Built from scrap cardboard and papier-mâché with cherry veneer on the tray. It lifts out so it can be used on a game board, and the long window in the gable has a light inside. I’m pleased with the stonework on this, it took forever but it has the sandstone look I was hoping for.
I am planning on buying a pair of X-alps (leather), I haven't had any before so I checked the size guide and measured my foot length.
I usually wear a UK women's size 7, 7.5 or 8 or an EU 41-42 depending on the brand, however my foot length + sock is 26.7cm, which corresponds to unisex 8.5 or 9. in the Salomon sizing chart.
I read the reviews of the latest X-alps and some people were saying that it runs very large while some were saying the exact opposite. I'm now confused and would be grateful for any suggestions on what size to buy.
I have my RTC ASD assessment with Harley St Mental Health (GP Benjamin is my assessor) in a few days. I am in full burn-out and have had no capacity to prepare at all. I hope that I will be able to answer questions well enough to allow for an effective assessment, but I am concerned about a) being too exhausted to remember enough about my life and experience to answer questions b) not being able to understand questions well enough c) not having the capacity or time to leave enough space around the appointment to prepare and deal with the inevitable emotional fall-out.
I would be grateful to hear from anyone who has used Harley St about how the assessment was for you - I don't even know if it will be in two parts or a single appointment.
I would also be grateful to hear more generally from anyone who has been through assessment with any provider, about how the assessment process was and how you felt afterwards.
Sorry for length, I’m not sure how to explain my situation in brief.
I have been titrating on Elvanse for about 10 weeks since my combined-type diagnosis and I’m finding it hard to tell if it’s working well enough to keep going despite the challenges.
Prior to starting medication I would frequently get “stuck” and be unable to take actions I wanted to take or focus at work. I have ME / chronic fatigue and struggle with energy so have to carefully pace myself. I am also autistic and have always had a tendency to hyper focus.
Elvanse is the first medication I’ve tried and have now been on 50mg for 9 weeks. The first week was hard and I had no attention span but since then I have mainly felt “locked in” and concentrating on work for many hours at a time. I have a stressful job and it’s become even harder for me to switch off. I sometimes find myself working until 10 or 11pm (I WFH and my regular finish time is 6:30). I have intermittently struggled with sleep and the past couple of nights have had less than 2 hours sleep, which causes horrible symptoms (exhaustion combined with stimulant effects causing overstimulation) the next day.
I have struggled with overworking and work related stress throughout my life but it seems worse since starting medication. Whereas my body would previously stop me from working too late no matter how urgent the deadline, I can now do 12+ hours without a break. Although I am being more productive, more and more things are being piled onto my workload and I am finding it hard to enforce breaks and rest for myself. This is worsened by the fact that I have started to find it hard to eat, the meds have reduced my appetite and I now find the idea of having lunch quite difficult and overwhelming. I eat the same breakfast every morning before my meds and am prioritising protein but on some days I’ll have that and then nothing else until 8PM or later.
I am finding my sensory overload issues worse since starting Elvanse and am also struggling with itching, particularly at night which stops me from sleeping. I have an impulse control disorder which causes me to pull my body hair out and this has been worse since starting Elvanse. I sometimes find myself unable to stop doing this at night and not falling asleep for hours as a result.
I asked my prescriber (ADHD360) about skipping a dose to allow me to rest on a Sunday, and they recommended in the first instance I try skipping the Elvanse but taking 10mg Amfexa later in the morning. I did this on one occasion and had a very good sleep and relaxed day. The following day (back on the 50mg Elvanse) I had extreme low mood. I have a history of cPTSD but have been in therapy for 13 years and rarely experience a sudden onset extreme low mood like that. It went away after a day. I mentioned it to the prescriber who recommended I take 40mg Elvanse instead at weekends if I want more rest. I haven’t tried that yet.
I wondered if it was just work deadlines combined with stress caused by the fact that my partner is quite unwell making things seem overwhelming so I recently had a week off and did feel better during that time, but I was making an effort to do relaxing activities each day like spending hours in nature and going for swims and sauna sessions. When I returned to work I was immediately overwhelmed by having too much to do and felt I had to work long hours again. I take basically no breaks during the work day and if I do step away for a few minutes I end up doing housework. Two days ago I worked until midnight and then was too wired to sleep so crashed at about 5pm yesterday. I then slept for an hour or so but woke up and wasn’t able to fall asleep again despite being exhausted.
Before starting meds I was hoping that having a more normal amount of dopamine would lead to me feeling more relaxed and peaceful in general. I can’t say that has been the case so far. I’m worried that I’m even more burned out than before and that if I carry on like this my ME/CFS which has remitted to mild over the past year after 7 years of moderate will worsen and become more debilitating again.
I’d be grateful for any thoughts on whether I should keep going with the Elvanse and hope that the undesirable effects dissipate and leave me with the enhanced focus and energy, or ask to try something else. My blood pressure and pulse have been fine on the Elvanse so other stimulants aren’t out of the question.
Lastly, I was certainly stressed and burnt out before I started Elvanse and have historically spent much of my life pushing myself to work as hard as possible and survive hard times. I’m not very good at resting in general and worry that Elvanse is exacerbating that tendency to the detriment of my health.
TLDR: 2.5 months into Elvanse I am stressed, overwhelmed and struggling to rest, wondering if I should keep going.