A mouthful of thymol

Pain wise, I had another bad night.  I fell asleep OK but woke up, and remained in some pain for the rest of the night. 

Gum trouble, brought on by dry mouth due to medication.  You could say bipolar disorder messed up my gums.  Anyway, throbbing gum pain. 

It was a good 5-6 on a 1-10.  Yesterday it was more of a 7 at times. 

However, it wasn't a bad night.  Torbie cat got into bed with me and we had a lovely snuggle.  Unfortunately, I rolled over on her a few times.  I'd wake up with her flailing beneath my outflung leg.  Poor baby.  I did it at least 3-4 times but she still stuck around.  She's a sweet girl. 

I think she knows I'm hurting. 

I just wish she would sleep by my shoulder/head area.  That's what Frosty did, and then Bubba.  I never rolled over on them, I could touch them, they liked it and so did I.  But I can't force her to it.  She seems to like my waist area. 

She's actually hanging out directly to my left, on the arm of the loveseat.  I have the computer desk and loveseat at right angles to each other.  She can sit near me without impeding my work.  We both like it.

So, I got up and took my shower, went to Walmart. 

First, I went shopping for work.  I got a couple dozen cup a noodles and tuna/chicken salad kits.  I paid for all that and left it with Ron. 

Then I went shopping for us.  I got various things, dental picks.  The GUM (soft pick) ones are far better than the den-tek.  The Dentek has a nasty, stabby, wire.  The GUM (with the green "bristles") was much friendlier, softer, easier to use.  I'll get the GUM again.

I got wide dental floss, traditional listerine (generic) with the herbal extracts.  The traditional mouthwash has thymol, methyl stuff, and even some eucalyptus derivatives.  When I used the mouthwash prior to my nap, I kept tasting the thyme.   Ugh. 

It reminded me of the lemon thyme plant I had - I loved the fragrance, and for some odd reason I kept thinking of scrambled eggs.  I love to eat scrambled eggs, hate to make them, and scared to eat them at restaurants after a bad portion gave me salmonella and almost killed me. 

I bought hand soap.  Ron likes to use milk and honey hand soap as a body wash.  His dispenser has been cracked for a while.  I finally remembered that, and a refill.  They hung out with my dental stuff.  My gum throbbed, enough to remind me to get some OTC generic naproxen - which has worked VERY well.

God forbid you have a flare up of gum disease, use that. 

Now, on the plus side, if I am exposed to a virus or bacteria, I'm taking everything possible to eliminate it, being how my gums are infected (in one spot at least).  The, ah, discharge is better and the bleeding way down. 

Curse you, dry mouth! 

Happily, this isn't contagious and I can still work.  

I got Ron a "patch cord" and two giant bags of cat treats.  The girls really enjoy the turkey treats. 

I didn't get much in the way of groceries because we have pizza and frozen food.  But I did get some more milk and soy nut butter.  I am happy to see they are continuing to stock the soy nut butter.  I need more soy (menopause thing) and I can't eat peanuts (migraine).  The "butter" makes a really good sandwich with some honey on whole wheat bread. 

I also got some "poor me pity party" food - a small container of tapioca pudding.  I am the only person I know who enjoys the stuff. 

I also got some chocolate.  The drivers seem pretty miserable and I want to do up some candy bags for them.  Chocolate is a migraine for me, so no worries there.

Not to mention my mouth hurts enough that I really don't want to eat, unless it's pill time.

I had just enough time to make a deposit.  I put in enough to cover my debits and the cost of that new bedframe/mattress base.  I thought it was sneaky.  Amazon gives free shipping, but I had to select it, otherwise they would have charged me $20 for it - which still isn't bad.

That should arrive in the next week or two.  Ron and I can disassemble the old bed, put it outside, and then assemble the new one.  My mattress is great, I enjoy it.  I don't think I will need anything special, or a new mattress.  Worst case I can put some plywood on top of the base for more support.  However, my current bed is pretty stiff, I would like something with give.

Some of the reviews said it was a little creaky.  They haven't met my bed - very creaky!

In fact, most of my beds have been pretty crappy.
When I got my first adult bed I thought it was pretty awesome.  When I got back from a month at the mental hospital, I realized little old 120 pound me had made a nice rut in the center.

If that wasn't bad enough, the bed was later swapped with my older stepbrother's bed, without my consent, because "He needs the support".  I was left with a completely saggy, sprung bed.   What about my back? 

Ron had a very basic queen.  It was fine but it wasn't fantastic, either.  I didn't feel bad throwing it away (at that point, it was about 20 years old) when we moved.

I slept on an inflatable mattress for over a year, after we moved to Houston.  We could only do that because we didn't have cats.

I bought a pretty nice twin bed, paid cash, after I started working for Ron.  Ron slept on an inflatable mattress on the floor.  He said it was better for his back.

I loved that bed, fussed over it, pampered it - and gave it to Ron after his accident in 2003.  He still has it, 13 years old, battered, but still functional.  I went back to sleeping on a mattress on the floor.  I felt a lot like Ruth and Boaz, in the Bible.  You can look it up in the book of Ruth.  At one point, she sleeps at his feet, on the floor, to indicate her willingness to be his wife.

My aunt, horrified, gave me a daybed frame.  Firm.  Very firm.  Better than the floor!  

Ron bought me a queen bed but, years later, slept on it and decreed it "awful" and "too hard".  It was pretty firm.  What is it with me and overly firm beds? 

We gave that away and bought my current bed from Ikea.  It was fine for a year, then Ron tackled me in a drunken fury, during a blackout, and we landed on the bed.  Now, in a naughty movie it would have had a much different ending! 

As it was, I ended up leaving for a few days. 

When I got back I realized the "spine" of the bed had been destroyed.  Ron did what he could to fix it but let's just say it was never the same.  I have improvised with props and a couple of cinderblocks, underneath.  Ron used a whole lot of screws. 

As I've said, I like the mattress.  I think, on the right base, it will continue to provide many happy sleeps. 

So, today, I ordered the bed base.  Worst case I can use a mattress topper and/or a piece of plywood underneath. 

Home Depot is happy to cut plywood to size, for a very small fee. 

I put everything away (I have an amazing assortment of supplies for work) and took a nap.  I flossed, again, and used the mouthwash. 

UGH.  It tastes so bad it should kill everything.