The Next Batch of Marbles

Drink more water (plop). Drink less wine (plop). Do Yoga and posture exercises every morning (plop). Ice my neck at bedtime (plop). Take a sleeping pill every night (plop). One more batch of marbles on my way toward a better life (slide).

I met with my MD today. After MONTHS of not sleeping well at all, I finally got desperate enough to make an appointment, actually show up, and say, “Dr. Suze, I need medication to make me sleep at night.” A radical measure for me to say the least, as I am VERY reluctant to take ANY kind of medication if it can be avoided. But, I’ve tried EVERYTHING ever suggested by ANYONE, and I’m still not sleeping at night. I’m exercising, I’m taking my vitamins, I’m doing relaxation exercises, I’m taking hot baths, I’m taking Melatonin and/or a natural sleep aid, and it’s just not doin’ the trick. On a GOOD night, I’m getting 4-5 hours of restful sleep, and am wakeful the rest of the night. On a BAD night, I’m getting 1-2 hours at a time, with long stretches of wakefulness in between. As any layman can tell you, sleep deprivation is really Bad Juju for anyone, and if left unchecked can lead to an individual who is really grumpy at best, somewhat unstable on average, or flat-out psychotic at worst. If memory serves, it’s been about eleven years since I’ve had a normal sleep cycle on a regular basis. So, it’s kinda time I started sleeping.

So, Doc Suze recommended an OTC sleep aid to try for a few nights. The one I already tried only worked on the first night then fizzled, so I’m not terribly enthusiastic about OTC’s. But, what the heck, I’ll give it a shot. If that doesn’t work, she gave me an Rx for some “real” stuff to try. “It may take a couple of weeks of taking it every night before we know whether or not it’s going to work for you”. Peachy. I’ve procrastinated on this to the point I don’t have much patience left with the issue, but I’ll have to just deal with it. One more step toward a normal sleep life. Right?

The other stuff, well, it’s pretty much self-explanatory. Except maybe the ice part. That’s something my chiropractor is reminding me I need to do every night, since I’ve got stress-and-alignment issues in my neck. So, I’ve stuck a sticky-note on my mirror that says “ICE”, so I remember to go fetch the icepack after I brush my teeth and take my vitamins at bedtime.

I seem to have turned into a project. Can't wait to see how it turns out...

Restless Leg Syndrome

I’ve had mild bouts of RLS off and on for several years now. But it was so random and intermittent and mild, I’d forgotten about it, or that I had it, until the other night when at about 3:00 am I suddenly woke with the overwhelming need to hop out of bed and do a hundred jumping jacks or go mad. Oh, yeah, RLS. Maybe that’s part of the whole insomnia thing.

So, what is RLS? According to The John Hopkins Center for Restless Leg Syndrome, RLS has four primary features:

• Uncomfortable sensation in the legs with a clear need or urge to move the legs
• The symptoms are worse at night
• The symptoms come on with rest
• The symptoms are relieved with movement

Kind of strange, huh? But, unless you’ve actually experienced RLS, it’s really difficult to describe or explain. Basically, “If you do not move the effected limb, you will go insane” is pretty close, and it lasts for hours, mostly in the middle of the night. Makes sleeping kind of – well – not possible. And, it can also affect the arms, though that apparently is not as common. Unless you’re me. Thus, the burning desire to perform jumping jacks in the middle of the night. And I don’t even like exercise. May also explain my deeply felt desire for aggressive walks now that I’ve started walking. I can feel my thighs begging me for a nice, hard pounding down the path for an hour…or more if the rest of me can keep up.

Now, lest you think this a one of those “It’s all your head, dear” kind of things, I personally know two women with RLS, both of whom have been put on medications used to treat the involuntary tremors of Parkinsons Disease. That’s kind of knarly. You can find more info at the John Hopkins site. Apparently it often strikes during middle age and gets worse as you get older. Yipee. Needless to say, I’ll be bringing this up at my appointment with my MD next week. Along with the perimenopause thing. In the meantime, I’m not sleeping much, so I may as well blog…..