This is Legwork and Life, where I track the legwork and opportunities in my career as an autistic advocate, and also describe parts of my adult autistic life, including my perspectives on everyday problems and situations.
So, much is said about indoor air quality, and my doctor kind of figured that might be the issue. She suggested various possible coping mechanisms, including upgrading the home furnace to use a HEPA filter. She warned that would be expensive, but it's technically doable... it just requires a much stronger fan than any other type.
After trying the other things (allergen-resistant pillow-holder, washing the bedding with hot water, taking an extra NAC to boost my detoxification), my spouse decided to look into the furnace things. While doing so, he happened to notice the furnace filter... which hadn't been changed since November 2017. They're rated for 3 months, and we'd been using the same basic model for 17 months.
Unsurprisingly, the filter was a gross mess. So we trucked off (actually, he trucked while I staggered) to a home improvement store and bought the top of the line non-HEPA filter, figuring anything would be better than the old one. Lo and behold, less than an hour later, I stopped being dizzy. As of this writing, I haven't had a single bout of dizziness.
I'm really, really hopeful this will affect the amount of dizziness I suffer in the summer months when the algae has grown thick and foul. I still won't be able to open the windows, obviously, but last summer, I'd still get dizzy and foggy-headed with the house shut tight. With a properly functioning furnace filter, maybe that won't be the case.
In happier news, adventures in field garlic continues!
I seriously love the taste of field garlic, so I'm going to be sorry when it dies back a bit in summer. As such, I uprooted a couple nice bunches and brought them home with me. They're now in pots. They're not exactly happy campers yet, still all flopped over rather than supporting their own weight. But I'm hoping at least a few of them will perk up. I can then simply chop the garlicky tops when I'd like some for my butter.
I have a very bad track record with keeping plants alive, so the ones I took home might well just die. If so, they're an invasive species and shouldn't be here anyway. So it's not the end of the world. I'm hoping they'll live, though. I've potted them with their home soil and placed them in a spot that kind of emulates being on the edge of the treeline, where they naturally grow. They'll get sun, but not abundantly.
We'll see, I guess. It's been a few days since I snagged them and they're still green. Maybe that's a promising sign?
At any age, life is a learning experience. You can never get too old to learn, because the world keeps changing. Sometimes, however, it kind of feels like life slaps you across the face for not knowing something you should have known.
I suffered bouts of dizziness last week, starting around Tuesday until Friday, when we figured out the problem. This was related to how badly I was feeling over last summer. It was a weird kind of dizziness, which tended to get worse when I lay down.
So, much is said about indoor air quality, and my doctor kind of figured that might be the issue. She suggested various possible coping mechanisms, including upgrading the home furnace to use a HEPA filter. She warned that would be expensive, but it's technically doable... it just requires a much stronger fan than any other type.
After trying the other things (allergen-resistant pillow-holder, washing the bedding with hot water, taking an extra NAC to boost my detoxification), my spouse decided to look into the furnace things. While doing so, he happened to notice the furnace filter... which hadn't been changed since November 2017. They're rated for 3 months, and we'd been using the same basic model for 17 months.
Unsurprisingly, the filter was a gross mess. So we trucked off (actually, he trucked while I staggered) to a home improvement store and bought the top of the line non-HEPA filter, figuring anything would be better than the old one. Lo and behold, less than an hour later, I stopped being dizzy. As of this writing, I haven't had a single bout of dizziness.
I'm really, really hopeful this will affect the amount of dizziness I suffer in the summer months when the algae has grown thick and foul. I still won't be able to open the windows, obviously, but last summer, I'd still get dizzy and foggy-headed with the house shut tight. With a properly functioning furnace filter, maybe that won't be the case.
In happier news, adventures in field garlic continues!
I seriously love the taste of field garlic, so I'm going to be sorry when it dies back a bit in summer. As such, I uprooted a couple nice bunches and brought them home with me. They're now in pots. They're not exactly happy campers yet, still all flopped over rather than supporting their own weight. But I'm hoping at least a few of them will perk up. I can then simply chop the garlicky tops when I'd like some for my butter.
I have a very bad track record with keeping plants alive, so the ones I took home might well just die. If so, they're an invasive species and shouldn't be here anyway. So it's not the end of the world. I'm hoping they'll live, though. I've potted them with their home soil and placed them in a spot that kind of emulates being on the edge of the treeline, where they naturally grow. They'll get sun, but not abundantly.
We'll see, I guess. It's been a few days since I snagged them and they're still green. Maybe that's a promising sign?
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