Part Sixty-Nine: Complaints

            Why am I sleeping so much?  Is it post-radiation fatigue?  Is it fibromyalgia?  Is it the infected tooth?

            Bedtime ranges from eleven to twelve.  I wake up once in the night battling my BIPAP mask, then easily fall back to sleep.  Around 8:30 a.m. I get up rather groggily, my muscles leaden and my joints stiff.  After a light breakfast which is supposed to revive me (the coffee, that is), I slog back to bed and sleep another hour or more.  A shower revives me enough to function.  By the time I’m dressed and ready for the day, eleven a.m. has come and gone.

            It is now 11:48 a.m. and here is what I have accomplished:  I called the oral surgeon for an appointment.  Earlier this week, my new dentist told me that tooth #13 has a broken root and is infected, while tooth #28 is blocking access to the cavity of its next-door neighbor.  Those two extractions fall under my definition of necessary repairs, but the recommended permanent bridge may have to be postponed indefinitely.  VISA is going to be very happy about the interest they will earn on my dental work and hearing aids.

            I have also updated and printed my medication list as well as scribbled down a reference for the Mother’s Day sermon I am supposed to be preparing.  Fortunately, the low tire on my car looks like it will make it through today so I can delay getting it fixed till tomorrow if I so choose.

            In the meantime, I am starting to think about lunch and whether I will need a nap before engaging in any more productive activity today.  Just thinking about getting anything done is making me more tired.  My lower back is complaining, my upper back is putting in its two cents, and my right arm tells me I’ve typed too much.  My forearms are starting to itch, I have a terrible taste in my mouth, and all my teeth are wondering if they are infected, too.  The loud ringing in my ears reminds me that I have not yet put on my hearing aids. 

            In case you haven’t guessed, I have just blogged my complaints.  But at least I’ve gotten something done.  Plus, I’ve figured out the answers to my initial questions: I’m tired.  Yes.  Yes.  Yes.