I have managed to “stay in bed” for over 7 hours now 4 nights in a row. I wish I could say that means I was asleep the whole time, but that hasn’t happened yet. It is still a considerable improvement, however. The last pill I take at night is the Bentyl, which is supposed to calm my colon and prevent the spasms that have been plaguing me for so long. It is an antidepressant, so I suspect that may be at least part of the reason I’ve been able to delay getting up as well as I have been. I continue to wear the TAP each night, so maybe it’s a combination of both of them. Whatever it is, I’m thankful for it.

I’ve spent the last three days trying to overcome the stiffest neck I’ve ever had in my life. It started Wednesday evening, out of nowhere. I could feel the neck muscles all tensed up, and it was impossible for me to turn either way more than a couple of degrees. I tried the hot pad, plus took some Tylenol, and hoped I would sleep it off. I also did not wear the TAP that night, thinking that might make it worse. It was still extremely tight and painful all day Thursday, but I did go back to wearing the TAP. Nothing seemed to make it go away. It was considerably better by Friday, although I did take some Arthritis Strength Tylenol to get to sleep. Now, I am able to turn my head both ways maybe 45 degrees each way before the pain stops me.

I’m not really sure where this spasm came from. I did work out in the yard Wednesday more than I have been, and I could have over done it there. Or, it could be that I have turned the TAP screw past what my jaw can handle. Just in case it was the TAP, I backed up several turns on it to give my jaw muscles a rest.

I did get my flu shot this week, with no side effects at all. And I made sure the nurse put the information in my records about Celestone causing me to have such a horrible Parkinson’s episode. I have not yet returned to the state I was in before the steroid shot, so I guess I won’t be getting back to that point. It’s been too long now. If I were going to recover completely, I would have by now.

I am still having those weird spaced out episodes after lunch mostly. I’ve tried eating meat, not eating meat, staying away from any protein, eating normally, eating things I’m not supposed to eat, like pizza, and eating very carefully selected IBS foods. Nothing seems to be an obvious trigger, so I’m left to think it is the medicine itself doing it. That would be the noon dose of Levadopa/Carbidopa (Sinemet). I’m not sure why I have more trouble with the noon dose, as I take this med with all three meals. It remains a puzzle.

I’ve been working hard on several computer projects lately, so I’m behind on listing items on eBay. I have got to get that done today, though, as we are being squished by all the bags of plush toys packed into our two spare bedrooms. LOL We buy them faster than I can sell them!!

So, I guess it’s time to quit blogging, and start taking some photos!!