To ask what you’re doing awake post-midnight? Part 2: Insomnia Strikes Back

[5YearsLeft]

Bit awkward to start this in the middle of the day, but I wanted to be able to link it on the old thread before it completely fills. Meanwhile, even though right now it’s not post-midnight, if you’re having a day-after hangover from insomnia, feel free to post. Whether it’s from poorly children or babies or pets or OHs, whether it’s grief or fear or anxiety or other losses, whether it’s work stress or home stress or just LIFE stress, we get it. You’re not yelling into the void; you’re sharing with people who have been stuck wide awake, too.

Yay I actually slept for a good number of hours without waking up! Thank god!

@autienotnaughty Ah, just bad timing then! Do hope you got at least a tiny bit of sleep in the end. I got a few hours then up with the regular pain.

Well, everybody, sun is up so thread is “shut” (but much like hopefully a cozy and not grubby 24-hour cafe, we’re never completely shut, so leave a message whenever). Hopefully you got a few minutes of rest, and if you didn’t, well, remember, you’re facing the day with a lot less (good sleep) behind you than most other people, so be kind to yourself and have patience with yourself and tell people who don’t have patience with you that I said to piss off See you all again (or hopefully not!) for the after-midnight thread tonight!

@catwomando Great words of advice from living, and hopefully it will help someone on the thread. Good luck at your appointment this morning! And so glad you got a bit of sleep!

@AllOfUsAreDead HOORAY! A good number of hours beats a kick in the pants, so we’ll take it!

@autienotnaughty Ah, just bad timing then! Do hope you got at least a tiny bit of sleep in the end. I got a few hours then up with the regular pain.

And now, everybody, sun is up so thread is “shut” (but much like hopefully a cozy and not grubby 24-hour cafe, we’re never completely shut, so leave a message whenever). Hopefully you got a few minutes of rest, and if you didn’t, well, remember, you’re facing the day with a lot less (good sleep) behind you than most other people, so be kind to yourself and have patience with yourself and tell people who don’t have patience with you that I said to piss off See you all again (or hopefully not!) for the after-midnight thread tonight!

Sorry, posted our closing message and tagged autie twice?! Well, I guess we’re double shut, ha, and I need slightly more sleep than two hours.

@5YearsLeft how exciting..
Our local Facebook group seems to be the go to place for moving boxes. Seems someone is offering them or asking for them almost daily. A great way of passing them round and re using them.

Not sure if that's of any help where you are but might be worth a try?

@jowly I wish! Unfortunately, I’m not sure what the issue is - maybe because the canton makes recycling your cardboard very, VERY easy (just put it outside your door every Tuesday) so it’s the one thing almost no one has and people get rid of quickly, despite the fact that people seem to be moving here almost constantly. But then again, they’re also leaving almost constantly (some in less than a year, some in two; what few don’t recycle their moving boxes immediately are probably saving them because they know they’re moving soon). Even when I searched, I found mostly people asking others where to buy cardboard boxes.

I’m going to rejoin this thread as l went to the doctor yesterday about my kidney problems, having waited over the weekend. He was very kind but told me l should have sought medical help immediately, weekend or not, telling me l am very unwell (I was shocked to hear that from a doctor, not good). I am on strong antibiotics and if I have a relapse (a 5-10% possibility) I have to immediately go to hospital. I was not expecting this. Needless to say I have not been sleeping well because of the illness.

@Violinist64 I can’t say how sorry I am to hear this. I think sometimes we can under-dramatize our pain when it’s something we’ve had before and gotten a bit used to (I mean, my god, the threads on here where someone is almost dying and they want to know if they’re being unreasonable to call an ambulance…). It doesn’t surprise me at all that what you thought could wait until Monday, despite the fact that it was bad enough to keep you awake, is quite serious. I’m very sorry to hear about the risk of relapse, and hope the antibiotics can kick in and do their jobs quickly! The thread will definitely be here if you’re up in the night, or even during the day today, if you’re struggling with the pain or just the shock from the doctor. Believe me, I know what it’s like to have shocking words come out of a doctor’s mouth. You’re thinking, “Well… that’s definitely not what I thought you’d say!” But answers are better than no answers, I think? I don’t want to hug you, because having had kidney pain myself, I didn’t even want anyone within a foot of my back, so I’ll just give you a very gentle fist bump, and you can know that it would be the support-equivalent of a hug.

And I really do mean the thread to hopefully feel like a 24-hour café. You can join anytime; you can come back anytime; you can re-join after some weeks. There are no cliques or popular kids or anything like that (with the exception of any pets we see pictures of and @Wallywobbles’ baby lambs - obviously pets are very popular). Some are awake more often; some are awake less often. Whenever you’re here, the thread is here.

@Violinist64

I’m going to rejoin this thread as l went to the doctor yesterday about my kidney problems, having waited over the weekend. He was very kind but told me l should have sought medical help immediately, weekend or not, telling me l am very unwell (I was shocked to hear that from a doctor, not good). I am on strong antibiotics and if I have a relapse (a 5-10% possibility) I have to immediately go to hospital. I was not expecting this. Needless to say I have not been sleeping well because of the illness.

Sending vibes, my lovely, that the antibiotics work their magic for you x

I got about five hours sleep all in all, with lots of interruptions and tossing and turning …. Making toast at 3am and completing Wordle at 4am!

@Tallisimo Am breaking the rules as it is now a very long time after midnight! Wanted to type in comfort rather than in middle of the night in pain! Yes - definitely ask for an MRI. Also - as it is in both legs which is, I think, more unusual. Also - need to check it is not cauda equina which can be really nasty. I spoke to the doctor today and, as it is short term before my op, he has given me dihydrocodeine. I'll report back if it works. You might be offered Amitriptyline but didn't work for me and it takes AT LEAST two weeks to work. I've been taking it for a month with no effect whatsoever. Good luck. Maybe chat to you later (but kind of hope we are both asleep!).

Thank you for your kind thoughts.

@Tallisimo I’ve just gone back through all your comments; don’t know how I missed the one where you mentioned the pain has “spread” to both legs. As @Coroico97 says, that’s a bit odd for sciatica and I do find it very strange that they’re still diagnosing it as that, and that no one has done an MRI of your lumbar region yet. It sounds like the issue is maybe higher than your sciatic nerve. I have to admit, with sciatica, I’ve only ever heard of it on one side; it’s one of its “big” defining characteristics. Definitely push very hard for an MRI. I have what you have (pain in both legs, though I also get loss of sensation in both legs and some electric zings) and I had to have a lower back MRI which discovered permanent damage to the sacro-iliac joint (joints? Shite, I can’t remember if there’s two of them) caused by the inflammation from my disease. When I had my MRI, they were checking for cauda equina since I was having some loss of sensation, but they weren’t extremely worried since I wasn’t having loss of bladder or bowel control BUT if you start to suddenly experience either of those along with the leg issues you’re already having, do head to A&E immediately as my neuro muscular consultant says that can indicate that it’s now an emergency situation (she told me to watch for this while I was waiting for my MRI).

Hello all, have managed to get a quick snooze but have a headache (although reading what you’re all going through makes me thankful it’s not something worse)
Managed to get some grocery picked up, feeling like the cheekiest person ever but now DS has had Mac & cheese and some juice so he’s happier.
Still no sign of approval for us to find somewhere to live but I’m keeping everything crossed. Hope you’re all having as good as possible days

@Chichimcgee Sorry about your headache. I’m sure little aches and pains are common this late in pregnancy but they can still be annoying! So glad you got your groceries and not your fault you’re isolated! You gotta do what you gotta do to make sure you don’t have a screaming DS

I'm glad I wentbto the gym at 5.45am. It was great!
Shattered now on 4 hours' sleep and 10 hours' work so putting kids to bed and then crashing at 8pm.

Hope everyone gets more sleep tonight.

It's so frustrating when you're lying awake but actually, lying in bed and resting in the dark, not stressing out but just thinking of nice things is almost as restorative as sleeping. It's hard to relax when you're anxious though and I've been there many times.

[quote Coroico97]@Tallisimo Am breaking the rules as it is now a very long time after midnight! Wanted to type in comfort rather than in middle of the night in pain! Yes - definitely ask for an MRI. Also - as it is in both legs which is, I think, more unusual. Also - need to check it is not cauda equina which can be really nasty. I spoke to the doctor today and, as it is short term before my op, he has given me dihydrocodeine. I'll report back if it works. You might be offered Amitriptyline but didn't work for me and it takes AT LEAST two weeks to work. I've been taking it for a month with no effect whatsoever. Good luck. Maybe chat to you later (but kind of hope we are both asleep!).[/quote]
Bless you for posting in the daytime!!!!
The pain started in just one leg and then a few weeks later spread to the other leg. The GP does know it’s both legs, but still seems to think it is sciatica rather than the rather nastier beasts you mention.
The first drug I was prescribed was amitriptyline but it didn’t seem to help. However, I certainly wasn’t given enough to take for more then two weeks ….
Will see what doc says on Monday.
Hope you’ve had a good day and that you are not on here tonight!!!!!

[quote 5YearsLeft]**@Tallisimo* I’ve just gone back through all your comments; don’t know how I missed the one where you mentioned the pain has “spread” to both legs. As @Coroico97* says, that’s a bit odd for sciatica and I do find it very strange that they’re still diagnosing it as that, and that no one has done an MRI of your lumbar region yet. It sounds like the issue is maybe higher than your sciatic nerve. I have to admit, with sciatica, I’ve only ever heard of it on one side; it’s one of its “big” defining characteristics. Definitely push very hard for an MRI. I have what you have (pain in both legs, though I also get loss of sensation in both legs and some electric zings) and I had to have a lower back MRI which discovered permanent damage to the sacro-iliac joint (joints? Shite, I can’t remember if there’s two of them) caused by the inflammation from my disease. When I had my MRI, they were checking for cauda equina since I was having some loss of sensation, but they weren’t extremely worried since I wasn’t having loss of bladder or bowel control BUT if you start to suddenly experience either of those along with the leg issues you’re already having, do head to A&E immediately as my neuro muscular consultant says that can indicate that it’s now an emergency situation (she told me to watch for this while I was waiting for my MRI).[/quote]
Thank you for taking the time to give my posts the ‘once over’ 😂
It is less common to get sciatica in both legs (according to my research!) but is certainly possible, depending on where the nerve is being trapped or squeezed. The GP does ask each time if it is affecting my ability to pee or 💩 which it isn’t. But given I’m now into my fifth month of pain and disrupted night’s etc I think we need to up the ante!

@Tallisimo Ah! Well, that’s a new level of nightmare, sciatica in BOTH legs. Definitely does sound like MRI time. It would be great (well, for a very given definition of great) if it could show something definitive for you, so they could target the source that’s pressing/compressing/doing whirligigs on your sciatic nerve!

@Invasionofthegutsnatchers So glad you had the gym! But that’s definitely one hell of a shattering combo there. I really hope you can get some sleep tonight, and if it’s one of the “bad” nights, I at least hope you can get some rest.

Photos from this morning. They have funny long white top knots and ears like wings.

This is going to be the longest lambing ever. We still have another 3-5 that are looking pregnant but no real udder swelling yet. (A sign that they are getting close).

Oh my gosh @Wallywobbles they look like stuffies of lambs! I can’t believe those noses and those wing-ears! It does seem like you’ve had lambs forever now, and you still have more on the way. Good luck with them all!

Hey all - the after-midnight thread is officially open. If your babies, children, or pets are poorly, if your DH, DP, or OH is snoring, poorly, or in a row with you, if you’re in pain yourself, if you’ve got work stress or regular work, if you have anxiety about anything, if you’re up facing grief or loss, or if you just struggle with plain (though there’s nothing ‘plain’ about what an absolute tosser it is) insomnia, welcome to your thread. And thank you, everyone, for making the thread what it is so far!

I slept on and off today when pain allowed, had physio, and ordered moving supplies (eek). I haven’t watched any TV in months but these Harlan Coban Netflix adaptations are everything I love about mysteries - tons of twisty turns and almost no jump scares or gunshots (admittedly, there was ONE gunshot in this one). DH never watched TV but it even sucked him in for a bit. We watched “Safe” and now “The Stranger.”

It feels like one of those nights where I’ll fall right asleep, then wake up at 3am and have trouble getting back. I have my appointment with my neuro muscular consultant tomorrow, my first since COVID, and I’m terrified. I’ve started having all the same symptoms as last time post COVID indicating my autoimmune symptoms going haywire, so I’m not looking forward to giving endless vials of blood and getting crap news in exchange.

Hi.. I'm back again

Another quiet day for me, but still appear to have avoided OHs covid 💪. Took off for a solitary walk this morning to clear my head a bit and thought it was almost springlike, and noticed this evening how light it stayed for longer. I do think I have a touch of Sad... the dark months of winter do nothing for me.

@5YearsLeft I'm sorry to hear your symptoms are flaring up again, and you're having to face them head on with a consultant appointment. I'm sure it's a bit double edged.. fear of what they might say versus nothing being done to help and support you. This time tomorrow it'll be behind you I'm a very strong believer in head in the sand at times like tonight.. I'd be making myself think of my new flat.. where to put furniture, decor plans etc and trying not to think about tomorrow. Well that's the theory anyway

PS if you can hear snoring over there, it's covid man next to me 🤬🤬

I’m just awake, getting bad dreams and thinking too much about my bad eyes ( not optical) bi polar prob, see phyatrist 21/3, being on too long, my lack of 3D vision.wanting love from dozing cat

@jowly Ah, welcome back and congratulations on keeping off COVID. I’m so glad to hear that you could feel a little tough of spring whilst on your walk. And I think a touch of the sad during January/February is so natural; these are the toughest months, when the dark is still long, the days are still cold, and there’s not s TON going on because I think everyone feels that way.

And thank you for the wise words about the appointment. You’re absolutely right; but this time tomorrow, it’ll be over.

You know, I thought I heard faint snoring in the wind; good to know it’s just your DH. Ha.