Life isn’t normal when you have tissue expanders, they are hard and uncomfortable. They hurt when you bump into them, sharp pains happen at any time. The skin is thin and some areas hurt more than others. I’m not totally obsessed, but they remind me they’re there several times a day. If I had a surgery date I would be crossing the days off the calendar.
Insomnia!
I went to see my Primary Care Provider (PCP) recently because I haven’t been able to sleep since my “brain damaging” surgery in July. She listened while she typed notes on her laptop. I told her I had tried the Ambien (I was given to help after the July surgery), Melatonin and Valerian, and none had helped me sleep. I tried Tylenol PM and some other OTS sleep aids and nothing phases me, I get 4 hours and change in sleep a night. One thing that can add another 30 minutes to my meager 4 hours is 5-HTP. I still spend 8 to 9 hours in bed, I still try deep breathing, wake up between 1 am and 4 am, and toss and turn most of the night, but 5-HTP manages to squeak a few more minutes of sleep out of me. Ashwaganda makes me groggy, which is a wonderful long lost familiar feeling, and when I take it twice a day, I can sometimes get 5 hours of sleep. The difference between 4 hours and 15 minutes and 5 hours and 10 minutes is amazing, I can just about function normally.