Thoughts from the T-Shirt Lady

Want to learn how to get better sleep? Buy a new bed! Oh, wait - did I say get better sleep? Maybe I was mistaken.

A little history. Right before my DH and I got married, we both had water-beds. They were both wave-less, and had a box spring. I guess you call that soft sided.

Once we got married we decided to change a little, and went with a water-bed, again with a box spring, but this time, with water tubes. Ah… you can have your amount of water and firmness, instead of having to put up with a firmness or softness that you don’t like. Great idea!

Over the years, of using the tubes, it’s worked fine, except that I like a lot of water and firmness in the tubes on my side of the bed, and my husband likes a lot less. Picture this if you will - a nice half of the bed, level and firm, and the other half, a much lower, softer feel. If you looked at it from the end of the bed, there was a definite dip in the center. Now what fun if you rolled over the center at nite - you feel like you are going over a waterfall. I kid you not!

Add to that, we were sleeping on wedges that took up almost the whole bed - one for each of us - this is what you have to do as you get up in age, to prevent acid reflux!!

Making the bed was a pain - because not only did I have to change the bottom sheet on the bed, I had to change the cases on the wedges too. I had made what looked like pillow cases for the wedges, to keep them from becoming uncovered as you slept on them. My DH is a very restless sleeper. Not only that, but the bed was so low to the ground, even with the box-spring - that I had to bend down to do anything with the bed.

Enough!! We decided once we got our tax refund this year, we would go out and look for a regular bed. We went shopping at our local Mattress Discounters, and must have laid down on every bed in the store. We were really hoping to get a temper pedic - but it was so expensive… we decided on a pillow-top, firm Sterns and Foster. It was a little high to get up into, but I wanted the extra height.

It was delivered the next day - and it was even higher than it was in the store. I think the difference was the fact that the frame they were using in the store didn’t have wheels, and ours does. So you almost need a step stool to get into bed.  No problem! Now for a good nites sleep.

On our water-bed, I found that I would wake up at 3am, 4am, and 5am or so every nite - can’t figure that one out, I don’t have to go to work in the am, so why would I care what time it was?

Well, as you can imagine, we needed a few nites to get aclimated to the new bed, so I fully expected not to be able sleep well for awhile. We’ve had the bed for more than 2 weeks now, and guess what? I’m still waking up at 3am, 4am, 5am…. but at least the bed is higher, I don’t have to bend down to make the bed, nor have to stand up from the bed in the morning when I get up. Now I just slide off the bed and I’m upright! Anything to help me in my ‘old age’!

Sandi

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In a previous post - I mentioned that I was going to have a ct scan to see something in my pelvic area. Well the results were a mass that was about the size of an orange or larger.

Things happened fairly quickly after that. I had an appt with a gyn oncologist - based on my history of cancer.  That appt was on the 5th of Feb.

I then had an appt with my oncologist - who is also my hematologist - since I have a blood clotting deficiency. That was on the 8th.

I needed to get plasma on the 11th, and then surgery on the 12th. So things were on a fast track.

Monday the 11th, I had to be on a liquid diet and included in that was 64oz of Gator-aide - with miralax. What a delight!

My plasma was supposed to start being given to me at noon. So off we trucked to the local hospital for that process.

The first thing they gave me was benedryl. Last time I got plasma, I developed hives. So the benedryl was supposed to prevent that. It also puts me to sleep.

I was scheduled for 4 units of plasma. The first went well. The 2nd unit was running a few minutes when the hives started showing up. So it was more benedryl, blood taken to see if there was a problem with the unit, and wait….. My hematologist decided to have me given hydrocordison (sp) and Tylenol. Then a new 2nd unit, and a 3rd were given. More benedryl and then the 4th unit. Then an hour wait to make sure that everything was fine. By this time, it is 9:30pm.

My dh picks me up - I get about 4 hours of sleep and then it’s off to the other hospital for the surgery. By this time, I am exhausted and starving.

Nurses and the anesthesiologist all try to use my right arm as a pin cushion as they try to find a vein that will work for the iv. It ends up being put in my foot. (I kept telling them to try that first!) You should see all the bruises on my right arm. My left arm can’t be used as I had lymph nodes taken out during the cancer surgery.

Had the surgery - the cyst was grapefruit sized. The procedure was a laproscopic one - tiny incisions that are already healing. It’s amazing what can be done!

The surgery was at 7:30am, and I was home by 1pm. Other than a little discomfort, I have not taken any pain meds and I’m looking forward to getting back into the swing of things.

The results are that the cyst was benign - my ovaries and tubes were removed as well.

I still am not eating very much - one full day of liquids and another half day with no eating really shrinks your stomach. What a way to lose weight! 

Sandi

Just a quick note:

This morning, in a little while, I am going to the hospital to have a CT Scan.

Last Friday, I had my yearly GYN appt, and the doctor found something that needs to be looked at.

I had a hysterectomy in 1990 or 1991 - who can remember that far back. The surgeon left the ovaries in, and it’s possible that there is something attached.

So the CT Scan, then I go to a GYN Oncologist next week - due to my history of cancer. I will have to have surgery to see what’s going on, and to remove whatever it is.

This time, I will make sure that the surgeon removes the ovaries. If I’ve not been able to use them all this time - they stopped producing estrogen years ago - they don’t need to be in there any more! :o)

Will update you later.

Sandi