Unstable

In the past couple of weeks, I've come to the conclusion that I am not okay.

I feel volatile, like a container under pressure, that could completely destroy itself at any moment. It's like I can feel myself returning to the person I used to be, the person I never want to be again.

For months now, I've been growing increasingly agitated, frustrated, on edge. Reckless. So overwhelmed by absolutely everything. Unstable. Feeling strangely disconnected from people. Not dealing well with people in general. This whole time, I've been thinking "why the fuck do I hate myself and the world and everything and everyone?!"

Up until two weeks ago, I hadn't even considered that maybe reducing the seroquel dosage isn't working for me. I hadn't made the connection. I've been slowly tapering down in little steps since November. I was on 300mg, twice a day (and had been for 13+ years), and was recently down to 125mg, about to drop to 100mg. But on reflection, around the time I went below 200mg things started getting... different.

I think it's also the cause of what I describe as a lingering discomfort with life. The way I've felt desperate to hide away and avoid everything. Feeling like there's no escaping myself. I think it's been that constant feeling of overwhelm that's been causing my struggles with routine, my sleep issues.

I did wait until after I spoke to New GP last week before I increased the dose. As tempted as I was, I know from experience that tinkering with meds of my own volition is a slippery slope. But I was set on it, and told her straight up that I needed to go back to 200mg. 

Thankfully, she listened, and didn't make me justify it or suggest a different dose. She looked at the guidelines, and said it'd take two weeks to slowly increase back to 200mg. I told her I can't do that. That I'm not in a good place and I can't keep going like this (careful to avoid those magic words, "I'm not safe"). I was ready to just jump straight back to 200mg, and deal with being a zombie for a week.

To her credit, she said maybe we could do it a bit quicker. Not an immediate jump, but I'd been back to 200mg in 3-4 days. That, I could deal with. I'm just glad she actually listened, and was willing to make a plan outside of the guidelines, because if she was adamant about sticking to them, I would've just done it anyway.

Maybe I can try again at some point, be it in months or years, now that I have a better idea of the warning signs that things aren't going so well. I was starting to really looking forward to getting off it. But at this point, I feel like I could burn my whole fucking life to the ground and have to regrets. I am not okay, and I need my stability back more than anything.

I'm also willing to consider that it might be part of why I don't particularly like New GP... or my OT... or even S at times. Every little thing that doesn't usually bother me has been grating. That was what made me realize the lower dose isn't working for me. The first couple of days S was back were great. But then routine settled in, and I started feeling annoyed at stupid little things again. I knew it had only been in recent months that I'd been feeling this way, and eventually connected the dots.

Maybe it's also why I'm fantasizing vividly about slicing my body open every night, the exact cuts I would make, even though I haven't taken a blade to my skin in years. Laxatives have become a daily consideration again too, even though just thinking about those little fluoro pills is enough to make me want to vomit, like they had for the last several months I'd taken them. Today also marks one year since The Great Disembowelment, so I guess that's how long it takes for me to start seriously considering laxatives again.

Before this, there'd only been a handful of times where I’ve had a strong urge to take laxatives again. Sometimes I try to convince myself it’s okay, like if I haven’t had a BM in a couple of days, that it would be 'normal' to take them. But I know that my regular Benefiber and Osmolax will work eventually, and I may just have to tinker with the dose. Sometimes I just crave the pain, which has been the case recently.

The scar has healed very well. I’ve been diligently using Bio Oil on it. And while my bowels will never function 'normally' again, I have more or less adjusted to The New Normal.

Stay tuned for when I'm less of an insufferable bitch.

12 months

5 months

xxBella