REM Dreams, Cat Ghosts, and Cheeseburgers: A Week with LBD

This week was an interesting one, but most weeks are when dealing with Early Onset Lewy Body Dementia (LBD). There were a few things that happened that are definitely notable. The first one has been overarching this week, and that REM Sleep Disorder.

When a 'normal' person goes into REM sleep their body is paralyzed, hence sleep paralysis. When you have an REM disorder your body does not go into that state. Since most dreaming occurs in the REM sleep phase, this can be become very problematic.

For me it's not too bad. My dreams have been extremely lucid for a long time, but I don't have very many nightmares. So, what happens is I feel like I'm an active participant in the dream, I also feel like I'm in control of it. This leads to a lot of moving and tossing and turning. For others it can become violent, leading to punching and kicking in the case of nightmares. Again, luckily this isn't the case for me.

It was after one of these REM Disorder night's that something new to me happened in relationship to LBD. I was sitting on the couch that morning, contemplating life, as one does, and I saw my cat's tail on the other side of the couch. I said, "Here comes Oreo." Elise looked over at me kinda like I was crazy, before looking over the couch to see Oreo was nowhere to be found. This happened again a few minutes later and I had to go verify he was still asleep in the other room, and he was. I wouldn't put it past him to troll me like that though.

I have since woken up twice in the middle of the night to go take a leak. Each time Oreo has been there, and I can't help but, "Was he really though?" Such is life I guess, definitely could be much worse, that's for sure.

Another fun thing that happened this week was I fainted/ fell. It's really kinda hard to say either way. I got up from the couch, and things were going black, at the same time I slipped on a blanket and down I went. It was a very weird thing. I can't really explain it, I was half conscious but not really. I don't know if it was the blanket or fainting that really triggered the fall, most likely a combination, I guess. Either way, minus a little soreness, I'm fine. I did not hit my head, which is really good news for me. I have a history with head trauma, and I'm not too sure how many I have left.

I have also been extremely anxious, lightheaded, and at times nauseous. I'm not real sure where it's coming from, but I don't care for it. I went out for a walk this morning, as I didn't feel like I could handle a run. It was warm but not too bad at all. I walked about 2.5 miles, by the time I returned I felt awful. I was dizzy, lightheaded, getting hot flashes, and nausea.

I had the same thing the day before, where I was lying on the couch half out of it. Not. Conscious but kinda not really, I was hungry but definitely didn't feel like eating. Lucky for me Elise ordered some McDonalds. She got me a cheeseburger, fries, and a crispy Diet Coke (IYKYK). I sat up and tried to eat and before I knew it, I had crushed it all. It was one of those deals where it was like the best meal you ever ate. Almost like it was exactly what my body was craving. I don't know, but I did feel a little better.

We actually went out to a baseball game that night with some friends. I was worried about this outing that we had planned but I really wanted to make myself go through with it, even with everything that happened that day.

It turned out pretty good, I was a little hotter than I like to be, that's for sure. However, it was good to see and talk to other people. I talked with them about my LBD and some of the things going on with that. Then I probably got a little too rambly about life, politics, and all that. Either way it was a good time. This coming week we are headed to Wisconsin, which I'm excited for, maybe a little cooler and it is definitely a lot greener.

Good luck out there and stay safe. I knew we all have struggles, challenges, and life problems. Just do your best to not surrender to them, even though that's what I want to do a lot of the time.