OMG, I NEED SLEEP!

As of the time I am typing this, I have gone 55 HOURS with only 3 hours of sleep!  Omg, my eyes are popping out of my head!  I feel like I’m back in military training!

Over a week ago, I started feeling crappy- you know, the whole congested chest thing.  Well, when my ears started hurting, my head started hurting, and what little I coughed up was green, I started taking an antibiotic, and started feeling better.  Not great, but better.  Monday night, I did not sleep.  AT ALL.  I coughed so hard all night long that it felt like I had given myself multiple hernias.  It got to the point where I had gone almost 24 hours with no sleep, and I was just gasping for air, so it was time to go to the doctor.

I’ve found that it’s usually quicker to get in to see my friend, Misty, a nurse practitioner at the Natchitoches Regional Medical Center Walk-In Clinic, than it is to go to my regular doctor (although he’s really great).  It’s a good thing I went to her, because my insurance was messed up, and wouldn’t be resolved for at least several days.  So… I had to pay cash, and the clinic was less than half the price of my doctor.

When I got to the clinic, I was SO glad Misty was working. After being a deputy coroner and seeing first-hand what certain types of medications can do, I am paranoid about them.  She is one of the few people I trust, because she knows of my worries.  On top of that, I don’t like to feel “weird;” I can feel weird enough on my own.  If I want to alter my status, I prefer wine…lol.

When I got in to see Misty, she examined me and diagnosed with me bronchitis, as expected.  She ordered an albuterol breathing treatment, a steroid injection, an antibiotic injection, and three prescriptions.  I’d never had a breathing treatment, and she said that although it would make my heart rate go up, it would really help clear out my lungs.

Omg, she was right!  The nurse came in to give me the injections and breathing treatment, and while it made me kind of dizzy, I felt a LOT better when it was over.  Misty came back in and checked my lungs and confirmed that they had cleared up.  I was SO happy I could finally BREATHE!

Getting a breathing treatment. Looking very rough, 26 hours straight without sleep!

So, anywho, I moseyed on over to the pharmacy, and again, my insurance was messed up.  My cough syrup, antibiotic, and steroid (all generics) totaled $117.00.  This is ludicrous!  (Pharmaceutical companies, take note!!!)  Thankfully, the pharmacy was great, and worked with me- muchas gracias, M&M Pharmacy!

After 27 hours or so with no sleep, I was so ready to get home and get into bed.  But, I was WIDE AWAKE.  The thing about my paranoia with meds, is that my body is VERY sensitive to even the smallest doses.  I was flat out WIRED.  And I stayed that way.  I went 48 (yes, FORTY-EIGHT) hours with absolutely ZERO sleep.  I looked up albuterol and the steroid I had, and found that others have experienced the same thing.  One guy even went over three days with absolutely no sleep!

I got to sleep, for about two hours, then woke up coughing, and could not get back to sleep.  Actually getting to sleep is the hard part, it’s been near impossible.  I called Jerry at work and chatted for a while, asked how he was feeling, told him how I was feeling, and that I was going to try to finally get back to sleep.

No sooner had I FINALLY gotten back to sleep, that Jerry called and woke me up.  Of course, since he knew of the situation and I had just told him I was going to try to finally get to sleep, I assumed it was an emergency, so I answered the phone.  Nope.  Nothing important.  Nothing urgent.  I think he regretted that phone call…  That was six hours ago, and I still have not been able to get back to sleep again.  So, now, that means I’m up to 56 hours with just a total of three hours of sleep.  Arrrrggghhhhh….!!!!

I honestly don’t know how meth and crack addicts do it.  How do they go without sleep…?!?!?  I know I shouldn’t complain.  There aren’t really any horrifying side effects, just a dull headache and my brain is “foggy”- I can’t get any real work don’t because I can’t think straight.  I mean, there’s a reason pilots, truck drivers, etc., have mandatory sleeping time.  Good thing I don’t have a job like that anymore.

Texting or contacting me on social media is just fine- that won’t wake me up and I can respond at my convenience.  Jerry has been VERY sternly warned about waking me up again.  And if I get a phone call (or otherwise woke up), from someone other than Misty, the doctor, or someone involved in my health care, the guilty party had better be dying, on fire, or have some other life-threatening emergency.

Bottom line, though- is the insomnia worth it?  Yep.  Misty is my hero.  I can BREATHE.  I’m not gasping for air.  I’m not wheezing.  I have bouts of coughing, but it’s not constant anymore.  As I’m now going into hour 57, I’m feeling much better.  But, just one thing… text, don’t call. 😉