Cindy Evanier Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 Just now, LittleMe Jewell said: Hmmm, based on that last sentence, I might be more than just a TAD cranky. *gets the cuffs ready* 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth Macbain Posted February 26, 2020 Author Share Posted February 26, 2020 13 minutes ago, Cindy Evanier said: What next, Officer my 5 year old won't eat his carrots and chucked them on the floor. I fall asleep sometimes listening to a police scanner app on my phone for white noise. I once heard a call from a parent wanting the police to come because their stepdaughter refused to go to bed. America has some serious... and serious isn't a strong enough word... issue right now with schools and children and parenting and behavior and teachers (and freaking ARMED police officers in the schools). I don't know what the answer is. No, actually I'm just arrogant enough to think I do but it would involve actually spending a lot tax dollars on education, training, resources, salaries, and a whole host of things those who are currently in charge of our country believe is less important than spray tans and golf. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth Macbain Posted February 26, 2020 Author Share Posted February 26, 2020 16 minutes ago, Cindy Evanier said: *gets the cuffs ready* I'M CRANKY, TOO. ... and I love handcuffs... 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madelaine McMasters Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 Some of you have mentioned taking Benadryl (diphenhydramine hydrochloride in the US, but something else in the UK) as a sleep aid. For unknown reasons, I was having difficulty getting to sleep some years back, and heard that Benadryl was helpful. Shortly after starting usage, I learned of research linking use of anticholinergic medications (diphenhydramine HCL is one) with cognitive decline. Out of an abundance of caution (I have only three working cerebral neurons, losing one raises the potential for deadlock, losing two raises the potential for massive unwarranted certainty), I stopped taking Benadryl and changed my bedtime habits to encourage sleep. More recent research has not shown a correlation between Benadryl and cognition, but continues to support a correlation with the use of other anticholinergic drugs. Here's an overview... https://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/news/20190624/commonly-prescribed-meds-could-raise-dementia-risk#1 After receiving a breast cancer diagnosis, I also learned of research suggesting (weakly) that antihistamines (Benadryl is one) might, by reducing inflammation (due to allergy) in the brain, make it easier for certain brain cancers to sprout. Here's a link to that... https://www.webmd.com/cancer/brain-cancer/news/20060404/antihistamine-use-tied-to-brain-tumors#2 Finally, it's pretty easy to find research showing that sleep deprivation affects the brain... https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/sleep-deprivation-increases-alzheimers-protein I don't bring this up to alarm anyone, the evidence for a downside to Benadryl is modest and decreasing, while the benefit of a good night's sleep remains. Nevertheless, it's worth keeping track of research on any medications you take, particularly routinely. 5 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fauve Aeon Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 Thank you, @Madelaine McMasters, good to know! I only take it occasionally, and not exceeding the recommended dosage but you are absolutely right about being knowledgeable about your medications! A good reason to get better about my bedtime routine and maybe get the lavender essential oil diffuser I’ve been eyeing too. 👁👄👁 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zzevir Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 3 hours ago, Beth Macbain said: ... and I love handcuffs... Now where did I puted mine? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth Macbain Posted February 26, 2020 Author Share Posted February 26, 2020 4 minutes ago, Fauve Aeon said: you are absolutely right about being knowledgeable about your medications! A good reason to get better about my bedtime routine and maybe get the lavender essential oil diffuser I was a pharmacy tech for the first half of my career and sometimes take it for granted that I know what I'm taking when the doctor prescribes it. I would advise everyone, no matter how much they trust their pharmacist and/or doctor, to spend five minutes googling your meds and reading about them. And keeping a list of everything you take with you at all times (there are apps for this!) along with always wearing clean undies in case you ever get in a wreck. As for the diffuser and essential oils, be careful with those, too, especially if you have pets. I have a little one that sits on my desk at work that I love, and was going to buy one to keep beside my bed when someone sent me an article about this... Diffusers/Oils can be toxic to pets. No diffuser for me at home, just a plain old cheap AF humidifier. And we're not entirely sure what the effects of breathing in those oils on humans, either. They may be minuscule particles, but we're still breathing oils into our lungs. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bitsy Buccaneer Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 39 minutes ago, Madelaine McMasters said: research linking use of anticholinergic medications (diphenhydramine HCL is one) with cognitive decline Anticholinergics mess me up so unbelievably badly. So of course they're the first meds tried for fibro. It's safer for me to live with the pain. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garnet Psaltery Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 I have an appointment with a dentist tomorrow. He won't be able to fix anything but today's system requires that I see someone, cough up the best part of £100 for being seen, and get them to refer me to the actual place where I can get surgery. Still, it is progress. I've been too dopey to need the Diazepam so far today. Stop watching the news; it's bad for your health. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleMe Jewell Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 Many years ago, I was one of those oddball people that Benadryl had the opposite effect on. It would make me very jittery and so I could never take it after about 3:00-4:00 pm without it keeping me awake at night. When the pre-menopause stuff started, Benadryl started making me tired like the rest of the world. When I started having problems sleeping, I started taking an over the counter sleeping pill, which I discovered was the same ingredient as Benadryl -- good thing it no longer made me jittery. However, I ended up having to take 2 of them - the equivalent of 4 Benadryls - before it would even let me get 4 solid hours of sleep before waking up. So then my doctor prescribed me something - I totally do not remember what now -- but I soon found out that it was classified as an anti-depressant and it prevented me from getting a new life insurance policy. Not really sure why since most policies won't pay out for suicide anyway, which is all I can think of that depression indicated to them. Anyway, I came off of that med and I went back to over the counter sleeping pills - which do have diphenhydramine hydrochloride in them. Now, based on the linked articles, I'm not sure if the cognitive issues I've experienced off and on are because of the sleeping pills or the sleep deprivation -- because the sleeping pills still don't give me a solid night of sleep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth Macbain Posted February 26, 2020 Author Share Posted February 26, 2020 Almost all OTC sleep medications in the US are just Benadryl, including things like Tylenol PM. It's just Tylenol with Benadryl added. Unisom uses another antihistamine called doxylamine. For anything other than those things, you'd have to either get a prescription from a doctor, or try natural things like melatonin. I'm still hoping that I'll be able to curb my anxiety/sleep issues with a pot brownie before bedtime every night. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleMe Jewell Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 6 minutes ago, Beth Macbain said: I'm still hoping that I'll be able to curb my anxiety/sleep issues with a pot brownie before bedtime every night. I am seriously considering the pot editables. It is fully legal in my state, not just for medical purposes. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madelaine McMasters Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 (edited) While we're on the topic of getting to sleep, there's also evidence that modern energy efficient lights (CFL and/or LED) work against us. While those bulbs might appear "white", their spectral composition is quite different than the light of an oil lamp, gas light, incandescent bulb, the traditional lights of human sleeping hours. CFL bulbs use a mix of phosphors (blue, green and orange mostly) to simulate white. LEDs use underlying blue diodes to excite phosphors in an overcoat. The incandescent spectrum is a true rainbow of hues from infrared to ultraviolet. We can't see much difference, but our melatonin circadian rhythm system does. The result is that modern bulbs fool us into thinking it's daytime because they emit a lot of blue. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/blue-light-has-a-dark-side If you have a bedside reading lamp, particularly one you dim, incandescent bulbs may be best. They shift their emission spectrum towards red as you dim, decreasing blue light emission. CFL/LED bulbs maintain the same emission spectrum at all intensities. By now, many of you are probably aware that CFL/LED bulbs some in shades of white, at least "daylight" and "soft white". They differ in spectral balance, with daylight bulbs emitting more blue. Dimming them does nothing to change this balance. Don't use a daylight bulb in your bedside lamp. There are bulbs that glow warmer as you dim them (my home is full of them), but they still emit more blue when dim than a softly glowing incandescent bulb. Alternatively, there are RGB bulbs, like some models of Philips Hue, that use red, green, and blue LEDs to mimic (with limited success) varying incandescent color temperatures. I have one of those in my bedside lamp, and set it to orange for reading at bedtime, with the blue LED completely off. The result is... tolerable. Here's a comparison of spectral footprints for different light sources... Back to diphenhydramine HCL, most pharmacies sell it in two colors. The pink ones are for allergies, the blue ones are for sleep. They're exactly the same medication, differing only in color and price. I love the irony of painting the sleep version in the color that keeps you awake. Pink... https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/walgreens-wal-dryl-allergy-coated-mini-tabs/ID=prod6306577-product Blue... https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/walgreens-nighttime-sleep-aid-mini-caplets/ID=prod6163295-product Of course, since this is all science, it's also possible all wrong... https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/12/191216173654.htm Which leads to... ...the more you know you don't know. Edited February 26, 2020 by Madelaine McMasters 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mahala Roviana Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 After some pretty major life events, I spent over a year with sleep issues. I took every OTC drug I could find and nothing helped. I'd be up all night, walking the floors and doze off as soon as the sun came up. I tried to power through, sometimes staying awake all night, all day and all the next night. I finally got a prescription for trazadone and was able to straighten myself out. Anxiety makes you do some weird crap. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kali Wylder Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 4 minutes ago, Mahala Roviana said: Anxiety makes you do some weird crap. It sure does! /me scratches the phantom itch 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsSeren Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 Today I'm mentally I'm strong however physically my IBS causing me some discomfort; I blame stress and upset of last Sunday. 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marigold Devin Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 6 hours ago, kali Wylder said: Sim, region, it's an imaginary construct for the place where we immerse ourselves in the virtual world. Must be the little green capsule's lingering effect but it doesn't seem terribly important this morning.😏😉😵 I hold both hands up, at the risk of being shot, but I have always called them sims - except for when I used to call them SIMS !!! I am still noob really, in so many ways. As to how I am feeling today. I am feeling very fragile. This last week and a half have been particularly trying, for reasons I just cannot go into in detail. Stuff I really don't know how to fix, so I have bailed out and am locked in my flat hoping that those reliant on me will survive the night, but not too bothered if they actually don't. Sounds bad. Is bad. One minute I am treated like a nothing (I am talking about real life mainly, but it has occurred quite often in Second Life - getting ghosted (not as in the stuck presence thing, but that modern day term for someone deciding to ignore you for no apparent reason instead of being man/woman/avatar enough to just be honest), and the next I am treated like the world will completely stop rotating if I don't clean somebody's toilet or fasten their shoes for them. Aaaargh! Thank you for letting me offload. I resorted to a Zopiclone yesterday. Just because I was so very tired and yet could not sleep for hearing noises that were not there, and seeing things moving that were completely still. Partly I have a stupid head cold, but mainly it is a build up of lack of sleep. 1 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kali Wylder Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 17 minutes ago, Marigold Devin said: Thank you for letting me offload. Sorry you are having such a difficult day, offers you a warm fuzzy virtual hug. We are here. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marigold Devin Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 (edited) 31 minutes ago, kali Wylder said: Sorry you are having such a difficult day, offers you a warm fuzzy virtual hug. We are here. It's truly nice of you. Much appreciated too. Edited February 26, 2020 by Marigold Devin too much real life information 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth Macbain Posted February 26, 2020 Author Share Posted February 26, 2020 There’s been a mass shooting in the US - surprise surprise - and they always hit me like a ton of bricks. I always find a news station in the area to live-stream and I cannot make myself turn it off. It’s like I force myself to know every terrible detail as penance for the US’s gun fetish. Also, none of you reminded me that it’s Annual Schmutz On Your Forehead Day and I almost said something to a coworker about the dirt on his face. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kali Wylder Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 6 minutes ago, Beth Macbain said: There’s been a mass shooting in the US - surprise surprise - and they always hit me like a ton of bricks. I always find a news station in the area to live-stream and I cannot make myself turn it off. It’s like I force myself to know every terrible detail as penance for the US’s gun fetish. Also, none of you reminded me that it’s Annual Schmutz On Your Forehead Day and I almost said something to a coworker about the dirt on his face. oh no, not another one! I refuse to watch the news when something like that happens. It does me no good at all and just makes me sad, discouraged and/or angry. I rationalize this by saying that I'm not giving any feedback to the idiot perpetrator, but who knows why the perp did it? SMH Sorry for not mentioning that yesterday it was Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras) which would have given you a heads up about Annual Schmutz On Your Forehead Day 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda Huntress Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 It's the first day of lent. I gave up religion. 1 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy Evanier Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 So a picture paints a thousand words so they say 9 am and I know exactly where this day is going. In the bin like the breakfast I strugged to prepare 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conifer Dada Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 OK so far . . . 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rasterscan Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 9 minutes ago, Cindy Evanier said: So a picture paints a thousand words so they say 9 am and I know exactly where this day is going. In the bin like the breakfast I strugged to prepare Helps clear up hug 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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