Insomnia Stories - Issue 8
This week’s Insomnia Story comes from Skwashy. If you’ve ever been hesitant to take prescription sleep aids (namely Ambien,) just read what it did to Skwashy:
“Why, I ask you, do I wake up at 4:15 a.m., all chirpy and awakey, and then fall asleep right about NOW, at 9:11 a.m. as grumpy people are calling me on the phone, demanding the most detailed arcane information possible? I can barely focus my eyes by Thursday. The insomnia was supposed to go away when my levothyroxine dose was lowered, but it didn’t.
I spoke with a friend of mine about sleeping pills. She takes Ambien, she says, in spite of the reservations she had about becoming dependent on them. She has children, she said, and could not afford to go without sleep.
I have no children. Oh, there is the Stinky Terrierist, of course, but he gets along very nicely, peacefully lying on his side and gazing into space (when he is not scheming to supplant me in the affections of Mrs. Skwashy) from his little cushion-bed on the floor. He does not need help with his homework or to be picked up after dance class. So that is no motivation for regular sleep.
Also…what was I going to say? Darn. Was it something about needing to be alert for work? Don’t believe me if I tell you that.
Oh yes. I remember: Ambien is so strong that even half a pill gave me a blackout. It is scary! I swear! It happened twice. I took a half-pill, then settled on the sofa to check my email before bed, and then woke up at my usual time with no recollection of sending the letter I was writing, shutting down the computer or going to bed. A total blank. Very scary. What if there was some emergency that I need not to be blackouted for? If you understand what I mean.”
