The Next Morning

Well, I told y'all I would update :)

It's 10:00am. Just a few days ago, at this time I would still be sleeping in almost a comatose way. Either that or just waking up to look at the clock and curse my life for missing my morning class or being very late for work. Then I'd have to spend another 2 hours laying on that rock-hard mattress trying to muster up the courage and energy to move, while feeling like a tank ran over me (then backed up, then crushed me again). I'd feel like every ounce of energy from every corner of my body has been drained. In other words, I would feel like I was having a bad day (or "flare up") of my health issues. But this was becoming a DAILY thing.

Fast-forward back to this morning. I got to sleep at 12:30am last night (yes, still a little late, but MUCH better than the 4, 5, or 6am that the insomnia was keeping me up til before). And got up at 7:30am (my goal is 6:00am daily, but this is progress!) I woke up feeling almost like a normal person for once! I helped Logan edit his English essay and then made it to my first class by 9:00am.

Did this mattress cure my health problems? Absolutely not. Last time I checked, mattresses can't fix your genes. I still have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, I still have Chronic Bronchitis, I still have Dysautonomia/Chronic Hypotension/POTS/whatever you may choose to call it, I still have Sleep Apnea... And most of all I still have all my symptoms of the above conditions.

BUT, it DID cure my insomnia! (For now at least; knock on wood!) And that insomnia was aggravating all my symptoms. And that old rock-of-a-mattress was making my joints very,very unhappy.

So needless to say, this is refreshing. And it makes me very happy! I'm hoping that this means I will start being able to handle my symptoms well again and that I will be able to make it to work and school on time now (at least most of the time)!

***UPDATE 12/13/2012***
This is what I know about this mattress, cause a lot of people have been asking for the brand

• I know for a fact it's not a tempur-pedic type brand. I tried a few of those and although I sunk in at first, within a few moments it felt like I was laying on that old rock hard mattress again! Much too firm for me. This one is a mixture of materials that makes it very soft and plushy and you do sink in, but it still has some elasticity to it that makes it feel softer and not nearly as tough as those tempur-pedic brands.
• The tag says "Restwell Mattress Company - Model 6064" I hope this is helpful enough. I couldn't seem to find enough info online
• I don't know what the brand is of the adjustable frame but that is just up to the customer to buy separately. We just got the cheapest one they offered. There are lots out there, no one is better than the other. They all incline the head and feet seperately (and some fancier ones have massage built in too)
•  We bought the mattress and frame at Savvy Mattress Outlet

I'm sorry I don't have more info! I hope this helps anyone :) Your best bet though is to go to mattress stores and lay on the mattresses to try them out! What works well for me may not work well for you. Everyone's comfort preference is different :) Good luck to all of you who are mattress-searching :)

New Mattress

Since I moved in with Logan in late September we've just used his bed. He had a full-size and I only had a twin, so to fit both of us we used him. So that was almost 3 months ago, right? Yep, well for almost 3 months now I've had the worst insomnia I've ever had (4am most nights, 5 or 6am others). Plus I've been waking up in the morning with 10x my normal pain and exhaustion, it's even harder to get up in the morning... and I've been missing work and school. No bueno! (Oh, and it's because that mattress of his felt like a BRICK to sleep on!!)

So last night I finally dragged Logan to the cheapo-mattress store and we looked at some beds. We agreed to split the cost. I have to say I didn't walk in there expecting such an amazing mattress.

That was just last night. They delivered it this evening and right now, as I type, I'm laying on the most comfortable mattress in the world. It's a mixture of all things soft (memory foam...other plushy things...some sort of space-age technology material that you sink into and feel amazing... and probably more...I don't know). Anyways the BEST PART is that we also got an electronic bedframe with a remote that lets you raise the head and/or the feet of the bed seperately! Akhdfskdjhfsh.

Yes, it does look and function like a hospital bed. But I don't care! :D It's super comfy and lets me semi-sit up to type or write or watch tv. It's so wonderful!

Glorious sleep, I can't wait til I fall into your realm tonight. Just laying here in this new bed is making me soooo sleepy... :) I have a feeling this will be the first night I'm falling asleep before 4am in a looong time! And I'm crossing my fingers that in the morning I will have gotten so much great sleep that I'll actually be able to get up on time for once! Maybe I'll even have time to do my breathing treatments I'm supposed to do, for once. :P I'm just hoping more than anything that when I wake up tomorrow morning, it won't feel like I was run over by a tank. Maybe just a truck like I used to feel when I woke up. hah!

And another good thing about it is that I can raise the head on bad-lung nights. It used to be that when my lungs were acting up and I was coughing up a lung all night, if I laid down flat the gunk would settle and get worse but if I sat up it'd be a little better and easier to cough up. So of course I used to have to go try and sleep reclined on the couch or propped up in bed with a gazillion pillows. Both strategies helped my lungs but made it uncomfortable and impossible to sleep. Now I can just click a button and be able to take good care of my lungs and still be comfy!

hahah... I don't think anyone's ever been this excited about a mattress before! :P I know, I'm weird. But this is just amazing!

You know... I know I have a lot more to update since Thanksgiving... but I'm getting so sleepy. How about I update you tomorrow? ;)

Goodnight!
I may even wear my CPAP tonight I'm so happy....
lol, probably not.

-Jessica