In the last fortnight, all but 4 nights I had 8+ hours sleep. I didn’t want to jinx it, so I haven’t written about it sooner. I still look exhausted ~ maybe even more so ~ and I’m still ridiculously stiff and sore… But, the slight increase in energy is still here. Last night, I didn’t feel like going to bed until 9pm! Usually, it is a struggle for hours before that. I call 5pm my “pain killer hour” ~ when everything starts to really hurt and I begin to debate whether I need a drug. It’s work to not just go to bed and lie down.

The best nights I’ve had were in the last week, after I started my supplements again and also added in magnesium and melatonin. Melatonin every night. I know opinions are mixed on whether melatonin should be used, but, if it’s working, I’m continuing with it! Although, I’ve been having an incredible number of vivid dreams and nightmares (last night there was a lot of blood and gore and my dog had two heads). Is that a side effect of melatonin?? I also have to credit my happier nights to the fleece sheet set that my angel friend, Z., got me. I would have never bought them, but they have reset the way I see my bed ~ turned it from a sickbed into a soft, cozy hug with which I can’t wait to cuddle.

I’m still not getting very much deep sleep, unfortunately. And even more unfortunate is the fact that the cpap still wakes me up and it seems paper tape over my mouth is my new lifelong protocol… The new/old (because she told me she is leaving the practice) sleep doctor (whom I liked very much ~ I did not mean to say she was an inferior clinician or that she had frustrated me by talking about whether my sleep problems were caused by childhood trauma and/or anxiety ~ these were practical questions and I appreciated her thorough investigative work, honestly. In my other post, I was merely trying to point out that, in an effort to conserve energy, words and effort, the ME/CFS patient has to steer the conversation and not tell the whole truth sometimes so it doesn’t get off track. In fact, the exact words I said to the sleep doc during this conversation were, “Totally off topic, but do you think I should consider a dental device?”)… anyway, she said she didn’t think the dental device was the right move for now ~ that I should give the cpap another month for sure. So, I will. My pressure is set at a 5-6 when other people need 15 or higher, so I count myself lucky. And perhaps, one day, my brain will stop its nocturnal activity. She also thought Cymbalta was a good idea, but I refuse to start it while my sleep is better. It seems it can either disrupt sleep or make you sleep more, but I don’t want to rock the boat right now.