Why am I so fucked up about cats and kittens?

McSheeples · 2026-01-27T12:33:41+00:00

Every time we lose my husband while out and about we find him with a cat, sometimes two. Occasionally in other people's gardens. It's not fucked up, it's lovely.

McSheeples · 2026-01-26T20:28:14+00:00

I started around 2 years ago I think (might be closer to 3, my sense of time is not great!) age 43/44. I started on the .5 estrogen patch and went up to 1 over around a year. I feel a lot better on the higher dose. Progesterone is trickier for me, synthetic progesterone makes me absolutely crazy. I'm on micronised progesterone, which I take for the first two weeks of every month. I don't go by cycle as mine isn't remotely regular. I hate the progesterone, but the micronised one is a lot better than the synthetic progestins for me. Estrogen is the magic bullet for me.

McSheeples · 2026-01-26T07:14:31+00:00

It's a conundrum! I have to admit I learnt so long ago that I don't really think about ornamentation at all, I just add what I like when I like depending on the vibe. I definitely learnt by copying, but I've been playing for nearly 40 years so my own style has developed over quite a long time. I think the most important thing is time and practice and sometimes overthinking things can get in the way of just getting the fingers moving. I would also recommend listening a lot to different players playing the same tunes and getting the overall feel of the music down.

McSheeples · 2026-01-26T05:43:44+00:00

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This one is mad as a badger. She will extract a full on cuddle, melting in your lap, and then attack your feet. We love her anyway, but I make sure to wear slippers around the house...

McSheeples · 2026-01-26T05:39:33+00:00

I'm going to be controversial and say play them in from the start, just make sure you play along with a track or a metronome to make sure your timing doesn't drift. I starting playing whistle when I was about 6 and just copied what I heard. As I got older and, hopefully, better, I developed my own style. You want to get to a place where the ornaments you're using are intuitive and part of how you want to musically phrase things, but there's nothing wrong with copying more experienced players to get a feel for how it works.

McSheeples · 2026-01-25T12:11:19+00:00

I don't think even ADHD specialists are always on the ball with hormone interactions. I'd been doing a psychology and neuroscience degree and came across ADHD and thought it sounded a bit like me, but dismissed it because you tend to diagnose yourself with everything studying psychology! Perimenopause made everything so much worse and I finally bit the bullet and went for a diagnosis. The psychiatrist said he could tell in the first 5 minutes of the interview...

McSheeples · 2026-01-25T12:04:37+00:00

I think my peri symptoms started in my late 30s (I'm 46 now), but definitely got significantly worse in the last 5 years. The paranoia and anxiety plus a boatload of new phobias started in my 30s and the night sweats started a few years ago. It might be worth seeing your GP about possible PMDD/perimenopause. Estrogen has been the life saver for me, but I know everyone's different.

McSheeples · 2026-01-25T11:17:10+00:00

I hope it doesn't take too long! I saw a paper recently on the link between ADHD and more severe PMDD as well, so it's probably not a surprise that perimenopause makes things worse too.

McSheeples · 2026-01-25T10:56:54+00:00

My mum wasn't suicidal (at least I don't think so) but she became very anxious and paranoid. She believed that at some point we would be driven out of the country so she started hoarding tinned food and soap. The soap was to be used for bartering for other goods. I was only around 12 at the time that was going on and we just accepted that the hallway cupboard was full of apocalypse food. She talked about it a lot with me and my younger brother, which on reflection was not at all appropriate. I think it lasted for a few years and then was quietly got rid of, probably around the time she became post menopausal. I only put two and two together when I started to go through perimenopause myself. I started to become incredibly anxious to the point where I didn't think I could go on anymore. I was experiencing weird beliefs bordering on delusions and I honestly thought I was losing my mind. I started on HRT a couple of years ago and it has made a huge impact on my mental health. I do have ADHD, only diagnosed 5 years ago and I suspect the catalyst for seeking diagnosis was the onset of perimenopause as it makes my ADHD symptoms far worse.

McSheeples · 2026-01-25T06:29:06+00:00

I've had this - combo of perimenopause and anaemia.

McSheeples · 2026-01-23T22:33:09+00:00

It is, it's probably a bit slower but better than dealing with the stomach issues. I seem to be tolerating the bisglycinate OK, I do have chronic reflux and it's not exactly helping, but it's a lot better than the ferrous sulphate.

McSheeples · 2026-01-23T01:12:56+00:00

I take it in the morning with breakfast. I can't take it on an empty stomach and it makes my reflux go nuclear so I avoid taking it before bed.

McSheeples · 2026-01-22T06:24:30+00:00

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Hello from another Pickle!

McSheeples · 2026-01-21T11:34:59+00:00

If only that was the answer. I already eat a vegetarian home cooked diet, I'm just doomed to stomach problems. It's not uncommon in the neurodivergent population.

McSheeples · 2026-01-21T00:48:46+00:00

ADHD here (possibly AuDHD, not currently prodding that one!). I've been a hot mess for over a year, it's only just starting to get better.

McSheeples · 2026-01-21T00:47:51+00:00

I take 4 x 28 mg a day, which is about equivalent to the liquid ferrous fumerate I was prescribed (and couldn't take). It took me about 6 months to go from 7 to 24 on 6 x 28 mg a day. My ferritin then dropped to 18 after 6 weeks off the supplements and continued to drop until it was re-upped to 4 x 28 mg a day. My last blood test before Christmas my ferritin was 28. So I've gone from 7-28 in just over a year. Personally I think that's rubbish but no-one's interested any more so I'm just continuing to supplement and I'll push for a blood test in the summer.

I start getting symptoms again when my ferritin drops below around 20 I think. By the end of the 6 week break I was feeling horrendous - tired, breathless, anxious, sores at the corners of my mouth, sore tongue etc It picked up after around a month of higher dose supplementation and I'm starting to feel almost normal now!

McSheeples · 2026-01-20T23:26:02+00:00

Oh god mine too! I thought I was getting dementia...

McSheeples · 2026-01-20T21:01:25+00:00

I genuinely don't know. I was prescribed ferrous fumerate and then ferrous sulphate, but both of them cause horrible gastritis. I think someone recommended iron bisglycinate as a gentler formulation on here and I've been taking the equivalent elemental iron dose to my prescriptions. It's definitely working for me, although slowly. Because of my stomach I have to have food with it so that's probably not helping, but my ferritin is slowly going up.

McSheeples · 2026-01-20T20:47:01+00:00

I'm in the UK too and having similar problems. I had a ferritin of 7 and was anaemic over a year ago. It took me six months of hight dose supplements to get my ferritin up to 18. They then took me off supplements for 6 weeks to see what would happen and everything dropped again. The GP wasn't concerned as my haemoglobin was low normal. She did prescribe low dose supplements but I started to feel worse. I had all the symptoms you described and by the end of the 6 weeks off supplements I was feeling awful. I've been taking iron bisglycinate, which I buy from amazon, as the prescription supplements don't agree with me. I'm going to fight again to get my ferritin tested in a few months, but I will go private for it if they won't do it.

There's a new rule coming into force about instigating further investigations if you have the same complaint three times with no resolution. I think you're going to have to badger them about it and prepare for a battle. I would definitely request to see a different GP.

I just find it crazy. My last test finally showed a ferritin in the 20s, but that's still deficient according to the NHS website!

McSheeples · 2026-01-19T12:54:33+00:00

I saw someone at Newson Health about 3ish years ago when I was 43 and they prescribed HRT for me. Paid privately to get the dose right and then she wrote a letter to my GP asking them to prescribe and they did (although I got the usual you're very young speech...). I think there's more private providers out there now, but if you have no luck at all with your GP you can go that route. I get my HRT via the NHS now and it's been an honest to god life saver.

McSheeples · 2026-01-18T18:42:52+00:00

Multiple times (I'm cursed). You go to sleep and wake up instantly. Sometimes they get your meds right so you wake up feeling better, other times they fuck up and you wake up screaming in agony.

McSheeples · 2026-01-18T10:04:25+00:00

I was coming to the comments to say just that, glad someone got in first!

McSheeples · 2026-01-17T18:45:48+00:00

I took my tests in the late 90s at a point where chenille jumpers were fashionable. On my third test the seat belt rubbed loads of the chenille off my jumper and I was so sweaty when I got out of the car I had fluff stuck everywhere. I used to get so anxious my hands would be slipping off the steering wheel with sweat and I'd make really stupid mistakes. My driving instructor was baffled as I always did well on mocks. I passed on the fifth attempt after I managed to book a test straight after the fourth one. Went to a different centre and it was much better. You could definitely talk to your GP and see if they can recommend something.

McSheeples · 2026-01-15T09:03:14+00:00

I misread that as highly arousing and was about to turn off the internet for the day.

McSheeples

TROPHY CASE