Now it is almost 10 AM here, and most people should be up and around for the day. I will not be. In addition to being autistic, I also have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. This means that my USUAL wake-up time is, well, whenever I feel rested. Typically it is after about 9 hours of sleep. Any less than that, and I have to calculate how I'm going to feel because, chances are, I will usually feel horrible. It's not that I can't get up. It's that I will be dragging all day, moving very slowly, and I'll look all droopy-eyed and out of it all day. Drinking a coffee will only take the edge off, but it never wakes me up. A medical doctor who once treated me said that I was lucky because I only get the tiredness from CFS and not all the illnesses and pains that go with it. There are people out there who think that CFS can be cured by "x", and the x is a blank that can be filled in by anyone who did experience relief from that "x". But after 13-1/2 years, I know what works. While nothing "cures" it, I function so much better when the weather patterns are stable, when I get adjusted by my chiropractor at least once every two weeks, and when I meditate on a regular basis. That's it. I don't take any medications or herbal remedies otherwise. Been there, done that.
Now I always knew that I had sleep problems, ever since high school. I was always a late sleeper. However, I was always able to get up when I had to and function. However, on one particular day, my life changed forever. That day was April 11, 1995. I was living with a girlfriend at the time. I was in my first year of chiropractic school, and the third quarter was only a week old. It was a Monday morning. My girlfriend was at work, and I slept in a bit longer, as I usually did. 10 AM was a good time to get up and get ready for the afternoon classes. But after making my way to the bathroom to get ready, I noticed that I didn't look like myself in the mirror. I was all glassy-eyed. My head felt heavy. I could barely pick up my tooth brush. I knew something was wrong. At that moment, a story of a lifetime began. While medical and alternative medicine remedies came and went, I remained the same to this day.
Part of the problem is that I can wake up and not get back to sleep. The thing is that if I decide to stay up, I will certainly drag all day. And if I go back to bed, which is my plan when I am done typing this, I will sleep until the late afternoon. If I end up with a TOTAL of about 9 hours of sleep or more, I will be "perfectly" functional and awake, relatively that is. This is why I can never predict how I will feel when I am taking care of my own patients in my office, or even if I will make it to the office on a particular day. This is also why I tend to shy away from officiating morning or early-afternoon weddings as an ordained minister. That is why I like my job as a security guard so much. The work hours are from 6 PM until 2 AM, and I do have a lot of walking around to do while I am there.
So what was life like before the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome? Well let's see -- I worked on an ambulance for ten years. I was a community service officer (back East they were called Fire Police) for six years. I was a nurse aid throughout the 80s. I worked 50+ hours a week when I was a Respiratory Therapist from 1992-93. I traveled to all sorts of Scrabble tournaments. (Did I mention I play Scrabble competitively?) I was CONSTANTLY on the go, and I could wake up from a sound sleep when the fire alarm would sound to go to an emergency call. I also loved hiking and just being outdoors. That was life BEFORE April 11, 1995.
I'll go back to bed now.
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