mornings

[sandra.p29]

Dear Friends

Does anyone have problems waking in the mornings, almost like brain wakes before body. General stiffness. I feel like I wake but the rest of ny body takes a while, some days better than others. Also have speech problems sometimes can't get words out.

[Pistol]

@sandra.p29 yes, I am familiar with this sensation! For me that happens because when I first get out of bed the BP drops ( or stays too low ). Not enough blood reacjing the brain causes the slurred speech and not enough blood in the legs causes the weakness. I also often loose my balance when that happens, like I get dragged by a magnet to one side which causes me to run into walls. I was told that is all from circulation issues. What helps me with that is pulling my legs to my chest and rocking back and forth a few times, as well as "riding the bike" in bed before getting up, it pumps blood and elevates the BP. Then I sit at the side of the bed for a few seconds and move my feet from tip toes to heels a few times, that pumps blood up. Also drinking a big glass of water before getting up helps some people. 

[MikeO]

My PT has me doing my stretches in bed before i get up it has helped with the drunk feeling (running into walls) and have had fewer orthostatic episodes in the AM.

[bizbiz]

I wake okay, (sometimes with HR high), and can get up and moving okay, however my brain does take a few hours to catch up. After my morning (treadmill) walk, I'll go into town to buy a coffee and dread bumping into someone I know as it usually takes until lunch / afternoon for the fog to lift. Conversing in the morning leaves me extremely fatigued (and embarrassed, as I'm often stuttering and mixing up words. I cannot get my brain and mouth to work together!!) I don't really have this problem in the afternoon / evening.

[Pistol]

@bizbiz have you ever tried to exercise later? You mention that you do the treadmill first thing in the morning - maybe that contributes to the slowness? 

[bizbiz]

@PistolI have tried exercising later in the day - unfortunately I will still have a foggy morning. It's funny - before this relapse, (when I felt almost 100%),  I could never exercise in the morning as it would tire me out for the rest of the day. I would generally have more energy later in the afternoon or evening. Now, I feel like I benefit from moving more in the morning - almost like it gets my blood pumping more efficiently. With this relapse, my brain fog seems to lift during the day, but I'm physically more tired in the afternoon.