Non-Attitude Adjustments

Bit off in what makes for comfort thru the night; I woke at 1 a.m. as usual, but it's too warm in here to breathe and the pain is thru the roof. I'm not used to heat and my body is rebelling. It's clear that what works for easing pain while awake is not what works when trying to sleep. At least while my nose is still in this shape. And I really gotta start wondering- is this regular detox nose or are my sinuses all fucked up? This is a "sick" building, as they say; the ventilation is practically non-existent and it's nearly 150 years old. The owners don't invest much. Never had to take benadryl til I moved in here. I'm so glad I'll be out of here- 4 short weeks.

I tried to get back to sleep for 2 hours, then gave up. Watched a good PBS doc about Roman British Legions and the reign of Septimus Severus, all thru a discovered archeological dig in York and the piecing together of how and who these bodies were that ended up with their heads off and puposely buried apart from the shoulders they belonged with. Seems the incoming co-Emperor (Severus' son) didn't want to share the throne, so killed off all he knew, had them beheaded and buried untraditionally, including his brother. He then proceeded to wipe his brother's existence from the record. By such ilk is history written. I won't honor him by mentioning his name.

It sucks to go short on sleep when you have pain issues; not only are you starting off the day at a deficit but unrested joints are super cranky. The whole reason we sleep is to give our bodies time to recharge. When you have bad joints it's a balancing act. Sometimes the more rest you give it the worse it gets, and sometimes it won't relieve until it gets the rest it wants. It can be hard to tell which way to go with it. And sometimes, like now, I can be in hellpain and just unable to sleep no matter what it wants. But the drugs will be gone forever and the pain will be dealt with, somehow. A lot bigger brains than mine have been thinking on it a lot longer and only came up with opiates. Quite by accident, I took my NSAID just a bit before the benadryl, and my hip (an hour later) is cooled down a bit. Hmmm. Not saying, just noticing. It's far from a miracle, and could be just the NSAID doing what it's supposed to do.

I'm wondering a lot in this- is there a better way to sit, stand, etc.? Should I be working on gettting my left leg straight, or leave it bent forward as it's going on its own? Am I making matters worse by sleeping in that position, even though it's the only comfortable way to sleep?

So far, 3 things I'm learning in pain resolution: deep breathing is a must all your waking time, and you need airways clear to rest properly; anything that aggravates you without release will come out in pain; while awake, keep moving. Even if it's only reaching or bending from your desk chair, keep moving something all the time. The more you move, the more you'll be able to move. If you pull a Camille and take to the bed, that's all your life will be. You've got to be better than your pain.

A long time ago, my hero, Wilma J. Meyers, told me to "rise above it all and circumvent it all". It's the best all-occasion advice ever.

It's 10 a.m. now and pouring a miserable rain. Explains a lot about why we have today's pain. I used to think that was a myth! Ha!