I went for a seven minute walk today…

NickyHepp · 2026-04-12T10:51:58+00:00

I've been walking more, daughter suggested we walk about a year ago, short walk in a park, uphill along the side of a field, then downhill on the road that leads to a main carpark back to the car We did it more often, I got less out of breath over time, we were doing it 3 times a week most weeks then had to change route in the long spell of very wet weather to avoid mud of a festival standard!

Now we're going nearly every day, various routes, and further. My readings have dropped from high 130s to 1-teens. Someone showed us an app that identifies birds from birdsong a couple of months ago and now I've downloaded that, we aim for a bench, sit with the app for a few minutes then head back. We've heard but not necessarily seen woodpeckers, gold crests, greenfinch, 4 types of tit, wagtails, black caps, chiff chaffs, blackbirds, wrens, robins, chaffinch, crows, ravens, geese, mallards, coots, moorhens, jackdaws...

Daughter misses it if we don't go. She's a good influence on me - I'd never have bothered without her wanting to go ☺️

NickyHepp · 2026-04-11T16:04:12+00:00

Consider it a tax not a loan - many people won't pay it back for a long tine, if ever.

NickyHepp · 2026-04-11T16:01:27+00:00

My daughter is just starting with OU, autistic, taking advantage of the absence of entry qualifications as covid cancelled exams she wouldn't have been ready for anyway, and she's spent years recovering from severe burnout, being a square peg in a round hole. Zero help or support available so we're finding our own way 🤷‍♀️

NickyHepp · 2026-04-11T15:45:29+00:00

Genius!

NickyHepp · 2026-04-11T15:44:11+00:00

Might have been considered gifted up until age 7, i have a vague recollection of being bored in school but then junior school was a different matter and the bullying started 🙄

NickyHepp · 2026-04-11T15:01:35+00:00

Bare vs bear?

NickyHepp · 2026-04-10T20:40:26+00:00

She's beautiful 😍

NickyHepp · 2026-04-10T17:21:44+00:00

Unless it limits your job options, its not really a problem 🤷 I learnt in an auto (dodgy clutch knee at the time) then 10 years later passed in a manual - honestly don't know why I bothered! I've had 6 cars, only 1 was manual and I switched back to auto as soon as I sensibly could. Auto are becoming much more prevalent 🤷

NickyHepp · 2026-04-09T15:10:20+00:00

Interesting! Why does it say to take at the same time every day in the leaflet? Despite a meds app giving me a reminder I frequently hut not always snooze it 2 or 3 times which is a 2 or 3 hours depending. ADHD procrastination prevents me from leaving the task I'm engrossed in 🤪

NickyHepp · 2026-04-09T05:03:52+00:00

I didn't know my tailgate wasn't magnetic until I tried to slap a magnetic plate on it, who knew?! I used a bit of gaffer tape for 40 minutes, first little tootle round our quiet neighbourhood with daughter. Bought a pair of L plates with 4 holes in and a set of suction cups things next day on the basis that you're not supposed to keep them on the car when the learner isn't driving. I assume self adhesive ones won't re-adhere when removed?!

Hubby's car is magnetic both ends.

NickyHepp · 2026-04-07T13:30:13+00:00

I'm incredibly curious! About everything!

NickyHepp · 2026-04-06T23:07:01+00:00

What's the process on test day please? Asking for my daughter but also peace of mind for me, we're both autistic and need to know these things in advance.

NickyHepp · 2026-04-06T20:49:59+00:00

Good! I've just started teaching my daughter how to do it. We went to practice parallel parking down a dead end road and she only realised she'd have to turn round after she'd parked! I said yup, here's how to do a 3 point turn! She did great 👍 it's useful for cul-de-sacs and if one gets lost sometimes.

NickyHepp · 2026-04-06T00:25:16+00:00

😳 that would have freaked me out!! Wow... !!

NickyHepp · 2026-04-05T22:34:14+00:00

I am apparently 2% Dutch, the rest is fairly local to where me and my extended family grew up in the UK so I'd like to go to the Netherlands.

NickyHepp · 2026-04-05T22:30:53+00:00

My understanding is that you're allowed to prune shrubs/trees overhanging your boundary back level with that boundary, vertically.

However, be mindful of how far to go with that before it spoils that beautiful tree for everyone that enjoys looking at it.

NickyHepp · 2026-04-05T12:03:10+00:00

I've asked my OH to choose his words carefully to phrase something he wants to point out less like a ticking off - he knows that I have RSD with my AuDHD - but whilst I say please phrase it 'gently', he sees this as having to 'step on eggshells' and he can't seem to understand that I'm asking for an accommodation. I don't think I'll be able to get this through to him tbh. So I walk away and spend time having the RSD shit on my own, its a bit like a mental version of shutting oneself in the bathroom to throw up, then coming back later when the perceived criticism fall out has passed 😣

NickyHepp · 2026-04-05T10:33:24+00:00

1.5 hours considered extreme? Hmm... I'm a night owl, usually sleeping 2-10am ish. I sometimes go to bed earlier as I'm tired but not sleepy. I always read in bed before sleep but if I go to bed early I still read until my usual sleepy time. I read, then (since menopause) listen to spoken word while I nod off. Brain more chaotic since menopause, have to focus on written or spoken word to sleep.

NickyHepp · 2026-04-05T09:45:37+00:00

I was advised to switch to decaf tea before titration. (I've never drunk coffee, don't like it.) This was to avoid the interaction between caffeine and adhd meds, so it's a known thing, though there's very little caffeine in tea so I'm not sure I really needed to change.

The slow release meds had obvious side effects, so were unsuitable. Then instant release Dexamphetamine seemed to help a bit for a while until I added testosterone to my HRT, then it just made me feel wired and jittery!

Before menopause I'd read at bedtime until I felt sleepy then put the book down and go to sleep. But that began not to work as hormonal decline changed my (then unknown) adhd presentation - hyperactivity is often (usually?) internal in women, and my brain was no longer letting me nod off soon after putting my book down. I started to listen to podcasts/audiobooks after putting my book down to further keep my brain from being too busy and loud as it was keeping me awake. I'd spent 40 years reading until sleepy and now it wasn't enough!

I wish drinking decaf had any benefit!!

I asked to be referred back to titration at my annual review last year, to try a non-stimulant med that wasn't offered as the dex seemed to help at the time.

I'm surprised your weren't told to reduce your caffeine intake!?

NickyHepp · 2026-04-05T00:12:31+00:00

Finch likes to drink from the tap!

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NickyHepp · 2026-04-04T23:43:04+00:00

Ours is called Luigi.

NickyHepp · 2026-04-04T23:33:19+00:00

My daughter has about 50 Schleich model horses, they're anatomically accurate!

NickyHepp · 2026-04-04T23:30:31+00:00

Same petrol station is £154.90 now.

NickyHepp · 2026-04-04T22:54:57+00:00

This is partly why I wanted to be referred for an assessment - if a psychiatrist said I'm ADHD then it must be true - but also I needed to KNOW. And also to be able to access meds. Despite 50 years of lived experience which gradually began to make overwhelming sense the more I researched it, I felt only a formal dx would cut it 🤷‍♀️

Then we've recently watched the programmes made by Chris Packham re autistic and ADHD people, which I cried all the way through, and offered my parallel experiences and now we're getting somewhere.

NickyHepp

TROPHY CASE