Thursday, January 12, 2012

I am the Ambien Walrus

This is the world's least interesting blog. Sorry about that. Log in to hear some guy complaining about his aches and pains. Who doesn't have those?

But, in my defense, I'm trying to track my experiences and make note on improvements, declines, etc. Its a diary that has unfortunately recently been a pain diary. All of us hope that I'll start writing about something else, soon. Today is not that day.

http://tinyurl.com/yed9a5n
Last night I went back to the Ambien. I wanted to see if I'd sleep through the night and not be awoken by pain. It worked! I still feel a bit run-over-by-a-truck-ish this morning, but I was not awoken by leg pain. I popped one (a full one, which is more than I had been taking) because the leg was bothering me so badly last night that I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get to sleep. But then when you develop virtually incurable (temporary) double vision, you know the Ambien is working, and its lights out.

I won't try any Ambien tonight, simply because I don't want it to be an every-night kind of thing and don't want to risk getting used to it and needing to eventually take more and more just to sleep at all. However, if the pain is excruciating before bed again I may change my tune and try one, though I feel like 1/2 would do it.

Ambien has an amnesia effect that makes you forget you're not sleeping. I once took it on a plane when the pipe band was going to Scotland years ago. when it was bedtime Scotland time, I took an Ambien, trying to get on the local sleep schedule. This is my preferred way of adjusting to jet lag, and it works great. But the problem was: I wasn't tired in the least when I took it, so I just stayed up and talked to people on the plane until I felt tired. I eventually drifted off, but afterward was told of conversations that I'd had with people before I went to sleep that I simply did not remember.

I'm convinced that it does actually put you to sleep as well, but perhaps it reduces over-thinking. And I do far too much over-thinking these days.

4 comments:

Eclector2 said...

Let's hope that tonight is a better night than Thursday night. I know you are trying everything you can think of to deal with it.

Please consider keeping a journal that notes what drugs you are taking and when. I am concerned that the effects of the drugs might make you forget what you took. If you note each pill when you take it there will be a record. It will also help you rate their effectiveness. I think the blog is too public for this level of detail.

Just my opinion. What do tou think?

Mom

Wendy said...

You are not *just some guy with a pain diary* to me. Whatever it takes, Michael.

love!
Wendy

M said...

Thanks Wendy!

I fon't forget when I have taken my pills or anything, but I do see value in the idea of tracking which days I bumped dosages up or down. I like having some reference to it here as it serves as a diary that helps me track my mood, the drug's effectiveness, etc. I do go back and reread these and am sometimes surprised at how one day's mood can be quite different from the next.

Deborah in MN said...

For what it's worth, when I was recovering from surgery and had a zillion prescription meds to take at all times of day, including our friends, the oxys, I got a good tip. A friend of mine has a daughter who has endured numerous surgeries since birth, and she recommended using 3x5 cards. Write the name of the drug on the top of the card, then note the time and date and amt taken on each line. You could probably note how much it helped and side effects. It's easier to handle a group of index cards than flip back and forth in a notebook.

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