Misery…

Well, I really ought to stay on the painkillers, and I really need to sleep on my side.

Between two bad decisions I pretty much shot the entire day.

1) Last night I was too drugged and too tired to bother to prop a throw pillow at the edge of bed, such that I could lie down at sort of a 45-degree angle, halfway between my left side and my back. I just laid flat on my back and called it good. Sandra said I snored all night, and by midday the next day we’d attributed my complete lack of energy to sleep apnea.

2) I tried to not take any drugs today. My shoulder knotted up after the first strip, and I fell asleep under a hot pad. I woke an hour later still tired, and napped for ANOTHER hour. About that time, still tired, Sandra and I made the “sleep apnea” diagnosis. I tried to stay clear-headed with some Diet Dr. Thunder (the generic Wal-Mart crap) and it did nothing for me. All afternoon I struggled to get another strip inked, or some other decent work done, but the shoulder stayed knotted, the pain stayed distracting, and my head remained stuffed with cotton.

I feel better now, but I’ve got two Lortab and three naps in me. I managed to get a third strip inked, but I look back at the day and my lack of accomplishing anything makes me grumpy. I suppose part of that is the Lortab — it does something to my filtering system, such that background noise (supplied most frequently by my offspring) intrudes very disruptively, and I’m less patient with the children than I should be.

“Less patient than I should be” is a euphemism for “grouchy monster who cannot stand the sounds of fun.”

Of course, the pain has the same effect, so it’s a wash as far as the kids are concerned. Injured Daddy = Maybe We’d Better Play At A Friend’s House.

–Howard

ps: Oh, and I was expecting a package that didn’t come today.

9 thoughts on “Misery…”

  1. Re: Misery

    Moderate, medicate, and ameliorate. It doesn’t pass assonance or alliteration in the strictest sense; but it makes sense.

    I’m sure you’d prefer “and speedy”, but we’ll settle for a full recovery.

    BTW, nice salvo on PETA:)

  2. Sorry to hear it, Howard, but I hope it prompts you to give a little more time towards healing. I just found Schlock, just finished reading all the archives a couple of weeks ago, and was really hoping you’d keep it going a lot longer. 🙂

  3. Oh, same here. Can’t wait for the next book… =) Schlock nearly caused me to fail my final graduate degree exams, so that’s how good your work is. Keep it up! =)

  4. An idea that might help

    I know how it gets when you really need to sleep, but can’t. I blew out my back a few years ago, and every move at night brought on the pain that grabbed me by the brain, slapped me awake and through me through the wall, and that was just to get my attention. Then it proceeded to complain about the stupid thing I did. I finally went to a back cracker who spent quite a lot of time working on me.

    Just a suggestion, and it may or may not work, but talk to your dentist about a NTI. It’s a little device that you slip onto your two upper front teeth prior to going to sleep, and it keeps you from clenching and also helps with snoring. It won’t stop you from rolling over onto the shoulder, but maybe it can help you sleep better until you roll over. 🙂

    I had one made for me in trade for some work I did for them, and I found that I was sleeping better and deeper. Plus, I quit snoring as much, which would wake me up as well.

    Here is a link to the dentist in my area for more info: http://www.mymigrainesgone.com/qa.html

    Hope that helps!

  5. Hmm. Maybe you should reconsider the guestcomic week thing after all. I mean… better to take a week off and recover than have this be a chronic problem.

    Rob H.

  6. What I especially like is waking myself up by snoring, and being able to hear the inhuman noise I’ve just made. So very sexy.

    I hope this misery passes soon. Even if you only do one strip a day, you’re ahead. Take care of yourself, man.

  7. Seperated Shoulder

    I seperated my shoulder in a bycycle accident a fiew years back. I believe mine was atleast a 3 if not more.
    I started sleeping with a couple pillows jamed under my arm ( bad shoulder up ). The idea being to take the weight/strain off the shoulder. The pillows are the nice dense sort that keep their shape fairly well.
    I still do, though I’ve had my shoulder put back together since, still…
    In any case, thought it might help.

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