u/je_ru13

Just some background information... I have NT1 and have finally been able to get my symptoms of multiple disorders (Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Autism, ADHD, and cPTSD) and nerve and joint injuries under control to the point I want to start working on moving off of disability and build a small business idea and hopefully grow to becoming a mission-driven for profit business to help people with disabilities and foster teens aging out of the system.

I drive a manual transmission car, because that is the *only* way to keep my sleep intrusions away. When driving an automatic, I have intrusive thoughts from microsleeps that tell me I am dreaming. I also deal with tactile hallucinations that make me feel like I am floating, and objects around me start appearing as not real, or dream-like. It's very scary. This does not happen with my manual car. It's like I am a completely normal person. I have had 2 sleep attack while in my manual, but the jolt of the improper shifting immediately gave me the surge I needed to get home safely. (home was only 5 mins on neighborhood streets both times).

My car is older, being that manual transmissions are not common in the US, and needs quite a bit of work. I have slowly been able to get things working in between shops, my boyfriend being a car guy, and me working on it myself, but it still needs more.

With that said, has anyone used an assisting driving device that has helped? If I can get my doctor to prescribe them, then vocational rehabilitation or other programs will be willing to help me. I hope to use her letter to get noticed and continue to build social networking.

Any advice would be super beneficial. I appreciate everyone! :)

I've brought up my idea to quite a few people, and have some social networking in the making. It's exciting because I have been dreaming of this idea since middle school and never thought people would be interested. With that said, before I go too far in my head, I wanted some advice on getting a solid foundation built and find out what I need to learn more about.

My idea is to create a multi-use facility, including dog training and boarding facility (where my knowledge shines the most), gardening and bee keeping (products to sell to the community), as well as, apprenticeship opportunities for teens aging out of the foster care system, such as carpentry, dog training/grooming, mechanic shop, etc. Eventually, I hope to build connections nationwide, but that's going to far into the future.

At the moment, I am confused if I should consider this a non-profit or a for-profit that has a particular mission. I was debating starting as a for-profit that branches out into non-profit work later on. I believe that keeping the dog training and boarding facility as a for-profit and make donations towards my non-profit that would fit the rest of my ideas may be best, but open to other ideas. I know apprenticeships are hard to come by, so I would love to help support small businesses or people who wish to share their knowledge. I wouldn't have my dog training knowledge without the help of my mentors.

I feel my ideas are a bit muddled with the big picture. I will definitely be starting very small, and I know this is a 10-15 year project that I am overthinking now. Which is where I'd love any advice on the best way to start this. I do have opportunities to grants, and people who have worked with the foster system, etc.

I don't know what flair I should put, so my apologies if I placed the wrong one.

The other stimulants caused me too much nerve pain from a nerve injury in my left arm up to my neck. Modafinil even gave me raynaud's like symptoms (a rare but known side effect) in which my hands started losing circulation and turning white. The pain was unbearable.

I started the 7mg nicotine patches and used them with breaks in between. I never got addicted to them, and could go days without them, though my daytime sleepiness came back. I noted no cataplexy while on them, and moderate cataplexy while off them. While not on sodium oxybate, the cataplexy rebound was much more intense. And while on sodium oxybate, there wasn't a huge rebound, but it was noted after the second day of no nicotine patch. I did not go through any withdrawals, other than my sleepiness during the day getting worse.

Side effects include nausea and a bit of a high feeling the first hour of putting on the patch, then after that, I had clarity and felt the stimulant effects, plus it reduced my chronic pain. I noted higher heart rate, and some heart palpitations. Things I got on the other stimulants.

I just got the 14mg patch as that's been noted to help narcoleptics through anecdotal evidence. I started them today, and the nausea is a bit more intense, but doable. I did talk to my sleep specialist about this, and she was fine with me trying it. I have a histamine intolerance as well, so I am very hesitant on trying wakix.

Overall, it's been about 1.5 hours since putting on the 14mg patch and knowing the 7mg patch, the nausea will go down in the next half hour, maybe an hour since this is a bigger dose. I do get some heart palpitations, but because the nicotine patch also works on the opioid receptors of the brain, I do not register them as much. On modafinil, my chest pain was so significant, I couldn't move or think. One thing I like about the patch is I can take it off at anytime and within a hour, I can feel the stimulant effect wearing off. While I get mild GI upset of the nicotine patch, I had severe affects on modafinil, Adderall, and Ritalin.

I would like to keep updating about my journey, as there may be others who would like to know about nicotine patches, as I've seen others post about it.

I never smoked, vaped, or used other nicotine products before trying the patches. So I don't know if any oral consumption changes the possible addiction levels.

In the beginning, I only left the patch on for a few hours. Then I tried a full 24 hours, but noted less quality sleep. So now, I take it off 2-3 hours before bed, and place one on right when I wake up.

So far, it's been the best treatment for me as a daytime stimulant and even though the nausea in the beginning is rough, being that I am very sensitive to other stimulants and got way worse side effects on them, I prefer it.

Has anyone else tried it? What was your experience? I don't mind answering any questions as well. 😊

Anyone else lose theirs and found it again?

I was looking at my chart, specifically my chiron last night. I know not everyone goes as deep into their chart, but I've found exploring it all has had helpful insights at the right times. I have learned that my rising (cancer) struggles to let me heal from my chiron.

My chiron is in Scorpio in the 5th house at 1st degree. While I did dive deeper, the AI summary of that was really accurate and to the point. That's where I am at now in life. I need to figure out how to not sacrifice myself for my joys, because that's my biggest fear, and causing me to avoid all creative outlets. My mother, a capricorn, is to blame here. And while I keep a distance from her now, her words of criticism float in my head everyday. If I don't give 200% and make it perfect at the first go... if I waste any materials and time... if I think outside of the box... it's all wrong...

I wanted to learn sewing as a young adult, picked it up very quickly. First project was a sweater for my dog, fabric from my old shirt. Never measured or did anything with a sewing machine before. I measured my wiggly puppy, and got to work, lining up my stripes rather well. The only mistake was sewing the collar of the shirt on wrong, but it fit perfectly. He outgrew it fast, but it was just so cool to see the project finished. I did a few more projects before her dislike in either my design choices or fabrics just ruined the whole thing.

Same happened in my watercolors, pencil drawings, music, literally anything I picked up as a teen with the intention of pursuing possible financial gain. I understood practice made perfect, and being imperfect was the beauty in art. But she did not. And no validation came from any of my art, unless many others liked it as well. And even then, she told me they were lying to me to make me feel better.

I say these things, because they come into my head each time I try to sit down and start anything. I want a youtube channel to express the beauty of human connection. I want to paint postcards to send to the elderly who need to feel love. I want to capture a moment of pure emotion in a photo, and then paint it for the world to see my perspective. I want to be myself and not hide anymore. But I am tired of the hurt and pain each time I create.

Any advice would be helpful. I felt like this subreddit, being full of Pisces will at least understand the deep pain here. Hopefully, even just sharing can help me in my journey of finding myself.