My sleep schedule has been wonky for a couple months now. And ever since CAKE began, I wake up every hour or two throughout the night, needing to eat, potty or whathaveyou. I was actually getting used to it and not conking out in the middle of the days as a result. Though I have been getting very very tired around 4pm every day. Anyway, last night I had to go to bed early because of an early morning dental cleaning today. So I thought, what the heck, and I took an Ambien before I crawled under the covers to read.
Now, I used to be totally opposed to prescription sleep medications. They are advertised on TV almost as much as cars are, and I had the strong opinion that the reason Americans are having so much trouble sleeping may have more to do with their addictions to Starbucks at all hours of the day and night than anything else. I figured the cure for their sleeping problems lay in the simple act of cutting back on the grande triple shot mocha free macchiatos. I was a snob about it. That is, until my own good sleep patterns were seriously impacted by the mounting stressors in my life the past three months. So my PCP gave me some Ambien and I’ve only taken it from time to time.
So last night I popped one tiny half pill before bed and I slept like a baby or a rock (take your pick!) for eight straight hours. My bladder and my hunger pains were on hold all night and today I feel GREAT as a result! Needless to say, I am a reformed sleeping pill snob! AMEN!

So I had my teeth cleaning this morning at the periodontist and they said my gums and teeth look GREAT and HEALTHY! That’s awesome, considering all the time and money I’ve spent correcting the dozen or so years of not taking care of my mouth! Sixteen teeth with bonegrafting and antibiotic treatments later and here I am: flossing and brushing like a good girl! It really has paid off.
The periodontist himself is a total jerk, though. He seems to have ZERO personality and I get the feeling, although he is great at what he does, he seems to hate the patients. He never converses with me, even though I’ve tried to befriend him. I gave that up a long time ago. The rest of his staff is almost unbearably nice, though, so they completely make up for his lack of people-skills. I went in this morning and had nice long conversations with the hygenist about my cancer, the treatments, people she knows with cancer, patients she’s had with it too, as well as suggestions for how to deal with some of the oral side effects of chemo. She was so cool. Then, as I was leaving, the office manager whom I’ve spoken to frequently via phone, gave me a heavy gift bag. She said they’ve all been thinking about me lately and wanted to get me something nice to take care of myself with. She thought I might not like it so she told me she included the gift receipt in the card inside the bag. So I opened it all up while I was still there and found two full size bottles of body lotion, a full size bottle of body wash, and a large candle all from Bath and Body Works’ Aromatherapy line of products. There are three in that line and I spoiled myself over a month ago by getting some of the Eucalyptus and Speramint scented stuff for Stress Reduction. Well, the ladies at the perio’s gave me the Mandarin Lime scented stuff for Energy. HOW SWEET IS THAT?! I almost cried as I thanked them profusely. Inside was a sweet card with caring sentiments and I deeply touched by how personal it was. I will definitely be sending them a thank you card soon! I’ll probably even address it to the head honco doctor since he hired those awesome ladies!

So two more days till it’s time for more CAKE. woo hoo (I say sarcastically). My grandmother called me yesterday, extremely worried about me since I hadn’t updated my blog in a few days. I was glad she called because I found out that she’s leaving today for her annual two-month travels through Florida and won’t have access to the interwebs while she’s gone. Thus, she won’t be able to check in on me. Thus she will worry more than usual. Thus, I will be calling her at least once a week to give her updates and assure her I am okay. I told her not to worry but she says, “I’m an old lady and I can worry if I want to!” LOL Okay, Grandmother, you’re right. As my Mama used to say, “You are the boss of your own worrying!”