Just Make It Stop

I don’t know how it’s possible but the numbness in my feet/legs keep getting worse. I’ve been walking in the upstairs hallway for about 30 minutes and the numbness is affecting more and more of my legs. I tried using a massage wand to massage the calf muscles and a shiatsu foot massage machine for the soles of my feet, but nothing is helping.

Today has been a terrible day. From the almost panic attack and hot flashes during dialysis, to missing several appointments due to insurance mix-up (cardiac rehab, therapist, acupuncturist), to the overwhelming numbness in my feet, this is probably one of the worst days since heart surgery. I’m trying to stay positive but right now, there’s really nothing to look forward to. I alternate between work and dialysis for six days of the week, and then lots of sleeping in on Sunday.

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So the only difference between yesterday and today is the Tylenol PM I took last night as a sleep aid. The active ingredient for the “PM” part is diphenhydramine, which is the same ingredient for Benadryl. Each caplet contains 500 mg of acetaminophen and 25 mg of diphenhydramine. I took two caplets per the instructions on the bottle. Looking at WebMD, there are many side effects to diphenhydramine. Under common side effects, it lists an increase in the thickness of lung secretions. I think I had that last night, causing me to cough a lot more. Under rare side effects, it has chest discomfort, difficulty sleeping, excessive sweating, and numbness and tingling. I know it says “rare” side effects, but those symptoms showed up or intensified suddenly last night/today. Since it didn’t help me sleep last night, I’m going to skip taking Tylenol PM to see if my breathing and numbness gets better.