Solutions for My Extreme Sleep Deprivation

I have had insomnia all my life, but my stroke brought this problem to a new level.  I had a stroke in the brainstem which puts us to sleep and wakes us up. Since my stroke I have repeatedly had nights where I get only two hours of sleep per night.  When I did not sleep and did not feel sleepy for two days I FREAKED OUT so I got aggressive about addressing this problem.

Daytime routine.  I avoid caffeine after lunch time.  This meant changing to decaffinated iced tea for dinner and drinking water when I eat out at night.

Bedroom environment.  I sleep in a dark bedroom with no TV.  The alarm clock is placed where I cannot see it.  Sometimes I wake up and find I am sweating.  So I lowered the room temperature because a lower body temperature tells the brain to sleep. 

Preparing for bed.  If I am sleepy at 9 p.m. I go to bed.  If I wake up in the middle of the night at least I have slept for 4 or 5 hours because I went to bed early.  If I am still wide awake at 10 p.m.
I go to war.  I turn off the TV, wash my face and brush my teeth, and come back to the living room to listen to a calming CD.  If my body aches I take Tylenol.  The constant burning in my hemiplegic foot keeps me awake so I provide a competing sensation by taking a warm gel pack to bed.

Back up plans.  (1) If I lay in bed and cannot fall asleep, I get up and eat a tiny bowl of cereal with milk.  (2) If I wake up at 3 a.m. to go to the bathroom and cannot fall asleep, I get up and turn on a calming CD or a fan at a low volume for background noise.  These back up strategies work only IF I realize I have been lying awake for an hour or more.  homeafterstroke.blogspot.com

Sitting In the Dark

I live alone so when the electricity goes out 2 to 3 times a year I have to handle it.  My stroke took away my ability to know where vertical is unless I can see my surroundings.  So I put flashlights in every room.  My plan worked until last night when the house went completely black while I was watching TV at 10 p.m.  I reached down for the flashlight on the floor next to my couch.  I started to freak out when I could not find it.  The electricity has gone off for hours in the past and sitting on my short couch until sunrise would be awful.  I finally found the flashlight, but after the lights came back on I moved it to the tray on my couch that holds my remote control devices.  

Thank God I have another flashlight on the counter directly behind the place I sit at my kitchen table and a flashlight on the floor right next my computer desk.   homeafterstroke.blogspot.com

I Am the Queen of Velcro

I buy self-sticking Velcro because is makes me independent and safe.  

I use Velcro to stop a tote bag from banging against my cane when I walk.  The white line shows where the two pieces of Vecro connect.

It is easy for objects to fall out of my tiny purse.  It has a 2 piece latch (see horizontal black line) that is hard to snap together with one hand.  So I put Velcro on my wallet and inside my purse. 

 

The Velcro adhesive is NOT strong enough to stay fastened to my wallet when I pull it away from the Velcro inside my purse.  So I stapled the Velcro to the wallet.  

I put Velcro on foam tubing used to make the handle of a spoon and fork bigger.  Velcro sticks the foam tubing to the shelf that holds my computer keyboard.  This keeps my hemiplegic fist uncurled.  

A computer technician used white tape to stop my USB hub from sliding when I push a thumb drive into a port.  However, the tape covers 2 ports so I cannot use them.  I had a friend put 2 strips of Velcro on my computer desk and 2 strips on the bottom of the USB hub.  homeafterstroke.blogspot.com

Two Sets of Ten Do Not Undo 12 Hours of Disuse

I had back spasms after my stroke.  It was terrifying to be frozen in standing hoping I would not drop my cane or fall down.  So I was motivated when a PT gave me exercises to strengthen the weak abdominals that allow my back to arch every time I lift my hemiplegic leg.  I do these exercises every morning before I get out of bed.  However, I learned the hard way that a few repetitions do not undo the effects of 12 hours of disuse.  Exercise strengthens muscles but does not retrain the brain to use muscles when we are distracted.  Here is an example.

About 2/3rds of the time I arch my back when I lean my stomach against a counter for support as I reach.  To remind myself to lean on my right hemiplegic hand when reaching, I put a beige piece of non-slip shelf liner on the front edge of the kitchen sink.  I kept forgetting to do this so I added a 2nd memory aid.  A blue piece of non-slip shelf liner reminds me to 1st rest my sound hand on the counter before my hemiplegic hand reaches for the beige shelf liner.  I am improving so I know I can learn this new habit.  homeafterstroke.blogspot.com