It is 2.22am, my buddy Parkinson is taking me to battle tonight!!! Nights can be the most difficult for me and I am trying to win this arithmetic …. So far Parkinson has the minus points, I have been trying different strategies to give me more plus points.
Let me put some clarity to this ……..way before my 10pm dose of Azilect and Carbidopa-Levo my entire body is beyond tired. It is a tiredness that you cannot explain. I have run marathons, worked long Black Fridays, changed time zones, not slept for a couple of days …. Nothing compares to this tiredness. I can fall asleep at 8pm and my sleep tracking monitor will show zero movement. OK.. So my pattern has been to stay up till the 10pm dose, fall asleep in an instant only to be woken by Parkinson at either 2am or 4am, sometimes both. That’s when we start to battle!! Because my body is in full movement I get up and start walking, stretching, massaging muscles, deep breathing, reading while walking… Just trying to trigger some dopamine from my brain. My objective is to try and not take a emergency dose because I don’t want to give this to Parkinson because that will be another minus to the disease however, at times I do give in and take an emergency dose just to get some rest to function the next day.
Anyway, those who know me, I love a challenge. I try not to eat too much protein as it interferes with my meds, I do not exercise late in the evening, I read, drink rooibos tea and enjoy being home. Last night I tried something new with my meds….. I thought I would go to bed early not take my 10p dose but sleep till Parkinson wakes me up… I calculated that would be around midnight, I would then take my dose and sleep through till 6am. HAHA!!! It’s now 2.58am, here I am pacing and writing to you. The good news is that my right leg is beginning to calm down, my shoulders have relaxed and my hands have stopped freezing up on me… This could be a good strategy, you may here from me more 😄
There is always a plus….. I am mad with Parkinson but I have begun to enjoy these restless but personal quiet times and love going back to bed to snuggle with Earl, my body then at full rest until my morning begins.
Because I share my moments with you I thought I would share and scare you with what I look like at 2am…..
