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I saw my psychiatrist this morning. Conclusions:
1) One of the potential adverse reactions to fluoxetine (fka Prozac) can be acute sodium shortage. I am currently under instructions to drink plenty of water *and* have salt.
2) Vertigo is still a significant problem. Am gradually escaping KILL ALL HUMANS mood levels, though; apologies to anyone I may have recently offended.
3) That said, if you interact with me in the near future, please note that I am effectively unmedicated for depression, and I am very, very fragile and a bit unpredictable.
The last few days have been sheer hell. Most of it, though, is not stuff I'd tell anyone who isn't... well, Chas, Dean, or maybe my psychologist.
So, travel plans are gradually sorting. Things To Do Before I Leave list is now down to:
1) return insurance form to travel agent
2) get international driver's licence
3) go to bank, make sure credit card will be functional overseas
4) get some British currency to take with me
5) Paperwork stuff: Make sure I have photocopies of my booking information, passport and other ID documents, etc. I plan to have several for the most important things, just for peace of mind if nothing else: a copy to keep in my suitcase, a set of everything to leave at my uncle's house in Wiltshire in case of real emergency, that sort of thing.
I think that's it.
It's tremendously reassuring, when planning one's first solo international adventure when one is still in the stages of recovery from serious mental illness, to have the anticipation of family and a home base available. If I'm in distress, if I am just exhausted with travel and need a home away from home to fall back on, I have people I trust to give vital support.
And even if I somehow lose all my baggage and all my ID and everything, I can say: "Look, this is my uncle's name and address in Wiltshire. He has a copy of my passport, proof of ID, everything."
A get-together with my uncle and his family is planned a few days after I arrive (planned so that my cousins can arrange to be home for it); then I visit a cousin of a different generation in Edinburgh, after which I scoot down to Newcastle to get a ferry to Amsterdam. From Amsterdam I toodle my way to Copenhagen, where I get another ferry to Oslo.
On the way back, when I'm more familiar with it, I'll check out the other ways of crossing back south - perhaps taking the crossing from Sweden to Denmark, just because I kind of like the idea of a road that's a bridge which then makes use of an artificial island to plunge underground and become a tunnel and I want to see it. Returning to Britain I think I want to get the ferry at Calais, if only for the chance to approach Dover by sea.
The ferries I'm taking on my way to Scandinavia are, in their way, mildly expensive, because they're cruise ferries, but a) I like the idea of seeing the sights a bit on the way there and b) it's really much less stressful to have this sorted out.
Also, cruises! But only overnight so I won't get bored. There's lots of activities on board the ships I'll be taking, you understand, but a lot of it isn't going to appeal to me. Cinemas I can see on land, nightclubs and discos aren't my thing...
... and the wine-tasting and whiskey-tasting events, while a nifty concept, aren't really the ideal entertainment for a teetotaller. (Also, if I was going to be doing whiskey tasting, I'd do it in Scotland.) And even when I did used to drink alcohol, before I discovered how very, very much I shouldn't ever do that, I didn't like wine.
I love fruit juice. I am less fond of fruit juice that's been left to rot.
There's also casinos, but I disapprove of gambling in general, overall, and have no desire to do it myself.
On the other hand, they have food that will be delicious, if I can find some that's gluten-free, and more importantly, they have ocean and things to look at and stuff. My cabins, both trips, have sea views (the price differential if you're going alone is minimal). And I haven't sailed on a cruise ship before.
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