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Hybrid Thoughts

7/10/2007

I need some sleep

For those of you following my blog, you've already read about my sleep study ordeal. Well I got the official diagnosis today.

I suffer from engaging in kickboxing while asleep. I suppose the doctor didn't buy the excuse that my dog keeps pushing me off the bed and that's why I learned self defense.

I'm relieved it's not related to snoring, or lack of oxygen, because the solutions to those is sleeping with a gas mask on. While I've done it before, I'm not thrilled about the prospect of being hooked to machines while I sleep. After all, why I did sign that DNR form with my will?

The official name to this syndrome is... Periodic (meaning, it happens every single night, like clockwork, but does not occur every single minute of the night) Leg (it could be the arms as well, but they only tested my legs) Movements (no, it's not a musical event) Syndrome (a collection of symptoms - such as falling asleep watching TV, falling asleep in the car, and falling asleep at work). PLMD in short. And no it is not the same as Restless Leg Syndrome. RLS happens when the person is awake and aware of the pain involved. PLMD occurs in my sleep and I'm completely unaware of it.

So unaware that I was quite surprised to find that I have 30 events per hour, which wakes me up six times an hour. Meaning, I never get a full hour of sleep. Ever.

Of course, I think this has all been resolved with the arrival of our new mattress on Sunday. This awesome mattress shapes itself around my body, totally preventing me from moving. It wraps itself around me, eating me alive, and spits me out in the morning in the same position I fell asleep in. No more issues of waking up at night. Well, at least not as far as I know.

Hubby on the other hand has been tossing and turning all night long (so he tells me, and so does dog testify). So now we're in a dilemma, is there a system where you can have half a bed made of the Sleep Number bed (the one we slept on for the past seven years) and half tempurpedic? And will this marriage last a change of mattress for the fourth time.

I wonder if we should seek a marriage counselor?

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posted at 7/10/2007 02:30:00 PM

5 Comments:

  • Ok...so we pay these so called doctor experts all this money to tell us that you twitch in your sleep. I bet most of us do the same. But that fancy sleep study was done in a lab, right? Not in your normal bed with normal conditions. I think the study should be conducted with your hubby and dog present too! Couldn't external factors such as climate, air quality, mice in the walls, hubby's playing games and looking at porn all night long, dog kicking you in bed, etc....all have a big effect on your sleep habits? Damn doctors...Take a shot of some moonshine before you go to sleep and then see how much your legs twitch throughout the night. I bet you don't move a darn inch all night long (assuming it's good white lightning). My 2 cents.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:03 PM, July 10, 2007  

  • I suffer from what they call Nocturnal Panic Attacks, which is a polite way of saying that I shoot straight out of bed gasping for air with a rapid heartbeat and totally confused about where I am. These started a few years back and have been getting progressively worse. It sucks, but I must admit the last few weeks they seem to have been on "vacation" and I have almost been sleeping through the night.

    I want a temperpedic mattress but my wife likes to sleep on a rock.

    By Blogger Mike, at 10:26 PM, July 10, 2007  

  • Mike - I suffer from the "I want to screw my wife in the middle of the night" syndrome, but instead her animal instinct wants to "slug me" in the face or gut or any other body part after my syndrome emerges from it's sheltered life. Seriously though, as a youngster I was a huge sleep walker. My mother used to find me all throughout the house, just walking around, totally asleep, not knowing why or how I had gotten where ever I ended up, etc. The best one I recall...was when I found myself urinating in the hamper of dirty clothes as if it were the toilet. I guess there's was a similarity with lifting of the lid or something or other. I had an interesting childhood I guess.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:53 PM, July 10, 2007  

  • Well, I learned that there are 3 types of people in the world:
    1) those who snore
    2) those who kick
    3) those who do both

    I could deal with either #1 or #2. #3, no.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:34 PM, July 11, 2007  

  • I think a half and half bed is someone's ticket to wealth! Glad to hear your sleep issue isn't serious. Well ... I hope you solve the bed issue before things become serious. Keep us *posted* huh?

    By Blogger Sara Sue, at 1:38 PM, July 12, 2007  

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