more consistently, or maybe more Vitamin D (which I've also mostly been doing without) would have done me good.
Don't know if having intensified menstrual symptoms means something good or bad about my health, but it feels bad, so, I will definitely be getting more flaxseed soon and might cautiously increase Vitamin D again too.
Haven't had cramps non-stop. Yesterday, I needed only 2 or maybe 3 Advils in all (there might have been one I took before going to sleep which I forgot to note down), and what kept waking me up last night was not cramps but thirst.
Very tired, but have been reading various Clevnet books. Probably can't get much else done other than that. Being a woman feels like a disability sometimes, like now.
Been feeling better lately, which started a while after I apologized to the world for being so much less productive than I'd like to be. Now I'm quite sleepy.
Feeling better, but still tired of being menstrual. Unusually heavy flow for the 3rd day. Wonder if that might make it end sooner than usual.
Too tired to do much of anything besides read. I guess Vitamin D might help but I'm too tired to want to not feel tired. I'd rather just go to sleep, but I'm not sure I can fall asleep.
Slept between around 2:18 AM and 10:25 AM, and woke up feeling rather tired, so I took Vitamin D and magnesium together, and perked up a lot. My time of the month took a bit longer to end than I hoped, but, finally, it's over.
Didn't get much done, but it was fun. I read a while, and binge-watched mostly The Originals and some of The Vampire Diaries on Netflix with my family.
Didn't eat any of my birthday cheesecake yet, since I was hungrier for non-dessert food, but, looking forward to it. This is the first cheesecake I've ever found that I actually like, and happily, it's available from my town's Shop n' Save (if I recall correctly).
Quite sleepy now. Not much else to say, I guess. It was a nice enough day, but, the mundane details of my life are mostly not very interesting, even to myself, though at least living them is much better than writing (or reading) about them.
And, especially while I'm so tired, I don't really feel like publicly pontificating about my future plans and dreams. Would much rather just get something done, after I get some sleep.
Since I've felt kind of fatigued lately, I've been taking 1 2000 IU capsule of Vitamin D per day accompanied with some amount of magnesium and usually Vitamin K2 also. Seems to help, but I wonder if maybe more Vitamin D would be better. But I'm trying to avoid overdoing it again.
Haven't gotten much programming-related stuff done. Been going through my various copies of my Puppy Linux Setup Kit on various disks, looking for any new pieces I haven't yet added to my other copies, so I can combine everything together.
And, as usual, have still been reading (or skimming) Clevnet books.
I really ought to clean the next room to make room for my bike which still needs to be converted to an exercise bike... but I don't really feel like it.
Already feeling more awake and energetic, but, took another 2000 IU Vitamin D anyway.
Maybe I will clean the next room, because then I'll have a place to export more of my own room's junk to.
Still feeling vaguely tired. Still been getting quite thirsty when I try to sleep. Going to try to get more Vitamin A by eating more fruits and vegetables, and drinking more vegetable juice.
Also been feeling better and less tired after having some Celestial Seasonings Madagascar Vanilla non-caffeinated red tea for the first time in a while.
Maybe next, I will try to clean up more of the next room. Maybe after I finally eat something.
Finally got rid of the next room's incredibly useless bed bookcase headboard (or whatever it's called), which was too narrow to stack most of our boxes on top of without them eventually falling over, and which couldn't hold many books, and which didn't even have a bed to go with it. It was quite heavy, but I somehow managed to get it down the stairs and outside uneventfully. For me, that probably qualifies as weight-lifting. I could have asked for help, but I preferred to do it myself.
There's still not enough room for my bike in the next room, but solving that will probably be merely tedious rather than difficult.
I wonder how much of a difference larger amounts of exercise will make. Wonder if it will be better than Vitamin D, which seems to make a big difference for me even without me exercising much at all.
Made plenty of progress cleaning the next room. Something that helped was, I found an old TV, plugged it in, and have been watching movies as I clean - an old favorite, X-Men: The Last Stand, and something new to me - I, Robot. There are commercials, but, I don't mind.
There might be enough room for my bike now, so, not sure how much more cleaning I'm going to do.
Enjoyed the I, Robot movie. I guess all I feel like doing now is reading, or more TV or movies.
Ohhh, I could also return to learning more about test-driven development (TDD). I don't think I was doing it right originally last time I tried it, in either 2015 or 2016, since if I recall correctly, I wrote my code first, then the tests, rather than the tests first.
Before sleep, read various things. Also sifted through another of my various slightly-modified copies of my Puppy Linux Setup Kit looking for anything useful I hadn't merged into my main repo yet.
Soon before sleep, watched X-Men: Days of Future Past, and quite enjoyed it. Already saw X-Men: Apocalypse sometime in the past few weeks (I think), and also quite enjoyed that. I think there are only a few X-Men movies I haven't seen yet.
I'm pretty sure I would have slept longer and better if I hadn't gotten so thirsty. Maybe I will go back to sleep soon.
I guess I probably feel more rested, though I still feel like I could sleep even more. But maybe I'll stay awake for a while, not sure.
I wonder if maybe I have a bit of anemia from my time of the month, especially since it was so heavy that last time. I wonder if anemia might be why it seems to take a while for me to recover from my time of the month. Maybe I ought to go out of my way to try get more iron after (and even, during) my time of the month.
Fortunately, I finally got more flaxseed on Saturday, so I finally was able to have some more ground flaxseed (warning) - another thing which seems to help my mood.
Doing much better now mood-wise, but, I still need more sleep. Was staying awake to watch TV, read books, and chit-chat with family.
I wonder if eating Cheerios more frequently would be a good enough remedy for that, since the "Nutrition Facts" label says it contains 45% of the "daily value" of iron.
Was woken by thirst at times, but maybe not as much as before. Still not feeling totally alert yet, but maybe I will later. Or, maybe I should try sleeping even longer? I think maybe I'd rather eat first.
I guess I might wake up more after I've had some time to digest the Vitamin D and magnesium. But at the moment I"d rather go back to sleep. I sure hope I recover, because I don't know when I'm ever going to get anything done if I'm sleeping most of the time.
Finally noticed the chicken fried rice microwaveable frozen dinner I keep craving (and eating) actually contains 25% of the "daily value" of Vitamin A and 15% of the "daily value" of iron.
I wonder if one of the reasons Cheerios and peanut butter sandwiches have seemed so helpful to me is because they have iron.
Anyway, didn't get much done - read, watched TV, and chit-chatted with family. But, I'm hopeful that consciously trying to increase my consumption of foods containing iron might have good results. I always used to just blindly assume I was probably getting enough iron without even trying, but, perhaps I wasn't.
Around 12:40 AM, had a magnesium and Nature Made Stress B, which I've often been forgetting to take lately, but I should try harder to remember, since I feel like it probably really helps me.
Starting to again feel interested in working on my Puppy Linux Setup Kit.
Quote:
I definitely don't want to take an iron supplement, because, quote:
I'd much rather get iron from food. This other page says:
And I easily might have lost significantly more iron than usual during my last time of the month (late June-early July), which was unusually heavy.
And I'm guessing even my usual amount of monthly iron loss was probably not good for me, judging by how wiped out I usually tended to feel for a while after my time of the month was over.
Fortunately, Vitamin C is reputed to increase iron absorption, and I've been taking plenty of Vitamin C for over a year. So, perhaps I'm less iron deficient than I would have been if I hadn't taken so much Vitamin C.
I feel like I might be able to go back to sleep again if I tried, but I'm not sure it would be as easy to do so as it was before.
So, maybe all that iron from Cheerios, raisins, and other things, has been helping me? Though I'm guessing my increased Vitamin D and magnesium are probably also helping me, and also ground flaxseed (warning), which I recently resumed.
However, I woke up with my right eye so gooey that it was quite blurry when I first woke up, and it took over an hour for the blurriness to finally mostly go away.
I stopped mentioning it a while back, but, my eye has still been gooey and sometimes itchy every once in a while for quite a while now, but not consistently, and this was the worst it has been lately. Often it has been totally fine.
I still am not sure what causes this problem. Not sure if it's Vitamin A deficiency, or maybe it's just from cayenne, which I still eat sometimes, so maybe there are still traces of it in my room that somehow get into my eye. My left eye has been scarcely affected, but has rarely gotten a bit gooey also.
Other than that, I guess I feel OK, much better than when I first woke up, and also like even such a small amount of sleep did me some good, though I probably ought to go back to sleep.
So, rejoined the Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County (which I used to have a card for back in the 1990's), and now I can already borrow books from the Youngstown library's Overdrive site.
Can only borrow 10 at a time (instead of 20), but that's still pretty nice. You're also only allowed to have 12 holds at a time, but that's fine with me, since it's nice not to run into the massive waiting lists that Clevnet sometimes has. (Clevnet lets people put 999 books on hold.)
I already had more books than I could probably read in a lifetime available to me from Clevnet alone (160,033 titles), or from Youngstown's Overdrive site alone (31,502 titles). But soon, I'll have even more (135,832 titles currently at The Ohio Digital Library), and different ones, and less of a waiting list than Clevnet for some of the same books.
So, maybe I'll finally be able to read up really thoroughly on test-driven development (TDD) and other topics that it's hard to find books about on Overdrive.
$39 per month for Safari Books Online always seemed like too much for me as an amateur programmer, but, perhaps their books will help me to improve so much at programming that maybe someday, $39 per month will eventually seem like pocket change for me.
I think I'm going to resume being much more cautious with Vitamin D, in case that has anything to do with my problems.
As usual, I also probably should have been eating better. Going to resume drinking vanilla Carnation Breakfast Essentials powder in a glass of milk, since I seem to do better when I drink that.
On July 11-12th, I had vegetable juice, the last of my croutons, 2 packs of granola bars, grape juice, some macadamias, raisins, 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (my best meal of the day), some milk, part of a cantaloupe, and various vitamins.
So, no wonder I haven't felt so great.
I'm still quite tired now, and my right eye is still a bit gooey (but currently not itchy). But, feeling better after a glass of milk with vanilla Carnation Breakfast Essentials powder.
I guess I ought to make eating better a higher priority, and maybe spend more time at least looking at (if not adding to) my food-related VUE maps, which I've scarcely looked at lately (except for my food log and grocery list).
I'm now seriously thinking I want to get a blender, probably a Vitamix, so I can easily make a wide variety of healthy smoothies and hot soups. Maybe I'll be able to get my family interested in this and we'll be able to get one soon somehow.
Then I can use whatever local software I want to edit my pages, such as GNU Emacs, or, someday, VUE - instead of any annoying web browser-based editors.
I guess it's very possible I hadn't been drinking enough liquids in general and was getting somewhat dehydrated.
Guess I'll try to consistently keep cold water in my mini-refrigerator even though it takes up an annoying amount of space. I have a much easier time drinking that than the room temperature water I usually have around.
Still happy about putting aside my daydream of writing my own content management system (CMS) (for lack of a better term), in favor of my far more achievable-in-the-nearer-future daydream of maintaining my websites with rsync, Git and/or Mercurial, and some other things, and not having to depend on any software that requires a web browser. Or perhaps I could run WordsPlatz or its future successors inside a VirtualBox with no internet access, and keep my website files in a shared folder accessible to both my real system and the VirtualBox.
Don't know how soon I'll actually do any of that, but I'm pretty sure it won't be as difficult and time-consuming as building an entire CMS would be.
Still need to convert my bike to an exercise bike. Maybe we'll get that done this weekend. I would be surprised if I can quickly figure that out on my own. I hope there's a good instruction manual. I once put together a CD rack myself with some kind of do it yourself kit, but other than that, I don't have much experience with this kind of thing.
My CD rack looked sort of like this, but was much cheaper and made of cheaper-looking wood.
Slept sometime between 9:42 AM and 6:07 PM. Felt tired at first, and my eyes were quite dry again, but, once again, drinking more water seemed to be a good solution for both problems.
Or, maybe I have had too much Vitamin D in my system (possibly leading to excessive thirst), and/or not enough Vitamin A or riboflavin or something.
Still not in the mood to deal with a lot of my email, though. Still don't know how to make myself want to deal with that.
Would much rather just keep making progress with my various projects. And being lost in a vast ocean of interesting, educational, and/or entertaining books is also pretty fun.
Maybe I still have the problem of adrenal fatigue-related electrolyte imbalance.
I've often been taking Vitamin C only in my morning lately, but, my guess is my adrenals might be better off if I keep taking Vitamin C throughout my day, so I guess I'll resume doing that again. Maybe I should slightly salt at least some of my water, too.
Will also probably drink more vegetable juice. The kind I drink at least has sodium, and I assume it probably has potassium too, even though the label doesn't say anything about potassium.
Starting to feel a bit better already - recently had some nice salty walnuts and some canned peaches.
So, still struggling with this possible adrenal fatigue-related electrolyte imbalance, I guess. Been drinking plain water mostly, but, since I didn't feel like it was doing much good, I ate some salty smoked almonds to try to get more sodium. Then finally poured some water in a glass and slightly salted that (without measuring the amount of salt).
I think I'm doing somewhat better than I was when I first woke up, but, too bad plain water doesn't seem to be helping me as much anymore - I still felt thirsty, like it wasn't helping much at all. So, I guess I'll stay awake at least for a little while, eat something, and hope that fixes me.
Forgot to mention, but yesterday, I noticed the bottom eyelid of my left eye felt a bit sore (but only if I touch it), and it still does, but possibly less than yesterday. Might be a bit swollen too. So, it seems my left eye is having issues of some kind too. However, my eyes are (and have been) scarcely bloodshot at all compared to my pink-eye-like symptoms of the past. Also, the other day, when my right eye was itchy, the lower eyelid looked a little swollen and I think it also was a bit sore, but it seems back to normal now.
I guess I mostly feel better, though my eyes felt a bit dry and have been bothering me a bit, and are starting to get a bit gooey. But at least I don't feel especially tired at the moment. I did get sleepy for a little while after the ginger snaps.
Didn't get much done today - read, and watched TV and chit-chatted with family.
But before my most recent sleep I finally finished merging my most important copies of my Puppy Linux Setup Kit. So, now I can get on with whatever the next steps should be.
I guess it might be good to release the not-yet-released legacy stuff from 2015 and beyond before I resume trying to change things around a lot. Except it won't all be useful unless I reupload some of the downloads I used to have on Dropbox, and I'd also probably have to prepare new downloader scripts and new downloads to make all the Lighthouse 64 Puppy Linux 6.02 Beta 2 setup stuff work... and I'm not sure I feel up to doing all that. So, I might only release the existing scripts for now. And even that might take a while.
Finally returned to trying to deal with my not-yet-released GNU Emacs settings, since I think I would probably have a difficult time trying to fix anything about my legacy Puppy Linux Setup Kit without using multifiles-apmod.el, since too much stuff is scattered across too many files, and finding stuff would be a terrible chore if I had to have each file in a separate tab.
For a long time, I've actually only been using GNU Emacs on rare occasions, because I never got around to fixing the slow startup problem I unintentionally created a long time ago with my current settings.
So far, I've actually been doing more with the settings' new Readme file - a VUE concept map - than with the settings files themselves. I'm pleased with the results so far, and making a vuemap is much more fun and easy than making an HTML file, or even an XML file styled with XSLT.
Other than that, I also read, watched TV, and chit-chatted with family.
Now quite sleepy. I wish I would have fun dreams more often.
I guess I feel OK, though I'd like to go back to sleep. My lower left eyelid seems less sore to the touch now.
My headache came back, and I hope it's not from the fumes. I don't think they reached my room since I didn't smell anything until I went downstairs. The others had gotten desensitized to the smell and couldn't smell it anymore, but, I put my box fan downstairs to try to air the place out.
I've had my air conditioner on all day, so, I guess that probably explains why I couldn't smell it in my room.
I wish I could go back to sleep, but, I don't think I can, so, I guess I'll just return to reading and/or programming.
It still stinks a bit downstairs, and yet again, I find myself wishing I could afford to move into my own place. I've been wanting to since I was 14!
Anyway, maybe I'll clean the next room a bit more, so I'll have a place to maybe put a microwave, so I can avoid even having to go downstairs to the kitchen as much. And, since we're probably never going to repair the upstairs bathroom, maybe the next best thing we can do is put a Luggable Loo there.
My right eye especially got very dry while I was sleeping, and thirst woke me up. Been kind of tired. However, while I was asleep, one of my relatives successfully converted my bike to an exercise bike. Now, I just need to make a bit more room in my own room so I can use it in here where it's air conditioned.
But, I think I'm too tired to do that, or finish making my GNU Emacs settings releasable, or to do much of anything else except reading, TV, or best of all, sleeping.
My energy kept fluctuating on July 19th, too, before sleep. I kept getting so tired I thought I was about to fall asleep, then suddenly I perked up too much to be able to go to sleep. Maybe it's related to me not taking magnesium maybe since July 15th, though it's possible I sometimes accidentally didn't note it down on days since then.
I think I had no Vitamin D capsules since the 8000 IU I had on July 9th. I wonder if maybe a smaller but more steady amount of Vitamin D would be good for me, but, I still feel reluctant to take any more yet. I kind of wish I could go back to sleep. I think thirst has probably been reducing the quality of my sleep.
I'm not sure if I'll be able to use my exercise bike in the middle of the night because it might be too loud. When I first heard it, I wondered if someone was running a vacuum cleaner in the next room. Except I think it is quieter than a vacuum cleaner, at least. Will have to ask my relatives if it's too loud at some point when we're all awake.
But, I finally got my State Library of Ohio card in the mail today, so, I might stay awake even longer to read Ohio Digital Library books, as well as Clevnet books and Youngstown library books.
Ohio Digital Library allows you to borrow 10 books and put 15 books on hold, which I'm guessing helps a lot to keep down the size of waiting lists.
I habitually wear earplugs (except usually not in my own room) so I can avoid being bothered by things like dog barking, overly loud TV, or overly loud voices - so, before, I didn't realize how loud my exercise bike actually is. Not sure which is louder - my exercise bike or a vacuum cleaner. But luckily, my earplugs work quite well. I wonder if headphones alone might work. Still need to ask my relatives whether they think my exercise bike is too loud for me to use when they're sleeping.
I only used my exercise bike for less than 3 minutes, between 10:32 PM and 10:35 PM, and stopped so soon because even just that was pretty tiring. So, it definitely seems like an effective form of exercise, and much more tiring much more quickly than bellydancing.
I thought maybe I'd put it back in the other room after I was done with it, but, getting it in here was enough of a slight nuisance that I think I'd rather just keep it in here. I'm used to having to navigate around clutter anyway, and I'd rather have this clutter than a relatively useless pile of clothes and other junk. This bike will probably obstruct me from piling up less useful clutter.
I think I'm too tired to be able to judge very well if the exercise did me some good already, but I suspect it probably did.
I think every sleep, I kept having trouble with thirst and my eyes getting dry, but that somehow decreased after I ate the almonds and granola bars. Also drank plain water.
Been awake since 7:59 PM, and felt maybe rested enough by then. Ate some food, and used my exercise bike for about 3 minutes, between 11:31 and 11:34 PM. It seemed even more tiring this time (even though I briefly stopped or almost stopped a few times), but, I guess I'll just keep doing it at least once a day and hopefully I'll get better at it.
My relatives aren't sure whether or not it would be too loud when they're asleep, but I'm probably going to avoid using it then anyway.
I've mostly been focused on books, but would definitely like to release my GNU Emacs settings. Not sure if I feel like working on that yet, though.
And just found out that since I was born in 1981, I'm a xennial. Here's a longer article on that topic. I definitely feel like the xennial label fits me much better than millenial or Generation X or Y.
Perhaps I'm actually overdoing it already, since I did about 6 minutes so far this week, and didn't do 20 or 30 seconds at a time of high intensity exercise - I just went quite fast (though probably not as fast as I possibly could) most of the time.
The most recent roughly 3 minutes on July 21st, I felt almost a little faint afterward, and also more tired than I was after the almost 3 minutes on July 20th. So, maybe I shouldn't do that daily, and/or should go slower and/or for less time.
Don't know, but, I'll probably just do whatever feels fun without worrying too much about whether articles on the internet agree with my approach or not. However, I probably won't push myself as hard anymore, or at least probably won't do that every day.
But in any case, I definitely wasn't riding it as though I was on a nice leisurely real bike ride. Perhaps I should try that next, except I think that might be too boring. I thought it would be more fun (and possibly might be more effective exercise) if I pedaled at speeds I would never actually dare to on a real bike ride.
I wish I had some virtual reality goggles and could somehow simulate the experience of riding through bizarre 3D landscapes, or space, or the ocean. :-) Could probably also attach sensors of some kind to detect which way I'm turning the front wheel, and how fast I'm pedaling. It would be so cool, and definitely would make lower speeds less boring, as well as make higher speeds even more exciting. :-)
My eyes are less dry now, and my right eye especially is getting a bit gooey and itchy again, which is at least better than dry eyes. I'm also not so thirsty anymore.
It's very annoying that plain water has sometimes felt rather useless or maybe even counterproductive, or only useful if I eat something salty along with it. I guess the top reason I keep drinking it plain is because sometimes it seems helpful enough, and it's easier to just drink it straight out of the bottle, without having to pour it in a glass and salt it. Also, I'd like to find my measuring spoons so I'll know how much salt I put in.
Too tired to deal with any of that now, so, if I wake up thirsty and dry-eyed again, I guess maybe I'll just have some salty nuts along with some plain water. I was rather surprised to feel so much better after eating some granola bars and almonds yesterday. Would rather avoid granola or anything else sugary while I'm trying to sleep, though, because when I'm too tired, there's not much chance I'll get up to brush my teeth.
Anyway, still not sure what's wrong, but, concerned that maybe it's related to too much Vitamin D. Or, maybe I'm diabetic. Or maybe it's pre-menopause? Or maybe it's something I haven't even thought of.
I guess if it is related to Vitamin D, then, maybe more magnesium will help me, like it did back in May. Definitely don't want to take any more Vitamin D capsules anytime in the near future.
I sure hope increased exercise will help overall and isn't maybe worsening my possible adrenal fatigue. But, I think it made me feel better rather than worse, after I recovered from being briefly somewhat exhausted from the intense exertion.
Even on my very long day, when I was awake from July 20, 12:55 AM to July 21, around 5:44 AM, I don't think I had much trouble with thirst and dry eyes until after I went to sleep, maybe because I ate better and more often than usual that day. However, I was so preoccupied with books, I guess I easily might have ignored and not noted down various issues. But I remember being surprised at how OK I felt despite being awake for so long.
Maybe I need to eat more in general, and maybe I continually underestimate how much is an appropriate amount of food. On a couple other days I found it a bit worryingly easy to eat 4 ham salad sandwiches (each on a single piece of bread) all in the same meal. And have been dismayed to get hungry again so seemingly soon after eating.
Not sure it it's a normal amount of hunger, or maybe I just have the illusion of being overly frequently and excessively hungry because I so easily lose track of time when absorbed in interesting tasks. Or, maybe I just generally don't eat enough and am having a perfectly normal amount of hunger because of that. And probably I have a distorted idea of how much hunger is normal due to my many years of regular caffeine drinking stifling my appetite.
Haven't wanted to overeat and get fat, but, maybe I should just relax and not worry about that, since now I have this great exercise bike, which might actually make me need to eat more than I'm used to eating, since maybe it will improve my metabolism, and I read somewhere that increased muscle results in more calories being burned even when you're idle.
I hope feeling OK doesn't continue to be such a struggle. It's so annoying having to make so much conscious effort to eat better, etc. Why can't life just be easy? I'm so jealous of plants - all they have to do to eat is sit in the sun, and soak up water and nutrients from whatever dirt they're growing in.
Definitely feeling somewhat better, so, maybe I'll be able to go to sleep soon.
And I think I actually still feel a bit hungry, so, maybe I should also have some milk with strawberry Breakfast Essentials powder.
Already kind of anxious again, and afraid of my thirst and dry eyes coming back, so, maybe even more magnesium would do me some good. This definitely feels like magnesium deficiency, kind of like last May when I was jittery. Maybe I should start using the magnesium gel again. The best and most relaxed I felt today started a couple hours after the magnesium I took.
Wonder what some more exercise might achieve. Maybe I should try that too. But maybe I'd be better off just going to sleep. But, I might be awake 2 more hours anyway until my next dose of magnesium kicks in, so, maybe I might as well exercise a bit.
So, because I'm possibly burning off more fat lately because of more exercise than usual, maybe formerly stored Vitamin D has been getting released into my body? Resulting in increased need for magnesium, and hence, some of the same jitteriness from last May?
Don't know if that's the explanation, but it sounds plausible enough to me to be comforting, especially since increasing magnesium seemed to help me a great deal just hours ago.
So, rather than some scary unknown new problem, maybe it's just the same old problem I found a good-seeming solution for back in May.
I sure am glad I thought of that instead of just sulking and being anxious. I already feel better just from that, and I didn't even exercise, take magnesium, or have anything more to eat or drink yet.
I was so upset earlier I actually cried a little, I forgot what time exactly, but that actually cheered me up quite a bit because it moisturized my dry eyes and proved my eyes are still capable of generating moisture. :-)
Feeling much calmer and better than the bad parts of yesterday, and very relieved. Didn't exercise, just looked at books and fell asleep.
So, maybe I'll be able to return to getting things done sooner than I thought. Finally, I feel capable of focusing on my GNU Emacs settings again. And once that's done, I guess I'll finally resume work on my Puppy Linux Setup Kit.
Building my multifiles will probably still take an annoyingly long time, but at least I stopped my various multifiles from being built immediately every time I start GNU Emacs. Ideally I would have found a way to vastly speed up multifiles-apmod.el, but, that is too difficult for me so far. I wonder how it might work in a newer version of GNU Emacs and if that would be any faster? But, not going to try upgrading until after I release my current settings for GNU Emacs 24.5.
I just wish everything was easier and that silly advice like "follow your heart" wasn't such rubbish. I think my best results in life were typically from arduous dreary boring efforts like computer programming, and not just doing what I felt like doing. Except I guess reading (which I often feel like doing) has done me a lot of good, and that's pretty easy.
I'm so glad I was logical enough (even despite tiredness, hormones, and magnesium deficiency messing with me) to figure that out. Logic is truly one of the best things ever. :-)
My right eye is still a bit gooey, but, perhaps more vitamin A from carrots, gouda, peaches, and/or cantaloupe will help. (I will never take Vitamin A in pill form, because the list of Vitamin A overdose symptoms is so scary.)
Not tired so far, or then again, maybe I could sleep even longer. In any case, still not in the mood to deal with anything stressful. Not sure if I should try harder to change myself to try to make myself want to deal with stressful things, or focus more on redesigning my life so I can avoid stressful things even more.
My right eye is less gooey now. Ate most of a cantaloupe and some gouda, both of which contain Vitamin A.
Also going to try to have ground flaxseed (warning) more regularly, since I feel like that's quite good for my hormones.
I really don't want to have another very heavy period. Maybe I ought to eat more Cheerios to try to build up my iron reserves, too.
I've heard that athletic women can miss periods, and I'm thinking I might love that. :-) Except I don't want to possibly end up with osteoporosis from too much exercise.
Feeling a bit overwhelmed with books, but, that's more good than bad, I guess.
Not really in the mood to write much here, since now that I'm feeling so much better, I'd much rather focus on more useful things.
And, surprisingly, when I downloaded what I had just uploaded to GitHub, and switched from my original .emacs.d folder to the downloaded new one (which has less personal clutter in it), it turned out multifiles-apmod.el suddenly started building multifiles much faster, the way I vaguely remembered it used to work.
I expected it to go back to being slow when I put my original .emacs.d folder back, but, somehow, it actually remained fast. So, I don't know what's going on with that, but, it's definitely nice that it's faster now.
Finally, I can return to working on my Puppy Linux Setup Kit.
Slept sometime between 11:01 AM and 5:50 PM. My eye started getting gooey again yesterday (before sleep, I think) and has been gooey today as well.
I actually scarcely got out of bed at all. But that certainly doesn't mean I didn't accomplish much - my computers are right next to my bed. :-)
So, if I ride leisurely enough, I might be able to concentrate well enough to read or do other things while exercise biking.
My $30 (thirty dollar) Radio Shack headphones don't block my exercise bike's noise at all well, though. Don't know yet if there's anything suitable I could get for under $50 (fifty dollars).
I guess another option is to get a different back tire for my bike. (My exercise bike only uses the back wheel, so, no need to get a front tire.) I think I read in some Amazon reviews that "trainer" tires are supposed to be quieter.
Recently had more walnuts, with similar results - I'm now quite tired, and more absentminded. Now all I feel like doing is sleeping. But the walnuts were just too tempting, especially since I thought I probably ought to go back to sleep anyway since I slept less than 4 hours.
Maybe I better get more pistachios. I have a hard time stopping myself from eating lots of pistachios, but at least they stop me from eating walnuts too early in my day, and I've never noticed pistachios making me sleepy. And they're one of the few healthy things I find more tempting than walnuts.
My eyes, especially my right eye, were gooey, but that decreased a while back.
I still kind of want to go back to sleep. Feeling a bit lost, I guess because i haven't yet plunged into another project, which probably ought to be releasing my Puppy Linux Setup Kit scripts for Lighthouse 64 Puppy Linux 6.02 Beta 2. I guess it would also be good to fix the setup kit's broken downloader scripts.
That all will be much less of a chore thanks to multifiles-apmod.el unexpectedly going back to being as fast as I vaguely recalled it used to be. What a blessing!
As usual, read plenty. Not so usual, I got a lot more serious about getting organized, so I started some new VUE maps to help me with that, and made some good progress.
My right eye has continued to be quite gooey, and my left eye has been getting a bit gooey too. It's quite annoying, but still better than dry eyes. Ate some carrots a few hours ago. Should probably have been eating them more consistently, or at least other foods containing Vitamin A.
Quite tired, probably due to only 3 hours of sleep, but, I avoided walnuts today and probably functioned better as a result. I really should only eat them when I'm certain I intend to go to sleep soon.
Wonder if a larger amount of carrots would help. MSG-free ranch dressing makes them a lot more palatable and less boring. Would probably prefer gouda cheese at the moment, though. It has Vitamin A too, though I assume it probably has less than carrots.
A bit hungry, but so tired I might just go back to sleep.
Then, instead of running my Puppy Linux Setup Kit right away - on a whim, I tried to create some small new tools from scratch, with surprising amounts of patience. I still had the internet, but used only Lighthouse 64 Puppy Linux 6.02 Beta 2's default web browser, a rather old version of Firefox, 22 or something. (At least it can still play YouTube videos).
I guess I might have gotten more done than usual because even logging into my library websites was more of a nuisance without my library card numbers already stored in my web browser.
Been doing OK. My eyes hadn't been gooey nor dry, mostly, though now they're starting to get a little gooey. I started to get more impatient and aggravated around maybe 11 PM or something, but, I was determined to keep struggling with some new setup kit components, so I put off running my legacy setup kit until around 3:11 AM. Things still aren't totally back to normal yet, but, at least I've improved my setup routine considerably since the last power outages.
Now very tired, I guess because I've been awake nearly 24 hours. Might have gone to sleep if my refrigerator hadn't suddenly needed defrosting. (It wasn't dripping before.)
I had both ham salad sandwiches (around 6 PM) and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (around 12 AM), and interestingly, I felt more energized after the peanut butter and jelly than I did after the ham salad.
Wonder if my exercise bike would wake me up or make me more sleepy at this point. There's actually some stuff I want to stay awake for.
Finally napped poorly with the TV on between maybe 2 and 5 PM, then slept a bit better without the TV until about 8:17 PM.
Was kind of sad earlier, perhaps from not eating enough yet. (And probably PMS.) Did 3 minutes of intense exercise biking, but didn't get much of a mood boost from that. Didn't get as tired from it as the last times, but didn't get as much of an energy boost either (perhaps due to not sleeping long enough or well enough).
Later, had grape juice, Vitamin C, and a vegan Omega 3, ruminated a while about life and the universe, then unexpectedly started to feel better.
There's definitely still room for improvement. But, not sure how much I'm going to keep updating this. Well, maybe a lot, because maybe I need a place to vent a bit about some things, even though I still keep most of my thoughts to myself.
Even seemingly small details can make such a difference, either positive or negative. Especially, large combinations of small details. My Puppy Linux Setup Kit basically just consists of large numbers of small details being taken care of automatically, and yet, despite its flaws, it's still one of the most useful things I ever made.
And I feel much more capable than I did a few years ago, or even just one year ago, of designing and building software much more sensibly than I used to.
And VUE helps so much with everything. It has even surpassed Astroblahhh Desktop as my favorite software for notes, even though Astroblahhh Desktop still can do plenty of things VUE can't (and vice versa). I'd love to combine the two somehow. Would be great to have Astroblahhh Desktop-like search capabilities in VUE. And a nicer more VUE-like GUI in Astroblahhh Desktop.
Didn't eat very well since July 29th, so I'm guessing my problems with thirst and dry eyes have something to do with not eating well enough.
Compared to the day when I deliberately refrained from running my Puppy Linux Setup Kit for a while, I noticed I recently spent a lot more time on distractions and procrastination.
But I'd rather not deliberately give up the comforts of the setup kit again just in the hope of getting more done, because I don't think I'm in a relaxed enough mood anymore for that to work out as well as it did that other day. I think it would just annoy me rather than feel like an interesting challenge.
Necessity can definitely lead to invention, but fortunately, so can laziness and desire for increased convenience. And I nearly always have some amount of laziness and desire for increased convenience, even in the absence of necessity.
Still feeling kind of tired. I wish I could figure out the perfect routine and diet to follow so I could always feel well-rested and energetic, and which I wouldn't have any trouble sticking with.
It's so nice to have sound in YouTube again, and an upgraded, faster web browser.
So, had to restart my computer. But, at least it's encouraging that even though my setup kit isn't fully updated yet, it definitely is taking much less time to get things mostly back to normal, thanks to my recent work.
Since then, I only have eaten raisins and almonds, and I drank some plain water, and had some vitamins. So... I probably better eat more sensibly soon, before I start feeling bad. I just thought it was interesting that I feel as fine as I do at the moment, given the recent sparseness of my food log.
However, one thing that's not so great is that I do feel like my time of the month is imminent. I actually was expecting it a little sooner, but, probably my irregular eating habits have delayed it again.
Also had a bowl of Cheerios, to try to prepare myself for all the iron loss that will probably befall me in the near future. Maybe should have eaten those more often - I scarcely ate them at all lately despite, if I recall correctly, mentioning that maybe I should eat more of them. But at least raisins have some iron, and I've been eating lots of raisins lately.
Also had 2 spoonfuls of ground flaxseed (warning). And am getting kind of tired now. Maybe it's from carbs as well as my time of the month.
Might as well have a magnesium, I guess - maybe that will help somehow. And perhaps some milk with strawberry Breakfast Essentials powder. I had that along with my aforementioned reasonable meal late on July 30th, and I feel like it really does me good.
Maybe now that I've been striving to get more iron, I'll have a better chance of recovering faster from my time of the month.
Anyway, given that I only got about 5 1/2 hours of sleep, and also given what PMS and my time of the month do to me, it makes sense for me to be tired now, which is why it seemed weird that I felt fine for a few hours.
Not sure what to do now. Feeling too tired to do much of anything, and it doesn't feel likely that I'll suddenly get a burst of energy soon, though that sometimes surprisingly happens. Except generally not on day 1 of my time of the month.
Would love to go back to sleep, but I don't know if I'm sleepy enough yet. So, I guess I'm in limbo again - too tired to get much done but maybe not tired enough to sleep.
But at least the Advil is working and so far, one was enough.
Read some helpful articles yesterday - this one, and others which this one linked to: Suffering from Burnout? How to Know When to Rest or Push. Pretty timely for me.
That (non-literal) 20 Mile March idea seems like maybe it would be good for me, though I'm guessing I should probably err on the side of underestimating how much work equates to "20 miles", because I'm incredibly prone to doing too much on my projects and neglecting other things, until I'm too burnt out to continue.
Maybe I should just set some limits on myself like, no more than 4 hours a day programming, or something like that. However, I probably better not insist on a minimum amount to do each day, or even week or month or year, because I think I might just feel burdened and annoyed by that, and more apt to procrastinate.
My right eye got dry and was worrying me a bit, but improved since then. Now, it's getting gooey again.
Now very sleepy, but I'd rather finish writing this before I sleep.
I'm still definitely very much in the habit of coercive self-motivation, even though it quite often fails and results in procrastination instead. (Though at least it's often useful procrastination, like the kind described in the book The Art of Procrastination.)
But every time I'm reminded of the concept of non-coercive self-motivation, I suspect it would be a much better way of living my life, and probably would be far more truly motivating than frequently feeling guilty and bad for not getting much more done much faster.
Yesterday, I started taking more magnesium more often than usual because I suspect maybe there's still so much Vitamin D in my system that it's still making me need more magnesium than I seemed to need in the past. And maybe Vitamin D is also making me need more Vitamin A, resulting in my eye issues?
It still is so strange for me that magnesium now often seems to have the opposite effect from what it always seemed to before I took Vitamin D. Magnesium used to make me tired, but now it often seems to make me feel better and more energized.
Actually, I do still feel kind of sleepy, but oddly, more energetic at the same time. A strange but still useful combination - definitely better than being sleepy with so little inclination to move or get out of bed that it takes a lot of willpower to do so.
Well, at least, I felt that way briefly. While writing this, my sleepiness worsened quite a bit, and now it is taking more willpower to do anything. Maybe the sleepiness is just temporary and from eating carbs (raisins). Also makes me wonder if I have diabetes or something, though. Ever since quitting caffeine, food having such noticeable effects on my energy levels has been so strange for me, and I guess I'm still not used to it.
Earlier, my right eye got dry again, but resumed being gooey a while after I woke up.
Definitely would love go back to sleep. Hmm, maybe I already had enough magnesium that it is now having its usual old effects on me? Or, maybe iron loss from my time of the month is taking its toll?
I wonder if my severe circadian issues mess up far more than just my sleep patterns.
I miss how caffeine seemed to make my energy levels in the near future a bit easier to predict. But, I still think resuming caffeine would probably do me more harm than good, since it would probably interfere too much with my sleep and might worsen my possible adrenal fatigue again.
I guess if I could fall asleep now, then, maybe I'd temporarily get closer to having a "normal" schedule. If I were awake for more of the day, I'd be more likely to use my exercise bike. Too often, when I actually feel like using it, I can't, because I don't want to wake anyone up.
Ate some Cheerios in case that might help me somehow. I think maybe I'm a bit more tired than I was before I ate them, but it's not so bad.
I think some kinds of carbs might make me less sleepy than others, or might not affect me as much when combined with protein, since I tend to feel energized after eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
I only use one piece of bread per sandwich - whole wheat bread, or something like that. The jelly is probably pretty sugary, but, I guess maybe the energizing effect (on me, at least) of peanut butter is strong enough to cancel out whatever tiredness the carbs in the jelly and the bread might otherwise induce.
I don't think I have ADD or ADHD, but, I do seem to maybe have the AD(H)D-like ability to hyperfocus. Maybe I somehow acquired that ability simply as another way of coping with my chronic debilitating tiredness from my body's so-called schedule seldom being well-aligned with the world's schedules.
Quote:
One hypothesis is that the lack of an accurate circadian clock may also account for the difficulty that many with ADHD have in judging the passage of time. Their internal clocks are not “set.” Consequently, they experience only two times: “now” and “not now.” Many of my adult patients do not wear watches. They experience time as an abstract concept, important to other people, but one which they don’t understand. It will take many more studies to establish the links between circadian rhythms and ADHD."
I wonder if circadian issues cause ADHD, rather than ADHD causing circadian issues? What if maybe lots of conditions people are (mis)diagnosed with are actually the result of sleep issues/circadian issues?
Perhaps sleep issues/circadian issues are a lot more common than we know.
Maybe I ought to resume more regularly eating protein-rich things such as cottage cheese in my morning. Or Greek yogurt, though I'd have to add fruit or something to that to make it palatable.
Anyway, I guess I shouldn't be alarmed at being so fatigued now, because that's typical for my time of the month (and when I have too many carbs and not enough protein in my morning). I should instead be pleased that I'm doing better in some ways compared to previous periods, and also that I'm not losing as much iron this time.
Just recently had a glass of milk with strawberry Breakfast Essentials powder, which is sugary, but has 13 g of protein, and also Vitamin D (which, at the moment, I wouldn't mind doing without, actually), among plenty of other nutrients.
Perhaps that will help, but if not, I guess all I can do is give up on getting anything useful done today.
If I'm awake enough, I'm going to try to use my exercise bike as soon as I can, once there's no longer any danger of waking people up. Will try to ride more leisurely with a few high-intensity intervals, and will set my keyboards and mice on top of boxes at the edge of my bed so I can still read library ebooks and do other things at the same time.
I think changing the tire on my exercise bike to a trainer tire might be too troublesome, though if I knew for sure it would make my exercise bike quiet enough to use when people are asleep, it might be worth the trouble.
Felt a little more alert for a moment, but, I think maybe I slept too poorly and am too menstrual for anything to wake me up really well today. I still just want to sleep.
Fortunately, I feel like I might be capable of sleep now, rather than tired but frustratingly unable to sleep.
Was a bit less tired than before sleep, but started out too tired to want to stay awake or do anything except maybe read. Somehow a lot better now, though, even though I haven't eaten anything yet nor even had my usual vitamins.
I guess I might as well use my exercise bike soon. I'm thinking maybe 20 minutes (mostly leisurely) might be good. Actually, I think I'll have some milk with strawberry Breakfast Essentials powder first.
Biked for 10 minutes so far, from 7:01 PM to 7:11 PM. 20 minutes seemed like it would be too much for now. Toward the end, did 3 high-intensity intervals, two of which were about 20 seconds, and the last one was around 35 second.
Glad I got that done. Might do a bit more later before anyone goes to sleep.
Reading ebooks is definitely quite feasible for me while exercise biking at a leisurely pace, and makes it quite a lot easier to stick with, since I can just mindlessly pedal while my mind is entertained by the book. For a while, it makes me too distracted from the mild discomfort of exercise to even think very much about stopping.
Still feeling a bit sleepy, but also rather eager to exercise-bike some more, and simultaneously get back to my book.
Got a bit thirsty, which I think is part of what woke me up. Am feeling pretty alert, but, am getting that jittery feeling I associate with magnesium deficiency.
My eyes have been mostly OK, but sometimes a bit gooey. Before my most recent sleep, had a few small spoonfuls of cottage cheese, and later, many handfuls of dry Cheerios and a much smaller quantity of raisins (both in the hope of getting more iron), grape juice, and no magnesium since around 5:40 PM.
Felt a bit more alert for a while after the cottage cheese, but eventually became tired enough to actually sleep for a little while.
It's quite remarkable that I can take so much magnesium and still not get diarrhea, and in less than 12 hours of ceasing to take any magnesium, I got back to feeling jittery and possibly magnesium deficient. Maybe I should resume using that wonderful magnesium gel, which I haven't used since May.
Maybe what's happening is, I've been sleeping more poorly lately because of magnesium deficiency. So, when I get slightly less magnesium deficient thanks to taking magnesium, I get more tired. Though sometimes it seems like it is possibly energizing me... so, that's confusing.
But, when it does make me tired - perhaps, because I've been warily only taking one magnesium capsule at a time, it maybe doesn't ease my magnesium deficiency enough to enable me to feel tired enough to actually sleep.
I was worried maybe I was already taking too much magnesium. But perhaps I've actually still been taking too little magnesium to deal with the possibly still excess amounts of Vitamin D in my body.
And I guess the stuff I wrote before maybe applies too - perhaps exercise is releasing more Vitamin D into my body because Vitamin D gets stored in fat, and exercise burns fat.
I've been avoiding Vitamin D capsules and plan on continuing to avoid them. But I still get Vitamin D from dietary sources, such as milk, and that tasty Breakfast Essentials powder which I'm so fond of. No plans of giving those up.
Anyway, I guess I'll just try that magnesium gel again, and hopefully that will have good effects on me similar to what it seemed to do for me last May.
From around 6:12 AM to 6:42 AM, watched TV naked with most of my body covered with magnesium gel, then took a shower. It did seem to make me more relaxed. But, I still was headachy, so, tried to eat better - a pack of peanut butter granola bars and a microwaveable frozen dinner.
Still a bit headachy now, and increasingly very tired, but I expected and wanted to get tired, so I could hopefully go back to sleep and get a reasonable amount of good-quality sleep.
Anyway, other than my headache, I feel like I might be fine and might even have an easy time going to sleep once my headache goes away.
Maybe being able to make my own custom healthy drinks with a blender might be better than drinking milk with Breakfast Essentials powder so frequently. It definitely seems to do me good, but I think I'd rather avoid so much sugar, and I'm feeling rather wary of possibly getting too much Vitamin D from any source.
Didn't particularly enjoy my kale salad, and am thinking I might rather drink kale than eat it.
I sure hope I'm close to figuring out how to consistently feel fine. Maybe my circadian issues make it much harder for me than for most people not only to sleep properly, but to eat properly? Maybe caffeine wasn't the only thing messing with my appetite. Or maybe I just too easily disregard my body's hunger signals.
I just wish my physical self-maintenance wasn't such a continual struggle. It shouldn't be this difficult, should it?
Also slept sometime between 6:30 PM and 8:23 PM. Was woken again by headache and thirst. Plain water again isn't seeming very helpful, so having canned peaches instead.
I sure hope I don't have hypercalcemia from too much Vitamin D, milk, calcium, etc. Took my first Vitamin K2 in a while at 8:50 PM in case that might help. (Last time I had that was around 6:47 AM on July 26th.)
As of 9:08 PM, feeling quite a bit better and almost not headachy.
Spent a bit of time looking at cheap blenders on Amazon. Too impatient to compare them all carefully and read lots of reviews and questions/answers. So, I'll just take my chances on this one, I guess.
I actually had a dream about trying to order a fruit salad at a restaurant, so, maybe my body is trying to tell me it wants more fruit?
I think quite possibly I was dehydrated, with maybe adrenal fatigue-related electrolyte imbalance again making plain water seem less than helpful. Or perhaps electrolyte imbalance just from eating too poorly.
Lately, I've been trying to hold back from eating so much ham salad. I love the stuff, but, I worry it might be not only more ethical but also more healthy to avoid meat. Recently, I purposely stopped asking my relatives to buy ham salad, but right now I'm craving it, unlike most other foods I can think of (or which we actually have).
Still haven't even bothered to look at most of my food-related VUE maps lately. Food is so boring to me. I honestly wouldn't mind giving up food and beverages completely if it was somehow miraculously possible to live healthily without eating and drinking. If eating and drinking were optional, I'd probably never do it and would scarcely miss it at all. That would be even better than being a vegetarian, since it would save not only animals, but plants. :-)
So, basically, I don't know what's going on with me and my energy levels. :-) Also starting to verge on a headache again. I sure wish we had ham salad.
I wonder if there's any cure for all my problems. I already had a pretty chaotic "schedule" before, but lately, it seemed like it got even worse. What if caffeine is actually the lesser evil?
Haven't eaten any yet, but, getting tired again already. This is getting really annoying.
I still think caffeine would probably do more harm than good, but it's very tempting at the moment, because this much unpredictability is too much even for me.
Headache gone again. Not tired, but not really jittery. Much better and calmer now, actually. Now eating half a cantaloupe. It's a particularly good one, very sweet.
Just recently had a full dose of Advanced MAGNESIUM (by InnovixLabs). Highly Bioavailable Bisglycinate + Malate Formula, the kind that in ordinary circumstances gave me diarrhea if I tried to take a full dose (2 capsules). But, these don't seem like ordinary circumstances.
I'm also avoiding milk and Breakfast Essentials powder for now. They seemed quite helpful for a while, but, I suspect maybe my body just still has too much Vitamin D for me to drink that so frequently.
It'll probably be fun to try to create my own recipes. Lots of people use blenders for sweet smoothies, but I think I also want to make things that aren't sweet.
I wonder if it would be good for mashed potatoes? No, according to this page.
I suspect I probably usually wasn't eating enough fruits and vegetables to provide me enough Vitamin A. And I will never risk taking Vitamin A in pill form, because the list of Vitamin A overdose symptoms is so scary. Was eating carrots sometimes, but, I just don't like carrots all that much.
Maybe I needed more Vitamin K2 also. At least gouda cheese (which I do sometimes like to eat) has a bit of that, as well as Vitamin A.
I guess I ought to try to be more optimistic, though. And probably should keep having ground flaxseed (warning) - another thing I've been neglecting lately, but I really shouldn't, since it seems to help stifle moods like these, even when there's no external reason to be happier.
Anyway, having some spoonfuls of Smucker's Natural Peanut Butter now, since I don't feel like making an actual meal. It's not bad, even though it's very oily, and unfortunately, I prefer the taste of not-so-natural peanut butter. Salt helps.
Actually, this is motivating me to make a sandwich with peanut butter I like more. That might be a bit less healthy, but even that definitely tends to do me a lot of good.
My blender will arrive on Saturday. I'll experiment with that, and if things still don't improve, maybe I'll resume black tea. Wonder what would happen if I had black tea on an odd schedule, like once every 3 days or something.
Anyway, updating this is definitely boring, so, hopefully I'll have nothing more to add for a while until maybe after I try out this cheap blender which will hopefully arrive Saturday.
Soon after my exercise, I googled for "exercise bike energy", since I wanted to get an idea of how much and how soon my energy levels might be generally improved by exercise biking.
Then I stumbled across an incredibly comforting news story about a bike which can produce 24 hours of electricity from 1 hour of pedaling!
So, I wrote a blog post about it and posted it to Non24.com: The Hans Free Electric Bike
Was quite alert much of the time, even though I actually didn't eat anything until around 8 AM. Had only my usual 3 grams of Vitamin C and 1 vegan Omega 3. Got tired for a few hours after having gouda and saltine crackers around 8 AM. I think it was probably the crackers that made me tired. Except who knows what cheese might be capable of. :-)
Didn't eat enough yesterday - the only other things I ate were two Activia yogurts, and drank a little grape juice. Slept sometime between 5:42 PM (again!) and 12:31 AM. Was woken by thirst and dry eyes.
Got various books with blender recipes (mostly for things like smoothies) from Clevnet, Ohio Digital Library, and the Youngstown library.
It's really alarming how insanely accepting too many people are of unnecessary and possibly harmful additives like these. Does this particular brand of ham salad actually look so bad to eat without artificial food coloring that it actually needs artificial food coloring to make it look edible? I think it looks disgustingly, unnaturally overly pink with artificial food coloring.
Anyway, it might be better to avoid eating meat anyway. Maybe if I get creative enough with healthy smoothies, maybe I'll finally be able to stop drinking cow's milk, too.
Definitely a bit tired of being above my normal weight. Someone recently told me I have a figure like Sophia Loren, which was a very nice compliment, but I'd really like to get back to my formerly usual physique, or actually better.
It's very encouraging that I've been feeling so energetic so soon after my time of the month - which fortunately stayed mostly light, so I probably only lost an average amount of iron or slightly less than average.
Also, started to get a bit tired.
Don't know if a trainer tire would make my exercise bike quiet enough to use anytime I want, but, if it does, it would be really worth getting. I'd prefer to exercise-bike soon after I wake up, but my recent sleep schedule has made that impossible lately.
Almost exercise-biked yesterday approaching my bedtime, but fell asleep instead.
But, have been alert and energetic enough, though not as much as yesterday. Also a bit anxious (which was the case sometimes yesterday too), so, might resume taking magnesium. And eating better might help with that too.
Hopefully it will be possible to get a nice quiet trainer tire on my exercise bike in the near future. Even ridiculously small-seeming amounts of exercise biking seem to do me a lot of good, so, being able to do that whenever I want might help tremendously.
I've mostly been reading, so, I have yet to decide what blender recipes to try first.
So, looks like ground flaxseed (warning) alone hasn't stifled my anxiety so far.
Kind of drowsy now, and not sure I feel like going to the trouble to blend anything. Afraid I won't feel like cleaning the blender, so, it's easier to just not use it to begin with, especially since I haven't decided what to make yet. Guess I better figure that out for later. I have a ton of kale I need to use up, probably in some green smoothies of some sort.
Now that I'm tired, I guess it doesn't matter if I eat carbs, so, maybe I'll have Cheerios. But I'm so tired that even the thought of having to brush my teeth afterwards seems like reason enough to put off eating.
Yesterday was better, but today was OK. Can't exercise-bike now because it's hopefully having its back tire changed today.
Still hoping exercise and my blender will help me out so much that I'll stop missing caffeine. Ooh, what if exercise improves my health so much that my body will become better at handling caffeine? :-D
Maybe I'll try to stay awake for that.
Also am thinking maybe I should buy lots of different spices. Spices really help me out when I remember to use them, since they can make even the same old boring food seem very different, and they'll probably help with whatever I'm going to blend, too.
Got my exercise bike back in my room around 3:00 PM. With the trainer tire, it is much quieter now! Quieter than my box fan. So, now, I'll probably be able to use it whenever I want. No need for earplugs, and I won't have to wish I had fancy noise-blocking headphones anymore.
I'm very grateful to my relative and the bicycle shop that happened to be open on Sunday for taking care of that for me so quickly!
Not much else to say - I didn't really get much done besides reading.
But, it seems like it was a productive-enough day, since my improved exercise bike and our new blender have set the stage for me to hopefully soon become much healthier and more energetic, via more exercise and better nutrition.
I think maybe I should've eaten before I did that instead of after. Going up the stairs to my room several times soon after that seemed much more tiring than usual. Could be because I didn't pause much to rest after my exercise. In any case, I felt much better after I ate some cottage cheese.
Actually, going up those stairs seldom feels tiring to me at all, even when I'm quite poorly rested, and even when I've eaten pretty poorly. But, it seems the combination of intense exercise, not resting much afterward, and not eating very well, is a particularly bad combination.
Then, got hungry again, so, finally decided to blend something with our new blender. Impatiently looked through some library ebooks, but then decided to not use any recipe.
I just stuck in a bunch of kale and two tomatoes, and, following instructions, I held the lid down while I tried to blend it. (Which was definitely necessary, since it definitely is a pretty powerful blender, and at times it felt like the lid would have flown off if I wasn't holding it down.)
At first, only the stuff at the bottom was getting blended, so, I stopped and added some water in case that might help. It still continued only blending the stuff at the bottom, so I picked up the tomatoes, tentatively mooshed them up with my fingers, and dropped them back in, and somehow it suddenly started blending much better after that. Didn't take long at all after that.
Added some salt and black pepper, but I wasn't sure just stirring it with the straw was blending it evenly throughout the mixture, so, next time, I'll probably put the salt and pepper in the blender.
It was OK, but seemed a bit boring and unsatisfying, so I decided to make it into a soup just by putting it in a bowl, adding an entire can of canned chicken (was too hungry to try to force myself to be vegetarian at that moment), and microwaving it.
That made it much better. Adding more salt, black pepper, and a crushed clove of garlic also helped a bit too.
But I would much rather use organic kale, tomatoes, etc., in the future, since one of the library ebooks I borrowed reminded me of all the pesticides that are in non-organic food. I usually try to avoid thinking about that, but, it bothers me even more now that I might (or might not) start consuming considerably more kale, tomatoes, etc. than in the past.
I hope trying to switch to organic everything won't be way too expensive.
Even at room temperature, it tastes nice, and I like it even more with ice.
Seems like dessert, but, I actually am still hungry for dinner instead. I guess I'll save this stuff for later and have some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
Also, perhaps I shouldn't skip Nature Made Stress B - except I'm very displeased to see that it now contains calcium, which it didn't have before.
Was quite tired for a while, but now getting a bit jittery. And actually still kind of tired at the same time.
Even when I was younger and caffeinated, I noticed I tend to get noticeably much more tired after about 12 hours of being awake.
Can't compare how I feel now without caffeine to how I felt in my 20's without caffeine, because during my 20's, I never quit caffeine for long. I'm guessing I would have been fine back then, but, I wonder if maybe caffeine might have veiled some problems I may have had even when I was younger.
And again kind of wishing I could just resume black tea and just get back to normal. Maybe I'd be better off if I were so caffeinated that I could still eat whatever I want without getting tired from carbs or whatever. I would have less of an appetite, but I'd be more motivated in general and might not be so prone to neglect to deal with food at all just because of being too tired to feel like dealing with anything.
Maybe I should try to find out if I really do have diabetes or something.
I wonder if I'd do better if I planned out all my meals and vitamins in advance and tried to more strictly stick to a routine, probably with the help of my Relative Scheduler.
Also still curious about whether 1 cup of black tea every several days might somehow help me more than harm me. But probably shouldn't resort to that yet.
Maybe a stricter routine might be the cure for not being able to obtain good results just from going by "instinct" and eating whatever I feel like whenever I feel like it.
I hope I'll feel like designing one when I wake up tomorrow.
So, I guess my top priority at the moment should be to design a better routine.
But at the same time, have also been paying more attention than usual to when I get hungry and tired, so I can get a better idea of how to design my daily schedule. And measured some of my food portions, so I can get a more specific idea of exactly how much I need to eat in order to ward off hunger for whatever amount of time.
Had a 1/2 cup (measured with my measuring spoons) of cottage cheese with 2 official tablespoons of ground flaxseed (warning) and an unmeasured amount of black pepper around 6:30 AM.
When I finally got hungry again around 9:30 AM, I had an unmeasured amount of Grape Nuts cereal (and another bowl of that around 10:21 AM), despite the fact that I was worried that the carbs might make me tired. Fortunately, I didn't get anywhere near as tired from that as I feared I might.
Will probably soon get these measuring cups, since those will be faster to use than my smaller measuring spoons.
Was thinking about modifying my Relative Scheduler script to try to figure out how I can store the schedule and other settings in files separate from the main script. I was always so impatient with the Python programming language that I never figured out how to do that yet!
And I got to make this great announcement. I hope someday I'll have enough money to do that sort of thing much more often.
Been reading, and binge-watched The Vampire Diaries. At this rate, I might finish the entire series tomorrow or the next day.
I guess I better resume eating more healthily before I start having problems.
I might not update this as frequently if I keep feeling OK, so, if anyone is reading this, don't worry about me if I'm quiet for a while.
And didn't eat ground flaxseed (warning), cottage cheese, and didn't take Nature Made Stress B that day.
I still want to switch to a new B-complex vitamin since I am very unhappy that calcium was added to Stress B.
At 9:39 AM, finished watching the last episode of The Vampire Diaries. Looking forward to watching the spinoff series, The Originals, at some point, but, not in the mood for more TV yet.
Trying to improve the Relative Scheduler a bit. Then, maybe I'll return to my Puppy Linux Setup Kit.
Slept sometime between 12:04 AM and 10:35 AM. Was a bit tired at first, but that soon wore off, even though I haven't exercise-biked yet, and all I ate so far was 1/2 cup of cottage cheese mixed with black pepper and 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed (warning).
Yesterday, finally acquired some new (to me) B complex vitamins - Nature's Bounty B-Complex with Folic Acid plus Vitamin C (125 Coated Tablets). Took that around 8:30 PM last night and 10:45 AM today. I think it might be helping me.
Mostly been reading, but fortunately, have been in the mood to work a bit on my Puppy Linux Setup Kit.
Been getting thirsty and dry-eyed soon before and during sleep, which I think has been interfering with my sleep. But, haven't always been tired. My energy has been fluctuating, and sometimes I've felt pretty good. And exercise biking has been getting easier.
Been reading a lot, and I've been getting another component of the Puppy Linux Setup Kit done - the APSK (Apollia's Puppy Setup Kit) Simple App Installer.
I tried putting some taller boxes on the edge of my bed to put my keyboard and mice on top of, and found out that makes it much more comfortable to use my computers and exercise bike at the same time.
With stuff that takes thought, I tend to slow down or stop, but that's not a problem with easy things like reading, listening to music, or watching YouTube videos. Perhaps once I get more used to it, I'll be able to program while I exercise bike. It will probably be easier when I'm less tired.
Surprisingly, I think I've mostly been exercise biking toward the end of my day rather than soon after I wake up. I'm so tired I find it hard to judge if my most recent ride (about an hour ago) made me any less tired, but, getting less tired wasn't my immediate goal anyway. I just like to exercise-bike at least a tiny amount every day. For me, it's so much nicer than going on walks or going to a public swimming pool.
Made the mistake yesterday of trying to use up my remaining cow's milk quickly by having a glass of milk with strawberry Breakfast Essentials powder. Also ate a couple of baklavas and probably enough donut holes to add up to 1 donut. And probably not enough other, healthier food.
Getting these 4 large smoothie glasses with lids to try to make smoothies more convenient. My current glass (possibly the only one in the house) is too small, and I don't want to have to use my mug, or the 2 only non-paper bowls in the house, on smoothie storage.
I was tempted to get some large beer mugs instead because they have handles, but, I thought a lid might be more useful.
I hope I can finish the Simple App Installer but I might be too tired today.
Unfortunately, I have reasons to stay awake for a while. Feeling tempted by caffeine since it would be quite useful at the moment, but, not sure if I have any half and half. For me, tea isn't even worth drinking without half and half.
Got these 4 large smoothie glasses with lids. They're very tall, heavy, and sturdy-seeming. And fortunately, my glass straws are tall enough to work fine in them, with about an inch of straw peeking over the top of the glass.
My so-far favorite smoothie, banana + canned pineapple (which uses an entire 20 ounce can of unsweetened pineapple), didn't fit perfectly in one glass, since there was a little left over when the glass was filled to the brim. But, it definitely holds more than my original glass, and I expect it will work perfectly for smoothies made with smaller cans of fruit.
I also like the lids. Now, I don't have to use saran wrap to store the leftovers in my fridge.
So, I'm completely satisfied with these glasses with lids and my separately-purchased glass straws.
Found this interesting article - Marching to a different beat: ADHD and circadian rhythms.
Anyway, that study appears to be about just 3 blind men who are referred to as "S33", "S84", and "S85". Even that confused me at first - why couldn't that article refer to the subjects by fake normal names?
How strange it is that science, which is supposed to increase our knowledge, is often traditionally written about in such needlessly obfuscatory ways. I'm not blaming the authors (who I'm guessing probably have little choice but to conform to the "normal" way of doing things, or else get their articles rejected). Instead, I'm blaming the academic or scientific culture which encourages or possibly even requires such bad writing.
It would probably be much better for the world in general if the top goal of scientific writing were to communicate clearly, rather than to merely seem impressively "scientific" by being confusing.
I wonder if I'll ever understand science well enough to be able to translate interesting-looking articles like that one into plain English. Not that it's all difficult to understand.
One reason this strikes me as interesting is because I just read on this page about ADHD that:
And this page says:
I wonder if the fact that caffeine makes me more alert, energetic, and more cheerful rather than calmer means I can't possibly have ADHD, despite my ADHD-like ability to hyperfocus.
By then, my room was such a mess, I preferred to clean rather than drink tea. Also exercise-biked a bit, partly to try to make myself feel more awake, and partly to see if the large boxes I dug out were better than my usual boxes that I put my keyboards and mice on top of while exercise biking. (No, because my usual boxes are taller, and that helps me more than additional "desk" space.)
Drank a glass of milk with strawberry Breakfast Essentials powder, since my jug of milk is expiring and I don't want to waste it. Will be buying smaller amounts of milk in the future.
I guess I feel more alert now, and my room is improved too. Still missing caffeinated tea, though. Very tempted to go back to drinking my former usual black tea and seeing how that goes, since I'm wondering if it somehow might possibly work out better for me than green tea did.
Hopefully I won't regret this. :-) But, at the moment, I feel pretty good about this. I'm reluctant to resume drinking it daily, but, perhaps I'll have another cup several days from now, or perhaps not - will have to see how I feel.
And I found this very interesting article:
Out of sync with the world: Depressed people suffer with 'broken body clocks'
Quote:
However, in severely depressed patients, the circadian clock was so disrupted that a patient’s ‘day’ pattern of gene activity could look like a ‘night’ pattern, and vice versa.
Lead author Dr Jun Li, an assistant professor in the Department of Human Genetics at University of Michigan Medical School, in the U.S., described how the approach allowed the researchers to accurately back-predict the hour of the day when each non-depressed individual died - literally plotting them out on a 24-hour clock by noting which genes were active at the time they died.
They looked at 12,000 gene transcripts isolated from six regions of 55 brains from people who did not have depression. This provided a detailed understanding of how gene activity varied throughout the day in the brain regions studied.
However, when the team tried to do the same in the brains of 34 depressed people, the gene activity was off by hours. The cells looked as if it were an entirely different time of day.
Dr Li said: ‘There really was a moment of discovery.
‘It was when we realised that many of the genes that show 24-hour cycles in the normal individuals were well-known circadian rhythm genes - and when we saw that the people with depression were not synchronised to the usual solar day in terms of this gene activity.
‘It’s as if they were living in a different time zone than the one they died in.’"
End of quote.
Around the same time, was very slightly headachy, but I already felt like I was verging on a headache before I drank caffeine. Feeling better now.
Even though I'm kind of tired again, I still feel somehow like I'm more back to normal. But I guess my idea of normal has probably been distorted by years of caffeine usage. I've been caffeinated probably more often than not ever since I was a child, and especially from the year 2000 onward, which I believe is probably when I started drinking caffeinated tea daily rather than sporadically.
Maybe if I have just the right amount of caffeine at the right times, and keep trying to eat more nutritiously and exercise, maybe some caffeine will do me more good than harm? That's what I hope.
Also, perhaps if my body still is possibly having trouble with too much Vitamin D and calcium from taking possibly too much Vitamin D in supplement form months ago, perhaps caffeine's reputed ability to interfere with the absorption of some nutrients might actually help me.
Anyway, so far, I'm feeling like a bit of caffeine wasn't a bad idea, but I definitely think I should be wary and avoid overdoing it. And I suspect that for me, daily caffeine might already qualify as overdoing it. So, I hope doing without it for a few days won't lead to headaches.
Found another article about depressed people's brains and body clocks, with additional details which weren't in the other article I linked to: Brain's 'Clock' Disrupted in Depressed People
Quote:
I wonder what my brain does. I still have moods sometimes due to probably hormones and/or tiredness and/or not eating very well, but I don't consider myself depressed anymore - I managed to rationalize myself out of most of my depression years ago, largely thanks to things mentioned in this old blog post.
I did take a full serving of Advanced MAGNESIUM (by InnovixLabs). Highly Bioavailable Bisglycinate + Malate Formula a couple hours before tea, so, maybe that accounts for why I'm mostly not jittery. I did get a little anxious at times, but, mostly I've been fine.
It's so nice having these 4 glasses with lids instead of just one lidless smaller glass and one mug. It makes it much easier to drink and store a variety of things. I should've thought of getting those a long time ago, but, until getting my blender (which I also wish I had thought of getting a long time ago), it just didn't seem so necessary.
Now, maybe I will be more consistent about keeping a glass of slightly salted water around to help with my possible adrenal fatigue-related electrolyte imbalance.
I'm rather glad I have this gigantic blog post. My private notes are scattered across various files, and I didn't finish my current modified version of VUE (which is now my favorite note-taking tool) until February 2017, but this blog post is all in one convenient page.
Occasionally I look back at my old updates and they remind me of useful things I forgot, or things I forgot were happening so long ago, like my excessive thirst when trying to sleep, and my eyes sometimes getting conjunctivitis-like symptoms.
Quote:
Never tried theanine in supplement form, and I think I'd rather not, if I can handle tea.
Feeling a little tempted by tea already, but, still going to refrain for now.
I think probably I'm sleepy from not sleeping long or well enough, mostly due to my old problem of getting too thirsty when I sleep.
Not sure I'm readdicted to caffeine yet after just one cup of fully caffeinated Earl Grey yesterday. I hope it didn't somehow make me extra tired today. In any case, probably going to keep avoiding it today.
I'm aware that decaf tea isn't totally free of caffeine, but, I'm hoping I can handle a small amount of caffeine.
And finally prepared a glass of slightly salted water to help with my possible adrenal fatigue-related electrolyte imbalance.
Found some interesting pages about exercise and circadian rhythms.
It Matters What Time You Exercise: Muscles Have Circadian Rhythm
Definitely not in the mood to exercise now, but, maybe I'll try sometime when I feel more rested.
So, I guess maybe I can't get away with just drinking 1 cup of fully-caffeinated black tea every x days?
I hope decaf black tea will work better for me. Maybe a lot of what I liked most about tea was not from caffeine, but instead from theanine.
I haven't been feeling a craving for caffeine or tea, but I was craving sleep or to not be tired. Somehow, I'm finally starting to feel more awake now.
That PDF mentions they tested only one decaf tea (PG Tips decaf), and it had "significantly more" theanine than the standard version of that tea. But, "This was the only brand of decaffeinated tea tested so further analysis is required to determine whether this is the same for all decaffeinated teas."
Or, I could just eat some walnuts. Or, maybe I should just exercise a lot right now and hope that does something good for me somehow. But I think I'm too close to sleep for that to be the best idea right now.
Inspired by this page, I also put my air conditioner down to 68 instead of 70, where I've often had it for maybe weeks. Previously I usually had it at 68, but I started to feel like that was too cold. But maybe I should put it even lower than that. I prefer it around 66 when I'm exercising, but that usually feels too cold when I'm not exercising.
What a worrying article this is! Maybe I also shouldn't sleep with my keyboards, mice, and headphones, or even my desktop computers (which I usually leave on constantly), so close to me. I wonder if a Faraday cage canopy over my bed might actually be a good idea. And perhaps I also should get rid of my night light and cover up (or unplug) my clock, and get new USB hubs which don't have decorative flashing red, green, and blue lights. They're pretty but definitely a bit annoying sometimes.
And maybe I should resume my search for an acceptable sleep mask. I love my Wrap-a-Nap, but can't sleep with it over my eyes.
Already feeling pleasantly closer to sleep, sort of similar to how I feel after eating walnuts, and less like I'm on the verge of a headache.
Decided to search my pillowcase of tea for decaf black tea, and soon remembered (and found) I still have a nearly full box of one of my favorite decaf teas ever, Gevalia Classic Black. It's not even made anymore, and I think I probably bought it sometime in 2003-2005. Or maybe later, I don't know.
So, I'm drinking that now. Despite it being so ancient, it tastes fine to me. I added ginger, honey, sucanat, and half and half.
Gevalia had such good tea. It's a pity Gevalia stopped making tea in 2015 (according to Wikipedia). But maybe that's better for me, since now I won't be tempted by those teas anymore.
It definitely doesn't feel like an adequate substitute for fully caffeinated tea. So, I guess probably I was missing the caffeine more than the theanine.
I sure didn't expect to have such bad withdrawal after just a single cup of fully-caffeinated black tea. But, I'm so tired of being tired and not being able to eat whatever I want without having the problem of carbs possibly wrecking my energy for hours, that I'm no longer sure which is worse, tea or no tea.
Maybe if I stay away from fully-caffeinated tea, then, the small amount of caffeine in decaf, and its possibly higher amount of theanine than caffeinated tea, will be all the boost I need? And hopefully there will be less risk of such bad withdrawal and headaches. And maybe it won't interfere so much with my sleep, and won't fatigue my adrenals as much as fully caffeinated green tea and black tea might.
Had a nice dream about one of my favorite vampires from The Vampire Diaries. (Actually, it's quite hard to decide which is my top favorite!) Some other characters gave us a difficult time, but for some reason, I wasn't scared, and was even rather sassy, even though I don't think I was a vampire and am not sure I was anything else that was powerful enough not to be afraid of vampires and vampire hunters. But I also didn't feel like I was depending on my vampire buddy (who, pleasingly, seemed attracted to me) to protect me.
I don't know what decaffeination method was used on Gevalia tea, so, I think I'm probably going to stop drinking that, even though I still kind of like the flavor. I always thought it was inferior to Gevalia's caffeinated teas, but I considered it less inferior than the average decaf tea.
In my experience, the average decaf tea's flavor is usually very disappointing in comparison to the non-decaf version of the same tea. In contrast, decaf Gevalia Classic Black was more mildly disappointing and much easier for me to tolerate than most decafs. I could actually enjoy it and finish a cup of it without feeling so tempted to discard it.
Fortunately, the organic decaf black tea samples I'll be getting soon were made with the carbon dioxide method of decaffeination. If that truly doesn't affect the flavor and the healthy components of the tea as much as other decaf methods, that will be wonderful.
5 Food Ingredients That Deplete Your Bones Of Crucial Vitamins, Minerals, And Antioxidants
Wasn't able to find organic kale yet, so, haven't been eating kale, since I thought I read somewhere it was on a "Dirty Dozen" list, except it looks like the current Dirty Dozen list doesn't have kale. But kale is currently #19 on this other list titled All 48 fruits and vegetables with pesticide residue data.
I'm going to try to eat more fruits and vegetables from the Clean Fifteen list. Yesterday, I got an avocado, a kiwi, a papaya, and a mango. Those last two, I'm not sure I ever tasted in my life yet so far.
I also got a coconut (which currently isn't on the abovementioned list of 48 fruits and vegetables at all). I guess that will be particularly inconvenient to open, but, I definitely like coconut, so hopefully it will be worth the trouble.
Currently very hungry and kind of craving milk, which I've been trying to drink much less of. Not really in the mood for sweet fruit, and not much else seems appetizing either. I'm afraid if the nausea comes back I might throw up if I'm not careful.
I really hope decaf alone won't do this sort of thing to me. Really didn't expect such severe withdrawal symptoms after just one darn cup of caffeinated black tea.
Drank a gulp of milk, had a small bite of cottage cheese, and one slice of peach from a can, and finally started to feel better by around 5:30 PM. Then I took a nice long warm shower to clean off the magnesium gel. Feeling nice and relaxed now. That gel definitely seems to work better and faster than magnesium supplements, though the supplements definitely seem to help me too.
Really glad I got through that horrible migraine and nausea without vomiting. Didn't think of taking Advil, but, I was pretty sure the tiny bits of coffee would work eventually (since it wasn't all that much less than the ridiculously small 1/64th of a teaspoon of coffee which definitely seemed to help me in the past), and I also figured the magnesium gel probably had a good chance of helping me too.
So relieved to be feeling so much better.
It was actually a lot less distressing than my migraine and nausea had been. And it didn't ruin my appetite - I ate ham salad sandwiches while we waited for the storm to pass. And also a great stuffed cabbage thing a relative brought home.
Got somewhat tired for a while after eating, but recovered, and watched TV and chit-chatted with my family. Still feeling pretty good (though getting sleepy now, not that I mind), and I don't feel like more caffeine withdrawal symptoms are on the way, though I might be wrong.
Still hesitant to overdo the magnesium gel or anything else, but, I hope in the future I'll remember to try it too rather than trying to rely only on oral magnesium supplements. I'm guessing the magnesium gel probably would've been much healthier and more helpful than fully-caffeinated black tea was for me.
Of course, magnesium provides a totally different effect than caffeine, but magnesium too could lead to my desired result - not feeling tired - simply by making it easier for me to relax and sleep better. And also by enabling my body to make use of its possibly still excessive stores of Vitamin D from all the supplements I took. (This aforementioned page has interesting details on how Vitamin D and magnesium interact.)
Not that I'm no longer going to experiment with decaf black tea. I'm hoping the small amounts of caffeine found in decaf, combined with tea's theanine, will be more like riding in a much safer low-flying really cool hovercraft, which will hopefully simply make my journey through life smoother and more fun.
So, hopefully I'll feel like getting some stuff done, like the Simple App Installer for my Puppy Linux Setup Kit.
The only vitamins I took were my usual 3 grams of Vitamin C and 1 vegan Omega 3 in my morning. Also, didn't exercise. And drank only water (mostly plain, but a few gulps of slightly salted water in my morning), and maybe a bit of milk.
Lately, have been starting to get a bit tired. But I'm really astonished at how well that day went. It seems carbs actually don't give me trouble if I'm well-rested enough. I sure hope I can make this wonderful improvement last.
I now suspect that my top problem lately was magnesium deficiency, and that wonderful magnesium gel recently solved that for me far better than oral magnesium supplements alone.
Still feeling pretty relaxed and probably capable of sleeping well. Getting hungry, so I guess I'll eat something and then maybe go to sleep.
Had a kiwi and a mango before sleep, and quite liked them, though I think they'd probably be better refrigerated. Also had some stuffed cabbage things, left over from from the other day, containing rice and meat.
If I had woken up earlier I would have had a better chance of being able to do my nearly full-body magnesium gel routine while watching TV downstairs. But, maybe there will still be time.
But, getting hungry, so, will probably have my usual vitamins, then eat.
Tried papaya. It's one of the worst fruits I've ever tasted, along with grapefruit, and I'm not sure which is worse. So, never going to get papaya ever again.
After that, we stuck the coconut in a Ziploc bag, brought it outside, put it on the ground, and one of my relatives sat down and smacked it with some sort of heavy tool other than a hammer, which easily opened it.
Unfortunately, the coconut innards were only slightly less repellent to me than the syrup. I'm probably not going to go to the trouble of trying to make it palatable, even though I definitely like candies with coconut, and these delicious coconut macaroons.
Also tried something I had never heard of before, a jicama. It looks like an unusually large and round potato, and is reminiscent of an unsweet apple. Doesn't really appeal to me, but, it seems far more edible than the papaya and coconut did.
The mango was superb. Kind of reminded me of a cantaloupe, but more juicy and citrusy with a mushier texture. The kiwi was good too - I just wish it was bigger. Will definitely be getting those again.
Now that I'm approaching my bedtime, I've been getting dry eyes again, though at the moment they're getting gooey. Also feeling less relaxed and like I could use more magnesium. But not really in the mood to use the magnesium gel, since I'm getting sleepy and the gel is a nuisance to clean off, especially since we keep the water heater turned off to save money, so hot water usually isn't instantly available to me.
So, instead, I just took a full serving of Advanced MAGNESIUM (by InnovixLabs). Highly Bioavailable Bisglycinate + Malate Formula.
Quotes:
[...]
"A good estimate of the length of time a dose of vitamin D stays in the system can be found by studying the effects of a single large dose of oral vitamin D on calcidiol levels over time. One study, published in a 2008 issue of "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," found that patients given a single dose of 100,000 international units of cholecalciferol, a form of vitamin D, had elevated levels of calcidiol in their blood for 84 days on average. This suggests that vitamin D can stay in the blood longer than 84 days, though the exact maximum length of time is not known."
So, perhaps it is possible I'm still dealing with excess Vitamin D, even though I think the last time I took any Vitamin D capsules was July.
From my recent re-reading of some past updates, I found it interesting that I had the impression my eye issues decreased when I experimented with green tea.
Found this interesting page: Calcium and caffeine interaction in increased calcium balance in ovariectomized rats
Not sure what to make of that, but, still not eager to experiment again with fully-caffeinated tea.
For now, I'd rather just keep taking plenty of magnesium, since it definitely makes me feel better, and I definitely don't need caffeine making it harder for me to sleep, stressing out my adrenals, and possibly giving me bad headaches.
Here's a very interesting article titled Calcium Magnesium Balance.
Quote:
If I've been dealing with adrenal fatigue for years, I wonder if I maybe had a mild case of hypercalcemia all along - which perhaps explains or contributes to my sometimes excessive thirst and occasional trouble with frequent urination, which I had even before trying to quit caffeine. (Though I'm still guessing adrenal fatigue-related electrolyte imbalance was, and probably still is, a factor also.)
And then maybe I worsened my possible hypercalcemia by accidentally giving myself magnesium deficiency by taking too much Vitamin D. Resulting in my excessive jitteriness, achiness, etc. in May and at some other times. And I suspect my eye issues might be from my body possibly needing more Vitamin A due to me taking so much Vitamin D.
Just speculating. I don't really know what's going on, but, I know magnesium and enough good-quality sleep definitely seem to make me feel much better, and I think trying to get more Vitamin A by eating carrots (which I've been starting to enjoy more) and cantaloupes (which I've always loved) has probably been helping me too. (I will never risk taking Vitamin A in pill form, because the list of Vitamin A overdose symptoms is so scary.)
Haven't been consistent about eating carrots, though. I also am not in the mood for cantaloupe every day. Maybe I can blend carrots and drink them in a smoothie.
And it might be particularly good to use the magnesium gel sometime later in my day, before I get too tired to feel like using it. Hopefully that would increase my chances of sleeping long and well.
But, I didn't have yogurt, and didn't want to use coconut milk, so, I just made up my own smoothie with stuff we happened to have. I put in 1 can of no-salt-added sweet peas, 1 banana, 3 handfuls of frozen broccoli, 5 baby carrots, a 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger, 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed (warning), and an unmeasured but not very large amount of water since it seemed like it needed it.
At first when blending it (by pressing the "Smoothie" button), the carrots floated around the top, until I pressed the High button, and then they got sucked in. And my blender indeed did blend the carrots (and everything else) quite capably.
The result was an odd, thick, yellowish/orangish/pea greenish sludge, which tastes much better than it looks. It's mildly sweet, and mildly gingery, and there's nothing overpowering about it. I'm glad I restrained myself from putting in more ginger than 1/2 a teaspoon.
If I didn't know the ingredients and had to try to guess what was in it judging only by the flavor and other physical clues, I'd probably say, peas, ginger, and wouldn't know what the rest was, though going by the lighter-than-pea-green color, and the sweetness, I might guess at banana (though the taste of it is fairly veiled), and there are some orange specks which suggest carrot. Not sure I'd have any clue that the broccoli is in there, nor the ground flaxseed (warning).
I definitely like it, and I think I might make it again at some point.
Made a pineapple/carrot smoothie, with a 20 ounce can of unsweetened pineapple, and 10 baby carrots. Didn't taste much different to me than a pineapple smoothie, so, this will be a particularly easy way for me to consume more carrots.
I was thinking of traveling with someone to see it, but then I realized it will be mostly visible around where I live. So, not sure I'm in the mood to travel far to see a 100% total eclipse instead of an 83% partial eclipse, especially since we couldn't get Mammoth Cave tickets.
I don't even really want to look at the eclipse, because I'm reluctant to trust any eclipse glasses. But this pinhole projector made with a cereal box looks easy to make. Not sure I'll even do that, though.
I guess if I go to sleep soon, I'll probably wake up in time to see the eclipse (with some safe method).
Anyway, haven't been getting much done. I read, watched The Defenders Netflix series with my family, and cleaned my room a bit.
And found out my laptop actually fits comfortably in my largest purse. :-) But, still not in the mood to travel, even though I might actually be able to get some programming done on the way if I wasn't so tired.
Quite timely for me, since I've been feeling a bit frustrated again with getting so little done.
Guess I'll save the more interesting details for another blog post, maybe.
So, here are some more boring details which are more on-topic for this blog post. My right eye especially was gooey a lot of the time and itchy, long before the eclipse, and probably also a little while after. I resorted to caffeine in the form of occasional dark chocolate + peanut butter granola bars and Barq's caffeinated root beer (my favorite root beer). And found out that consuming caffeine seems to somehow make my eyes stop acting up.
I wasn't totally surprised by that, because I had already noticed my eyes seemed better back when I experimented with green tea in March, but, back then, I wasn't sure if that was due to caffeine, or to green tea in particular, or if they just happened to get better for some other reason.
Didn't fully trust the eclipse glasses, so I didn't gaze through them at the eclipse - I just glanced through them for maybe less than a second per glance, and didn't glance much. So, hopefully I didn't get any eye damage. My right eye was bloodshot, but I think that was from my conjunctivitis-like symptoms which started long before the eclipse.
At our hotel in Mt. Vernon, Kentucky, didn't sleep until maybe midnight, and woke up reluctantly (but without having to be awoken) around maybe 8:30 AM. Tried a while to sleep longer but finally gave in and got up. Haven't slept since.
I ate mostly just probably not-so-healthy fast food, and the only vitamins I had were Vitamin C, which we bought on the road. (I had been so convinced until the last minute that I probably wasn't going to go, that I packed hardly anything and brought almost nothing except what was already in my purse.)
Nonetheless, I felt physically mostly OK, except for being quite tired, especially the first day, but caffeine certainly helped. Hope I won't get a headache after having caffeinated root beer, etc. on two consecutive days.
Wasn't able to sleep while being driven, but didn't want to, so I could see all the scenery of the places I had never before visited in my life (Kentucky, Tennessee, and parts of Ohio and West Virginia I had never seen).
Hopefully will get my decaf organic black tea quite soon - it has been at my relative's post office box since August 21st (eclipse day), but we left town so early we couldn't pick it up.
Speaking of mountains, I think maybe if I could live anywhere, it would be someplace mountainous, because that was my favorite scenery on my entire trip. So much nicer than Ohio's dull flatness.
Maybe I'm just difficult to impress, perhaps because I grew up (until I was almost 14) in Pittsburgh's Mt. Washington neighborhood, within walking distance of Grandview Ave. Which was such a frequent sight for me that it just seemed normal and relatively unexciting to me, so I don't believe I ever did actually walk up there by myself. :-) But after so many years of Ohio's dullness, I think I would probably appreciate it much more now.
Still awaiting my decaf organic black tea. And feeling tempted to acquire a large supply of Barq's caffeinated root beer.
Dozed off for a while sometime between 4:12 PM and 4:57 PM, when I woke up with my heart beating fast, I guess maybe from a scary dream I don't remember. Then went back to sleep until about 7:46 PM.
So far, I tried 3 of these organic decaf black teas from Arbor Tea - Earl Grey, Masala Chai, and Mixed Berry.
Definitely the best-tasting decaf teas I've ever had, and I think for me they even rival the best teas I've had of any kind. Probably not enough of a caffeine kick for me, though. I thought maybe I felt a bit caffeinated while I was drinking the 2nd cup, but I'm not sure.
Got a 12-pack of cans of Barq's caffeinated root beer, and just recently drank one can. I think it perked me up a bit, but I'm still feeling pretty tired. And, my right eye is a bit gooey again. So, maybe these eye issues are related to tiredness.
Too tired to feel like dealing with magnesium gel, so, I guess I'll just take some magnesium capsules instead. I actually feel like I could probably still sleep even though I just drank this caffeinated root beer. I wonder if the theanine from the tea makes me sleepy? Maybe I should see if that alone helps me sleep better, and refrain for now from taking magnesium.
I really ought to clean my room, but, too tired now. But yet another thing VUE will probably help me with will be, keeping track of what stuff I have and where it is. I could take pictures of my clothes, and put those pictures in my VUE maps, along with notes of what labeled containers I've put those clothes into. Then, I'll hopefully have a much easier time finding things.
I still feel like I might sleep well.
It somehow doesn't feel like the same sort of tiredness I get from (I assume) the melatonin in walnuts, though I'm not sure how to describe the difference. But I think I like theanine tiredness more than melatonin tiredness, if indeed this tiredness is at least partly from theanine.
I think melatonin sometimes makes me feel almost sedated. Not that I know particularly well what being sedated feels like, except for once having been forcibly drugged by a dentist when I was a child, and at least once given Valium before another dentist appointment as a child.
But this possible theanine tiredness feels maybe more like, (possibly) enhanced natural tiredness. I kind of like it, and also feel relaxed rather than frustrated by my tiredness.
Was irritable at times earlier even after tea (until maybe after the 3rd cup), but am quite fine now. But perhaps that's because the source of my irritation is not around at this moment. Or maybe theanine's effects take a while to unfold for me.
Actually, now, I'm getting to be more alert than I'd like, so I guess maybe the caffeine from the root beer is starting to affect me more? Don't know, but, hopefully I can still go to sleep.
Been feeling sometimes for days or maybe over a week like I'm on the verge of a cold, judging by my occasional slight congestion and sometimes having difficulty making my ears pop, which happened quite a lot while being driven during my recent road trip.
I have two more kinds of organic decaf black tea from Arbor Teas to try - Iced Tea and English Breakfast. (Holiday Spice was sold out.)
Being back "home" seems rather disappointing compared to how nice my recent road trip was. I actually escaped from Ohio for about 2 days!
At least Ohio seems better than West Virginia, which we drove through on the way back. We drove by all these horrible stinky pollution-generating industrial things in West Virginia along the Ohio River. Why aren't such dreadful unhealthy-seeming things banned? That stuff seemed much too close to people's houses. What we saw of Kentucky and Tennessee was much better, far more empty of horrible industrial crap.
The English Breakfast organic decaf black tea from Arbor Teas is excellent too.
But we didn't get around to setting it up until today, I guess because it's difficult for me to get too excited about a new gilded cage, which is basically what proprietary, closed-source software is, which is why I prefer free (as in freedom), libre, open source everything.
At least it's better and hopefully more trustworthy than the iPhone someone gave me years ago. Except I wouldn't mind if this phone was thicker and heavier, and didn't give me the impression that it would be possible to snap it in two.
Can take pictures with this new phone, so, that will make it easier to catalog my clothes in a VUE map.
Already feeling better, though still kind of drowsy as I write this (before finishing my root beer). A bit better after finishing my root beer, but still not as alert as I'd like.
Judging by this page, it seems like different people have different amounts of sensitivity to both theanine and caffeine, and I'm guessing I'm probably pretty sensitive to both.
I realize that soda pop is considered unhealthy, but, it tastes so good, and at least it gives me a much more predictable, known amount of caffeine than tea. Just not sure there's enough caffeine in one can to adequately counteract this amount of theanine, at least for me. And not sure I want to get so caffeine addicted again as to require 2 cans of root beer per day. Maybe I could switch to a soda with slightly more caffeine in just 1 can.
I wonder if I could handle fully-caffeinated black tea much better if I regularly drank some decaf black tea (for its theanine) before I try to sleep. I suspect now that one reason I got fed up with green tea was because it didn't have as much theanine blunting the negative effects of caffeine. Maybe I could even try brewing both caffeinated black tea and decaf black tea in the same cup, and hopefully create a better balance (for me) of caffeine and theanine.
Oh, and now maybe I can make good use of the loose version of this excellent caffeinated green tea grown in South Carolina by mixing it with some decaf black tea in the same tea bag.
Doing without caffeine and theanine might be more "natural", but, maybe I actually like having them more than I like not having them.
Here's another interesting page about theanine.
Anyway, didn't get much done - I read and watched TV with family.
Quite sleepy now, and my right eye recently resumed being gooey.
Maybe after I wake up, I'll try a combination of the loose version of this excellent caffeinated green tea grown in South Carolina and one of my organic decaf black tea samples from Arbor Teas.
And I really need to clean my room. For days, I've had a more difficult time getting out of (or into) bed because of all the stuff in the way. I have to step over my exercise bike to get in and out of bed. So, hopefully I'll feel like dealing with these dull but necessary chores soon.
Still haven't eaten anything, nor done much besides reading.
However, I lived amongst clutter ever since I was a child, so, I think it doesn't really bother me unless it's really bad (like now). Except I think I slept fine, or perhaps even quite a bit better than usual.
I think some amount of clutter actually makes me feel more comfortable and at home. This, however, is an uncomfortable amount of clutter, which I guess conceivably could affect my sleep by making me even more prone than usual to neglect to eat good meals, just because even getting in and out of bed is a bit of a nuisance. Except I've been so alert that it's not really that much of a nuisance.
I think later I'll try organic decaf Iced Tea. I really hope drinking caffeine continues to be sustainable, because at the moment, I really feel like I'm better off with it than without it.
Still feeling nice and energetic. Maybe even a little too energetic, so maybe I'll have another cup or two of decaf organic tea.
Here's an interesting forum thread about someone's experiences with Vitamin C and caffeine.
And an interesting forum thread about stress and theanine.
Actually, I could add a note about that to my Relative Scheduler, and then try to remember to use my Relative Scheduler more often.
In fact, I could schedule my Relative Scheduler to relaunch itself automatically at some roughly appropriate time relative to when I last woke up. :-) I wonder why I never thought of that before.
Perhaps now that I'm hopefully more often consuming more theanine than caffeine, maybe things will work out better this time. I strongly suspect the lack of enough theanine in green tea (in comparison to black tea) was why green tea didn't work out as well for me as I hoped.
Have been getting tired, and now my eyes are kind of dry. Also, I'm kind of hungry.
I ought to resume eating better, and probably should more reliably have ground flaxseed (warning), at least the two ordinary spoonfuls (not official tablespoons) I used to have pretty regularly. Two official tablespoons is too much for me to just eat without putting it in something like cottage cheese, but I haven't been eating cottage cheese lately, and also didn't use my blender since August 22nd.
Also ought to make more use of my food-related VUE maps. So, I guess I should move them onto my internet-connected computer, which will make it easier to add new images to them whenever I feel like it.
Really looking forward to finally getting my disorganized clothes under control and out of the way. Oh, and wearing the nicer ones more often might also be fun. And being able to more easily figure out what to wear if/when I go out will also nicer.
However, I think I have probably avoided a lot of problems in life, unwanted attention, etc., by dressing poorly, so, I probably won't change my ways very much in the future, except perhaps to dress a bit more nicely at home.
All I ate since then was some raisins and some surprisingly excellent lobster-flavored potato chips, containing no real lobster. :-)
Been too tired and not yet enough in the mood for tea to make another cup of decaf tea. Hoping I'll sleep well regardless. I feel like I might.
I guess there's no reason I couldn't mix together a small amount of caffeinated black tea, a small amount of caffeinated green tea, and a probably larger amount of decaf organic black tea all in the same tea bag.
I wonder what the perfect amounts of caffeine + theanine would be for me.
Probably shouldn't eat potato chips for breakfast, but, am currently eating some excellent Maui BBQ potato chips.
Had various bad or partly bad dreams, and two involved or mentioned flying. Was a bit scared in the one where I was actually somehow flying, though I wasn't very high up, and landed safely enough. The other dream related to flying was about some jerk deliberately trying to upset me by telling me news about plane crashes.
I guess probably I shouldn't have eaten potato chips first, since those can make me tired, so I might not know if it's the decaf or the potato chips making me tired. Oh, well. Still going to try it anyway.
But, I guess if things stay this good, then, I'll probably feel like returning to some project or other at some point.
Moved my food-related VUE maps to my internet-connected computer and tidied them up a bit. So, hopefully I'll start using them more again.
Hoping I won't get a headache if I stick with just one can of root beer instead of two today. Might just have some particles of coffee if I feel a headache approaching.
Am wondering how rested (or not) I'd feel upon waking up, if I mostly had theanine and almost no caffeine. But, decaffeinating myself without having bad withdrawal symptoms could take a while, so, I'll probably continue experimenting with caffeine for at least a little while.
However, this might not the best time for experiments, since I might be starting to get PMS - though fortunately, I actually haven't felt that way lately.
Hmm, might be starting to get a headache. But perhaps that's from eating too much junk food and not enough healthy food lately.
Fortunately, that feeling soon went away.
Anyway, it's a pity that the human body is so flawed. And biologically, I think women have it even worse than men. If reincarnation exists and is optional, I hope I can choose to never incarnate as a woman ever again! And if reincarnation is optional and I actually chose to be a woman in this lifetime, I would really like to know why, because it seems like a huge mistake in retrospect, compared to how much better being a man would probably be.
Hmm, a while later, actually getting a bit tired again. Maybe I need plenty more caffeine all at one time (probably preferably in my morning) to avoid these annoying fluctuations. But I don't want to experiment with more caffeine so late in my day.
Months ago, I definitely felt a big difference between green tea microwaved for 5 minutes and green tea microwaved for 2 minutes. So, I think I'll be better off only using part of a bag of my formerly usual caffeinated black tea - otherwise I might end up with far too much caffeine, since long ago, I used to microwave it for only 2 minutes, but I now plan on microwaving it for 5 minutes.
Been using 1 teaspoon of my new favorite organic decaf black teas per cup. So, perhaps tomorrow I'll try a half a teaspoon of my formerly usual caffeinated black tea, and half a teaspoon of decaf, and will hopefully take a break from caffeinated root beer for a day.
Not craving caffeine, but I'm finding the idea of eating another dark chocolate/peanut butter granola bar appealing.
I guess I ought to make designing a sensible, healthy, and palatable meal plan my top priority. But, now, I'm tired enough that I feel less motivated to do anything. But I shouldn't just starve just because I don't particularly feel like making food. I guess I ought to obtain more healthy snack foods such as peanuts, pistachios, and other nuts which, unlike walnuts (one of the few nuts I still have now), aren't almost guaranteed to make me tired.
I also probably ought to document even many obvious-seeming good ideas related to food in my VUE maps, because the more tired I get, the more prone I become to forgetting even obvious things.
Instead of just keeping big lists of roughly all the food that's here, or of everything I can think of that I like that we could possibly buy, I could also make more selective lists like "good things to eat when I don't feel like cooking anything", "good things to eat in my morning", "meals I like with both high protein and high complex carbs", or whatever.
The less I have to think about this stuff (thanks to having it all written down), the better off I'll be. Restaurants are wise to provide menus to their customers, rather than insisting that their customers think up meal ideas from memory alone. Maybe I should pretend I'm running a restaurant, and then maybe I'll do a far better job of taking good care of myself.
I wonder if organic tea is allowed to be grown with nitrogen fertilizer or not. Maybe there's less theanine in my organic decaf black tea than I thought? I don't know, but I strongly suspect there is a significant amount (at least significant for me), because I feel like there is. In any case, I love drinking the stuff, and wouldn't want to switch to non-organic tea even if it did have more theanine.
I wonder if it's possible for a layperson like me to somehow measure the amount of theanine and caffeine in my teas? I'm so scientifically ignorant it really annoys me sometimes.
Might make myself another cup of decaf organic black tea, then probably go to sleep.
And I really am going to pretend I'm running a restaurant, and perhaps tomorrow, design some nice menus for myself in VUE.
Anyway, I guess I'll just use a lot of willpower and make a cup myself, maybe. At least it has been easier to get in and out of bed ever since I moved many of the clothes that were in the way. I'm so tired that I'm tempted to just eat the tea instead of brewing it. Hopefully that would be safe, since it's organic.
Feeling a bit stressed out, I guess perhaps from eating poorly, PMS, neglecting to take magnesium and ground flaxseed (warning), and maybe even caffeine withdrawal already. And my eyes are so dry (though that has been fluctuating). But not feeling especially thirsty. And my dry eyes have so far never been accompanied by dryness in other areas. Even when I've felt excessively thirsty, I don't believe I've ever felt like my mouth is dry.
Need to sleep as well as I can so I can hopefully make better use of the time when I feel alert tomorrow. And I guess I'll continue experimenting with caffeine then too.
I'm guessing putting caffeinated tea and decaf tea in the same cup might work out better for me than having a big (for me) dose of caffeine and big (for me) dose of theanine at different times, but won't know until I try it.
Even relatively elderly relatives of mine seem to struggle much less with their energy than I do. I wonder if I'm going to have enough time left in my life to accomplish anything worthwhile?
Currently, my eyes are a bit gooey, but I googled dry eyes again, and found this page which mentions a rather amusing method of dealing with dry eyes - saran wrap!
I could try that, but I would have to get out of bed, so I probably won't.
I think I'm going to try a smaller amount of caffeinated tea like maybe 1/3rd or 1/4th of a teaspoon, and maybe a full teaspoon of decaf. Maybe I'll even have multiple cups like that.
But, that's still too much money for me to spend on a whim, especially when I'm not even certain they're free (as in freedom), libre, and open source.
So, I guess chances are, due to being stifled by being born into an unwealthy family, I'll never become a real scientist in this lifetime, and I probably won't ever reach my full potential as a computer programmer, or anything else, either. Sort of like many of my ideas of previous lifetimes of mine. I really hope I can break out of this pattern somehow, or maybe I'll just get lucky enough to be eventually be born wealthy, so I won't keep having my lives abbreviated by money problems.
And an interesting image from that page.
So, quite possibly there is more than just 1 gram of tea in each tea bag or each teaspoon of tea. Yet another thing I currently have no way to measure.
Already feeling less grumpy. I usually don't like berry teas, but this is possibly even better than my former favorite berry tea, Gevalia Blackberry Spice, which is no longer even made.
For me, it seems like this Mixed Berry tea, and I guess the other decaf teas too, achieve the best flavor when steeped for a while longer than the 5 minutes I microwave them. So, I've been leaving the bag in the entire time I drink these teas, which I'm guessing also probably helps me extract more theanine (and caffeine).
My mountains of clothes are annoying me so much that I think I better make cataloging them in VUE, then getting most of them out of here, my top priority. Might also tidy up the next room a bit to make more room for them.
This might seem like a silly waste of time, but perhaps it will somehow help give me ideas on how to combine VUE with some sort of external database. It would be so neat, and probably useful somehow, to be able to easily make a graph database into a VUE map, and vice versa.
If I get tired, maybe I'll have another cup of tea much like my last one, but with a bit less caffeinated tea. Or maybe I'll just drink a caffeinated root beer.
It was probably good to quit all caffeine for a while just to give my adrenals a break and see if my severe sleep issues got miraculously cured. I suspect theanine probably would have done me good if I had somehow kept having that, but, I think I like theanine more in combination with caffeine (except when I'm trying to go to sleep).
I definitely think theanine was a big part of what I missed from black tea, and also might partly explain why green tea wasn't as satisfying or sustainable for me. Might also explain why I never got as addicted to coffee, even though I liked the taste of coffee, at least if I diluted it a lot and put in lots of half and half and sugar. (Otherwise, coffee tastes ghastly to me.)
But, even though I like theanine so much, I still might drink a caffeinated root beer soon, mostly for flavor's sake. Or maybe I'm craving it for the caffeine. I wonder if there is a decaf version of Barq's root beer? If there's not, there should be.
Definitely in a much better mood now, even though clothes are so boring. Can't wait to get this boring stuff done so I can be (more) free of clutter.
Had a caffeinated root beer, and also a non-caffeinated root beer of another brand. Not as good, but I thought it might help me avoid drinking too much caffeinated root beer. But I think I'm going to have to look for a better brand which can rival the taste of Barq's.
There are still a ton of clothes I haven't yet taken pictures of, but, managed to get a lot of photos of my clothes onto my computer. Going to shrink those pictures with Image Magick, then add them to VUE. Then I'll put the clothes in various labeled containers, which I'll make note of in VUE. And maybe someday I'll make a searchable database out of it all. :-)
Don't know if it will be better than something low-tech like clothes racks, or somehow creating extra closet space. But, it'll definitely be better than what I was doing before. Most of my clothes were stuffed unsorted into various zippable pillow protectors, then piled in whatever free space was available in my room.
Which wasn't a completely terrible way of dealing with them - it only became particularly problematic when I actually had to find something to wear. And especially if I wanted to find something specific - though I am so unfamiliar with my collection (mostly gifts) that that seldom happened.
Overall, have felt pretty good today. So, hopefully I'll be able to return to more important projects in the somewhat near future.
So, I think I probably had pretty good amounts (for me) of caffeine and theanine today. Don't know whether or not the same amount of caffeine will keep working this well, but, not planning on increasing the amount, and might even decrease it again gradually if things start seeming bad.
Even in that case, I will likely keep drinking decaf for its theanine (and delicious flavor) whenever I feel like it, even despite the small amount of caffeine in decaf. I suspect theanine is at least as important as caffeine in contributing to my overall feelings of well-being and of being "back to normal", and perhaps is even more important.
So, perhaps I will have a much easier time decreasing caffeine in the future if necessary, since I'll at least still have the familiar old comfort of theanine. I also suspect it is improving my sleep quality, so, perhaps even without caffeine, good enough sleep might give me all the energy I need.
Woke up sort of tired, but that gradually went away and I felt surprisingly alert and in a good mood for a while, despite no tea or other caffeine, and despite not eating anything nor drinking anything except water. (Also had my usual vitamins.)
Should have had some caffeine, food, etc. sooner, though, since I eventually got a headache. It has already faded a lot (perhaps mostly due to caffeine, and maybe also due to eating), but, this makes me think I should start decreasing caffeine again.
Or, if I don't feel like making tea or drinking caffeinated root beer, probably I ought to just eat a particle (or more) of instant coffee.
The pictures aren't as nice as I hoped they'd be, but, they'll suffice. Haven't organized the map much yet, but it definitely gives me a helpful overview of what I have and where it is, so, continuing to catalog my clothes seems like it will be worthwhile.
Despite caffeine, feeling rather tired now, which I guess could be from PMS, and/or maybe caffeine withdrawal.
So, I suspect that might have reduced the amount of theanine and caffeine I got from my tea. Maybe we need a new microwave.
I'd actually like one for upstairs, and really hope we can get the upstairs bathroom fixed too, except I think until the roof is fixed, the roof will probably be used as the excuse for not fixing the upstairs bathroom.
I'd love to be able to stay upstairs more, since up here, it's easier to pretend I've achieved my dream of living alone at my own place.
I am far more comfortable with relatively uncreative jobs like my typist/copy editor job a long time ago, or transcription, but those pay so poorly, I could never support myself doing jobs like those.
Maybe I could even do jobs involving a foreign language if I went to the trouble to learn one well enough. French was one of my most effortlessly easy classes in high school. I always got 100% on tests, and in every 9-week grading period except my first one in 9th grade. (I got 89% then, due to not yet realizing that homework or lack thereof actually affected my grade.) So, I know I can definitely deal with language-related stuff even when I'm handicapped by sleep deprivation.
But, all that time wastage might only be worth it if it would definitely guarantee me jobs that pay so well that I could actually comfortably support myself. But maybe achieving some decent foreign language skills wouldn't take as long as I fear. And if it's as easy as I remember French class being, those might be really cozy, even relaxing sorts of jobs for me.
Maybe someday I'll investigate how much money there is to be made from such jobs. Maybe that would be much better than hoping I'll recover my health enough to feel like dealing with the stress of jobs requiring more creativity.
But if plumbing pays better... well, I would probably still prefer a less physical job, which I'm more sure I could learn to do well. Even opening jars can be quite difficult for me, so, if plumbing requires much physical strength, I am probably not well-suited to it at all.
Anyway, I definitely like the idea of opting for an easier, more relaxing and not-so-creative career. I don't know if I'm ever going to be able to force myself to want to deal with a creative career. My energy and moods are too unreliable, and I can't even motivate myself to check a lot of my email and try to answer questions and requests.
Found this interesting page about translation.
LOL, maybe I really will end up doing what The Art of Procrastination book suggests - 'the defensive to-do list ("1. Learn Chinese . . .")'.
Was feeling out of sorts, vaguely headachy, and sleepy, though a dark chocolate/peanut butter granola bar helped a bit. Also ate a banana. Earlier, ate various other foods I don't feel like listing.
Feeling less headachy now, but sleepy. Feeling so tempted by caffeinated root beer. I really wish there was a caffeine-free version of Barq's root beer. Still am hoping I can find a better-tasting other brand of caffeine-free root beer.
Undecided about what to do about caffeine. I forgot to mention, but I had only 1/8th of a teaspoon of caffeinated black tea when I made tea earlier, which I guess wasn't enough. And I guess I need more theanine too because I'm having bad mood swings. But, tired and reluctant to get out of bed.
Wonder what would happen if I just consumed as much caffeine as I want whenever I want without worrying about it. Would I survive? :-)
Maybe I should try making cold decaf iced tea. It was good hot, but, cold iced tea might be more convenient, since I could store it in my refrigerator and not have to go to the trouble of microwaving it. Then, I could more easily get a dose of theanine anytime I want. Maybe I could drink it without half-and-half, and put lemon in it, or other ingredients. I guess I could even try iced Earl Grey, iced chai, etc.
And a helpful article about ice brewing gyokuro green tea.
Quote:
However, the different compounds in tea are extracted at different rates depending on the temperature:
End of quote.
The tea bag floated at the top, which concerned me since I thought it might steep better if it was better-immersed. But, I thought up some solutions to that. First, I twisted the end of the teabag and tied a simple knot in it so the tea couldn't come out. (Fortunately, the bags we get are large enough to make that easy to do.)
Then, I stuck in the glass straw I accidentally dropped and broke a piece off of many months ago. It just barely fits in the glass, and puts in a bump in the lid, and has to be carefully positioned to minimize that bump. But, the lid still seems to seal the glass, since I tilted the glass to try to see if any liquid would come out, and none did.
A bit hungry, but not in the mood to make food. Maybe I'll just eat walnuts, since I'm tired already anyway, so it won't matter (and would even be helpful) if they make me more tired.
My later dreams were much better - I was part of a group of software developers working at some company where they still used ancient Mac Plus-style Macs. I was surrounded by men who fawned over me, and none of the women were mean to me. My favorite guy was a Japanese guy who gave me a wonderful massage. And I woke up in a much better mood, untired, with a greatly improved libido. My right eye was so gooey it was almost glued shut, though.
One of my dreams before 12:35 PM was very scary. Was at the other house we lived at in real life before in this town, but in the dream, it was the house of a family friend, and a huge thick tornado or two were approaching, which we actually saw nearby when we opened the front door, so we had to hide in the basement.
I planned on steeping my iced tea for 12 hours, so, that's not done yet. But even without sugar yet, it tastes like it probably will be good.
Now in a good mood and untired. Probably going to start my day with a cup of 1/4th teaspoon caffeinated black tea and 1 teaspoon decaf.
Will try the iced tea later, hopefully after we get a lemon or lemon juice.
If caffeine (plus theanine) keeps feeling this good most of the time, I definitely don't want to quit caffeine. Also, I think it feels even better than it used to before I quit, which I'm guessing is because I'm now consuming an improved ratio of theanine and caffeine, as well as probably less caffeine than I used to drink.
Still didn't try the iced tea yet even though I now have a lemon. Didn't feel like trying it yet because instead, I tried a new brand of decaffeinated root beer, which is maybe a bit better than the other brand, but still not as good as Barq's caffeinated root beer.
Ate hardly anything today except a lot of a bag of Maui BBQ potato chips, some peanuts, a few bites of cottage cheese (would have had more but we ran out), and some sort of cream-filled bakery thing with a maple topping.
Will probably soon resume trying to eat more healthily. And hopefully will keep having the energy to actually go to the trouble to do so. I wonder if even despite a decreased appetite, I'll end up actually being healthier with caffeine than without it, because I will be less apt to avoid making meals (and doing other things) just because of being too tired.
Oh, and I also wrote down how I made my VUE map which catalogs my clothes. So, in the future, when I want to add more to that map, I'll be able to just follow my own instructions without having to remember (or figure out again) how I did all that.
Don't know how long this is going to keep being so pleasant, but, given that I managed to stick with fully-caffeinated black tea for about 16 years (2000-2016) despite the drawbacks, such as headaches, interference with my schedule and appetite, and caffeine possibly making me even more anxious and mood-swingy than I naturally am... maybe now, I will be even more capable of sticking with some amount of caffeine, if increased theanine and reduced caffeine help reduce all those problems, and won't fatigue my adrenals as much.
So, I hope this works out well. I think it really might go differently and better now, because I'm definitely not going back to exactly my same old caffeine habits, but instead, am doing things that are new and hopefully improved. And I think it already feels better for me than it used to.
Sort of tired, and not sure if it's from PMS or caffeine issues, or perhaps both. Guess I'll have 1/4th of a teaspoon of caffeinated black tea instead of 3/8ths, and probably try to avoid drinking caffeinated root beer so late.
And am enjoying the book Caffeinated: How Our Daily Habit Helps, Hurts, and Hooks Us.
Also finally tried my decaf iced tea, which I actually never removed the tea bag from. Added an entire lemon's juice to it, which improved it quite a lot, in my opinion. Sucanat dissolved slowly into it, so, maybe I'll use some other kind of sugar next time. My usual raw organic honey just sank to the bottom, and I'm not sure if it eventually dissolved, or if maybe I just drank all the semi-solid pieces of it through my glass straw.
Anyway, aside from the mess from squeezing that lemon, the difficulties with trying to sweeten this iced tea, and how long it took to steep, I liked it. Maybe I'll make it again. But, I don't think I want to get a large pitcher so I can make a lot a once, because I'd rather not use up that much space in my mini-fridge, and I don't know if I'll be in the mood to drink it that often.
I think I do feel like it may have given me a nice big relaxing dose of theanine, though. Maybe more than I need - I drank the entire glass. But, I already was feeling less alert and energetic today than the other day I had tea made with 3/8ths of a teaspoon of caffeinated black tea. Am guessing I have less energy mostly because my time of the month is approaching.
Still hoping that caffeine isn't wearing out my adrenals, and that I'm just having normal PMS-related decreased energy. Or decreased energy from not sleeping quite as well due to not having magnesium and/or walnuts before sleep.
Maybe I'll resume trying to catalog my clothes, even though perhaps the pictures might turn out better if there was some daylight. Or, maybe I'll just keep reading.
And not feeling tempted by Barq's root beer, even though Great Value root beer isn't as good.
Been reading, and tidied up a little, and cleaned all 4 of my smoothie glasses and the 2 glass straws I haven't lost. The area around my exercise bike still isn't decluttered enough for me to resume using it yet, though.
Not yet feeling completely content, perhaps because I might be better off eating a meal instead of grazing on various snacks, so, going to have a bowl of cheese ravioli.
And a bowl of cheese ravioli, which tasted different than what I remembered of this brand. The cheese stuffing in this last bowl was creamy, bland, and in dire need of salt.
I wish companies would just leave their already-good recipes alone, or print version numbers on their products and changelogs on their websites, similar to the version numbers and changelogs of software, so at least you could find out if you're eating something new and different, and what was changed, and hopefully also why.
But, better yet would be for all food recipes to be free (as in freedom), libre, and open source, so a company's bad decisions will no longer be able to deprive anyone of products they used to like.
And if Barq's root beer were free (as in freedom), libre, and open source, then, a caffeine-free version would probably already exist. Also, Barq's and probably most other sodas could also be enhanced in other ways, like by replacing the high fructose corn syrup with something healthier.
But, still not really in the mood to deal with boring stuff like cataloging my clothes - even though I could listen to audio book at the same time, which would make it less boring. But, maybe I will anyway, because I'll be much better off with all that junk more manageable and out of the way, and I ought to do something about it while I have the energy.
I feel like small amounts of caffeine plus larger amounts of theanine might continue working well enough for me long-term, but am a bit worried maybe they won't, and that the caffeine might wear me down again. Maybe I'll know in a few more weeks, since it only took about a month for me to realize that so much caffeinated green tea was not right for me.
This happened sometime last year (or was it earlier this year?) too, but hadn't been a problem again until recently. I wonder if it's possible that putting three ice cube trays in there at the same time worsened the problem.
Anyway, it's a nuisance, but at least that's really not too shabby for a refrigerator that we might've gotten in 1989. No problems until last year!
Even when I was much younger, I noticed I tended to get noticeably more tired after about 12 hours of being awake, so, maybe that's about the most energy I can expect from 1 cup of caffeinated black tea, microwaved for about 2 minutes.
I keep wondering if I always had this much trouble with my energy, and just didn't know it because of caffeine.
I wonder if having so much caffeine as a child and young adult while my brain was still developing might actually have harmed me somehow, and perhaps somehow set me up for permanent dependence on caffeine? I heard that people's brains aren't fully developed until around age 25!
Didn't catalog my clothes at all, and they're still in the way.
Started steeping another glass of decaf iced tea, so, that will be almost ready to drink possibly by the next time I wake up. Going to get more lemons, which I might also try to use in smoothies.
I guess I ought to probably try to get some more iron in my diet, in preparation for my time of the month. Currently not hungry, though.
I wonder if I could fall asleep now if I tried. Maybe if I turned the lights off and listened to an audio book. Even if it's an interesting book, I've found audio books can make me sleepy, especially if I like the narrator's voice.
Feeling increasingly menstrual, unfortunately. Oh, well. I guess I might not feel like doing much of anything until my next dose of caffeine, and maybe not even then, depending on how bad my time of the month is.
I sure hope caffeine will help me more than it harms. I guess I just need to be patient and see how I feel in a few weeks. Then I'll probably have a much better idea of what it's doing for me.
Woke up thirsty with a stuffy nose, and slightly gooey eyes. I'm a bit concerned that I'm awake after only 4 1/2 hours, though I don't feel all that tired. Not craving caffeine so far. Not sure whether I should (or can) go back to sleep. Probably should have had magnesium and maybe walnuts soon before sleep, but neglected to as usual.
Going to get this sleep mask, since the book The Sleep Solution was so emphatic about sleeping in darkness, and figuring out a way to temporarily block all light from my big window would probably be too difficult.
Maybe I should just not worry about it if I don't sleep much, yet still feel OK enough. Maybe I'll be more likely to recover from whatever my health problems are if I keep having the energy to eat healthily and get things done, instead of eating poorly and getting little done due to having to struggle to motivate myself to do anything that involves getting out of bed, and having difficulty even with things that don't require getting out of bed.
I don't know exactly how much caffeine I used to get out of my tea back before I quit, but, I'm wondering what that unknown amount of caffeine plus an unknown (but presumably larger than what I used to get) amount of theanine might do for me. Also wondering if theanine wears off of me faster than caffeine.
My lips seem to maybe be a barometer of my health, and they don't look as good as they did for a while. Wonder if it's because I stopped regularly eating 2 measured tablespoons of ground flaxseed (warning), and/or haven't drunk a smoothie in a while.
Had my usual "morning" vitamins, ate some peanuts, and drank some water. Still not sure I want to stay awake, but not sure I can fall asleep either.
But, I'm not at all sure it would work out the same way for me, even if I had the self-discipline to stick with it long enough for it to possibly permanently rewire my sleep patterns for (hopefully) the better. It seems like it would probably be risky, especially since my overall health and eating habits are pitifully bad compared to the author of that blog post.
But, at least the abovementioned blog post shows that it's possible not to have your life and health ruined by odd patterns of sleep.
I should probably read that entire blog post series. I probably won't attempt polyphasic sleep (at least, not deliberately), but, perhaps reading about it will give me more comforting reassurance that non-standard sleep patterns aren't necessarily always bad. So maybe I should just relax and not worry as much.
(I think I probably already read those blog posts years ago, but wasn't as tempted back then because my energy levels weren't so bad back then, and I've always been willing to tolerate being awake or asleep at strange times as long as I have enough energy, so, possibly being able to gain much more control over what times I'm awake or asleep didn't seem all that tempting to me.)
It occurs to me that my sleep patterns are so strange already, and I so frequently seem tired (though that was probably more often the case before I resumed caffeine), that my relatives probably wouldn't even notice if I tried polyphasic sleep, if I didn't tell them.
But I don't think I should try it without doing some planning in advance - especially, meal planning. And maybe it would be better for me not to be on caffeine. And, of course, I should read plenty more about it. Definitely not eager to just go ahead and try it without any preparation nor learning much more about it.
Still not seriously planning on trying it. But the idea of being able to easily take a 20 minute nap and actually feel like it's restorative (at least for a few hours) is so tempting. How comforting to read that the human body might potentially be so adaptable even to extremely weird sleep practices. But I wonder if anyone can do that, or only certain people?
I also wonder if there are any less extreme practices which could greatly improve sleep quality and efficiency.
Maybe around 10 PM I started feeling like I might need to have a dose of caffeine to avoid a headache, and I didn't feel like making tea, so I just drank a caffeinated root beer.
My right eye has been gooey and itchy. I don't know, maybe I should quit caffeine again, or maybe just take tiny doses of it by eating a particle of coffee every once in a while, and drinking decaf tea (which contains small amounts of caffeine).
But instead of trying to suppress my tiredness with caffeine, maybe I should just try harder to improve my sleep and reduce my fatigue with things like eating healthily, exercise, magnesium, getting more iron in my diet to compensate for my monthly iron loss from my time of the month, eating walnuts or drinking sour/tart cherry juice for melatonin, and drinking decaf tea for theanine (and for tea's possible immune system benefits, which maybe I need because I still have 3 root canaled teeth). Mostly easier said than done, when tired.
But, I guess I could make things a bit easier for myself by keeping my bag of walnuts near my bed instead of in my fridge, and making sure I always know where my bottles of magnesium are and that they're within reach of my bed.
Also, I think Advanced MAGNESIUM (by InnovixLabs). Highly Bioavailable Bisglycinate + Malate Formula tends to make me sleepier than Nature Made magnesium citrate, though both can have that effect on me.
I guess I could use my magnesium gel more often too.
Also, The Sleep Solution book says hot or warm showers or baths can help you sleep, so, perhaps that's another reason not to feel guilty about costing my family money by turning the water heater on and taking showers more frequently than a few times every several months.
I also probably should try to resume my campaign to get the upstairs bathroom fixed, even at the cost of delaying getting the roof fixed. It doesn't seem like the roof is ever going to be fixed anyway, so, we might as well stop accepting that as an excuse for not getting the upstairs bathroom fixed.
But, I just was thinking, if making polyphasic sleep work well is simply a matter of somehow persuading your brain to enter restorative stages of sleep much more quickly than usual, I wonder if there's an easier way to accomplish that than a brute-force method like staying awake most of the time and only letting yourself have 20 minute naps every 4 hours or whatever.
I've read that it's possible to pre-program lucid and non-lucid dreams. So, what I'm wondering is - instead of brute-forcing my way to better sleep, could I maybe just ask my brain nicely to cooperate? :-) If I can simply ask for better dreams and get them, can I also simply ask for better-quality sleep, and get that too?
I'd feel much more comfortable and safe trying something like that, rather than trying to force myself to do without sleep except for 20 minute naps for days, weeks, or months, which I've always thought would probably be pretty hard on me. (Though I actually suspect I could probably do it if I really wanted to, even if I started right now. I just don't want to.)
Ate some walnuts and had a full serving of Advanced MAGNESIUM (by InnovixLabs). Highly Bioavailable Bisglycinate + Malate Formula before sleep. Was woken by thirst at various times, and my right eye has been quite gooey.
Didn't try very hard to will myself to have nicer dreams or better sleep quality, but, had some partway pleasant dreams. and maybe slept OK.
Still not really planning to attempt polyphasic sleep, but, it is still very tempting, and if I'm going to continually feel tired even if I don't attempt it, it almost makes me think, why not try it? (But only with careful preparation, planning, and a much-improved diet.)
Before sleep, finished reading that entire blog post series about polyphasic sleep. Absolutely fascinating.
It makes sense to me that humans would have (or at least, should have) evolved the capability to get by with little sleep, because sleeping for long chunks of time seems like it could put most any animal in increased danger, so why wouldn't evolution have bred such a huge weakness out of humanity a long time ago? Except there are all kinds of other huge weaknesses with the human body which evolution hasn't rid us of.
Maybe I should finally see a doctor and find out if I'm dying or something.
Somehow already been feeling quite a bit better, even though I didn't have caffeine yet. All I ate was my usual vitamins (except for Vitamin B, which I forgot until just recently) and a few peanuts.
So, if the brain can adjust so well to the very extreme sleep deprivation and disruption involved in polyphasic sleep, then, maybe the brain could also be flexible enough to adjust quite well to the hopefully much less extreme disruptions caused by regularly consuming some amount of caffeine while maintaining a more traditional monophasic sleep schedule?
So, maybe caffeine won't necessarily wreck my sleep as much as I fear.
In any case, I don't feel like quitting caffeine again yet, so, I'm probably going to have half a teaspoon of caffeinated black tea and 1 teaspoon of decaf in the near future. Maybe the closer I get to my former usual dose of caffeine, the more normal I'll feel?
Watched TV for a while, and started to get kind of tired again around maybe 10 PM. I'm glad I don't feel like I'm en route to a caffeine withdrawal headache yet, and am surprised and relieved that I haven't felt just tired and bad today despite skipping tea of any kind, and even Barq's caffeinated root beer so far.
My right eye was gooey and itchy earlier, but now it's only slightly gooey.
Still interested in learning more at some point, though. How wonderful it would be to have a much more predictable schedule and energy levels, and so much more time, especially since I'm sometimes not very optimistic that I'm going to live beyond another decade or so. (Not that that bothers me very much - I'd actually rather not become an old woman.)
And it would be neat to feel like a 15 minute dream was 2 hours long. I sometimes have briefly fallen asleep, woken up, and been astonished that so little time has passed, but that doesn't often happen to me.
My time of the month still hasn't started. I'd kind of like to just get it over with, but, whatever. I guess I might as well just enjoy not having to deal with it yet.
Maybe I'll have a cup of decaf tea. Or maybe not, since I'm too tired now.
Hopefully soon after I next wake up, I'll have a cup of tea with 1/2 a teaspoon of caffeinated tea and 1 teaspoon of decaf. I just can't tolerate all these fluctuations in my energy levels anymore, and caffeine seems like maybe the most reliable way I have to temporarily be rid of them for part of my day.
Yeah, that sounds really fun - super-long dreams. I hope my brain or unconscious mind would like to make that happen for me.
Also, I am quite a fan of non-lucid dreams, since having to make a conscious effort to be imaginative and in control seems like work, too much like being awake, and one reason I like sleep is to escape such burdens. And most of the time when I've had lucid dreams, I wake up too quickly.
But, hopefully now that I feel more motivated to have better dreams, and am more specific about what I want - very long-seeming, vivid, fun, but probably non-lucid dreams that feel real, some of which might suggest clues about things which will help my health - maybe there will be a better chance that I'll have dreams like that.
Another thing I'd like to do at some point is, resume reading books about improving memory, which could be useful for lots of things, including helping me remember more information from my dreams. I sometimes have dreams where I spend a long time writing something, and it's quite annoying when I wake up and find all that work was for nothing, since I usually can't remember anything I wrote.
Dreamed about playing a fun computer game which turned out to be more complicated than I thought.
And one dream mentioned meatballs, which makes me wonder if my unconscious mind thinks that eating more meat might help my health. But I'd rather not write in detail about that dream - it might give me PTSD flashbacks. That dream wasn't a nightmare, but it reminded of something terrible. (The meat industry is also terrible, but that's not the main upsetting thing it reminded me of.)
Until reading this page earlier today, I actually didn't know lack of iron and lack of ferritin are so associated with sleep difficulties.
Here's another interesting page about ferritin.
I'm relieved that I haven't felt so addicted that I can't stop, and that I haven't been constantly fatigued.
Just having a tough time deciding whether it would better to have it or better not to have it. Also am starting to crave another Barq's caffeinated root beer. I suspect tea would be healthier than that, so, I guess I'll have tea.
I think the strongest taste is chai, with some subtle mint, and some subtle Earl Grey, and also maybe the "umami" flavor of green tea. Quite good, though it doesn't feel like as strong of a caffeine dose as 3/8ths of a teaspoon of caffeinated PG Tips black tea. Probably will make it again at some point, though.
So, I've just been reading, and still haven't gotten any cleaning done.
Been drinking probably too much decaf root beer, though - 2 cans. Had one around 12:17 AM, and one around 2:43 AM, and I briefly felt like I was on the verge of a headache for a while after each can.
Found out Sansar (a new virtual world game by the makers of Second Life) won't run on my Windows 7 Toughbook CF-C1 because it doesn't have a good enough graphics card. And unless I'm mistaken, there's no Linux version nor even a Mac version of the Sansar software yet. Oh, well.
Since I was recently worried about excessive calcium or hypercalcemia (due to being worried that maybe I had taken too much Vitamin D in supplement form), I found it particularly interesting that that article actually mentions "excessive calcium signaling":
Quote:
End of quote.
Yet another reason I should probably use magnesium gel more often. I'm also going to keep taking magnesium capsules at times, even though they can make me tired (which is sometimes an effect I want).
And my time of the month seems to be delayed, and I haven't been feeling as PMS-y, which is great.
At one point, I dreamed something about trying to take 9 birth control pills (which, in the dream, was the prescribed dosage!), but I accidentally picked up the wrong bottle and took 9 capsules of Ritalin instead (a drug I've heard is prescribed to people with ADHD), and I was quite worried about the overdose until I briefly woke up and realized to my great relief, "Oh, it was a dream! So, I actually haven't overdosed at all!" Was very relieved I wasn't going to have to try to figure out how to make myself throw up, and soon went back to sleep.
Feeling maybe a bit more PMS-y today. I don't look forward to my time of the month, but it being delayed always make me worry about what might be wrong with me, so, even though I like not having it, I'd also like to get it over with.
Today, I think maybe I'll try half a teaspoon of black tea and a total of 1 teaspoon of multiple kinds of decaf tea.
Quote:
I take Vitamin E sometimes, but kind of inconsistently. Don't know if I get enough Vitamin E from food or not.
And when I went downstairs, I was given a Subway sandwich - turkey with tomatoes, black olives, cucumbers, and my preferred bread (forgot what it's called exactly). So, happily, now I don't have to figure out what meal to make.
Given how untired I am, I feel like there's still caffeine in my body even though I haven't had any since around 10 PM last night. And given how irritable I got, I'm guessing there's probably not enough theanine in my body.
Feeling like my time of the month is quite imminent. I wonder if sufficient caffeine will make me feel like cleaning my room, or if my typical menstrual symptoms will crush most of my energy and enthusiasm anyway.
I guess probably I'll just read and listen to audio books today.
Took an Advil, which soon rid me of my cramps. And tea helped a lot to improve my mood and energy levels.
So, mostly feeling OK for now, though not in the mood to clean. I read, and watched TV for a while with family.
Feeling so much better I don't know if I'm even going to be in the mood to update this very much for a while, since it's so much easier now for me to focus and get lost in more interesting things.
I don't remember much about my dreams, but the last part of my most recent one (which stayed with the same storyline for a while, which is nice since I wanted to have longer-seeming dreams) was sort of fun.
In my dream, I was a student at my old elementary school. I got bored with school, so, since I felt like I was too old for anyone to stop me, and no one was watching, I walked out and started to explore the rest of the building my school had been in - which was a church (which was also the case in real life). I enjoyed this part of my dream since it had nice architecture and big spirally staircases. Don't know how much it resembles the real church, however, because in the real world, I never got to just wander around there by myself.
Currently not feeling tired, though I suspect I would have been tired if I didn't still feel maybe slightly caffeinated.
It was a holiday today, and I heard some kind of mixup happened with my my sleep mask, so, maybe I'll receive it tomorrow.
Guess I'll try to have tea earlier in my day today.
Recently started reading Boundless Energy by Deepak Chopra. I did the Ayurveda Body-Type Questionnaire toward the beginning of the book, and my scores were: Vata 82, Pitta 90, and Kapha 42.
I'm surprised I got such a high score on Pitta, since when I read the descriptions of each type, I thought I identified more with Vata. But, I think I can agree that I really am like a mix of both types.
Finally got ahold of A Field Guide to Lucid Dreaming. Maybe I'll adapt some of its instructions to try to have better non-lucid dreams.
So, I'd love to have a dream about sunbathing. For that to be a fun dream, I'd have to somehow realize that it's safe (preferably without also realizing it's a dream), so I don't end up worrying in my dream about sunburn and other dangers.
Annoyingly, I have a lot of dreams that get spoiled by fears I also have while awake. For example, many of my few amorous dreams get spoiled by my intense fear of pregnancy or disease, or by me easily remembering the real-life reasons why I should dislike and mistrust some of the people I dream about.
So, I'd probably have a better time in my dreams if I could somehow be less anxious, cynical, realistic, etc. - less like how I am when I'm awake. Wonder how I can do that.
My eyes have been mostly OK but started getting dry when I got sleepy. But became undry again as I wrote this, and, annoyingly, I've been starting to feel more awake as it gets lighter outside. Really looking forward to getting my sleep mask.
I wonder if I need Vitamin D again. Maybe that's what inspired by daydreams about sunbathing. But, kind of afraid to resume taking Vitamin D supplements again yet, and don't want to actually sunbathe either.
Should probably use the magnesium gel more often, but it's so inconvenient without a useable upstairs bathroom and without having hot or warm water immediately available most of the time. I wonder how much money it would actually cost to keep the water heater on, and to get the upstairs bathroom repaired, or at least one part of it - probably the sink would be most useful.
I wonder how my energy would have seemed if I had done without caffeine for most of my life. I wonder if I would have noticed a lot more trouble with my energy after getting 3 root canals back in 2006. I noticed no differences at all back then, but perhaps that's only because caffeine has such powerful effects on me.
I guess maybe I'll keep trying to find my ideal amount of caffeinated tea to drink in my morning, because there's a lot of stuff I want to get done, and tiredness might be my top obstacle. So, I think at this point, caffeine might do me more good than harm.
Having no motivation to clean my room is bad for my health since currently there's too much clutter for me to use my exercise bike, and having no motivation to declutter the upstairs bathroom (again) is another reason we can't call a plumber to fix it.
So, caffeine giving me the energy to get this stuff done could at least indirectly help my health by making me able to use my exercise bike again, and conceivably leading to the upstairs bathroom being fixed in the nearer future than it otherwise might be fixed. And then if I also get a microwave I can keep somewhere here on the 2nd floor, then, maybe I'll be less prone to delay eating or tea just because I don't feel like going downstairs to the kitchen (usually because I don't always feel like socializing).
Fortunately, it seems like I'm less headache-prone at these amounts of caffeine, which I'm guessing are probably less than the amount I used to consume. And maybe the higher amounts of theanine I get (due to a consuming more decaf tea) maybe also help discourage my headaches.
Finally asked a relative for a small microwave for the 2nd floor, so maybe that will happen soon, since many microwaves are under $70, judging by Amazon. I wouldn't mind having it in my room, but I don't really have the space, and I also wouldn't want to use a microwave so close to my computer stuff. So, will have to make room for it somewhere else.
I wonder if taking magnesium capsules too soon before sleep makes me slower to feel alert my next "morning". Took a full serving of Advanced MAGNESIUM (by InnovixLabs). Highly Bioavailable Bisglycinate + Malate Formula at 6:24 AM.
Oh, and judging by my food log, it looks like I might have totally forgotten to take Vitamin B yesterday (and today, until just now).
Being overly sensitive to light and darkness is another thing I dislike about not being well-caffeinated.
I cleared some space for it in the upstairs bathroom, and it works fine, though it takes a bit longer than the kitchen microwave to boil water. So, now I don't have to go downstairs to cook food and make or reheat my tea, so I'll probably procrastinate less about those things, which will probably be very good for my energy levels, health, mood, etc.
Whenever we try to get the upstairs bathroom fixed, I'll move the microwave to the room with the mountain of junk that has been piling up for 15 years, which I made some progress cleaning up in the past year, and hopefully will clean up even more in the future.
My relatives are so great - all I had to do was ask, and they got me this microwave. And sleep mask, and countless other things over the years. I am very grateful to them.
Had a cup of tea made with 1/2 a teaspoon of caffeinated black tea and 1 teaspoon of decaf Mixed Berry around 9:30 PM, microwaved in our new microwave for 5 minutes. Next time, I'll microwave it a little longer so the water will boil longer.
Popcorn also takes longer to make, but fortunately, that makes it harder to burn.
Both my mood and energy have been greatly improved. Didn't eat much yet - some chili from Wendy's, popcorn, and I'm currently drinking a blender blend - 1 kiwi, 2 bananas, some black cherry juice, and some grape juice. It's a muddy mauve mixture which tasted much better than it looked, but I found it a bit bland, so, I added a blended peeled lemon to it, which I think improved it and made it tangier. I keep running into unblended lemon seeds, but I don't mind.
The sleep mask seems like it will probably work well for me.
Everything seems so much better now. I've never taken antidepressants, despite some people I know suggesting I try them, so I can't compare this to antidepressants from experience. But, I am in such a good mood, which I suspect is largely from theanine, that I can't think of many improvements on this mood, except being in love or lust, or getting some important projects done, or learning useful new things. Feels better to me than chocolate, which some say makes people feel in love, but I never thought chocolate made me feel that good. Tea always felt better to me, and now I think maybe I know why - theanine. :-)
So, I no longer have such a craving for a long vacation from my life. But, I still would like to have longer, more entertaining dreams anyway. Probably non-lucid, but I'm feeling a lot less burnt out now, so, probably wouldn't object to some lucid dreams.
Other than that, it works OK, though maybe not quite as well after I washed it. It has to be carefully positioned on my face or light comes in from the bottom.
Got quite thirsty and dry-eyed while sleeping, and a slight headache which soon went away after I drank some water, so I think maybe I actually had gotten a bit dehydrated.
Had various long-seeming dreams, which still have plenty of room for improvement in their overall pleasantness. Maybe the nicest one was about traveling in Florida, and being too afraid to go on a rollercoaster at an amusement park there, so I and my relative just walked below the path of the rollercoaster to see where it went.
Currently drinking another cup of tea, just like my last cup, except microwaved for 6 minutes, which might be too long since a bit too much water boils away.
Hoping I'll feel like cleaning soon. I think I'm actually going to pack up a lot of the books on my bookshelf just so I have more places to put useful things near my bed, like my vitamins, etc. I don't even read physical books often enough anymore to justify keeping them in such a prominent place.
Started to get a bit irritable recently, so decided to drink some of the iced tea that I accidentally have been steeping for days. I think I already feel better, except I think maybe I ought to balance it out with some caffeine since I'm starting to feel a bit tired, and I'd like to get at least a bit more cleaning and organizing done.
Last night, I cleared most of the books off of the shelf next to my bed, and put a more selective assortment of books on its top shelf. Took pictures of each book that had been on it, and boxed most of them. So, now I have some convenient places to put things like my vitamins, so I hopefully won't lose them as easily, and hopefully also won't put as much junk on my standing desk anymore.
Wasn't able to use my sleep mask, since it hadn't dried yet even though I washed it around midnight and had squeezed it a lot before setting it down to dry. The horrible detergent-like smell was reduced, but it somehow acquired a new bad smell. I guess I'll try to clean it with Dawn dishwashing liquid soap and warm water, and if that doesn't help, I give up. Quite disappointing, since it seems like it probably would have worked well if it didn't stink.
With the mask properly positioned on my face (which I've found is a lot easier to accomplish when the adjustable Velcro strap is tight enough), it works quite well even with my eyes open. I really like being able to open my eyes while wearing it. So, now, I'm feeling very satisfied with it, though I still haven't found out if I can actually sleep while wearing it, since I don't think I'm tired enough to go back to sleep. I guess I could try for a while, though.
Still haven't done anything more with my clothes mountain yet, and there are still some unboxed books. I just got too tired to finish cleaning up everything last night.
Still didn't have tea yet, but, feeling OK, though a bit tired and not in the mood to clean. So many Overdrive books to look at. But, maybe I will try to go back to sleep anyway.
Had a particle of coffee, and some Barq's root beer, then finally put some magnesium gel on the lower part of my legs for 20 minutes, and began to feel better, though I'm still quite tired, still a bit headachy, and still wondering if I have much time left in this world.
Definitely going to try to get the upstairs bathroom fixed, because I'm especially not going to feel like using magnesium gel once the weather gets really cold. So, I need to be able to take warm baths in a non-disgusting bathtub.
And, I guess I better not be careless or reluctant about my daily caffeine anymore. I can scarcely function without it.
So, I guess next time I wake up, my top prorities will be to have tea, then to make my room tolerable again, and to clear all the clutter out of the upstairs bathroom so we can call a plumber. Quickly, since who knows how long my energy will last.
And I should probably fill numerous teabags in advance to make it easier for me to make tea, since when I'm tired, any little obstacle can lead to me doing nothing.
And I think maybe I should try to get caffeine exclusively from tea (and the occasional particle of coffee) and give up caffeinated root beer, which will be easier now, since I think now I actually like the flavor of Great Value caffeine-free root beer more than Barq's caffeinated root beer.
Maybe I should have tea now, since I think headaches interfere more with my sleep than caffeine does. But, so tired. Also, I'm wondering if maybe I'd be better off quitting caffeine again.
Going to resume drinking milk (once I get some) and probably also Breakfast Essentials powder, since probably part of my problem now is poor nutrition.
Woke up with my right eye blurry from goo, and nose a bit clogged. I feel a bit like I have a cold.
Having tea with 1/3rd of a teaspoon of PG Tips black tea, 1/2 a teaspoon of the loose version of this excellent caffeinated green tea grown in South Carolina, and 1 teaspoon of decaf English Breakfast. I decided to put in more mint green tea than caffeinated black tea because I think I like the taste more.
Feeling somewhat better, and I'm only halfway through my cup of tea. So, I guess the next thing to work on is cleaning my room as quickly as I can. Also should eat something.
Was feeling pretty bad until recently. Poor appetite, bad headache. Currently eating cantaloupe.
Maybe I better try to quit caffeine again, because that headache and almost-nausea sometimes made me feel almost like I'm at death's door. I'm writing that down because I hope when I probably re-read this in the future, it will hopefully help me decide against resuming caffeine.
Seems like the cantaloupe is helping. And blocking light with the sleep mask maybe also helps. It's kind of relaxing, despite the soapy smell.
Finally took an Advil. It might be helping more than anything else.
I wonder if I could have avoided this if I hadn't recklessly skipped tea and played around too much with the amounts of tea and how long I microwaved it. Also, the new microwave doesn't heat water as well as the other one, so maybe I've been getting less caffeine for that reason too.
If I can possibly figure out how to have sufficient energy without caffeine, that would be much better.
I think rather than having multiple doses of caffeine throughout my day, I'd rather just have one big dose, which will hopefully give me enough energy for most of the rest of my day. That's basically what I used to do back in the old days before I ever seriously tried to quit tea - I limited myself to just 1 cup of tea, which I usually had in my morning, or sometimes later (which was probably unwise).
So, perhaps next time I wake up, I'll try a 1/2 teaspoon of caffeinated PG Tips black tea, plus a 1/2 teaspoon of the loose version of this excellent caffeinated green tea grown in South Carolina, plus 1 teaspoon total of whatever organic decaf teas I want. And if that still doesn't give me enough energy, I'll guess I'll try even more caffeinated tea next time, if I'm brave enough.
So, maybe I am OK.
Still feeling much better and have been cleaning a bit. But I think now I just want to relax, not because of fatigue, but because now that I feel better, I'd rather do something more fun than cleaning.
The fun thing I did last night was reading. Been quite enjoying this book: Dreaming While Awake: Techniques for 24-Hour Lucid Dreaming. Still not even close to done reading it.
Probably going to have the same amount of tea as I did yesterday, since maybe that amount will work better today, now that I'm better-rested.
And I guess my absence from my family's nightly evening TV watching seemed unusual, so, one of my relatives (who was up late) just knocked on my door at about 3:50 AM to ask if I was OK - even though long ago I asked my relatives not to knock on my door at any time, because I might be asleep at any time.
Anyway, other than a slight headache, and only eating vitamins, raisins, potato chips, and drinking water and Great Value caffeine-free root beer, I've been fine. Just busy reading various books, especially that absolutely fascinating Dreaming While Awake: Techniques for 24-Hour Lucid Dreaming book.
Don't know if I'll have tea or not yet. About all I want to do now is read, now that I'm alert enough to keep reading.
Still didn't have tea. But I think next time, maybe I'll use just a 1/2 teaspoon of the loose version of this excellent caffeinated green tea grown in South Carolina and 1 teaspoon of whatever organic decaf teas I want.
Got thirsty and dry-eyed while I slept, but now my right eye is gooey. A relative of mine mentioned thinking the weather is dry and that he has been getting thirsty at night too.
Finished reading Dreaming While Awake: Techniques for 24-Hour Lucid Dreaming, but, I don't feel up to writing publicly in detail about most of my thoughts on that, nor probably anything else really interesting. Quite a fascinating book, though.
Was very surprised to find stuff in that book that might help with health issues. But, I haven't tried that stuff yet, and I suspect if I do, any deep explorations of the possible causes or dream-like "meanings" of my health issues might result in thoughts that are too private or just too upsetting for me to write about publicly. The one exercise I tried from the book already had such results - gave me some interesting insights, but not anything I feel comfortable sharing.
Updating this blog post seems even more boring ever since reading Dreaming While Awake: Techniques for 24-Hour Lucid Dreaming. Here, I feel like I can only write in shallow detail about many important topics, but I feel the need to ponder things much more deeply, so, I might get quiet again for a while.
Even though I wasn't having trouble with tiredness, I had most of a Barq's caffeinated root beer for flavor's sake around 4:21 AM - but, somehow, it just doesn't taste as good to me as it used to. Surprisingly, I now definitely prefer Great Value caffeine-free root beer. I sure didn't expect that to happen, and I hope my sense of taste is still in proper working order. But, at least I'll probably have less trouble avoiding that source of caffeine in the future.
Have been quite surprised at how untired I've been. Don't know if it's because of using the magnesium gel days ago and possibly sleeping better because of that, or recently taking 2 instead of 1 Testa vegan Omega 3 capsules in my morning, or getting some Vitamin D and other nutrients from the glass of milk and Breakfast Essentials powder I had the other day, or from avoiding caffeine and consequently sleeping better, or wearing my sleep mask for at least part of the time I've been asleep. Or maybe all of those things helped, and possibly other things I didn't think of mentioning.
I think I also feel much better just from reading the book Dreaming While Awake: Techniques for 24-Hour Lucid Dreaming, even without having done most of the exercises yet. It reminded me of various comforting synchronicities.
Not tired at the moment, though. Dreamed a lot. Not nightmares, but not as fun as I'd like.
Mostly just feeling bored now, and actually getting a bit tired as I write this. There are so many dull mundane things to keep me busy, like cleaning, programming, etc. Maybe I will go back to sleep.
So, watched Legends of Tomorrow with family. And, upon my request, one of my relatives bought me 11 used paperback copies of books by the author of Dreaming While Awake: Techniques for 24-Hour Lucid Dreaming and ProcessMind: A User's Guide to Connecting with the Mind of God. So, looking forward to getting those.
Can't think of much else to say, and trying to is making me bored and tired. So, don't worry if I get a lot more quiet for a while.
Finally added pictures of the covers of 190 of my books to a VUE map. Very pleased to now be able to easily see exactly what books I have - some of them, anyway.
Also resumed trying to catalog and physically organize my clothes, which is less exciting for me since I like books much more than I like clothes. But my phone soon got low on battery power, so I had to stop taking pictures, and returned to reading.
I wonder if increasing my consumption of iron-containing foods and beverages has been gradually having an increasingly good effect on me and my energy. Even boring things somehow seem less boring now.
I think maybe I'll have caffeinated tea today, and clean out the upstairs bathroom, because I think maybe I need to be able to use the magnesium gel more frequently and easily. It seems like I have better days for a while after I use magnesium gel.
Watched a couple episodes of Legends of Tomorrow with family, then mostly decluttered the upstairs bathroom. Making room for my microwave in the junk mountain room is probably going to be a challenge, but, I might have plenty of time to get that done, since who knows when we will actually bring in a plumber.
I'm going to read about plumbing to try to get an idea of whether it's at all possible that we could fix it ourselves. Maybe I should have tried that many years ago. Maybe it will turn out to be ridiculously easy to fix, and then we'll all feel stupid for doing without an upstairs bathroom for so many years, when all we had to do was whatever ridiculously simple fix(es).
Before sleep, read a bit about plumbing. Glad to know a bit more than I did, but, I don't think I could easily figure out how to fix our upstairs bathroom, since the leaks seemed like they're probably from hard to reach places.
Used magnesium gel on most of my body in the morning for about a half hour until around 9 AM, which was nice and relaxing.
Ate a larger than usual amount of walnuts before sleep. Woke up feeling kind of tired. Haven't had tea yet. Was pleasantly alert and motivated after tea yesterday. I wonder if it made me extra-tired when I woke up today, though. Or did the melatonin from the walnuts not wear off by then? Or maybe I need to eat more.
Was kind of wishing I could go back to sleep, but, somehow got more alert since then, despite not drinking tea, and just having my usual vitamins and some potato chips. Maybe potato chips don't always make me tired?
On second thought, getting kind of tired again now. It actually seems sometimes like writing this makes me tired, or that other boring things I don't want to deal with make me tired, so, maybe I'd be better off not updating this as much? Strangely, reading about plumbing didn't make me tired. :-)
I wonder if a graph of my sleep times and perceived energy levels, mood, tiredness, etc. would reveal any interesting patterns. Don't know what software I could use for that, though.
Going to get more tea from Arbor Teas soon, including some caffeinated black tea, such as this organic ceylon black tea.
Maybe I should just resume caffeine unreluctantly, since maybe that's the only way I can reliably feel normal, alert, and energetic for at least part of my day. I just hope it won't wear down my adrenals and kill me, or give me other health problems. But it really seems like my eyes get less gooey and I have fewer cold-like symptoms when I drink more tea, even decaf.
I think I like it more with a bit of PG Tips black tea, but it's still good.
Definitely feeling better and more alert, and less interested in brooding over my health issues and how little I've been getting done due to being too tired and unmotivated. So, maybe I'll be more quiet for a while.
Maybe I should try going back to my old dose of caffeine - one bag of PG Tips caffeinated black tea microwaved for 2 minutes in my usual mug.
For now, though, I'm just having a Barq's caffeinated root beer. Which tastes better to me now than it did a few days ago, oddly enough. Maybe my slight cold-like issues (like a somewhat stuffy nose at times) were interfering a bit with my sense of taste and/or smell.
Finally had a mugful of milk and Breakfast Essentials powder, which probably helped. And also finally had ground flaxseed (warning) for the first time in a while - 2 official tablespoons.
And especially comforting was the news that we might bring in a plumber next Wednesday.
Rearranged some boxes and made it possible again to get in and out of my bed without climbing over my exercise bike.
And finally realized that a better way to catalog my clothes would be to take pictures of myself wearing them. I can never remember which clothes I liked the most on me, and it's often difficult to judge just by looking at something how it will actually look when worn, so, this makes much more sense than just taking pictures of the clothes alone without me in them. Except it will be more time-consuming.
But our society is so oppressed by poverty and repressive attitudes that you can't dress that way in ordinary everyday circumstances without standing out way too much and attracting a lot of unwanted negative attention.
But if poverty didn't exist, and if jealousy didn't exist, and if dressing opulently or like a time traveler from the past (or future) was considered normal and accepted, and I could just blend in almost unnoticed with a big crowd of gloriously-dressed people, I'd probably be happy to spend a bit more time or even money on fashion, instead of mostly ignoring fashion, seldom buying any clothes, and mostly only owning clothes people have given me.
I guess my attitude is, if I can't dress like a queen or video game character or runway fashion model or time traveler, why bother dressing up at all?
So, the most fun I ever had with fashion was in Second Life. Not that I spent all that much time (or money) on fashion there either, but at least there, I felt a lot more free to revel in my true tastes in fashion.
So, going to have tea soon. Not sure what else I'm going to do. Could catalog my clothes and clean my room, but maybe I should return to my Puppy Linux Setup Kit if I finally feel capable of programming again.
I'm definitely feeling much better today than I did yesterday. I am still afraid I might never get sufficiently well to be able to support myself independently, but, I always had my doubts I could do that even back when I wasn't fatigued, so that's actually not much different than my past fears.
So, perhaps caffeine might also help a lot more than I realized with whatever my circadian rhythm problems are.
Definitely hoping I can stick with it, since I feel so much better now.
So, that encourages me to keep eating ground flaxseed (warning) despite the nuisance of figuring out what foods to put it in. Fortunately, I'm guessing I'll probably be able to put it into most of my blender blends without even noticing it's there.
I just stumbled across this interesting article: Melatonin and Myopia: How Sleep Patterns Are Linked to Short-Sightedness
Quote:
I'm myopic and have worn glasses since I was a child, maybe since I was 8 years old, or perhaps younger. I wonder if I actually do have higher melatonin levels than non-myopic people? I wonder how I could find out.
If I do, would that make me extra prone to fatigue? I'm guessing it might, judging how walnuts (which contain melatonin) usually make me feel sleepy, unless I'm especially well-rested when I eat them.
Quote:
I was born July 3, 1981. I don't know if I qualify as severely myopic, but, I definitely need glasses. I usually use them even while reading physical books, though I don't actually need them for that.
Quote:
‘If, as we suspect, disruptions to the natural body clock are shown to be influential in the development of short-sight, modifications to lifestyle that target strengthening healthy sleep and activity patterns could positively affect both general and eye health."
End of quote.
I wonder if that conflicts with the other article I linked to above, Research Shows That Summer Babies Prone To Myopia. Perhaps not, since perhaps bright light has different effects on babies than it has on older children?
Still feeling quite good and alert. Haven't been doing much besides reading, though.
Today, on one of my libraries' Overdrive websites, I found a nifty novel whose themes, character names, etc. seemed quite synchronistic for me.
Actually, I probably won't even do more than skim it for now, because usually the fiction I most enjoy is either sci-fi or fantasy, and this appears to be just ordinary fiction. And also, I should probably try to accomplish something more useful than reading novels. But, it was cool to run into that, and nostalgic.
Drinking water might be helping my eyes, but not as much as I'd like, so far. I guess I could drink some milk with Breakfast Essentials powder - that's a lot less complicated than making a smoothie.
But if we get the upstairs bathroom fixed, that will even make smoothies easier to make, since I won't have to go to the kitchen to wash my blender jar, fruits, smoothie glasses, mug, etc. (In the past, the situation was even worse, when our kitchen sink wasn't working, so the only working faucet in the house was the downstairs bathtub's.)
So, overall, that was a pretty good day. Not very productive, but if I keep having days like that, then there will be a much larger chance that I'll get something useful done.
And I changed my air conditioner's settings - originally I had it at 68 degrees and had it in energy-saving mode, which makes it automatically turn itself off and on. But when our dog's barking woke me up today, I decided to put my air conditioner back into normal mode to block the noise, since my noise-blocking box fan is currently buried under my clothes mountain. And I also changed the temperature to 66 degrees, partly because I read somewhere that it can be better to sleep in a room with a lower temperature.
And I woke up less thirsty and my eyes are a bit gooey instead of dry. I think I may have slept better, too. So, maybe 68 degrees was too hot for me? At 68 degrees, I sometimes did actually feel too hot, but not constantly - more often I actually felt too cold, or comfortable. I thought maybe I was just having hot flashes. But, maybe I really was just too hot sometimes, and it was dehydrating me?
So, hoping that will solve my problems with thirst and dry eyes. Probably should have tried that sooner, but I was tricked by feeling cold or comfortable most of the time at 68 degrees. For a while, maybe over a month or so ago, I even had it at 70 degrees, but for some reason that eventually started to seem usually too hot, so I put it at 68.
I used to have to set the temperature to around 66 degrees (or even lower) when I was exercising (and I often absentmindedly ended up leaving it there afterwards), but, I haven't used my exercise bike in weeks because I still have to clean up a little more junk near it to make it useable again.
At 66 degrees, I usually have to use my blanket and/or (better yet) my very soft warm robes (which I often use as blankets), or else I get quite cold, even when I'm wide awake. But, I don't mind - that's much better than occasional "hot flashes", excessive thirst, and dry eyes. I guess I could try 67 degrees, but I'd rather err on the side of too cold.
Maybe I'll go back to sleep for a while.
Instead of Nature's Bounty B-Complex with Folic Acid plus Vitamin C (125 Coated Tablets), I took a Nature Made Stress B despite its calcium, since I thought maybe I could use its zinc. Forgot that I'm better off not taking that on an empty stomach, though. But I'm actually not sure if I felt a bit nauseated and headachy just from that, or from caffeine-related issues. But, fortunately, those problems didn't last long.
Also found this page listing the times necessary to boil a cup of water in microwaves of various strengths.
I actually like our upstairs microwave being weaker, because it makes it harder to burn or overheat things, but I just wish I could know way more precisely how much caffeine and theanine I'm getting out of my tea.
Alas, I'm probably not going to be getting a liquid chromatography-diode array detector anytime soon. But if I were rich, I would love to get one. :-)
(You need to have JavaScript turned on to be able to see the full article.)
Quotes:
[...]
"Plasma melatonin concentrations did not decrease during bright-light exposure in Patients 5 through 11, all of whom had histories of sleep disturbances (Figure 2B). Plasma melatonin was undetectable in Patient 4."
[...]
"Despite severe retinal disease and the apparently total lack of pupillary light reflexes and conscious light perception, three blind patients had light-induced suppression of plasma melatonin concentrations that was indistinguishable from that of normal subjects.19,20 The absence of light-induced inhibition of melatonin secretion during ocular shielding in the two patients so tested indicates that the eyes mediated this inhibition, despite their negative electroretinograms. To our knowledge, this photic response has not been previously noted in blind patients; presumably, it was assumed that ocular damage sufficient to eliminate conscious perception of light and pupillary reflexes to light precluded the input of light to the hypothalamus and pineal gland."
[...]
"Data obtained in studies of animals support our hypothesis of photic entrainment in some blind patients."
[...]
"These results suggest that the mammalian eye subserves at least two photic systems: the occipital cortex, which mediates the conscious perception of light and the recognition of images, and a subcortical system that mediates light-sensitive synchronization of the circadian pacemaker.2,14,27-30
The visual system mediating the conscious perception of light is ordinarily far more sensitive to light14,18 than the system mediating melatonin suppression,"
[...]
"The loss of photic input to the human circadian system may constitute a distinct form of blindness. Such circadian blindness, often associated with insomnia, may afflict many blind patients. Although circadian blindness could occur in a sighted person, as has been reported in another strain of mutant mice,33 we have not yet identified such a patient. Conversely, the preservation of circadian photoreception in otherwise totally blind patients can escape detection, even by sensitive electroretinographic or visual-evoked-potential testing,28 as it did in three of our eight blind patients with eyes (Patients 1, 2, and 3). This ability to respond to light may be specific to the type of blindness and may thereby provide insight into the components of the visual system that subserve the circadian system."
End of quotes.
My perceived amount of tiredness is definitely noticeably affected by light and darkness (especially when I'm not caffeinated), but, I wonder if my "circadian photoreception" is a bit out of whack somehow compared to normal people.
Also still wondering if the possibly higher amounts of melatonin I might have from being nearsighted are enough to make me feel fatigued.
Caffeine messes with melatonin too.
Quotes:
[...]
"A study published in the European Journal of Cancer found that premenopausal women who do not wear bras had half the risk of breast cancer compared with bra users. More interestingly, Japanese, Fijians, and women from other cultures tend to have a significantly higher likelihood of developing breast cancer when they began wearing bras. Japanese researchers found bras can lower melantonin by 60 percent. Melatonin has anti-cancer properties."
I nearly always wear a bra, but not a tight uncomfortable one - one which supports me to some extent, but which I can conveniently pull off and on easily without unlatching it. Bras that are tighter and more aesthetically pleasing actually make my boobs ache after a while, so I don't wear them unless I have a darn good reason to.
Quote:
I sure hope my rather loose-fitting bras put me at less risk.
This blog comment suggests wearing an undergarment called a "blouse" which is usually worn underneath a sari. Wonder if that would be good for me.
I definitely have to wear something. I'm afraid gravity might ruin my boobs otherwise, and I also don't want random strangers assuming I'm a slut. And I'm actually more afraid of women's reactions than men's. With some exceptions, men in general seem to treat me much better than women do.
Another day spent mostly just reading. I hope I sleep better next sleep, and that I'll feel like returning to my Puppy Linux Setup Kit soon.
I guess it would also be good to clean my room at least a little more, so I can resume using my exercise bike.
And I feel like I'm getting a sore throat. So, who knows, maybe I'm getting an actual cold. My eyes haven't gotten dry so far, but my right eye got a bit gooey. Definitely feeling out of sorts.
Took another 3 grams of Vitamin C, a full serving of magnesium, 1 capsule of Vitamin K2, and 1 capsule of Vitamin D, since my gums have been acting up more lately, which I guessed might mean I need more Vitamin D. (But it also is something that happens when I get sick, or when my time of the month is approaching.)
Probably shouldn't take Vitamin D toward the end of my day, but, I didn't feel like waiting until tomorrow.
And besides, I thought of a reason to stay awake for a while - some of the books by the author of Dreaming While Awake: Techniques for 24-Hour Lucid Dreaming might have arrived at my family's post office box.
I probably ought to try some sort of root beer smoothie to make my root beer drinking healthier, since I probably am not going to quit root beer in the very near future.
Maybe I should get one of these special pillows for women. There's a version for men too. :-)
So sleepy. I still have a sore throat, and my right eye is gooey. Maybe I'll try drinking additional cups of decaf tea tomorrow in case that helps my immune system. And will increase my Vitamin C. And, I just put my air conditioner up to 67 degrees, since being cold can be bad for your immune system. Heck, maybe I'll even try some chicken noodle soup tomorrow.
I guess I said nothing important enough for me to justify trying to re-create it all, and it wouldn't fit here even if I did. Short summary - I'm pretty sure I have a cold rather than something worse, because one of my relatives also now has a cold (though not with a sore throat).
I've just been wondering if maybe there's something about me and my messed up circadian rhythms that might actually make me thrive better on higher amounts of caffeine.
What if caffeine in sufficient amounts doesn't just give me the illusions of increased energy and well-being, but actually truly improves my health by bringing my body's various cycles into better alignment?
Or, what if I had so much caffeine before my brain and body fully matured that now, my brain and body don't know how to function without caffeine, and can't learn because I'm too old?
Quitting caffeine has been getting tougher for me. I'm aware quitting it abruptly can lead to nasty withdrawal symptoms.
I was hoping approximately 12 ounces of tea per day wouldn't be that hard to get unaddicted from if I really tried, but, darn.
For many months, I had been noticing a craving to have more than just a single 12 ounce mug of tea per day. Not immediately after my first (and usually only) cup - but instead, annoyingly late in my "day", approaching my bedtime (which could be literally any time of day or night, due to my severe sleep issues).
Even when I wasn't actively trying to quit tea, I got headaches on occasion. But, because I seldom went much longer than a day without having tea, I usually assumed those headaches weren't caffeine-related. But perhaps a lot of those headaches actually were from insufficient caffeine?
Additions, 7:22 PM/7:46 PM. Here's an article from Smithsonian Magazine about what caffeine does to your brain.
Addition, 8:50 PM EDT. Just found out from this page that my former usual daily tea only contains about 40 mg of caffeine per cup.
Addition, Aug. 4, 2016, 1:08 AM EDT. Spinning in my office chair and making myself dizzy distracts a bit from my headaches!
Additions, Aug. 4, 2016, 6:18/6:35 PM EDT. No headache since maybe 1:30 AM. But, I've been pretty tired (even after a long sleep), anxious, and foggy-minded.
Addition, Aug. 4, 2016, 7:30 PM EDT. I figured out that my supposedly 12 ounce mug might actually hold more than 12 ounces, since I was able to pour 2 nearly full cups of water into it from an 8.5 ounce styrofoam cup. I don't have a measuring cup, so I can't measure it more exactly, but, it now looks like maybe I had been drinking close to 16 ounces of tea per day.
Additions, Aug. 4/5, 2016, 7:50 PM/12:51 AM EDT. I still don't want to be stuck drinking tea for the rest of my life, so, my next caffeine reduction strategy will be to add a small amount of this Mount Hagen organic instant coffee (or this cheaper pack of 2) to my Teeccino.
Addition, Aug. 7, 2016, 6:10 AM EDT. No headaches lately, and I got the coffee, and it's good in (or out of) Teeccino. Maybe I'm doing better overall with less caffeine, but, it's hard to tell at the moment, since yesterday, I had to wake up unusually early (for me), and didn't go back to sleep yet, so I'm quite tired now. I still feel like I want to take a long vacation from everything stressful.
(Sept. 17, 2015, from Slate.com)"The way caffeine works on cells in the body might be different than how it works on the brain."
Addition, Aug. 8, 2016, 3:51 PM EDT. I don't feel perfect yet, and I still feel like I could go back to sleep again soon, but, upon waking up today, I think I felt better-rested than I had for several months. No headaches, and I feel overall calmer.
Additions, Aug. 9, 2016, 3:46 AM EDT, etc. I wish I had gone back to sleep, but I didn't. I thought I felt better-rested than usual, but that feeling didn't last long.
Addition, Aug. 10, 2016, 1:21 PM EDT. Got a headache last night, and gave in and drank some coffee, which didn't fully get rid of it. but I'm OK now. It is definitely nice to feel like sleep is doing me more good than it had been.
Addition, Aug. 11, 2016, 6:07 PM EDT. No headaches, and my old vigor has been coming back after probably months of absence. Even though I had to get up overly early for something today and am thus tired, I still have felt better than I had in a long time.
Addition, Aug. 13, 2016, 9:46 PM EDT. Had to wake up too early for various reasons on Aug. 12th, so wasn't doing as well yesterday. Slept longer today but am not as energetic as I was on Aug. 11. (Perhaps that energy came from the small amount of caffeine I might have had that day.)
Addition, Aug. 14, 2016, 1:02 AM EDT. Oops, getting absentminded. Judging by what I wrote above on Aug. 11th, I definitely added a bit of coffee to one of my Teeccinos that day. So, actually, I've been caffeine-free since Aug. 12th, not the 11th.
Addition, Aug. 15, 2016, 4:55 AM EDT. I found a blog post by someone who reported experiencing caffeine withdrawal symptoms for up to 5 months!
Addition, Aug. 18, 2016, 9:07 PM EDT. My jaw aches have been fluctuating between being mostly gone, and still being slightly there. Perhaps magnesium, kale, ground flaxseed (warning), and/or Nature Made Stress B helped.
Additions, Aug. 24, 2016, 3:03 AM EDT, etc. Aug. 23rd was the first day my jaw started feeling mostly back to normal! Still been tired, but that's partly because of having to wake up too early. But even so, I've still been feeling more well-rested than I did before trying to quit caffeine.
And, I think I want to learn more about one of the most mystifying programming languages I've ever encountered - Haskell. Things that take many lines of code in other languages can be squeezed into much fewer lines of code in Haskell. Much fewer, but much more indecipherable, at least for me so far.
I still have been having less than a teaspoon of coffee daily, but hopefully will start skipping days soon.
Addition, Aug. 24, 2016, 6:36 AM EDT. One difference in my life yesterday compared to all the other days I've been decreasing caffeine is that I got a lot more exercise than usual. Had to walk around a lot.
Addition, Aug. 26, 2016, 2:39 AM EDT. Had no caffeine from the evening of Aug. 23rd to the evening of Aug. 25th. But, it seems like I need to keep having it to avoid getting in a bad mood. So I guess I'll keep having it daily, but keep gradually decreasing the amount.
Addition, Sept. 4, 2016, 11:01 PM EDT. I tried decreasing my caffeine probably too soon again - a small amount of coffee every 2 days. Now I've got a bad headache, and also a cold-like symptom - a slightly cloggy nose. I wonder if it actually is a cold.
Addition, Sept. 5, 2016, 3:34 AM EDT. Had a small amount of coffee in my Teeccino several hours ago, and have been feeling better since then. I was afraid it might not help since I had a similar amount around maybe 6 AM on Sept. 4 and actually felt worse several hours after that. But, I guess now, maybe I've accumulated enough caffeine in my system to reduce my withdrawal symptoms.
Addition, Sept. 9, 2016, 4:27 PM EDT. Today, I received these measuring spoons, with these sizes: "1/64, 1/32, 1/16, 1/8, 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, 3/4, 1 teaspoon, 1 Tablespoon, 1-1/2 Tablespoon and 2"
Addition, Sept. 10, 2016, 8:21 AM EDT. Been reading Adrenal Fatigue For Dummies, and that has gotten me interested in getting a blood pressure monitor, especially since this one only costs $19.99.
The book also suggests taking your temperature. This interests me not only because of my possible adrenal fatigue, but also because I think I've sometimes read on the Niteowl mailing list that your temperature and your circadian rhythms are related.
I feel vaguely tired and wish I could go back to sleep, but, despite briefly trying, I wasn't able to fall asleep again after sleeping from around 8:20 PM to 4:10 AM.
Additions, 8:40/8:43 AM EDT. Yesterday I found out that there are two new Star Trek Continues episodes that I haven't watched yet! One from May 28th, and one from Sept. 3rd.
Addition, Sept. 11, 2016, 9:29 AM EDT. Yesterday evening I had a slight headache, perhaps since I had only 1/16th of a teaspoon of coffee yesterday, but that's gone now. My jaw aches have been recurring a bit, but, hopefully they'll go away as I continue to decrease caffeine.
Being reminded yesterday of the connection between temperature and circadian rhythms made me wonder (again) if perhaps my electric blanket has been causing me problems.
Anyway, though - I think most of the time for months, I've usually only been able to sleep a maximum of 6-8 hours and often less, which has seemed weird for me, because I used to be able to sleep longer, and it often seemed like I needed to sleep an extra amount of time (like maybe 12 to 15 hours) to make up for getting too little sleep in the recent past.
So far today, I haven't even had any coffee yet, but, I think I do feel more rested than usual. This seems like a pretty promising result, so, I think in addition to caffeine, I'm going to quit my electric blanket that I've been addicted to, too. :-) Should have tried that sooner.
Addition, Sept. 11, 2016, 1:02 PM EDT. This has been my most high-energy day in a long time! I hadn't even gotten out of bed yet when I wrote the preceding paragraphs.
Because of what I read in Adrenal Fatigue For Dummies yesterday, I was thinking I should try to avoid sugar more. And I was going to start that today - but I felt so much better today that I let myself have an unusually large number of chocolate fudge Pirouettes - about 12. And I still feel fine.
Addition, Sept. 12, 2016, 8:37 AM EDT. Slept between almost 1 AM and almost 8 AM. I have a slight headache now, probably from too little caffeine, which I think is what woke me up.
Addition, Sept. 12, 2016, 11:36 AM EDT. Stayed awake. 1/16th + 1/32nd of a teaspoon of coffee wasn't enough to get rid of my headache, so I just took an Advil.
Addition, 8:34 PM EDT. Without my headache, I definitely feel much better, just more foggy-minded than yesterday, and like I want to go to sleep again, but I still feel physically energetic. I suspect my sleep is more restorative now that I quit my electric blanket.
Addition, Sept. 13, 2016, 1:17 PM EDT. Slept pretty well from around 2:20 AM to 9:50 AM. No headache, and I still have plenty of energy, though maybe not as much as when I had a little coffee and some chocolate fudge Pirouettes.
Now that I feel so much better, I'm partway grateful for the very upsetting misfortune that happened to me earlier this year.
Addition, Sept. 14, 2016, 1:10 PM EDT. Slept from around 1 AM to around 10:05 AM. Yesterday I sometimes felt like I was verging on a headache, but I've been fine today so far. A bit foggy-minded, but still plenty of energy.
Addition, 3:40 PM EDT. Just found this article: Vitamin C: Stress Buster
Thanks to my increased energy, I got a bit more creative than usual with cooking - microwaved some potatoes, then added butter, milk, and salt, and mashed it all up to make mashed potatoes. It was fairly good, though it seemed to be lacking something. Tried extra butter, which helped, and also some black pepper and nutmeg, which also helped, but I'm not sure yet what will make it perfect.
Addition, Sept. 14, 2016, 7:55 PM EDT. Stayed awake to read. And decided to have 1/64th of a teaspoon of coffee, since if caffeine withdrawal is so hard on me as to necessitate an increase in my Vitamin C, I think I'd rather just keep easing off of caffeine instead of completely stopping it immediately. And I feel like I'm on the verge of a headache, and would really like to get some useful stuff done.
Addition, Sept. 15, 2016, 11:43 AM EDT. I'm not sure if it was Vitamin C or the 1/64th teaspoon of coffee that made me feel a bit better last night, but something worked.
Addition, 7:36 PM EDT. Had 1/64th of a teaspoon of coffee in the morning, and another 1/64th around 6 PM since I was feeling some craving for caffeine. Tomorrow I'll probably just have 1/32nd of a teaspoon soon after I wake up, in the hope that I'll avoid craving it at any time approaching bedtime.
Addition, Sept. 16, 2016, 1:40 PM EDT. Netflix kept me awake, so, I slept between around 2 AM and 10 AM. Slept pretty well, and still have a lot of energy, though sometimes it has seemed like I get a bit tired after eating. Actually, I'm starting to feel a bit tired right now.
Additions, Sept. 16, 2016, 7:10 PM EDT, etc. Had a nap sometime between 3:32 PM (the most recent time in my web browser history before waking) and 6:30 PM. Didn't intend or plan to, but, I had no reason to stop myself when it turned out I seemed to need a nap.
Additions, Sept. 17, 2016, 2:30/2:42 AM EDT. Getting sleepy again. Been watching Marco Polo on Netflix. I know hardly anything about the real Marco Polo or that part of history (though the show makes me curious to learn more).
Addition, Sept. 17, 2016, 3:57 PM EDT. Slept between around 6:20 AM and 12:40 PM. Had only 1/64th of a teaspoon of coffee today. Still feeling great, even without extra Vitamin C.
Addition, Sept. 17, 2016, 11:27 PM EDT. Today was my best day so far. Didn't get sleepy all day until around 11 PM. Though I definitely wasn't doing anything very physically tiring or even intellectually challenging today - I watched Netflix most of the day, read a little, and listened a little to an audio book.
Addition, Sept. 18, 2016, 4:09 PM EDT. Slept from around 3:40 AM to 10:30 AM, then from around 11 AM to 1:30 PM. Still lots of energy.
Addition, Sept. 20, 2016, 2:04 PM EDT. Slept from around 5 AM to 12:45 PM on Sept. 19th, and 3 AM to 10 AM today. Still have had lots of energy. And, since I've read so many good things about Vitamin D, I've resumed trying to take it.
"When you're taking magnesium, you need to consider calcium, vitamin D3 and vitamin K2 as well, since these all work synergistically with one another."
Of course, at the moment, part of my jitteriness might simply be caffeine withdrawal, since I'm reluctant to even continue with 1/32nd of a teaspoon of coffee per day. On the 18th, I had 1/32nd, but on the 19th and today, I had 1/64th.
Addition, Sept. 20, 2016, 5:21 PM EDT. Had another 1/64th of a teaspoon of coffee. Soooo jittery! But I blame the Vitamin D, not the coffee, since before, I was perfectly fine with 1/64th of a teaspoon of coffee.
until spring 2017. Explanation here.)
Addition, Sept. 20, 2016, 9:32 PM EDT. Having a 3rd magnesium, since the 2nd magnesium helped, but not enough to stop me from thinking I might be better off giving up on Vitamin D supplements (except sunshine) until I've recovered more from fatigue and caffeine withdrawal.
Additions, Sept. 21, 2016, 2:05/2:14 PM EDT. Slept between around 5 AM and 1:18 PM. Just like the other days, the jitteriness from Vitamin D(?) completely wore off (or quite probably the magnesium eased it) by the time I woke up, and I feel fine again. Still lots of energy.
"In Boston, Massachusetts, at roughly 42 degrees north, sun exposure is not sufficient for vitamin D production from November through February."
until spring 2017. Explanation here.)
Another interesting thing that book mentioned was:
"The vitamin D formed in this way does not immediately travel through the skin into the bloodstream. This process takes up to forty-eight hours. Showering and scrubbing your skin within forty-eight hours of exposure could conceivably wash away the vitamin D on the skin's surface and prevent absorption into the bloodstream. This may be why so many people are vitamin D deficient despite hours of sun exposure. They may actually be wiping away the vitamin D long before it can be absorbed."
Additions, Sept. 22, 2016, 3:09 AM/3:14 EDT. Had mostly a good day, except I started to get a headache around 6:20 PM. It temporarily went away after I had another 1/64th of a teaspoon of coffee, but, the headache came back around 12:40 AM.
I sure hope quitting caffeine will cure most of my headache problems. It probably won't cure them all, since I'm sure many of my past headaches were probably related to insufficient nutrition, and others were likely from PMS, etc.
The one Advil I had isn't seeming effective enough - I'm still a bit headachy, and getting a vaguely stuffy nose, and am almost having nausea. So, I guess I'll just have another 1/64th of a teaspoon of coffee. Headaches and nausea interfere with my sleep more than caffeine does, I think.
I managed to clean my room a bit. Didn't do as much with XSLT as I did on 9/20 and early 9/21, but XSLT is a lot more fun to play with now that I can use it with PHP, my favorite programming language.
Addition, Sept. 22, 2016, 3:55 AM EDT. Already been feeling better for a while. Either the 1/64th teaspoon of coffee worked, or it took much, much longer than usual for the Advil to start working. Despite the coffee, I still feel tired enough to sleep.
Additions, Sept. 22, 2016, 10:27 PM/10:44 PM EDT. Slept sometime between around 5 AM to 1:30 PM. Still lots of energy, verging on too much. :-)
until spring 2017. Explanation here.) Forgot to take any magnesium, so I've been a little jittery, but not as much as I was when I took Vitamin D. To try to calm down a bit, I took 2 Nature Made magnesium citrates (which is a single serving of the kind I have, which aren't liquid softgels). Despite that, I still have been a bit jittery, but I didn't take any more, since I didn't want to possibly make myself tired.
Addition, Sept. 23, 2016, 4:01 PM EDT. Slept between maybe 6:20 AM and 1:15 PM. Got a bit of sun between about 1:36 PM and 1:44 PM, but not much, since direct sun is way too hot very quickly, and it felt like it might be very easy to get sunburned. Too bad I don't own a bikini - then I could probably spend even less time sunning. (Addition, Sept. 26, 2016, 4:03 AM. I'm quitting sunbathing until spring 2017. Explanation here.)
I guess my top goal for today should be to clean my room sufficiently so I can use my box fan again to block noise, so dog barking won't wake me up anymore, as it did today. (But at least our dog waking me up made it possible for me to get some sun at an appropriate time of day.) (Addition, Sept. 26, 2016, 4:03 AM. Maybe not as appropriate as I thought. I'm quitting sunbathing until spring 2017. Explanation here.)
Before I went to sleep this morning, I spent hours reading
Dark Deception: Discover the Truth About the Benefits of Sunlight Exposure by Dr. Joseph Mercola, which is available from my local library's website, Clevnet. (So far, I only skimmed the other Vitamin D books I got from there.)
Additions, Sept. 23/24, 2016, 11:25 PM/9:15 AM EDT. Went back to sleep from around 6:20 PM to 10:15 PM, perhaps partly because of PMS (which sometimes can make me extra-tired. And the unpleasantness that follows PMS makes me even more tired). And maybe partly because I'm now trying to get by with as little caffeine as possible. I haven't had any coffee since Sept. 22nd, but plan on maybe having 1/64th of a teaspoon if I feel a headache starting.
I think I've been eating much better lately because I have so much more energy that I've actually felt like making food. Also, perhaps my appetite is better as a result of reducing caffeine. I've heard that caffeine can suppress your appetite, though there's conflicting info on the web about that, such as claims that caffeine only suppresses your appetite for a brief time.
Addition, Sept. 24, 2016, 9:52 AM EDT. Been awake all night. Hours ago, I felt almost like I was starting to get a headache, but that went away quickly on its own. So, still no caffeine yet. But I'm definitely feeling more foggy-minded and out of it, and definitely am craving some caffeine.
Addition, Sept. 24, 2016, 2:28 PM EDT. It was too cloudy to sunbathe earlier, so I got about 20 minutes of sun between about 1:05 and 1:25 PM, with some interruptions when I got up to check what time it was. It's nicer in cooler weather - 69° today. I sure wish sunburn, melanoma, and so on didn't even exist, since sunbathing can actually be pretty nice. (Addition, Sept. 26, 2016, 4:06 AM. I'm quitting sunbathing until spring 2017. Explanation here.)
"How to Engineer a Successful Day of Sunbathing
So, what does your day look like?
until spring 2017. Explanation here.)
Addition, Sept. 25, 2016, 4:12 AM EDT. Slept unintentionally briefly between about 3:30 PM and 7:39 PM. Our dog woke me up. But, I actually felt (and still feel) pretty good - I haven't been craving caffeine, I don't feel so foggy-minded, and I was more excited than I maybe should be to try to read pages like this:
until spring 2017. Explanation here.) Or maybe even the supplements helped/are still helping too, in addition to temporarily making me jittery until I boosted my magnesium.
until spring 2017. Explanation here.)
Addition, Sept. 25, 2016, 1:48 PM EDT. Slept from around 5:30 AM to 12:18 PM. Better dreams than I've had in a long time. Only did a little sunbathing today, between 1:12 PM and 1:18 PM. (Addition, Sept. 26, 2016, 4:09 AM. I'm quitting sunbathing until spring 2017. Explanation here.) Still lots of physical energy, but I feel like I could go back to sleep already. Still feeling pretty good overall.
Addition, Sept. 26, 2016, 1:10 AM EDT. Slept a bit from around 7 PM to 8:12 PM, and only got up so soon because I wanted to watch the most recent episode of Marco Polo on Netflix with my family.
On Sept. 25 I read part of a website that no longer exists and is only in Archive.org - CaffeineAndMigraine.com, which was mentioned in a blog comment I saw somewhere.
Addition, Sept. 26, 2016, 3:43 AM EDT. Just found out that I actually probably shouldn't sunbathe at this time of year. This article explains why:
March 26, 2012 from Mercola.com"So how do you know if you have entered into the summer season and into the time of year, for your location, where enough UVB is actually able to penetrate the atmosphere to allow for vitamin D production in your skin?
That article also points out this very useful page:
I mistakenly thought noon would probably be the best time of day to sunbathe - but, to my surprise, that website shows that recently, the sun actually had a higher altitude here in Hubbard, Ohio at times later than noon.
until spring 2017. (Addition, Jan. 14, 2017, 7:20 AM EST. Actually, I probably won't resume it in spring 2017, or probably ever. I just don't like the scary stuff I read about things like photo-aging, DNA damage, and melanoma. And Walgreens Vitamin D3 Bone Health 2000 IU Softgels seem to work fine for me.)
Addition, Sept. 26, 2016, 6:19 AM EDT. Some pages claim that 45 degrees solar elevation angle, rather than 50 degrees, is the point at which the amount of UVB light you can get from the sun is too low to produce Vitamin D. Here's an example.
Additions, Sept. 26, 2016, 4:08/4:18/4:26 PM EDT. Slept well between maybe 7:30 AM and 2:13 PM. The headache wasn't too bad, so I didn't even take an Advil. Not sure what time it went away, but it didn't interfere with my sleep. I don't feel foggy-minded or out of it so far - feeling pretty good again. On second thought, maybe I do feel a bit spacy. But, lots of energy again.
From AmericanMigraineFoundation.org"Caffeine affects the activity of a naturally occurring and necessary brain substance called adenosine. Adenosine levels in the blood go up during migraine attacks. Furthermore, adenosine when injected into a vein can trigger migraine attacks."
"Carefully controlled studies show that caffeine doses as low as about 10mg can be reliably noticed by particularly sensitive people. These studies also show that more than 30 percent of people can feel the effects of 18mg or less."
Here's another interesting (though jargony) page I'm sure I'm not fully understanding:
Feb. 1998 from ncbi.nlm.nih.gov"2) activation of A2 receptors by adenosine causes a dose-dependent serotonin uptake by platelets. This inhibition of uptake could participate in the rapid elimination of serotonin in migraine sufferers."
"You might think that having low levels of Serotonin in your body could put you at risk of a Serotonin migraine and that the solution is to take more Serotonin - this is not the case. The following is what may happen if a person develops, 'Serotonin syndrome,' by having levels of Serotonin that are too high."
"Unfortunately, if a person's Serotonin levels are too low, they may also experience Serotonin migraine. It is important to pay attention to how much you take and the side effects. There are also easy ways to naturally stimulate the production of Serotonin. Regular exercise, relaxation, walking while the sun is out, spending time with a pet, or simply enjoying yourself are all ways to stimulate Serotonin production. All of these are also stimulate natural pain killers called, 'endorphins.'"
Addition, 5:46 PM EDT. I should add that I am wary of Vitamin D in supplement form, because I have read about the possibility of overdosing on Vitamin D in supplement form.
On the Wikipedia page about Serotonin Syndrome, the Causes section only contains one thing I sometimes eat in very small amounts - nutmeg. I put it in pumpkin pie and sometimes my mashed potatoes.
From what I read, it sounds like adenosine has a lot to do with sleep.
April 1999 from ncbi.nlm.nih.gov"The inhibitory neuromodulator, adenosine, is a promising candidate for a sleep-inducing factor: its concentration is higher during wakefulness than during sleep, it accumulates in the brain during prolonged wakefulness, and local perfusions as well as systemic administration of adenosine and its agonists induce sleep and decrease wakefulness."
"When the activity of the wakefulness-active cells decreases sufficiently sleep is initiated. During sleep the extracellular adenosine concentrations decrease, and thus the inhibition of the wakefulness-active cells also decreases allowing the initiation of a new wakefulness period."
And, if I understand correctly from this aforementioned article from Smithsonian Magazine, caffeine fits into (and blocks) adenosine receptors, and leads to there being a lot of unused adenosine floating around in your brain.
"and all the surplus adenosine floating around in the brain cues the adrenal glands to secrete adrenaline, another stimulant."
And the same article says caffeine blocking your adenosine receptors causes your brain to grow more adenosine receptors. Which is fortunately supposed to be reversible.
"To kick the thing, you only need to get through about 7-12 days of symptoms without drinking any caffeine. During that period, your brain will naturally decrease the number of adenosine receptors on each cell, responding to the sudden lack of caffeine ingestion. If you can make it that long without a cup of joe or a spot of tea, the levels of adenosine receptors in your brain reset to their baseline levels, and your addiction will be broken."
I wonder if maybe a lot of the ideas on the CaffeineAndMigraine.com site actually are right?
Addition, Sept. 27, 2016, 3:54 AM EDT. Had another very good day, though I didn't get much done - probably the most productive thing I did was update this blog post.
Addition, Sept. 28, 2016, 12:30 AM EDT. On Sept. 27th, slept between around 5:20 AM to 1:46 PM. I briefly woke up with a stuffy nose, though only on the left side. Went back to sleep and it was gone by the time I woke up. I think I forgot to mention that my jaw aches returned a bit on Sept. 26th and possibly other days, and I think I have that slightly now too, but it hasn't been bothering me very much.
Remembered I have a SitePoint Premium membership that will expire in December, so I spent a lot of time on there today, and also spent some time reading Clevnet books.
Addition, Sept. 29, 2016, 2:22 AM EDT. Slept between around 5:30 AM and 12:54 PM. It seemed like I had a sort of difficult time falling asleep, so maybe I should have taken yet another magnesium.
Still lots of physical energy, and I haven't felt foggy-minded, out of it, or very spacy, but for most of my day have felt vaguely tired (though not quite able to fall asleep), which could be just PMS or caffeine withdrawal, or both.
It's still much easier to get things done than it used to be before quitting my electric blanket. And I feel like I have a lot more time to get things done, since now my energy lasts longer, and it doesn't fluctuate as much.
Despite today being better than possibly most days for almost the past 2 years before quitting my electric blanket (and caffeine) - today was a day when I was well-suited to mindless cleaning, since I didn't really feel like studying anything today or coding. So, I made some progress cleaning my room.
Addition, Sept. 29, 2016, 5:10 AM EDT. Sometime after writing the previous addition, I ate some roasted walnuts - still one of the best-tasting things I've ever eaten in my life, which sometimes seem to have an interesting effect on me - I sometimes get sleepy after eating them, which I believe might have to do with the melatonin walnuts are reputed to contain.
Oct. 14, 2015 from HuffingtonPost.com"They first exposed both the normal zebrafish larvae and the genetically-mutated zebrafish larvae to a regular pattern of day and night--14 hours of light and 10 hours of darkness. This established the larvae with circadian clocks that operated in sync with the light and darkness. Then they moved both types of fish larvae to an environment of complete darkness. The fish that produced melatonin naturally maintained their normal circadian cycle of sleep and wakefulness, even in the absence of routine light exposure.
"Researchers gave both normal zebrafish larvae and the melatonin-deficient larvae doses of a drug that stimulated adenosine. The two groups of fish reacted in very different ways. The adenosine had no effect on the normal zebrafish larvae. But among the melatonin-deficient fish larvae, researchers observed significant changes to their sleep. The genetically-mutated fish larvae began sleeping normally, in patterns like the fish that were able to produce melatonin.
Also found this other page which explained the "homestatic sleep system" in a bit more detail:
Oct. 24, 2013 from HubPages.com"The homeostatic sleep drive process regulates the drive to sleep based on the amount of time we're awake and how much energy we're expending. The chemical adenosine binds to adenosine receptors during waking hours. The more you do and the longer you're awake, the more adenosine you accumulate, making you feel tired. It's your body's way of saying you've done enough, and it's time to quit. While you sleep, this chemical is broken down and adenosine levels decrease. Therefore, scientists feel that adenosine is the way the body keeps track of how much sleep you've gotten, and how much sleep you need. If you don't get enough sleep, the adenosine in your body is still remaining when you wake up, making you feel groggy. The next night you may sleep longer to rid your body of the extra accumulation of adenosine."
I wonder if I'm similar to those abovementioned abnormal melatonin-deficient zebrafish. Except I don't think my body is totally incapable of generating melatonin, since I do tend to get more alert in response to light and more drowsy in response to darkness or dim light - just not enough to be able to reliably make myself go to sleep just by turning the lights off. So, I'm definitely not exactly like those zebrafish.
Definitely glad I'm no longer accidentally tampering with my adenosine via caffeine.
Addition, Sept. 29, 2016, 5:55 PM EDT. Slept between around 6:30 AM and 1:56 PM. No headaches, and I feel like I'm a lot more energetic and alert than yesterday. Might have slept better today. Maybe I didn't sleep as well the other day because I still had some magnesium deficiency from the Vitamin D I took the other day.
Addition, Sept. 30, 2016, 12:59 AM EDT. Still not tired at all yet! No headaches, either. Made a lot of progress cleaning my room. It was almost like an unwinnable game of real-life Sokoban that has dragged on for years. Except now, I've almost won. :-)
One of the best things I did was box up a bunch of books to make room on a shelf so I could have another place to set things down, so hopefully now my standing desk won't acquire as much junk anymore.
Additions, Sept. 30, 2016, 7:12 AM/7:52 AM EDT. Started getting tired around maybe 2:15 AM, but stayed up anyway. Didn't do any more cleaning, just browsed the web.
Addition, Sept. 30, 2016, 8:49 PM EDT. Slept between around 9:15 AM to 2:13 PM. Was up for a little while, but felt like I needed to sleep more, so, I started trying to go back to sleep around 2:50 PM. It took a while, but I think I fell asleep maybe around 3:30 PM, and woke up at 6:08 PM. Feeling rested enough now. And, no headaches.
Additions, Oct. 1, 2016, 6:30 AM/6:43 AM EDT. Still lots of energy, and been awake all night. And I made some progress cleaning my room. So much progress I'm willing to post a picture. :-)
Larger Size
It's definitely a lot nicer in here than it used to be. But I still need a lot more zippable pillow protectors to put the remainder of my unsorted clothes mountain inside. (I never took much interest in clothes, but some people just love giving me clothes.)
Starting to get sleepy now. Perhaps it will take another day or so for me to finish cleaning, or to get so impatient that I'll just put the rest of the junk back in the other corner.
Additions, Oct. 1, 2016, 8:50/8:59 PM EDT. Slept between about maybe 9:45 AM and 3:25 PM. Still was tired, but had trouble falling asleep again until sometime after 4:16 PM, then slept until 6:05 PM. Also was a bit headachy at times, but it wasn't that bad and didn't last very long. I think I had a bit more energy before eating, but, have mostly just wanted to go back to sleep, which is probably from PMS.
Additions, Oct. 2, 2016, 5:30 PM/5:46 PM EDT. Didn't sleep until sometime after 11:14 AM today, then slept until about 4:31 PM. Stayed up on Oct. 1 to watch TV with my family. Then I got a headache, but nonetheless returned to XSLT, which kept me awake even more than my headaches did.
Addition, Oct. 3, 2016, 3:09 AM EDT. It was impossible to continue to ignore my room's chaos, so, I stayed up and cleaned my room some more, since I wasn't tired enough for my tiredness to stop me.
Addition, Oct. 4, 2016, 2:51 AM EDT. On Oct. 3rd, slept from sometime after 9:51 AM to 3:24 PM. Was woken up by cramps, and my time of the month starting. Was feeling bad at first (and later after my first Advil wore off), but have been mostly fine thanks to Advil.
Additions, Oct. 5, 2016, 12:14 AM/12:20 AM EDT. On Oct. 4th, slept from sometime after 10:37 AM to around 6:32 PM. Still no headaches, and a lot of my energy came back. Took an Advil to deal with cramps, so now I'm pain-free.
Addition, Oct. 5, 2016, 9:49 AM EDT. Slept a bit sometime between around 2 AM and 4:17 AM, and probably could have slept longer, but I needed another Advil for my cramps.
This is the first period I've had since quitting my electric blanket. I was hoping it wouldn't be so tiring, but, it still is even despite recovering so much from my fatigue.
Addition, Oct. 5, 2016, 11:41 PM EDT. Slept between sometime after 2:50 PM and 11:10 PM. Woke up briefly sometime during the day - was achy and my left nostril so clogged that I felt like I had a cold. Don't know if that could be caffeine withdrawal or really a cold, but in any case, I took 2 Vitamin C's in case that might help, and went back to sleep. The aches and congestion are gone now.
Addition, 3:43 AM EDT. Feeling much better after eating. Sometimes I seem to get more tired after eating, but this time, I got less tired. Maybe I just need to eat better. Probably, because when I get too tired, I sometimes get pretty lazy about preparing food. For example, I think all I ate yesterday was some cereal, goldfish crackers, walnuts, and my usual vitamins.
Addition, Oct. 6, 2016, 1:17 PM EDT. It took all the rest of the night and morning, but, finally, my room is sufficiently well-organized for now (in my opinion). It's more practical now because things are mostly out of the way and theoretically more easily located than before, but it's still messy and boxy enough to feel like home. I'm surrounded by cardboard skyscrapers - and, loving it. :-)
Additions, Oct. 7, 2016, 3:14 PM/3:18 PM/3:39 PM EDT. On Oct. 6th, slept sometime between 2:19 PM and 7:54 PM. Meant to go back to sleep, but ended up staying awake. Didn't do much, just browsed the web. Felt fine, except for some slight jaw aches.
Additions, Oct. 8, 2016, 8:10 AM/9:15 AM EDT. Slept sometime between 6:19 PM and 12:27 AM. Definitely feeling back to normal now. Been wide awake and energetic all night (and morning, so far). And I took some more pictures of my room.
Addition, Oct. 11, 2016, 4:40 PM EDT. On Oct. 8th-9th, slept sometime between 6:56 PM and 1:53 AM. On Oct. 9th, slept sometime between 7:30 AM and 10:53 AM. On Oct. 10th, slept sometime between 2:52 AM and 4:17 AM, and 9:01 AM and 10:35 AM. On Oct. 10th-11th, slept sometime between 9:09 PM and 4:15 AM. And on Oct. 11th (today), just took a nap sometime between 2:04 PM and 3:20 PM.
I think I better keep avoiding stressful things for a while, though. So, that means my websites are likely to be even more boring than usual for a while, because even posting blog posts can be too stressful for me.
Addition, Oct. 12, 2016, 6:15 AM EDT. Got some more Nature Made magnesium citrate, and slept sometime between 7:30 PM and 2:51 AM. I woke up thirsty a few times again, but, slept better, and am definitely feeling better now. So, guess I'll just keep taking magnesium citrate.
Addition, Oct. 13, 2016, 5:28 PM EDT. On Oct. 12th-13th, slept sometime between 9:05 PM and 2:49 AM. On Oct. 13th, slept sometime between 4:57 AM and 8:54 AM.
Addition, Oct. 14, 2016, 4:29 PM EDT. Today, slept sometime between 2:25 AM and 8:16 AM. Felt a lot more energetic, but nonetheless went back to sleep from sometime between 10 AM to 4:08 PM. Still feeling like I could sleep longer, so maybe I will. Haven't eaten anything yet today.
Addition, Oct. 15, 2016, 10:58 PM EDT. Still no headaches, though I've sometimes gotten close. Yesterday, ended up staying awake since I got invited to a movie.
Today has been much better, even though I only slept sometime between 8:51 AM and 2:07 PM, and have been sort of tired since maybe around 6 PM. I think eating better yesterday resulted in me waking up feeling much better today.
An annoying symptom I hadn't mentioned before, but have had off and on for maybe months (and maybe even since before quitting caffeine) is feeling too often like I have to urinate. But it's not a constant symptom - it comes and goes, and I think it tends to get worse when my nutrition is poor. It also seems to sometimes get worse toward the end of my day.
I wonder if maybe I have some kind of possibly adrenal fatigue-related electrolyte imbalance issues. Here's another interesting article on that topic.
Haven't gotten very much done lately. Did a little bit with my XSLT project. But mostly I've been lost in Clevnet books or Sitepoint Premium, or random web browsing.
Addition, Oct. 16, 2016, 9:54 AM EDT. Slept sometime between 12:39 AM and 8:11 AM. I didn't even have magnesium or walnuts before sleep, but somehow felt sleepier and like I was going to sleep better, and I think I did.
Addition, Oct. 17, 2016, 1:35 AM EDT. Had a mostly quite good day. I think I started to get a bit tired around maybe 4:50 PM when I was watching a documentary on Netflix, and increasingly tired after that. But, there were days when I got tired much sooner than about 9 hours after waking, so this is definitely progress. I think those 9 hours might have been the most energetic I've been since my time of the month ended.
Additions, Oct. 17, 2016, 10:57 AM/11:12 AM EDT. Slept sometime between 3:26 AM and 8:30 AM. Wanted to sleep longer, but, have been vaguely headachy, with a slightly stuffy nose, and woke up thirsty again, so I took 2 more Vitamin C's and tried to go back to sleep, but couldn't.
To help deal with my possible adrenal fatigue-related electrolyte imbalance, I'm going to try an idea suggested in this article, even though I'm not sure if I have a "severe" case of adrenal fatigue. Quote:
"In severe cases, I have recommended adrenal fatigue patients keep a glass of salted water (salted to taste) by their bedsides to drink first thing in the morning before rising. Doing this appears to greatly improve their ability to function in the morning."
Addition, Oct. 17, 2016, 4:35 PM EDT. Still haven't gone back to sleep yet. My headache has decreased, and I think eating yogurt and a tomato (not mixed together :-) ) particularly helped. My slightly stuffy nose also has decreased (except I think now my nose is running a bit, which is preferable in my opinion), and my gum's sore spot has gone away again, so probably the extra Vitamin C is helping.
Addition, Oct. 18, 2016, 2:22 AM EDT. Slept sometime between 6:40 PM and maybe 1 AM, though didn't give up on trying to go back to sleep until 1:38 AM.
Addition, Oct. 18, 2016, 1:43 PM EDT. I felt pretty energetic, but didn't do much last night besides look at Clevnet books. I actually didn't even eat anything - just had two 500 mg Vitamin C's and one 500mg Ovega 3. I'm probably going to quit taking Ovega 3 if the price doesn't go back down, and already wanted to quit taking Ovega 3 because it contains carrageenan.
Slept sometime between 9:18 AM and 12:36 PM, but felt like I slept much longer. Didn't wake up as thirsty as I frequently had been, and I just overall feel much better than I did during the bad parts of Oct. 17th. So far, I no longer feel like I have a cold.
Addition, Oct. 19, 2016, 2:07 AM EDT. Finally started getting tired much later than I expected, around maybe 11 PM. Had a very good day. Didn't get much done - just read books and watched TV. But, if I reliably continue to feel fine, clear-minded, adequately rested, and unheadachy, it will probably be much easier for me to get things done in the future.
Addition, Oct. 20, 2016, 1:54 AM EDT. On Oct. 19th, slept sometime between 2:40 AM and 9:58 AM. I woke up a bunch of times, but, still wasn't as thirsty as I used to be. Had a lot of energy all day and didn't start getting tired until sometime after 12 AM.
Additions, Oct. 21, 2016, 1:12 AM/1:19 AM/1:27 AM EDT. On Oct. 20th, slept sometime between 7:37 AM and 1:33 PM. Still felt a bit tired so wanted to go to back to sleep soon, so ate nothing and had only Ovega 3 and Vitamin C.
Additions, Oct. 21, 2016, 3:42 PM/3:58 PM EDT. Ended up staying up, and slept only briefly sometime between 11:56 AM and 1:43 PM. Was mostly reading Clevnet books again.
So, life without caffeine is pretty different, I guess. Can't get away as much with my often poor eating habits anymore, since without artificial energy from caffeine, I can more easily perceive the effects of my overly frequent neglect to eat.
Don't know if caffeine withdrawal is still affecting me, but I guess it's possible. But I think overall, most of my fluctuations are probably the result of my poor eating habits and sometimes still not doing enough to fix my possible adrenal fatigue-related electrolyte imbalance. (And probably my time of the month will give me trouble again, as it pretty much always has done.)
Addition, Oct. 21, 2016, 9:55 PM EDT. Still didn't go back to sleep, again largely because of Clevnet books.
Additions, Oct. 22, 2016, 4:43/4:46 PM EDT. Stayed awake to read again, and slept sometime between 2:06 AM and 12:08 PM. I feel mostly OK, but still a bit tired and was a bit tempted to go back to sleep when I first woke up. Didn't get as thirsty as in the past, and slept OK, but was woken by thirst at various times. And before sleep, had the frequent urination problem, which has gone away now.
Addition, Oct. 27, 2016, 1:20 AM EDT. Nothing much has happened. Still have been woken up at various times by thirst, but overall have been doing fine, though on the days I woke up too early I felt a bit tired.
In the evening on Oct. 26th, I finally made a real effort to try some bellydancing, with the assistance of a video from Clevnet, the aptly titled Learn Belly Dancing.
Addition, Oct. 27, 2016, 6:15 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 7:21 AM and 2:42 PM. Was woken by thirst, and slightly stuffy nose. Forgot to mention before that I still have been sometimes having that slight congestion (usually only when I wake up), a bit of runniness, and also the same old jaw aches on the right side.
Addition, Oct. 28, 2016, 7:42 AM EDT. Didn't sleep yet, though I started getting a bit tired around 10 or 11 PM. Didn't bellydance since the last time I mentioned it. Slightly to my surprise, I didn't get achy after the Learn Belly Dancing video, even though I "felt the burn" at times from the exertion.
Even though my weight isn't much of a problem, I recently read a lot of a book called Crack the Fat-Loss Code. I don't think I want to actually try all of the ideas suggested in that book, and think the first week of the plan (very low carbs) might be a particularly bad idea for me while I'm possibly still recovering from adrenal fatigue and caffeine withdrawal. But, I feel like I learned a lot from that book, and like I now have a better idea of how protein, fats, and carbohydrates affect one's metabolism.
Addition, Oct. 29, 2016, 1:18 AM EDT. On Oct. 28th, slept sometime between 7:55 AM and 2:43 PM, and 3:12 PM and 6:18 PM. Slept sort of poorly and was woken by thirst at various times.
Addition, Oct. 29, 2016, 3:25 AM EDT. I'm finally using my standing desk, since about an hour ago. Both my Toughbook CF-C1's fit on it. And I can even do stuff with my desktop computer from across the room, thanks to the long cords of my USB keyboard and mouse.
Addition, Oct. 29, 2016, 5:38 AM EDT. I finally returned to mostly sitting maybe 20 minutes after writing the preceding, largely because I finally got cold and wanted a blanket.
Additions, Oct. 31, 2016, 3:14 AM/3:33 AM EDT. On Oct. 29th, slept sometime between 12:59 PM and 7:25 PM. Kept waking up thirsty and with a bit of congestion, and also had some jaw aches, all of which soon went away after I got up. Felt energetic enough for a while to try doing the Learn Belly Dancing video again.
There's such a huge variety of books on Clevnet, I got quite distracted from the books on hormones, and also never finished the adrenal fatigue books I mentioned quite a while back.
I can believe it might be possible to greatly reduce my menstrual issues, even though I recall only one month in my life when I had either no cramps, or such insignificant cramps I didn't need a painkiller. I might even have been less tired than usual. I think that happened sometime in the latter half of the 1990's.
Other than reading, the most time-consuming thing I did yesterday (and today) was try to build a web browser add-on for Pale Moon (or IceCat, or SeaMonkey, or Firefox) by modifying and adding to a handy example add-on I found on GitHub. My add-on isn't done yet, but hopefully won't take too long to finish. I might try to figure out how to release it on the official Firefox add-ons site.
Additions, Nov. 4, 2016, 6:53 AM/7:00 AM/8:19 AM EDT. On Oct. 31st, slept sometime between 5:21 PM and 11:05 PM. Slept well enough, though I probably should have stayed asleep longer. Only had slight congestion when I first woke up. I think PMS, and/or slightly too little sleep, and/or taking magnesium in my morning instead of my evening made me a bit tired that day.
On Oct. 31st, Nov. 1st, and Nov. 2nd, I had some chocolate hazelnut Piroulines. Not sure if they had any negative effects, since I think my headaches, etc. are most likely related to PMS.
I never got around to returning to the health-related books, because I was so busy with other books, and building my web browser add-on.
Additions, Nov. 7, 2016, 10:33/10:35 AM EST. On Nov. 4th, took a nap sometime between 10:35 AM and 2:09 PM, and felt much better after that.
On Nov. 6th-7th, slept sometime between 7:15 PM and 1:22 AM, and 2:18 AM and 6:49 AM. Finally, my cycle started. But I still feel better than I did on Nov. 3rd (the day my cramps and headache were so bad I thought my cycle was about to start). Still needed an Advil for cramps, though.
Even though it's a bit too late now, I guess I should try to finish reading the aforementioned health-related books, so hopefully next month will be better.
Addition, Nov. 12, 2016, 3:14 AM EST. On Nov. 8th, slept sometime between 3:29 AM and 8:26 AM. On Nov. 9th, slept sometime between 7:14 AM and 12:21 PM. On Nov. 10th, slept sometime between 1:51 AM and 8:02 AM. And on Nov. 11th, slept sometime between 2:34 AM and 10:07 AM.
Still haven't read the aforementioned books on hormones and adrenal fatigue, but hopefully I'll get around to it before next month.
Addition, Nov. 12, 2016, 1:12 PM EST. Slept sometime between 5:24 AM and 12:04 PM. I forgot to mention before that for days, I was still having cold-like symptoms, like occasional congestion when I was tired (and often when waking up or going to sleep), sneezing, coughing, and runniness. Also, have been waking up thirsty a lot (including today).
Addition, Nov. 13, 2016, 3:58 AM EST. Got another headache, starting sometime before 1:45 AM. Haven't had chocolate since the evening of Nov. 11th, so I think this might be a caffeine withdrawal symptom. It seems like maybe I can handle a little chocolate if I don't have it every day for days in a row, but I guess I had too much.
Additions, Nov. 13, 2016, 4:41 PM/4:58 PM EST. Slept sometime between 4:46 AM and 10:52 AM. Tired, with a bit of congestion and runniness, which didn't last long. And, until quite recently, was headachy.
Addition, Nov. 14, 2016, 3:02 PM EST. Slept sometime between 3:20 AM and 12:08 PM. Feeling much better overall today. Mostly just been reading, but, hopefully I'll be in the mood to return to some of my projects soon.
Definitely still doing better, but not at my best (even though I'm still better off than I was before quitting my electric blanket). My gum's sore spot has been bothering me more often, and I've been taking Vitamin C more frequently to deal with that, and also since I think it's good for me in general.
Addition, Nov. 15, 2016, 2:20 PM EST. Slept sometime between 3:32 AM and 9:02 AM, at which point I didn't even get up, just tried to go back to sleep for a long time. Finally did fall asleep sometime after 9:45 AM (the last time I looked at the clock), and woke up again around 12:49 PM. Was woken up by thirst a lot (as usual).
Still feeling a bit sleepy (though still much more energetic than I was before quitting my electric blanket). But perhaps I'll perk up more soon, since I took Vitamin D at 1:30 PM.
Addition, Nov. 15, 2016, 4:41 PM EST. Actually still not feeling jittery. Felt a bit overemotional in the past couple hours, but that has subsided after eating some oatmeal pasta with lots of salt and parmesan, and best of all, garlic. I craved meatballs but we have nothing like that around, so, couldn't eat any. Had milk. Also took Nature Made Stress B.
Additions, 6:25 PM/6:28 PM EST. Seems like the Vitamin D jitters are starting. I guess I better try some other brands of Vitamin D, since if I can find one I'm not allergic(?) to, Vitamin D might be really good for me. (Actually, I think it still does me some good anyway, but it would be much better if it didn't make me jittery.) Or maybe I just need to take even more magnesium anytime I take Vitamin D.
Addition, Nov. 16, 2016, 12:20 AM EST. Got a bit overemotional again for a little while without sufficient justification, but, I've been doing much better since around 8 PM. I feel physically and emotionally better, more energetic and interested in exercise, my gum's sore spot has subsided again, and I'm also more optimistic.
Today, I tried to decrease the amount of sugar I typically consume. Was dismayed and surprised to notice that my usual cow's milk actually somehow has 11g of sugars per cup, according to the label. Doesn't even taste sweet to me. But, maybe I'll try some sort of organic milk instead if I can find any, even if it's a bit more expensive.
Didn't get much done - read a little on topics other than health, and watched TV.
Addition, Nov. 16, 2016, 6:41 AM EST. Around 1:28 AM, started to get worse nasal congestion than I ever recently had. I got so nervous about it I wondered if it was asthma (which I've never had before), but, I could still breathe fine through my mouth. It went away after I drank some water (which happened to be unsalted), so I soon stopped worrying about it, even though I still don't know what caused that.
Addition, Nov. 16, 2016, 2:56 PM EST. Slept sometime between 7:26 AM and 12:40 PM. Tried to listen to the rest of The Hormone Secret audio book, but even at 2x speed, I didn't have the patience, so I returned it and used Clevnet's Recommend feature to ask Clevnet to get the ebook version.
Addition, Nov. 16, 2016, 8:58 PM EST. Listened a while to a different audio book (fiction), and fell asleep again sometime between 5:12 PM and 8:32 PM, despite the annoying frequent urination problem which still hasn't completely gone away. Still kind of tired, but no trouble with congestion.
Addition, Nov. 17, 2016, 4:43 AM EST. Recently posted this new blog post:
I think all the stress from discovering I was unknowingly eating sucralose has made me tired, and a little headachy. But, I feel like I'll probably recover quickly.
Addition, Nov. 17, 2016, 4:14 PM EST. Slept sometime between 6:22 AM and 11:02 AM. Wanted to go back to sleep, and tried until about 11:32 AM, but couldn't.
Around 2:40 PM, I took one 500mg Ovega 3, two 500mg Rite-Aid Vitamin C, five Walgreens Vitamin D3 Bone Health 2000 IU Softgels, and two Nature Made magnesium citrate (250 mg total).
Addition, Nov. 18, 2016, 5:41 AM EST. Slept sometime between 9:14 PM and 4:15 AM. Before sleep, had a slight headache until after I took Nature Made Stress B.
So far, I feel better than I did yesterday - better-rested and not on the verge of a headache. Nature Made Stress B really seems to do me a lot of good.
I think I'm fine with consuming less actual sugar, but, I don't think I want to strictly avoid all high glycemic foods, because I am pretty fond of mashed potatoes and I feel like they're more good for me than bad.
Addition, Nov. 18, 2016, 4:54 PM EST. My energy improved a lot for a while after eating. Was watching movies, but became eager to stretch, fidget, and exercise a bit.
Addition, Nov. 19, 2016, 2:20 PM EST. Stayed awake to watch TV with family, and also to read, and listen to an audio book (which I almost fell asleep during). So, slept sometime between 4:22 AM and 1:35 PM. Woke up thirsty at times (as usual). But haven't had congestion and runniness lately, just a bit of a cough at times yesterday.
Addition, Nov. 21, 2016, 4:00 AM EST. On Nov. 20th, slept poorly sometime between 5:31 AM and 7:27 AM, since I fell asleep while listening to an audio book. Then I stopped the audio book and went back to sleep again until around 1:54 PM.
Read, listened to audio books, watched TV with my family. And on Nov. 20th, finally compiled PHP 5.6.28, PHP-GTK, etc. to use in Lighthouse 64 Puppy Linux 6.02 Beta 2.
Additions, Nov. 24, 2016, 12:58 AM/8:25 AM EST. I'm not really in the mood anymore to continue to update this in much detail, since I feel so much better that I'd rather focus more on getting more useful things done.
I borrowed/returned too many books on Clevnet again, accidentally causing the site to automatically restrict me from borrowing more books for several days. So, since I now have fewer other books to distract me, I returned to reading The Adrenal Reset Diet.
If I understand correctly, the basic idea of the adrenal reset diet is to eat more protein for breakfast, and far less carbs than the average carb-filled breakfast, then increase the amount of carbs in later meals, since more carbs help you wind down for sleep. (Which mirrors my experiences with feeling sleepier after I ate a lot of goldfish crackers.) So, maybe I'll try that.
After not using Astroblahhh Desktop for so long, I've been feeling so overwhelmed by clutter and disorganization.
Addition, Nov. 24, 2016, 8:25 AM EST. Just thought I'd add that I still am going to probably continue to procrastinate for possibly a long time about even checking a lot of my email and forums.
Addition, Dec. 9, 2016, 2:31 PM EST. If I recall correctly, on two different days before Dec. 1st, I had a slight headache or almost-headache, nothing too bad.
Anyway, the ache worried me a lot, so I saw the dentist that day, and it turned out that there's not a cavity - it's officially gingivitis.
So, I was given a prescription for penicillin, and told to rinse my mouth with warm salt water and massage upward on the gum.
I suspect the combination of being too cold, not sleeping well, probably having PMS (which often seems to cause me to require more Vitamin C to avoid my gums' sore spots flaring up), and being a bit stressed out is what caused that usually dormant sore spot to suddenly flare up.
After my Dec. 1st dentist appointment, I read a bit about root canals, and found this worrying page, among others:
(May 31, 2015 from Mercola.com)
So, at my Dec. 8th appointment, I got the typical cleaning you're supposed to get every 6 months, and got my yearly complete X-rays done. No cavities at all.
Anyway, talking about the particularly bothersome lower right sore spot, the dentist said if that flares up again, the root canal specialist would charge me $1100 (and that wouldn't be covered by Medicaid) to "re-root canal" it, or, it will have to be extracted.
So, perhaps I ought to get all my root canaled teeth extracted. But, since I usually don't have much trouble with my gum's sore spots, and am not sure if my root canals have been causing me other health problems yet, I'll probably just end up leaving them in there for a while longer.
Despite my gingivitis flareup, I've been doing pretty well, energy-wise, and even mood-wise. Seems like emphasizing protein in my "morning" (as suggested in The Adrenal Reset Diet) really does help.
On Dec. 1st, I actually risked having a caffeinated Barq's root beer - the medium size from Burger King. Quite tasty, and I actually didn't get a headache nor other problems after that.
Surprisingly, overall, I've felt mostly fine lately. I attribute this largely to the ground flaxseed (warning) possibly helping with my PMS, increased Vitamin C, and I also suspect it's partly because I've been taking 4 Walgreens Vitamin D3 Bone Health 2000 IU Softgels multiple times a week. (I'm still wary of taking too much since it's possible to overdose on Vitamin D.) And emphasizing protein in my "morning" meals.
Addition, Dec. 15, 2016, 11:28 PM EST. Been doing pretty well, even though (or because?) my time of the month has been delayed, perhaps by the penicillin.
Additions, Dec. 17, 2016, 2:26 AM/5:33 AM EST. Haven't had ground flaxseed (warning) since around 2 AM on Dec. 14th, and since at least Dec. 16th, have been feeling increasingly menstrual, so, I think I'm going to resume eating two tablespoons of ground flaxseed (warning) per day.
Also have had some congestion and runniness at times.
Took my final penicillin around 9:23 AM on Dec. 16th. I had been taking an increasingly large amount of extra Vitamin C along with my penicillin - at first I only took 2 or 4 500 mg Vitamin C's at a time, but eventually tried as many as 6 at a time along with my penicillin, and also sometimes 4 or 2 Vitamin C's in the hours before my next penicillin dose.
Did end up sleeping with my electric blanket yesterday, and the day before, and on some other days before that, and it seemed like I kept waking up much too frequently and didn't sleep as long overall.
Addition, Dec. 17, 2016, 7:53 AM EST. Around 4 AM, started to get tired earlier than usual, around 8 hours after waking.
Additions, Dec. 17, 2016, 8:14 PM/8:26 PM/8:51 PM EST. Slept sometime between 8:36 AM and 6:54 PM, with my electric blanket unplugged. My time of the month feels pretty close, but still hasn't started yet. I feel all right and pretty energetic.
Fortunately, I woke up without a trace of gingivitis, judging by my lack of any sensitivity to cold water. I guess maybe I should have been taking tons more Vitamin C my entire life - especially this very stressful year.
I actually was doing remarkably well between Dec. 1st and 8th, before I even started penicillin. And probably the penicillin also helped, though maybe not as much or as quickly as I expected, because if I recall correctly, I think it might have worked better and quicker back in 2006.
Addition, Dec. 19, 2016, 2:02 AM/2:28 AM EST. Still haven't sorted out exactly how much Vitamin C I need and exactly how often to take it. But, I definitely have to take it multiple times throughout the day, since after about 9 hours of no Vitamin C yesterday (or possibly sooner than that), my gum's usual lower left sore spot got a little sensitive to cold.
My lips have been getting back to normal. At times I've actually been feeling almost too energetic - in fact, I felt downright anxious until I took enough magnesium.
Not much else to add, I guess. Been reading or glancing at lots of different Clevnet books, so, I only got to page 142 in XSLT 2.0 and XPath 2.0 Programmer's Reference.
Addition, Dec. 20, 2016, 3:38 AM/4:23 AM EST. My time of the month is still delayed (though it sometimes feels quite imminent, judging by the unpainful not-quite-cramps in my lower abdomen). So I searched the web a bit on the topic of flax's effects on menstrual cycles, and found this interesting page:
This other page says "Regularly eating flaxseeds may help make ovulation more regular."
I also found some pages (including this page and this page) which pointed out that some people can have bad reactions to flax.
From Discuss.Huel.Com
Addition, Jan. 29, 2017, 7:11 PM EST. I had 2 spoonfuls of ground flaxseed (warning) around 5:06 PM today, and I've been feeling better and less headachy, rather than worse.
Additions, Jan. 30, 2017, 1:40 PM/1:48 PM EST. Found a credible-looking page which says "A 1994 study found that, in healthy individuals, daily consumption of as much as 60 grams of raw flaxseed—more than eight tablespoons—was safe."
From NutritionLetter.Tufts.Edu, Aug. 2011"Many foods, including not only flax but cashews, almonds, some beans and other plant products, naturally contain very small amounts of cyanide compounds. You’re more likely to ingest these trace amounts of cyanide when such foods are consumed raw, as heat breaks down the compounds. Even when flaxseed is eaten raw, the body has a natural capacity to break down a certain amount of these cyanide compounds."
Additions, Dec. 20, 2016, 4:23 AM/4:27 AM EST. Just found a page which clearly says:
"Flaxseed, on the other hand, might delay the start of your menstrual period."
'In a University of Rochester study reported in the 1993 issue of the "Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism," women taking flaxseed had a slightly longer luteal phase, the time between ovulation and the start of the next menstrual period.'
Addition, Dec. 22, 2016, 12:14 AM EST. Got a slight headache in the afternoon of Dec. 20, but it went away quite quickly.
Addition, Dec. 22, 2016, 5:34 AM EST. Finally, my time of the month started, quite a bit late (since I was expecting it around Dec. 7th or 8th).
So, maybe it's true that ginger and/or high amounts of Vitamin C, and some other things on that page that I had recently, such as yogurt, eggs, pumpkin (which I had in the form of pumpkin spice Teeccino), and sex, can help induce menstruation.
I didn't even drink very much of that Bigelow probiotic lemon/ginger non-caffeinated herbal tea. I had my first cup the other day (late 18th or early 19th), then neglected to have more (unless I just forgot to write it down) until sometime before 5:30 AM on Dec. 21st.
I also ate two spoonfuls of ground flaxseed (warning), since evidently that wasn't obstructing my time of the month as much as I feared.
Don't know if I'm going to try the seed rotation diet, or just keep having ground flaxseed (warning) daily regardless of where I am in my cycle. And I might sometimes eat sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds whenever, just because I like them.
Addition, Dec. 22, 2016, 7:20 PM EST. Stayed awake, and didn't get much done today besides reading. But, I actually needed only 1 Advil today since my cramps didn't come back, so, that's definitely an improvement. Didn't have any ginger or ginger tea today, just my usual 2 spoonfuls of ground flaxseed (warning).
Addition, Dec. 24, 2016, 7:49 AM EST. On Dec. 23rd, was woken up by a headache after sleeping between around 8:25 PM to 1:15 AM. It soon went away, but I kept feeling on the verge of a headache, so I had 2 spoonfuls of ground flaxseed (warning) around 4:03 AM. Was OK for a while, but I started getting headachy again around 9:52 AM.
Surprisingly, yesterday, I was doing reasonably well emotionally (compared to my bad days), despite the headaches.
Less than 5 hours of sleep tends not to be enough for me, and sleeping so poorly and relatively briefly, and my jitteriness yesterday (which felt more physical than emotional), made me suspect that I probably have been getting magnesium deficient again. (I also definitely wasn't eating well enough in general, which also tends to worsen my sleep, and can make me overly emotional, and sometimes causes headaches.)
Recently found this excellent article:
(Sept. 23, 2010 from WestonAPrice.org)
Addition, Dec. 25, 2016, 7:44 AM EST. Had 2 Nature Made magnesium citrates before sleep, and I feel so much better-rested than usual again that I'm going to try much harder not to skip that anymore. Slept about 10 hours!
Additions, Dec. 26, 2016, 9:00 AM/9:33 AM EST. Maybe I shouldn't skip ground flaxseed (warning) and probiotic yogurt, and maybe I need more carbs closer to bedtime. Before sleep, my mood worsened, and I didn't sleep as long or well.
Since I ran into a few glitches in the concept mapping software VUE: Visual Understanding Environment, I decided to finally try to learn more about Java programming to see if I can fix those glitches.
I guess I'm also going to have to learn to use the Git version control software. (So far I prefer Mercurial, but Git seems to be more popular overall.) And, since I don't want to have to worry about accidentally sending the wrong files to GitHub, I'm going to have to use Git inside a VirtualBox. (I also prefer running Java inside a VirtualBox, which I hope is safer/more secure somehow.)
Additions, Dec. 27, 2016, 8;19 AM/8:37 AM/9:55 AM EST. Slept about 6 hours, and sort of want to go back to sleep. Still didn't have more ground flaxseed (warning) yet - and for a probiotic, only had that Bigelow lemon/ginger probiotic tea. But yesterday was still a much better day than the day before that.
Additions, Jan. 4, 2017, 5:17 PM/6:02 PM EST/11:48 PM EST. Got a pretty bad headache yesterday. Not sure if it was related to the 3.25 ounces of chocolate hazelnut Piroulines I ate mostly on Dec. 28th (and some on Dec. 30th).
Anyway, that headache was my worst problem lately. Other than that, I've been doing quite well.
Been trying to figure out Java programming. Managed to load VUE: Visual Understanding Environment into an Eclipse IDE project. And this old forum post helped by providing a .classpath file containing a list of unnecessary folders which you can configure Eclipse to ignore by using Eclipse's Resource Filters feature:
src/java15
src/oki/old
src/maclib
src/old
src/build
Additions, Jan. 6, 2017, 4:14 PM/4:28 PM/7:16 PM EST. Recently realized that maybe the reason I was craving tea again several days ago was maybe because of the caffeine I probably got from the chocolate in the chocolate hazelnut Piroulines. Also, I forgot to mention before that I felt like I was verging on a headache at times in the days leading up to my bad headache.
Mostly been reading Clevnet books and didn't get much more done with the concept mapping software VUE: Visual Understanding Environment yet.
Addition, Jan. 12, 2017, 4:33 AM EST. Had a bunch of good days (despite usually not consuming ground flaxseed (warning) and also neglecting to take as much Vitamin C) up until maybe the morning of Jan. 10th, then started feeling menstrual and moody.
I'm not doing as well as I was before the morning of Jan. 10th, but my mood has greatly improved, and I made some good progress with some of my projects later on Jan. 10th, and on Jan. 11th. Today, I'm feeling less on track and less well-focused, but at least I'm mostly not sad now and am feeling more optimistic again.
This "morning" (around 7 PM), I couldn't stand the idea of eating mostly just hard-boiled eggs for breakfast again, so, I mashed the eggs up with some mayonnaise, and had a sandwich. I only had one such sandwich, but it definitely seemed to help my energy levels (which already had been remarkably good up until recently), even though I was dubious about having carbs in the form of bread.
I ran across various pages like this one saying that ginger might boost testosterone. So, a while back, I added ginger to some Teeccino, and it makes the French Roast kind taste even better to me. I didn't like it so much in my usual favorite flavor, Pumpkin Spice, but it was still drinkable.
Additions, Jan. 12, 2017, 5:15 AM/6:30 AM EST. Forgot to mention that I've increased my good habit of trying to exercise at random times, like when I'm alone in the kitchen waiting for my food to finish cooking, or when I'm watching TV, or using my computer on my standing desk.
Addition, Jan. 12, 2017, 5:48 AM EST. Forgot to mention, no trouble with headaches lately. Still been totally avoiding caffeine in any form, including chocolate.
Additions, Jan. 13, 2017, 10:23 AM EST/2:04 PM EST. Been feeling closer to normal. Still not as energetic as before, but much improved. I love ground flaxseed (warning)!
Addition, Jan. 14, 2017, 3:29 AM EST. Had an unusual amount of trouble falling asleep yesterday - both magnesium and walnuts didn't work, so, I slept from around 6:50 PM (almost 24 hours after my previous wake time of around 7 PM) to about 2 AM. At least I made a lot of good progress with some of my projects - just nothing releasable yet.
Addition, Jan. 14, 2017, 6:15 AM EST. I finally updated my Contact page and Request Free/Libre/Open Source Software or Documentation, or Ask Programming Questions page, and also linked the Non24.com and Non24.org contact pages to my Astroblahhh contact page, just to point out my current unavailability.
Addition, Jan. 15, 2017, 1:03 AM EST. Had an easier time falling asleep yesterday. Slept sometime between 3:02 PM and 10:49 PM. Lately, my salt cravings returned, and also sometimes the old frequent urination problem, but I'm doing much better now after resuming eating various salty snacks such as goldfish crackers and croutons.
Additions, Jan. 16, 2017, 3:56 AM/4:42 AM EST. Yesterday around 5 AM, I took another five Walgreens Vitamin D3 Bone Health 2000 IU Softgels.
Addition, Jan. 17, 2017, 5:59 AM EST. On several days recently, my right eye was itchy and gooey (and sometimes bloodshot when I bothered to look in the mirror). But until yesterday, I was mostly oblivious to it, especially since those issues went away at times.
It's a pity all my vitamins apparently don't make me totally immune to stuff like this. Oh, well. Not that I was expecting them to. But I'm guessing the vitamins have probably helped me, at least.
Addition, Jan. 17, 2017, 12:59 PM EST. This morning, soon after writing the preceding, I took five Walgreens Vitamin D3 Bone Health 2000 IU Softgels, my usual six 500mg Vitamin C's, my usual one 500mg Ovega 3, one 200 IU Vitamin E (which I've been taking on occasion for a while, but haven't been mentioning since I'm not sure what it's doing for me), a Nature Made Vitamin K2, and two Nature Made magnesium citrates.
Started out with very good energy levels today, but, since I didn't have any hard-boiled eggs made, I ended up starting the day by eating a lot of carbs, which I think made me a bit tired. (Or maybe it's the magnesium. But since Vitamin D seems to give me an energy boost, I was hoping the two might balance each other out.) Fortunately, I still had the energy and inclination to make a new batch of hard-boiled eggs, which I'll probably be eating in my "morning" for the next several days.
Addition, Jan. 18, 2017, 6:40 AM EST. Seems like my cold and/or pink-eye is already mostly gone. My right eye is only a little bloodshot now at the left side, and you have to look pretty closely to see it.
Days ago, I tried to compile a ton of stuff so I could try the libre Minecraft-like game Terasology in Lighthouse 64 Puppy Linux 6.02 Beta 2.
Addition, Jan. 18, 2017, 7:23 AM EST. It turns out that I like sandwiches composed of hard boiled eggs + mayonnaise + salt + black pepper enough to keep making them (and more importantly, keep eating them) frequently.
Additions, Jan. 19, 2017, 7:29 AM/7:47 AM EST. Yesterday afternoon, got a slight headache, but it soon went away after I had Nature Made Stress B and some food (including sunflower seeds, in case my headache was related to PMS).
Addition, Jan. 20, 2017, 4:24 AM EST. Had a headache again for a while before I went to sleep sometime after 9:17 PM. Slept only until around 2:21 AM, but my headache is gone now. Should've tried eating more sunflower seeds yesterday, but didn't. My only cold-like symptom is a slightly stuffy left nostril.
Additions, Jan. 20, 2017, 4:39 AM/5:07 AM/5:45 AM EST. Actually, I probably shouldn't assume that being a man would definitely improve my life, since I've read (and probably seen firsthand) that men can have hormonal problems too, such as Irritable Male Syndrome.
Addition, Jan. 20, 2017, 10:41 AM EST. Went to sleep again for a few more hours, and woke up feeling much better, and less unsatisfied with the mixture of advantages and disadvantages my body and gender impose on me.
Additions, Jan. 21, 2017, 6:58 AM/7:24 AM EST. Yesterday, my pink-eye symptoms came back, but in my left eye instead. But my mood was much better, and I also had no headaches, though got close to a headache in the evening.
Additions, Jan. 22, 2017, 9:10 AM/9:57 AM EST. Java (the programming language VUE is written in) is very frustrating, and it's even difficult to figure out how to format a date without crashing VUE. I guess I should try working on that outside of VUE, then once I get it working, add it to VUE.
Addition, Jan. 22, 2017, 1:37 PM EST. I'm especially glad now I didn't have tea, since I'm getting so tired now I think I should probably go back to sleep. Which might be both PMS and a cold symptom, but probably PMS, since I had pretty good energy before even despite my cold.
Addition, Jan. 23, 2017, 5:47 PM EST. My cold still seems mostly gone, but, my right eye is a bit bloodshot. My time of the month started maybe around 2:50 PM, but as usual, one Advil eased my cramps.
Addition, Jan. 25, 2017, 5:07 PM EST. Been doing pretty well, even though I only slept 3 1/2 hours because I was woken up by our dog barking (since my room was too cluttery for me to use my box fan to block noise).
I'm very pleased with my my slightly modified version of VUE: Visual Understanding Environment.
I'm also now interested in learning even more about Java programming and seeing what else I can do with VUE and other Java software.
I'm still trying to renovate my Puppy Linux Setup Kit, and also Astroblahhh Desktop. Also still been reading or glancing at a lot of Clevnet books.
Additions, Jan. 25, 2017, 6:10 PM/6:25 PM EST. I'm actually fairly satisfied now with my much improved energy levels, my much fewer and usually much milder headaches, and my milder other menstrual or premenstrual symptoms.
Additions, Jan. 29, 2017, 5:51 PM/6:11 PM EST. Had been doing fairly well (except I gave into the temptation to use my electric blanket for several days and ended up sleeping worse and getting increasingly tired). But I got a bad headache yesterday which came back today.
From Discuss.Huel.Com
Addition, Jan. 29, 2017, 7:08 PM EST. I had 2 spoonfuls of ground flaxseed (warning) around 5:06 PM today, and I've been feeling better and less headachy, rather than worse.
Addition, Jan. 30, 2017, 3:40 AM EST. Been doing better, though today I felt more tired and out of sorts than I did possibly throughout my entire time of the month. But I didn't feel capable of going back to sleep, so, had to stay awake. (Been awake since around 1 PM yesterday.)
Addition, Jan. 30, 2017, 1:40 PM/1:48 PM EST. Regarding ground flaxseed (warning) - I found a credible-looking page which says "A 1994 study found that, in healthy individuals, daily consumption of as much as 60 grams of raw flaxseed—more than eight tablespoons—was safe."
From NutritionLetter.Tufts.Edu, Aug. 2011"Many foods, including not only flax but cashews, almonds, some beans and other plant products, naturally contain very small amounts of cyanide compounds. You’re more likely to ingest these trace amounts of cyanide when such foods are consumed raw, as heat breaks down the compounds. Even when flaxseed is eaten raw, the body has a natural capacity to break down a certain amount of these cyanide compounds."
Additions, Jan. 30, 2017, 2:37 PM/3:10 PM/3:58 PM EST. Slept much better today (and without my electric blanket), so I feel much better today. Might go back to sleep, though, because I only woke up so early (sometime before 11:49 AM) because some noise outside woke me up. So, I'm still a bit tired.
Additions, Jan. 31, 2017, 1:05 AM EST. Ended up staying awake to update a relative's website, read, and do various other things.
Addition, Feb. 8, 2017, 2:05 AM EST. Here's an article about the many excellent benefits of Vitamin E:
On. Feb 6th, my cold symptoms and pink-eye-like symptoms recurred. I thought maybe it was from not sleeping well enough, so I decluttered my room again so I could run my box fan to block noise.
I like my new glass drinking straws, plus the included cleaning brush, which has only been necessary at times when I didn't rinse the straws out soon after using them.
Been doing pretty well overall. Still been having ground flaxseed (warning) sometimes, but not daily, even though it still seems to help me. In any case, I really doubt it's harmful to me, so I might go back to having it more frequently. I don't think I'm having trouble with my hormones at the moment, so I don't need it for that reason at the moment, but, I like the fact that gives me more Omega 3 in my diet.
Speaking of Omega 3 - because Ovega 3's increasingly high price annoyed me (currently $30.99 for 60 capsules), I recently switched to Testa Omega 3 (currently $24.99 for 60 capsules), another vegan Omega 3.
Ovega 3's bottle says it has 500mg of Omega 3, with 270 DHA and 135 EPA.
I've always found Omega 3's effects on me subtle (maybe because I only take one capsule at a time) and don't really feel a difference if I skip it for a day. (As for ground flaxseed (warning), which does seem to make a quite noticeable difference when I'm menstrual or premenstrual - I still am not sure what in that affects me most, the lignans or the Omega 3. But I'm guessing they probably both help me.)
Addition, Feb. 14, 2017, 4:39 PM EST. No headaches lately, but my cold and pink-eye symptoms have repeatedly gone away (so completely I thought they were gone for good) and then come back.
Been having a great Valentine's Day so far. I watched two romantic movies - Sharknado 3 and 4! :-)
Addition, Feb. 16, 2017, 2:53 PM EST. Tried a new (to me) form of magnesium - Advanced MAGNESIUM (by InnovixLabs). Highly Bioavailable Bisglycinate + Malate Formula.
Unfortunately, my cold and pink-eye symptoms recurred a bit again today. I keep wondering if my immune system was stronger when I was still drinking black tea, which I've read is good for your immune system.
Addition, Feb. 23, 2017, 8:50 PM EST. I tried Celestial Seasonings Safari Spice and Celestial Seasonings Madagascar Vanilla red teas.
Since I last wrote, my lingering cold (which kept going away completely or almost completely, then repeatedly surprised me by coming back) with pink-eye symptoms got worse than ever before for a day or so. But I think maybe I finally got rid of it. The most recent newsletter of one of my favorite sci-fi/fantasy authors just happened to mention the idea of taking 1 gram of Vitamin C every hour to fight off a cold.
Other than my cold, I've mostly been doing pretty well. Didn't get any headaches. Started to get some PMS-related issues yesterday and today (bad mood and hot flashes), but as usual, ground flaxseed (warning) seemed to ease that.
It has already been getting so warm outside at times, like spring. I'm actually tempted to go outside with my laptop.
Addition, Feb. 24, 2017, 4:41 PM EST. Seems like my pink eye came back slightly. My right eye is a bit bloodshot, gooey, and itchy. So, I guess I have to keep taking tons of Vitamin C, since maybe it wouldn't have come back if I had kept up the huge amounts. Also, my time of the month is approaching, which reliably seems to drive up my need for Vitamin C. (Around then, I have to take more, or else my gums act up.)
Addition, Feb. 24, 2017, 5:37 PM EST. Having black tea now - not a full mug, just a bit more than halfway full. Don't know if it will help or not, but, just thought I'd try it, since I think my electric blanket was probably much worse for my sleep quality than tea was, so, maybe the tea will somehow help me more than it harms. And perhaps if I only drink a limited amount, maybe I'll be able to avoid headaches. It probably isn't the best thing for my adrenals, but, whatever, I'm just going to try it.
Addition, Feb. 24, 2017, 9:14 PM EST. Caffeine definitely seems to have a mood-improving effect on me, in addition to making me feel more energetic for a while. It also makes me feel less hungry, which is nice, though I guess it might be better to just eat more, rather than suppress my appetite.
Someone I know suggested decaffeinated black tea instead. But I was dubious about that because I remember hearing somewhere that some methods of decaffeination might be unhealthy. And I seldom like the taste of most decaffeinated black tea.
Found a page about a research study which (paraphrased) says decaffeinated green tea is good for the immune systems of rainbow trout. :-) Even though I'm not a rainbow trout, I find that encouraging. :-)
Found this page which says green tea might actually be bad for some people's immune systems. Not sure that applies to me.
Found some incredibly expensive organic white tea grown in Michigan. I wonder how many cups you can make with the smaller, less expensive packages.
Addition, Feb. 25, 2017, 2:55 PM EST. I think maybe the tea caused me to stay awake maybe somewhat longer than I otherwise would have. And the longer I was awake, the worse my cold got. And I pretty much gave up on taking so much Vitamin C, since I was tired and just didn't feel like taking vitamins anymore. Drank some orange juice instead.
Addition, Feb. 25, 2017, 9:54 PM EST. Ended up having more tea than I originally intended, since I thoughtlessly poured in more half-and-half than I meant to, and didn't want to waste it.
Now that the tea's more obvious effects have mostly worn off, though, I feel like I'm kind of in a slump, which also happened yesterday. Though it's much less of a slump now that my headache has faded. Actually, now, I'm just tired. But in an increasingly good mood, perhaps because my Vitamin D has started to take effect. :-)
I do suspect the black tea has maybe already done my immune system some good, as it's reputedly capable of doing.
Maybe that partially explains why I used to be able get by taking a lot less Vitamin C for my gums, and why colds seldom troubled me for long (even before I started taking a lot of Vitamin C), even though I've had 3 root canaled teeth in my mouth since 2006.
Addition, Feb. 26, 2017, 2:21 PM EST. Got about 7 hours of sleep. Woke up thirsty and with a faintly clogged left nostril, but I mostly have been fine and my eyes are less bloodshot. Not feeling as alert as yesterday "morning", which could be hormonal, I guess. I feel like I could maybe go back to sleep.
Additions, Feb. 27, 2017, 4:08 PM/4:25 PM EST. My time of the month started. I feel like I might either have a fever, or else just hot flashes.
No headache at the moment, but, I feel like one might be close. And, probably partly because of only sleeping 4 hours so far, I felt quite sluggish and tired when I woke up, and woke up with a somewhat clogged right nostril, and also a vaguely dizzy feeling which I've sometimes had in the past several days (I think even sometimes before trying black tea).
Going to resume larger amounts of Vitamin C, and probably keep drinking more orange juice than usual (which I sometimes have had a craving for, though I didn't drink any yesterday).
I have a slight headache already, so, I guess I'll see if a bit of tea helps. Interestingly, the headache has been worse than my menstrual cramps so far. Haven't had bad cramps yet, which seems unusual.
Addition, Feb. 28, 2017, 4:02 PM EST. Yesterday, stayed awake and took an Advil, since I started to feel like I might need it for cramps. Avoided having any more tea, and was relieved that I didn't feel headachy or close to a headache, even after my Advil probably wore off. Didn't get cramps, either.
Definitely not eager to keep growing my caffeine addiction. I was quite surprised I got headaches so soon.
Ideally, I'd like to find a decaffeinated white tea grown in the USA, decaffeinated with probably the carbon dioxide method. (A method which I haven't read in detail about, but which I'm just assuming and hoping is safe, since carbon dioxide is everywhere, we breathe it all the time, and it's actually produced by breathing. But I know hardly anything about chemistry, so, please don't blindly assume I have the right ideas here. Even I try to avoid assuming I'm always right.)
"We do NOT use any pesticides (herbicides, fungicides and insecticides)!"
So, I guess now that I'm definitely no longer quitting tea (Camellia sinensis), my blog post's title - "Still trying to quit tea; hoping quitting will reduce my headaches" - is now inaccurate.
Addition, March 1, 2017, 3:07 AM EST. Soon got too tired to do much of anything, so, since I continued avoiding tea, I managed to sleep sometime between 7:38 PM and 12:21 AM. Feeling much better now.
Addition, March 3, 2017, 12:35 AM EST. Have felt cold-free even though I avoided all tea (except red tea, which has no caffeine and isn't the same plant species) until around 8 PM earlier this evening, when I finally got to try this caffeinated green tea grown in South Carolina.
Addition, March 4, 2017, 3:47 AM EST. Slept sometime between 8:18 AM and 4:04 PM, and woke up with a slightly clogged left nostril, but it soon went away.
Addition, March 4, 2017, 11:44 PM EST. Found a useful article titled Hack Your Tea - How To Get 5 Times More Out Of A Cup Of Green Tea.
Addition, March 5, 2017, 2:41 AM EST. I think I did have too much caffeine, since I've been feeling anxious. So, I'll just make my tea the usual way in the future, and maybe should try to avoid having it daily.
Addition, March 5, 2017, 9:37 PM EST. Slept between around 10 AM and 7:30 PM. Almost slept longer, but I had my noise-blocking box fan off and our dog started barking.
Feeling more rested today, even though I started out feeling like I wanted to go back to sleep. (But, I just couldn't fall back asleep, despite trying after turning my box fan on.) I took one Nature Made magnesium oxide after I started getting anxious (early on March 5th), and I think it probably helped, without being too overpowering, and might also have helped me sleep better.
I'm actually wondering if maybe the possible benefits of tea might outweigh the drawbacks. I suspect tea's immune system-boosting effects maybe must be pretty potent, for my cold to still be mostly held at bay even despite me having been tired a lot lately, and even without me taking a gram of Vitamin C every hour.
Addition, March 7, 2017, 4:23 AM EST. Slept sometime between 12:13 PM and 7:15 PM, then sometime between 10:17 PM and 3:41 AM since I still felt tired. Feeling much more rested now than I did when I woke up around 7:15 PM.
Had another nearly full mug of green tea around 2:30 AM on March 6th. Still got slightly headachy in the hours after that, but, that went away and I've been fine since then.
full leaf loose version of this excellent caffeinated green tea grown in South Carolina whenever it arrives. (Correction, March 9, 2017, 1:10 PM EST. Despite what the Amazon description said, the leaves are shredded, not full. But, I still look forward to trying it.)
Addition, March 7, 2017, 6:25 AM EST. Seems like the extra sleep really helped. Been feeling much better today. Currently having tea, and thinking over what to work on next.
Addition, March 7, 2017, 11:54 PM EST. Nothing much to add. No headaches so far. Got increasingly sleepy after about 3 PM, but then only slept from sometime between 6:30 PM and 10:30 PM. Kept waking up very thirsty, as usual. But, still feeling cold-free, and actually felt unusually eager (after so little sleep) to get up and do something.
Addition, March 9, 2017, 3:12 AM EST. No headaches so far, and have been feeling fine. March 8th, got a lot more exercise than usual cleaning a room which has almost never been cleaned in nearly 15 years. There's still a mountain of junk, but, it's gradually being sorted and boxed.
Addition, March 10, 2017, 4:40 AM EST. Slept sometime between around 6:42 AM and 11:06 AM on March 9th, and 9:52 PM (March 9th) and 3:58 AM (March 10th).
I ripped open one of the pre-packaged tea bags from the box I got before so I could measure how much tea was in there, so I could get an idea of how much of the loose tea I should put in my own paper teabags. I accidentally spilled some of the tea bag I ripped open, but using my measuring spoons, it looked like that teabag contained close to (or maybe actually) 1 tablespoon. (I set the unspilled tea aside for later in a ziploc.)
I wish I was sleeping better. But, I think lately maybe it's thirst rather than caffeine that might be interfering most with my sleep.
Addition, March 10, 2017, 5:36 AM EST. Overall, though, I feel much better lately. I feel cold-free, and even my libido has improved lately.
Addition, March 11, 2017, 8:42 AM EST. Kept waking up very thirsty, but I managed to sleep longer than usual today, sometime between 8:19 PM and 7:32 AM. (Was awake from around 3 to 3:30 AM noting down some dreams.)
Addition, March 11, 2017, 1:46 PM EST. I figured out that to make a mug of the loose version of this excellent caffeinated green tea grown in South Carolina which tastes about as strong to me as the already-bagged version, I need about 1 tablespoon of loose tea, and must microwave my 17 ounce mug for 5 minutes instead of 4 minutes.
Addition, March 12, 2017, 11:58 AM EDT. Drank some slightly salted water before sleep, and slept sometime between 4:29 AM and 10:40 AM, maybe without waking much (or at all?) until 10:40 AM, at which point I woke up thirsty, but maybe a bit less thirsty than usual. So, going to stick with drinking slightly salted water, except on those rare occasions when sometimes I like unsalted water more.
Yesterday, I finally switched over to using Lighthouse 64 Puppy Linux 6.02 Beta 2 on every computer. That will simplify updating my Puppy Linux Setup Kit.
Addition, March 12, 2017, 12:27 PM EDT. Maybe the pre-packaged tea bags are better for me after all, because I had a tougher time brewing as strong a cup when I put the loose tea in a paper teabag, and I had some faint possible cold symptoms earlier, like slight congestion and slightly gooey/itchy eyes.
Addition, March 12, 2017, 1:20 PM EDT. Yeah, I think I will use the pre-packaged tea bags in the future. It's more convenient, takes less time to brew, and maybe even does taste a bit better.
Addition, March 13, 2017, 1:45 PM EDT. Alas, my cold (or whatever it is) came back AGAIN. My right eye has been gooey since yesterday.
Addition, 3:08 PM EDT. Already feeling better, emotionally and physically. My eye got less gooey within about 15 minutes of writing the above. (Still isn't totally back to normal, though.)
Addition, 7:02 PM EDT. Wonder if packaged already-ground flaxseed (warning) doesn't work as well. I always preferred grinding my own flaxseeds (warning), but tried a bag of already-ground flaxseed (warning) yesterday and today.
Addition, March 14, 2017, 10:31 AM EDT. Feeling better, so, if this keeps up, might as well stick with drinking tea in mostly non-paper tea bags. (But maybe some kinds of paper work OK, since I think my formerly usual black tea might have helped my immune system despite being in paper teabags.)
Quite some mood swings yesterday. I was so stressed out, I suddenly began craving to play some old video games. So, since I still have a lot of my old game console stuff, I set some of that up, and indeed, gaming a bit was relaxing.
Addition, March 15, 2017, 2:24 PM EDT. Still feeling fine and cold-free today. To my surprise, even since before I had tea today, I've felt alert and like I have a lot of energy for anything I might want to do. When I first woke up, I was tired and wanted to go back to sleep, but, that feeling soon went away, hours before tea.
Addition, March 15, 2017, 8:08 PM EDT. My mood started to worsen about a half hour after my previous addition - and about 26 hours after my last 2 spoonfuls of ground flaxseed (warning) - so, I had two more, and soon felt better.
Addition, March 16, 2017, 11:07 AM EDT. Found a couple interesting articles on theanine (which is in green tea and black tea), here and here.
Additions, March 16, 2017, 11:36 AM/12:03 PM EDT. Just noticed in the above two articles about theanine that black tea is thought to contain more theanine than green tea. I guess that might give me a reason to drink more black tea.
Fortunately, I like both green and black tea, and I definitely feel like both have good effects on me. Will probably keep drinking green tea more often than black tea, but, I'm glad now I have a reason to try all these black teas grown in South Carolina, instead of just sticking with green tea.
Addition, March 17, 2017, 4:28 PM EDT. Still feeling mostly fine, though recently I started to feel close to a headache, which I'm guessing might have resulted from me delaying having tea. (That feeling already faded away by the time I finished writing this update.)
Addition, March 18, 2017, 12:57 PM EDT. I got a slight headache yesterday evening but it soon went away. Still doing fine, even though I woke up very thirsty.
Addition, March 19, 2017, 10:53 AM EDT. I guess I'm doing OK, but, my eyes got gooey again yesterday, and I was sneezy, etc. And my eyes are still a bit gooey today.
Addition, March 19, 2017, 5:30 PM EDT. Been too sleepy to vacuum (especially now that my tea's caffeine wore off), but, my eyes aren't gooey anymore, and no other cold-like symptoms.
So tired of being tired. And tired of never being able to predict very far in advance how I'm going to feel or how well-rested I'm going to be on any given day (though that's nothing new, due to my severe sleep issues).
Addition, March 19, 2017, 6:23 PM EDT. I wonder if my circadian rhythm problems really do give me something like chronic jet lag, with various of my body's systems (like digestion, hormones, sleep cycle, etc.) out of sync with each other.
ADdition, March 20, 2017, 5:05 AM EDT. Got pretty sleepy not too long after the last update, since I soon ate some more food with carbs.
Even these excellent smoked almonds sometimes have seemed to make me tired lately, though I never noticed them having that effect on me years ago. But, apparently I'm not the only one to ever notice that effect, since almonds are sometimes on lists of foods that reputedly help you sleep, like this list.
Addition, March 20, 2017, 12:02 PM EST. Had some walnuts and milk before sleep. Kept waking up thirsty, but managed to sleep sometime between 6 AM and 11:33 AM. Now I finally feel like I got enough sleep for once, and didn't immediately feel like going back to sleep after I last woke.
Addition, March 20, 2017, 1:54 PM EDT. Still haven't had tea yet, but am still feeling wide awake.
Addition, March 20, 2017, 4:03 PM EDT. Still feeling fine - wide awake and not overly hyper after having green tea microwaved for 5 minutes.
Addition, March 21, 2017, 12:14 AM EDT. Plenty of energy up until I ate a bunch of carbs around 7 PM. (Potato chips and ginger snaps with milk.)
I wonder what happened with my melatonin that made it so I no longer so easily naturally sleep as long as I actually need to. I don't think that possible problem was just from resuming drinking tea, because I think I was already unsatisfied with my energy levels prior to resuming drinking tea.
Addition, March 21, 2017, 8:09 AM EDT. Slept sometime between 12:37 AM and 7:15 AM. Feeling maybe rested enough today, though I woke up thirsty with very dry eyes again. (On second thought, I think I do feel like going back to sleep.)
Thought of searching for "estrogen melatonin" without quotes.
Maybe I should get some tart cherry juice, which is at the top of this list of melatonin-containing foods. And only drink some when I intend to soon try to go to sleep. And try to avoid drinking too much of it, so I don't get desensitized to melatonin, as I've heard can happen.
Addition, March 21, 2017, 8:40 AM EDT. Definitely feeling more rested than I did the first time I woke up yesterday, but, still want to sleep more.
Addition, March 21, 2017, 10:54 AM EDT. Stayed awake, since I ended up browsing Amazon for light-blocking curtains.
Addition, March 21, 2017, 11:58 AM EDT. Still haven't vacuumed, but, my eyes haven't gotten gooey and no cold-like symptoms today. I've been being more careful not to rub my eyes.
Addition, March 21, 2017, 2:57 PM EDT. Guess I only slept about 2 more hours. But, I think I feel at least a bit better. Wish I wouldn't get so thirsty, though. I get so much more thirsty when I sleep than I do while I'm awake.
Addition, March 21, 2017, 4:14 PM EDT. I feel so much happier drinking tea, I'm having a tough time convincing myself to give it up again. Also, I'm awaiting a box of this Earl Grey black tea grown in South Carolina.
Addition, March 22, 2017, 12:57 PM EDT. Yesterday, several hours after tea, returned to being overly tired, but somehow remained in a good enough mood to not mind particularly much.
Tried a quite small amount of tart cherry juice before sleep, and its not-so-sweet taste definitely doesn't appeal to me very much. I'm going to try mixing it with grape juice at some point.
Anyway, I think probably I'll sleep better in general if I eat better, and make sure I get enough potassium.
Didn't get much done yesterday - looked at Clevnet books and watched Netflix with my family (Iron Fist and part of The Monkey King 2).
Addition, March 22, 2017, 8:43 PM EDT. Been getting sleepy again since around 5:40 PM, even despite quite a lot of sunlight from my window earlier.
Today, I had sufficient energy for a while after I recovered from that, especially after tea (microwaved for 4 minutes again). Then, I made the mistake of eating potato chips and other carbs too early in my day again instead of cottage cheese. And started to get a bit irritable, so, had 2 big spoonfuls of ground flaxseed (warning).
But, I think I probably ought to keep reducing caffeine, because I definitely suspect I actually hadn't recovered enough from my possible adrenal fatigue to resume regular caffeine. Maybe sporadic, occasional caffeine, but not daily.
Fortunately, I still prefer the taste of non-caffeinated teas and Teeccino, even though this mint green tea grown in South Carolina is probably the best green tea I've ever had, and I'll probably keep drinking it on occasion even after I mostly quit it.
I still think my electric blanket was even worse for me than caffeine, but, it seems like caffeine was worse for me than I realized.
Additions, March 23, 2017, 11:38 AM/11:54 AM EDT. Slept sometime between around 12:29 AM and 7:15 AM. Woke up less thirsty than usual, and don't recall waking up much before 7:15 AM. Had some very diluted cherry juice before sleep, then some walnuts when that didn't seem effective enough fast enough.
So, even though I'm not sure what to think about all of those anecdotes, and I've been unsure I've had any effects at all (good or bad) from this other kind of Vitamin K2 I've been taking for a while, with only the MK7 form of Vitamin K2... I think I'm going to be more cautious about all Vitamin K2 in the future.
Yesterday evening, I finally got this Earl Grey black tea grown in South Carolina. MOAR CAFFEINE, HA HA HA!!! :-D
Addition, March 23, 2017, 2:06 PM EDT. Been feeling tired, but slightly more awake after a small amount of tea. Tried this Earl Grey black tea grown in South Carolina. It was one of the better Earl Greys I've ever had, though not the best.
Addition, March 23, 2017, 2:17 PM EDT. Now I feel a lot more awake, which is interesting, since I drank hardly any of that tea.
Additions, March 23, 2017, 3:10 PM/3:24 PM EDT. Already feeling better, emotionally and energy-wise, and I didn't even have ground flaxseed (warning) or even a meal yet. I guess just not feeling tired makes me feel better. Though I guess maybe tea and/or caffeine might also improve mood in other ways.
Addition, March 23, 2017, 3:44 PM EDT. Seems I'm still very irritable, at least if something irritates me, so, I better have ground flaxseed (warning) and some food right away.
Addition, March 23, 2017, 5:12 PM EDT. Doing better now. Had my usual 2 spoonfuls of ground flaxseed (warning). Then a kale salad for the first time in a while, with MSG-free ranch dressing and croutons. And a tomato, which (as usual) I lazily ate like an apple instead of putting it in my salad.
Anyway, I'm hoping that as the amount of caffeine in my body decreases, my sleep quality will be restored to normal without me having to resort to increasing my melatonin by eating walnuts and/or drinking tart cherry juice.
"Caffeine begins to affect your body very quickly. It reaches a peak level in your blood within 30 to 60 minutes. It has a half-life of 3 to 5 hours. The half-life is the time it takes for your body to eliminate half of the drug. The remaining caffeine can stay in your body for a long time. Effects can last from 8 to 14 hours."
Addition, March 23, 2017, 7:14 PM EDT. Now, instead of feeling tired but nonetheless frustratingly incapable of sleeping, I feel tired and capable of sleeping. (Kind of like how walnuts make me feel, but I didn't have any walnuts, nor tart cherry juice.) I'm guessing this is probably because I mostly skipped tea today.
Addition, March 24, 2017, 1:09 PM EDT. Probably slept better today. Slept sometime between 4:02 AM and 10:51 AM. Didn't have any walnuts or tart cherry juice to try to boost my melatonin.
Addition, March 24, 2017, 2:30 PM EDT. Already almost dozing off again, and cottage cheese didn't help my energy much today.
Additions, March 24, 2017, 3:04 PM/3:28 PM EDT. Feeling more awake now for some reason.
Additions, March 24, 2017, 5:30 PM/6:16 PM EDT. Dozed off sometime between 3:41 PM and 4:15 PM. Possible would have slept longer, but my noise-blocking box fan was off and our dog started barking.
Found an interesting Amazon review saying Vitamin K2 makes the author sleepy almost all day.
I think maybe I'd rather just eat more cheese (like gouda or edam, and perhaps other kinds I haven't tried yet) to get Vitamin K2. (But not brie, which I didn't like.) I've often read that getting nutrients from food is preferable to getting nutrients from supplements and can be safer.
Addition, March 24, 2017, 5:58 PM EDT. I should probably point out, I don't think Vitamin K2 supplements are probably to blame for my increased fatigue.
Additions, March 24, 2017, 10:54 AM/11:09 AM EDT. Been feeling hunger more strongly today, maybe because I've been avoiding caffeine. I actually sort of liked not feeling as hungry as often, but, I guess it's probably healthier for me to eat more.
Addition, March 25, 2017, 2:51 AM EDT. Getting almost too tired to do anything, but, I finally have a reasonably convenient, reasonably well-put-together way of using (or trying to use) any XSLT sheet on any XML or VUE file. Oh, the excitement. :-D
Addition, March 25, 2017, 12:03 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 3:22 AM and 11:19 AM. Feeling rested enough for now (even though at first I think I wanted to sleep longer again). Wonder how long that will last. Took 3 grams of Vitamin C around 11:32 AM and am wondering if the magnesium stearate will possibly make me tired. Haven't taken Omega 3 yet, since I want to see if I get tired after just this Rite-Aid Vitamin C alone.
Addition, March 25, 2017, 1:28 PM EDT. Still not tired yet! Ate some cottage cheese and black pepper.
Addition, March 25, 2017, 2:56 PM EDT. Took a vegan Omega 3 at about 1:26 PM. Had a slight dip in energy around 2 PM but I'm feeling better now, and even almost eager to resume cleaning the next room.
Addition, March 25, 2017, 7:25 PM EDT. Definitely been doing much better today. I must have slept much better. Made a pathway in the next room, and still am mostly not tired.
Additions, March 26, 2017, 12:42 PM/12:47 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 3:34 AM and 12:04 PM. Hopefully slept well again, but, woke up very thirsty, and also was close to a headache before I slept, and if I recall correctly I had a slight headache after I first briefly woke (around 9:50 AM), but drinking some water seemed to fix that.
Additions, March 26, 2017, 6:32 PM EDT. Pretty tired now, but that might be because I ate a bunch of smoked almonds, and I probably have PMS and caffeine withdrawal.
Addition, March 26, 2017, 8:57 PM EDT. Found various interesting pages about caffeine metabolism.
From MentalHealthDaily.com"Most caffeine users will have cleared caffeine and its metabolites from their bodies within 48 hours."
This next page makes me curious about my genes:
From GenePlanet.com
This page makes me wonder if eating more cruciferous vegetables - "(broccoli, cauliflower, cabbages, radishes, etc.)" - might help me:
From WorldOfCaffeine.com
Can't understand this other page well enough to know if it's saying kale makes caffeine metabolism faster or slower. Oh, well.
Wonder if my caffeine metabolism has already gotten worse with age, even though I'm only 35 (and someone told me in 2015 that I look 25).
Additions, March 27, 2017, 1:15 AM/1:20 AM/2:17 AM EDT. Haven't slept so far yet. Been getting jittery, almost hyper, and more interested in getting some exercise - which I assume is probably caffeine withdrawal-related somehow. And I've been feeling hungry so strongly and often it's downright annoying.
Additions, March 27, 2017, 1:55 AM/2:02 AM EDT. Found a somewhat more understandable part toward the end!
"Based on the findings in studies by others as well as the present study, people should be cautious about taking kale and drugs metabolized by CYP enzymes. However, AUC of midazolam, caffeine, dextromethorphan, and omeprazole became only 1.3-to 1.7-fold higher following kale intake compared with the vehicle intake, even though the amount of kale administered into rats in this experiment (2000 mg/kg) was 15-fold higher than the typical amount of human intake of kale in a day. From the above mentioned, it is uncertain whether the amount of human intake in a day would influence the activities of these CYP enzymes."
Addition, March 27, 2017, 2:51 AM EDT. Ate some kale and MSG-free ranch dressing after (and during) writing my last additions. Also took a Nature Made Stress B.
Addition, March 27, 2017, 1:18 PM EDT. I hope I slept well today. Slept sometime between 4:31 AM and 12:19 PM. Had nightmares about vampires at first, during which I ended up praying desperately to God for help, and it felt like it took forever for that to work, but, I think after that I briefly woke up, and then my later dreams ended up being a lot more tame, and I don't remember them very well.
Addition, March 27, 2017, 11:44 PM EDT. It has been an OK day. Didn't get much done today besides reading, though it has been a lot easier to get lost in thinking about my various projects instead of how tired I am, now that I'm not so tired.
Addition, March 28, 2017, 6:52 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 3:45 AM and 10:20 AM. Been OK, I guess, though very annoyed that I haven't been able to fix Salty XML Transformer's problems with some Unicode characters.
Addition, March 28, 2017, 11:51 PM EDT. Very pleased with Salty XML Transformer version 1.1, which has crude but effective-enough workarounds for fixing the Unicode characters that get messed up when transforming VUE maps, and some plain, non-VUE XML files.
Additions, March 30, 2017, 12:04 AM/12:21 AM/1:24 AM EDT. Slept sometime between 6:54 AM and 1:39 PM. Definitely been doing much better today, and feeling much more back to normal, even though probably my time of the month is imminent, unless it got delayed for some reason. Aside from soon after I woke up, I mostly haven't felt like I want to go back to sleep yet.
Returned the curtain - I changed my mind about it, since I like getting a lot of sunlight in my room (as long as I can still read my computer screen). And this blog post about the negative environmental impacts of the textile industry and all its horrible chemicals made me think, if I ever do want a curtain, I probably ought to buy something I'm more sure is healthy and not bad for the environment.
Was surprised and pleased to find that the local discount grocery store, Save-a-Lot, actually has gouda cheese! And this blog post says:
"In other words, Gouda cheese is high in Vitamin K2 regardless of how the milk was produced. Gouda even if made from the milk of the average grainfed, conventionally raised cow, is still very much worth it to buy from a nutritional standpoint!"
I'm still not yet eager to experiment with having green tea infrequently (rather than never), even though I definitely enjoyed this excellent caffeinated green tea grown in South Carolina, and suspect it probably was healthy for me, other than the caffeine interfering with my sleep quality and making me less relaxed in general.
Wonder if black tea would have been - or, more likely, would have misleadingly felt - more sustainable for me to drink regularly longer-term. (Maybe not now, with my possible adrenal fatigue, even though I think I am recovering a lot.) I wonder if black tea always wreaked havoc with my sleep quality in the past, but maybe I just didn't so clearly perceive it, because black tea gave me such a jolt of energy I often felt OK (until recent years) despite possibly chronically poor sleep.
I wonder if my entire life might have gone very differently if I had never had caffeine. Maybe I would have had a different, less anxious and timid personality. Maybe I would have slept better and been less depressed in general (though I actually largely got over being depressed long before quitting caffeine).
Addition, March 30, 2017, 4:25 PM EDT. My time of the month started, so, I've been feeling pretty bad today. Slept sometime between 7:01 AM and 12:59 PM. Hot flashes and pretty bad cramps. I hate being a woman!
Addition, March 30, 2017, 7:24 PM EDT. Anyway, I guess I feel remarkably energetic today despite this monthly abomination. Even got a bit of programming done, which is pretty close to releasable.
Addition, March 31, 2017, 2:04 AM EDT. Surprisingly, already almost done, but now too tired to release anything. But, at least this will give me more time to stumble across glitches I'm not yet aware of.
Addition, March 31, 2017, 5:17 PM EDT. Released Simple Countdown or Countup Timer v1.0.
Addition, April 2, 2017, 2:14 AM EDT. Been more fatigued lately at times, particularly today, and woke up wanting to go back to sleep, Earlier, again made the mistake of eating carbs too early in my day.
Addition, April 2, 2017, 3:50 PM EDT. My headache keeps fading then coming back. Seems to be a light-sensitive migraine, since looking at bright light slightly worsens it. Hadn't had that in quite some time. This is probably my worst headache since, I don't know when.
Addition, April 2, 2017, 4:37 PM EDT. Drank hardly any of that tea, much less than half a cup, and even before Advil, it seemed like my headache decreased a little.
Addition, April 2, 2017, 8:14 PM EDT. Today, inspired by this page, I tried some plain Greek yogurt, mixed together with some canned peaches and a little organic sucanat.
Looking forward to trying all sorts of variations with various kinds of canned and fresh fruit, Ceylon cinnamon, ginger, ground cloves, nutmeg, ground flaxseed (warning), etc.
Addition, April 2, 2017, 8:58 PM EDT. It seems the possibly energy-boosting effects of Greek yogurt (which I had around 6 PM) weren't enough to counteract how tired I quickly got after recently eating potato chips. And the sugary granola bar I had probably didn't help either.
Addition, April 3, 2017, 3:14 PM EDT. Feeling much better today. Slept sometime between 4:25 AM and 12:53 PM. Reading, Netflix, and upgrading Salty XML Transformer to version 1.2 kept me awake.
Addition, April 4, 2017, 3:52 AM EDT. Got close to a headache at times, but I think maybe it's partly from neglecting to eat as well as I should.
Additions, April 5, 2017, 3:50 AM/3:55 AM EDT. On April 4th, slept sometime between 4:07 AM and 3:11 PM - so, longer than usual. As usual, sometimes woke up thirsty. My energy today (and by "today", I mean all the time I've been awake since I last slept) kept varying between so tired I could almost go back to sleep (maybe 20% of the time), and mostly, awake enough to comfortably concentrate and get things done.
Since Tax Day is coming up soon, I'm going to be busy helping my family with taxes by inputting data into spreadsheets.
Addition, April 6, 2017, 4:01 AM EDT. On April 5th, slept sometime between 6:37 AM and 2:26 PM. Had tart cherry juice again (but more diluted than my previous drink), and a few walnuts too, but, not sure I slept as well. I guess I've been getting by, but have often (though I guess not always) felt more tired than I'd like, and am getting very tired now. Neglected to emphasize protein in my morning.
Additions, April 6, 2017, 5:54 PM/6:04 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 8:47 AM and 5:15 PM. Didn't have tart cherry juice or walnuts. Not so great dreams as usual (which I don't remember very well now), but might have slept OK.
Addition, April 6, 2017, 9:14 PM EDT. Felt a bit tired around 7:00 PM, and it took a while after I ate some cottage cheese and drank some vanilla red tea for that to go away, but now I'm feeling much better at the moment, especially after eating a couple pistachios, a small number of honey-roasted sunflower seeds, and mostly, honey-roasted peanuts.
"Sensitivity to caffeine does not necessarily correlate with whether or not someone is a slow or a fast metabolizer of the chemical. Fast metabolizers can still be sensitive to and get the jitters from drinking coffee."
And this page says:
"Dan Reardon, a medical doctor who founded FitnessGenes, said that, anecdotally, slow metabolizers who drink coffee tend to report a very gradual wakefulness, sometimes lasting hours. But fast metabolizers often experience something very different with coffee: an immediate spike in alertness followed at times by a relatively quick dip in energy."
Addition, April 7, 2017, 2:13 AM EDT. Still doing OK, I guess, but a bit tired, and I feel like I'm almost getting a headache.
Addition, April 7, 2017, 2:48 AM EDT. Definitely don't want to get back to being as headache-prone as I used to be when I regularly drank caffeine, so, I guess I better try to avoid impulsive experiments with large (for me) amounts of caffeine.
Addition, April 7, 2017, 5:45 AM EDT. Had two spoonfuls of ground flaxseed (warning), and five Walgreens Vitamin D3 Bone Health 2000 IU Softgels.
And here's a bit of news that even cheered me up yesterday, before I had any Vitamin D. Yesterday morning, even though I was very tired, I attempted the the first 2 memory tests from the book You Can Have an Amazing Memory, which I never attempted before.
Addition, April 7, 2017, 6:51 PM EDT. Didn't have any more tart cherry juice or walnuts. Slept sometime between 8:46 AM and 6:31 PM. I find it encouraging that I'm managing to sleep for more hours lately than 6 or 7 hours, which often felt insufficient, but for some reason was all I could manage.
Addition, April 7, 2017, 7:32 PM EDT. Feeling OK. Had 1 Testa vegan Omega 3, 6 500mg Vitamin C's, and 2 Walgreens Vitamin D3 Bone Health 2000 IU Softgels.
Addition, April, 8, 2017, 12:33 AM EDT. Definitely been feeling much better today - hardly any problems with tiredness. Maybe I just needed more Vitamin D.
Additions, April 9, 2017, 5:15 PM/5:26 PM/6:04 PM EDT. Didn't sleep as well yesterday for some reason (sometime between 9:15 AM and 5:12 PM), but still had more energy than my not-so-good days. (Only had 2 Vitamin D's, and I suspect more might have been better.)
Addition, April 10, 2017, 5:22 AM EDT. Decided I should probably at least minimally update my Puppy Linux Setup Kit, so I can more easily install all the things I need to work on my visual programming system and to run XSLT, PHP-GTK, my modified version of VUE, etc. on any of my computers.
Finally vacuumed my room a little today, but, my right eye got gooey again regardless, so, perhaps there's still some cayenne red pepper in here somewhere. Probably, since I only vacuumed part of my room and bed. And I vacuumed a streak of cayenne I never found until today on a nearby pillowcase, under a large heavy pillow that I seldom move much. I guess maybe I ought to wash all my blankets and pillowcases. Too bad our dryer broke several years ago and we never got it fixed, nor got a new one, or I would have done that already a long time ago.
I'm definitely convinced that caffeine was probably what was most to blame for my probable migraines, since I don't recall having any light-sensitive headaches or headaches with nausea after mostly doing without caffeine for a long time, and I think I got fewer headaches, and they definitely weren't as bad.
Addition, April 12, 2017, 1:12 AM EDT. Slept sometime between 11:31 AM and 6:50 PM on April 11th, and sometime between 9:52 AM and 5:28 PM on April 10th.
Additions, April 13, 2017, 11:17 PM/11:25 PM EDT. Still been doing physically better, except for getting a bit headachy at times. And emotionally I'm a lot more resilient than I was in the past when I took less or no Vitamin C and almost never took any Vitamin D or ground flaxseed (warning).
Addition, April 14, 2017, 3:31 AM EDT. Finally done with most of the tax spreadsheets for my family.
Addition, April 15, 2017, 2:03 PM EDT. Terrible light-sensitive migraine with a bit of nausea today, which, when I remembered it might still be caffeine withdrawal, made me wonder how long I might have to deal with caffeine withdrawal migraines. Then I remembered this blog post, which said about 2 months. And upon rereading it, I found some other details I had completely forgotten - the author said (paraphrased) her headaches actually got worse for a while after quitting, then went away after about 2 months.
Addition, April 15, 2017, 11:54 PM EDT. 1 Advil worked well enough, so, I even managed to fall asleep soon after writing the above. Woke up sometime soon before 11:01 PM. I actually would kind of like to sleep even longer than that since I still feel tired, perhaps partly because I was woken up at various times because I fell asleep without turning my noise-blocking box fan on. But, feeling much better, even though I feel like my headaches could still return.
Addition, April 17, 2017, 4:25 AM EDT. Today is the first day recently when I've felt not only untired, but energetic and in the mood to exercise a bit.
Addition, April 18, 2017, 1:27 PM EDT. Could have slept better today, so a bit tired, but doing OK, and still able to program.
Addition, April 20, 2017, 1:41 PM EDT. Been feeling mostly fine, except for yesterday briefly feeling like I was on the verge of a headache.
Addition, April 21, 2017, 1:09 AM EDT. Started to get tired overly early in my day, and also got in a bad mood. Interpreted the bad mood to mean I probably need some more ground flaxseed (warning), so I had some, and also some magnesium. So, even though I've gotten even more tired since then, my mood improved a lot.
Addition, April 21, 2017, 10:09 PM EDT. Woke up wanting to go back to sleep, but that soon passed. My energy lasted longer today, and my mood was mostly OK until I started to get tired.
Addition, April 21, 2017, 10:51 PM EDT. I guess another thing I ought to mention is, my eyes (especially my right eye) resumed being rather gooey, and have been like that for a while now, not sure how many days.
Additions, April 22, 2017, 3:20 PM/3:55 PM EDT. For some reason, I only slept about 4 hours, between around 7:10 AM and 11:12 AM, even though I had walnuts before sleep and also magnesium.
"This piece of perfection is what we should show aliens to prove we're a species worth saving."
Surprisingly, didn't start feeling tired again until recently.
Addition, April 29, 2017, 3:20 PM EDT. Mostly been doing surprisingly well - often a lot of energy and no headaches, until April 27th, and April 28th before I went to sleep. I think I even lost some weight. On April 24th, I eagerly cleaned the entire kitchen counter, which is now more uncluttered and organized than it has probably ever been since 2002, when we moved here.
However, it's my time of the month, which, quite unusually, started unexpectedly early, on April 25th in the late evening. I don't recall it ever being early in my life. (Though there were times in my life when I didn't pay as much attention to the exact dates, so I guess it's possible it happened before, a long time ago.) I thought I'd probably get it around the 30th. (Or later, since it's easy for me to get stressed out enough for it to be delayed.)
On some days I was achy, so, I resumed taking more magnesium, which seems to help (though it could also be a factor in why I was tired on April 27th, since I took it in my morning that day).
I suspect maybe taking so much Vitamin D (usually five 2000 IU capsules per day, all at the same time) might have modified my usual cycle somehow. (And perhaps the ground flaxseed (warning) contributed too.) Found a page with many commenters who think Vitamin D affected their cycles.
On April 24th, got the Wrap-a-Nap - Travel Pillow, Sleep Mask & Ear Muff in One. Haven't been able to get used to it enough to sleep with it over my eyes, but, it's nice and soft, and I've been using it to keep my neck, ears, or part of my head warm, and to block noise a bit, and as a wearable pillow to lean my head on while binge-watching Netflix or sometimes while computing, and to give people around me something to laugh at. :-)
Addition, April 30, 2017, 2:18 PM EDT. Slight headache last night, and was afraid I'd get nauseated again, but I didn't, and the headache soon went away. Took two (a single serving) of Advanced MAGNESIUM (by InnovixLabs). Highly Bioavailable Bisglycinate + Malate Formula before sleep again (same as the day before), and it seems it wasn't too much for me either time, judging by my lack of diarrhea.
Addition, April 30, 2017, 5:11 PM EDT. Finally cleaned the upstairs hallway. Now, I can easily roll my office chair out of my room and even onto the balcony. So, now that I have a nicer chair to use out there, I have more reasons to resume using my laptop more frequently.
Addition, May 1, 2017, 4:41 PM EDT. Got woken up a bit early around 2 PM by a storm, and the power going off for only about a second (which was enough to shut down both my desktop computers). I tried to just go back to sleep, but then a relative told me there was a tornado warning. (This happens every once in a while where I live (northeast Ohio), at times during the spring and summer.) Fortunately, the storm soon passed uneventfully, and it's sunny now.
Addition, May 5, 2017, 9:27 PM EDT. Frequently had a lot of energy until today. Been taking less (or no) Vitamin D, since I was worried maybe I had too much.
Still didn't update my Puppy Linux Setup Kit very much. Been too preoccupied with reading Clevnet books.
Additions, May 6, 2017, 7:20/7:44 AM EDT. Recently found a great little book - The Art of Procrastination - which gave me some more insight into myself.
Also, I wonder if maybe I'm also what the book calls a "horizontal organizer".
"Vertical organizers find it natural to use filing cabinets to store materials that they intend to use just an hour or a day or a week later. When they need that stuff again, they reach into the filing cabinet, pull out the folder and resume working on it. They don’t understand how foreign this whole idea is to a horizontal organizer."
Addition, May 7, 2017, 3:45 AM EDT. Started out a little sluggish today, and slept sometime between 9:01 AM and 3:45 PM (12 hours ago).
Addition, May 7, 2017, 8:20 AM EDT. Took some more magnesium around 4:36 AM, and have been getting quite sleepy, as I hoped I would.
Today, found a long, thorough, interesting page about Vitamin K2 called The Ultimate Vitamin K2 Resource.
"Although I have not found any clear investigation of the role of eye color, I suspect that people with lightly colored eyes have a higher requirement for vitamin A because lightly colored eyes let in more blue and UV light that can irreversibly degrade it. I have very lightly colored eyes and a health history suggesting a need for vitamin A intakes much higher than the RDA."
So, maybe I need more Vitamin A than I realized. Vitamin A is something I've paid relatively little attention to. I try to get Vitamin A only from food (or drinks like vegetable juice), and am totally unwilling to try it in supplement form, because the list of Vitamin A overdose symptoms is very scary.
Addition, May 7, 2017, 9:32 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 10:06 AM and 6:30 PM. Slept somewhat poorly because I keep getting too thirsty while I sleep, and my eyes got very dry. Took mostly the same vitamins in my "morning" today, except 4 Vitamin D's instead of 5, and had the magnesium along with my other vitamins instead of later.
Additions, May 8, 2017, 3:39/3:58 AM EDT. Kind of sleepy already. Anyway, been reading a bit about Vitamin A.
"Animal research also shows that even moderate intakes of vitamin D increase the body’s need for vitamin A."
This other page says:
"Night thirst and dry mouth at night can be the result of a chronic nutritional problem. As well as inadequate fluid intake, a diet that does not consist of an adequate amount of fruits and vegetables can increase the risk of dehydration. Vitamin deficiency, riboflavin deficiency and vitamin A deficiency are all cited as possible causes of thirst and dry mouth at night."
Ate a kale salad and some cantaloupe today, so, hopefully that will help. Also had some Jarlsberg cheese and gouda cheese (which both contain Vitamin K2), and was surprised to see on their labels that both have a bit of Vitamin A.
Additions, May 9, 2017, 3:52 AM. Surprisingly, after my previous update, instead of going to sleep, I got more alert again (though not especially energetic), even though I was sitting in my room with the lights off, without much bright stuff on my screens (thanks to the Stylish web browser add-on).
Slept sometime between 3:42 PM and 9:05 PM. Still got annoyingly thirsty, but maybe less than usual. Had my usual "morning" vitamins except no magnesium, and 3 Vitamin D's, and I completely forgot to take Vitamin K2 (until more recently). Started out tired, but that soon went away, though lately I've been getting tired again.
Additions, May 9, 2017, 5:29 AM/5:39 AM EDT. Not especially energetic, but somehow I no longer feel like going to sleep. But, since I felt so sure I wanted to go to sleep, I took magnesium around 4:15 AM, so, I'm guessing that will probably make tired again in about an hour, or less.
Addition, May 9, 2017, 5:37 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 7:48 AM and 5:14 PM. Got annoyingly thirsty, like yesterday. Felt tired upon waking but getting some Clevnet holds made me happier to be awake, and I'm feeling less tired now. It's very sunny at the moment.
Addition, May 9, 2017, 7:36 PM EDT. Had my usual vitamins and am back to 5 Vitamin D's. Now jittery, so I took a serving of Advanced MAGNESIUM (by InnovixLabs). Highly Bioavailable Bisglycinate + Malate Formula, which lately has never been giving me diarrhea.
Addition, May 10, 2017, 2:08 AM EDT. Was OK for a while, but got jittery again, so, I recently took another serving of Advanced MAGNESIUM (by InnovixLabs). Highly Bioavailable Bisglycinate + Malate Formula.
Addition, May 10, 2017, 4:09 AM/4:17 AM EDT. Started to get sleepy, but, now I'm starting to get a bit more alert again. Forgot to mention, I've sometimes been feeling almost headachy.
And I'm guessing the single serving of magnesium I only sometimes took before sleep wasn't enough to compensate for how much of my magnesium has been getting depleted by all my Vitamin D.
And perhaps my magnesium deficiency is also making Vitamin D less effective for me lately.
"Be sure that you read this again and understand this magnesium and vitamin d interrelationship:
It works BOTH ways. Magnesium is not JUST depleted, but you won't convert vitamin d unless you have enough magnesium in order to allow vitamin d to BE converted!!"
Wonder if that explains some of the ups and downs in my energy levels throughout my days lately.
Addition, May 10, 2017, 5:09 AM EDT. Significantly more alert now, and also sometimes have been feeling like I might get a headache, and I started to get achy. So, I took another serving of magnesium already.
Addition, May 10, 2017, 6:34 AM EDT. Feeling calmer, better, and more able to relax and concentrate - but not too sleepy, interestingly.
Additions, May 10, 2017, 9:48 AM/10:02 AM EDT. Got achy again - actually achier than before. But, that has been decreasing. Maybe almonds helped ease that somehow. Or else the only other things I ate while I was achy - plain Cheerios with cow's milk and no sugar. Oh, and also a capsule of vegan Omega 3 and 2 grams of Vitamin C.
Addition, May 10, 2017, 9:32 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 2:31 PM and 8:22 PM. Tired of bad dreams, but, maybe slept better, though I wish I had slept longer.
Today, my goals aren't very ambitious. I'm going to try to implement a neglected good idea I had. To encourage myself to eat better, I'm returning to making various food-related VUE maps, so I won't so easily forget what's available here, and will have an easier time figuring out what to eat.
Addition, May 11, 2017, 12:45 AM EDT. Had another serving of magnesium about two hours ago, and rather than getting tired, I've actually gotten more alert. My back has gotten a little more stiff and achy, but, I guess I'll probably be fine. Will have another serving of magnesium soon.
Addition, May 11, 2017, 9:38 PM EDT. Had a lot of magnesium yesterday - never more than a single serving at a time, but had 4 servings (hours apart from each other) since waking up yesterday.
Kept having trouble with my back being stiff and achy. And, also, I hadn't mentioned it before, but, often accompanying my stiffness and achiness had been, feeling weak and like my body is much heavier to hold up than it usually feels like to me. Usually, I don't have that problem at all. Have noticed this sometimes since a few weeks ago (but previously, I believe I only mentioned feeling weak). But, it always went away, so I decided not to worry about it.
My achiness and stiffness seemed to decrease after drinking cow's milk. So, another theory that came to mind was, maybe I've actually been getting withdrawal symptoms from drinking less milk lately? Surprisingly, I read a while back that milk actually contains morphine.
Slept sometime between 11:33 AM and 7:43 PM. Slept rather well, and am feeling alert and well-rested so far.
Addition, May 12, 2017, 12:27 AM EDT. Feeling mostly back to normal. Had 1 vegan Omega 3, 3 grams of Vitamin C, cow's milk, and a bowl of ravioli.
Addition, May 12, 2017, 3:08 PM EDT. My stiffness, achiness, and weakness came back for a while. Probably shouldn't have waited to take magnesium. Finally took a serving of Nature Made magnesium citrate around 5 AM, then a serving of Advanced MAGNESIUM (by InnovixLabs). Highly Bioavailable Bisglycinate + Malate Formula around 7:45 AM.
Finally got this magnesium gel. I only used a small amount, less than the size of a pea. I didn't have any aches at that moment, so I just chose a convenient, easily cleaned place to apply it, which I could easily keep my short nightgown from touching - slightly above my right knee. The directions say "It is normal for some individuals to experience a tingling sensation on the skin upon application." But, I felt almost nothing - thought I felt a small prickle for a second in a few spots, but nothing lasting.
Perhaps getting so magnesium deficient (as I'm guessing I did) also caused me other problems. This page says, among other interesting things:
"Magnesium deficiency can lead to calcium and potassium deficiency, according to the Office of Dietary Supplements."
Was getting tired, but now I'm actually more alert than I'd like to be, so I think I'll take some more magnesium capsules, since that's more convenient at the moment than a magnesium gel I have to clean off.
Addition, May 13, 2017, 1:20 AM EDT. Slept sometime between 3:45 PM and 9:47 PM. Kept waking up thirsty. But, still feeling mostly normal (except for being unusually energetic), and I guess rested enough, even though I would have preferred to sleep longer.
But, the gel is pretty convenient too in its own ways, if it really works, and I suspect it really does work. It tends to take about 2 hours for me to notice any effects from magnesium capsules, but I assume the gel probably works faster.
"1/4 tsp. of Ancient Minerals magnesium gel delivers approximately 125 mg of elemental magnesium on the skin."
However, I think maybe I still do need even more magnesium, since I haven't yet achieved the familiar old feeling of relaxation and calm I used to much more easily get from magnesium back when I probably wasn't so magnesium deficient.
Addition, May 14, 2017, 3:21 AM EDT. Slept sometime between 5:17 PM and 1:03 AM.
Should have eaten better yesterday, though. Eventually did start to feel a little weak again, but nowhere near as bad as the other day.
Ironically, instead of actually eating, I made a lot of progress with making some food-related VUE maps. :-) Collected a lot of images of food, and used Image Magick and a drag/drop script I made to shrink and rename the files. Then, added the small images to various VUE maps.
Addition, May 14, 2017, 6:51 AM EDT. Been feeling a bit weak, stiff and achy again. Ran out of cottage cheese, so I didn't eat much of that, and ate an entire cantaloupe. And just had some plain Cheerios with milk and sucanat.
Addition, May 14, 2017, 7:33 AM EDT. Already feeling significantly less weak, stiff and achy, quite soon after the Cheerios and milk. Also had some honey-roasted sunflower seeds.
Addition, May 14, 2017, 11:37 AM EDT. Was so curious to see what the magnesium gel might do for me today that I did the same thing I did yesterday, except I only left it on for 20 minutes, and I didn't dance as much. :-)
Addition, May 14, 2017, 1:14 PM EDT. Took a serving of Advanced MAGNESIUM (by InnovixLabs). Highly Bioavailable Bisglycinate + Malate Formula, forgot what time exactly.
Addition, May 15, 2017, 2:08 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 10:02 PM and 5:13 AM. Woke up feeling more like I usually felt before I started feeling frequently jittery and overenergetic, achy, stiff, and sometimes weak.
There's still plenty of room for improvement in my diet. Yesterday, the last things I ate were some gouda cheese and saltine crackers (around 1:45 PM), and several spoonfuls of peanut butter at around 5:45 PM - which I think actually did do me a lot of good. Anyway, after that, I was too tired to be very interested in food, and the only reason I stayed up as late as I did was because I wanted to watch Netflix with my family.
Now getting sleepy, though - about 3 hours after I had magnesium citrate.
Addition, May 16, 2017, 3:01 AM EDT. Slept sometime between 3:42 PM and 2:48 AM. Woke up sometimes because of thirst, and once because of our dog barking (because I hadn't put my noise-blocking box fan on yet).
Addition, May 17, 2017, 9:38 AM EDT. Slept sometime between 12:48 AM and 8:43 AM. Again, Netflix kept me awake longer than I otherwise would have stayed up. Got thirsty and a little headachy, but I'm fine now.
Feeling well-rested enough, flexible, non-weak, non-achy. Got plenty done yesterday with my Puppy Linux Setup Kit.
Addition, May 24, 2017, 11:08 AM EDT. Got a headache on May 22nd. Haven't had much trouble with fatigue, but am a bit tired today, which I suspect is from PMS. I'm guessing that now that I'm eating better, my times of the month are probably going to revert to being more tedious.
Addition, May 29, 2017, 3:10 PM EDT. Finally, my time of the month started, which I noticed around 4:43 AM, soon before I went to sleep, after several days of feeling premenstrual and having lower energy. Also was a bit headachy on May 26th, and yesterday, my backachiness came back a little (but went away again).
Anyway, this seems like a pretty typical period, unlike last month's. Not fun, but at least it doesn't leave the least bit of room for worry about pregnancy or other major problems.
Addition, June 8, 2017, 6:00 PM EDT. Been doing OK, though less and less well over time. Yesterday I felt particularly fatigued, so, I decided it was a good day to try to resume Vitamin D.
Still making progress with my Puppy Linux Setup Kit, but, definitely a bit frustrated with how long it's taking.
Addition, June 9, 2017, 2:23 AM EDT. Took one Walgreens Vitamin D3 Bone Health 2000 IU Softgels, and a serving of Nature Made magnesium citrate. Not sure if it's helping or making things worse. Been feeling a bit weak again today, probably from neglecting to eat well enough. (A surprisingly hard habit to break.)
Additions, June 9, 2017, 8:49 PM/8:55 PM EDT. Feeling much better, though I'm a bit jittery again, so, going to avoid Vitamin D capsules again in case I already had too much (even though all I had so far was 4000 IU on June 7th and 2000 IU on June 8th). And will try harder to eat better.
Addition, June 11, 2017, 6:47 AM EDT. Haven't been sleeping very well and have felt a bit out of sorts at times, though significantly better today after eating and exercising a bit. I'm thinking maybe I need to get a much larger amount of exercise for my health.
Addition, June 18, 2017, 4:45 AM EDT. Got this thing which converts a normal bicycle into an exercise bike, but haven't set it up yet.
Made good progress with my Puppy Linux Setup Kit and GtkDialog. And found out that Perl can be quite a bit faster than Bash for some things.
Addition, June 19, 2017, 1:50 AM EDT. Took one Walgreens Vitamin D3 Bone Health 2000 IU Softgels today along with half a serving of Nature Made magnesium citrate. Still kind of tired but maybe feeling a bit better.
Addition, June 19, 2017, 7:49 AM EDT Already been feeling better for a while, probably because I'm making progress again with my Puppy Linux Setup Kit. Trying to keep things simple.
Addition, June 19, 2017, 6:01 PM EDT. There was another power outage this morning, so, since I've still been using my desktops more than my laptops, and still didn't finish renovating my Puppy Linux Setup Kit, that was a lot more of a nuisance than it had to be.
Addition, June 20, 2017, 12:39 AM EDT. Still haven't finished updating my Puppy Linux Setup Kit the old-fashioned way, due to getting distracted by other things.
Additions, June 26, 2017, 7:09 PM/7:19 PM EDT. Was doing OK until about the past 4 days, when I started to get various PMS symptoms. Yesterday and today, was headachy, and on the 2 days before that, was in a bad mood (but it was worse on the 1st day and mostly went away on the 2nd day, even before I took Vitamin D on the 2nd day).
I almost finished a new component before I started getting headachy. But, I think I might hold that one back for a while until I'm more sure it's working properly. I'm going to call it ReplicatorBeam, and that link is where it will be found when I'm ready to release it.
Addition, June 29, 2017, 4:45 PM EDT. Finally, my time of the month started this afternoon. It's about as lousy as usual - I'm kind of sluggish and needed Advil for cramps.
Addition, June 30, 2017, 2:15 PM EDT. This seems like a particularly bad period. Seems heavier than normal. And I don't usually get cramps on the second day, but I did today, and, like yesterday, 1 Advil didn't seem like enough.
Addition, June 30, 2017, 3:03 PM EDT. Feeling mostly better, I guess probably from the Advil starting to work. Also had 2 spoonfuls of ground flaxseed (warning) and 1 2000 IU capsule of Vitamin D, and also some vegetable juice.
Addition, June 30, 2017, 4:58 PM EDT. Definitely feeling much better now. And maybe a bit more alert because of the Vitamin D, though I still feel like I need a lot more sleep.
Addition, July 2, 2017, 12:25 AM EDT. Only slept sometime between 2:45 AM and 7:19 AM, but mostly didn't feel tired today (until maybe after 9 PM). But got quite sulky for a while anyway. Wonder if that means I need even more Vitamin D and/or ground flaxseed (warning), both of which I skipped so far today. Also, I actually forgot to start my day with vegan Omega 3 and Vitamin C. I almost never forget that for more than a few hours. Didn't have any vitamins until the evening.
Addition, July 2, 2017, 5:54 PM EDT. Slept between around 1:34 AM and 5:18 AM, and 6:34 AM and 11:25 AM. Still kind of tired. My time of the month is still ongoing, but light now, and more like my usual Day 3 than Day 4. I guess it will probably end sometime tomorrow, on my birthday.
Additions, July 4, 2017, 2:33 AM/2:51 AM EDT. Had a bothersome though not very bad migrainey headache for a few hours in the evening on July 2nd. It seemed like possibly another menstrual symptom, so I had more ground flaxseed (warning). And also magnesium, vegetable juice, and grape juice (not all at the same time), all of which I'm guessing probably helped too.
Addition, July 5, 2017, 1:06 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 5:33 AM and 12:14 PM on July 4th, and also slept sometime between 7:28 PM and 9:16 PM. Probably would have slept longer than that, but it's tough to sleep through fireworks. So, I watched fireworks for a while from my house's balcony, and went back to sleep sometime between 1:53 AM and 12:14 PM today.
Addition, July 5, 2017, 2:39 PM EDT. Decided to take more Vitamin D, but I couldn't find the bottle, so I cleaned my room a bit, then found it was on my standing desk rather than in the pile of clutter next to my bed where I thought it was.
Addition, July 5, 2017, 4:20 PM EDT. Finally cleaned up the pile of clutter next to my bed, clutter which had been there ever since I had to clear a path so my new air conditioner could be installed.
Addition, July 5, 2017, 5:44 PM EDT. It definitely feels much better not to have that big pile of clutter in here anymore. Even just looking at it, or thinking about having to clean it up, felt somehow tiring.
Addition, July 5, 2017, 10:37 PM EDT. Ate a microwaveable frozen dinner - chicken fried rice, to which I added tomato sauce, parmesan, and cayenne pepper (which I read in this article has a nice amount of Vitamin A, among other things).
Addition, July 6, 2017, 6:03 PM EDT. Didn't have any more Vitamin D today, but have been feeling quite alert, though I felt tired when I first woke up. Slept sometime between 5:15 AM and 11:23 AM.
Addition, July 6, 2017, 8:06 PM EDT. Now too tired to even try to convert my bike into an exercise bike. Maybe I'll get that done (or, more likely, have someone else do it) this weekend.
Addition, July 7, 2017, 3:24 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 9:18 AM and 2:51 PM. Woke up tired and thirsty. Probably still haven't been getting enough Vitamin A. Still need to try eating more vegetables, fruits, and/or vegetable juice.
Addition, July 7, 2017, 11:22 PM EDT. Had some baby carrots, and went to sleep sometime between 4:38 PM and 10:35 PM. I think maybe I did get less thirsty as I slept.
Addition, July 8, 2017, 1:48 AM EDT. I guess I'm feeling alert enough now (and have been for a while), though I still feel like I might be able to go back to sleep again if I tried. Just been reading, and sifting through old files and Puppy Linux Setup Kits.
Addition, July 8, 2017, 3:49 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 9:00 AM and 11:48 AM. Still more tired than I should be, so, I took 4 2000 IU Vitamin D's just recently, along with my usual other vitamins.
Addition, July 9, 2017, 1:23 AM EDT. Being so tired after less than 3 hours of sleep is actually quite reasonable, but, I just was getting frustrated with being too tired too often lately, not just after such insufficient sleep. And my mood wasn't so great earlier, so I was hoping a larger than usual dose of Vitamin D might be a shortcut to a better mood.
Still wondering if maybe I have had mild (or sometimes worse) anemia. In retrospect, it seems possible, given how much iron I probably lose every month due to my time of the month, and also given my sometimes rather poor nutrition. And one symptom of anemia is fatigue.
Addition, July 9, 2017, 4:13 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 4:46 AM and 12:18 PM. Still felt tired, and figured maybe I should get extra sleep because I got such insufficient sleep before, so, managed to go back to sleep sometime between 12:31 PM and 3:58 PM.
Addition, July 9, 2017, 5:42 PM EDT. Had Cheerios, even though I don't like to start my day with carbs. Had usual vitamins and 4 2000 IU Vitamin D's. Still feeling kind of drowsy. So, maybe I should go back to sleep? I don't know.
Addition, July 10, 2017, 12:37 AM EDT. Started to perk up more around 7 PM, and mostly felt increasingly better since then, though now I think I'm getting sleepy again, and I feel like I'm on the verge of a headache, which makes me wonder if maybe I need more magnesium.
Addition, July 10, 2017, 2:15 AM EDT. My energy seems to be fluctuating a bit. Felt pretty alert for a little while, then tired for a little while, and now rather alert again. Haven't eaten anything for a couple hours.
Addition, July 10, 2017, 4:52 AM EDT. Getting sleepy now, but, found an interesting article dated July 10, 2012: Iron Loss Explains Why You're Tired All the Time.
"A new study found that iron supplementation may be helpful even for women who have iron levels that are not low enough to be diagnosed with anemia. However, read on before you run out and buy a bottle of iron supplement."
"A person who feels fatigued should not self-diagnose and take an iron supplement. A supplement could obscure a serious medical condition such as a bleeding ulcer. Taking too much iron can also be problematic and dangerous as iron levels may build up in the body and cause major organ failure."
"Most people don't need to worry about getting too much iron from food alone. Even the best food sources contain only about 5 milligrams per serving, and most foods contain less than 3 milligrams per serving. Iron deficiency is much more likely than iron toxicity from foods."
I wonder if part of why I got so energetic in May was because my time of the month in late April had been so unusually light that I didn't lose anywhere near as much iron as I usually do.
Addition, July 10, 2017, 3:15 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 5:55 AM and 1:08 PM. Was woken by thirst and a slight headache, but, that went away after I drank a little water. Currently, I feel better-rested than I usually had been lately, and it didn't take me as long as it was taking me before to start feeling this alert.
Additions, July 11, 2017, 2:08 AM/2:17 AM EDT. Been pretty alert until recently, though my energy could probably have been a bit better. Definitely has been one of my better days lately, except I just recently started to verge on a headache again. I'm guessing I probably should have taken more magnesium because of taking so much Vitamin D the other days. Didn't take any magnesium until recently, and skipped Vitamin D today.
Additions, July 11, 2017, 7:19 PM/7:51 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 2:08 PM and 5:30 PM. Wasn't feeling so great, but, better after I went to the bathroom. Almost had diarrhea but not quite, so, going to go easier on magnesium now. Also am feeling better now that I'm having vegetable juice.
Might stay up to read, though. Yesterday or so, I accidentally once again reached Clevnet's limit of books you can borrow and return in a short period of time. But, being such a book addict, instead of taking a break from borrowing books, I finally decided to see if there were any other local libraries I'm entitled to join. (Don't know why I didn't think of doing that sooner. I guess it was because Clevnet provides such a huge variety of books that I was content, until I reached that limit yet again.)
And once my State Library of Ohio card arrives through snail mail, I'll also be able to log into The Ohio Digital Library.
I also found out that through the State Library of Ohio, I'll also be able to access Safari Books Online and their ton of tech books that I'm guessing probably mostly aren't on Overdrive.
I'm so grateful to my local libraries, Overdrive, and Safari Books Online for making all these wonderful resources available at no cost.
Addition, July 12, 2017, 4:00 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 8:56 AM and 3:35 PM. Got headachy, I think from getting too thirsty as I slept (especially since I felt better soon after drinking a bit of water). My right eye was itchy and gooey my entire day yesterday, and still is a bit now.
Addition, July 12, 2017, 5:07 PM EDT. I'm so glad I keep a food log. It's so helpful at times, and also sometimes good for a laugh. On July 10th-11th, I ate pretty poorly - all I had was macadamia nuts, raisins, vanilla uncaffeinated red tea, ginger snaps and milk, grape juice, carrots, croutons, handfuls of Cheerios directly from the box, 2 spoonfuls of ground flaxseed (warning), and various vitamins.
Additions, July 12, 2017, 6:30 PM/6:42 PM EDT. Feeling much better now, even though all I've had so far other than water since waking up has been that glass of milk with vanilla Carnation Breakfast Essentials powder. Didn't even take my vitamins yet, but soon will.
Addition, July 12, 2017, 7:05 PM EDT. Also thinking that rather than a content management system (CMS) (for lack of a better term) or wiki or even WordsPlatz or something based on it, I think maybe I'd rather maintain my websites with a combination of Git and/or Mercurial, rsync, and some kind of not very complicated custom script which will look at my Git or Mercurial history and automatically output a custom page or pages showing all the recently changed pages and what's new in them.
Addition, July 13, 2017, 12:57 AM EDT. I livened up quite a bit ever since having some canned peaches, drinking a lot more water than usual, and exercising a bit. I never expected to start feeling so alert and energetic today after how tired I felt earlier.
Addition, July 13, 2017, 5:35 PM EDT. My right eye was alarmingly dry before sleep (even though I drank what seemed like a lot of water), so, I ate some baby carrots for Vitamin A before I went to sleep. Doing better now and didn't wake up as thirsty as usual. My eye went back to being slightly gooey and sometimes a bit blurry from the goo. I prefer that over my eye being overly dry, at least.
Addition, July 13, 2017, 8:17 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 8:55 AM and 4:43 PM, I forgot to mention. Been feeling well-rested, alert, and energetic. So, I guess drinking enough liquids maybe makes a quite major positive difference for me. And even ridiculously small amounts of exercise also seem to help.
Addition, July 14, 2017, 7:35 PM EDT. Before sleep, started to get dry eyes again and also a bit headachy, but fixed both problems by drinking more water.
Wonder why I've needed to drink so much more lately. I spend most of my time inside in air conditioning, not outside in the heat, and still haven't been exercising much more than usual. I wonder if maybe I always needed more liquids than I generally drank, and I just am noticing it more lately for some reason? I wonder how much of my past fatigue came from not drinking enough.
In any case, I'm just glad I feel quite alert and energetic enough now after doing something so simple - just drinking more water. (Haven't eaten or had my usual vegan Omega 3 and Vitamin C yet, but will soon.)
Addition, July 15, 2017, 7:03 AM EDT. Tired, with dry eyes, and feeling out of kilter again, even though I haven't been starving and have been drinking water on occasion.
Addition, July 15, 2017, 2:06 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 8:09 AM and maybe 1:30 PM. Haven't been able to go back to sleep, since I got thirsty and my eyes got rather dry again.
Addition, July 15, 2017, 2:34 PM EDT. Already been feeling better, increasingly, ever since my last update. Ate some ginger snaps dipped in cow's milk. But I think now I'd rather have something salty rather than sweet. Am thinking I should get more goldfish crackers. (I ran out of those a while back.) Next, I guess I might eat a microwaveable frozen dinner.
Addition, July 15, 2017, 5:40 PM EDT. Actually still haven't eaten anything else yet, but, had vegan Omega 3 and my usual 3 grams of Vitamin C.
Addition, July 16, 2017, 1:09 AM EDT. Been doing OK, I guess. My eyes don't feel totally normal yet, but haven't been very dry nor very gooey. Quite sleepy now.
Additions, July 17, 2017, 11:01 AM/11:21 AM EDT. Yesterday, slept sometime between 7:55 AM and 4:36 PM, and have been awake since then.
I hope to soon release my GNU Emacs settings, but, I want to declutter them a bit first, release them, then figure out a good way to make startup faster, and release that too. Then, I guess I'll return to my Puppy Linux Setup Kit.
My eyes have been mostly OK, though my lower left eyelid is somehow still a bit sore when touched. Have been doing OK, and didn't starve that much despite being so preoccupied with making that Readme.
Addition, July 17, 2017, 9:14 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 2:24 PM and 7:43 PM. Was woken prematurely by thirst and a headache, which went away very quickly when I drank a bit of water.
Addition, July 17, 2017, 9:44 PM EDT. Finally went downstairs, and to my dismay, it smelled horrible. I thought someone was cleaning with Comet or something, but, it turned out one of my family's computer monitors broke.
Addition, July 17, 2017, 9:59 PM EDT. I think I actually could smell it in the upstairs hallway too once I started paying attention. So, now running my fan at the balcony entrance.
Addition, July 18, 2017, 12:53 AM EDT. Thanks to my box fan, things are much better now, and fortunately, my headache went away again.
Addition, July 18, 2017, 8:25 PM EDT. Woke up thirsty, and my right eye was gooey for a while. But, doing OK.
Addition, July 19, 2017, 8:19 PM EDT. Yesterday, slept sometime between 9:37 AM and 3:44 PM, and today, slept sometime between 7:41 AM and 2:37 PM. It doesn't smell bad downstairs anymore.
Addition, July 20, 2017, 1:54 AM EDT. Already awake again. Slept sometime between 9:31 PM and 12:55 AM, and got overly thirsty again. Was tired at first, but, now I feel (at least at the moment) like maybe I could get something done. Don't know how long that will last. Actually, on second thought, already feeling a bit tired again. Had gouda cheese, saltine crackers, and 2 grams of Vitamin C.
Addition, July 20, 2017, 2:34 PM EDT. Stayed awake, and even felt surprisingly alert for much of the time, though lately I've been getting more absentminded, and quite tired now.
Addition, July 21, 2017, 2:55 AM EDT. Have remained awake since around 12:55 AM on July 20th. Have been pretty tired at times, though often a lot less than I expected. At least once I almost fell asleep, but decided to stay awake anyway. I read, watched TV with family, and even managed to declutter my room enough to bring in my exercise bike.
Additions, July 22, 2017, 12:02 AM/12:12 AM/4:30 AM EDT. Slept sometime between 5:44 AM and 12:45 PM. Stayed up a few hours, but was tired and hungry, but too tired to go to the trouble to make a meal, so I went back to sleep around 3:25 PM. Woke up again around 4:58 PM and had some salty smoked almonds and 1.5 packs of granola bars, and went back to sleep again until 7:59 PM.
Addition, July 22, 2017, 2:12 AM EDT. Feeling probably more energetic than usual, now that I'm no longer somewhat exhausted from my exercise bike. Recovered from that pretty fast, not sure what time exactly.
Additions, July 22, 2017, 3:33 AM/3:53 AM EDT. Found this interesting article:
I didn't consciously set out to officially do high intensity exercise - I didn't even bother to read up at all on how to use an exercise bike.
Addition, July 22, 2017, 10:54 AM EDT. Started to get tired hours ago, thirsty, and my eyes got overly dry again, and yet again, plain water didn't seem to help much. So (among other things), have been having vegetable juice (which seems pretty salty), carrots, and gouda cheese, all of which have vitamin A.
Addition, July 22, 2017, 3:40 PM EDT. Was too alarmed by my dry eyes and thirst to go to sleep, so, stayed awake. Had a bit of grape juice, which seemed helpful for a little while. And had an entire can of canned peaches, which might have helped too. Also took some magnesium and some ground flaxseed (warning). Feeling calmer and more relaxed, which I assume is probably from the magnesium, since I think probably I had the ground flaxseed (warning) too recently for it to have much effect yet.
Addition, July 22, 2017, 4:48 PM EDT. Whatever the problem is, it mostly seems to happen after I haven't eaten very well for a while and am starting to get tired, or have been asleep for a while.
Addition, July 22, 2017, 8:14 PM EDT. Almost fell asleep, but, had to go the bathroom. Then realized I was hungry, so I stayed downstairs, made and ate 4 ham salad sandwiches, and chit-chatted with a relative. Right eye is still gooey and also has been a bit itchy.
Hmmm, Vitamin D gets stored in fat tissue, this article I haven't completely read mentions.
Addition, July 23, 2017, 3:32 AM EDT. Slept sometime between 10:18 PM and 2:40 AM. So, not very long. But, despite drinking nothing earlier except the small amount of water it took for me to swallow another magnesium, I don't feel unusually thirsty, and my right eye is still a bit gooey.
Addition, July 23, 2017, 4:43 AM EDT. Not that I'm definitely going to work on those things yet. I just thought I should add that. I'm probably better off not declaring those, or anything else I really want to get done, my official top priorities, because if I do, I'll probably start feeling like they're an obligation I'd rather escape, and I might procrastinate instead of working on them.
Addition, July 23, 2017, 6:57 AM EDT. Still feeling fine, though my right eye is still gooey. So, it seems like magnesium was the solution yet again.
Additions, July 23, 2017, 5:22 PM/5:46 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 8:09 AM and 4:47 PM. Got a bit dry-dyed and thirsty at times, but it was a much more normal, quenchable thirst, and I think it might not have happened as often as it used to. I also feel like I slept better (though I think walnuts, not only magnesium, might have helped me with that), and I had fun dreams involving two of my favorite vampires from The Originals. Luckily, they didn't bite me. :-)
Addition, July 24, 2017, 1:14 AM EDT. Been feeling fine. Did various things, but perhaps the most notable was watching Star Wars: Rogue One with my family. Excellent and nostalgic, with amazing graphics.
Addition, July 24, 2017, 3:48 AM/3:57 AM EDT. Got a slight headache, and also wasn't feeling so great emotionally either. Probably PMS, I guess, though I also probably needed more magnesium - have had this odd twitch in the upper part of my right arm.
Only used my exercise bike for less than a minute many hours ago, since I was busy with other things, and by the time I felt like exercising, I was in a hurry to join my family to watch TV and movies.
Addition, July 24, 2017, 7:28 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 9:37 AM and 5:29 PM. Got a bit thirsty, but normally rather than unquenchably thirsty. And slept pretty well, I think. So well that I felt like it was later than it was - before I looked at the time, I guessed it was 7:30.
Addition, July 26, 2017, 2:39 AM/2:51 AM EDT. Finally managed to release my personal GNU Emacs settings.
I probably better make some food, etc., since I didn't eat or drink anything (except my vitamins and a little water) ever since I woke up. (Oh, and also some raisins and walnuts, I forgot about those.)
On July 24th, I figured out I could still use both my desktop computers while riding my exercise bike, if I put their keyboards and mice on top of some boxes on top of the edge of my bed.
Addition, July 26, 2017, 5:29 PM EDT. I really shouldn't even try to eat walnuts early in my day, because much more often than not, they seem to make me tired, and (consequently) more absentminded than usual. Fell asleep earlier than I expected, and slept sometime between 8:36 AM and 12:21 PM.
Addition, July 26, 2017, 11:19 PM EDT. Only slept sometime between 6:02 PM and 9:15 PM. Didn't get very thirsty, but my right eye was gooey and itchy, though that has decreased again lately.
Addition, July 27, 2017, 2:18 PM EDT. Finally upgraded my favorite web browser, Pale Moon, to 27.4.1. To my own surprise, in less than an hour, I managed to figure out how to successfully compile it from source code! It definitely seems faster than the previous version I was using for a long time, 26.2.2.
Addition, July 27, 2017, 7:03 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 2:43 PM and 6:19 PM. I wonder why I'm sleeping so poorly. Maybe because my eyes (especially my right eye) are gooey, red, and my right eye's eyelids got a bit sore. Seems like cleaning it a bit with some moistened toilet paper helped a bit, though, since it seems less sore and less gooey now. Am now also trying harder to avoid unconsciously rubbing my eyes.
Addition, July 29, 2017, 6:07 AM EDT. On July 28th, slept sometime between 3:33 AM and soon before 10:57 AM. There was a brief power outage which ended at about 10:57 AM, and it woke me up, since it turned my air conditioner off. I think it only lasted maybe 5 minutes or less. Tried to go back to sleep after that, but, gave up maybe about an hour later.
Anyway, there's a ton left to do, but I'm pleased with what I created and/or thought up (but haven't yet implemented), even though it's too messy to be released yet.
Addition, July 29, 2017, 9:59 AM EDT. I guess I used up most of my patience today on programming. Used a hair dryer to defrost my mini-refrigerator's dripping freezer, which was covered with quite a lot of ice and frost that had built up over maybe a year or two.
Addition, July 30, 2017, 2:44 AM/7:57 PM EDT. Didn't want to risk getting exhausted, so, didn't use my exercise bike to try to stay awake yesterday.
Astonishing that I've been updating this blog post for almost a year. Well, I definitely feel much better than a year ago. I'm guessing if I had continued drinking caffeine, using my electric blanket, and not paying much attention to health, exercise, vitamins, etc., I would have been much worse off by now.
Been feeling overwhelmed by all the stuff I ought to get done. But on the other hand, at least there are a great many obvious little improvements I could make in many of my projects and other areas of my life. And all together, they'll probably add up to significant improvements.
Getting sleepy again. But, recently, haven't had too much trouble with thirst or my eyes getting gooey or dry. Well, they're a little dry now, but mostly OK.
Addition, July 30, 2017, 8:31 PM. Slept sometime between 10:56 AM and 7:30 PM. Got thirsty and my eyes a bit dry again, but drinking plain water helped this time, and the problems mostly went away pretty soon after I woke up.
Addition, July 31, 2017, 10:28 AM EDT. Became more alert once I ate some food, but getting sleepy again now. Didn't get much done besides reading, posting some blog posts, and watching YouTube.
Addition, July 31, 2017, 3:01 PM EDT. Almost fell asleep, but accidentally locked myself out of my computer because I had run an old Puppy Linux Setup Kit script which installed an old screensaver password that I didn't remember.
Addition, August 1, 2017, 12:43 AM EDT. Feeling much better and more alert, despite sleeping only between about 4:08 PM and 9:37 PM, and despite the fact that my last reasonable meal was late on July 30th.
Addition, August 1, 2017, 2:02 AM EDT. Seems like my time of the month is already starting. though it's very light so far. Even before I ate anything, I started to get vague cramps, which worsened enough that, after I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I took an Advil.
Addition, August 1, 2017, 2:42 AM EDT. I wonder if I'll ever be able to reliably predict how I'm tired or not I'm going to feel in the near future.
Addition, August 1, 2017, 3:49 AM/3:57 AM EDT. Pretty soon after I wrote that, my cramps worsened again, so I took another Advil already. And my time of the month got a bit heavier, but so far doesn't seem like it will be as bad as the last time. And I feel a bit less tired. Actually, increasingly better as I write this.
Addition, August 1, 2017, 1:17 PM EDT. Was surprisingly alert and energetic, which is encouraging, especially for day #1 of my time of the month. Mostly I just read, but, a few hours ago, I got a little cleaning done in an un-air conditioned part of the house. Got tired soon after that.
Thinking about the topics of productivity and rest reminded me of some excellent articles I read years ago about non-coercive self-motivation:
Addition, August 2, 2017, 1:25 AM EDT. Slept sometime between 2:03 PM and 8:33 PM.
Additions, August 2, 2017, 3:41 AM/4:15 AM EDT. Didn't fall asleep yet, since I actually started feeling more awake, though I have no idea how long that will last. Lasted a good while yesterday, though.
Maybe one reason why I am so prone to coercive self-motivation rather than the alternative is because, as a child, simply to cope with school, I had to continually force myself to do things, starting with waking up.
Here's an interesting article about ADHD and sleep.
"No single theory explains the severe impairment of the ability to rouse oneself into wakefulness. Some patients with ADHD report that they sleep well when they go camping or are out of doors for extended periods of time.
Getting sleepy again. Had a pack of peanut butter granola bars, which I'm guessing are probably too sugary and not peanut buttery enough to energize me.
Addition, August 2, 2017, 7:45 AM EDT. Was somewhat alert for a little while, but couldn't resist having another pack of peanut butter granola bars, and have been tired ever since.
Additions, August 2, 2017, 2:31 PM/2:42 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 8:11 AM and 1:12 PM. Woke up with dry eyes, but they soon became gooey after I drank some water.
Additions, August 2, 2017, 7:33 PM/7:52 PM EDT. Was alert for a while, then got a bit tired, perhaps from saltine crackers, which I had with some gouda cheese. Also had milk with strawberry Breakfast Essentials powder, which I'm hoping is not a factor in my tiredness. It has 13g of protein, but seems pretty sugary. In any case, I think I tend to feel better on days I drink that than on days I don't.
Addition, August 2, 2017, 7:39 PM EDT. Changed my mind, since I feel nice and relaxed now, and I also don't want to possibly overdo it and develop an aversion to it.
Addition, August 3, 2017, 4:25 AM EDT. Only slept briefly between around 1:07 AM and 3:16 AM.
Almost exercise-biked a bit more at almost 10 PM, but, it was already too late - one of my relatives had gone to sleep surprisingly early.
I wonder exactly how much Vitamin D I have in my system and if it's (still) too much? Even though I like feeling more alert and energetic, I don't like feeling jittery like I did back in May and at other times, since it definitely doesn't feel altogether healthy to me (even though neither does frequent tiredness), so, I'm going to keep taking magnesium.
Probably am going to eat lots more kale salad in the near future, since I now have all the ingredients and don't want them to go to waste. I assume that will probably help me get sufficient Vitamin A and also some more iron too.
Addition, August 3, 2017, 5:44 AM EDT. Already getting sort of sleepy again, but I probably ought to be, after only 2 hours of sleep.
Addition, August 3, 2017, 11:00 AM EDT. Started to get a headache earlier, probably from eating rather poorly. Kale salad didn't avert my headache. Somewhat reluctantly skipped milk and Breakfast Essentials powder since I didn't want another jolt of Vitamin D when I was hoping to probably go back to sleep soon, but, perhaps that was a mistake.
Maybe I should try getting a cheap blender to get a better idea of whether or not a Vitamix would be worth getting, and whether or not healthy drinks like green smoothies might rescue me from the bad effects of my tendency to neglect to eat proper meals.
Already getting less headachy now, and fortunately, I didn't have to take Advil.
Addition, August 3, 2017, 10:16 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 11:52 AM and 6:01 PM. I think probably I slept a bit better, but, was woken by thirst and headache. Drank plain water, and a bit later, a little milk, and the headache eased enough for me to go back to sleep.
As of 8:55 PM, my headache has decreased a bit, which I assume is because the peaches are helping.
As of 9:34 PM, feeling much better, though still a bit worried my headache could come back.
As of 10:15 PM, doing fine and in a much better mood. Also not sleepy. Didn't even finish the can of peaches yet.
Addition, August 3, 2017, 11:35 PM EDT. Already sleepy again, not sure what time that started. But it could be that I need extra sleep to compensate for the poor sleep and small quantities of sleep I got before using the magnesium gel.
Addition, August 4, 2017, 12:32 AM EDT. Already somehow livened up, despite (or because of) eating a pack of peanut butter granola bars.
Addition, August 4, 2017, 1:17 AM EDT. At least we have one food that particularly appeals to me at the moment - cantaloupe.
Addition, August 4, 2017, 2:37 AM EDT. I think my eyes were a bit gooey when I first woke up, but my eyes aren't acting up at the moment. Didn't notice that until recently. Perhaps the peaches helped there.
Greatly looking forward to getting this cheap blender.
Found an interesting article called Is Vitamin D Safe? Still Depends on Vitamins A and K! Testimonials and a Human Study.
Addition, August 4, 2017, 4:16 AM/4:24 AM EDT. Tired again. Also a bit sad that I didn't live my life a bit differently, because if I had known things would be this way for me at only age 36, I might have rearranged my priorities a lot. Don't know how many more years I'm going to have, at this rate.
Addition, August 4, 2017, 4:58 AM EDT. I'd feel so much better if I could return to my projects and get something more useful done than just reading. It's so frustrating not to have all this health nonsense sorted out by now.
Addition, August 4, 2017, 8:54 AM EDT. Wow, what a difference food makes, even boring food I'm tired of, like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Haven't been tired for a while. Well, until I started writing this.
Addition, August 4, 2017, 3:30 PM EDT. Exercise biked for about 5 minutes from 11:10 to 11:15 AM. After a brief recovery period, have felt much better since then. For a while, had more energy since then than probably the entire time I was awake before that. Getting sleepy as I write this, though.
Additions, August 6, 2017, 1:41 AM/1:49 AM EDT. On August 4-5th, slept from 5:42 PM to 2:17 AM. It seemed like my best day in a long time.
My blender arrived at my family's post office box yesterday, but I was asleep by the time my relative got home with it, so, I haven't tried it yet. I hope it's not too loud to use at night.
Requested ham salad, but, unfortunately, I can't eat it because the kind we got turned out to have the artificial dyes Red 40 and Blue 1 in its ingredients list.
I think I didn't sleep as well today, am feeling a bit tired. I guess I'll eat some cottage cheese for now, since I haven't yet even gotten the blender out of the box yet.
Additions, August 6, 2017, 3:23 AM/3:30 AM EDT. Became more alert and energetic, so much so that I'm not sure I want to possibly spoil it by eating. Cottage cheese probably wouldn't spoil it, but, just not in the mood to eat yet.
Addition, August 6, 2017, 4:25 AM EDT. Been eating carrots, and probably will soon have cottage cheese for the sake of its protein, since eating so little that I lose muscle would be quite counterproductive, and it's definitely unhealthy to eat like an anorexic, even though I haven't been deliberately trying to be anorexic.
Addition, August 6, 2017, 4:55 AM EDT. Had some cottage cheese, not sure exactly how much, but, feeling better.
Addition, August 6, 2017, 8:06 AM EDT. A couple hours ago, tried a larger amount of ground flaxseed (warning) than usual - two official tablespoons measured with a measuring spoon, instead of my usual two ordinary spoonfuls. Haven't noticed anything interesting so far.
Addition, August 6, 2017, 9:12 AM EDT. I still am feeling tempted by caffeine, maybe because a caffeine high is more fun than feeling energetic and anxious from whatever this is - perhaps magnesium deficiency and needing to eat better.
Addition, August 6, 2017, 11:27 AM EDT. Had a full serving of Nature Made magnesium citrate, and finally cleaned up the clutter that had been in the hallway for weeks.
Addition, August 6, 2017, 11:38 AM EDT. Just received the wonderful news that the trainer tire is already installed and I'll have my exercise bike back by around 2:30 or 3 PM!
Addition, August 6, 2017, 11:49 AM EDT. It just occurred to me that putting ground flaxseed (warning) in my blender blends will be a lot nicer than just spooning the stuff into my mouth the way I usually do! :-)
Addition, August 6, 2017, 11:58 AM EDT. Wow, I could even mix in non-caffeinated herbal tea, such as my favorite red teas, or mint, or anything. Or Teeccino!
Addition, August 6, 2017, 5:48 PM EDT. Was sleepy for the past several hours, and especially sleepy now.
Fortunately, I didn't have to make food, because my relatives just happened to get a pizza. Had two pieces.
Additions, August 7, 2017, 1:50 PM/2:07/3:18 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 7:29 PM and 4:44 AM. Haven't had large amounts of energy, but definitely felt more alert for a while after about just 2 intense minutes of exercise biking around 6:42 to 6:44 AM.
Watched several episodes of The Vampire Diaries alone, since my family mostly lost interest in the later seasons.
Tried drinking the blended mixture with one of my glass straws, which worked fine with it, even though it was a somewhat thick green sludge. My first thought was, it needs salt.
Unfortunately, I absentmindedly soaked my sleeve in my bowl for a while as I was typing this, so, I had to discard it. But, I definitely liked it, and would consider making that again at some point in the future.
Next, I think I'll try making a sweet smoothie out of a banana and something else, perhaps canned pineapple. Not organic, but, oh, well.
Addition, August 7, 2017, 2:54 PM EDT. My banana pineapple smoothie is actually pretty good. Didn't need a recipe - i just put in a banana and an entire can of pineapple, held down the blender lid and pressed the Smoothie button. I probably should have added ice to the blender too, but, I didn't think of that.
Addition, August 7, 2017, 3:32 PM EDT. Definitely kind of tired and have been verging on a headache for a while. Maybe that wouldn't have happened if I ate better and more frequently.
Addition, August 7, 2017, 5:16 PM EDT. I took the Nature Made Stress B despite my misgivings. Also took a full serving of Nature Made magnesium citrate. And, forgot to mention, but, I had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches around 3 PM.
Was quite tempted earlier (before I made anything with the blender) to resume drinking milk and Breakfast Essentials powder, since it mostly seemed helpful and like it often prevented me from reaching the point of getting headachy from eating too poorly.
Addition, August 7, 2017, 5:39 PM EDT. Now feeling awake enough that the idea of watching The Vampire Diaries for another several hours seems plausible and appealing.
Addition, August 7, 2017, 6:24 PM EDT. Still too tired. Oh, well. But feeling much better now that I'm less headachy.
Addition, August 8, 2017, 3:57 AM EDT. Slept sometime between 6:46 PM and 3:48 AM. Kept waking up because of thirst and dry eyes, but, feeling OK now, and maybe rested enough.
Addition, August 8, 2017, 4:10 AM EDT. Also, going to switch to Nature Made Super B Energy Complex, because I always was a bit dubious about some of the non-Vitamin B ingredients in Nature Made Stress B.
Addition, August 8, 2017, 12:39 PM EDT. Definitely been feeling much better today. Haven't been missing caffeine today so far. Didn't even exercise-bike yet. Been reading, and also binge-watching The Vampire Diaries.
Still not feeling too tired to get anything done. Actually am already a bit hungry again, though, so I guess I could try to finish off that banana pineapple smoothie from yesterday, and see if I get unusually tired afterward.
Additions, August 8, 2017, 4:03 PM/4:16 PM EDT. Surprisingly, still feeling mostly fine and alert despite (or because of?) drinking that entire banana pineapple smoothie. I guess I must have slept well or something? Anyway, it's continuing to be a relaxing day.
Additions, August 9, 2017, 1:23 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 8:36 PM and 4:41 AM. Woke up thirsty and dry-eyed, but, plain water fixed that. Been doing remarkably well, even though the only thing I ate so far today was some BBQ potato chips. Also had my usual vitamins.
Addition, August 10, 2017, 7:27 AM EDT. Slept sometime between 10:55 PM and 7:11 AM. Not feeling so great today. So, unsurprisingly, it seems a peach/pear/banana smoothie and 2 packs of granola bars aren't enough by themselves to keep me feeling OK. Also didn't exercise-bike yesterday.
Additions, August 10, 2017, 10:38 AM/11:37 AM EDT. Started to perk up a bit before I even ate anything. Had 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, 2 measured tablespoons of ground flaxseed (warning), and some black pepper. And, most recently, some Grape Nuts cereal.
Addition, August 11, 2017, 2:27 PM EDT. Yesterday, wasn't very energetic, and started feeling tired sometime after 4 PM, but, never felt tired enough to miss caffeine.
Addition, August 13, 2017, 3:37 PM EDT. On August 12, slept sometime between 12:09 AM and 7:17 AM, and on August 13, slept sometime between 2:23 AM and 10:48 AM.
Additions, August 14, 2017, 1:55 AM/2:04 AM EDT. My energy fluctuated throughout my day, but I guess I've been kind of tired overall. But somehow made good progress with the Simple App Installer anyway.
Additions, August 14, 2017, 9:16 AM/9:27 AM EDT. Slept sometime between 3:38 AM and 8 AM. Got thirsty and a bit dry-eyed again, even though I ate an entire cantaloupe before sleep, and my right eye is gooey now.
Addition, August 14, 2017, 10:15 AM EDT. Once I finally got up, I noticed I actually feel like my body has surplus energy, and I feel younger and healthier. But, my brain is still tired and needs more sleep. But, maybe after I finally eat something, I'll wake up more. It's just hard to get motivated to even get out of bed at all.
Addition, August 14, 2017, 11:55 PM EDT. Managed to avoid caffeine. Slept briefly sometime between 5:10 PM and 7:19 PM, and have been much less tired most of the time since then, except for when I first woke up, and I'm also getting sleepy again now.
Addition, August 15, 2017, 11:09 AM EDT. Slept sometime between 1:34 AM and 9:00 AM. Woke up feeling tired, but that wore off around maybe a half hour later, and I'm feeling fine now. But when I first woke up, still being so tired worried me, since I felt like I didn't sleep very well and got too thirsty again.
And I also thought this was interesting - Caffeine does not entrain the circadian clock but improves daytime alertness in blind patients with non-24-hour rhythms. Except I think I'm probably not understanding a lot of it because much of the scientific jargon is confusing to me.
Quote:
"Alertness and mood changes were not consistent across participants (Table 1); caffeine improved alertness and cheerfulness in S33, and S84 and S85 rated themselves calmer during caffeine treatment (Table 1)."
"Stimulant medications have a paradoxical effect on children and adults with ADHD. While taking stimulants would cause most of us to become hyperactive, they have the opposite effect on those with ADHD. While stimulants can cause children with this disorder to have difficulty sleeping and can cause them to feel uncomfortable, it actually quiets their hyperactivity and improves their attention."
"Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant, and is the most commonly used drug in the world, with as many as 90 percent of adults using caffeine every day." [...] "Caffeine is most commonly used to overcome sleepiness and increase productivity; in some people with ADHD, it’s thought to combat common symptoms like distractibility and inattention in the same way that stimulant medications do."
I'm too alert at the moment to really miss caffeine, but I am still quite curious about it, and also intrigued that circadian rhythms seem to possibly have something to do with ADHD, and that caffeine can affect different people in such different ways.
Addition, August 15, 2017, 4:34 PM EDT. Started to feel more tired than I'd like, so I started to try to figure out where in my room I buried my remaining caffeinated tea. I mistakenly assumed it was in the two inaccessible large boxes in the corner, but, after I dug those out, I figured out my tea was in a quite easily-reached pillowcase near my bed.
Addition, August 15, 2017, 5:25 PM EDT. Instead of my usual former black tea, I made a cup of this Earl Grey black tea grown in South Carolina. Started drinking that at about 4:57 PM. I think I do feel a bit more normal already.
Addition, August 15, 2017, 6:09 PM EDT. Still very happy with my caffeine high. :-)
"In a normal brain, the pattern of gene activity at a given time of the day is so distinctive that the authors could use it to accurately estimate the hour of death of the brain donor.
Addition, August 15, 2017, 9:07 PM EDT. Starting around maybe 8 PM, already started getting kind of sleepy again. But, that caffeine high was fun while it lasted.
Even though I'm tired, I think I feel like it's taking less willpower than usual to keep doing things other than just lying in bed looking at my computer or typing.
As of 8:46 PM, feeling less tired. Maybe the potato cakes and the bread from my 2 Arby's roast beef snack-sized "slider" sandwiches I had around 7 PM made me tired for a while, and there wasn't enough caffeine in my system to stop that from happening?
Addition, August 15, 2017, 11:37 PM EDT. Still feeling much better. Even though I'm increasingly tired, it still seems easier to concentrate, and even just reading is more fun. Maybe I'll even return to the Simple App Installer sometime before I go to sleep, or maybe not.
Addition, August 16, 2017, 12:55 AM EDT. Still doing pretty well, even though I'm still getting increasingly tired. Wow, maybe black tea actually is better for me than green tea?
"For example, in healthy people, of the 16 genes that showed the clearest patterns of cycling, 11 genes cycled around the clock in four or more brain regions. By contrast, in people with major depression, only two of these genes showed clear cycling pattern in more than one region, and none cycled in more than three regions."
Anyway, I wonder when I'll feel like sleeping. It feels like it might still take a while for me to get that tired. I guess walnuts and their melatonin might help, but, maybe I'd rather just keep savoring feeling so awake and simultaneously mostly non-jittery.
Addition, August 16, 2017, 11:48 AM EDT. Slept sometime between 4:48 AM and 10:37 AM. Got too thirsty again. Was tired when I first woke up, but started feeling better around 11:21 AM. Feeling quite awake enough now, so, definitely not feeling like I need more caffeinated tea so far. Not jittery, and actually feeling pretty good now.
Addition, August 16, 2017, 12:46 PM EDT. Here's another article on theanine, which is found in tea, with usually higher amounts in black tea. Reading my updates from last March reminded me of that.
"Tea causes changes in body chemistry that rejuvenate, relax, enhance the ability to think, and change mood.1-6 The biochemical changes provoked by tea are scientifically supported, and they’re not due to caffeine.6"
Addition, August 16, 2017, 2:52 PM EDT. Feeling more tired after 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed (warning), and black pepper. I wonder if 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed has enough carbs to actually make me more tired?
Addition, August 16, 2017, 5:44 PM EDT. Briefly fell asleep sometime between 3:55 PM and 4:10 PM while listening to a webinar which turned into a long sales pitch.
I'm curious about how theanine without much caffeine will affect me, so, I decided to try samples of all these decaf organic black teas from Arbor Teas:
Addition, August 16, 2017, 8:06 PM EDT. Still pretty sluggish, but, finally ate a bit better - 2 ham salad sandwiches and some potato salad.
Addition, August 17, 2017, 12:28 AM EDT. Slept sometime between 8:28 PM and 10:59 PM. Was woken by thirst again. Drank some banana/pineapple smoothie, grape juice, and slightly salted water. And I briefly got slightly headachy.
Ran across a very detailed PDF file about the amounts of theanine in tea - How much theanine in a cup of tea? Research shows conventional black tea has higher levels than green tea. Plus some guidance on brewing at 80degC
Addition, August 17, 2017, 12:49 AM EDT. Already feeling sleepy again. Oh, well. Not sure what to do but not sure I should resort to fully-caffeinated black tea again. I think I'd much rather sleep, and also decrease my chances of headaches, by avoiding black tea.
Addition, August 17, 2017, 1:03 AM EDT. Maybe now that I have measuring cups, I can do some better experiments with tart cherry juice, which is at the top of this list of melatonin-containing foods.
Additions, August 17, 2017, 1:53 AM/2:06 AM EDT. Used a measuring spoon instead. I put 1 tablespoon of tart cherry juice, and an unmeasured larger (but still small) amount of grape juice and water. Tastes pretty good. Not much different from plain grape juice but maybe a bit improved. So, hopefully that will help me sleep better somehow.
Addition, August 17, 2017, 6:03 AM EDT. Still haven't slept yet, because I've been too headachy and worryingly dry-eyed, though at least that latter problem somehow tends to go away when I get out of bed.
Addition, August 17, 2017, 6:49 AM EDT. Until around 6:32 AM, still headachy and not much of a mood boost, but maybe a bit less headachy and somewhat more calm. Then, starting around 6:32 AM, started to feel less headachy.
Addition, August 17, 2017, 7:17 AM EDT. Definitely feeling somewhat better and maybe even a tad caffeinated, which, to be honest, I'd have to say, feels like a good thing at the moment.
Addition, August 17, 2017, 7:30 AM EDT. Also, perhaps the magnesium citrate I had about two hours ago is taking effect and also helping me feel better.
Addition, August 17, 2017, 3:10 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 8:21 AM and 1:13 PM. My head had resumed hurting a bit, and eyes were dry when I woke up, but my eyes became undry soon after I sat up, without me even drinking anything yet. And, a bit later on, my headache also faded a lot, also without me drinking anything yet.
Found this interesting article:
Other interesting articles:
Anyway, I feel rested enough at the moment. Found organic grape tomatoes recently.
Addtion, August 17, 2017, 4:42 PM EDT. Recently got a bit of nausea along with probably a migraine headache, and also felt like I was getting hot flashes before that. So, I tracked down my Mount Hagen organic instant coffee, and ate a particle of that to try to reduce my caffeine withdrawal symptoms. Seems like it might be helping, but my symptoms aren't all gone yet. Maybe carrots helped somehow too.
Addition, August 17, 2017, 6:23 PM EDT. Started feeling a bit worse again so I ate another particle of coffee, and put magnesium gel on just the lower part of my legs, since I didn't feel like standing in the bathroom naked for 20 minutes.
Addition, August 18, 2017, 1:44 AM EDT. Not too long after my last update, there were some tornado warnings in and near my county, and it rained pretty hard for a while, was windy, and the sky was yellowish. It was a bit worrying, and I think at one point the northern part of my town was mentioned as being subject to a tornado warning. But, it didn't get super bad here, and the electricity stayed on.
Judging by the lovely feeling of relaxed languor and well-being this magnesium gel consistently seems to bestow on me without making me unpleasantly tired, I think maybe I've continually underestimated how much magnesium I've actually needed lately, while I'm still possibly dealing with too much Vitamin D in my body from possibly taking too much Vitamin D in supplement form.
Better sleep is not as quick a shortcut as caffeine to not being tired, but in the longer term, better sleep is definitely much better than caffeine artificially revving me up. Or caffeine flying me up high and then dropping me.
Addition, August 18, 2017, 1:06 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 3:39 AM and 12:53 PM. Still got thirsty, but maybe not as much. In any case, I feel like my sleep quality was much better.
Addition, August 19, 2017, 2:08 AM EDT. That was my best day in quite a while, energy-wise. I did almost nothing but stay in bed and read, but until lately, I didn't get tired at all - surprisingly, not even after I ate a bowl of Grape Nuts cereal, and later, 1 pack of granola bars. And that's actually all I ate all day so far.
Addition, August 19, 2017, 11:00 AM EDT. Slept sometime between 4:15 AM and 10:49 AM. Got thirsty and my eyes got dry, and I'm already feeling like I probably need more magnesium. Been getting a bit jittery, and now my eyes are getting gooey.
Addition, August 19, 2017, 12:04 PM EDT. Stood around in bathroom from around 11:04 AM to 11:30 AM, then took a nice long shower. Am nice and relaxed again, and considering maybe going back to sleep.
Addition, August 19, 2017, 3:45 PM EDT. Still haven't gone to sleep yet. Fortunately, my tiredness is far more mild and much less debilitating compared to the tiredness I had before I got that long chunk of good sleep on August 18th. I can still enjoy reading.
Addition, August 19, 2017, 6:25 PM EDT. Tried the coconut. This page helped me figure out how to deal with it. Instead of using a screwdriver, I poked the softest spot with the back end of a spoon. The coconut so-called "water" or "milk" drained out slowly and was more like syrup, and it had such a ghastly uncoconut-like smell I couldn't motivate myself to taste it.
Addition, August 20, 2017, 3:04 AM EDT. Ever since my migraine and nausea the other day, I haven't felt I'm getting any caffeine withdrawal symptoms anymore.
Tried again to find info about how long Vitamin D supplements might persist in my body, and found this page.
[...] "excess vitamin D is stored in fat, which means that some of the vitamin D from a supplement could stay in the body for an extended period of time if it is stored rather than used."
Additions, August 20, 2017, 12:10 PM/12:46 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 4:25 AM and 10:30 AM, though I might not have slept much since the time I first looked at the clock, 9:36 AM. Got dry eyes again, which worried me, and contributed to my difficulty sleeping. However, they fluctuate a lot rather than remaining constantly dry, and they often seem fine (or gooey) whenever I'm not trying to go to sleep. As I write this, they seem a bit gooey.
I was wondering if adrenal fatigue might be at all connected to hypercalcemia, so, I searched around, and found another interesting page (though I'm sure I'm not understanding it fully):
Adrenal insufficiency presenting as hypercalcemia and acute kidney injury
"In conclusion, this case shows that adrenal insufficiency may cause hypercalcemia, and it can present as hypotension and AKI. After excluding more common diseases, such as malignancy and primary hyperparathyroidism, the possibility of adrenal insufficiency should be considered the cause of hypercalcemia, especially in elderly patients with a history of glucocorticoid injection."
I think maybe I'd be better off using the magnesium gel more often than oral magnesium, since it seems like oral magnesium seems maybe prone to making me annoyingly tired without giving me anywhere near as much of that nice luxuriant relaxed feeling I tend to get from the magnesium gel, which is so good it actually tempts me to use it despite the inconvenience.
Additions, August 20, 2017, 2:54 PM/3:12 PM EDT. Made a weird but good green smoothie without a recipe. Somewhere on the web, I saw carrots and ginger mentioned together, so, I searched the web for "ginger carrot smoothie", and found this page with a recipe.
Addition, August 20, 2017, 11:55 PM EDT. My right eye has been gooey, but, I haven't been too tired to function or to enjoy things like books and TV. Didn't use magnesium gel, and only recently had another full serving of magnesium citrate.
On August 21, 2017, there's going to be a solar eclipse visible in parts of the USA.
Addition, August 21, 2017, 2:46 AM EDT. My eyes have continued to be gooey rather than dry. Definitely too tired to go on a long road trip starting around 4 AM. I don't think I've ever successfully slept in a vehicle.
Addition, August 21, 2017, 3:12 AM EDT. I just read this great blog post - The Long Lost Thrill of Doing Nothing
Addition, August 23, 2017, 2:14 AM EDT. Just got back around 11 PM from going to see the eclipse. At the last minute, since I happened to still be awake, I decided to go with my relative, even though I was very tired. Quite tired now too, so I don't feel like writing much about it yet. But, I definitely am glad I went.
Did various fun things, but, not in the mood to write about them right now. Mainly, I just wanted to note down the detail about caffeine seeming to somehow make my eyes stop being gooey/itchy or dry.
Now very sleepy, but, still need to clear the clothes and other junk off my bed. I have so many clothes, but so few I'm willing to actually wear outside the house, so I made quite a mess just trying to find something to wear. Too bad I hadn't sorted them in advance to make wearable clothes easier to find. But, for me, dealing with clothes is a boring chore, and I go out too seldom for it to seem important for me to have lots of different outfits immediately ready.
Addition, Aug. 23, 2017, 2:49 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 3:12 AM and 11:49 AM. Still tired, so, not really in the mood to reminisce much about the more interesting parts of my journey. I really need to get this mountain of clothes under better control somehow.
Addition, August 24, 2017, 1:59 AM EDT. Forgot to mention that my right eye was a bit gooey when I first woke up, but that soon went away.
Addition, August 24, 2017, 2:04 AM EDT. My right eye has already stopped being gooey. I still might actually just go back to sleep, though.
Addition, August 24, 2017, 3:31 AM EDT. Was so tired I almost fell asleep, but, kept reading instead, and perked up a bit starting around 3 AM. That's good, since before, I couldn't even get motivated enough to get out of bed to turn my light off.
Addition, August 24, 2017, 4:30 AM EDT. Maybe I'm just tired and not sufficiently well-rested, but maybe theanine has much more powerful effects than I realized.
Addition, August 24, 2017, 11:47 AM EDT. Slept sometime between 4:23 AM and 10:54 AM. Felt still tired at first, but quickly started to feel better, within about 20 minutes. My air conditioner has been making an irritating noise at times, so, I should probably see if cleaning its filter fixes that. My right eye is a bit gooey now.
Addition, August 24, 2017, 1:59 PM EDT. Have remained remarkably untired, which was even the case before I began drinking a cup of organic decaf black tea.
As of 12:17 PM, I finally have my own up-to-date Android phone, which someone gave me. I think it actually might have arrived on eclipse day, sometime after we left.
Addition, August 24, 2017, 4:33 PM EDT. Maybe I should only drink that organic decaf black tea when I plan to sleep, since I got sleepy. So, to counteract that, and also to forestall what felt like an approaching caffeine withdrawal headache, I started drinking some Barq's caffeinated root beer.
Still feeling like I could go back to sleep, and I'm guessing eating potato chips made me even more sleepy. Feeling increasingly alert as I continue writing this, though.
Addition, August 25, 2017, 2:50 AM EDT. Perked up quite a bit soon after my last update. Didn't get drowsy even after eating more potato chips.
Addition, August 25, 2017, 2:30 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 2:58 AM and 11:13 AM. Haven't felt tired at all, except maybe when I first woke up (but I don't remember). And I feel like I probably slept well enough.
Addition, August 25, 2017, 3:51 PM EDT. I just read in the book The Sleep Solution that rats in a dirty cage don't sleep as well as rats in a clean cage. So, I guess that's another reason to clean my room.
Addition, August 25, 2017, 4:21 PM EDT. Ate a bunch of potato chips, and am now sleepy. Time for some caffeinated root beer.
Addition, August 25, 2017, 5:12 PM EDT. Feeling much better, and now taking pictures of my clothes. Time to practice The Art of Discarding. Won't throw anything away, I'm just going to put a lot of this stuff somewhere else.
Addition, August 25, 2017, 7:12 PM EDT. Getting bored, but have taken pictures of a lot of my clothes. I'm not even sure if I'm approaching half done yet. But, there's less of a clothes mountain on my bed now, since I tossed the clothes I took pictures of across the room onto a new mountain.
Addition, August 25, 2017, 11:49 PM EDT. Had another can of caffeinated root beer, and 1 cup of organic decaf Iced Tea served hot, which was also quite good.
I'm really hoping that if I consume enough theanine from decaf tea, maybe all this caffeine won't make me crash again. And I probably ought to try harder to remember to take Vitamin C later in my day, instead of just my usual 3 grams of Vitamin C in my morning.
I feel so much better now that I'm caffeinated - and theanined! - again. I really hope this lasts. In most of my past history of caffeine-drinking (except a long time ago, maybe around or before the year 2000, when there was another decaf tea I enjoyed, maybe Lipton), I probably usually consumed more caffeine than theanine. (Though I have no way of knowing the exact amounts of either in all the teas I drank.)
Addition, August 26, 2017, 2:25 AM EDT. I think maybe that 2nd can of root beer was a bit too much caffeine for me, since I got a bit anxious. Had organic decaf Earl Grey, which I think may have helped.
Addition, August 26, 2017, 3:41 AM EDT. Increasingly sleepy, but somehow my eyes became undry, and my right eye got gooey again. They already were by the time I finished writing the previous update, but I forgot to mention it.
Addition, August 26, 2017, 1:07 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 3:51 AM and 12:25 PM. Got quite thirsty and a bit dry-eyed, with a slightly stuffy nose, but am already feeling mostly better, and also sufficiently alert since very soon after waking. Not craving caffeine yet.
I think I'll try and see if theanine makes me feel sleepy even soon after I've already gotten plenty of sleep. So, I think I'll start my day with a cup of just decaf, and if that seems to make me tired, I guess I'll have a caffeinated root beer after that.
Addition, August 26, 2017, 1:18 PM EDT. I think I'm already feeling slightly less alert, perhaps due to the potato chips. But maybe not as strong an effect as usual.
Addition, August 26, 2017, 2:10 PM EDT. Still haven't made decaf nor consumed anything else, except maybe some plain water. But definitely not as tired as I sometimes have seemed to get from potato chips.
Addition, August 26, 2017, 2:59 PM EDT. Now drinking decaf Masala Chai. Definitely one of the best chais I've ever had. Feeling calm and relaxed, but not tired so far.
Addition, August 26, 2017, 4:33 PM EDT. Wow - still feeling fine, and still not craving caffeine. Have only eaten potato chips so far today, though. And all I've done so far today is read, and watch TV and chit-chat with family.
Addition, August 26, 2017, 6:36 PM EDT. Started to feel a bit more tired around 5:15 PM, so, had some caffeinated root beer, a small piece of pizza, and a dark chocolate/peanut butter granola bar.
Additions, August 26, 2017, 7:43 PM/7:49 PM EDT. Am starting to wonder what might happen if I mostly quit caffeine again, except for the small amount that's in decaf. But, before I do that, I think I'd like to try mixing caffeinated and decaf tea. Maybe I'll try that tomorrow.
Additions, August 26, 2017, 8:47 PM/8:51 EDT. My mood has improved again, maybe because I'm more alert again, and I'm finally eating something healthy - part of a cantaloupe.
Addition, August 26, 2017, 8:59 PM EDT. Found this comforting article which says "Feeling Tired After a Meal Is Completely Normal". Still seems unusual and frustrating for me, but I guess that's probably because I was probably overly caffeinated for so much of my life.
Addition, August 26, 2017, 10:22 PM EDT. Actually been starting to get jittery, though I feel somewhat tired at the same time. So... I guess I need more theanine (except not sure if I'm in the mood for another cup of decaf tea yet), and magnesium probably would help too, and probably just eating better in general. Feeling hungry.
Addition, August 26, 2017, 11:56 PM EDT. Found an interesting article: Why do elderly people miss the tea they drunk before?
"In 1950, Dr. Sakado discovered the substance called Theanine that produces the taste of umami which taste is somewhat like “mono sodium gluconate”, the so-called “Ajinomoto”, as what most people are familiar with. They also discovered the relationship of when more nitrogen fertilizer was used, the more theanines were accumulated in the tea."
Ate a lot of yummy crab potato chips (with no real crab, I believe), some peanuts I found we had, and another dark chocolate/peanut butter granola bar, so am less hungry now, and also became a bit more energetic.
Addition, August 27, 2017, 2:25 AM EDT. Got too tired, and lost in reading, so didn't make another cup of decaf, even though I probably need some. I sure wish I had a butler and/or chef - I would pay them enormous amounts of money if I could comfortably afford to do so.
Addition, August 27, 2017, 3:21 AM EDT. Too tired, so stayed in bed.
Addition, August 27, 2017, 10:36 AM EDT. Slept sometime between 3:22 AM and 10:19 AM. Woke up thirsty with gooey eyes, and a slightly stuffy nose, but, feeling more able to function again.
Addition, August 27, 2017, 11:07 AM EDT. Just figured out from this page that to measure amounts of caffeine and theanine in tea, I might need a "liquid chromatography-diode array detector". :-) Fortunately, a couple are available on eBay for less than $200. :-D
Addition, August 27, 2017, 11:36 AM EDT. Even without having my own "liquid chromatography-diode array detector" to play with, the aforementioned page is interesting.
"The analysis of 17 tea samples carried out by Ekborg-Ott et al., revealed that the average theanine content of black teas was 1.40%, as compared to 1.42% in green teas, and 1.16% in oolong teas. The widest range of theanine content (0.60–1.72%) was detected in oolong samples. One of the black tea samples contained the highest amount of theanine (2.38%).[28] The results of a comprehensive analytical study points out the high variability of theanine content within the different tea types (3.97–14.47 mg/g for oolong, 0.89–17.27 mg/g for black, 3.07–21.18 mg/g for green and 2.23–14.21 mg/g for white tea)."
Addition, August 27, 2017, 11:44 AM EDT. Tried to figure out what amount of tea 1 gram equates to, and found this page, which explains that it varies.
Addition, August 27, 2017, 12:39 PM EDT. Ate some peanuts and recently started a cup of tea with 1/4 of a teaspoon of caffeinated PG Tips black tea (my formerly usual black tea) and 1 teaspoon of Arbor Teas Mixed Berry organic decaf black tea.
Addition, August 27, 2017, 1:33 PM EDT. Feeling better, except one of my relatives is inflicting their Windows computer problems on me again. This is yet another reason I despise closed-source, proprietary software.
Addition, August 27, 2017, 1:58 PM EDT. Definitely feeling sufficiently alert now, verging on too alert, so I'm very glad I used only 1/4th of a teaspoon of caffeinated tea. Maybe I should use even less than that next time. Wonder how long this will last.
Addition, August 27, 2017, 3:16 PM EDT. Still feeling fine. Ate some cottage cheese and black pepper.
Additions, August 27, 2017, 3:22 PM/3:24 PM EDT. A few other interesting pages:
Additions, August 27, 2017, 5:41 PM/5:56 PM EDT. Still pretty alert, though that has been gradually fading. But, I definitely feel like having a lot more decaf tea than caffeinated tea in the same tea bag is a good approach for me.
Addition, August 27, 2017, 10:26 PM EDT. Didn't get much more done yet, but, still in a good mood and not feeling tired, even though I still haven't taken any magnesium or ground flaxseed (warning).
I guess after I get a bit more to eat, I'll probably conclude my evening with a cup of just decaf tea. I feel like I might not get tired for several more hours, though.
Addition, August 28, 2017, 5:19 AM EDT. Read a while, and stayed up late watching YouTube with relatives. Only recently (around maybe 4:00 AM) have gotten too tired to feel like doing much of anything. So, didn't make another cup of decaf tea. Haven't felt like I really need it. I'm actually rather surprised at how good and untired I felt today after tea, and I think the caffeinated root beer probably helped too.
Addition, August 28, 2017, 10:12 PM/10:25 PM EDT. Forgot to mention my eyes were gooey for several hours before sleep. Slept sometime between 5:24 AM and 12:21 PM, and woke up thirsty and dry-eyed. But, since then, I think my eyes have mostly been gooey or normal, and mostly my right eye has been gooey (and also a bit itchy).
Was alert and in a good enough mood earlier to get some programming done. Also got the first batch of pictures of my clothes into a VUE map.
Our microwave seems like it might be having trouble, since I noticed today that the power level button doesn't work anymore, and just causes an unusual-sounding beep. And, also unusually, 5 minutes of microwaving my tea somehow didn't cause it to boil.
I wonder if I could possibly learn enough about plumbing to fix the upstairs bathroom myself? I kind of wish I had a skill like that, because I think even if my energy levels were reliable, I'd still feel uneasy and stressed out by trying to do any job that might require a lot of creativity, like programming.
Addition, August 28, 2017, 11:19 PM EDT. Had two spoonfuls (not official tablespoons) of ground flaxseed (warning), and have been feeling tempted to drink another can of caffeinated root beer. Still rather headachy.
Addition, August 29, 2017, 2:03 AM EDT. It seems our microwave can still boil water in 5 minutes, since it worked when I filled up my mug with tap water and no tea bag. Maybe it didn't work before because I put a bit more water than usual, or because the tea bag got in the way somehow.
Addition, August 29, 2017, 2:22 AM EDT. Now having caffeinated root beer. Already feeling better.
Addition, August 29, 2017, 2:41 AM EDT. Found a helpful article about cold-brewed iced tea.
"Tea leaves will steep in water no matter the temperature. If you use very cold water, you’ll still be able to brew, it just takes longer than if you used hot water.
I guess I'll try cold-brewing some iced tea with one of my 4 large smoothie glasses with lids, and use 3 teaspoons of iced tea in one of my usual paper tea bags.
Addition, August 29, 2017, 3:55 AM EDT. Still tired and unmotivated, but in a better mood, and a bit less tired. Anyway, I always had trouble with tiredness around my time of the month even back when I regularly drank caffeine, so, I should probably not interpret this fatigue to mean I'm dying or something.
Addition, August 29, 2017, 4:32 AM EDT. Finally managed to clean a glass and started cold-brewing some iced tea. Going to steep it for 12 hours (or possibly longer, if I forget about it or am asleep).
Addition, August 29, 2017, 2:41 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 6 AM and 12:35 PM, but managed to go back to sleep until 2:12 PM.
Addition, August 29, 2017, 4:33 PM EDT. The microwave's power level button still doesn't work, but, my tea somehow microwaved properly today. Tastes great. But, I didn't realize 3/8ths of a teaspoon is actually larger than 1/4th, so, I unintentionally am having more than 1/4th of a teaspoon of black tea.
Addition, August 30, 2017, 1:57 AM EDT. Was in excellent mood for hours after tea. Started to get bit tired after 10 PM. But, recently gave into the temptation to have a caffeinated root beer.
But, I think I'm actually getting thinner despite eating more junk food lately, since overall, I might not be eating as much as I used to. I'm actually happier not feeling hungry as frequently anymore. Feeling so hungry so often was another thing that was weird (and quite annoying) for me about quitting caffeine. What feels normal to me is to have energy regardless of what I eat (or don't eat), and never having to worry about whether eating carbs is going to make me feel sleepy for hours.
Despite being in such a good mood and feeling much more capable of getting things done, I actually didn't do much besides reading, watching TV, and chit-chatting with family.
Even when I got a bit tired earlier, that low felt less low than my uncaffeinated or caffeine-withdrawal lows. Actually, still feeling a bit tired now despite the caffeinated root beer, but. I was drinking that more for flavor's sake than for energy, so I don't mind. Also am glad I don't feel like caffeine so late in my day is going to totally ruin my sleep.
Forgot to mention that I finally took some magnesium on August 28th/29th - a full dose magnesium citrate around 8:11 PM on Aug. 28, and a full dose of Advanced MAGNESIUM (by InnovixLabs). Highly Bioavailable Bisglycinate + Malate Formula sometime soon before sleep on Aug. 29. Perhaps those are also factors in why I felt so much better today.
Addition, August 30, 2017, 5:33 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 4:50 AM and 10:25 AM. Only got up because I felt like my time of the month might be about to start, but I was mistaken. Read for about an hour and went back to sleep sometime between 11:34 AM and 4:56 PM. Woke up thirsty and slightly headachy, but that quickly went away.
Addition, August 30, 2017, 7:53 PM EDT. Drank a cup of tea made with 3/8th of a teaspoon of caffeinated black tea, plus 1 teaspoon of organic decaf Earl Grey. Already had been feeling better and more alert even before drinking it, but now I feel especially better.
Additions, August 30, 2017, 10:16 PM/11:28 PM EDT. Tried another caffeine-free root beer - Great Value brand from Walmart. To my surprise, it seems like the best-tasting one so far out of the 3 I've tried. Undecided about whether I'd get it again, though.
Ate some cottage cheese, half a cantaloupe, some smoked gouda and Jarlsberg cheese, and a bunch of Great Value brand "Dry Roasted & Salted" peanuts, which I find to be subtly but nicely-seasoned.
Addition, August 30, 2017, 11:49 PM EDT. Still not tired, and am quite alert enough in a calm, relaxed way.
Addition, August 31, 2017, 1:21 AM EDT. Had an unmeasured amount of ground flaxseed (warning) which might or might not have been more than two spoonfuls, and a full serving of magnesium citrate.
Still feeling alert enough - happily, my energy level feels about the same since the bowl of ravioli. Very pleased that such a probably small amount of caffeine seems to cure me of carbs making me tired.
Addition, August 31, 2017, 2:32 AM EDT. My family's refrigerator is malfunctioning. Somehow, when the freezer gets frosty, the refrigerator part stops cooling as well. So, I put some of that food in my own mini-fridge.
Addition, August 31, 2017, 3:27 AM EDT. Finally starting to get a bit tired. If I start to feel headachy, I'm going to just eat some particles of instant coffee rather than having a caffeinated root beer, since I think I'd feel safer reducing my caffeine intake a bit. Or, maybe I'd be better off with a larger amount all at once early in my day, which won't wear off as soon. So, maybe I should try half a teaspoon of caffeinated black tea tomorrow.
Addition, August 31, 2017, 4:58 AM EDT. My eyes started to get gooey again. They had been fine for a long while.
Additions, August 31, 2017, 2:31/2:38 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 8:54 AM and 1:34 PM. For a little while since my previous update, my energy improved, though it never got all that low in the first place, and my eyes didn't get very gooey. And, my time of the month still hasn't started yet. I just feel like it's going to happen soon.
This may be a bad idea, but, if I do decide to stay awake, I think I'm going to increase my "morning" caffeine a bit more, and keep trying to avoid having a large amount of caffeine later in my day.
Addition, August 31, 2017, 6:56 PM EDT. Stayed awake to read, but still haven't had caffeine yet. Not headachy nor even craving caffeine yet, but, definitely feeling fatigued.
Sometimes I wonder if I should try an extreme sleep experiment like polyphasic sleep, mostly because I read here that it can have quite interesting results.
Additions, August 31, 2017, 8:27 PM/8:35 PM EDT, and Sept. 1, 2017, 1:34 AM. Wow, the more I read those polyphasic sleep blog posts, the more tempting polyphasic sleep becomes. I've read up to Day 7 so far.
Addition, Sept. 1, 2017, 2:40 AM EDT. Ended up staying awake, and instead of tea, drank two cans of Barq's caffeinated root beer and had 1 dark chocolate/peanut butter granola bar. Ate some pizza, watched TV, and chit-chatted with family. The caffeine helps a bit but I still don't feel right, perhaps for lack of theanine? Or simply from sleeping too little and not eating as healthily as I should. Oh, and PMS, of course.
Addition, Sept. 1, 2017, 3:54 AM EDT. So tired, and my right eye is still gooey. (Which is still better than dry eyes.)
Addition, Sept. 1, 2017, 4:09 AM EDT. Starting to like Great Value brand decaffeinated root beer more. Actually enjoying it and not wishing it was Barq's. So, hopefully that will rescue me from drinking too much Barq's in the future.
Addition, Sept. 1, 2017, 4:36 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 7:32 AM and 4:08 PM. My time of the month still hasn't started.
Addition, Sept. 1, 2017, 5:24 PM EDT. As of 4:50 PM or soon before, feeling tired. Not sure if I should have caffeine or not. But, it sounds like caffeine really interferes with polyphasic sleep. I wonder if for someone as sensitive as me to caffeine, if even decaf tea could mess up polyphasic sleep for me.
I just don't feel awake enough to want to stay awake, but I also don't feel tired enough to go back to sleep. I wonder if I finally depleted my body's supplies of Vitamin D and need more? I still don't want to resume taking Vitamin D supplements, but, I guess I could resume drinking milk with Breakfast Essentials powder.
Addition, Sept 1, 2017, 6:51 PM EDT. I don't really feel like I'm dying. Maybe I should see the doctor anyway - I don't even remember how many years it has been since I last did - but, I probably won't yet.
Anyway, I don't have a deep understanding of either caffeine or polyphasic sleep, but, it looks to me like possibly something that caffeine and polyphasic sleep both have in common is, interference with when your brain reaches certain stages of sleep.
I definitely can't call my sleep traditional or "normal", but it is a lot closer to traditional or "normal" than polyphasic sleep is, since, once I'm sufficiently tired, I tend to sleep for long stretches of time like 7 hours. I've always had difficulty even falling asleep for a nap, and if I do manage it (or if it just happens), I sometimes actually feel worse after I wake up, so I am wary of naps.
Addition, Sept. 1, 2017, 11:55 PM EDT. Still didn't have any caffeine. After I ate some pizza, I perked up and felt sufficiently alert for a while, which was a bit surprising since I thought it might have enough carbs to make me even more tired. But it also had pepperoni, so maybe it had enough protein to make me more alert?
Haven't read more about polyphasic sleep yet. Couldn't find any Overdrive books about it so far.
Addition, Sept. 2, 2017, 12:24 AM EDT. Somehow, my tiredness went away again. Didn't eat or drink anything. I have no idea what's going on with me. But, I guess the fact that I'm not feeling constantly tired is probably good.
Addition, Sept. 2, 2017, 1:17 AM EDT. Made a smoothie with 3 kiwis (almost whole except I removed the ends), water, and grape juice. It looks like purplish mud but tastes good.
Addition, Sept. 2, 2017, 2:39 AM EDT. Getting tired again. Reluctant to have a significant amount of caffeine this late in my day, so, I hope I don't start getting a caffeine withdrawal headache.
Addition, Sept. 2, 2017, 3:48 AM EDT. Eating handfuls of Cheerios, partly because getting a bowl and spoon seemed like too much trouble, and partly because I read that milk might block iron absorption. And I thought maybe I am low on iron, or might be soon due to my time of the month. And since I read caffeine can interfere with iron absorption, I thought I might need more iron for that reason, too.
Addition, Sept. 2, 2017, 4:54 AM EDT. Very sleepy. Not really wanting to do much of anything, just wishing I wanted to. But, perhaps tomorrow will go much better due to caffeine. I'd like to catalog the rest of my clothes, clean my room, and thereby make my exercise bike useable again.
In the nearer future, I hope I have much nicer dreams. Wow, if a 15 minute polyphasic sleep dream can seem like 2 hours, then, maybe since I sleep much longer than 20 minutes, maybe I could have dreams that seem a lot longer than 2 hours? I'm so tired of being tired and of frequently just wishing I wanted to do something rather than actually wanting to, so, I'd love a nice, long dream vacation from my life. I wonder if my dreams could give me clues on what might help my health.
I never had much luck pre-programming dreams or inducing lucid dreams, but, I never tried very hard, maybe because I was concerned that if I ever became capable of controlling my dreams too well, I might end up deprived of important ideas my unconscious mind for some reason wants to bring to my attention.
Addition, Sept. 2, 2017, 2:36 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 5:33 AM and 1:02 PM. I guess my dreams were a bit better, though nothing really special, and I still wish I could have slept longer. I don't really want to be awake now, though I think I might have slept better and am feeling better than yesterday.
Anyway, it definitely still seems quite possible that I'm low in iron and maybe also ferritin. I keep reading that meat is the best source of easily-absorbed iron, and I don't eat very much meat. I do get a lot of Vitamin C, but still don't know if that has been causing me to absorb enough iron from non-meat sources, especially since I'm not sure I consume enough foods containing iron to begin with.
Addition, Sept. 2, 2017, 4:00 PM EDT. Still haven't had caffeinated tea yet, but maybe should. Except it's tempting to keep avoiding it, to see how long I can avoid a withdrawal headache, and also since I'm not sure I need it today. But, with it, I probably would be more energetic and in a better mood.
Addition, Sept. 2, 2017, 6:16 PM EDT. Made a cup of tea with 1/4th a teaspoon of caffeinated PG Tips black tea, 1/4th a teaspoon of the loose version of this excellent caffeinated green tea grown in South Carolina, 1/2 a teaspoon of
decaf Earl Grey, and 1/2 a teaspoon of decaf Masala Chai.
Addition, Sept. 2, 2017, 8:00 PM EDT. Been feeling a bit tired for a while, but it's nice tiredness rather than annoying tiredness, I guess because theanine is so great.
Addition, Sept. 3, 2017, 1:10 AM EDT. Hours ago, started to wake up a bit more, and a bit later, started to feel like I might get a caffeine withdrawal headache. So, I had a can of Barq's caffeinated root beer along with some pizza, and managed to avoid a headache. Have had a much easier time focusing and enjoying books today.
Addition, Sept. 3, 2017, 4:27 AM/4:32 AM EDT. Been feeling mostly fine, though I'm guessing I would probably feel tired if I hadn't had that caffeinated root beer sometime around 10 PM. (Finally got tired around when I finished writing this update.)
And I just read this scary article: The Harmful Effects of Electromagnetic Fields Explained
Finally getting tired as I write this. My eyes are mostly OK, though sometimes a bit gooey. I think I forgot to mention (or even write down in my private notes) that during my last sleep, I don't think I had as much trouble with thirst. Can't remember if my eyes were gooey when I woke up - maybe less than usual. They definitely have seemed better than usual most of the time today.
Addition, Sept. 3, 2017, 4:57 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 6:09 AM and 4:28 PM. It seemed like one of my dreams felt pretty long. Except my dreams mostly weren't fun and I also can't remember much now.
Addition, Sept. 3, 2017, 5:11 PM EDT. Forgot to mention, but, my eyes are mostly OK - my right eye is only a bit gooey. I did get woken up by thirst sometimes, but maybe less than usual, but probably more than my last sleep.
Addition, Sept. 3, 2017, 5:22 PM EDT. Found another scary page: A review on Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and the reproductive system
"This indicates that the antioxidant compounds in fennel and vitamin E, with other antioxidants, can reduce the harmful effects of EMFs on the reproductive system."
Addition, Sept. 3, 2017, 6:28 PM EDT. Definitely PMS-y today. I got incredibly irritated by not being able to find my tin of green tea in my messy room. But, after digging around a while, I finally found it.
Addition, Sept. 3, 2017, 10:20 PM EDT. Neglected to make tea until recently. Made it the same way as my last cup, except this time I used 3/8th of a teaspoon of caffeinated PG Tips black tea instead of 1/4th of a teaspoon. Still delicious.
Addition, Sept. 4, 2017, 1:19 AM EDT. Finally, to my relief, my time of the month started, maybe around 10:40 PM. Very glad nothing was so wrong with me that it severely delayed my time of the month.
Addition, Sept. 4, 2017, 4:29 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 10:18 AM and 4 PM. Woke up with a slight headache, but I think that was probably from thirst, since I also was very thirsty and had dry eyes, and my headache soon went away after I drank some water, and my eyes quickly got a bit gooey.
Addition, Sept. 4, 2017, 4:46 PM EDT. Forgot to mention, but, I think I started to feel tired around 5:30 AM last night. But stayed awake hours longer to read and listen to audio books.
Addition, Sept. 4, 2017, 6:05 PM EDT. Started to get tired soon before making tea, but, made it the same way as before, except I used Mixed Berry instead of Earl Grey. Still good, but I can't really detect mint anymore.
Addition, Sept. 4, 2017, 8:17 PM EDT. Still feeling less alert and energetic than I'd like despite tea, but, I didn't have a can of Barq's caffeinated root beer last night, so there's probably less caffeine in my body than there had been lately. And my time of the month never helps my energy.
Was thinking before my last sleep that it might be fun to have a dream where I'm sunbathing. I don't want to do too much of that in the real world because I easily get sunburned and I'd rather avoid various other possible problems, but, I enjoyed my experiments with sunbathing and miss the good parts of it.
Addition, Sept. 5, 2017, 8:49 AM EDT. Been tired, but avoided caffeine nonetheless, since I'm reluctant to have it too late in my day. Didn't read much, since I was listening to audio books instead, which I've been getting impatient with, since reading is so much faster, and a lot less likely to make me sleepy.
I think maybe next time I wake up, maybe I'll try a cup of tea made with an entire 1/2 teaspoon of caffeinated black tea, 1/4 teaspoon of caffeinated green tea, and 1 teaspoon of some kind(s) of decaf black tea. I really need to get my messy room under control.
Still hoping for improved non-lucid dreams, so I can just be effortlessly entertained instead of having to lucidly think up something entertaining.
Addition, Sept. 5, 2017, 3:54 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 8:59 AM and 3:13 PM. I know I dreamed, but I quickly forgot what. I still feel like I want more sleep. I think I might have been woken by thirst a bit. Not much trouble with my eyes now - only a bit gooey.
Addition, Sept. 5, 2017, 4:52 PM EDT. I guess maybe I could eat a particle of coffee when I first wake up, just to motivate myself to get out of bed and make tea. Except I often wake up so tired I'm undecided about whether to even try to stay awake or go back to sleep, like now.
Additions, Sept. 5, 2017, 6:07 PM/6:11 PM EDT. Finally feeling better even though I haven't even gotten out of bed yet, only drank water, and didn't eat anything except my usual morning vitamins.
Addition, Sept. 5, 2017, 6:21 PM EDT. On second thought, I think I am still tired. I don't clearly remember but possibly it was a bit less cloudy outside for a little while earlier, and now it's cloudier and darker again, and now I'm getting more tired again.
Addition, Sept. 5, 2017, 6:36 PM EDT. Will probably get my sleep mask sometime in the next several hours. I hope that helps and will work better than my blanket or anything else that bothers me by touching my eyes and not staying on well enough.
Addition, Sept. 5, 2017, 7:08 PM EDT. It got sunnier, and I started feeling more alert. Still just not feeling right, though, I guess because of my time of the month, maybe poor sleep quality, and probably because of not having tea yet, and not eating anything. Also, maybe I'd be better off living at my own place, except I'm not sure if I would be less stressed out because of less unwanted social contact, or more stressed out because of being alone.
Addition, Sept. 5, 2017, 7:46 PM EDT. Now it's getting darker outside, but I'm still somehow feeling better. Mostly have just been staying in bed reading, and I also returned most of my audio books since they seem too time-consuming.
Addition, Sept. 6, 2017, 2:34 AM EDT. Was still tired but in an increasingly better mood even before I got my sleep mask and our new small microwave.
Addition, Sept. 6, 2017, 6:12 AM EDT. Started getting tired hours ago, but I'm in such a better mood that I don't mind. Perhaps next time I get in a bad mood, it might be interesting to see if theanine alone (well, except for the small amount of caffeine in decaf) eases it as well as caffeine + theanine.
Addition, Sept, 6, 2017, 4:41 PM EDT. Slept sometime between maybe 8 AM and 4:12 PM. Couldn't use the sleep mask because the detergenty smell it had when it arrived made it intolerable for me to wear. I tried hand-washing it with plain cold water, and even tried to wear it wet for a while, but it was too cold, so I slept without it. It still has that intolerable smell, so I'm going to have to wash it much more thoroughly, I guess. Maybe warm water would work better. Or maybe I'll even try to soak it. So, that's annoying, especially since the description says it's "odor-free".
Addition, Sept. 6, 2017, 6:40 PM EDT. Got slightly headachy, but perhaps it's just a hormonal thing. Or maybe I just don't drink enough liquids in general, especially before sleep?
Addition, Sept. 7, 2017, 2:20 AM EDT. Read, watched TV with family, and have recently been cleaning a bit. In fact, before I put my books away in boxes, I've been taking pictures of them, so I can catalog them in another VUE map.
Addition, Sept. 7, 2017, 7:15 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 10:24 AM and 6:31 PM. Had long dreams again. A kind of fun one about staying in a large strange house, not haunted, but which, like a house in a video game, had various "secret" levers and switches you could flip to rearrange the house's layout. One of the new friends I was traveling with in the dream showed me that. (I hadn't noticed it myself.) The house had a scary basement I didn't go into, but it wasn't a scary place other than that, and I was very pleased that it had multiple kitchens and multiple working bathrooms.
Addition, Sept. 7, 2017, 9:24 PM EDT. Washed my sleep mask with Dawn dishwashing liquid soap and warm water, then dried it with a hair dryer. Now, all I smell is the dishwashing soap, which I think I can tolerate, since it's pretty mild and aesthetically acceptable.
Forgot to mention earlier, but I woke up feeling mostly untired, and didn't notice any eye issues. My right eye has sometimes gotten a bit gooey since then, but it keeps fluctuating. Got thirsty at times while sleeping, but, maybe not as much as usual. Starting to feel a bit more tired now.
Addition, Sept. 8, 2017, 1:09 AM EDT. Didn't try to go back to sleep - ended up watching more episodes of Legends of Tomorrow with my family.
Addition, Sept. 8, 2017, 11:22 AM EDT. Stayed awake to read. Started to get a bit headachy, so, since I didn't really feel like drinking a substantial amount of caffeine, I drank the rest of my decaf iced tea, which seemed to maybe help for a little while, but, eventually I ended up with a headache, though I guess it might be from eating poorly as well as caffeine withdrawal.
Addition, Sept. 8, 2017, 6:24 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 11:38 AM and 4:49 PM. Haven't been as headachy. Didn't use the sleep mask since the smell still bothers me, and the way the mask physically presses on my nose kind of bothers me.
Addition, Sept. 9, 2017, 2:17 AM EDT. Didn't get much energy from my last tea. A few hours ago, I felt so tired I kind of wanted to go to sleep, but I was watching TV with family, so stayed awake.
But, now that I no longer have a headache, I'm undecided again and still feeling willing to experiment.
Addition, Sept. 9, 2017, 2:36 AM EDT. A lot more energetic now for some reason. I finally got motivated to stack some more heavy boxes of books in the corner. Maybe the milk and the vanilla Breakfast Essentials powder I had earlier (sometime before my headache, which I suspect was a migraine) did me some good. And I wouldn't mind eating another stuffed cabbage roll filled with rice and meat. (Had two earlier, around 6:30 PM.)
Addition, Sept. 9, 2017, 3:47 AM EDT. Ate a stuffed cabbage roll, which I improved a lot by adding black pepper, red pepper, and marjoram to it.
Addition, Sept. 9, 2017, 4:28 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 7:04 AM and 3:39 PM. Sometimes slept with my sleep mask, but it actually sometimes woke me up, so I eventually took it off. Haven't felt tired yet, though I haven't yet had vitamins, tea, and food.
Addition, Sept. 10, 2017, 4:21 AM EDT. Didn't have tea, and about all I did was read. Got too sleepy to keep reading around 10:41 PM, so, slept sometime between 10:41 PM and 3:01 AM.
Addition, Sept. 10, 2017, 7:30 AM EDT. No problems with tiredness yet. Made a smoothie with 3 kiwis, 2 bananas, and a 20 ounce can of pineapple, which actually made enough to fill two glasses.
Addition, Sept. 10, 2017, 5:46 PM EDT. Got kind of tired soon after the last update. Slept sometime between 10:11 AM and 5:07 PM. Tried my sleep mask for a while, but, unless it's positioned perfectly, it lets in some light, and it too easily gets moved out of place as I sleep, so I ended up taking it off again.
Addition, Sept. 10, 2017, 6:51 PM EDT. Just started reading another book by the same author: ProcessMind: A User's Guide to Connecting with the Mind of God. Just thought I'd mention it.
Addition, Sept. 11, 2017, 12:58 AM EDT. Less trouble with tiredness. Still didn't accomplish much, though - I read, and watched more episodes of Legends of Tomorrow with family.
Addition, Sept. 11, 2017, 6:40 AM EDT. Ended up cleaning my room more, rather than thinking deep thoughts. Now, I can almost use my exercise bike again.
Addition, Sept. 11, 2017, 6:22 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 9:34 AM and 5:48 PM. Kept getting so thirsty and dry-eyed - so thirsty that it took a while for me to start feeling like water was doing some good.
Addition, Sept. 12, 2017, 1:44 AM EDT. Tried to sleep sometime between 8:35 PM and 9:49 PM, but I don't think I slept much.
Addition, Sept. 12, 2017, 10:35 AM EDT. Somehow, wasn't tired until recently (except for some fluctuations I scarcely noticed earlier), and my mood improved also. Mostly have been reading or listening to audio books.
Addition, Sept. 12, 2017, 8:20 PM EDT. Slept sometime between 2:11 PM and 8:00 PM. My right eye got very gooey before sleep, and my right nostril feels a bit clogged. My right eye is still gooey now, and I'm feeling sort of tired.
Addition, Sept. 13, 2017, 12:40 AM EDT. Had a cup of tea made with 1/3 teaspoon of PG Tips caffeinated black tea, 1/2 teaspoon of the loose version of this excellent caffeinated green tea grown in South Carolina, and 1 teaspoon of decaf English Breakfast.
Addition, Sept. 14, 2017, 12:14 AM EDT. Slept sometime between 1:00 PM and 7:52 PM. Got very thirsty and dry-eyed during sleep.
Additions, Sept. 14, 2017, 12:28 AM/12:32 AM EDT. I wonder if there's something so wrong with me that even if I did everything perfectly, always ate well, etc., I still would have lots of energy fluctuations anyway?
Addition, Sept. 14, 2017, 1:46 AM EDT. Made a cup of tea with a 3/4 teaspoon of the loose version of this excellent caffeinated green tea grown in South Carolina and 1 teaspoon of decaf Earl Grey. Microwaved it downstairs because it seems to work faster and better than the upstairs microwave.
Addition, Sept. 14. 2017, 3:47 AM EDT. Maybe I should have added some caffeinated black tea too, since I'm not sure I feel as caffeinated as I would like to feel, and am also verging on headachy.
Addition, Sept. 14, 2017, 12:53 PM EDT. Since caffeine, felt better and more alert, though still somewhat out of sorts, moody, and sometimes verging on a headache, though that might have been from not eating very well. Have been tired for a while now, but emotionally doing better and no longer headachy.
Addition, Sept. 14, 2017, 2:50 PM EDT. I guess one reason most clothes bore me so much is because my favorite clothes are usually incredibly opulent-looking (though not necessarily truly expensive) and/or flashy, and/or from a long time ago.
Addition, Sept. 15, 2017, 1:17 AM EDT. Slept sometime between 4:59 PM and 12:30 AM. I kept being woken up by thirst, as usual. Maybe I ought to just drink more liquids, eat more fruit, etc. Anyway, not feeling tired at the moment, so, that's a great start to my day.
Addition, Sept. 15, 2017, 2:46 AM EDT. Accidentally used the wrong measuring spoon, so my tea has 1 teaspoon of the loose version of this excellent caffeinated green tea grown in South Carolina instead of 1/2 a teaspoon. And 1/3rd teaspoon black tea, and 1 teaspoon decaf Mixed Berry. Oh, well. I feel like green tea has a lot less caffeine than black tea, though, so I decided to just drink it anyway.
I wonder if maybe one reason caffeine can be good for depression is because depression might be due to circadian rhythm problems, and since caffeine affects circadian rhythms somehow, maybe caffeine does something that helps fix some circadian rhythm problems?
Addition, Sept. 15, 2017, 3:06 AM EDT. Found this study about hamsters and Omega 3. Quote:
"We suggest that an (n-3) PUFA-deficient diet lessens the melatonin rhythm, weakens endogenous functioning of the circadian clock, and plays a role in nocturnal sleep disturbances as described in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder."
Addition, Sept. 15, 2017, 3:22 AM EDT. Feeling wide awake, and better than I have felt in a long time.
Addition, Sept. 15, 2017, 5:25 AM EDT. Still feeling great and wide awake. Earlier, I had a faint trace of vaguely headachy feelings, which went away. Also have had some occasional twitches in my face and left hand, but those have been decreasing.
"Researchers studying whether short-sightedness is linked with sleep patterns made an interesting discovery this year: People who have myopia, or short-sightedness, have melatonin levels that are up to three times higher than people who do not have myopia. "
Addition, Sept. 15, 2017, 6:07 AM EDT. Just found this article: Research Shows That Summer Babies Prone To Myopia
"The reason: early-life exposure to natural light Study showed that babies born during June and July have a 24% greater chance of becoming severely shortsighted than those born in the winter."
Addition, Sept. 15, 2017, 6:24 AM EDT. Another article about myopia and melatonin: Link established between myopia and sleep hormone
"‘Our research suggests that the body clocks’ of the short-sighted adults in our study were different, which is exciting because if these differences are also found in children, they may help us better understand which aspects of modern lifestyles are causing more children to become short-sighted than ever before.
Addition, Sept. 15, 2017, 7:03 AM EDT. An article about the myopia epidemic: The Myopia Boom
"Based on epidemiological studies, Ian Morgan, a myopia researcher at the Australian National University in Canberra, estimates that children need to spend around three hours per day under light levels of at least 10,000 lux to be protected against myopia. This is about the level experienced by someone under a shady tree, wearing sunglasses, on a bright summer day."
Anyway, still feeling nice and alert, but getting hungry. Haven't eaten anything but potato chips and vitamins so far today.
Addition, Sept. 15, 2017, 11:18 AM EDT. Finally ate a microwaveable frozen dinner - chicken fried rice, which I added tomato sauce and parmesan to.
Addition, Sept. 15, 2017, 1:24 PM EDT. Started to notice tiredness around 12:22 PM, and my eyes got worryingly dry. Feeling unmotivated now - otherwise I'd probably make a smoothie. Might even be tired enough to go to sleep soon.
Addition, Sept. 15, 2017, 2:57 PM EDT. Feeling better, more energetic, and my eyes seem less dry. Had a mug of milk with strawberry Breakfast Essentials powder, and some walnuts, which I guess haven't begun making me tired yet.
Addition, Sept. 15, 2017, 11:56 PM EDT. Slept a while, sometime between around 3:06 PM and sometime soon before 11 PM. Somewhat fun dreams about traveling.
Addition, Sept. 16, 2017, 2:28 AM EDT. Decided to stay awake, since I started to feel more alert a while back. Am having tea made with 1/3rd teaspoon of PG Tips caffeinated black tea, 1 teaspoon of the loose version of this excellent caffeinated green tea grown in South Carolina, and 1 teaspoon of decaf Masala Chai.
Found this page on how to figure out how strong a microwave is, which I need because the downstairs microwave's wattage isn't clearly labeled, and besides, maybe it's not working as well as it used to.
I'm now in a nice caffeinated/theanined mood, and am feeling quite energetic and alert (though I actually was alert enough even before tea), so, I guess now I'll move onto something more interesting than updating this blog post.
Addition, Sept. 16, 2017, 4:12 AM EDT. Found this interesting article dated January 5, 1995: Suppression of Melatonin Secretion in Some Blind Patients by Exposure to Bright Light
"The three blind patients who had no difficulties with sleep (Patients 1, 2, and 3) also had sharp decreases in plasma melatonin concentrations in response to bright light (Figure 1, lower panel; Figure 2DFigure 2Sleep–Wake Patterns and Plasma Melatonin Concentrations in Two Blind Patients.; and Table 1)."
Here's the official article about the study which found that myopic (nearsighted) people have more melatonin and less dopamine than non-myopic people: Myopes have significantly higher serum melatonin concentrations than non-myopes. Published July 18, 2017.
Maybe the reason Vitamin D often seemed to perk me up was because high doses of Vitamin D can decrease melatonin secretion significantly.
Additions, Sept. 16, 2017, 6:14 AM/6:21 AM EDT. Found some surprising articles that say bras reduce melatonin and contribute to breast cancer! Here's one: Good bras do bad things
"Across the world, breast cancer is a problem only in cultures where women wear bras."
Here's one about brassieres and girdles reducing melatonin: The effects of skin pressure by clothing on circadian rhythms of core temperature and salivary melatonin.
Additions, Sept. 16, 2017, 7:28 AM/7:32 AM EDT. Another page about bras and breast cancer: Burn Your Bra – Before It Kills You
"Those who wear a bra 18-24 hours daily have over 100 times greater incidence of breast cancer than do bra-free women. This link is 3-4 times greater than that between cigarettes and lung cancer!"
Addition, Sept. 16, 2017, 10:07 AM EDT. Getting tired, but I expected to probably get tired sooner today, since I slept pretty poorly until I set my air conditioner to a lower temperature sometime in the evening.
Addition, Sept. 16, 2017, 12:12 PM EDT. Started to get a bit jittery and anxious. I think I feel better when I take Nature's Bounty B-Complex with Folic Acid plus Vitamin C (125 Coated Tablets) rather than Nature Made Stress B, so I'll stick with the former in the future.
Addition, Sept. 16, 2017, 12:40 PM EDT. Got 4 books so far:
One book came with a bookmark with this great quote:
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."
Addition, Sept. 16, 2017, 3:03 PM EDT. Made a smoothie with 3 kiwis, freshly-squeezed lemon juice from one lemon, black cherry juice, and grape juice. Forgot to add 2 measured tablespoons of ground flaxseed (warning) to the blender, so I added it to my glass instead. It's mostly unnoticeable and maybe even improves the smoothie a bit, since I prefer my smoothies not to be perfectly smooth.
Might try sleeping braless today in case that helps me generate more melatonin while I sleep, LOL. Still shocked that bras can be so unhealthy.
If it's true that "The visual system mediating the conscious perception of light is ordinarily far more sensitive to light14,18 than the system mediating melatonin suppression," (source) I hope that means my body won't be too fussy about my sleep mask often letting in a bit of light near my nose. Maybe I could modify my sleep mask a bit and fix that somehow.
Addition, Sept. 17, 2017, 1:43 AM EDT. Wrote a long update which is now all lost because of some web error. Apparently this blog post is too big for me to update it via my web browser anymore.
And, even though now is probably not the best time to experiment with different amounts of caffeine, I'm going to try making a cup of PG Tips caffeinated black tea the same way I used to make it before quitting tea, with 1 uncustomized prepackaged bag of black tea microwaved for around 2 minutes in the downstairs microwave.
I guess I'll have to create a new blog post if I want to continue adding updates. Maybe I should title it "No longer trying to quit tea".
Addition, Sept. 19, 2017, 9:21 AM EDT. Finally created a new blog post: Health diary part 2 - financial help welcome
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| Chicory and barley: reputedly good for dental health, etc. |
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Friday, July 29th, 2016 13:02:44 GMT |
I was very pleased to find these articles.
(Addition, 9:28 AM EDT: Actually, here's an article which says black tea 'combats bacteria linked with tooth decay and gum disease'. Which surprises me, since I never felt like tea was helpful at all. Vitamin C seems to do my possible gum disease tremendously more good than tea. After having tea, I was always reluctant to put off brushing my teeth, for fear that my gum soreness would come back. End of addition.)
I seldom drank coffee to begin with, but until trying Teeccino, I drank one 12 ounce mug of tea per day.
I like Teeccino more than any herbal tea I ever had, and more than any decaf coffee I ever had. Teeccino also compares so well to the best caffeinated coffees I ever had that I can't even decide which I like more, so I guess it's a tie. And Teeccino even makes my favorite caffeinated tea seem relatively boring and weak in comparison.
Even flavor alone would make me stick with Teeccino. But the reputed health benefits (which also go beyond dental health benefits) are icing on the cake.
So, I wrote this new blog post:
But for me, I think the benefits of chicory and other foods with oxalates probably outweigh the possible drawbacks, so I'm going to keep having them.
Antimicrobial and anti-adherence activity of various combinations of coffee-chicory solutions on Streptococcus mutans: An in-vitro study
May-Aug 2014, from ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
The Health Benefits of Roasted Barley Tea With Chicory
June 23, 2015 from LIVESTRONG.COM
One of my least favorite things about ordinary tea (without chicory or barley) was the damage I suspected it (and/or the sugar I put in it) might be doing to my teeth and gums.
So, I'm very happy that I was able to quit ordinary tea, and am now only drinking Teeccino, which tastes so good it made it easy to give up caffeinated tea and coffee.
Addition, Aug. 13, 2016, 10:09 PM EDT. I read on this page that chicory contains high amounts of oxalates. (Oxalates are antinutrients found in many common foods.)
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| Going to try a standing desk |
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Wednesday, July 13th, 2016 21:19:19 GMT |
Yesterday, in my family's basement, I was able to find an old rolling table which is tall enough to use as a standing desk for my laptops.
Why did I want a standing desk? Because I keep running into articles which suggest that standing might be healthier than continually sitting.
And it will make it easier to do a wider variety of random exercises (or bellydancing :-D ) while continuing to work on my computer at the same time.
So, I'm going to be careful to avoid swollen ankles. Though I think I might have avoided that without even trying, because I'm so fidgety that I'll probably seldom stand still for long at my standing desk.
So, judging by that article, it seems that alternating between standing and sitting is probably better than constantly standing or constantly sitting. And also that fidgeting is good.
I'm definitely not interested in overdoing standing, exercise, sitting, or anything else. So, hopefully it will overall be good for me to get more variation and movement into my habitual routines. End of addition.)
And it turns out that despite being 35, I still like spinning around in an office chair about as much as I did when I was 5. :-)
So, who knows how much standing and other exercise I'm really going to do now. :-)
But since I have a laptop, this chair won't necessarily interfere with my computing too much. It will at least be amusing to see how well I can program while dizzy.
However, here's a partly negative article about standing desks:
(Addition, July 13, 2016, 6:28 PM EDT. Another partly negative article:
I wonder if lying or sitting in bed is healthier than sitting in a chair all day? My computers are usually next to my bed, and I shift positions a lot more than is possible in the average chair.
Another thing I found in the basement was a nice swiveling office chair I didn't even know we had.
My next task is to clear enough junk out of my room to make adequate room for these delights. Cleaning isn't my favorite thing to do, but at least it has more immediately perceptible good results than the average boring exercise.
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| Dancing: probably more interesting than many other forms of exercise |
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Monday, July 11th, 2016 11:27:56 GMT |
Like many other computer programmers, I probably ought to get more exercise.
But most exercise sounds boring to me, or otherwise inconvenient. There's a swimming pool I could go to, and I have a bicycle, and I could always go on walks, but, I much prefer to avoid people.
I don't know if dancing is the best possible exercise for me, but, no doubt anything is better than nothing, or just fidgeting and walking around my house.
And becoming a good (or otherwise amusing) dancer seems like a much more fun goal than becoming capable of performing ever-larger quantities of ungraceful, boring, repetitive exercises such as sit-ups and squats.
It might also result in some amusing videos someday. :-)
Maybe I should convert my bike into an exercise bike.
So, I think what I might prefer do instead is, stay in my room and try to learn bellydancing, and maybe other types of dancing too. :-)
Though I actually wouldn't mind an exercise bike or a non-motorized treadmill to use while I work on my computer stuff. Then I could just mindlessly get a significant amount of exercise while I get more useful things done at the same time.
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| Vitamin C seems to help my possible gum disease! |
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Tuesday, June 21st, 2016 10:07:20 GMT |
(Since this post is about health-related topics, here's my site's disclaimer.
Also, even though it's probably obvious, I should probably point out I'm not a health care professional of any kind - just a layperson who sometimes takes an interest in the topic of health.)
However, sometimes, the soreness totally went away, so I didn't know what to make of that.
But I had so much pain at times that I was afraid I had at least one cavity.
But the cavities were so small that when I got them filled in March, I didn't even need to be numbed with novocaine!
Nonetheless, I expected that after that, at least my worst sore spot would hopefully go away.
But, to my surprise, it remained (though it continued to be sporadic, just as before). Even despite my usually assiduous (but gentle) brushing, flossing, and using an oral irrigator soon after every meal or tea.
But I remembered that back in 2013, a hygienist had told me I'm starting to get gum disease. However, no one ever brought that up again on subsequent visits to the dentist, so I assumed maybe my gum disease had gone away by then, thanks to all my brushing, flossing, and irrigating.
But, since my soreness wasn't solved by my fillings, I had to reconsider the possibility that maybe I still had gum disease.
I'm not 100% sure it's gum disease since I didn't ask my dentist recently, but, from what I read on the web, I think it's quite possible.
And, happily, it really seems to work! Ever since I started taking it a couple months ago, I usually don't have soreness at all now.
And I'm pretty sure it's the Vitamin C which is helping me, because the soreness comes back within a day if I stop taking it.
I figured out that for me, it seems to work best if I take 2 Vitamin C's soon after I wake up.
I also often take a Nature Made "Stress B" vitamin (which also contains Vitamin C and zinc) sometime around either lunch or dinner, but I can get by with just the 2 Vitamin C's soon after I wake up.
Once, I tried taking 4 Vitamin C's in a single day, which seemed to do me no harm, but, since 2 work well enough, and I'd rather save money, I just take 2 Vitamin C's per day now, plus usually the Nature Made "Stress B".
However, some skeptics consider that quackery.
I'm not sure what to think. But I think I'm maybe more inclined to believe Linus Pauling, the Nobel prize winner, than his critics, since I don't know if any of his critics are equally renowned.
And from my own experience, it seems like Vitamin C has really helped me.
But I'm not really qualified to judge.
Astonishingly, one page I read said that half of American adults suffer from periodontal disease - with even higher percentages in some populations:
I wonder what is the cause of that? Is it possible that all these gum disease sufferers are simply deficient in Vitamin C?
No idea, but I sure hope something can be done to cure gum disease. Even Vitamin C doesn't seem like a perfect cure, because I have to keep taking it or my soreness comes back.
But, happily, it definitely seems to help me more than just brushing, flossing, and using an oral irrigator alone without taking Vitamin C.
It seems to work so well for me that I can forget I even (possibly) have gum disease. And that's good enough for me. :-)
I think Vitamin C has done (and continues to do) my gums more good than anything else I tried, so, I'm definitely going to keep taking it.
But, since this page says "vitamin C can be metabolized to oxalate" - if I ever decide to increase the amount of Vitamin C I take, I'm going to try to figure out how to minimize any possible problems resulting from possibly increased oxalates. (That same page suggests Vitamin B6.)
Several months ago, I was increasingly worried about my teeth. I had some sore spots which frequently (or sometimes) bled when I flossed around them, and using an oral irrigator on one of those spots was also often very painful.
So, in February, I finally saw the dentist. It turned out I had several very small cavities, including near my worst sore spot.
On Medicaid, I only get 1 free checkup every 6 months, so I actually didn't go back to the dentist to try to find out what was still wrong.
Happily, I found out that Vitamin C might be a highly effective way of dealing with gum disease. Here's the web page that inspired me to try it:
So, I got a big Rite-Aid brand bottle of 500 mg Vitamin C non-chewable tablets for a remarkably low price, under $10 I think. (And it was actually buy 1, get 1 free!)
First, I tried taking just one 500mg Vitamin C, which seemed to help a little. Then, I tried taking more at different times in my so-called schedule.
Interestingly, I read that the famous scientist Linus Pauling believed that it's good to take large doses of Vitamin C.
Anyway, just thought I'd share my thoughts and experiences, in case it might help others.
Addition, Aug. 13, 2016, 10:30 PM EDT. Here's a new blog post by me which mentions Vitamin C:
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| Closed Source, Proprietary Food Products Are Bad Too |
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Tuesday, January 19th, 2016 12:16:44 GMT |
As I've so often pointed out, closed source, proprietary, non-libre software is inherently flawed in a lot of ways.
But one thing I haven't pointed out as often is that closed source, proprietary, non-libre food products also are inherently flawed in a lot of ways.
Over the years, many products I used to like have either gotten totally discontinued (either arbitrarily or because the company went out of business), or their secret, proprietary, closed source recipes have been changed against my wishes.
And I wish there was more information available about the precise origins of every ingredient in my food.
I originally switched to the Rite-Aid nutrition shake after the real Ensure's recipe got changed in a way that tasted bad to me.
So, I'm particularly annoyed that even my favorite alternative to Ensure has now been ruined for me.
I've read some very worrying things about sucralose (also known as Splenda), so, I can't possibly drink that variety of Rite-Aid nutrition shake ever again unless the makers get rid of the sucralose.
I found a Rite-Aid "Plus" vanilla nutrition shake which had sugar instead of sucralose, but, it doesn't taste as good as the kind of Rite-Aid nutrition shake I used to like (which I think was the vanilla-flavored "Original" kind, before its recipe was ruined with sucralose and who knows what other changes), which I assume they probably don't even make anymore.
The kind they used to make actually tasted better to me than Ensure ever did.
If all food products had free (as in freedom), libre, open source recipes, it would be impossible for the makers of those products to permanently deprive their customers of the customers' preferred versions of those products, because the makers wouldn't have a monopoly anymore.
So, people would no longer be dependent on the only maker of an exclusive product to never discontinue their product, to never tamper with the recipe, and to never go out of business.
But even not-so-vague ingredient lists are still inadequate, because I'd like to know not only what is in my food, but everything there is to know about the origins of each ingredient.
Did any ingredients possibly come from a farm or other location which is overly close to a hydraulic fracturing (fracking) well, a toxic waste injection well, or other hazardous abomination? (I've been wondering about this ever since watching the documentary Gasland.)
Are there any genetically modified (GMO) ingredients? Exactly what pesticides were used? Were all the employees paid well and treated well? Etc., etc.
Even if all that information can't fit on a food label, at least it could be put on the web.
This blog post was inspired by the fact that I recently found out I can no longer have my preferred version of yet another product I used to like - the Rite-Aid brand nutrition shake, a knock-off of Ensure.
To my dismay, I recently found that Rite-Aid's vanilla-flavored "Original" nutrition shake now contains "liquid sucralose". (Luckily I noticed this before I drank any.)
Anyway, this all would be less of a problem if the recipes of these products weren't probably secret and proprietary.
Another problem with the "closed source" food industry is vague, uninformative ingredient names such as "natural flavors" and "artificial flavors".
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| The Epidemic of Too Much Omega 6 and Not Enough Omega 3 in Our Diets |
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Monday, August 17th, 2015 18:03:50 GMT |
This post is about health-related topics, so, I should probably point out this disclaimer, and also point out that I'm not a dietitian, nor a doctor, nor a nurse, nor a health care professional of any kind.
I'm just a layperson who sometimes likes to read, think, and sometimes even write about, health. (And maybe I was a doctor in a previous life in the early 1800's. :-) )
I'm 34 years old, never attended college (partly for financial reasons, and partly because of my sleep issues and shyness), and I have a GED instead of a normal high school diploma.
So, please don't blindly assume I know what I'm talking about, and please don't blindly assume that my ideas or personal health habits necessarily have any merit.
Also, this seems like a good place to point out the wonderful, fascinating book Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb - who isn't a health care professional, and if I recall correctly, he didn't write about Omega 3 and/or Omega 6 at all in that book. And health isn't the main theme of the book.
But, he has a lot of interesting things to say about iatrogenics (problems caused by unnecessary, misguided intervention and tampering with nature), and many other fascinating things.
Again, I'm only a layperson, and I read that book so recently that I haven't even had much time at all yet to put ideas from it into practice. But, to me, it appears to be an excellent book.
It actually happens to answer a lot of the questions and concerns about Omega 3 fats I posted at the NHLBI Strategic Visioning Forum website back in May!
And I find it very sad that the issues the book pointed out way back in 2007 (the year the book was published) are still, as far as I know, not very common knowledge.
The Ultimate Omega 3 Diet book claims that even vegetarians are commonly affected by the Omega 6/Omega 3 imbalance problem, and surprisingly often even have it worse than meat-eaters do.
The book also points out numerous adverse effects of too much Omega 6.
Quoted from Chapter 1: "The problem with eating too much omega-6 fats is that they are disease promoting. In fact, the NIH's Essential Fats Education program makes a profound declaration on its website: excessive omega-6 fats in the diet trigger a rise in health problems, including heart attacks, blood clots, arthritis, asthma, menstrual cramps, headaches, and tumor metastases."
Unfortunately, Omega 3 and Omega 6 compete with each other for absorption by your body.
So, even if you get a lot of Omega 3 in your diet, it's possible that it's not doing you as much good as we would hope, because, depending on how much Omega 6 you consume, a lot of the Omega 3 might be getting crowded out by all the Omega 6 in your diet.
But our modern, industrialized diets commonly have Omega 6/Omega 3 ratios ranging from 10:1 to 20:1.
One problem is the common use in our modern food products of certain vegetable oils and other ingredients which have a terrible ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3, such as soybean oil, cottonseed oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, corn oil, palm oil, hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated stuff, margarine, etc., etc., etc.
And another problem (which primarily affects meat-eaters and dairy consumers, as well as the poor animals) is our modern, industrialized, sick and twisted farming practices - where our farm animals and farmed fish are raised in cruel and unhealthy ways and fed the wrong foods, resulting in meat and dairy products with more Omega 6 than Omega 3.
Meanwhile, wild fish and pastured or free-range farm animals naturally tend to have a better Omega 3/Omega 6 ratio.
I compiled the below list based on info I read throughout The Ultimate Omega 3 Diet book. Anything that caught my eye that the book said Omega 3 (or appropriately balanced levels of Omega 3 and Omega 6) seems to help with, I tried to note it below.
A quote from Part 1: Omega 3 fats "are to your brain as calcium is to your bones."
Again, sorry if I missed mentioning some important things.
Those studies frequently found many positive effects of increased Omega 3 in combination with decreased Omega 6.
The book also points out that you can look up a lot of nutritional information for free on the web.
The book provided this link:
But, the link the book provided doesn't work. Here's the non-working link anyway: http://efaeducation.nih.gov/sig/kim.html
Luckily, that web page and even the software itself are available from Archive.org:
It's apparently only for Windows or Macs. Macs with OS 9!
I didn't try it myself and don't yet know whether or not it's free, libre, and open source.
Maybe, maybe not, judging by a page I found about the copyright status of works by the government and/or found on government websites: USA.gov - U.S. Government Works.
There's the "short-chain" ALA form of Omega 3, which is found in plant sources. (One of the easiest ways to get a lot of ALA Omega 3 is to eat ground flax seed. More on that below.)
Possibly ALA can be converted by our bodies to other forms of Omega 3, but maybe only in insufficient amounts - unfortunately and inconveniently for vegetarians.
The Ultimate Omega 3 Diet book also mentions that purslane - a human-edible plant I had never heard of - is "one of the few plants known to contain EPA".
The book says this form of Omega 3 is rather rare, and one of the few foods it exists in is hemp. However, the fact that hemp is so related to marijuana, and might even contain some amount of the mind-altering chemical found in marijuana, is enough to repel me from ever consuming hemp.
But, many people have no objection to hemp, so I thought I'd point it out despite my personal disliking for it.
I already mentioned purslane and hemp above - but the book's main recommendation for vegetarians is to take an Omega 3 nutritional supplement containing the EPA and/or DHA forms of Omega 3.
Such supplements will probably contain algae oil, and if you're a really strict vegetarian, you'll have to be wary of any brands whose capsules contain animal-based gelatin.
The book mentions in Chapter 12 just before Table 12-4 that DHA can "retroconvert" into EPA, but I didn't see any mention of how helpful or not that is as a source of EPA.
Here's a page from Prevention.com (the website of Prevention Magazine) about carrageenan: The Natural Ingredient You Should Ban From Your Diet
The bottle of Ovega 3 I bought in November 2014 said it had 500 mg in all of Omega 3, with 320 mg of DHA and 130 mg of EPA - which add up to only 450 mg, not 500 mg, so I assume the remaining 50 mg necessary to add up to 500 mg is maybe some unmentioned ALA Omega 3?
Meanwhile, the bottle of Ovega 3 I got in early July 2015 says it has 270 mg DHA, 135 mg EPA, with 500 mg Omega 3 total.
So, compared to my previous bottle, that's 50 mg less DHA and 5 mg more EPA. And 270 +135 only adds up to 405 mg.
(Addition, Aug. 18/19, 2015: Another reason I like Ovega 3 is because the algae in it, according to Ovega.com's What is Ovega-3? page, is grown "in stainless steel fermentors within an FDA-inspected facility". It's nice to know it didn't come from a pond or something.)
The best price for Ovega 3 I currently know of as of August 17, 2015, is on Amazon - $26.40 for 60 capsules - and that's where I buy mine, despite Richard Stallman's page on Reasons not to buy from Amazon. Can't really afford to buy it anywhere else.)
Which seems pretty sneaky, if you ask me. Nature Made's label (in the picture on Amazon, on August 17, 2015) says it has "540 mg EPA+DHA per serving" - but a serving is 2 capsules, and there are only 60 capsules in the bottle. So, you only get 30 servings total per 60-capsule bottle for $23.56 (Amazon's current price on August 17, 2015).
Meanwhile, Ovega 3 is said to contain 500 mg of Omega 3 in just 1 capsule - and you get 60 capsules per bottle. So, 60 servings total per 60-capsule bottle for $26.40 (Amazon's current price on August 17, 2015).
So, Ovega 3 is definitely the better deal. (At least as of August 17, 2015.)
Even so, I'm still not going to go back to eating fish, even though I actually quite like the taste of some fish. My favorite (until I gave up fish) was salmon. I miss it a lot sometimes.
The edition I read of the book The Ultimate Omega 3 Diet was published in 2007 - before the Gulf of Mexico oil spill of 2010, and before the Fukushima nuclear disaster (2011). So, the edition I read says nothing on those topics.
A short summary in my own words: short-lived fish which don't eat other fish might be less contaminated than fish with longer life spans which do eat other fish (and which therefore consume all the mercury consumed by all the fish lower down in the food chain).
The higher up in the food chain the fish is (for example, predators such as sharks), the more mercury contamination it might have.
And, again, the book recommends wild fish over farmed fish. See the book for more info.
Which doesn't really surprise me, because I greatly mistrust any animal product industries, and I think that anyone capable of cruelly slaughtering or otherwise abusing animals might easily not really care what harm they do to humans, either.
Farmed fish, or any other farmed animal, fed the wrong diet and raised the wrong ways, might not have very much Omega 3 at all, or the Omega 3 might be dwarfed by the amount of Omega 6.
So, the book recommends wild fish over farmed fish. And free-range or pastured meat. (But bear in mind that "organic" doesn't necessarily mean it's free-range or pastured.) And Omega 3-enriched eggs.
Even some things that naturally have significant amounts of Omega 3, such as walnuts, also have a lot of Omega 6 too.
(Walnuts sure are tasty, though. Roasted walnuts from Nuts.com are among the best-tasting things I've ever eaten in my life. Too bad my financial issues prevent me from buying from them more often.)
Flax seeds are also pretty low-cost. I get flax seeds from Nuts.com - currently only $2.99 a pound. Flax seeds are very easy to grind yourself with a coffee grinder.
Ground flax is a pretty unobtrusive addition to oatmeal, cereal, toast, etc. Not very noticeable to me. I find it neither bad nor notably good, though I like it a little bit. In a lazy mood, I could probably tolerate eating a spoonful or two without even bothering to go to the trouble of mixing it into anything else.
(Despite Richard Stallman's page on Reasons not to buy from Amazon.)
The grinder is about 6 inches tall, so, being inexperienced with coffee grinders and mechanical contraptions in general, I was surprised to find that the top compartment where you put things to grind up is smaller than I thought it would be - only around 2 inches deep.
But, that's not really a problem for me, since I think it's best to grind up small amounts of flax seeds frequently (for freshness) rather than large batches more seldom.
The author likes fasting and engages in it himself, on the theory that it's more natural and thus possibly healthier for humans to not eat as regularly as many modern people do. (At least the ones who are lucky enough to be able to afford to eat regularly.)
I suspect there might be some merit in those ideas, though I could probably easily be wrong.
I don't know if there is definitely any merit in this idea, but, from now on, that's probably going to be how I'll take my Omega 3 supplements.
It will be easy for me to do, because I so often end up fasting unintentionally, usually due to getting lost in more interesting tasks than eating or food preparation.
I don't want to use up my overly expensive Ovega 3 capsules that fast, though, so I will probably only take one per day, or maybe every other day or so.
Don't know if that's enough, though. A pity that poverty forces me to make tradeoffs like these. (Donations and microdonations are welcome.)
(Addition, Aug. 20, 2015, 4:26 PM EDT: But, on the bright side, at least I'm not so regularly getting a dose of carrageenan, which Ovega 3 unfortunately contains.)
Don't know - just some ideas, which again, might or might not have any value. Again, I'm a layperson, not a health care professional.
I'm pretty sure avoiding Omega 6 altogether would be a bad idea, because it is considered an essential nutrient. So, I definitely wouldn't try to go that far. Just thought I should point that out.
Also, apparently it's possible to overdose on Omega 3 fish oil, according to this page from Livestrong.com, so again, please be careful.
By the way, the only reason I haven't been putting a link or iframe to comments threads in my blog posts lately is because I wanted to automate that somehow, and I didn't get around to that yet. (Addition, Sept. 5, 2015, 6:07 AM. Still didn't get around to it, so I finally added an iframe and comment thread manually.)
Also, I keep neglecting to even log into my forums to check to see if anyone has tried to post anything.
Apologies in advance for the long delays people posting will quite possibly experience when I procrastinate about maintaining the forum.
(And, since I still have been avoiding my email, and am still preoccupied with my own projects - services and goods still aren't really available yet.)
Please use common sense, and for hopefully trustworthy information, consult people such as health care professionals who are probably much more likely than me to know what they're talking about.
Thanks to my local library's (or Clevnet's) collection of temporarily-borrowable ebooks, I recently stumbled across a book called The Ultimate Omega 3 Diet: Maximize the Power of Omega-3s to Supercharge Your Health, Battle Inflammation, and Keep Your Mind Sharp by Evelyn Tribole, M.S., RD - a dietitian.
The benefits of Omega 3 fats are relatively frequently espoused. But, I think in general, on the web, the importance of the balance between Omega 3 fats and Omega 6 fats probably tends to be less often mentioned or not strongly emphasized enough, and many people are not aware of that issue at all. (That included me for a long time.)
However, despite Omega 6's adverse effects when you have too much Omega 6 - both Omega 3 fats and Omega 6 fats are considered essential nutrients.
According to the The Ultimate Omega 3 Diet book, possibly the optimal ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 in our diets might be as low as 1:1, though perhaps something like 2:1 or 4:1 might be OK too.
If I understand correctly what I read in The Ultimate Omega 3 Diet book, this might be the result of two main problems.
The proper balance and proper amounts of Omega 3 and Omega 6 might be able to help with a huge variety of health issues. So many that it's a chore to even try to list them all - so, sorry if the below is probably missing a lot of important details.
Part 2 of the book The Ultimate Omega 3 Diet recounts lots of info from health studies done with both humans and (sadly) animals, about many of the issues listed above.
In Parts 3 and 4 of the book, there's info on how you can change your diet for (hopefully) the better, with a bunch of recipes, some meal plans, and lists of the Omega 3 and Omega 6 content of foods, etc.
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search
The Ultimate Omega 3 Diet book also points out a software program called KIM2 (which stands for Keep It Managed 2).
One confusing and lesser-known fact about Omega 3 is that there are multiple forms of Omega 3, and consuming only one form of Omega 3 is quite possibly not good enough.
And then there are the longer-chain DHA and EPA kinds of Omega 3, which come from sources such as fish and some other meats (but, unless I'm mistaken, only if those fish and animals had enough Omega 3 in their own diets), algae, and grass.
There's also a variant of Omega 3 called SDA - short for steardonic acid. (I had never even heard of it before reading The Ultimate Omega 3 Diet book.)
Distressingly, the The Ultimate Omega 3 Diet book says there are hardly any ways for a vegetarian to get enough DHA and EPA.
I take the vegetarian Omega 3 supplement Ovega 3, even though I find it uncomfortably expensive, and I wish it didn't contain carrageenan.
Also, something that confused me a little about Ovega 3 was the unexplained fluctuation in the amount of EPA and DHA provided by Ovega 3.
But, other than those issues, I like Ovega 3. But if anyone knows of anything better, I'd be happy to hear about it.
I considered Nature Made's vegetarian Omega 3, but, this helpful Amazon review pointed out:
"There's nothing wrong with these pills, except you need to take two of them to get a full dose, so they're twice as expensive as you'd think!"
Though The Ultimate Omega 3 Diet book has some meal plans, recipes and other info tailored for vegetarians, the book strongly emphasizes eating fish. :-(
However, the book does point out some suggestions for minimizing the amount of mercury contamination you might be getting from fish.
According to this page from ScientificAmerican.com, even farmed fish might be contaminated with mercury, dioxins, PCBs, and various other bad things.
It's worth re-mentioning here that The Ultimate Omega 3 Diet book points out that another thing to be wary of is the fact that fish and other animals aren't necessarily guaranteed to provide much Omega 3, because their Omega 3/Omega 6 levels, like ours, are greatly dependent on their diets.
The Ultimate Omega 3 Diet book cautions you not to assume that something enriched with Omega 3 is necessarily low in Omega 6.
The Ultimate Omega 3 Diet book suggests replacing commonly-used vegetable oils which are overloaded with Omega 6 (such as soybean oil, cottonseed oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, corn oil, palm oil, hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated stuff, etc.) with things like:
Flax seeds are quite healthy - here's an article about them from WebMD.com.
I actually haven't been using ground flax seeds at all lately for many months now. But, when I do, I prefer to grind some every few days, and refrigerate or freeze any leftovers in a jar. Also, I keep my not-yet-ground flax seeds frozen too, even though I've read that they don't need to be frozen.
Around Dec. 2013, I bought this coffee grinder from Amazon - KRUPS F203 Electric Spice and Coffee Grinder with Stainless Steel Blades, Black
With that coffee grinder, I'm easily able to grind up not only flax seeds, but also roasted peanuts, which resulted not in peanut butter, but peanut dust. :-) Never tried grinding up coffee beans, but I assume it would probably handle that fine too.
The idea of fasting is mentioned in the fascinating book Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb (which contains a lot of stuff related to health, even though the author is not a health care professional and health is not the main topic of the book).
Anyway, though - since I was so recently reading about fasting in Antifragile, that got me wondering if perhaps another approach to the Omega 3/Omega 6 balance problem might be to fast a little (like a couple hours) before and after taking Omega 3 nutritional supplements, in the hope of making sure the absorption of Omega 3 won't be interfered with by any recently-consumed (or soon to be consumed) Omega 6.
I guess maybe I could also try taking an Omega 3 supplement before bed and after waking.
And perhaps some ground flax sometime before a meal might give the Omega 3 a head start to be absorbed before the Omega 6 in the meal?
Though I've neglected to mention it for a while - as always, comments are still welcome at the Eryss.Com Forum.
Again, donations and microdonations are welcome.
Addition, Aug. 18, 2015 at 10:58 PM EDT: In this blog post from Non24.Com, I wrote (and quoted) a bit more stuff on this topic, but with more of a focus on sleep issues.
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| Launched Non24.Org today |
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Sunday, July 27th, 2014 17:50:00 GMT |
Today, I launched Non24.Org. (I neglected to mention before that I own that too.)
It's boring compared to Non24.Com.
But, I just thought I should put it to some use rather than just leaving it empty.
I might never get around to actually creating a non-profit organization related to Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Disorder. But, fortunately, according to Wikipedia, .org domain names aren't limited to only being for non-profit organizations.
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| Finally launched Non24.Com today |
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Wednesday, July 23rd, 2014 17:30:30 GMT |
I finally got around to launching Non24.Com. For now, the most interesting thing there (aside from the intro blog post) is the Non24.Com Forum.
The name "Non24" is short for Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Disorder, a physical problem I believe I might have. I haven't been tested, but, I think I probably have either that, or some other circadian rhythm sleep disorder.
The site's main topics are Non-24 and other sleep disorders, but, I thought that limiting it to just those topics would be too boringly narrow, so, a lot of other topics are welcome there as well, and even people with no interest whatsoever in sleep disorders are welcome there. See the Non24.Com intro blog post for more details.
I was recently reminded of it because of the fact that last May, as a result of an error with my domain name privacy settings, someone managed to contact me out of the blue and offered me $1,000 for it - which I declined, since I actually think it's probably worth much more than that, and I always intended to get around to putting up an actual website there.
Besides that, I've noticed lately there have been ads about Non-24 on TV and radio. So, to my surprise, there seems to be a pharmaceutical company that probably thinks there's money to be made by trying to treat Non-24. Maybe they're right?
So if that pharmaceutical company's plan is to sell expensive drugs to probably poor Non-24 sufferers - I really don't know how much money there is in that.
But, in any case, I guess it's nice that my possible condition is now getting more attention than it used to. And it would be nice if a cure is somehow found - but, in general, I'm very wary and skeptical of pharmaceutical drugs.
I personally probably wouldn't risk taking a pharmaceutical "cure" even if it was offered to me for free. I'd much rather experiment with things like improving my nutrition, becoming vegetarian, exercising a lot more, making enough money so that I'm not continually full of anxiety, etc.
But, despite my wariness of pharmaceuticals, I would still probably not refuse to let a pharmaceutical company pay me to put their ads on Non24.Com. I'm not really a fan of the concept of advertising in general, but, ads which are clearly and obviously ads seem OK enough on an ethical level, I guess.
I'll just make sure to say somewhere, something like, my allowing an advertiser to pay me for ad space doesn't necessarily mean I approve of or endorse their product or claims.
But, seeing that a wealthy pharmaceutical company is interested in Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Disorder seems a major clue that perhaps doing something with Non24.Com might be more helpful to me on a financial level than I originally thought, and that there might be more people with Non-24 than I realized existed who could benefit from Non24.Com - so, that recently inspired me to rearrange my priorities a bit and finally get the site launched.
Hopefully it will help others as well (both with and without sleep issues) - even financially, since the Non24.Com Forum welcomes commerce and charity, as well as discussions about commerce and charity, among plenty of other topics.
And here's an excellent much longer description of what it's like to have Non-24. I found it on CircadianSleepDisorders.org:
My experiences have been similar. I would actually go as far as to say that my sleep issues are quite possibly the number one top problem which ruined my life, above and beyond even my family's financial problems, and my former depression and continuing shyness.
I think my sleep issues either greatly contributed to or caused (directly or indirectly) most of what ails me.
Without my sleep issues, I even might not have ended up with so much social anxiety, because sleep deprivation makes me a lot more emotionally sensitive, and when you're continually so tired that all you want to do is go to sleep, it's hard to have or even enjoy interesting conversations or other social activities, or even think of much at all to say. It takes a huge amount of willpower just to drag yourself through the day when you're sleep-deprived. You can't think as clearly, and you can far more easily end up saying dumb or absentminded-seeming things, and if that happens often enough to you, it might make you afraid to say much of anything.
It was, of course, impossible to ignore that I had sleep problems - they plagued me for my entire life since I was a child, and made going to school a far more torturous experience than it otherwise would have been.
But, since most everyone just takes it for granted that going to sleep and waking up at normal times is supposedly not that difficult to do, and no one around me had a clue that it's possible to have such a messed up body clock that you're physically incapable of being well-adjusted to a normal, regular schedule - I too remained clueless for many years.
I simply labeled my sleep problems "insomnia", and went on naively believing that maybe if I simply tried hard enough, I could theoretically force myself to be normal.
But no matter how hard I tried, I always failed. But rather than that making me think maybe I had a physical problem - I cynically assumed the worst about myself (back then, I was depressed and full of self-loathing), and assumed that probably my problem was that I had a shameful, pathetic lack of self-discipline, that I was just weak and lazy, and it was all my fault. Though also, at times, I could - and rightly - blame anxiety, poor nutrition, and toothaches.
I have never undergone any official tests to determine if that's what I have, but, judging by how consistently varied and erratic my so-called schedule has been since I was a child, and how torturous it usually was to have to wake up for school every day and force myself to stay awake, and also how torturous even my part-time job from Nov. 2002 to Jan. 2004 with usually only 2 days of work a week was, I'd be astonished if I don't have that or something similar.
I'd only pay for an official test if there was some tangible benefit from doing so, like perhaps being able to get welfare or disability payments - options I never deeply explored, since I've always been able to live with my relatives, who, despite our struggles, have always refused to go on welfare.
I certainly wouldn't pay for such a test just to satisfy a curious whim. With so little money, I can't comfortably afford much of anything, and I've always had to practice ruthless triage and do without tons of beneficial things, simply because they weren't the absolute most beneficial things I could get for my usually very limited amount of money.
Though by 2008-2009, well before I found that out, I actually already had somehow gotten over a lot of my self-loathing and shame for not being capable of being a more "normal", successful person. But, it was nice to find yet another legitimate reason not to be so down on myself.
(And still another reason is because what is "normal" to many Americans is actually freakishly bizarre in contrast to the status quo of much of the rest of the world. According to this page, at least 80% of the world lives on less than $10 a day, which works out to only $3650 a year. So actually, being poor is normal, and being financially successful makes you a weirdo. :-) )
I might seem (when sleep-deprived) to have a lot less endurance for, for example, a typical workday than the average person. (Or actually, maybe I often don't even seem that way to others than myself - I think I'm often pretty good at concealing the depths of my despair and some of my fatigue, among other things, like my intense fearfulness and timidity from my social anxiety.)
However, if the average person had to continually struggle with such an agonizing craving for adequate sleep, maybe they'd be just as debilitated as me. Or maybe even worse, since they have far less practice forcing themselves to carry on despite agonizing sleep deprivation.
But all I usually use is a useful little Python script I wrote which I call my "relative scheduler", which I finally released just two days ago. When I launch it, it asks for the time I woke up, and then produces a schedule for me with reminders of things to do like "eat breakfast at 8 PM", or whatever - most of them relative to the time I woke up. Too bad I often ignore the reminders.
Many of my personal hobby projects (many of which I haven't even released yet) have involved herculean efforts, weeks and months of entirely unlazy obsession. (Not the relative scheduler, though - that only took maybe a few days or less, way back in March and/or April 2012.)
All of which I would have had a much harder time doing if I had to try to force myself into a normal schedule because of a job or something. Or if I lived with relatives who disrespect my need to sleep at often bizarre-seeming times, and mistakenly think that if I just tried hard enough, or if I just take some sort of drugs, or if my relatives just force me awake at whatever times they deem appropriate, I could be normal.
If it's not the top problem, it's certainly close to it. My sleep issues doubtless contributed enormously to, and in some cases even outright created, many other evils in my life, such as depression, self-loathing, poverty, loneliness, social anxiety and my troublesome preference to usually avoid contact with people and the world as much as possible. All of which resulted in even more problems, creating the disaster area that is my life.
But unfortunately, I doubt I can ever cure my sleep issues, and my shyness is also probably very unlikely to ever be fully cured. (Though I have more hope there, because there have been times and contexts in my life where they weren't a problem at all, and even now I can still have pretty good conversations with some relatives, and I've at least had some pretty interesting written online correspondences with a bunch of people.)
However, thanks to the internet, computers, maybe even Second Life, the years I've had to develop some computer programming skills and web design skills, at least having much better writing skills than in-person or phone communication skills, and the fact that with time I could probably acquire still more new and potentially profitable skills (video editing, or foreign languages?), etc. - anyway, thanks to all that (among other things), I now find it believable that my problems with poverty might be solvable.
And perhaps I could even circumvent my issues with shyness by somehow making a living anonymously in Second Life?
A big limitation of mine is that I'm only willing to write free (as in freedom), libre, open source software. But, perhaps I can make it easier for me and anyone to find work writing FLOSS software by starting yet another website. I already bought a suitable domain name for that just last April, and will announce it at some point once it's up.
Like Non24.Com, it will likely consist of little except a forum at first. And, similar to both the Non24.Com Forum and Eryss.Com Forum, that forum will be very welcoming of discussion, commerce, and charity.
As usual, donations and microdonations and purchases of goods (still none available yet) and services are welcome.
Also, ideas are welcome - for example, ideas on what I should do for money, or, ideas on what to do with Non24.Com, or ideas on things I haven't even thought of asking for ideas about.
I bought Non24.Com in November 2012 (and it was quite cheap because it was a new domain which I think had probably never been registered before), but, I've been so preoccupied with other things, I didn't get around to doing anything with it until now.
Anyway, the reason I'm surprised is because I thought Non-24 was supposed to be fairly rare, and I'm guessing probably most people with Non-24 aren't particularly wealthy, because it tremendously impedes your ability to do a normal job, or anything else that takes place at a fixed time. Also, Non-24 reputedly mostly affects blind rather than sighted people - and blindness is doubtless even more debilitating (and I'm guessing, probably more impoverishing) than Non-24 itself.
Anyway, my chronic financial problems (among other things) drew my attention away from Non24.Com for a long time.
A very apt, succinct description of Non-24 (which I found on this web page) is "perpetual, shifting jet lag". (But fortunately, if I don't have to wake up for anything in particular and can sleep at whatever times I feel naturally inclined, I feel fine, not jet-lagged at all.)
If my sleep issues didn't interfere so much with my ability to do any normal job with regular hours, I wouldn't have had so many financial problems, and I probably wouldn't have been so depressed for much of my life, largely as a result of being tortured by continual sleep deprivation, and later, as a result of being oppressed by the many problems resulting from not having enough money, and from having far less ability (at least before I became good at computer programming) to make enough money than most people, largely due to my sleep issues.
For many years, I wasn't even aware I might actually have some sort of physical problem with my circadian rhythms/body clock.
It may have been in 2008 or 2009 when I finally found a web page (not sure which one, or I'd link to it) which clued me in to the existence of circadian rhythm disorders like Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Disorder.
Anyway, finally finding out what my problem probably is was a great relief, since it helped free me of many vestiges of self-loathing for how weak, lazy, undisciplined, oversensitive, and otherwise flawed I believed I was.
In fact, rather than being weak and undisciplined, I now think maybe I actually have quite above-average willpower and self-discipline, given that I was able to do quite well at some things even despite being tortured by chronic sleep-deprivation, and often having had to drag myself through day after day like a zombie. For example, I did quite well on most tests in school, and my former boss at my part-time job in 2002-2004 loved me, and once said I did the work of 3 people.
When well-rested, I find it very easy to focus for many hours on various projects (unless I'm worried about money or other things, or I know I have something more important I ought to work on instead). In fact, I easily lose track of time, and neglect to eat, etc., which I really shouldn't do, but do habitually anyway. I should probably use timer software to encourage myself to be more moderate.
Anyway, even though I don't yet know of any cure, it's at least nice to have finally identified by name the possible number one problem in my life - Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Disorder.
OK, my life isn't all bad, and it's now better than it used to be. And at least depression and self-loathing, and even loneliness, to an extent, are mostly no longer significant problems of mine.
Anyway, my need for money is even more pressing than usual at the moment, so, I'm quite possibly not going to work on very much for a while besides things that seem likely to pay off quickly, like maybe freelance jobs on various freelance job websites, or perhaps even Second Life.
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| Link: Mercola.com - "Warning: Why You Should Avoid Using Your Laptop as Recommended" |
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Tuesday, February 25th, 2014 06:12:27 GMT |
I don't know how credible this article is, but, it makes me glad I mostly haven't been using a laptop or cell phone for all these years.
From Mercola.com, published March 5, 2012:
If that article is true, then, I suspect consumer demand might go up a lot in the future for laptops which are perfectly safe to keep on your lap. Hopefully such laptops exist, or can be invented.
For many reasons why, see Richard Stallman's* page on Why you should not buy Apple products.
For even more reasons why, see my page where I answer the question What is free, libre, open source software? And my favorite part of that: Another Partly Humorous Digression
According to the article, iPads* are OK. Quote:
If you don't believe me on this one I would strongly encourage you to get a gauss meter and measure your own notebook computer and see for yourself. Fortunately my favorite gadget, the iPad, measures within acceptable ranges so I continue to use that without an external keyboard.
However, for other reasons, I still think it's a bad idea to use an iPad - or any Apple* product, or closed source hardware or software made by anyone.
| Incandescent Light Bulbs are Now Largely Banned in the USA - and I Suggest Avoiding Fluorescent/CFL Bulbs |
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Tuesday, January 7th, 2014 06:26:40 GMT |
(Note: I'm not an expert on anything scientific or health-related. I'm just a layperson expressing some thoughts and opinions practically off the top of my head. Apologies if I made any mistakes or omitted anything important.)
As of January 1, 2014, ordinary incandescent light bulbs are largely banned in the United States. Unless I'm mistaken, they can still be used, as well as bought until they're sold out - but they can't be manufactured or imported.
I guess this was done to supposedly save the environment. Unfortunately, I suspect fluorescent/CFL light bulbs which contain mercury are probably far more dangerous to health and the environment than incandescent bulbs, overall.
In my opinion, if any light bulbs should be banned, it probably ought to be fluorescent/CFL bulbs.
What makes the incandescent bulb ban particularly bad, in my opinion, is that potentially toxic fluorescent/CFL bulbs might be one of the cheapest currently unbanned alternatives. (Except some halogen bulbs might be cheaper upfront, judging by this page: TomsGuide.com: 2014 Incandescent Bulb Ban: Here Are Your Alternatives. However, FamilyHandyman.Com: The Pros and Cons of Halogen Bulbs says halogens can be at least 4 times more expensive than incandescent bulbs - among other drawbacks, like increased fire hazards.)
I'm guessing many people either won't be able to afford expensive (but hopefully safer) alternatives such as LED lights, or will try to save money even if they can afford LEDs.
And many people will probably not dispose of the fluorescent/CFL bulbs properly, but will just stick them in the trash like any old light bulb - which might actually be legal to do in many places. This EPA page says you can do that if it's legal where you are.
So, I'm very worried that the amount of mercury pollution in the environment and in people's homes, etc. might go up a lot because of the ban on incandescent light bulbs. If incandescent bulbs hadn't been banned, most people would probably keep using incandescent bulbs instead of ever resorting to potentially toxic fluorescent/CFL light bulbs.
Given how dangerous mercury is, fluorescent/CFL bulbs are far more deserving of being banned than incandescent bulbs, in my opinion.
See: Scientific American: The Dark Side of LED Lightbulbs
But at least, unlike fluorescent/CFL bulbs, LED bulbs don't have mercury, and they might be less fragile/breakable than fluorescent/CFL bulbs.
And, also fortunately, the problems with LED lights might be fixable, or least, possible to partially alleviate. The aforementioned Scientific American article says:
However, I don't know if those problems in LEDs have been fixed yet. Until I know for sure LEDs have been made as safe as possible, I won't feel entirely comfortable using them or recommending them.
What if turns out to be as disastrous as the widespread use of leaded gasoline and lead paint was?
Another worrying thing I've run across is comments and product reviews on other websites in which some people say they think fluorescent bulbs gave them migraines, etc., and that their problems went away when they got rid of the bulbs.
Perhaps the best alternative (at least aesthetically speaking) might be high-efficiency incandescent bulbs? (Those were mentioned in the abovementioned CNN article.) I hope they're as nice as normal incandescent bulbs. I wonder if maybe they're as cheap, too?
And most importantly, as safe? Don't know. (Actually, I don't even know absolutely for sure how safe normal incandescent bulbs are, but presumably much safer than fluorescent/CFL, judging by how hard it is to properly clean up fluorescent/CFL bulbs, and given that normal incandescent bulbs don't contain mercury.)
I didn't find its light harsh or glaring, and actually thought it had a pleasant color, similar to normal incandescent bulbs - but actually maybe even nicer, brighter and clearer. And it seemed like it never burnt out, and we used it for maybe like 5 years or so. I think we stopped using that lamp after we moved when I was a teenager, and I don't know what became of it after that. Wonder if it would still work now, about 20 years later?
Too bad about the possible lead, arsenic, nickel, etc., though - but at least it sounds like it might be possible to make LEDs without using those materials. I wonder if it's even possible to make fluorescent/CFL bulbs without mercury?
(Note: I'm not an expert on anything scientific or health-related. I'm just a layperson expressing some thoughts and opinions practically off the top of my head. Apologies if I made any mistakes or omitted anything important.)
The cleanup procedure for broken fluorescent/CFL light bulbs is frighteningly elaborate - and this EPA page's tips don't all sound entirely environmentally friendly to me.
I'm definitely going to totally avoid using fluorescent/CFL light bulbs at all. Mercury poisoning is a horrible thing. :-( And I'm guessing society and the environment in general probably have had too much of it already from amalgam dental fillings, mercury in vaccines, etc.
From what I've read, LED bulbs almost seem like they might be one of the best remaining alternatives to incandescent light bulbs - except they might contain dangerous substances like lead, arsenic, nickel, etc.
According to Ogunseitan, LED makers could easily reduce the concentrations of heavy metals in their products or even redesign them with truly safer materials, especially if state or federal regulators required them to do so. “Every day we don’t have a law that says you cannot replace an unsafe product with another unsafe product, we’re putting people’s lives at risk,” he concludes. “And it’s a preventable risk.”
Despite incandescent bulbs' inefficient wasting of energy, I'm very worried that the widespread use of potentially toxic, mercury-containing fluorescent/CFL bulbs (and perhaps the use of LEDs too, unless they get redesigned to get rid of unnecessary toxic materials) might turn out to be worse in the end than just letting everyone continue to use incandescent bulbs would have been.
Perhaps we'd be better off if incandescent bulbs were unbanned until LED bulbs are made more safe? (And if it's possible to make much safer fluorescent/CFL bulbs too, that would be great.)
Here are some more interesting Scientific American links:
The typical ugliness of LED and fluorescent/CFL lights is a relatively minor issue compared to their potential toxicity, but, it's certainly aggravating enough to be worth mentioning as well.
Or, maybe halogen. Unless I'm mistaken (which is very possible), my family may have had a halogen lamp when I was a child - a tall upward-pointing lamp with a dimmer switch, casting nice indirect light throughout the living room. I definitely liked that, so, if it was actually halogen, I guess halogen might be an aesthetically acceptable option. At dim settings, it was pleasantly atmospheric, and at brighter settings, it was quite adequately bright (and probably even possible to make it too bright, can't remember), and quite good enough to read by, as well.
Or, hopefully aesthetically pleasing LED bulbs exist, somewhere. That might be best from an energy-saving perspective, because they are probably much more energy-efficient than halogen bulbs and high-efficiency incandescent bulbs. They're also more efficient and supposed to last longer than fluorescent/CFL bulbs, and are also supposedly not as much of a fire hazard as any of them.
(Note, 12:07 PM. I edited and reorganized this article a fair bit after first posting it early this morning. Sorry about the temporary downtime of my website earlier today; it was so slow earlier I couldn't even successfully post my edits. And I was so annoyed with being stuck with the previous version I decided I'd rather just have nothing up until I could post the improved version.)