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Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Contemplating the Night

A week or so ago it occurred to me that if I were more active I might sleep better. That has usually been the case. Last Wednesday I returned to the gym, taking an Aqua class, and I have gone there every day since, except Sunday. I either do Aqua or I do a set of exercises upstairs, using the equipment. In addition, I am going to physical therapy three days a week, and these sessions tend to last about an hour and ten minutes, a workout in themselves in a different way.

By night, my leg feels stiff and I am not walking smoothly. I have to talk myself into standing tall, placing one foot down and then the other, putting my weight on the inside of my feet, pulling my stomach in. I don't always do all of this because I feel achey.

So off to the shower I go. It feels nice while it lasts, and I am for sure racking up the therms on the gas meter. But the calm does not last, not in my leg anyway.

And so I lay in bed, my leg occasionally seizing up or going into a spasm or just plain aching. The theory isn't working; more activity is not helping.

I have also started taking melatonin, two three-mg tablets at night. It hasn't hurt anything that I can tell and it might be helping. I am not taking tylenol pm but I seem to get about the same amount of sleep, fitful and interrupted though it is.  I also take Vicodin, but that supply has now run out, so I'll go back to Percocet. Hard to tell any difference between the two.

I'll admit it: I'm writing this as another means to divert my attention from sleep and my wanting it.

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