Sick and optimistic

How can I feel sick on a Friday? I can't. So I'll be trying to go to a show this evening, if the scalpers are willing. Other than working Saturday, it's a long weekend coming up. There's an appointment with Dr. Sleep on Monday, and hopefully a new drug on the way. I've decided I can't get up to more than a half-mg. of Mirapex before then, so I guess I gave up. But damned if that thing wasn't going to kill me.
Here's a couple shots of Seward, Alaska. Specifically, harlequin ducks sleeping in the aquarium's aviary (below the murres) and then -- just a little bit down the road -- in the wild. You may have to squint.

Still in a fog

In my second day back from vacation (albeit a vacation that only lasted four days) I'm still pretty dazed. I found the pillows and sheet from The Hotel Room on the couch downstairs, with no memory of how it got there.
Last night, I remember going upstairs to sleep at 3 something, which is awful late for me. After having cut the dose of Mirapex to half a pill, I'm building it up again, with some of the same symptoms. Whether the drug starts working or not, I'll be done with it soon.

Sleep thermostat

A vacation told through a sleep diary:
Arrived in Anchorage around 2 a.m. -- twilight in the land of the midnight sun. Slept well enough. The next night, after a long day with plenty of exercise and plenty of daylight, I slept like a champ. A little chilly, and on the basement floor, but it was great. The next day I felt like Superman.
I should mention that I cut back on the Mirapex. Whether or not it has any beneficial effects, it has some negative ones. Ones that didn't bother me at the lower dose.
There was plenty of drinking throughout the weekend, which I didn't want to interact with the Mirapex. The next night we spent in a hotel in Seward overlooking the water and mountains, drinking wine and eating fresh bread and Brie. I slept on a cot, and not so well. One day only as a superhero. The last night's sleep in Anchorage was also pretty bad, too cold and unable to get the heater working right.
Where should I put in that the trip was unbelievably spectacular? Mountains, water, glaciers, a bear, a moose, CRAZY birds (harlequin ducks, arctic terns), a kick-ass host, plenty of in-town fun and the joy of toasting the sunset at midnight. Why mope -- sleep isn't everything.
Then, to leave Anchorage at 50 degrees yesterday and return to 100 degrees outside and a house tightly sealed up. There's humor in the fact that I couldn't sleep one night because of the cold and the next because of the heat.

Oh good. It's just illness.

So I woke up with a headache that I still have. I don't think it's a caffeine-addict headache, because I haven't been drinking much coffee lately. But I feel a little out of sorts.
I cut down the dose of Mirapex slightly last night. And I slept a little better and don't have a lump in my throat now. Hmm. Maybe it's time for a new drug.
Tonight I board a plane to Alaska. It's going to be rainy and 50 degrees while it's warming up here to clear skies in the 80s. Oh well. Rain I can handle. It's going to be a blast.

What is this thing?

Either it's not the Mirapex or I'm allergic to the Mirapex and my body has finally had enough. But this lump just isn't going away. It's here all day long. I made extra sure to not drink when we went out last night (I had tonic water -- hey, quinine helps some people with RLS) and still had a rough go of sleeping. Went up to The Hotel Room at 2:30 or so, and woke up again twice before getting up exhausted.
I'm not swimming today. As long as this isn't an illness, I'll be okay. I think I'll have to cut down on the Mirapex while I'm in Alaska. Sleeping in the daylight is going to be a little odd anyway.

Shaky gets lumpy

Maybe my new name needs to be lumpy. Because, apparently, I'm just going to have a lump in my throat forever. Oh, Mirapex. Why do you treat me this way?

Sleep is the cousin of death

Other than waking up a little before the alarm (and going upstairs to sleep), I slept like the dead last night. Looking at the last couple nights now, it seems like I was fighting off some sort of illness. Headache, stuffy nose. Nothing serious, but annoying nonetheless. So I can't credit the Mirapex I've been taking. What I can credit it for, however, is the damn lump in my throat as I type this. I was hoping that would go away after I got used to the dose. In any event, I'll need to be 100 percent (which I'm sure I will be) by this weekend. We're going to Alaska, and I can't imagine I'll get much sleep with it being light out all night. Then again, I can't imagine needing much sleep, and for the same reason. I can't wait.
Here's a big old Douglas fir and a spritely new tiger lily.

Why I don't give up

Generally, I think the drug I've been taking to calm my legs and help me sleep is more trouble than it's worth. But then I have nights like last night, where I sleep soundly between about 12:15 and 7:45. Not so bad.
Granted, I did have to wake and go upstairs, but that was pretty early, around mindnight. So I'm moderately well-rested and working on a Monday.

Sleeping OK, and then ...

What's the point of getting a good night's sleep if you have to get up at 8 a.m.? Well, I guess I was sleeping okay. Upstairs. After staying up kind of late. And then, bright and shiny, the drywall contractor comes to finish up the bar we just had installed. Oh well. The bar is gorgeous (photos to come) and I can just sleep tomorrow.

Back to the side effects I know

So yesterday was a typical Mirapex night, I guess. Trouble getting to sleep. Going upstairs to The Hotel Room. Waking twice during the night. But it's Friday and I don't care, because I can sleep in a little tomorrow.
On the good side, the lump in my throat is hardly noticeable.

Perspective

I had the best night's sleep in a while last night -- at least since I've been at the half-mg of Mirapex. I had a hard time getting to sleep and I woke up at 5 a.m. But ... that was it. It sounds sad, but waking up once during the night is a great improvement over waking up twice (in a sweat, at that) and being unable to get back to sleep. I call this post "Perspective" because I rarely woke during the night when I was undrugged. It's true that humans can get used to just about anything; today I was an energetic little swimmer, going two-thirds of a mile nonstop. It's almost as if I got A Good Night's Sleep. And while I'm blabbing about our upstairs rooms, where I typically end up sleeping -- The Office and The Hotel Room -- I might as well include links back to them. Here's The Office.

Back on the trail

I'm functioning at an adequate level. Not a great night, mind you, but not the worst. I figured it might be a good sleep, after yesterday's exhaustion (and going swimming). But no such luck. I was back in The Hotel Room after (not) sleeping in The Office made too much noise for P.
Here's spring in the Northwest. Buttercups, salmonberries, alders. And, if you could hear the birdsong in this picture, you'd know the Swainson's thrush is back for the summer.

Soldiering on

I'm now pretty sure that the drug I've been taking to calm my restless legs and help me sleep is actually not helping me sleep but is actively waking me. I've tested it without alcohol and up to a steady dose. And still no help. Since Dr. Sleep said I probably wouldn't get results until I got it into the 1 mg range, I had the thought of being the good soldier and keeping it up until I can tolerate a full milligram. I had thought about taking it earlier in the day, so that some of the effects would wear off during the night. And then I thought, "What the hell am I doing?" I shouldn't be planning my night for when the two waking-up-sweating episodes come. I should be sleeping through the night. I get to fantasizing about the "good old days" when I wasn't taking Mirapex.

The bad kind of tolerance

I got back up to .5 mg of Mirapex last night, and with no alcohol. While I think my body's getting used to it, I'm doubting there's any good effects. Granted, Dr. Sleep said it wouldn't really help until I got to 1 mg. But the lump in my throat gets smaller the longer I take it at a particular dose.
I'm just not so pleased about the wake-you-up feature. Last night I took it early and it was 12-something and 3- or 4-something when I woke.
Still unable to extract Hall and Oates from my head. If you ever want to bob your head uncontrollably like an idiot, there's always "You Make My Dreams."
I found a good way to displace this: Right now I'm listening to NPR's All Songs Considered. It's surprisingly good. I'm listening to a great concert from Neko Case right now.

Cutting back the drug, keeping up the drink

After a rare night of karaoke, it seemed that maybe a fierce interaction with the fickle RLS drug wouldn't be the best bet. So I cut the dose to somewhere between half and who knows? of what I've been taking. You gotta entertain company.
In reverse: the last few days have been a quest to get Hall and Oates out of our heads. We figured karaoke would be one way to do it. And then we realized Hall and Oates are actually in town, and there's no way to get them out of our heads. Curse your infectious tunesmithing!
We entertained the notion of actually buying tickets to the show. But at $50 to $75 each, it's a bit much for such a novelty proposition.
Karaoke failed, too. None of the H&O hits except "Rich Girl," and I only know two lines of that. Forever on repeat. Sing with me: "You can rely on the old man's money."
Had to settle for J. Geils. And, um, Genesis.

Even more insomnia!

We still have company in town. I'm still shaving a little off the Mirapex. And I had a couple beers. And the Mirapex did its magic: trouble getting to sleep, then waking up miserable at 3ish with both sweating and chills and basic drugged electric charge humming in me. And wondering if I'd ever get to sleep again.
Then I did, and woke up at 6 something. And kinda got to sleep briefly before the garbage truck started its rounds. Well, tomorrow I have the day off to go to the coast.
And now, from the last photo roll, here's me and P gathering copper-rich rocks from the shore of Lake Superior.

Not there yet

I was planning on having a mild evening followed by a good sleep after being so crazy sleep-deprived yesterday. But with company in town that doesn't always work.
We ended up getting a beer. Only one, although a strongish one. And plenty of water. I was fine for that.
I shaved the smallest amount off the .5 mg Mirapex tablet. For all intents, I'm up to that dosage. I'll try the full one tonight.
Trouble sleeping, trouble getting the right temperature (though it was a beautiful night: the tiniest chill; sleeping weather). After the initial bouts, I didn't wake up again until just before the alarm went off.
Not horrible, but not enough sleep. If I'm not horribly sleepy, I'll swim today. I've been craving it for a bit now.

If you drink, don't Mirapex

So I guess Mirapex and beer don't go so well. Almost all the bad side effects I've had with the drug were wrapped into last night. Trouble falling asleep, trouble with temperature regulation, waking up at 3 a.m., waking up at 6 something. Of course, the last could be because it was light out.
I had 2.5 beers last night. Over about as many hours. Then I had very close to .5 mg of Mirapex.
The night before, I had a wedding anxiety dream, thinking my wedding would be the next morning. Really, it's only company. Cousins in town, but staying at a hotel for now.
And then, later this week, they stay with us. In The Hotel Room, of course.

The Hotel Room

with Bed #2! It's called the Hotel Room because of the readymade furniture, the lamp, the house's only TV. And some proselytizing pamphlet that will have to count as a bible. It's edited to be even funnier.
Also, I hemmed those drapes by hand.

The Attempt

I'm almost up to the half-milligram dose, which is about half of what Dr. Sleep says will be effective. But it's hard. I must be pretty sensitive to medication.
Still getting the side effects of the Mirapex; that is, waking during the night and the lump that lasts much of the next day. I'm still hopeful that these things will change and the good results will appear and win out.
I do feel groggy and heavy when I get up, which is a good thing. The bad thing is that I'm getting up at 3 a.m. at all. Still, I survive.
Glad it's my weekend. Had an embarrassing experience Saturday. As I was trying to disassemble an old metal clothesline holder with a wrench, the rusty nut gave way and my hand slipped. The rusty bolt scraped a big long streak down my wrist. It started bleeding a little.
Worse than the pain was the fact that it looked like a suicide attempt. So I had to go to work, interviewing people in the hot sun, wearing a long-sleeved jacket. The mark's still there, but fainter now. P calls it "the attempt," as it forever shall be known.

Increments

Yesterday was marginally better than the nights before. But not good. Given the sleep debt, I probably could have slept under the influence of any medication. That said, it did take a while to get to sleep.
And I still have that lump in my throat. I hope it's not an allergy. It does seem to wane by later in the day. But it's lunchtime and I still have it now.
If my guesses are correct, I should be entering into a good period with the drug. If I'm adjusted to the dose, then I can see what the real effects are.

Exhausted and Still Lumpy

Two more days with the tablet and a half of Mirapex, and two more restless nights. It's not even necessarily my legs, although that seems to be what wakes me the first time. It's just that the stuff seems programmed to wake me once or twice during the night.
And this cursed lump in my throat is there whenever I'm tired, which is all the time now.
Don't know if alcohol is a factor. I had a single beer the last couple nights; on Tuesday it was several hours before I went to bed.
I seem to, once I get used to the dosage, find a happy spot. Hopefully that will keep happening.
In the meantime, here's a pretty picture of northern Michigan to look at.