Of course everyone KNOWS that is NOT an artist's rendition of me sleepwalking at work in the picture up there...I'd never be caught DEAD in a skirt. LOLBut, it IS nearly 1:00AM and I'm still awake tossing and occasionally slapping the illumination button on my alarm clock just so I can thoroughly TORMENT myself calculating exactly how many hours of sleep I am NOT going to get before the alarm sounds at Dawn's Crack! Why, gawd, why does this happen every time I HAVE to be rested and get up at the *other* 6:00 o'clock time, which unfortunately falls in the morning?!?
I made a deal with the devil to rearrange my work schedule this past week and teach some classes at my work place...knowing darned good and well I would have to be like Mr. Roarke (Ricardo Montalban) of Fantasy Island by 8:30 in the morning, waving my hand from side to side in my pristinely white, crisp suit, and mumbling "Smiles everyone...smiles." I could have easily predicted this week's insomnia...and now I could kick myself in the head for taking on this project. I mean, at least Mr. Roarke had a midget to help him (OK, was that TOTALLY politically incorrect to use the "m" word versus *little person*?).
It is hard for me to recall a time in my life when I DIDN'T suffer from some type of insomnia...either difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. I think it may have been some time in my teens when I last had the luxury of a good 8 - 10 hours of sleeping ability per night. Of course, I DID have mononucleosis during those years, so maybe it was just the Epstein Barr virus dulling me into slumber?!?
I have purposefully worked either an evening job or one that would allow me to start as late as possible in the day for the past 23 years because of my problems with insomnia. Well, that and the fact I don't play well with others, which makes it *best* for me to remain out of any type of political arena spotlight...and that light shines brightest during DAYLIGHT hours! Hence, the afternoon/evening dusk-ish approach to my employment choices. Rather than be a morning song bird chirping sweetly in the tree tops, I'm more of a silent (ding) bat swooping in the shadows...it's just my style...and it has accommodated my insomnia issues nicely.
Pain has also begun to play right into my problematic insomnia like a hidden Ace in the hole...over the past 5 years of my diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis, I have battled more and more body pain on a daily basis. And I don't bring up the issue of my physical pain to *whine* about it (I detest whiners...LOL), but rather to point out it has not HELPED me fall asleep or stay asleep at all. Pain only serves to add to my discomfort and frequent waking throughout the night.
I suppose since I'm AWAKE anyway, I could get out of bed, do something productive, and go ahead and iron my *skirt* for tomorrow/today. Because, by the time that derned alarm starts squawking at 6:00AM, I'll probably JUST be falling into a wonderful REM cycle, jump out of bed comatose, and burn my face on the iron trying to answer it, confusing the appliance with my phone!!!
"Smiles everyone...smiles"...
I used to do morning shows, meaning I had to get up at 4 AM or thereabouts. Especially hard if you're used to getting up nuch later, so on the first night or two of that particular shift, I'd rely on a sleeping pill. That seemed to do the trick, but not always.
ReplyDeleteI feel for ya......
S.
Yes, ironing your shirt tonight would have been a good idea, along with having a cup of Sleepytime(TM) tea, or my preferred warm milk with the liqueur of your choice - or a drop oa almond extract- whichever.
ReplyDeleteBut you're sleeping now, and entering REM #1; hopefully tomorrow's class goes well. ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz
I hear you... I find a teaspoon of N.yq.uil or a B.enad.ryl does the job for me. Or....if I want be more "healthy" I go for a cut of S.leepy Tim.e tea. Also helps. Hope you got through the day!
ReplyDeleteI "hear" you but my Neuro claims insomnia is a symptom of MS. I do the weed thing *wink, wink* (it's legal here and there) until I can fall asleep and then I take my nightly dose of Klono.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise it's like I've downed a gallon of Red Bull with a power shot.
Smile, everyone...smile!
i feel your pain!!
ReplyDeleteAnd here I am at 3:04am reading this stuff. At least I only have to get the kiddo to school and I can (hopefully) come home and crash.
ReplyDeleteHow all you MSers with real-life jobs (and not a work at home mom like myself) can survive is beyond me. I bow before you.
That's one of the perks with the health field: round-the-clock shifts. My friend's husband is a pharmacist at a hospital and it's been great that he can do the 3-11 shift to be home during the mornings and help her with the kids.
ReplyDeleteI like and have grown accustomed to flexibility and would be in DEEP trouble if I needed to adhere to some specific schedule. MS aside.
Nights are a problem.
ReplyDeleteTake care.
Love,
Herrad
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