Looking for love...

I sent my psychiatrist an email letting him know the present doses of all my medication and the fact that I had cut back on the caffeine. I also asked him when he thought I could further reduce the antipsychotics since I had done that successfully so far. He called me yesterday afternoon to talk about everything and get a good feel of how I was doing. We agreed that I would wait with making any further reductions until he came back from his vacation, which will be on the first of September. I have an appointment with him that first week, when he and I will get a good idea of the state of affairs.  

 

The skin on my hands and fingers is still itching and peeling, although I am applying the ointment. I think it is the wrong ointment and that I need something else. My hands have become very dry and I think I need to get some Nivea to rub into my skin. I have tried some other lotion, but it is not doing the job. I had already made an appointment with the female GP about the osteoarthritis, so she can look at my hands at the same time. Because my joints are so painful, and I don't know if the supplements I am taking are actually good for it, I thought I had better get some professional advice.

 

When I go grocery shopping, my list of things to get is not very long and pretty simple. I have found the foods that I like to eat and that are healthy and good for me. I enjoy preparing them and eating them, but I know there will come a day when I will grow tired of them and I will have to find other foods to like. I buy potatoes that are almost crumbly and fix those with Italian herbs on them and they are a real treat. Instead of ketchup or mayonnaise, or any other kind of dressing which my stomach does not tolerate, I eat applesauce with all my food and I simply adore it. Eating has become a treat as a result and it used to be such a tortuous event.

 

I took 500 mg of paracetamol a while ago and it is now starting to work. It doesn't take care of all the pain, but some of it anyway. I will be more comfortable when I go back to bed. I will have to start taking it every night before I go to sleep as a precaution, because I think it is also my painful joints that wake me up. There is really only one position I am comfortable in when I sleep, but I do find myself in other ones when I wake up. And, of course, I also have to make room for Tyke and Gandhi who, very companionably, share the bed with me.