bunsen_h

I'm still having a lot of trouble with insomnia.  For several weeks, I've been lying in bed awake for hours after I go to bed.

Initially, it's a matter of physical discomfort; it takes the pain medication a while to kick in.  But after an hour or so in bed, that's pretty much gone.  After that, I just can't seem to settle my mind.

Loneliness is part of it.  I'm a bit more mobile than I was before; the swimming is helping.  But I'm still fretting about my lack of contact with people.  My stamina for sitting upright is still poor, so my on-line interactions are limited, and I'm low-energy, which limits how much time I can spend socializing, especially with large groups.  The insomnia feeds the energy drain, of course...  but I really need more quiet face-to-face time.  Could use more careful hugs and quiet cuddling with trusted friends, too.

Then there's the temperature thing.  My thermostat is set to let the house temperature drop a few degrees at night.  With the foam mattress topper, the pillows, and the blankets, I'm comfortably warm in bed — except for the exposed part of my face.  My nose gets cold, which would be fine if I were a dog, but I'm not.  Depending on how I'm lying, at least one cheek also gets chilly.  And I can't think of any way of fixing that short of raising the temperature in the entire room (if not the entire house) and adjusting the amount of blankets.  Given that a lot of the "insulation" is stuff I can't take away (mattress and topper, pillows), I'm not sure if that could give me a comfortable temperature balance.

It seems to me that what I really need is a small infrared heater, aimed at my pillow from above.  The electric nose warmer is not an option.
 

Folks, I'm getting rather desperate for social contact.  As I'm having more trouble getting around, I'm not even getting as much of the minimal social interaction involved in shopping and so forth.

I'd really like to spend time with people.  I can take the bus, if the ride isn't too long and if I can lie down for a little while afterwards.  I can walk for a couple of blocks, ditto.  I can visit people, if I can spend at least some of that time lying down.  A floor with a bit of carpeting is good enough to lie on, though something like a sofa is better.

Visitors here are welcome.  I have a modest assortment of old board games from when I was young.  I enjoy other games not requiring too much strategy or other serious intellectual challenge; at this point, I'm not up to complex brain work.  I enjoy movies in several genres.  I would happily consider other activities, provided that they're suited to someone low on energy and limited in mobility.  But on the whole, intelligent conversation is what I crave the most.  Careful hugs from friends are also welcome.

Brother, sister, can you spare some time?  Please?
 

I tentatively plan to go swimming on the coming Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, if anyone would be interested in joining me.  My usual pattern (which is not immutable!) is to swim at the pool in my father's apartment building, a low-impact routine which is about half treading water and half "working out" against the water.  The pool has a salt-water chlorination system, which means that the chlorine level is low and non-irritating, and the water temperature these days is usually around 29'C.  Most of the time I'm alone in the pool, so I bring along a small radio to listen to... but talking with a friend is much more interesting.