August 12, 2008
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Sleep Does Wonders
One of the toughest parts of having this damned disease, for me, is the sleep disturbance. If I do just a little too much, I get “too tired to sleep.” If I keep going after I feel tired, until I run into the wall and can’t go any more, it can take weeks for me to make up the sleep deficit.
I don’t remember when it happened, or what I did to start the sleep loss this latest time, but I have been short on sleep for–as I said, I don’t know how long. It might have been as long as a year or more, ever since I got pneumonia. I don’t think I have had a full night’s sleep since before I went into the hospital last December. They filled me so full of Albuterol there that I trembled for hours and didn’t sleep at all for a couple of days.
Last night, I was down for almost 8 hours, and was awake only three times during the night. Today, impelled by an urgent request, I got enough of my work table cleared off to make space to lay out my Tarot cards, and did two reality checks. Yay, me!
After that housework, and then the other psychic work, I went on and did some cyber housework on the KaiOaty site, stuff that has gone neglected for a couple of years, through the hiatus caused by my literal reading of Xanga’s new Terms of Use. Now that I have done enough productive work to feel a lot less like a slug, I think the prudent course is to slug on over to the couch and rest, so I won’t render myself sleepless again tonight.
Comments (11)
Enjoy your down time, you earned it!
I find using Psychic energy (Tarot work for example) can be very taxing strength-wise too. I often find myself feeling depleted and/or tired after 3-4 consecutive readings.
Rest away and do take care.
we deal with that same illness all the time here. the hardest part is finding a dr who knows what is and how to treat it… and it doesn’t always show up on tests- usually bc he’s finishing a treatment and it’s suppressed temporarily. we find rest, diet, less stress, and antibotics critical for him to function at work. it’s hard bc it’s so silent! sorry you are coping with it as well!
I find a nap now and again is a good thing
Must take time for your time. I have to stop and take down time or I start spinning my energy level all to hell. Rest and restore.
@jerjonji - I agree that diet is important (avoiding allergenic foods), and of course, rest, which sometimes has to be sacrificed in favor of survival. Antibiotics have caused problems for me. Which antibiotic in particular helps him?
@fairydragonstar - For me, a forced nap in the daytime can often mean an entire night’s sleep lost, followed by a brain-foggy day complete with headache. I just sleep when I’m sleepy, no matter the time. In daytime, rest is usually better than sleep.
OK… down for 8 hrs, only awake 3 times. But for how long were you awake each of those times? My sister who has the same syndrome sleeps for 2 hrs at a time, stays in bed even if awake, and then takes a 2 hr nap midday. She has reached the point of doing one thing per day… laundry? grocery shopping? weeding her garden yard? vacuuming? Then the rest of the day is spent reading, napping, perhaps working on a quilt.
@SuSu - we have to change them with nearly every severe bout. they cause reactions or he can’t handle them for the three or more cycles he needs them- and a not too bad episode requires a min. of three scripts (which the drs hate giving). he’s doing better- only two severe episodes this year and a few smaller ones, but he said tonight that he’s going into tomorrow to start antibotics again. we’ve lived with this nearly 25 years (maybe longer) and we’re still just beginning to figure out how to live with it! he still works most full time, but it takes its toll on him.
@wixer - Mid-night awakenings are seldom more than a time check, turn over to get comfortable, than back to sleep, half hour max. No day is like another for me. Some days I get a lot done, some days nothing.
Sleeping is an ordeal for me…….
Do you think that that your IQ and strong cognitive abilities (presumably linked to a more steamlined cortex) allow you to function much better mentally than a normal person under the same conditions of sleep deprivation?