Stupid? maybe
Jun. 30th, 2005 03:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stitchwhichI got ten hours of sleep today. For those who know me, that's a surprise and something of a record. Normally, it's 3 or 4 hours for days on end until I finally can sleep for maybe a 5-hour jag and then a 4-hour one half a day later. This time, I slept 10 hours nearly straight through. Of course, it was during the day - being still awake at 8 am this morning and also driven half-crazy by the all-over itching brought on by stopping my daily antihistimines (who knew that was a side effect?), I was not very rational and rather desperate for some sleep. Every time I laid down, I suffered from tossing and turning and tossing some more. And then itching. Even my palms and feet itched! A Shower hadn't helped, warm milk didn't, changing the sheets didn't, reading a dull book didn't... So I pulled out the Valium prescription that the doc gave me (I hate drugs so had never used it. Suffering 'withdrawals' from the allergy meds is not helping me change that opinion), any way, I read the directions and the warning labels - it said "consumption of alchohol may increase drowsiness. Do not operate heavy equipment". It did NOT say, "Do not drink alchohol while taking this drug". Well! Getting to sleep without reacting to all the itching and restlessness (also a side effect of antihistimines and Sudafed) was my goal. So... I took the amount prescribed, 10 mgs, shuddered down half a jigger of Irish Mist mixed in a glass of milk (Hannibal's revenge: 2 parts milk to 1 part Irish Mist. It's actually really good on the rocks if you like alchohol) and went to bed accompanied by a mental soundtrack of scary warning voices reminding me of Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and other dead folks. Sternly self-scolded yet actually relaxing, I closed my eyes and listened to the sound of the rain storm outside. There's nothing that helps one sleep better than the sound of rain outside (the storm started while I was in the kitchen) and then I noticed that the itching had dulled down to a feeling of buzzing awareness in my palms and feet instead of the raging hunger-for-scratching that it had been. And my legs didn't want to move and move and move... I slept. I woke up once or twice for a potty break and drank more water, then slept again. The phone didn't ring. The rain didn't stop. The cat didn't scratch at the door... And wonder of wonders, most of the itching went away while I was out. (I thought that would fade away in a few more hours and I was right.) It was 6pm before I woke up. Naturally. Rested. No restlessness, no buzzing need to Move NOW.
Will I do such a thing again? Not hardly. But do I regret it? NO WAY! That's the most deep and restful sleep I've had in weeks. And it beat my normal pattern of working myself into exhaustion every pollen season before I can sleep every few days. But this restlessness was abnormal even for me and I know that the combination of symptoms and timing will likely never happen again. Besides, it's one of the first things I'm going to discuss with my doc when I see him next.
Okay, you can shake your fingers at me now. Just remember - I DID check the warning labels. And I took into account the amounts and my weight ratio. Not too bad for an irrational person... (I think I was leagally insane by then. It only take 48 hours of sleeplessness, doesn't it?)
Would I ever suggest it for someone else? ARE YOU CRAZY? Of course not!
But boy did I get a lot done when I woke up and had a brain again. Of course, once I had a brain again, I was rather appalled about what I'd done. However, being more clear-minded and rested than I've been in a while, I can't say I feel too regretful. But it's sort of like a movie with a twisty-ending; once you've tried it, there's no desire to repeat the experience. Besides, the alchohol still tasted nasty even with the milk added. I can understand now what would kick a person into a cycle of self-abuse with drugs or alchohol - I guess there is some truth in those folks saying "but it helps me sleep". I just don't think that it would work very long before more and more was needed to get the desired effect. It's too easy and too tempting an answer. So I have some sympathy for situations I used to wonder about. Nonetheless, this one experience was enough for me. I much prefer to treat the cause and not the symptom.
Which is why I'll be looking like Tony the Tiger tomorrow with stripes all over my arms and back. Gonna find a way to deal with my allergies and their symptoms that doesn't require sleep-disrupting medications and rounds of antibiotics three or four times a year. Thus, the tiger stripes. I wonder if they'll itch?
Will I do such a thing again? Not hardly. But do I regret it? NO WAY! That's the most deep and restful sleep I've had in weeks. And it beat my normal pattern of working myself into exhaustion every pollen season before I can sleep every few days. But this restlessness was abnormal even for me and I know that the combination of symptoms and timing will likely never happen again. Besides, it's one of the first things I'm going to discuss with my doc when I see him next.
Okay, you can shake your fingers at me now. Just remember - I DID check the warning labels. And I took into account the amounts and my weight ratio. Not too bad for an irrational person... (I think I was leagally insane by then. It only take 48 hours of sleeplessness, doesn't it?)
Would I ever suggest it for someone else? ARE YOU CRAZY? Of course not!
But boy did I get a lot done when I woke up and had a brain again. Of course, once I had a brain again, I was rather appalled about what I'd done. However, being more clear-minded and rested than I've been in a while, I can't say I feel too regretful. But it's sort of like a movie with a twisty-ending; once you've tried it, there's no desire to repeat the experience. Besides, the alchohol still tasted nasty even with the milk added. I can understand now what would kick a person into a cycle of self-abuse with drugs or alchohol - I guess there is some truth in those folks saying "but it helps me sleep". I just don't think that it would work very long before more and more was needed to get the desired effect. It's too easy and too tempting an answer. So I have some sympathy for situations I used to wonder about. Nonetheless, this one experience was enough for me. I much prefer to treat the cause and not the symptom.
Which is why I'll be looking like Tony the Tiger tomorrow with stripes all over my arms and back. Gonna find a way to deal with my allergies and their symptoms that doesn't require sleep-disrupting medications and rounds of antibiotics three or four times a year. Thus, the tiger stripes. I wonder if they'll itch?
