Tuesday, January 4
A repeat of Monday. I slept so much on Tuesday I expected to sleep not at all at night, but I slept well and long, then slept all the next day, too. These are all classic recovery symptoms, replaying from early last summer. The sleep, I am happy to report is delicious.
Wednesday, January 5
Last night I went to bed at midnight and slept easily and well until 04:30, then after a horrendous struggle physically to get out of bed, and some pacing, did not sleep again until 07:00. My celebration of comfort and ease of good position felt premature, but in truth it was somewhat more complex than that. The first discomfort was temperature, I found the usual setting to be too warm; that aborted several otherwise decent attempts at sleep. The second was muscular tension, but at some point in one of my experimental trials in the recliner I found I could jiggle my thigh muscles with my hands; they were very loose but felt really tight from within. Also the lower back, which sometimes needs stretching, was resistant to any and all attempts at reducing soreness (as it turns out, that is a recovery symptom, but that didn’t occur to me in the midst of the struggle). The third was emotional and that culminated around 06:00 while pacing. I went from a pretty good gait to one barely moving on one turn around at the kitchen table and never recovered. That made me a bit depressed. When I did finally sleep, it lasted only a few minutes, so when Yuri arrived I was on my feet shuffling and shambling. At 09:30 after the morning routine, I lay down in the recliner (that had only inspired RLS at night) and slept gloriously until Alessandro arrived to process my documents for a new health system card two hours later.
A post-lunch nap never really materialized as I kept going in an out of sleep, and every waking would be accompanied by the usual shakes and wooden feet so my body never got to relax. I made up for it later.
Typing so far has been relatively excellent.
I read that frequent pee urgencies is a recovery symptom, too; the recalibration of the brain in how to interpret no-longer numb bladder responses. That’s good because it’s driving me nuts.
Thursday, January 6
Save for Yuri waking me for meals, I slept from 01:00 this morning to 15:00. Except for the last hour or so, sleep was blissfully comfortable and sound. For the last hour, I woke briefly every few minutes and whenever I wake on my own I experience a few seconds of arms shaking and feet pointing woodenly, so that happened a lot but even that did not deter me from falling back to sleep. It is significant that while in bed (from 0:01 to 09:00) I rolled over, changed positions, and even got up for short periods, all without significant difficulty or discomfort. These kinds of sleep patterns are classic recovery symptoms. I’m encouraged by all this and the sleep itself is delicious.
The evening walk was quick, relaxed, and in good form (though not Alexandrian) for twelve garage laps. Generally, movement is the same – at least much freer and secure, though probably evident only to me. Incredibly, only two hours after having slept eleven out of thirteen, I’m ready for a nap!
Took a nap, woke feeling vague, so I will exercise a bit.
The vagueness persisted but at a much less acute level, but replacing it was a mild general confusion. Or maybe it was the movie I tried to watch, in Italian (Roman) that I understood almost none of, and even with subtitles was difficult to follow – but maybe it was just I found it boring except for the pizza (I’m so lonely for good food, Yuri as cook has settled into a rut). That muddledness wore off over a half hour, and I was in bed by about one.
Friday, January 7
First sleep lasted two and a half hours, there was a thirty minute break, and second sleep lasted five hours. Then from about 09:30 I napped three more hours. All this after having slept until almost 15:00 yesterday. I would have taken a nap after lunch but RLS prevented it.
During the night, I rolled over and changed positions easily and comfortably. I virtually woke with a smile, the sleep had been so delightfully normal.
The exaggerated pee urgency seems to have calmed down today.
I am experiencing, however (mid-afternoon), a reluctance to focus on anything, like all my shields are up in the form of general resistance. I’ll exercise a bit, see if that changes. I received the Smovey rings I ordered and find them to be remarkably effective exercise tools, even in the brief time I’ve used them.
The evening walk was 16 garage laps, fast, in good form, and very enjoyable. The laps left behind a wonderful agility that did not, sad to say, survive the next nap.
While watching a movie, the ice-crystals vision distortion happened briefly (about ten minutes) which also caused a mild befuddlement, and I remembered three or four incidences of this in the spring of 2019, not repeated until this week.
Saturday, January 8
Sleeping a lot continues to be the rule of the day (and night).
Last night I was even more comfortable during sleep than night before last, turning over easily into a variety of positions unimaginable since maybe four years ago. That comfort and agility has carried over into waking movement a little, but is most notable in typing, which is slow but much cleaner than it has been in years. Also, in pacing the hallway, I can control speed and regularity down to a walking meditation.
Something is changing. I hope.
Sunday, January 9
Racked up nine hours sleep between 02:00 and noon, all of it good and comfortable. Movement around the house once I got up has been more fluid than usual. Typing is relatively excellent, if still a bit slow and hesitating.
I couldn’t sleep after lunch or at all during the afternoon, RLS threatened. But had another good walk, somewhat less solid but still swift and fluid. Typing lost its luster, however, but is still possible. The general isolation without the blanket of sleep will wear on me in time. I hope I can become engaged with a writing project!
Monday, January 10
Odd hours of sleep continue, but I’m not sure the volume I’ve been getting is still the rule. The after lunch nap was punctuated with small awakenings, thus with shaking arms at each one, but (thankfully) no wooden feet. I dreamt about a road trip across country I took with three friends during the summer of my junior year in college – a theatre tour, Ashland Shakespeare, Stratford (Canada), Shaw Festival, New York. I didn’t research it as well as I might have so we spent a lot more time in cars than in audiences. But one of our number ended up with 25 plus seasons in the company at Ashland. Looking back, we should have saved the gas as stayed in Ashland. I woke nostalgic, not in a healthy way.
We did sixteen garage laps, swift, smooth and controlled. Watched a good movie, and was uncomfortable in the chair the whole time. The isolation, lack of work (and real walks), and difficulty writing is getting to me. A familiar complaint for many of us these days.