Insomnia and Domestic Violence
There was a point during these past few months, which as said before have been particularly difficult with my Parky's, where I had two consecutive completely sleepless nights. During the surrounding nights at that point I was averaging two hours sleep per night which is obviously completely unacceptable and unsustainable.
This type of insomnia is quite common with Parky's, sometimes linked to the restless leg syndrome, sometimes not. I have a dedicated Parkinson’s nurse that visits me periodically and her suggested prescription of melatonin has certainly helped where some nights I had felt desperate. Whilst the melatonin is not a cure every night, I have my average now up to 4 hours sleep per night which, let me tell you, compared to those grim nights of two hours, is a godsend.
One other feature which thankfully doesn't happen too often for me, is the unwelcome acting out of nightmares and/or vivid dreams. If there's trouble/violence in those dreams it’s a serious risk of injury for one’s partner and certainly Lynne has inadvertently received the occasional accidental blow. Last night was one such occasion. I went to bed at around midnight and somewhere along the way got to dream, details of which I cannot recall except I was defending myself with punches, and of course Lynne got caught in the crossfire. Even though she fully understands this is completely outside my control, it’s nonetheless upsetting and potentially hazardous for us both. Fortunately, more often than not she is superbly understanding for which I'm eternally grateful and so far no charges of domestic violence have been forthcoming!
Eventually I got out of bed at 4am so I didn’t disturb Lynne further and here I am in the living room at 7:15am typing this, my latest blog, with Sky Sports TV on in the background covering the FA Cup quarter-final from yesterday (West Ham / Leeds) and the women's boxing (Dubois / Harper).
How do I feel then during these sleepless hours? In all honesty, groggy but not too bad, when compared with the grim months of 2 hour sleeps mentioned above. Maybe the years of very unsociable hours on the road as tour manager help a little so my body and mind are to a certain degree accustomed to crazy hours. Most probably at some point during the day I will fall asleep on the sofa which for reasons unknown seems to be easier to do than falling asleep in bed at night-time. All part of the rich tapestry of life with Parky's!
Disclaimers...
1/ Melatonin seems to be ok for me and I don't use it every night, only when I feel it's necessary. But you should seek professional advice before trying - I believe it's only available on prescription in the UK anyhow.
2/ I guess it's possible that one or more readers may have experienced domestic violence at some point and I apologise if my joke about that causes any offence or upset, that's definitely not my intention. I
3/ Sorry for the unashamed 'product placement' on the old Victorian insomniac!