Today is Wednesday July 8th, 2020. I had a great day! I woke up very early this morning (which is something very foreign to me). Before PD, I used to sleep until my alarm went off. On the weekend, I would sleep til at least 9 am. Gone are those days. Most nights, I either take Melatonin (which stopped working) or an Aleve PM to help me fall and stay asleep until the morning. Last week, I had a TeleHealth meeting with my PD Dr. and I mentioned my sleep concerns. I also let him know that I have been taking an Aleve PM nightly. Through trial and error, I have discovered that if I start feeling really shaky (right hand and right quadricep) and tight in the early evening, it helps tremendously to take an Aleve PM to quiet my body. It also knocks me off my feet when it's bedtime. As a side note, the Aleve PM was completely my idea. My Dr. suggested I try ZZZquil which I promptly purchased. The only problem now is that I am afraid to take it. As ridiculous as this sounds, I once tried NyQuil when I was really sick (years ago) and didn't have my medicine from the pharmacy yet to help me sleep comfortably. I literally passed out and had to be carried to bed. Needless to say, that was the LAST time I took it! LOL. So now I am trying to get used to the idea of trying another "Quil". If you know me, you know one thing for sure.... When it comes to putting anything new into my body, I need deets from those who are knowledgeable and/or experienced with taking whatever the product may be. I clearly need something to help me sleep and medication is not an option I want to explore. (I have recently been pulled off of the multitude of Meds that were prescribed for me. That debacle is clearly a blog entry for another day).
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning, I take a Virtual Pilates Mat class. Wednesdays, my med schedule is a bit tweaked, as I also take a stretch class before my Mat class. Normally my Mat class is from 9:30 to 10:30 am. On Wednesdays however, Stretch begins at 9, followed by Mat class at 9:30. So today being Wednesday, I took my first dose of RYtary at 7:15 am, rather than 8:00 am. Rytary is a G*dsend but unfortunately, my body has a hard time first thing in the morning after I take it. So I absolutely need some time in bed to rest after I have some cereal and take my first Rytary. Most mornings, about 15 to 20 minutes after taking Rytary, my body just feels weird. My hands tingle and my neck and throat tighten up. Thank goodness it always passes. Once that sick feeling is gone, I am raring to go! However, I definitely need a little extra time to relax and then some extra time to get ready and stretch before class begins. I have to be mindful of the time, so I don't miss my next dose. If I do forget the next dose, my body will remind me. Trust me when I say it is NO fun. Strangely, sometimes I go 4+ hours before my next dose. (I am supposed to take Rytary every 3 hours). Other days, my body reacts fiercely if I am 2 minutes late in taking my next dosage. Note to self.... Stay consistent with Med times!! After I took Stretch and then Mat class today, I felt fabulous and able to start my day. To be perfectly honest, I feel fab after every Pilates class I participate in. Today, a very close friend came over (she is newly engaged) and spent most of the day with me. She is a very strong support person for me and never waivers when I am symptomatic. Those are the people I have in my inner circle. Even though we were busy, I was right on time with my meds. This late afternoon, (as sometimes happens), I almost got pulled into someone's drama. Although I didn't get involved, I still felt the stress of it all. Stress is a very tough thing when you have PD, because symptoms always find their way to the surface (when faced with undue stress). My right hand and my right quadricep start to tremor and I have to rest until it passes. I have learned great patience, as I know it will always pass. It is now 7:30 pm and I am just coming out of the stress induced tremors. I am on my way to water my beautiful garden. Have a beautiful night all.
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