Day 7: I took Advil around an hour before the treatment. I’ve been playing with taking it at various times, and so far, this was the most effective time to take it. The magnet was maxed out (for me) at 110 and while it hurt it seemed the Advil helped take the edge off.
Last night, I was suffering from headaches on the scalp at the treatment contact site. The area was super sensitive touch and no additional Advil or medication caused the pain to subside. I tried icing it. That relieved the pain for a while, but at the time I went to bed, it was still very much present when I put my head on the pillow.
So far, the site level headache is minimal. I’m hoping it isn’t just a good day and maybe the so-called ‘getting used to it’ phase has begun. One good day does not make an actual dataset, so here’s to hope for more of the same goodness tomorrow.
If you’ve been following along, it probably seems like today has been a much better day. To that point, I’m also writing this the same day as my treatment instead of the day after.
Pain: How badly did the treatment hurt? Did I have headaches afterward? Other issues?
3/5 – Unpleasant during the treatment
There was some surface scalp pain that continues to occur after every treatment but this is easily avoided by not touching the area or adjusting my hat to hit it.
Sleep: How’d I sleep? How many hours? Quality?
2/5 – I woke up many times during the overnight. It wasn’t the most useful sleep of my life. No dreams, no sweats.
Appetite: How’d I feel about eating? What did I eat?
3/5 – Mediocre. I didn’t think anything sounded great and so I ate a Sedberry Sandwich.
Physical Activity: What did I feel capable of doing? What did I ultimately do? How did I feel afterward?
3/5 – I didn’t partake in any physical activity, but I also didn’t intentionally avoid it. I wasn’t opposed is probably the best description.
Motivation: How much proactive motivation did I have? What motivated me? What were my goals? Did I hit them?
2/5 – Motivation was still low but I accomplished much. Achievement!
Baseline Mood: What am I feeling as a baseline.
2/5 – Depressed. I felt much better than yesterday, but a lot weighing is on my mind. There are so many unresolved and unknown factors.
Happenings: What’s happened today that may impact my baseline?
A mostly uneventful day. A minor reminder of how difficult life currently is and a therapy session with my favorite betterhelp.com therapist Erin Lingle. She’s been instrumental over the past few months in helping my logical brain work through the complexities of emotional discourse.
Reactions: What were my reactions to the happenings?
Depression
Pride
Relief
Exhaustion
Learnings: What did I learn, observe, etc.?
I learned that I could write more than one post in a day and not die from exhaustion. Also, I learned how fantastic Neil Gaiman’s short stories are. I chewed through several shorts this morning during treatment but especially enjoyed “The Truth is Save in the Black Mountains” or buy the excellent short story collection Trigger Warning.
