Posts made by Vixanic

@rightmeow I'm really glad the meds are working for you, subject to tweaking that dosage a bit more. It's an awesome feeling, knowing that you might ACTUALLY DO the thing and not just THINK about doing the thing.

@silverfox Saw these, thought of you. Hope it brings some amusement.
https://imgur.com/gallery/3JOkh0u

If you like games of trading, similar to Tradewinds or Port Royale

Games where you can build really satisfying production lines

Games with beautiful stories and a truly whimsical world

Then I cannot recommend Merchant of the Skies enough. I've played the campaign mode twice from start to finish in the last couple of weeks, which isn't common for me.

Steam link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1040070/Merchant_of_the_Skies/

Barry Cryer

Tributes have been paid to comedian and writer Barry Cryer, who has died at the age of 86.

Cryer wrote for comedy giants including The Two Ronnies, Bob Hope, Tommy Cooper and Morecambe and Wise.

He was also a star of the airwaves and the stage in his own right, including on BBC radio panel shows like Just A Minute and I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.

@derp said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

I want a nap and a blankie and I just got a promotion

Congrats on the promotion though

I have a cold.

I'm fortunate in that I don't get ill often, and when I do I tend to push on through it (though from home, rather than spread it).

Colds, however. Colds bring my tantrum-prone, whiny, pathetic inner six year old to the surface.

UGH. stamps feet

@macha

Preface: I'm not taking adderall, I'm prescribed a different stimulant (called Vyvanse in the US I believe), but I'm assuming the effects should be broadly similar.

I've been taking this for just over two months now. I've had my dosage increased twice, and each time I've noticed small improvements. More quality-of-life things rather than major changes, but as we haven't settled on a steady dosage, this may change in the future.

The kind of improvements I have noticed so far:

• My thinking is more joined up. Example: I cleared all the crap out of my car so it would be empty for helping a friend move furniture. And as I finished doing it, I thought, "Why don't I vacuum the interior while it's empty?" That kind of natural next step just wouldn't have occurred to me before, and then I did it, rather than just thinking about doing it. (thus far the 'actually doing' has only been for minor things, but still!)
• I have more patience with music. I am known amongst my circle of friends as someone who is constantly skipping songs on Spotify playlists - songs I have added as favourites, sometimes 15-20 before settling on one, then skipping that once halfway through. I'm no longer doing this anywhere near as much, and it's really nice to just be able to listen without getting impatient.
• When I'm doing work, I can ignore little distractions. Things like an arriving email, or a Teams message - previously I could not ignore the little flashing notification, I would have to go and read it, then likely get further distracted, only returning to my work maybe 5-10 minutes later and then being distracted again by the next one. Now, I feel able to wait until I reach a natural pause in what I'm doing, the notification isn't as urgent-seeming.

As said, none of these are individually life-changing, but they are definite improvements for me, things that I didn't notice until I'd been taking the meds for a few weeks and was thinking back about whether anything had changed.

I hope this helps with some suggestions of the kind of improvements that you might see as you work towards finding the right dosage, even if they're not the big 'I have a working executive function!!!' kind of changes, every little helps.

@macha Congrats, I really hope it works for you!

It's a few hours early, but I won't be on again before the day.

Merry Christmas to you all, I hope you have as wonderful a day as it is possible to have, that it is filled with the people and things you enjoy, and you have as much rest as you need.

Be safe, all.

Vix

I watch a lot of videos of people making things. Typically:

• Tiny versions of big things (like for a doll's house), out of polymer clay
• Jewellery, either with wire wrapping or sometimes resin pours
• Cake decorating (which, weirdly, never makes me want to eat the cake)

It gives me an odd sense of satisfaction, even though I'm not the one making the thing. Just appreciating how skilled some people are I guess!

I interpreted that slightly differently!

***NSFW content***

So, I encountered a little gem of a game on Steam: Growing Up.

It's about a kid growing up from baby to adult, ending at high school graduation. It's a mix of choose-your-own-adventure with random events and people being introduced into your life, balancing your mental health vs making your parents proud, choosing which attributes you want to develop and which subjects - both academic and not - you want to focus on.

I've played through four "lives" now and it really does haul me in. Starting to see a little bit of repetition, but not enough to ruin it for me.

It has a nice range of characters across the various spectrums of ethnicity and sexuality, and stories to match.

Linky here if anyone finds this interesting: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1191120/Growing_Up/

Finally have caught up to Episode 5 and thus been able to read this without being spoilered!

I am a long-time fan of the books, and I agree with a lot of what is said above, particularly about Perrin's wife. Though, most of the "hammer vs axe" stuff was his own inner dialogue in the books, so I can sort-of understand the need to externalise it.

The thing I've found most about the series though, is it's teaching me all the wrong ways I've been saying words in my head! Like the mention of Birgitte with the girl's doll, in my head that's been more of a 'birrzhitte' rather than 'bir-gi-ta'. That kind of thing. It's fun

@kestrel

Wow, just wow. Thank you SO MUCH for all of this, it's really interesting and helpful to read through.

I am also UK based, and yes I did have to go private to get anywhere as mental health coverage where I am (South West) is poor-to-nonexistant on the NHS. Fortunately my therapist is a specialist in adult ADHD and is female (as am I), so hopefully she'll be aware of some of the things you've mentioned. I certainly have a list of questions for our next session!

She did mention taking the meds with a good breakfast, presumably to help with that bell curve, though didn't specify beyond filling and healthy. I'll take into account the fat effect on absorption and see how it feels when I'm on a higher dose.

The plan so far is to start on 30mg for the first week (where I am now) and increase to 50mg from there, and to catch up with her in a few weeks to see how it's going (though to call in if I experience any bad side effects or other issues).

Again, thank you so much for this, and to @thhppbbbt for those comments also. You're both awesome.

So, I guess this is the thread to say that as of last week, I have a formal diagnosis for ADHD. I'm starting new medication tomorrow - Elvanse, the active ingredient of which is lisdexamfetamine dimesylate, an amfetamine. (Edit: I am told it is called Vyvanse in the US)

Does anyone else have experience with this drug or a similar one, for ADHD treatment? Any advice, anectodal evidence of how it helps, etc?

Vix's vaguely personalised Lamb and Apricot Bake

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cubed (or 250g of the pre-prepared frozen stuff because butternut squash is a bitch to peel and cube)
500g minced lamb
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2* garlic cloves (*honestly as much garlic as you like, I usually do like 2 heaped teaspoons of garlic paste because I am a heathen)
2 tablespoons tomato puree
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp mango chutney
1 tablespoon spice (I use cinnamon because I can't handle heat, curry powder also works)
1 can apricots, roughly chopped (or 4-5 fresh ones, peeled and chopped, if you prefer)
500ml milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Cheddar to top if you like that sort of thing

Hardware:
Roasting tray
A large pot (I use a flat-bottomed wok but a giant saucepan will also do)
A big casserole dish
Hob/range
Oven

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 190C/375F. Add 2tbsp oil to the roasting tray, toss the butternut squash in it, and add salt/pepper, roast for about 25-30 minutes
• In the large pot/wok, add the remaining oil and fry onions for 4-5 mins until soft.
• Add the lamb mince and cook until brown
• Add the garlic, tomato puree and chosen spice, stir well and cook for another 2-3 minutes
• Add the chopped tomatoes, mango chutney, apricots and milk. Stir well and turn down the heat so it simmers, stir every few minutes
• Add the butternut squash when it is done roasting
• Transfer the contents of the pot to the casserole dish. If you like cheese, scatter as much of that as you like on top
• Cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is melty and golden and delicious

It freezes well!

It is a delicious meal on its own, but also works well over rice or with flatbread.

@derp I had that exact same reflex. HOW DARE CHANGE HAPPEN!

@macha said in Health and Wealth and GrownUp Stuff:

It's another thing to FUCK UP MY GODDAMN SPREADSHEET WITHOUT A FOREWARNING.

Pretty sure this should be illegal.

Then again, I am like a dragon protecting my gold when it comes to my spreadsheets.

My preciousssses.