Hello again

Well, I have managed to survive until 5.15 without manically updating my blog every three hours. (Does anybody else find that they automatically type "horus" every time they want to type "hours," or is it just me? I once Googled "Liturgy of the Horus" by accident; I tried to do so just now and typed "liturgy of the hrosu," but never mind that. I tend to type very quickly and backspace when necessary.)
I have not, alas, done an awful lot of work today, though I have not totally wasted it. An awful lot has happened in the last few days; it would, I suppose, be too much to say that enough has happened to make up for the preceding twenty years, but it does rather feel like that.
I woke at 6, rose at 7, and had breakfast at 8, immediately after which I took my first ever tablet of citalopram. (Wham!)
I see why sanabituranima advised me against reading the list of side effects on the leaflet that came with it. The list of symptoms reminds me of the Tale of Brave Sir Robin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4SJ0xR2_bQ

Here it is:

Side effects which can occur after taking citalopram include:
Very common: feeling sick, dry mouth, sleepiness, shakiness of the arms and legs, diarrhoea, headache, dizziness, visual disturbances, difficulty in sleeping, constipation, weakness, increased sweating, palpitations, agitations, nervousness.
Common:
General effects and effects on the central nervous system: tingling (pins and needles), anxiety, problems with concentration, confusion, suicide attempts, problems sleeping, abnormal dreams, tiredness, yawning, abnormalities of vision, migraine, loss of memory, listlessness.
Effects on the cardiovascular system: feeling faint after standing, fast heart rate.
Effects on the digestive system: loss of appetite or aversion to food, increase in appetite, loss of or increase in weight, indigestion, stomach pain, wind, vomiting, abnormalities of taste, increased salivation.
Effects on the respiratory system: runny nose, sinusitis.
Effects on the genito-urinary system: impotence and problems with ejaculation, reduced libido, problems in reaching orgasm (women), problems with passing water, passing water frequently, period pains.
Effects on the skin: rash, itching.
Uncommon: muscle pain, jerky movements, fits, ringing in the ears, false sense of wellbeing, increased desire for sex, coughing, malaise (generally feeling unwell), sensitivity to sunlight, changes in liver function, slow heart rate, fainting, allergic reactions
Rare: bleeding (in the skin, bruising stomach and from the vagina), an increased bleeding time and changes in the salt balance in your body.
Another rare effect is the serotonin syndrome. This is a serious condition that can cause fever, confusion, abnormal movements, shivering, muscle spasms, agitation and progress to coma or loss of consciousness.

Then it goes on to "Other invents reported include" and "Withdrawal symptoms."

But I think that is quite enough for now.

I found, bizarrely, that the citalopram gave me a tremendous high (no you can NOT have my citalopram), made me dizzy and weak, and shake briefly a bit; I needed to sit down and had a fast heart rate; and my mind seemed rather hyper; and I felt as though I had had about six pints of beer (I am slightly getrunken after one pint of beer). And I started babbling gibberish.

"I think I'll read a book now. Yes, I know, that's what I'll do, I'll read a book. I'll read a book for an hour. For an hour I'll read a book. ... [reads one sentence]... Oh really? How interesting!"

That kind of gibberish, not "Barack Obama appeared in my room and said he was the Second Coming" kind of gibberish.

And I also giggled for quite a while. In fact, I seem to have been giggling rather a lot. There were also brief stomach pains.

But side-effects are normal when you start taking citalopram; they normally last a couple of weeks.

Sanabituranima says: "The side-effects should not last long. But there is a foul period with any anti-depressant where you get all the side-effects and none of the benefits. Nothing can be done except following the advice in your profile picture and praying a lot."

That is, my Facebook profile picture, which is a wartime poster, "KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON."