Re: Living a near normal life

[Guest guest]

No Kim I havent had any of the meds you mentioned. As I remember I've had

Klonopin (clonazapam), Darvon, Percocet, Sinemet, Parlodel and maybe a few

others I can't remember. Then thru the group I heard of Permax (pergolide

myselate). I told my doctor about it and she gave me a prescriptrion for

the 0.05 mg strength. I started out taking it 1 tab at bedtime with

something to eat (milk and a cookie) to keep my stomach from revolting as it

did when I took Parlodel. It worked fine for a while but I've had to have

it increased gradually over the last year and a half,or longer. For the

last year I've been taking it three times a day 2 tabs at 9AM, 2 tabs at 3PM

and 2 tabs at 10PM. This is working so far. I still get symptoms when I

forget to take the medicine and sometimes at night I have difficulty getting

to sleep and the symptoms lurk in the background. Last night for instance,

I took the Permax at 10PM, played

a couple of computer games till I felt sleepy but when I got in bed I

couldn't get to sleep and began getting restless. I got up and soaked in a

hot tub with soothing lavender salts. That helped but not enough so I

finally took 2-10 mg tabs of Zolpidem Tartrate and the next thing I knew it

was almost 6AM. That doesn't happen often though. I think I've taken the

Zolpidem Tartrate only a few times. The prescription is dated 12/12/97 and

was for 30 tabs. There are 15 tabs left. The meds I take now don't make me

sleepy during the day but that doesn't mean I'm a ball of fire accomplishing

huge tasks.

I try to take short breaks. In the morning seems to be the best time to get

comfortable with a book or magazine or my Bible because it's then that I can

read without my legs vibrating. After mid-morning I get busy with things

around the house (I'm retired thank goodness). The morning is when I

usually round up Mr. Biggles and groom him. He's pretty patient with me

except that he won't hold still when I tie his topknot so it often looks

like the leaning tower of Pisa. He don't care though.

I'll tell you truthfully that had it not been for this group I'd still be

groping around in the dark trying to find relief for my RLS. Most all of

what I've learned I've learned right here and for that I'm forever grateful.

This is one standout group!! Don't pay attention to the occasional bickering

and scolding and bursts of bad temper. Every family, even happy ones, have

spells like that.

CHEERS!!

Jeanne and Mr. Biggles in Poultney VT

Ah the sun is shining and my son is coming home on vacation today. We're

getting ready for Y2K.......

Mr. Biggles and Macka are ever reminding us to get in a good supply of their

food - just in case...........

..

[Guest guest]

Hi Pal, Zolpidem Tartrate is also called Ambien. It's a prescription

sedative that is habit forming and like most sedatives should only be used

for a short time (less than 2 weeks). Although I am a recovering alcoholic

Ambien hasn't given me any trouble. As I think I said, I've had the same

prescription for several years and only use it when I really get in a bind

with not being able to sleep when I'm exhausted.

For the past couple of nights my sleep has been less than restful. I've

only gotten sleep a few hours at a time and that isn't restful sleep. I

figure that like most everything else this will pass too and I'll go back to

my regular 5-6 hours of sleep broken only by one wake-up call to the loo.

So I haven't resorted to the Ambien.

If I'm wakeful I usually get up and get a glass of milk and some graham

crackers. Then I'll sit on my bed and munch out. I'll turn on my radio to

some all night music station or hook up my sound pillow to some Mozart or

other soothing stuff. If that don't work I throw myself into a tub of nice

hot aromatic (lavender) bubble bath and veg out till the water cools a bit.

After that I can usually doze off.

I also like to sometimes sip a cup of Bedtime Tea laced with honey before

bed. It's put out by the Yogi Tea company and I get it at a natural foods

store. It's caffeine free and contains Scullcap. Chamomile tea is good too

but some folks are allergic to it. I also like green tea with lemongrass in

it. Many in the group drink Tension Tamer tea by Celestial Seasonings.

Most of the time I drink various blends of regular tea like Earl Grey, Queen

, English breakfast or my own special blend of 1/3 Assam and 2/3

Darjeeling. It has now been determined that black tea is just as good for

the heart as green tea and per cup has very little caffeine in it. It sits

much better on my stomach than coffee (even decaf).

It's no good listening to shoot'em ups, gripping dramas (like those hospital

shows) or other stressful or exciting stuff on TV late in the evening

especially News shows!! Keep away from the late evening news and CNN before

bed. You have to work on soothing your mind before hitting the sack. Music

is great as is just enjoying conversation with someone over a cup of late

evening tea. When I was growing up we would sit around the kitchen table

before bed with a pot of tea (regular tea) and munch on garlic toast (rub a

garlic clove over a slice of nice warm toast, butter it and enjoy!) while we

talked over the day, the recent events in our lives, just general girl-woman

talk. It was a good way to end the day.

When anyone in my family comes to visit we sometimes fall back on this old

comfort.

Cheers and sweet dreams!!

Jeanne (71) and Mr. Biggles (almost 10 mos) in Poultney, VT

[Guest guest]

Oh dear Elaine, No, the 10 months is how old Mr. Biggles is. My anniversary

will be 17 years in May for AA. I forgot to mention in my message that I

also take 2 Kava-Kava tabs a day. One at supper and one at bedtime. It

helps to relax me.

It's 10:20PM as I write this.

CHEERS!!

Jeanne and Mr. Biggles in Poultney VT

[Guest guest]

Oh dear Elaine, No, the 10 months is how old Mr. Biggles is. My anniversary

will be 17 years in May for AA. I forgot to mention in my message that I

also take 2 Kava-Kava tabs a day. One at supper and one at bedtime. It

helps to relax me.

It's 10:20PM as I write this.

CHEERS!!

Jeanne and Mr. Biggles in Poultney VT

[Guest guest]

Oh dear Elaine, No, the 10 months is how old Mr. Biggles is. My anniversary

will be 17 years in May for AA. I forgot to mention in my message that I

also take 2 Kava-Kava tabs a day. One at supper and one at bedtime. It

helps to relax me.

It's 10:20PM as I write this.

CHEERS!!

Jeanne and Mr. Biggles in Poultney VT