Miso soup

Decided to cook myself some miso soup based dinner tonight... only to find out... possibly... especially smokers or those attempting to quit like me....


Miso soup and soy products might help you save your lungs...

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1896750/soy_foods_may_improve_lung_health.html?singlepage=true&cat=5

Walk

Just got back from my walk...

There is something strange about my walking... above and beyond what I have mentioned so far...

Every time I walked out of them long walks... I have the feeling that I am a life time away if not many life times away from where I started... if not... also... many reincarnations away.... (and... I must have done many many a thing wrong having to reincarnate so many a time... 8-O oops...)

Then, I think to myself...

Thank God... now I have been trained to not really care what my head has to say... since, apparently, my head changes its mind almost at the speed of light... 8-O lol sigh

Foot soak and sleeping

I tried out soaking my feet with ginger for a change Friday night since... all of a sudden, I started to have this salty sense in my mouth every time I feel cold air coming out from the bottom of my tongue.

It makes me feel warm and... forgotten already.

Yet, one lesson I learned for myself... ginger foot bath or bath might help others sleeping but it doesn't help with my sleeping... had problem falling asleep and sleep through the night.

I soaked my feet in used tea bags and tea leaves... and two drops of essential oils containing ingredients lavender and rosemary instead last night... Don't quite remember how easy it was for me to fall asleep... one thing I do know... I slept for something like a good 10 if not 11 hours...

Real lesson learned, I guess, for me... different things work for different people and we simply have to find what works for ourselves...

And, again, what really worked?  Not my issues no more... as long as I sleep like a baby.

Lavender

I have this gut feeling based my recent experiences... There is something about Lavender.... or maybe not...

The idea of lavender came to me last week when I found it listed in a book at Barnes and Nobles as a sleep aid kinda herb...

So... I found myself some lavender epsom salt and some tea including lavender and other, presumably, sleep enhancing herbs...

I have been sleeping like a baby since Saturday on... and knock on woods...

Then, I came up with this smart idea... maybe I should go look for some lavender hand cream for the day time so that people don't have to hear my mouth when I see things ain't right... side effects of decreased meds and nicotine....

So... today, I went searching for a lavender smell that I can sleep with and I can be awake with...

Then, I got home... out of curiosity...

Why isn't my psychotic symptoms running overboard? (No complaints)

Did some googling for some info concerning lavender etc and schizo-etc and came up with something like the following...

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/adis/cns/2006/00000020/00000004/art00001

Or... the following info at Medline...

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-lavender.html

Apparently, there is some potential scientific basis for my feeling sedated by my lavender alike venture.... just when I think I am really going crazy due to the decreasing insight blah blah blah.... 8-O lol

At the same time, in my scenario, it doesn't matter whether it is placebo effect or not, you see, as long as it works... such as helping me get a good long night of sleep....

Still on my meds... of course... in other words, the herbal stuffs are the supplements...

Body News: A Sleep Inducing Scent: allure.com

My sleeping problem seemed to have gone away... thank God... and knock on wood...

Other than the natural changes in my neurochemical levels that require time and time....

Some things I have been doing consistently since last posting...

I started soaking my feet using Rite Aid brand Lavender Epsom Salt, use Lavender body cream, and drink tea containing chamomile, lavender etc.

One think I can't handle, though, is Lavender scent of air refreshner...

Just when I though... people must think that I am crazy... while I am crazy...

I came across the following...

Body News: A Sleep Inducing Scent: allure.com

The good thing about these new routines... regardless... it doesn't hurt....

In addition, part of the reason why I didn't entertain this kinda stuff was because--- up to some time last year, "having problem sleeping" was mostly a foreign concept.

Dumb down to the lowest common denominator

Used to be, it takes the medication to help me dumb myself down to the lowest common denominator for the benefit of my mental health condition.  And, I tried so hard to fight it.

If anything I have been trying to learn these past few months if not years... a dream or not... I think I am or whichever parts of me are getting pretty good at dumbing me down nowadays and I am damn happy about it... (tell you I am crazy).... although not yet expert level... and hope there is some truth in it.

Sleep etc

Major things in my life since last posting...

1. Decreased Seroquel dosage
2. Sleep problem
3. Sudden decrease in smoking after I got myself so shit-faced that I spent an entire day and night worshiping the procelain God  

I have never had any problem sleeping until last year...  Don't I miss them golden years of precious ignorance? sigh

First, I started having problem falling asleep...  Then, in my recent times, I started to wake up multiple times during the night.  

Medication... medication.... much of my sleep-related blah blah blah is associated with Seroquel...

At the same time, the sudden decrease of the number of cigarettes I smoke... (2 smokes a day not instead of a pack or so) might also play a role in the sleep problem.  At the same time, something tells me to stick to 2 cigarettes a day for a bit longer because "this might help the system to get back to homeostasis" - so something has me told.

Since the dosage of Seroquel is lowered again

1. more alert or awake during the day time
2. cold air overflowing through out my body and annoyingly coming out of my mouth.  Extremely uncomfortable
3. energy overflowing with a puff or two of cigarette or walking.... as two of the remedies known to me by now   
4. it seems like, right after the dosage get decreased, my body would get into problem again such as pain, walking problem etc. At this point in my life, since there ain't no nothing I could do about it, I just let my body do whatever it has to do as long as I am kicking... 8-O lol sigh 
5. sleep disruption is something that has been driving me up the wall.  The problem I face is that... I would keep on waking up... some nights I would wake up 5-6 times over the duration of a 7- hour or so sleep.  This is pure suffering.  

Since sleep problem is a known side effect of reducing Seroquel dosage and since I don't really want to get into the habit of taking sleeping pills unless necessary, I have to try out something else.  Following are the things that I have been trying so far...

1. Drink Herbal Tea: Peppermint, Chamomile, and... after the sleeping problem got worst, I got this Yogi Tea Bedtime which contains herbs known to help sleeping and relaxation such as Valerian Root, Passion Flower, Chamomile Flower, Skullcap Leaf, St. John's Wort Leaf Flower, English Lavender Flower, Stevia Leaf
2. Foot soaking: I add Epsom salt and all the tea bags left from the day time into a pot of hot water and soak my feet.  I started using this Rite Aid brand of Lavender Epsom salt two days ago and... wow... that wonderful smell itself gave me a buzz... 8-O lol
3. Body lotion: Lavender.... Lavender... Lavender... Lavender... at least upper body... at the same time, my body is getting so spoilt that... if the scent is not right, I can't sleep with it.  For instance, cookie or orange/tangerine kind of smell used to work but no longer work in helping me falling asleep.   Therefore, I am not gonna buy you unless I can sleep with you... my new policy with body cream... So far, I can sleep with bodyshop and Crabtree and Evelyn.  (Maybe I really am a princess... sort of like... the princess and the peas?!  At the same time, never in my life working so hard trying to figure out who to sleep with 8-O lol)
4. Make sure enough nicotine in the system before going to sleep... 

I finally woke up this morning feeling that there is some improvement in my sleep... I woke up only twice before I have to get up to work as opposed to 5-6 times.

At the same time, believe it or not, the whole foot soak thing and tea thing do seem to help me feel sleepy even before taking Seroquel.

What exactly worked or happened?

At this point in my life, not my issue.  

Though I do ponder at times... Am I getting crazier or not?

Abridged status update.

望春風 NYC version

I had to rush home right after work... I got a date.

So I waited patiently or impatiently... for the man to show... from 6 o'clock on....

Sort of like...



Almost 9...

Where is the man I have been waiting for for all these time?

I finally decided to pick up the phone and made the call....

So I asked....

"I have been waiting the entire night... dare not go anywhere and dare not even take a shower.... where is the cable guy who is scheduled to pick up my cable box?"

"The appointment is next week."

OMG... I have been sitting here thinking I have a date with the cable guy for the entire time except for no man have me on the calendar at all?!" 8-O lol

Speaking of... spring is in the air.... lol

Disabled

How funny it is... my very first facebook account... disabled....

Disability is a way of life... I guess... 8-O