Elle-Kay
01-10-12, 17:52
After all my worrying about going to the heritage event in the city yesterday, and going to the Herbalist appointment today, I made it through both! Neither day was plain-sailing, but at least I did them both, so I don't have cause to beat myself up about flaking out :D
At the heritage event yesterday I had a few wobbly moments, but was amazed that the first time I looked at my watch we had already been there an hour and a half - it had flown, so I can't have been too anxious because that usually makes time drag! We met so many nice people demonstrating such interesting crafts, and I actually did manage to have a good time, despite the odds I had potentially put in my way. I didn't manage to eat anything whilst out again (but this is something I can work on later) and I did have a wobble where I asked Mum if we could leave right away (I went into a room at the museum I hadn't been in before, with lots of people, so suddenly felt very trapped), but immediately as my Mum said we could leave I knew that I needed to stay until the panic had subsided a bit, so that's what we did in the end, and stayed for another 10-15 minutes at least. Even taking this into account though, at least I was out for 3 hours with hardly any symptoms!
The Herbalist appointment was really interesting. He's a nice chap, and was very understanding & non-judgmental of all that I was telling him. He seemed to understand anxiety as he spoke about things like it being a very real fear for the sufferer, even if it appears less so to the outer world, and had even thought on, ahead of my appointment (I had warned him that I would be anxious), to burn a particular kind of basil essential oil/taper in the clinic room that has anxiety-relieving properties. Plus he offered me (FOC) some chamomile & basil tea and/or a dose of a herb that has properties similar to Diazepam during the appointment, to help make it easier for me. I was touched that he was so caring about making me comfortable.
Anyway, despite warning him that I might have to leave part-way through, I did end up making it through the whole 1.5 hour appointment (or 1.75 hour by the time we had finished chatting!), and have brought some medicine away with me. I expected it to have the usual in - lavender, chamomile, passionflower etc - but it has all sorts in to address my migraines and digestion as well as the anxiety. I can't remember everything, but licorice, mistletoe and orange blossom were definitely mentioned! I'm sure it will taste foul, lol, but if it helps I don't care! I'm seeing him again in 3 weeks to update him, and he will add to/remove herbs as necessary depending on my feedback.
He said that I might feel worse for a few days/a week as the changes start to happen, but this is the same with any medication the Dr might have given me, so I hope I'll be able to cope and stick it out!
Overall, I'm quite cautiously pleased with myself for getting through two fairly sizeable challenges inthe last few days :yesyes:
At the heritage event yesterday I had a few wobbly moments, but was amazed that the first time I looked at my watch we had already been there an hour and a half - it had flown, so I can't have been too anxious because that usually makes time drag! We met so many nice people demonstrating such interesting crafts, and I actually did manage to have a good time, despite the odds I had potentially put in my way. I didn't manage to eat anything whilst out again (but this is something I can work on later) and I did have a wobble where I asked Mum if we could leave right away (I went into a room at the museum I hadn't been in before, with lots of people, so suddenly felt very trapped), but immediately as my Mum said we could leave I knew that I needed to stay until the panic had subsided a bit, so that's what we did in the end, and stayed for another 10-15 minutes at least. Even taking this into account though, at least I was out for 3 hours with hardly any symptoms!
The Herbalist appointment was really interesting. He's a nice chap, and was very understanding & non-judgmental of all that I was telling him. He seemed to understand anxiety as he spoke about things like it being a very real fear for the sufferer, even if it appears less so to the outer world, and had even thought on, ahead of my appointment (I had warned him that I would be anxious), to burn a particular kind of basil essential oil/taper in the clinic room that has anxiety-relieving properties. Plus he offered me (FOC) some chamomile & basil tea and/or a dose of a herb that has properties similar to Diazepam during the appointment, to help make it easier for me. I was touched that he was so caring about making me comfortable.
Anyway, despite warning him that I might have to leave part-way through, I did end up making it through the whole 1.5 hour appointment (or 1.75 hour by the time we had finished chatting!), and have brought some medicine away with me. I expected it to have the usual in - lavender, chamomile, passionflower etc - but it has all sorts in to address my migraines and digestion as well as the anxiety. I can't remember everything, but licorice, mistletoe and orange blossom were definitely mentioned! I'm sure it will taste foul, lol, but if it helps I don't care! I'm seeing him again in 3 weeks to update him, and he will add to/remove herbs as necessary depending on my feedback.
He said that I might feel worse for a few days/a week as the changes start to happen, but this is the same with any medication the Dr might have given me, so I hope I'll be able to cope and stick it out!
Overall, I'm quite cautiously pleased with myself for getting through two fairly sizeable challenges inthe last few days :yesyes: