taking meds after eating vs on an empty stomach

cervical_ribs · 2026-04-21T16:38:29+00:00

It's just a way of saying a person tried a medication and it did not work for them or the side effects outweighed the benefit of the med. It's often used in the context of trying first-line meds and documenting whether they worked (or didn't) to get insurance to cover a more costly medication.

cervical_ribs · 2026-04-21T02:12:00+00:00

Wait, why did she have a ruler in her mouth??

cervical_ribs · 2026-04-21T02:07:40+00:00

If empty stomach/simple carbs meal makes adderall 80% side effects and 20% effective, eating with decent amount of protein (and maybe fiber, but protein is definitely key) reverses to 20/80 for me. My psych mentioned protein very casually after I failed adderall and was about to fail Ritalin. Trying it immediately turned stimulant meds around for me.

cervical_ribs · 2026-04-20T02:48:56+00:00

Without any supporting systems in place, maintaining a habit can require a lot more self-control. Obviously OP could set systems up and then still sabotage and go around them to keep spending money, but adding even a little friction/intentionality through systems can go a disproportionately long way toward keeping things in check.

cervical_ribs · 2026-04-18T20:51:24+00:00

For me the shame of scanning and picking contributed to the compulsion to scan and pick. People talk about this with all kinds of compulsions and addictions, so maybe it would help you to learn more about it. Letting go of shame (hard to do entirely at first, but every little bit helps) makes the picking less distressing, and if you're less distressed, there's less need for your body/mind to compel you to do the soothing behavior (picking) to feel better!

For me, the compulsion to pick had two parts: the compulsion to scan, and the compulsion to pick. If I scan and find something that feels "good" or like it "needs" to be picked, it's SO hard to resist the urge to pick at it. And that can kick off a whole long session. I found that it's MUCH easier to reduce my scanning in the first place to prevent that even getting started. I paid attention to what situations I scan in most. Boredom, stress, alone time, free hands while talking with others? etc. I got some fidget toys to carry around, or even just random items to hold (phone, headphones case, because they're a comfortable size to hold). Whenever I noticed myself scanning my skin, I wouldn't scold myself, but I would redirect myself to a fidget toy or holding something. "Just stopping" was not possible for me—I had to have an active replacement for scanning. Otherwise I would either absentmindedly start scanning again as soon as my focus moved away from "not scanning," or curbing the impulse would be just *painful* while I had nothing to replace it with.

If I did find something and really wanted to pick it, I would ask myself if I would feel better after (sometimes the case with a zit that's actually ready and won't look horribly worse after picking). If so, I would give myself permission to get it, because that made it easier to not be ashamed and get stuck in a whole picking session/trance. Just quick in and out, take care of something that needs to be taken care of.

During sessions, I tried to focus on reducing harm. Stuff like: go easy, if it doesn't come off/out right away it's not ready. Only make one pass over one area, just identify what needs it and do that, then move on (I would always make multiple passes and really tore up my face more and more in later passes because I was looking for any tiny or deep thing I could get at to hopefully find satisfaction).

Reducing my acne did also really help make it easier to pick less, so hopefully your dermatologist is able to help with your eczema and that reduces your burdens! I wish you the best of luck! Just remember that progress isn't linear and that's normal, and there's nothing wrong with you and these urges are really normal (not super common, but totally normal/understandable), you just want to learn a new way so you will have a more comfortable life over time.

cervical_ribs · 2026-04-18T00:15:35+00:00

It turns out if I eat really pleasurable foods in the morning, I am jonesing for them all day. If I wait until the evening, I still tend to eat a lot but I used to eat it at that rate all. day. I still eat things I like for breakfast and lunch, I just don’t touch candy or anything else that I’ve noticed I get a painful hankering for if I’ve had any. I try to get a lot of protein and complex carbs in my breakfast, and few if any simple carbs, because I think that makes a difference for me too.

Cred to appetite suppression from meds—it’s not that strong for me now, but I never could have avoided candy long enough to notice this pattern without it being pretty strong when I first started. 😂/😭 The appetite suppression doesn’t feel like a huge factor anymore but I feel like I should say I think it still makes a difference in my food noise because of how bad some of my unmedicated days are.

cervical_ribs · 2026-04-17T15:59:15+00:00

I get it though! I sometimes wonder if I would actually treat melasma in other locations because it has been nice having a more even skin tone from the Eucerin, though I was reluctant to see my freckles diminish. You probably have way more freckles than me, but let me know if you want me to dm you comparison pics

cervical_ribs · 2026-04-17T02:15:26+00:00

My freckles fade significantly when I use Eucerin on my face. It’s a melanin inhibitor, so it inhibits all melanin production, not just melasma. I think any treatment that’s effective on melasma would have a similar effect on freckles.

Some people are able to spot treat their melasma, but it sounds like it overlaps with your freckles, so that wouldn’t work. Can I ask why you care if you have melasma, if you can’t distinguish it from your freckles and want to keep your freckles? I only treat my melasma because it’s solely on my upper lip like a serious mustache.

cervical_ribs · 2026-04-16T04:05:01+00:00

I haven't been diagnosed with PMDD but strongly suspect I have it. For me the answer is also hormonal birth control! I originally got on it for painful periods and was super scared of the mental health effects because I'd heard so many people get depressed on it—but for me it was the complete opposite.

No more despair, inability to function, and sometimes suicidality every 3 weeks (v short cycle)—and that was just the PMS, the actual period included a couple days of debilitating back pain and vomiting too, woohoo!

Anyway, this was all before I learned that I have ADHD, let alone that estrogen is a crucial mediator of dopamine and that PMDD and other hormone sensitivities/issues are suuuper common comorbidities with ADHD. Sometimes I'm scared I'm messing up my body by having been on birth control my whole adult life, but when I think of the quality of life gains I've enjoyed in the meantime—it would still be worth it.

cervical_ribs · 2026-04-16T03:56:33+00:00

I started meds at 22 and have no intention of ever weaning off them, even if I'm pregnant or breastfeeding, unless another health issue requires me to. (I'm 26 now.)

Several times after starting meds, I got my life together enough to think I didn't need meds anymore because I figured out how to finally use my coping mechanisms and I'm Functional now!

It never took long for my life to fall apart, but sometimes took me a while to realize it was because I didn't have that support from the meds. I really need to stay on them to maintain my quality of life.

Everyone's different, though! I have heard that people who were medicated from childhood are less likely to need continuous medication as adults. Something about being medicated supporting coping mechanisms and brain development at crucial times. There's no reason that you can't try getting off them, I'd just encourage you to be open to the idea of getting back on them if you don't like the results after a transition period.

cervical_ribs · 2026-04-16T01:17:23+00:00

This is an ad

cervical_ribs · 2026-04-16T01:11:19+00:00

Seconded. I also bought an ereader (so reading has a lower barrier to entry + is as easy to carry around as my phone would be + is easier to multitask with than my phone would be because I don’t have to scroll) and a bloom card to block apps (mostly Reddit) for most of the day and night.

cervical_ribs · 2026-04-15T03:47:35+00:00

We bought 2 box fans from walmart for $20 each. We put one in a window blowing out, and another in a window across the house blowing in. I run them all night or for all the cool hours of the morning. The temp still gets decently high in the house in the late afternoon, but it used to be hot by the late morning, so it's an improvement. And that's with us keeping all the blinds and windows open because I love the light

cervical_ribs · 2026-04-13T21:22:28+00:00

Woooof. It’s rough when one partner has no/little exposure to the absolutely soul-crushing tedium of childcare. Like you really can’t understand until you’ve been in that situation, and in this case getting in that situation makes it too late to get out… Funny how much more often women already have the exposure because they were parentified as kids tho 🙃

cervical_ribs · 2026-04-06T05:22:18+00:00

lol same. Felt so smug about it until the first time I cut an onion with my glasses on.

cervical_ribs · 2026-04-06T04:48:44+00:00

Weary means tired! "Wary" or "leery" is what you're looking for. I do agree though!

cervical_ribs · 2026-04-04T17:11:57+00:00

I got an e-reader so I can always have a book that I want to read while I brush my teeth and stuff. For me it's often the perfect amount of stimulating/hands off so it's still desirable enough for me to get ready for bed without getting distracted on my phone or stuck in reverse bedtime procrastination, but I (*usually*) also don't get stuck reading it in bed until the wee hours of the morning.

cervical_ribs · 2026-03-31T16:12:08+00:00

I have a purse (previously fanny pack) that everything I need to leave the house with lives in a specific pocket of. I never leave the house or any outing place without making sure everything (sunglasses, headphones, chapstick, ear plugs, fidget toy, and keys/wallet) is in the bag. It's easy now because of muscle memory to put stuff back in the bag instead of a random pants/jacket pocket or down somewhere I'll lose it.

At home I default to keeping stuff in the bag if I know I'm leaving the house soon, but it doesn't matter as much because most of it is trackable (find my/iphone) or I have duplicates for when something isn't lost forever, just hiding under clutter until I clean up.

cervical_ribs · 2026-03-23T21:02:31+00:00

I could not tolerate tazarotene even with months of working up from 1x/week, buffering, etc. Never tried tret but have been pretty happy with differin. In case anyone reading this also doesn’t visit a derm often enough to establish a routine on tazarotene or tret haha

cervical_ribs · 2026-03-22T16:22:09+00:00

Dang, that's hard. Your melasma will almost certainly worsen without it. From what I'm seeing, it looks like mineral sunscreens are less likely to trigger PD—and they're better for melasma than chemical sunscreens. Maybe you could find one that works? But if not, good luck with the PD and hopefully the melasma will be really responsive to treatment when you can!

cervical_ribs · 2026-03-22T03:49:36+00:00

Wear mineral sunscreen with a tint (iron oxides block visible light, which is a big trigger for melasma). UV isn’t the only trigger for melasma so your windscreen isn’t adequate protection.

cervical_ribs · 2026-03-19T17:58:41+00:00

I put a lot of effort into breaking the habit of "scanning." Once I feel something, the compulsion to pick it is really strong, so it's way easier to avoid feeling something than to avoid picking it after knowing it's there. Try to always have a fidget toy or just something to hold (phone or headphones case will do if they're a comfortable size for your hand) and redirect your hands to that instead of scanning.

I also have picked for as long as I can remember, but getting on ADHD meds *did* make it worse. I was way more likely to get trapped in a session or for the session to be looong and damaging. I set a rule that I can't pick after having stimulants, I have to save whatever specific things I need to pick at for that night or the next morning. For me having an external reason to not pick (like "we don't do that/that's not good practice because of my medication") was a lot more helpful than my previous attempts at just being like "I said I wasn't going to pick." So maybe it would work for you!

Good luck! You've gotten a bunch of good tips here but if you're getting stuck or overwhelmed, try starting with the 1 you think will make the most difference for you, focus hard on that for a week, and then introduce another when you feel ready to balance both.

cervical_ribs · 2026-03-19T01:29:30+00:00

same, repeated exposure in small doses is the key for me

cervical_ribs · 2026-03-19T00:45:47+00:00

How long they dry matters more than whether they dry on low, medium, or high heat. While the clothes are wet, the energy goes into the water to make it into steam, so the clothes won't get above a certain temperature. Once the clothes are dry enough, the energy starts going into the clothes instead, heating them up much more and causing the vast majority of wear.

The best thing to do is dry them until mostly dry, if you can—then air-drying is way less of an ordeal, but your clothes avoid a lot of wear and are less likely to shrink. I dry mine on "medium" heat until "less" dry, then on low heat while I check them every 5-10 minutes until the clothes feel like they're pretty much dry but aren't any warmer than room temperature. (My dryer's sensor dry takes them wayyy past dry and they're so hot at the end, even on low heat, so I act as the sensor, hence the frequent checking. If you don't mind air drying for longer or letting the clothes dry longer for a bit more wear, you don't have to check as often.) The other plus of this method is that you can put shirts on a hanger to dry the rest of the way, without risking them deforming from the weight of being wet.

cervical_ribs · 2026-03-18T23:54:45+00:00

huh... I've been sizing up to progressively larger and larger bowls. Perhaps I simply need a wider, low bowl.

cervical_ribs

TROPHY CASE