Nine

The problem with narcolepsy and the use of pharmacology to combat it is that you have no natural clues as to how long to sleep. Without the drugs, you can sleep as long as you want, and you're still tired. With the drugs, you can overcome the tiredness no matter how little you sleep, or so it would seem.

I've decided that a slightly longer period than the commonly accepted eight hours is in order. Nine hours will ensure that it is enough, and yet gives me enough time during the day to perform activities such as work, exercise, coaching, and so forth.

In the first week of the Ritalin trial, staying up until midnight Thursday night was followed by a Friday where the Ritalin was not enough to keep my mind sharp-ish during the day. This week, staying up on the phone until 1am Thursday night was followed by a Friday night with a scare.

Friday was a busy and activity-filled day. Work, parent-teacher interviews, an initial meeting with a personal trainer (a gift from the prof!), work... the day flew by. As evening began, however, the lack of sleep and busy day caught up with me. I was drained. I pushed through it and made supper, and thought I felt better after eating.

Looking back it wasn't better enough.

With a day off of school, the boys had had a primarily inactive, computer-game-oriented day, so when they asked if their buddies could come over, I knew it was a good idea to take them to the Y for an active evening. Off we went, and I started my usual 40 minutes on the eliptical. It was tough slogging, a low energy affair, and I had a lot of difficulty doing it. When I finished my bare minimum, and switched to weight-lifting, I managed exactly two lift attempts at the lowest weight that I had used since starting to try weight-lifting a month ago. Suddenly I knew I was in trouble. The headache broke through, and I was flush-red, face throbbing, dizzy, spent. I tried to convince the lads to leave, and then lay down for a few minutes in the lobby of the Y. It was frightening, and it was a sure sign that something was very, very wrong.

I managed to drive home, and throughout the evening the symptoms slowly subsided, but the warning was received.

Don't push your luck.