@lcamino I am happy that you took the opportunity to treat yourself;-) Rosemary

@lcamino Once again, I'm learning from your posts. I have a hard time exercising outside, especially in the summer, but you give good advice about knowing when you are hydrated. Here at Mayo Connect we thrive on TMI 🙂 Teresa

Help me Teresa, What is TMI?

TMI stands for "too much information."

@lcamino Your post was interesting - I didn't get the impression you were feeling sorry for yourself, but rather you were making observations about some of the difficulties you experience and being rather analytical. I see that as a good use of this discussion group. Teresa

@hopeful33250 - Well analytical is a good description of me ; - )

@lcamino I am not sure if I answered this before, I have been rushing through things recently and this past weekend we were in Maine.

The interrupted sleep definitely impacts how much rest you get, even if you get back to sleep quickly. I read an article recently, I wish I could remember where, and it said that in sleep studies people with interrupted sleep had a much lower sleep profile because of it and even if you are in bed for those 8 hours or whatever, the amount of sleep you get is not equivalent to people whose sleep is less interrupted. I try to get to bed earlier on days when I know I want to get up early, like to go to my water classes at 9:00 but it's not easy.
I got my doctor to give me some lorazapam last year, a very small Rx, and I use them extremely sparingly -- maybe one a month. On those nights I do sleep better. So generally I only use them if I had been really sleepless for a couple of nights or if my mind is racing because I know the next day has many demands. My PCP is terribly opposed to them even though I take them so infrequently. My transplant team said they were fine to take occasionally but they left prescribing them up to my PCP.
JK

@contentandwell - Thanks for sharing. My husband is quite sure that my naps are needed because I'm up so much at night. I'm beginning to believe him but I still do better if I nap, or sleep longer before I get up, and exercising seems to help too. The challenge is that if I sleep too late then my study meds are taken later which negatively impacts sleep the next night. If I take my study meds at 6:30 am like I should and then take the smaller dose at 2:30 pm I get the most sleep at night but I can't sleep in. I've tried taking the meds at 6:30 am and going back to sleep but I'm so thirsty I can't sleep (I have usually had 6 cups of water within 2 hours of waking up) and I go to the bathroom so much in the morning (at least every hour) that going back to sleep after I take them at 6:30 is still very interrupted sleep. I figure I just have a year or more with this routine and since the meds are buying me time before my transplant I will stick with the higher dose (I can take less but my kidneys are so large I've been told I could really benefit from the highest dose). It is a choice I have made and I'm thankful that I do not work outside the home so I'm able to nap if needed. I have heard that some professionals can not manage the high dose because it is too disruptive to their work day and I can see how that could happen so I'm just glad I can manipulate my schedule to manage the side effects from the study meds.

@lcamino I find it a challenge to determine if I would sleep better without a nap but so far it does not seem so.

I agree, we are indeed fortunate to be able to be at home. Of course I am much older than you are but I really enjoy working. I was yearning to return to work while I was still dealing with cirrhosis and my PCP said if I wanted to work I should but I just could not get a job and be irregular due to my health. I am glad I did not let him convince me that I should even though I would have loved to, he definitely did not understand what I was going through. The other thing is that no one hires people my age except for very menial jobs. I would do volunteer work before that. I have done volunteer work in the past, I should check into that again.
JK

@contentandwell - My husband and I are looking forward to volunteering once he retires. I used to do a lot in the public school system and at church but I'm unreliable now so it will have to wait. I encourage you to find something that excites you and offer your time and talents - so fulfilling and so important for society.