I’ve often heard it said that Parkinson’s Disease (PD) affects each individual differently. As the disease progresses (and as I try different medications), I’m noticing that PD affects the same individual differently, at different points in time. At one time, tremors were my most bothersome symptom. Since starting Levodopa a few years ago, the tremors have been largely controlled, replaced with a growing (sometimes almost crippling) fatigue. On my latest “drug cocktail” the fatigue is significantly reduced, but I’m still not sleeping well.

My insomnia started small, and advanced slowly enough that I was able to implement a series of temporary fixes that didn’t seem temporary at the time. A couple times each year, I would think that I had found THE solution to my sleep issues…only to have the problem return a few months later. I blamed my bed, the T-shirts I wore to bed, my alarm clock – I made changes in each of these areas, and each helped…for a while. It was probably about a year ago that I finally accepted that this insomnia is part of the PD, and isn’t going to be solved by changing something outside my body. I tried dietary supplements (melatonin, magnesium, iron, CBD) and NyQuil. As with the previous approaches, most of these seemed to help, but only for a while. The most frustrating part of it all is that once in awhile, I get a solid night of sleep, and can’t figure out WHY.

But after watching some old Warner Brothers cartoons, I think I finally found the solution. I’m gettin’ me a giant wooden mallet. Or maybe an anvil.