Age hath murdered sleep

Posted by Jeanne Munn Bracken

I rarely have trouble sleeping. Or at least, getting to sleep to begin with. I just park myself in bed, set the alarm, and pick up a good book, which I read until Morpheus catches up with me. I often fall asleep with my glasses on my nose and the light blazing. Sometimes, in a reversal of roles, my kids would quietly remove my glasses and turn off the lamp.

Over the years my husband and I have shared our bed with three different dogs (all large and space-hogging) and occasional cats brave enough to stalk across the pages of whatever great books we're reading.

When we got married, the toughest thing to get used to was sleeping with a World Class Snorer. He would alternately gurgle, snort, smack, and roar, except when he stopped breathing for a while. Not a long while, but still.

I got used to it, more or less.

I asked him to get tested for sleep apnea. He didn't. Finally, a few years ago, he stopped smoking and the noise level in our bedroom dropped precipitously. The cats got braver. (Our pets tend to snore, too. Go figure.)

A few weeks ago, when he complained to our doctor that he was always tired and napped a lot in the daytime, she sent him for a sleep study. I was surprised to learn that he actually still does have mild sleep apnea. So she prescribed a CPAP machine, which is supposed to provide a better air supply, allowing him to sleep through the night and awake refreshed and ready to rock.

Uh huh. The company called and made an appointment to come to the house and set him up.

Uh oh again, we thought. Our bedroom was pretty messy, with clothes strewn about, baskets of laundry (clean and otherwise), and more than a few dust bunnies.

We spent the weekend straightening the place out, gathering armfuls of clothes to donate to a worthy charity, clearing off the dressers and the chairs. I wasn't home when the fellow came yesterday, but I was bemused to learn that he had not left the living room. Which fortunately was pretty neat.

At bedtime, my husband went upstairs and set up the machine on his side of the bed. I finished cleaning the kitchen and some other minor chores, so when I got up there, he was asleep. He was wearing the mask and the machine was quietly pulsing away.

He rolled over and I swear the man looked like he was going snorkeling. Which, trust me, he would never do. (I would, but that's a whole different blog.)

I'd like to say the night passed uneventfully, a fine sleep was had by all, and we both awoke rarin' to go. I'd be lying.

In the first place, I was awakened several times by leg and foot cramps. I have had these for a while now. At one point I was given quinine to relieve them. It worked, sort of, so I was dismayed when the doctor said it had been pulled from the market because of side effects. People dying, or some such glitch.

So I eat bananas and potatoes for the potassium. Doesn't work. My friend said to quaff a sports drink at bedtime for the electrolytes. I hate that stuff. I bought some leg cramp cream to apply after the cramps have started, which defeats the whole idea.

Another friend said to put a cake of Ivory soap under the sheet at the foot end of the bed. Didn't work either.

So I was awake with leg cramps and saw my husband disconnect the machine and go back to bed without it.

Back to the drawing board. I can live with his mild snoring, as he has learned to live with mine. But I sure could use some advice about preventing these wretched cramps. Anybody? Help?

Comments

[Edith]

Is it a calcium thing? Milk before bed? I hadn't heard about quinine. My DH gets leg cramps terribly sometimes, usually after standing on a ladder painting for long periods during the day. He has to leap out of bed and curse and stretch until it goes away. Good luck!

Edith

[Catherine]

Try the calcium thing mentioned by Edith. Also, calcium helps sleep even without cramps...if you still have periods, it helps with menstrual cramps too. I used to have horrible cramps and it cleared them up completely.

About the cpap mask. when I first got mine I'd wake up in the morning and see that I'd removed it without even waking up. The doc told me it was not uncommon but that it would go away. It did and now I can't sleep without it. Putting the mask on seems to trigger my mind that it was time for sleep.

I'd suggest that your husband keep trying to use it. Sleep apnea can cause stroke and heart attack. He may just need to try a different style of mask.

Good luck on both issues.

[Angela]

Another thing that would probably help with the leg cramps is water. You may not be getting enough of that. The down side is you may be up all night going to the restroom!

[the older sister - Pat]

Old Frenchie, up the road from us in Greenfield, had leg cramps and had sulfur pills that he took for them. Papa had a Cpap and he used it religiously to good results. He would take it off during the night once in a while but I would wake up when he stopped breathing and have to clobber him to get his breathing again. His mask was set at 8 but one of his friend's was set at 40 - he is a really big man and has had wonderful results - claimed he was so full of energy when he woke up. I do know, if you are dehydrated it can give you a headache too. I don't know about leg cramps. "Rots of Ruck."

[Jeanne]

Good suggestions, folks. I try to drink a lot of water but it's more often tea, which is a mild diuretic... My husband has used the cpap part of the first two nights and not at all last night. Maybe, like Pat, I'll have to "clobber him?" I wasn't here when the home health dude set up the machine, so I don't know about different settings, masks, whatever. Maybe I'd better read the manual? I have to say that the other night, the machine was gurgling and snorting more than my spouse! Sheesh!
thanks, folks. Jeanne

[Ketutar]

Try Indian tonic water, like Schweppes, Canady Dry or Fever Tree. It has quinine :-)