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Insomnia advice...
Jul. 19th, 2017 09:21 pmBack when Champ and I hung out at his parents' house for extended periods, I could not help but notice that his mom, who bedded down on the family couch in the living room, turned on the television on those nights when she was plagued with insomnia (and there were many of those).
At the time, I suspected the tactic merely encouraged the insomnia, because once the tube went on, Champ's mom was focused on what what being broadcast and kept her eyes open until the test pattern came on, at oh-dark-thirty. Consequently, in my own experience with sleeplessness, I avoid turning on the television or otherwise entertaining myself, lest I lose all hope of falling asleep.
The trouble with my approach is that not doing anything—basically just lying there with eyes closed but experiencing not the least desire to fall asleep—is boring at best and a source of fitful tossing and turning at worst.
At today's follow-up at MD Anderson, I mentioned that, for the past two chemo sessions, the night following chemo ends up being a sleepless night, as I remain alert and awake through most of the night, with the feeling that I had dozed for a few minutes here and there.
My suspicion that this was due to the steroids that are administered as part of the process proved to be correct, but then I received some interesting advice as to the best way to deal with insomnia. It boiled down to this:
(1) Do not watch television or read electronic books. Electronic screens, I was told, tend to encourage wakefulness as a result of their flickering, which is subconsciously perceptible.
(2) Read a paper book, preferably on a less-than-exciting subject (i.e., avoid the latest spy thriller or mystery).
* * *
In other news, yesterday I mentioned something that felt like a cramp in the calf of my left leg. The problem was still there this morning, and crawling out of the rack was something of a limp-fest because of it. Once I worked the muscles for a few minutes by walking around, the pain had subsided to the level of "noticeable" and my gait was almost unaffected.
Any subsequent prolonged period of rest would result in a partial reversal, so for example when I stepped out of the car after a 50-minute drive from the house to the Texas Medical Center, the pain was back, but it again dulled during the walk from the parking garage to the elevators inside the building.
Funny thing, though—after only a couple of hours had elapsed from the end of the chemo session, the pain went away completely and has not returned.
I was about to conclude that this was evidence of a link between that pain and the fresh chemo attacking my cancer, but realized that more than anti-cancer agents were infused into me (I've mentioned this above), so it's possible, I suppose, for there to be a link, say, between the pain going bye-bye and the steroid component of the treatment.
In any event, I am not complaining, but I will keep track of this.
I've started reading Ryan Holiday's Perennial Seller: The Art of Making and Marketing Work that Lasts. I'm finding it hard to put down. It's pretty far from boring, but if for some reason I can't readily fall asleep tonight, I'll keep turning the pages until Morpheus comes calling.
Cheers...
At the time, I suspected the tactic merely encouraged the insomnia, because once the tube went on, Champ's mom was focused on what what being broadcast and kept her eyes open until the test pattern came on, at oh-dark-thirty. Consequently, in my own experience with sleeplessness, I avoid turning on the television or otherwise entertaining myself, lest I lose all hope of falling asleep.
The trouble with my approach is that not doing anything—basically just lying there with eyes closed but experiencing not the least desire to fall asleep—is boring at best and a source of fitful tossing and turning at worst.
At today's follow-up at MD Anderson, I mentioned that, for the past two chemo sessions, the night following chemo ends up being a sleepless night, as I remain alert and awake through most of the night, with the feeling that I had dozed for a few minutes here and there.
My suspicion that this was due to the steroids that are administered as part of the process proved to be correct, but then I received some interesting advice as to the best way to deal with insomnia. It boiled down to this:
(1) Do not watch television or read electronic books. Electronic screens, I was told, tend to encourage wakefulness as a result of their flickering, which is subconsciously perceptible.
(2) Read a paper book, preferably on a less-than-exciting subject (i.e., avoid the latest spy thriller or mystery).
In other news, yesterday I mentioned something that felt like a cramp in the calf of my left leg. The problem was still there this morning, and crawling out of the rack was something of a limp-fest because of it. Once I worked the muscles for a few minutes by walking around, the pain had subsided to the level of "noticeable" and my gait was almost unaffected.
Any subsequent prolonged period of rest would result in a partial reversal, so for example when I stepped out of the car after a 50-minute drive from the house to the Texas Medical Center, the pain was back, but it again dulled during the walk from the parking garage to the elevators inside the building.
Funny thing, though—after only a couple of hours had elapsed from the end of the chemo session, the pain went away completely and has not returned.
I was about to conclude that this was evidence of a link between that pain and the fresh chemo attacking my cancer, but realized that more than anti-cancer agents were infused into me (I've mentioned this above), so it's possible, I suppose, for there to be a link, say, between the pain going bye-bye and the steroid component of the treatment.
In any event, I am not complaining, but I will keep track of this.
I've started reading Ryan Holiday's Perennial Seller: The Art of Making and Marketing Work that Lasts. I'm finding it hard to put down. It's pretty far from boring, but if for some reason I can't readily fall asleep tonight, I'll keep turning the pages until Morpheus comes calling.
Cheers...
