Tuesday 2 October 2007

making flippy floppy

I woke up this morning in the grey pre-dawn to discover that my right arm had gone completely dead. It wasn't just numb: I couldn't feel it at all; I had absolutely no muscle control over it; it just flopped limply by my side as though it was an artificial limb made of rags.

I suppose I must have slept in a funny position that cut-off the blood circulation to my arm, but my sleep-addled mind was not able to grasp this concept. I sat on the edge of the bed for a few minutes, picking up my arm with my left hand, lifting it and dropping it, watching it fall back to my side and feeling a growing sense of confusion and fear that my dominant arm was utterly paralysed.

After a little while, I was able to gather myself together enough to use my left hand to massage some life back into my shoulder and down my arm, and after a few minutes, normal service was resumed.

For a confusing five minutes though, let me tell you, I was a little scared.

6 comments:

  1. What you need is one of those NASA designed memory foam mattresses.

    We got one a few months ago and I'm now cured of several aches and pains I didn't even know I had until they went away.

    My wallet still hurts, mind.

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  2. Eeek. Let's hope that was a one off, never to be repeated.

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  3. used to happen to me a lot. very odd.

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  4. Mike - I've got a pillow made out of that memory foam stuff. I bought it when I first started getting a stiff neck and prior to the WT diagnosis, when I initially started stuggling with a sore neck in the morning. It didn't much help - in fact, it made it slightly worse as I found it too bulky and lifted my head too much. C. uses it now and I use a pillow so thin as to be almost non-existent. It's good for when I'm reading in bed though - it's very soft.

    And yes, it was a very, very weird feeling and I never want it to happen again.

    ST

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  5. This happens to me all the time (though now that I know what is going on, without the panic). Apparently in my sleep, I often move my arms above my head. They don't get enough blood and I wake up unable to effectively use either. Annoying.

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  6. This has happened to me, and it freaked me out pretty badly each time.

    *shudder*

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