Saturday 24 September 2022

Symptoms update - antidepressants

Just a brief update for today.

In addition to my bladder medication I am now also taking antidepressants. Really this is a combination of things happening at the same time, rather than something specific to do with HSP. Therefore this post goes further outside my HSP experiences than they usually do. I'm grouping each of the factors together in headings:

HSP

In the background of my mind I know that my HSP is progressing. My spasticity gradually increases, and my walking and cycling speeds correspondingly gradually decrease. I know that the time that I will need to use mobility aids is approaching, and I've a journey of acceptance to go through before I get there. At that point my HSP becomes much more visible, and I suspect that societies view of me will change because I'll be using mobility aids.

Relationships

I've vaguely alluded to this in a few posts, but here it is explicitly - another factor is that my wife and I separated in 2020. That has been a bit of an impact recently, and we're now moving into the zone where its time to sort out houses. One of my uncertainties in this decision is how much account should I take of my future HSP in this decision - if I assume that I would be in my next house for 10 years, then I think I'd more than likely be using a wheelchair by that point (but not necessarily full-time).

Work

What with both of the above factors, and supporting my children, there are more things which I perceive to be important outside of work than at work. This has meant that I've been less able to put my full enthusiasm into delivering my responsibilities at work.

Coronavirus

Worth mentioning that there's been a worldwide coronavirus pandemic, an energy crisis and a whole load of other negative other stories in the news. Part of me is thankful that the pandemic lockdowns hit just after we separated as most people were busy looking after themselves rather than asking me what was going on. On the other hand, if there hadn't been a pandemic then perhaps we'd have sorted the house and other things out by now.

How long on antidepressants?

I'm thinking that I'll be taking these antidepressants until after the uncertainty around the house is resolved. I've asked myself if I've noticed any difference with taking these, and the answer is that I'm not sure. The main obvious difference is that since I have started taking them my resting heartrate has dropped significantly, which is a sign that they are doing something!


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