| Evening, Monday March 13, 2000 I’m not well. Of course you already knew that. But today I’m referring
to the physical sense. My body is currently under attack on two fronts. I have my second
cold of the season and something bit me in the ass.
The cold is one of those frustratingly mild ones. It’s there just enough to leave me
feeling run-down. There’s a little bit of a sore throat, a wee bit of post-nasal drip
and an occasional sneeze. This was all preceded by three days of chills.
As for the other end, who knows what bit me, (I wouldn’t know a _____ if one reared
up and bit me in the ass.) I guessing it was a spider or something. Anyway, I have a pink
puffy welt that’s about an inch square on my left cheek. And it’s a nearly
perfect square. How weird is that? It alternates between hurting and itching and it’s
provoked such an immune response that all the lymph nodes in the area are swollen and
tender. This makes it difficult to walk, sit, or lie down.
As for the rest, I’ve decided against shaving my head. And I’m feeling a lot
less blue than last week. To give you an idea of how out of it I’ve been, I’ve
logged only 18 hours of web surfing for the entire month. Three of those hours are today.
Typically, I log around five hours a day. And I’m almost two weeks behind in
returning e-mail.
Despite spending almost no time at the keyboard, the carpal-tunnel remains an issue.
You’d think that being away from the PC for three weeks would result in some
improvement. I should wear my wrist brace overnight but with the trouble I’ve had
sleeping I haven’t.
I’ve been reading three or four books a week and I’ve just about reached the
saturation point with that activity. I’m starting to feel antsy, which is a good
thing. It means that for this cycle of depression, the end is near.
Tuesday March 14, 2000
Today was consumed by laundry. Nine loads, of which five were bedding.
Two loads each of clothing and bedding will have to wait until tomorrow. But when
all’s said and done, I’ll be set for another month on clothing and two months on
bedding. I really, really miss having multiple machines. Just having a second dryer would
cut the time in half.
Both the cold and the welt from the insect bite are going away. I expect to be in tip-top
shape tomorrow. Sleep, or more precisely the lack thereof, remains an issue. Last night
was rough one. I managed to get three cycles in two sessions separated by several hours.
I supposed only those of us with sleep disorders will know what I mean by cycles.
Depending on the theory you subscribe to, there are either four or seven stages of sleep.
Most people cycle through those stages in about 90 minutes, and sleep through four, five
or six cycles an night, with five cycles (7˝ hours) being the average. My cycles are so
regular and so close to 90 minutes you can set your watch. I need six cycles most nights
to feel good.
I’m having two problems. First is getting to sleep. Most people typically take
between five and 20 minutes to fall asleep. It normally takes me anywhere from 30 minutes
to an hour. Lately, even when I’m dog-tired, it’s taking me two to three hours
to drift off. The second issue is cycle disturbances. Instead of transitioning smoothly
from stage four (or seven) of one cycle into stage one of the next cycle, I wake up. This
happens so suddenly that I get the sensation of lifting-off and being launched into
consciousness.
I really need to get back on my meds. |
