More Drugs, More Lumpy

I upped the dose last night to a pill and a half. And had a corresponding resurgence in the lump in my throat. Did I say "had"? I meant "have."
I'm pretty down on the Mirapex right now. I know I'm still not up to the dose that Dr. Sleep says is usually effective (1 mg), but I'm just not feeling rested after taking the stuff. I woke up today after what should have been 7 or more hours, and that after a weekend, but I felt pretty worn down. That's not the best thing for Tuesday, the first day of my week.
My coffee consumption continues to creep up, or to stay at its existing level -- a high mark for me. I'll try to keep up my swimming schedule. So far so good. I felt I was getting sick the last few days, but maybe somehow I'm better now.

Out and about in sleepy weather

I woke up, despite the murky sky and without an alarm, before 9 this morning. Last night we were both so tired that we went to bed by 11:30. We had planned to go to a movie and decided it was too much of a commitment for our exhaustion level. We ended up renting one and then not watching it.
I sat and watched our funky front-load washer wash my new Rustler jeans. They're $10 and the only jeans that fit me. So, of course, I love them.
She joined me watching the jeans go 'round and then said "This is our Friday night now."
Touché. Well, I slept pretty well after going upstairs. Come to think of it, I don't even remember going upstairs. It got cold, and I had to find a blanket I shed earlier to get back to sleep.
Had a little jog back to the office. Kind of nice being active in the rain. And all those protestors I'm writing about are still out there marching, so I can't complain too much.

Rough night

Maybe the good news is I didn't really notice the lump in my throat? It was there pretty much all day yesterday, but I didn't notice it after taking the Mirapex, two hours before lights out.
We went out for dinner and then for a drink afterwards to celebrate the Enron verdicts. I had a 12-ounce bottle of a Russian imperial stout (California-made, I think). Just one, but it was 9 percent alcohol -- maybe equal to about two pints of weaker beer.
In any event, I think it kept me up. That, or the mix of beer and Mirapex kept me up. It wasn't terrible -- going upstairs an hour or two after likely dozing downstairs, and then waking at two points during the night.
It's just that when I'm as tired as I was, even the second waking has lingering aftereffects. So the third? Tired.
Still going to try to swim today. Who knows what I've got left in me.

One lump up, one lump down, still waking up

I took the Mirapex about 3 hours before lights out last night, then we went on a stealth run to dump rocks we dug from the yard. I didn't feel to weird as I metabolized the drug, so that's fine.
Woke and went to Bed #2 as usual. The lump in my throat was smaller and less disturbing. I didn't notice the lower, unwanted lump at all.
But I did wake up during the night or early morning. Wasn't feeling too drugged or strange, but awake regardless.
Very tired upon awakening. I have been lately. Not sure if this is affecting the quality of my sleep, or if I've just had a sleep debt that makes for sleepy days even after a well-slept night.

Lumpy, but more rested

I forgot, in yesterday's post, to mention the lump. The one in my throat.
For some reason, when I woke up with the sweats and colds, there was also a big lump in my throat, one that feels slightly better as I swallow but doesn't go away. So there it was.
Last night, I took the pill (full tablet) a couple hours before bed. And the lump was there by the time we turned out the lights.
It wasn't as bad as the one that woke me up the night before. And, after heading to Bed #2 about an hour after lights out, I slept through the night.
But here's the thing: The lump is still there. Not horrible.
For having slept OK, I'm still pretty tired. I'll go swimming nonetheless today. Yesterday, they told me they had to clear the pool because they found fecal matter in it.
I'm braver than I thought.

More drugs, less sleep and some raw data

So I had my doctor's appointment yesterday. The Wigglometers confirmed that I have restless legs syndrome. Well, not really that. But they confirmed periodic limb movements, which most RLS people have.
That was a surprise to me -- I didn't realize I was moving during the night. During a 10-minute episode, I would have 15 or so spikes in movement, spaced fairly evenly.
That, I guess, was what they were looking for. The Wigglometers were smarter than I thought. They measured when I was upright and when I was horizontal. Fairly interesting.
Today, it's back to the sleep-deprived world, somehow. I blame Mirapex. I figured I could stay on Eastern time, even setting my alarm for 7 a.m. instead of 7:30. But then I upped my dosage to .25 mg.
Taking the full pill was not so fun. There was the initial jitters, then the good period that nonetheless makes me conclude I won't be sleeping downstairs. Then there's the waking up in the middle of the night part, with heat and chills and an unwanted erection that doesn't go away and a general weird medicated feeling.
Let's hope that goes away after my system adjusts. Dr. Sleep said that 1 to 2 mg is the dose that most people respond to. I can't imagine taking 4 to 8 times this amount if it's going to be like this.

Off to the Doc

I'm going to Dr. Sleep in a little bit. I'm afraid I don't have enough to report back. I cut the dosage of Mirapex to below the lowest recommended level, so it's too hard to say whether it would be working better if I took more. When I first started taking it, it could have been just my body adjusting to this new drug. Maybe if I upped the dose now it wouldn't be so bad.
As it is, I don't think I slept any better than before. But what a rough trial. Two or three days on full dosage, then a few days of crazy heat, and then the last few days on vacation in Michigan. My sleep was bound to be disrupted a little bit.
I'll report back what happens.

I Sense a Pattern

I think Mirapex, in the small doses I've been taking it, might help a little as I'm trying to get to sleep. But it also seems to make me wake up at 5 a.m.
I haven't eliminated any variables here. It's been hotter than hell, and that was definitely a big factor. But it may have cooled enough to have woken me in search of the blanket. Don't know.
Sleep in general hasn't been restful. There's been a lot of waking and shallow sleeping that could be the heat.
Also not sure if the two beers a few hours earlier had any effect or interaction with the drug.

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Too Hot

I only took half a Mirapex last night, which didn't seem to matter much. I could have been more shaky, for all the sleeping I didn't do. It was just too hot. I couldn't even have a sheet over me. Hell, I couldn't even have underwear on.
I spent my lunch hour swimming and ended the day gardening in the heat, planting tomatoes and basil with light from the motion-sensing fixture outside. Just dripping with sweat.
I had a little sleepy episode that ended within an hour of going to bed. Then in Bed #2 it was a constant struggle with ways to endure the heat and discomfort and sleep.
Didn't get much. Got up at 5 or so to set the alarm later.
Doing okay today. Glad it's a short work week.

Half as much Mirapex

I've taken half tablets of Mirapex the last couple nights. I definitely didn't notice the queasy/weird feeling I had the first couple nights on a full tablet. I didn't wake up in the middle of the night, either.
That said, I still had to get up because of my legs and move to Bed #2. I felt as if I may have dozed when I did get up, however, even though it was only around midnight.
I think I'll keep on the half tablets for a while, and then maybe up the dose. As it is, it isn't really hurting, and it may help a little.

New Drug

I'm still functioning today, but not by much. Last night was rough, and yet it gets a mixed review.
For the first night trying Mirapex, it went okay. I took it about 2 hours before lights out and went through a pretty big bout of the wigglies as I was sitting up in bed reading. That eventually passed, and my body -- particularly my legs -- felt heavy. Kind of still. Not a feeling I'm used to.
Somehow, I woke, or was partly awake the whole time, because I got up to go to Bed #2. And I probably fell asleep again before the trouble began. I was feeling too hot, so I took off some of the haphazardly stacked blankets. Then I was really cold. It felt like the Requip drug trial all over again, with me unable to regulate my body temperature. Possibly priapism too, but that could have been natural. In any event, I was up for a while, unable to sleep.
I woke without the alarm and went to see what time it was just as the alarm started going off. I hit snooze, went back to bed, and awoke wishing I had a few more hours' sleep.
Very dumb today. Glad to sleep in tomorrow.

The Wigglometers, Day III

Last night of the Wigglometers, and about as inactive as the second. Not a particularly restful night. But nothing crazy either. I had a couple drinks, which rarely helps. Ended up in Bed #2 as usual.
Not feeling alert, but functioning normally today.

The Wigglometers, Day II

After struggling through on very little sleep yesterday, last night wasn't so bad. Some wiggling. Had to go upstairs to Bed #2.
But it didn't take so long to get to sleep after that. And then I woke up with the light, feeling surpisingly rested. The clock said 6:45 or something like that. So I decided I wasn't really rested and went back to sleep.
All in all, much better than Monday night. The Wigglometers (though, as I said, they don't catch most of what I do) backed me up on this one: 3,300 or so units the first night. Total of around 5,000 for the two nights together.
One more night.

The Wigglometers

So Dr. Sleep gave me the oversized-pager-shaped "activity montitors" that attach by velcro around my ankles. He lovingly referred to them as shackles.
I've worn them before, during a drug study, but they don't seem to do what they're supposed to do. If you shake them up like a bottle of orange juice, the little counter goes wild.
However, if you cross your ankles and hold them mostly still while you pulse and tense and wiggle your thighs, the monitors don't really catch it. In other words, there's a whole lot of shaking going on that the monitors don't register.
That said, last night they registered a whole lot. Wearing bulky socks (when I'm used to no socks) already made the night uncomfortable. The monitors cuffed me around the socks, so they didn't chafe my skin.
So, of course, I'm too hot. And the little pagers keep rolling around to be under my leg.
I start out the night thinking I'm tired enough to conk out pretty easily. I end up leaving Bed #1 and going to Bed #2, where I have the same problems. Plus it's cold.
I fall asleep after it's light out.
Now I'm a jittery mess of bouncing leg and coffee. I feel like I should have one of those beer hats, except with tubes for coffee and water leading to my mouth.
Ready for night two of the three-night study. And then ... Mirapex. I've got my fingers crossed.

Shaking at work

Cross your legs tight to get your nerves nice and pinched. And the blood cut off.
Someone actually recommended sleeping with a bar of soap. That worked for his wife.
I'll try hanging garlic above the door. Maybe that would work.
Bar of soap. Geez.

How novel! My own blog.

Since I'm one of the last people on earth without a blog, and because of the incredibly dull subject matter (my shaky legs), I have a reasonably private diary maintained for me at no charge.
I'm hoping this puts me to sleep.