Experiment # 1 | Arthritis Information

When we got back to LA, the first night back was a disaster. All this traveling and sleeping in other people's beds and visiting relatives must have thrown my body off.

I woke up around 4 in the morning desperately needing to use the restroom - but unable to find my slippers. Apparently I was crying and flailing around and terribly confused and frightened.

My husband, saint that he is, got up to help me when I was crying that I couldn't see them, that they had to be around, and I didn't see where I was. I remember him forcibly turning me around and navigating me towards the bathroom where I finally realized we were back in our apartment in LA.

But I only remembered getting up when he told me about it the next morning.

And I started laughing.

The reason I couldn't see the slippers is that I went to bed with my new sleep mask on.

:-)

Pip

Hilarious Pip! LOL

Pip

But what's the experiment?Pip - you slay me, gawd LOL. I told my husband, and he burst out in one of his rare full laughs. He has a great sense of humor and laughs alot, but this one really tickled him. Tell your husband he has a kindred soul with my hubbie :) Love you girl, good thing you weren't injured. CathyWhat I find extra quirky is that you only noticed you couldn't see your slippers but didn't notice you couldn't see anything else either!

Haha, your husband sounds like a sweety.

The truly funny thing is my husband didn't notice the sleep mask on me either. When he turned on the lights I was facing away from him and flailing around so he grabbed me by my arms and physically turned me towards the loo. Not a pivot but a swing, if you know what I mean. I must have swiped at the darn thing because I found it on the floor near the beanbag chair (too retro, I know LOL).

GoGo - I think I've had sleep issues most of my life. My roommates in college told me I'd answer the phone, the door, etc. and never remember. Apparently I was a good screener for their mom's - but I don't remember any of it. Just, I'd do whatever it took to get you off the phone so I could go back to bed. So...I could walk...I could talk...but I'd be so out I had no recollection.

Then I had that adverse reaction/stroke thingy. I couldn't sleep right for years. I think I went a minimum of 5 years on less than 4 hours of sleep a night. By the time PRA hit, I was up to 7 or 7 1/2 hours a night, but I think the damage had been done. Sleep is when your body heals.

So, the PRA hit and for a while I was sleeping 12 - 14 hours a night. I think my body was trying to heal - but was either 1) chemically unable to or 2) so out of practice it went a little overboard or 3) it's part of the disease process. Probably a mixture of all 3.

Now, if something wakes me, I'm up all night. Some noise on the street. Whatever. Twice this week I've been up after 4 hours. Even if I manage to fall back asleep, I'm constantly looking at the clock. I seem to wake every 2 hours. That is NOT a deep sleep.

Anyway, somebody posted an article here about how to not rely on sleep meds. It said something about getting rid of all the little lights in your room (computer, phones etc) because the brain only makes melatonin when it's completely dark. They also suggested a sleep mask.

So, Linncn - the experiment is...can I change 11 years of messed up sleep patterns to continue healing?

Messed up horribly the first week, didn't I?

Pip

OMG I don't know how I missed this before..........but LMAO!

Pip you kill me....

I would never sleep if it wasn't dark dark dark and quiet. Well sort of. I use "sleep" CDs. The ones with the white noise in the background. When I don't have them (when I went to WI) I sleep like crap. Or just not at all. If I stray from my nightly routine, again, I sleep like crap. It's amazing that it can take SO MUCH to get your body to do something it's frigging SUPPOSED to do anyway.

OMG Pip you and one of my brothers would have a good time together. He talks in his sleep, walks into closets and stays while he is sleepwalking, my other brothers use to have a ball with him having these full conversations while he was sleeping. I love the sleep mask I would be freaking thinking I went blind lolololol Pip if we can't laugh at ourselves then there is a real problem. hehehehe

Anyway, my daughter really wanted her own sleep mask. She kept talking about it, and by serendipity, I ended up with an extra one this week. It was pink - her FAVE color.

So, for a bit she wears it over her eyebrows like some cartoon character. Then she kind of wandered off for a bit. About 5 minutes later she comes back into the room to show me her new outfit.

She's wearing the sleep mask, upside down and around her upper torso.

"Look, Mama, I'm Ariel!"

Upside down it's shaped like little clam shells.

:-)

Pip