REPORT: Sunday 2012-12-30 @ 1515

@2149 -- tired, turn in

@0250 -- awake, terror, damp tshirt

@0325 -- terror, soaked tshirt, changed, non-specific dearm

@0900 -- feet on floor, sad, lethargic

--30--

REPORT: Saturday 2012-12-29 @ 0815

@0035 -- turn in after drive down

@0310 -- tossed and turned, wc, tried the hypnosis voice, worked, finnaly to sleep

@0445 -- wc

@0548 -- slightly damp tshirt

@0821 -- awake, terror, school cafe, did have the idea of blood donor platelet tagging

@0955 -- feet on the floor, tired, on edge, pervasive sadness

--30--

REPORT: Friday 2012-12-28 @ 0800

@2345 - turn in, lot of beer at al, dussals pizza

@0145 - heartburn, reflux

@0334 - wc, hb

@0457-- wc, "warm"

@0600-- alarm, woke "ferry dream, shopping w Ev, she gets sick and sits near me", feeling warm again

@0800-- woke, damp small back, damp sheet, rest dry, no memory of dream, sad

--30--

REPORT: Thursday 2012-12-27 @ 0815

@2230 - three beers at w, pepper steak, turn in

@2230 - awoke, wide awake

@0105 - rushing thgun airport, intl, my passport bacvvv pocket; dry: hub

@0340 - wc, but delay back to sleep

@0500 - awake

@0705 -awake, "cold"

@0805 - feet on floor, feeling yucky

--30--

REPORT: 2012-12-26 @ 0831

@2130 -turn in p, sw and beer at al after hobbit

@2215 - wc squared

@2352 - vivid dream, damp top chest tshirt, not terror, "new neighbors at the shore"

@0540 - dry, terror, travel to airport p, everyone intl are, leg ache

@0700 - woke, "cold", dozed, interesting that the "white rain noise" sounded very real which put me back to sleep.

@0835 - feet on the floor, hungry, itchy eyes

--30--

REPORT: Tuesday 2012-12-25 @ 0842

@2330 -- turn in, 3 ranger iPa w dinner

@0229 -- wc, no terror, "testing requirements and status"

@0615 - wc, no terror, "snake venom", shut off weekday alarms

@0815 - awake

@0841 - feet on floor

--30--

REPORT: Monday 2012-12-24 @ 0810

@2235 - turn in

@0135 - vivid sexual dream. Not terror. Right back to sleep.

@0235 - terror, thshirt top front half very damp, all else dry. Non-specific, right back to sleep.

@0335 - awake, mind racing, nothing specific

@0437 - still awake, wc, try and do something to refocus

@0537 - still awke, "cold" argh, try Irish pub radio

@0807 - feet on floor, terrible night

--30--

REPORT: Sunday 2012-12-23 @ 1100

@2300 turn in / 2 blue moons at dinner

@0036 -- damp tshirt heart area; wc; itchy right ear; changed tshirt

@0110 -- whatever awoke me? Still not gone yet.

@0421 -- wc, grooming children as Santa Claus, how to prevent, mc fist Sargent, woke up starboard side starboard ear clogged

@0700 --woke

@0800 -- feet to floor

--30--

REPORT: Saturday 2012-12-22 @ 1010

@2355 - turn in

@0326 - wc

@0700 - awake, windy, loggy

@0904 - feet on the floor

Observation: 3 beers 12 oz seems to control the night terrors?

Lotta carbs and calories.

Argh!

--30--

REPORT: Friday 2012-12-21 @ 1410

@2210 -- turn in

@0054 -- wc, no dreams

@0430 -- wc

@0717 -- feet on floor

--30--

REPORT: Thursday 2012-12-20 @ 1830

@0928 -- turn in

@0036 -- wc

@0148 -- awake for no reason

@0421 -- WC, seaside dream

@0447 -- wc. "peeing in SH" again

@0600 -- woke up cold. very cold. funny smell?

@0730 -- feet on the floor. Felt fine. Not bad actually. Strange.

--30--

REPORT: Wednesday 2012-12-19 @ 0930

@2237 -- turn in

@0237 -- wc

@0343 -- wc, hb, leg ache

@0422 -- wc, hb, "movie roles"

@0730 -- feet on the floor

--30--

REPORT: Tuesday 2012-12-18 @ 0930

Another TERRIBLE night

@2230 -- turn in

@0140 -- terror, tshirt / shorts soaked, change, wc, heartburn, "rodeo rider"

@0342 -- terror, wc, heart burn, "missing blind date"

@0430 -- still awake, soaked. changed again. scary day dreams about "parked outside church".  weird.

@0600 -- dozing in and out.

@0733 -- feet on floor, tired, upset, on edge.

--30--

REPORT: Moday 2012-12-17 @ 0815

What a TERRIBLE night

@0924 -- turn in

@2233 -- wc

@0205 -- wc 7 heart burn

No sense with time stamps, I was awake every hour. Or at least it felt that way. Uncomfortable. Cold. Warm. Sweats buy totally dry tshirt. Dreams galore.

Forget the alarms.

@0600 -- was cold, chilled, and legs ache like I'd run forever.

Finally got feet to the floor at 0715.

Argh!

No wonder my parents were nuts.

--30--

REPORT: Sunday 2012-12-16 @ 0915

@2100 - turn in

@2230 - WC

@0009 - WC

@0300 - WC, at a "Sandy Beach Memorial"?

@0425 - terror, damp tshirt, "missed the train"?

@0618 - second terror, dry shirt, "driving the wrong way on unmarked road into traffic coming the wrong way"?

@0833 - feet on the floor, physically OK, emotionally sad, strange

--30--

REPORT: Saturday 2012-12-15 @ 1030

@2103 -- turn in

@0121 -- damp collar, WC, "er on two fronts" dream

@0444 -- woke in terror, "war with lawyers"

@0655 -- woke again, terror, bad chill

@0846 -- awoke again, felt ok, feet on the floor

--30--

REPORT: Friday 2012-12-14 @ 0745

@2132 - turn in

@2331 - wc

@0353 - Heartburn, WC, damp shirt collar, night terror, topic: "far from home phone call"

@0555 - second night terror, sweaty tshirt collar

@0600 - alarm, very cold, (not in the condo), tossing and turning, very upset

@0700 - feet on the floor, very upset, ...

--30--

REPORT: Thursday 2012-12-13 @ 0716

@2122 -- turned in; nothing on the tube; new phone -- cute;n played sudoku and mentally couldn't keep it straight; tossed and turned for a while.

@2301 -- wc

@0141 -- terror; tshirt soaked; change; non-specific scare; couldn't remember what it was; nasal passages clear. wc since I was up anyway. too a good 15 minutes to calm down.

@0419 -- awoke by dream; John Wayne and Horse soldiers; wc; reset the white noise; back to sleep in short order.

@0600 -- alarm; reset; cold

@0615 -- alarm; cold; wc

@0630 -- alarm; feet on floor; blah

--30--

REPORT: Wednesday 2012-12-12 @ 0731

@2315 - turn in

@0325 - wc and right back to sleep

@0505 - woke, mild terror, top chest tshirt soaked, BACK top tshirt soaked, collar and waist dry as a bone? Non-specific dream. Football locker room, left car in Detroit because of weather. Unable to get back to sleep until a little before 6. Argh!

@0600 - shut off alarm, wc, cold, back to bed

@0615 - shut off alarm, tired

@0630 - shut off alarm, still tired, but not cold

@0645 - feet on the deck and moving.

***

Strange crazy end to the night. No wonder folks with this ... whatever it is ... are nuts. I actually woke up this morning with the "knowledge" that my car was in Detroit and I'd have to go get it this morning.

Weird?

What time is my flight to Detroit and where in Detroit is my car? Nutty as a fruit cake.

--30--

REPORT: Tuesday 2012-12-11 @ 0649

Strange night last night; hard to tell fact from fiction.

@2200 - turnin

@0300 - soaked totally, not pillow, bottom sheet, put down towel, changed. no memory of the terror. do have a memory of waking up many times and think that tie was going slowly. Nothing written on pad; so this may be a dream. That is dreamed waking up so much, but actually did NOT? Confused.

@0415 - calmed down, back to sleep, felt calmness and peacefulness just take over. Weird? Marine corps dream. No sense.

@0505 - woke, tossed and turned, dozed.

@0555 - woke, wide awake, collected the alarms

@0600 - waiting for it.

@0600 - feel rested, cold, and legs "run out"?

@0615 - feet on the floor and moving.

--30--

REPORT: Monday 2012-12-10 @ 0737

@PM - drove down from NJ to VA. Skipped coffee. Had cheeseburger with bacon at about 2030 with a bottle of water.

@2305 - arrived at $414 in good order. Wired. Had a platimum beer. (Have to get rid of them.) Watch the end of Sunday night football. Boring. Nothing good or short on the DVR.

@2354 - turn in; tossed and turn for awhile. eventually slept.

@0315 - WC; right back to sleep.

@0530 - awoke tshirt only soaked; shaking; cold; no memory of the dream. WC. tossed a while getting back to sleep.

@0600 - shut off alarm.

@0615 - shut off alarm

@0630 - alarm; feet on the floor; funny chirstmas party bit on 1015. it helped me get going.

--30--

REPORT: Sunday 2012-12-09 @ 0730

Sunday

Went to dinner with the "out of law" niece and her hubbie ... Drank a lot of beer. (not drunk, just a lot)

@2315 -- turned in. Slept well and right away

@0235 -- terror; no sweat; hard to get back to sleep

@0305 -- a continuation?

@0430 -- wide awake! Wrote summary.

No sweat. Everything perfectly dry.

Very bad  "security by value" argument; very contentious meetings with many confrontational arguments.nose to nose yelling.

Woke calmed back 15 min

Right back into the same terror

Literally had to finish the movie with all the wild emo before I could wake up

And stop this wild ride

45 minutes and two wc to calm to where I can write it

Not sure I can go back to sleep

Very wide awake and wide eyed

Argh!

@0540 back to sleep

@0900 up feel drained

@0935 conclusion: this provides insight into a possible reason why both parents drank and were nuts. If you don't have a good handle on this set of symptoms, it could make you nuts. Dreams and reality merge. Hard to sort out.  Hmmm, so drinking doesn't solve it, but does have a moderating effect.

--30--

REPORT: Saturday 2012-12-08 @ 0900

Turned in at 2345

Slept thru the night with only two WC visits

--30--

REPORT: Friday 2012-12-07 @ 0700

@2141 turn in

@2334 shirt damp; wc

@0042 wc

@0342 major bad terror; vivid; soaked shirt to need change; pillow dry; sheet damp by small of back; dream content -- "late getting home; driving across fields of neat grass; no signs; Ev has sores on her leg and needed to go to the hospital and I was out and around not tending to her." Very disturbing. At least 15 minutes getting back to sleep.

@0405 still upset. To where, I got up and sat on the side of the bed and kept thinking "It's not real!" Finallly able to lay down again and back to sleep.

@0555 awake ahead of the alarm, Legs ache like I'd been running. "Cold", but skin warm. WC. Starboard ear itchy and damp. Port nostril closed. (Yes, I did use the afrin before bed.) Lazed thru the three alarms.

@0630 Up feet on floor.

Conclusion -- bad night.

@0700 Don't feel too bad considering the day.

(Note: thinking back this morning  she NEVER had sores on her legs. Weird brain I inherited. No wonder my parent were both nuts. It could be easy to confuse fact from fiction. Writing this stuff down helps sort it all out?)

REPORT: Thursday 2012-12-06 @ 0700

Pretty good night last night.

@2245 - turn in; right to sleep

@0047 - wc; right back to sleep

@0344 - awoke; damp collar; disturbed; dreamed about "iron chef". (Honestly, don't ever remember watching the show.) Tossed and turned; back to sleep

@0550 - awake before the alarm; mind racing with all the must do items.

@0600 - alarm; shut off; laid back down; just not ready to get going.

@0615 - alarm; still racing trying to get thoughts in order

@0630 - alarm; still racing; thoughts running wild; couldn't rest; might as well get up.

Interesting. Very calm this morning. No anxiety or upset; a certain sense of quiet sadness. Heard a commercial for a charity saying their goal is to make "everyone healthy and happy"; is that even a valid goal? With that stupidity in my mind, it's time to go. At least if I'm going to consider stupidity, then I might as well get paid for it. LOL!

--30--

REPORT: Wednesday 2012-12-05 @ 0720

Wow, what a night. I can understand why folks with the same problem go nuts.

@2200 -- turned in. laffed at old BBT episodes and one new HIMYM (that show is trashy now. not as funny).

@0105 -- WC

@0410 -- WC

@0630 -- woke is sweat. Back, base, collar; not front. Sheet damp by small of back. "Terror". In the sense it was the most pronographic dream I ever remember. Make a great horror movie. Snip of someone's hair place on the end of a grotesque alien's hair bonds and turns the person into a sex crazed nudist. The person has to clip their own hair and offer to the alien. Then it bonds and they go to freenzy. I woke up before I find out the horrible end. LOL! IT wasn't so real and so vivid, it would by hysterical.

No wonder this condition drives folks nuts. Came away from it with an unusal sense of peace and calm.

Wonder if this can be classified as a "night terror".

Boy, that alien was ugly and the gals were busty.

Even writing this now makes smile at the silliness.

As "night terrors" go, this one was pretty good.

Maybe I am going nuts?

Maybe I missed a career in the soft porn industry?

--30--

REPORT: Tuesday 2012-12-04 @ 0645

Bad, but not terrible night.

@2200 Turn in -- Tired; long intense day of meetings. Jint-Skin game was boring. And, I was tired.

@2352 -- Awoke, slight sweat, no wardrobe change needed, but dampness at several spots. (Wonder if there an objective way to measure "sweaty-ness". Or a need to. Seems arbitrary.) WC and back to sleep quickly.

@0227 Vivid terror. No contemporaneous note of topic, that means I no memory of it. Other than it was scary and vivid.

@0310 Another bout. Damp tshirt collar and chest. But not requiring a change. Vivid feeling, but no memory.

@0550 Awoke naturally. Felt I was awake for the day.

@0600 Shut off the alarm. But restless.

@0610 Got up and got started.

--30--

REPORT: Monday 2012-12-03

Another bad night

2230 - Turned in; right off to sleep

0153 - woke vivid ream about the next civil war; wc; bac to sleep quickly

0545 - woke up in terrified sweat, "light sweat" the tshirt was't soaked; naked and lost, but recognized in the dream that I'd been through this before.

0600 - first alarm wake up; ignore.

0615 - second alarm wake up; ignore

0630 - third alarm wake up; got up and got moving.

tired

--30--

Report: Friday 2012-12-01 @0723

Another terrible night

Turn in 2130

Woke up many times

@0130 heartburn,damp collar, vivid dream

@0400 up, wc, heartburn, tums, back to sleep about 15 min

@0530 PIA tossed back

@0600 alarm exhausted

@0615 alarm tired

@0630 alarm tired, back to sleep

@0720 woke up naturally

Rough

--30--

Report: Thursday 2012-11-30 @0621

Sleep troubles continue

No coffee today.

Turn in at 2230. Rain sound. Asleep by 2300. So far, so good.

Awake @0345. No sweat. No dream that I remember or recorded.

Still awake at @0500. Switched to Irish music. Two tunes and asleep.

@0600 alarm. @0615 first phone timed alarm. Wc demanded; so I'm up.

Interesting. That extra hour makes me feel better than I did @0500.

I can understand why this drives folks nuts. No rhyme or reason.

---

Conclusion: quiet background sound seems to help sometimes. Gives some part of the brain to process so it doesn't have idle cycles to make trouble (I.e., dredge up a vivid bad dream to terrorize the conscious mind). Possible. Or my imagination?

--30--

Report: Wednesday 2012-11-29 0655

Rough night.

Turned in at 2130, but tossed and turned until about 2300. No particular reason.

@0225 woke in terror - tshirt soaked - "couldn't print tix or find file".

@0422 wide awake -- no reason -- took about 30 minutes to get back to sleep

@0600 tired - ignored alarms - dozed off and on

@0655 wc got me up and moving

Very frustrating. Can understand why mom and dad were nuts.

--30--

Report: Tuesday 2012-11-27 morning

Turned in before 2200.

Woke at 0157. Soaked top and bottom. Not the pillow, sheet, or cover. Changed. WC. No memory of a terror or even vivid dream.

Restless dozing after that. Feels like was up every half hour or so.

Shut off the alarms and dozed until 0730.

Argh!

--30--

Correction

I wrote on my bedside pad "vivid Law and Order dream".

Interesting that I could not remember it this morning?

--30--

Report: Monday 2012-11-26 0622

2230 gave up on giants game. Not competitive. Put on the rain sound. Asleep in minutes.

0200. Damp shirt -- needed changing -- dreamt about shooting bird -- back to sleep immediately -- no terror

0430 wc, flipped sides and that was enough to force a trip tp the wc. Never got better than dozing. Awake for the balance of the night.

0600 might as well give up and get up. Nah. Lay around. Leg ache? Just grumpy. Forgot to plug in phone.

--30--

Report: Friday 2012-11-23 morning

Woke up a lot. Wc and vivid dreams. No sweating. Woke up lethargic. Argh!

--30--

Report: Wednesday 2012-11-21 1159

Wide awake. From a sound sleep. Maybe I should get up for a while. Tossing isn't restful. Argh!

Report: Monday 2012-11-19 morning

Not a bad night.

Went to bed early. Bored. No mental energy.

Slept thru. Woke up a lot. Sheets indicate a violent night.

During one of the many wc visits, tshirt damp collar.

Argh!

Will I ever wake up "refreshed and full of vim and vigor"

No dreams to speak of; at least nothing memorable.

--30--

Report: Sunday morning 2012-11-18 -- no solution?

Last night had a vivid dream (something like the lizards of v) and a moderate "change the shirt" sweat.

So clearly the heating pad and afrin nose drops ain't the magic bullet.

On a positive note, the sore neck / shoulder is getting better.

Argh!

--30--

Report Friday 2012-11n-16 @ 0500

Been waking up early last few days irregularly. Still waking during the night. Still having very vivid dreams. No terrors; no sweats.

Why?

I have a new theory.

About two weeks ago, driving back to va, I think there was a draft on my neck because I remember it started to ache. That night, slept and woke up in the morning with a stiff pain in the neck. Was not radiating. Was not like that pinched never. Eased of warm shower. (the nanny state regulates the water temperature in va. Argh.) next few nights sleep was disturb by painful stiff neck. Used the microwave to heat up towel which gave some relief. Also used sleeve (NSAID) for a day. Bought a heating pad. Almost normal now. (nagging pain getting better. It now only hurts at the base of the shoulder.)

But this morning I had a realization. NO TERRORS. While this was going on. Could it be the heating pad? Very dry crusty nose. Maybe causing a drying effect in sinuses and nose. But vivid dreams without terror. Still going to wc several times a night.

Could the heating pad be causing a change in blood flow?

Or air flow?

--30--

REPORT: evening

Retired at 2230. Tossed and turned. Couldn't go to sleep. Finally gave up and had a hot cup of tea.

No alcohol tonight. No coffee in the afternoon. No sun today.

No idea what's wrong. Just can't sleep. Neck hurts.

Argh!

--30--

REPORT morning: bad night

Three tshirt night. Pain in my neck portside. Vivid dreams that I don't remember. Upset, but back to sleep in 15 min each time.

REPORT morning: three vivid dreams

Four sleep interruptions. One wet tshirt. One damp neck. Two dry. THree very vivid dreams.

Need to put a pad in the nightstand.

--30--

REPORT morning: no dreams

Interesting: Had a boring day. Couldn't get to sleep. I guess I was worried about the shore house. Got to sleep about 2 thanks to some artificial rain. Up at 6; go going around 645.

But no dreams.

Strange.

--30--

REPORT morning: two notes

30 Oct 2012

Woke up at 0100:

• Agitation:                2
• Perspiration:            4
• Sleep interruption:   15 min
• Topic: Nazi storm troopers

Woke up at 0415:

• Agitation:               4
• Perspiration:           2
• Sleep interruption:  15 min
• Topic: Old people

Overslept the alarms.

• slept at 2200
• woke up at 0940

--30--

REPORT morning: three notes

At 0015: awoke in sweat; changed tshirt. Agitation level 4; Perspiration 3; Return to sleep 5 minutes.

At 0130: awoke. Agitation level 2; Perspiration 2; return to sleep 10 minutes.

At 0500: awoke. Agitation level 5; perspiration 0; return to sleep >120 minutes.

Bad night.

--30--

Analysis: Format?

(Would like to put in a table? Can't figure out how to do it.)

--30--

ANALYSIS: Taxonomy of symptoms

Agitation: 5 extremely terrified, 4 upset so as to prevent sleep, 3 back to sleep within an hour, 2 back to sleep in a short not measurable interval, 1 right back to sleep, 0 none at all.

Perspiration: 5 soak the pillow (often) and or sheets (rare), 4 soak the tshirt, 3 clammy; 2 dampen the neck; 1 partial wetting; 0 none (rare).

Sleep interruption: Number of minutes to get back to sleep or complete inability to get back to sleep or the need to sit up for a while.

--30--

REPORT/acrual: mild case

@0315 wide awake

Interesting. No perspiration. No memory of dream. But that wide awake state.

So I assume it was very mild instance of my problem.

--30--

ANALYSIS: Intermittent problems are frustrating

The "disappointing" result this morning -- no trouble found -- illustrates the frustration of problem solving with out a "hard failure". In Information Technology, it's the worst type of problem to have.

So to, the "night terror" problem is a "soft failure" type problem. "Random". Hard to quantify. Tough to "solve".

If a "solution" is even possible?

-- 30 --

REPORT/morning: nothing

This is auspicious. No symptoms last night.

Drove from va to nj late. Up 3 times for the WC, but right back to sleep.

Good omen.

--30--

Problem statement

I never liked scary movies. And, I don't see what is the big deal about Halloween. I get scared almost every night.

Ever hear about "night terrors"?

Discussed them with my new doc. He says no big deal. If they bother you, "we can try drugs".

That didn't inspire confidence.

I believe that both of my parents suffered with same problem.

Not that we ever talked about it. But, I think it drove both of them crazy and into alcoholism.

In college, I was an injineer. Drinking was part of the "fun". And, I noticed a correlation between more than a modest intake and a good night's sleep.

So I started this blog to capture my experiences and see if I can find either a cause or cure.

Nothing like being a "lab rat".

Lest you think I'm nuts, which I may well be, here's Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_terror

I guess I'm fortunate. I have two symptoms with different degrees of intensity. Symptom #1 is sweating from the waist up. Symptom #2 is the resultant waking up -- either with the ability to get back to sleep or not -- after some duration.

I'll catalogue the symptoms. And maybe a pattern will emerge.

--30--