A week ago I started a new medication. The first couple of days felt off, strange in my body, though my mind stayed steady. Then I went up to higher elevation, and the heaviness got worse. At the time, I blamed the thinner air. But it wasn’t just the altitude. It was a deep physical fatigue, a weight that made even simple things—cooking, showering, brushing my teeth, take more out of me than they should.
Today I learned this is actually a known part of the process. These startup side effects are common, and they return with each increase. I’ve got three more dose increases ahead before I even reach the minimum therapeutic level. Somehow I missed that detail in all my research, and I’ll be honest that realization hit hard.
So tonight, when hunger came, cooking wasn’t an option. Even going out felt impossible. I leaned on what I had: tossed berries, spinach, peanut butter, and soy milk into the Vitamix. Speed 10. Dinner in less than a minute.
The dishes will wait. My energy is spent. But my mind is calm, and for now that’s enough. Sometimes survival looks like a smoothie for dinner, and sometimes that’s exactly what progress is supposed to look like.