COUPLANDESQUE.NET

  • About This Site
  • Narcissism
    • About Me
    • 100 Random Facts About Me
    • My Pets
    • Restroom Vending Machine Products
  • Pop Culture
    • Concerts & Shows
    • Listmania
      • Top 15 Albums: 2000
      • Top 15 Albums: 2001
      • Top 15 Albums: 2002
      • Top 15 Albums: 2003
      • Top 15 Albums: 2004
      • Top 15 Albums: 2005
      • Top 15 Albums: 2006
      • Top 15 Albums: 2007
      • Top 15 Albums: 2008
      • Top 15 Albums: 2009
      • Top 15 Albums: 2010
      • Top 15 Favourite Books
      • Top 15 Favourite Films
      • Top 10 Favourite Concerts
  • Everything Else
    • Boredom Killers
    • Exits

Tired of Being Tired

Posted by Kris on April 9, 2013
Posted in: Adventures In Daily Life. Leave a Comment

I’m tired.

Let me clarify: I am constantly sleepy and exhausted. It’s been like this for at least ten years, and it’s only gotten worse over time.

I don’t think it started out of the blue, but I started noticing that I was more tired than usual starting in my early 20s. I attributed it to typical life changes (work, personal life, etc.) and didn’t think much about it. I just napped when I needed to. It wasn’t until about 2005 or so that I mentioned my exhaustion and fatigue to my doctor. Since “fatigue” is a common symptom amongst many conditions, she decided to take blood samples and have tests run for different conditions and to see what my vitamin levels were. I tested negative for diabetes and Mononucleosis, and my thyroid was normal. My iron levels were low, so my doctor figured that was the cause of the fatigue and prescribed iron supplements. I took those for quite a while, and my iron levels increased to a normal range, but I still felt just as fatigued as before. I was back to square one.

The fatigue and exhaustion continued and worsened over the next couple of years, and so I brought it up again during my annual physical. This time, it was with a different doctor. Again, blood tests were run and everything they tested for was factored out. My Vitamin D levels were low (not surprising at all) so I was prescribed 50,000 IUs a day for about three months. My Vitamin D levels improved, but I didn’t feel any less fatigued. Back to square one again.

I decided to try other things to see if it would help me feel more rested. I bought a new mattress. I bought a new memory foam pillow. I made sure to keep my bedroom at a comfortable temperature at night. I tried exercising after work several times a week. I tried eliminating caffeine several hours before bedtime. I tried not eating a couple of hours before bedtime. I tried wearing ear plugs. I tried keeping the cats out of my bedroom so I wouldn’t be awakened by them. I tried not napping. I tried napping. Nothing seemed to help.

The difficult thing is that it’s hard to explain exactly what I feel like. It’s not just feeling tired, like the way most people feel when they don’t get enough rest. It’s a paralyzing kind of exhaustion, like the way an average person would feel if they hadn’t slept for 24 hours or more. I always feel like there’s a cloud over my brain. If I’m doing a mundane task or doing something relaxing, my body feels like it’s “shutting down” the way it does when it’s preparing to fall asleep. My heart rate slows and it’s incredibly difficult to stay focused and awake. When I “snap out of it” it feels like I was awoken abruptly from my sleep and I tend to fumble over my words when I speak and get physically clumsy (dropping things, knocking things over, sometimes even stumbling or running into walls). I just always feel like I could lay my head down and take a nap.

The part that affects my life the most is sleeping. I sleep for seven or eight hours a night, but then I nap at least two to three hours later on. That means that on work days, I get home, nap, and then have about three hours before I go to bed again. That doesn’t leave much time for a social life, hobbies, or anything else. On weekends, it’s not unusual for me to sleep 14 or more hours on Saturday and again on Sunday. If I don’t have any plans, I’ll sleep that much and then nap again later on. No matter how much sleep I get, I feel the same way.

I can’t say what my quality of sleep is like. I do know I fall asleep quickly and don’t have any problems with insomnia. I dream vividly, and I know I have several dreams a night and dream at least once when I nap. I’m 99% positive I don’t have sleep apnea. I don’t snore. I do grind my teeth when I’m stressed, but I don’t grind my teeth every night.

I reached a point where I need to figure out what’s causing this. I can’t live like this any more. I’m sick of feeling like a junkie addicted to sleep. I’m consumed with the thought, “When can I take my next nap?” Sleep should be a part of my life — it should not be the center of my life. I want to have my evenings free after work instead of napping when I get home. I want to wake up on Saturday mornings and spend the day doing things instead of spending the majority of the day sleeping. I just want to feel normal.

I made an appointment with a sleep specialist physician in May, and I’ll be able to tell her everything I’ve been dealing with. Hopefully she will have some suggestions, and maybe she will have me do a sleep test to see what’s happening when I’m sleeping. Is it narcolepsy? Is it hypersomnia? Is it something else? I just hope she can help me figure this out.

Jack: One Week Later

Posted by Kris on February 5, 2013
Posted in: Adventures In Daily Life. Tagged: jack. Leave a Comment

Jack

It’s been a week since Jack’s surgery, and he’s doing very well! I gave him his last dose of pain medication on Sunday evening. He’s probably pretty happy I don’t have to pin him down and squirt medicine into his mouth. If it tastes anything like Robitussin, then I can totally feel his pain. Blech.

The first few days he seemed kind of confused as to where his teeth went. I can’t blame him — if I went to sleep and woke up with 14 teeth missing, I’d be pretty confused, too. He seems used to it, now.

I’ve been feeding him soft food, and I’ll continue to give him soft food until I get the go-ahead from the vet to try dry food again. He really, really loves soft food, so I may just continue giving him that (maybe in addition to dry food since I have quite a bit left from his most recent bag). I don’t think he’ll have any trouble eating dry food eventually because he was never much of a cruncher back when he had all of his teeth. I jokingly refer to his eating style as “cat vacuum.” He just inhaled his food.

I got a call on Friday from the vet with the results of the biopsy they did on his chin. There’s no sign of cancer there, so either he just has a weird chin bone or it’s irritated from the Stomatitis. I’m just glad he’s in perfect health. His blood and urine tests came back normal as well.

Lil Bub

The biggest and most wonderful news is that Jack’s fundraiser has gotten some help from my favourite internet kitty friend, Lil Bub. She has a Facebook page called Lil Bub’s Bubuddies that helps cats and animals in need by spreading the word about fundraisers, rescues, shelters and other info. Jack’s story was posted on the Facebook page, and tons of donations have poured in. $731.00 has been raised so far! I’m completely speechless…the kindness and generosity of everyone who has donated is unbelievable. I can’t express how incredibly thankful and grateful I am. (I’m getting all choked up again, damnit.)

A huge THANK YOU goes to Lil Bub and her Dude, Mike. The world is a better place because you two are in it.

Bonus sleepy Jack:

Jack

Honk-shu, honk-shu. This is a great opportunity to boop his nose. (He likes having his nose booped.)

Jack’s Surgery

Posted by Kris on January 31, 2013
Posted in: Adventures In Daily Life. Tagged: jack. Leave a Comment

Jack

Yesterday Jack had his dental surgery. I dropped him off at around 8:00 AM and was a nervous wreck all day. Not that I thought anything bad would happen, I just worried. You know, like “moms” do.

He had x-rays taken, and 14 of his teeth were extracted in addition to the two that fell out on their own before he went in for the procedure. Many were abscessed. The remaining teeth were cleaned, and the vet said we’ll just monitor his remaining teeth over the next couple of years.

Jack's Teeth

The above photo is a diagram of a typical cat’s teeth. The ones in blue indicate the teeth that were extracted from Jack’s mouth, or had fallen out before the procedure. He still has quite a few teeth left.

Jack had an injection of antibiotics, and was sent home with five days’ worth of pain medication (luckily, it’s liquid, so that makes it easier). He was really, really dopey when he got home. The first photo in this post is shortly after he got home. He had that dazed look on his face for a few hours. The blue bandage was to cover the injection site for his IVs. I thought it was really cute. He hated it, and kept trying to fling his leg around to try and get it off.

I folded up a fuzzy blanket for him in my bedroom and let him rest up. He loves fuzzy blankets.

Jack

Poor little guy.

Sleepy Jack

This is Jack at about 9:30 PM last night. He was so sleepy.

He was hungry at about 11:30 PM last night, so he had his first meal post-surgery. He needs to eat soft foods for a couple of weeks while his mouth heals, but he definitely doesn’t mind! He loves soft food. He ate normally today, too.

He gets a little dopey from the pain medication. He’s really cuddly and kind of rolls around on the floor. I can’t help but laugh. I even made this artistic interpretation of it:

Whoa. Dude...dude.

They also took a urine sample yesterday, since they couldn’t get one from him a couple of weeks ago when they took a blood sample. Everything came back normal. They took a biopsy of his chin because the bone is kind of abnormal, and the vet wanted to rule out any tumors or other issues. She thinks it’s related to the swelling and abscesses in his teeth, but I guess I’ll know for sure early next week when the test results come back.

I’m relieved that the problem teeth are finally out of his mouth. I know they were annoying him, and I’m sure he was in pain but just didn’t show it (because he’s badass, apparently). Hopefully he’ll feel much better.

Jack’s Fluffy Fundraiser

Posted by Kris on January 18, 2013
Posted in: Adventures In Daily Life. Tagged: jack. Leave a Comment

Last Friday I took Jack to the vet because I noticed he had a loose tooth. He was licking at his mouth like he had something stuck in his teeth, so that’s when I looked in his mouth and saw that one of his incisors was practically hanging out of his gums. Other than the licking, he hadn’t shown any signs of pain or difficulty eating or grooming.

The vet looked at his mouth and she said it looks like he has Feline Gingivitis Stomatitis. Basically, it’s a condition where the cat’s immune system “attacks” their teeth as if they’re foreign objects. Their gums get swollen and irritated, and their teeth will get a horrible buildup of plaque, and usually start falling out. Sometimes, this condition correlates with FIV, Feline Leukemia, or other underlying health issues. To be safe, the vet took a blood sample from him and had him tested for everything. He came up FIV and Feline Leukemia negative before I adopted him, but I definitely wanted to make sure he had a clean bill of health. The tests came back and the good news is that he’s healthy, other than the FGS.

He has an appointment on January 29th. They’re going to take x-rays of his teeth to see just how badly the FGS has affected his teeth. The problem teeth are going to be extracted, and the remaining teeth will be cleaned. The only issue with leaving some teeth intact is that the FGS will usually attack those teeth eventually, so they’d have to be extracted later on. From what the vet has said and what I’ve read about FGS, the most effective plan of action is to just remove all of the cat’s teeth so that there’s nothing for the FGS to attack. Cats do pretty well without teeth, and since Jack doesn’t chew his food anyway, he probably won’t even know the difference.

So, the vet bill is going to be pretty massive. The vet estimated $700 to $1,000. I’ve already spent $250 on his blood tests. I’m going to put any expenses on a credit card, but paying off that debt is going to be a little difficult. My family and friends suggested I start a fundraiser in case anyone wants to contribute. I did, and so far we’ve raised $70.00! It doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s a lot to me.

If you want to donate, here’s the link to Jack’s Fluffy Fundraiser:

I’m not worried about the surgery — I’m sure it will go well, and Jack will recover quickly. I’ll do anything to keep my little furry buddy around longer.

Stitching!

Posted by Kris on January 9, 2013
Posted in: Crafts. Tagged: cross-stitch. Leave a Comment

With many of my hobbies, I go in phases where I focus on one particular hobby for a while, and then move on to another hobby. It definitely keeps me from getting sick of anything. In November and December, I did a lot of cross-stitching projects that I gave away as gifts for Christmas.

Piggy

My brother came to visit between Christmas and New Year’s, and I got to meet his new girlfriend. She is a sweetheart! I knew she loved pigs, so I stitched this cute little piggy splashing in the mud. The pattern is from www.cross-stitching.com, and it’s free.

Avengers

My youngest niece loves, loves, LOVES the Avengers, so I found this adorable pattern on Etsy. I made it into a bookmark for her (since she also loves to read). I was working on it during my lunch break at work and a couple of the guys I work with wanted cross-stitched Avengers, too. You can purchase this pattern at XStitchMyHeart.

Cow

My sister loves cows. I stitched this wee cow from a larger motif in The Big Book of Cross-Stitch Designs.

Flowers

I found these frames at Michaels for $2.00 each, and I couldn’t pass them up. My mum loves shabby chic/girly things, and they made me think of her. It was my sister who suggested I cross stitch some flowers and put them in the frames. The periwinkle and yellow daisy are part of larger motifs in The Big Book of Cross-Stitch Designs, and the pink rose is part of a larger motif in Stitching Pretty.

Nyan Cat

This one wasn’t a Christmas gift. Actually, I finished this a while ago, but I realized I never posted photos of the finished bookmark. This is Nyan Cat, and I think it’s pretty amazing. I just took a screen shot of one of the frames in the Nyan Cat video and used that as my reference. I’m sure someone has made a proper pattern somewhere.

Right now, I have a few more projects in the works. My big project is stitching a human jaw, which will probably take me quite a while to finish. It’s pretty big. From the same Etsy shop, I bought some other projects (like “That’s How We Roll” and “Get Your Craft On”) so I can work on those when I get tired of looking at mandibles. In any case, if you’re a cross-stitcher and love puns, cute things, and nerdy things, check out Nerdy Little Stitcher. Her patterns are great. I will definitely be buying more from her soon.

Wham! My Birthday!

Posted by Kris on August 27, 2012
Posted in: Adventures In Daily Life. Leave a Comment

I decided to celebrate turning 32 by having my birthday party at Brunswick Zone (basically, it’s like Chuck E. Cheese and Gameworks had a baby) with a bunch of my friends. We’re all big kids anyway, so it was super fun. The highlight, though, was the cake my friends Lauren and Amber got for me.

This was the box. It’s from Wuollet’s, so I knew it was something tasty.

Happy birthday, Kris! We lurve yew!
Never gonna give you up!
Never gonna let you down!
Never gonna run around & dessert you!
But that’s what this is! — Oh!

I thought maybe it was a box of Rick Astley cupcakes…

Even BETTER! It’s GEORGE MICHAEL!

ERMERGERD! GERGE MERKURL!

Lauren and I lurked with George. Sexy lurking.

Yep, this was one of the best birthdays ever.

Give Up The Ghost

Posted by Kris on June 12, 2012
Posted in: Adventures In Daily Life, Awesomeness, Music. Leave a Comment

A few months ago, my friend Lauren called to say she had bought a ticket for me to see Radiohead with her and her fiance, Kevin, in Chicago.

It was like being told I just won the lottery. You see, I’ve been wanting to see Radiohead since, oh, 1996 or so. They’re my all-time favourite band, and I just never had the opportunity to see them. Needless too say I was ecstatic, and super excited that I could get out of town for a few days.

Our little road trip started on the morning of June 9th and we headed to Chicago. First, we stopped in Milwaukee to visit Lauren’s friend Katurah and had lunch and beers at Mo’s Irish Pub.

We drove a little while longer and ended up at our hotel, which was actually by the airport. We took naps and then headed to the Lincoln Park area of Chicago. We had dinner at Opart Thai House, and holy lord, that was a tasty meal. And inexpensive, too! Then, we did a little wandering.

Kevin and I were really excited about the meat in this window. Don’t ask.

We stopped at Huttenbar for some delicious beers. I had a Kostritzer, and it was dark and delicious.

And Lauren enjoyed her beer as well.

After our beers, we wandered around a little more.

Oh, how I wished Variety Comics was open! Instead I took a photo of my comic book boyfriend, Batman. (And my boyfriend on the side, Iron Man.)

We got in the car and drove to the Wicker Park area of Chicago, which is my favourite area. Of course, by the time we got there all of the shops were closed, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t window shop.

I wanted to buy this Pegasus art for my friend Amber from Rudy’s Roundup.

Creepy squirrel stuff.

Scary unicorn head. Seriously, this shop had the best window display I had ever seen.

We stopped for drinks at Lillie’s Q after doing some wandering, and if I wasn’t still full from dinner, I definitely would have had something barbequed. It smelled delicious.

After that, we headed back to our hotel where I snuggled in my king-sized bed with six pillows and watched cable TV (which is a novelty, since I don’t have cable at home).

On Sunday, I started off the morning with a trip to Dunkin’ Donuts (which was right across the street from our hotel). We don’t have them in Minneapolis, for whatever ridiculous reason, and I was excited to have delicious coffee and tasty donuts to start off my day. We walked around the area near Shedd Aquarium and took in the beauty that is lake Michigan.

Lake Michigan.

Shedd Aquarium.

We went to Adler Planetarium and saw a show (Deep Space Adventure) and looked throughout the museum. The museum was pretty cool, but the show wasn’t quite what I expected. I was hoping for something kind of sci-fi, but it wasn’t like that at all. Visually, it was awesome, and I think I would have enjoyed another one of the shows a little better.

There was an observation deck, so I took the opportunity to take some photos of the skyline.

And then we poked around in the gift shop.

And Kevin prepared to go into space.

After visiting the Planetarium, we headed to Tinley Park to see Radiohead!!!

OMG!!!

The three of us are obviously a bit drained and droopy from the hot weather that day.

RADIOHEAD!!!

Yes, I cried. I cried when they first came onstage. I cried when they played “Street Spirit.” I cried and smiled and cried. It was emotional overload from wanting to see them for so long. Magical. Purely magical. And Thom’s dancing is worth the price of admission alone. I smiled so much when he was doing his little dances all over the place.

They played two new songs! And they played “The Amazing Sounds of Orgy” which surprised me. Awesome!!

This is what they played:

Bloom
There There
15 Step
Kid A
Staircase
Morning Mr Magpie
The Gloaming
Codex
The Amazing Sounds Of Orgy
Karma Police
Reckoner
Lotus Flower
Myxomatosis
Feral
Little By Little
Idioteque
——
Separator
Ful Stop
Bodysnatchers
The One I Love/Everything In Its Right Place
——
Give Up The Ghost
Identikit
Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
Street Spirit (Fade Out)

Holy crap. Just…wow.

It seemed like it took forever to get back to the hotel after the show. I slept really hard once I crawled into bed, that’s for sure.

We left on Monday morning (and stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts again) and got back home in the afternoon. I was exhausted, but so ecstatic.

I have awesome friends who take me on road trips to see my favourite band of all time, and I’m the luckiest gal in the world because of it.

Posts navigation

← Older Entries
  • Navigation

    • About This Site
    • Narcissism
      • About Me
      • 100 Random Facts About Me
      • My Pets
      • Restroom Vending Machine Products
    • Pop Culture
      • Concerts & Shows
      • Listmania
        • Top 15 Albums: 2000
        • Top 15 Albums: 2001
        • Top 15 Albums: 2002
        • Top 15 Albums: 2003
        • Top 15 Albums: 2004
        • Top 15 Albums: 2005
        • Top 15 Albums: 2006
        • Top 15 Albums: 2007
        • Top 15 Albums: 2008
        • Top 15 Albums: 2009
        • Top 15 Albums: 2010
        • Top 15 Favourite Books
        • Top 15 Favourite Films
        • Top 10 Favourite Concerts
    • Everything Else
      • Boredom Killers
      • Exits
  • Categories

    • Adventures In Daily Life
    • Around Teh Internets
    • Awesomeness
    • Crafts
    • Food (Nom Nom Nom)
    • Music
    • Other
    • Video Games
  • Links

    • Carrot Friends
    • Etsy
    • Facebook
    • Flickr
    • Instagram
    • Kris Heding
    • Last.fm
    • Pinterest
    • Ravelry
  • Please Donate!

    Jack's Fluffy Fundraiser
Blog at WordPress.com. Theme: Customized Parament by Automattic.
COUPLANDESQUE.NET
Blog at WordPress.com. Theme: Customized Parament.
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Powered by WordPress.com
Cancel