Aidpage

I have Narcolepsy. Somewhat under control with Dextroamphetamine, 70 MG per day. More to keep the cataplexy away than keeping me awake. I can stop and fall asleep anywhere any time. I take two different antidepressants, and 50 MG of Trazadone for sleep. However, it really doesn't keep away the dreaming, which keeps my husband awake. I usually don't remember dreaming, so I'm not sure how much sleep I really get. I have tried so many drugs, and nothing seems to work very well. I also have psoriatic arthritis. It required me to have a disk fusion Jauary of 2007. And I'm now fighting it again. The arthritis builds up in my spinal canal and when I am active my muscles swell which creates a restriction on my spinal cord. It makes my arms and fingers numb most of the time and causes me to lose my legs sometimes. Lately my lower back has really been painful. It is the worst when I bend over alot. Or even from sitting alot. I don't know if this is an issue with the psoriasis or not. I am usually very active, I have a farm with horses, chickens, dogs, cats, and sometimes a cow or two. I only have 10 Acres, but I'm having trouble keeping up with everything. Feeding, irrigating, cleaning, weeding, garden preparation, etc. I watch three grand children 7, 5, & 4, two or three days a week. Now my husband and myself are having eye and teeth problems. I had all my teeth pulled and had dentures in 1995. But they are almost worn out. My husband has always had good teeth, but they seem to have worn off the hard coating and he is having sensativity issues. Both of us need glasses, my husband has worn glasses since 1983, he needs to get a new prescription, and I have recently been having trouble reading. I use store bought glasses but they seem to be not working. And the insurance we have through Medicare does'nt provide for them. We live as best we can on Social Security. Because of these medical problems, I have lost a job I loved, that I worked very hard and long for, and destroyed my dreams of raising western trail/competition horses. And has dropped our income to nearly nothing. My "American Dream" has been stolen from me. My Narcolepsy was the reason I lost my dream job in 2001. Then the neck fusion stole my horse riding. The cataplexy makes it necessary to avoid riding as well. I've lost the few friends I had, because the cataplexy scared most of them, to avoid the cataplexy I can't laugh or get tickled about anything, that ran off the rest, no one likes to be around someone who can't have fun and now am only visited by family. I still have my animals, they keep me company alot. But because of the current economy I may have to get rid of them all, as I can't afford to feed them. Our home will have to be sold if we have anymore medical issues. We had hoped to leave it to our children, in hopes of giving them a chance at the "American Dream". So much for life, as it is. My husband is semi-retired, and has aquired diabetes. That requires a new way of eating (Shopping). To eat the way a diabetic should eat costs allot more than the way we used to eat. We have always lived on our own beef, pork, chicken, as well as wild meats. And always had a garden full of vegetables. Now it takes more money for everything. We can't afford to raise our own meat anymore and it cost so much for hunting licenses, and the hunting trip as well. Both of our incomes together is under $2500.00 a month. And we still owe a mortgage at $735. per month. With the cost of utilities it barely leaves enough for food, let alone gasoline or auto repairs. I have become very depressed and don't reeally enjoy life anymore. My children and husband are the only reasons I keep trying. I have always avoided writing in this post because so many people have more and worse problems than I. It just caught me on a bad day. I always wished I could help people that needed help, and now I find myself one of them, with few if any help or answers. Thanks to all who read this, may God bless you, and provide answers for them that have questions. sleepysick