It's November

Hello, November! Yes, I'm making another (mostly likely half-arsed) attempt at resurrecting my blog by participating in NaBloPoMo. Sometimes I wonder if I should abandon blogging altogether - if I really wanted to write this blog, I'd just do it, wouldn't I? 

Regardless, here I am. Thirty posts in 30 days. 

I've had a very lazy weekend, which was just what I needed. My body was feeling broken after walking down 38 flights of stairs during an emergency evacuation drill on Monday, a migraine on Thursday and a very vigorous (but excellent) massage that left my back and neck feeling bruised. 

Thursday's migraine was the first I've had in almost a month. This is almost unprecedented! I'm on new prevention medication that's working well so far, and I'm only on a half-dose at this stage. Happily, the side-effects are minimal. 

This coming week is only four days long thanks to the Melbourne Cup Day public holiday on Tuesday. I have to work tomorrow but it will most likely be very quiet as so many people take the Monday off as well. 

JayBloPoMo: day 5

Oops. Forget to post yesterday. I'm blaming my medication. Really. For the past few months I've become increasingly worried that I was in the throes of early onset dementia because my memory has noticeably deteriorated. Trouble finding the right word in conversation was the main 'symptom', but there were other examples - forgetting the last digit of the debit card PIN I've had for more than 15 years, forgetting entire (albeit brief) conversations and trouble remembering names. 

I've been genuinely scared about it. There are nearly 25,000 people in Australia under 65 - including in their 30s and 40s - with younger onset dementia, so it's not as crazy as it  might sound. I am going to be 42 in a few days...  

But some quick googling revealed verbal memory problems, especially difficulty finding words, are a side effect of the migraine prevention medication I've been taking for about six months (Topamax for anyone who wants to know). Talk about a huge relief! I'm not demented! 

I saw my GP on Friday and I've started weaning myself off the drug. Hopefully it doesn't take long for my memory to come back.  I like being able to think of the right word when I need it.