I followed my usual routine. Set the coffee to brew at 7 a.m. Gave the dog her midnight snack. Checked the thermostat (which had defaulted to the unacceptably cool 65, so I pushed it up to 68). Took my usual bedtime cocktail of 1/2 Ambien and 1/2 Ativan, and crashed. (If that sounds like a lot, remember I’m battling the insomnia effects of 60 mg prednisone.)
And all was well until about 3 am. Pit stop. And I’m wide awake. Twenty minutes later, no change. Okay, it’s still early. More Ambien, more Ativan. That should do it.
But it didn’t. I was tossing and turning. No position was “it.” And the bed seemed full of other two- and four-legged creatures, all well intentioned but equally restless. At some point I decided perhaps I was cold. I can never relax when I’m cold. So I pulled another blanket from the chair. That seemed to help a little. But at 4 I was still tossing and turning. Dragged myself down the hall to check the thermostat. It was still set on 68, but the furnace was only doing about 66. Dammit. Just had that repairman out here a few days ago, got ripped for $600 bucks, and now it looks like the problem still isn’t fixed. I’ve no doubt his next move will be to try to sell me a whole new furnace.
I’m tired, cold, and frustrated after a no good very bad night. He really doesn’t want to hear from me today. Nor I from him. But I’ve got to have heat. It’s supposed to be colder today.
Times like this I want my Daddy to make it all better. All 6′ of him standing over the repairman — watching, intimidating, knowledgeable, ensuring there are no shenanigans. I’m convinced male repairmen take every advantage of elderly females living alone, especially those unfamiliar with the ins and outs of HVAC.
Oh, certainly I’d love a new furnace. This one was not lovingly cared for by the two previous families who worked it hard. It’s a cheap builder’s model, 15 years old. I think it’s on borrowed time. Kind of like me. A new one would be all spiffy, with the latest efficiencies, etc., (which don’t help much with someone who is home all day). And I’d love a new thermostat, one that doesn’t return to its default settings (65 and 71) every time a wisp of static electricity hits it. (When that happens, I have to manually reset 4 different time periods in each of 7 days.)
Anyway, that’s my grouchy beginning this morning. Not expecting the rest of the day to get much better.
How annoying — When I have those up and down nights, the only upside I can think of is I don’t have to go to work the next morning — remember the panic of not sleeping and knowing you had to get up and go out and be productive?
And being cold and not being able to feel warm — poor you–
The added pressure of knowing I had to go to work in the morning would have turned me into a beast. Especially since when you know you have to get up, you can’t take any additional meds in the middle of the night.
I can sympathize. Our house was new when we moved in. I had insisted on a fancy high efficiency furnace just to avoid problems like yours, but I outsmarted myself. It had a variable speed fan motor which was supposed to vary according to the demand. It never seemed adequate to the challenge. It made strange sounds and finally failed after about 8 years. The replacement cost about $1,500! Fortunately, it was under warranty but I still had to pay for the labor.
Then, a couple of years ago the replacement died. In the middle of an ice storm, naturally. On inspection the man told me that this time I would have to pay for the replacement fan. Not only that, but the original condensate pump was defective. It was factory-assembled in a way such that it ran continuously instead of on demand. Also, the original furnace was cracking. Oh man. I ended up buying a new furnace with its own conventional fan and have had no trouble since – it’s excellent. I also bought a programmable thermostat at Walmart for about $30 and installed it myself – works perfectly. This stuff is apparently designed by geniuses and assembled by idiots.
Sometimes you just have to persist. Good luck!
Especially annoying right now is that I paid for repair of this same problem last week. Two different calls in the same evening and he obviously still didn’t get it fixed. Now, even though I joined their Green Club for first call first served service, they tell me it will be tomorrow before they get out here. I got 2-hour service last week! And I’m already bracing for the new blower fan he didn’t put in before. And questioning all that when the unit is 15 years old. If it quits completely, I’m to call them. Perhaps I could arrange to have that happen …
Well, you can’t sleep if you have something irritating and worrisome on your mind! When this happens to me, I just get up and try to start my day. The challenge is NOT having that nap that will cause a spiral effect of bad night, nap, bad night, nap. Well you get the picture! So sorry this happened. Have a better day, and hope that the furnace problem is soon resolved.
I’ve already dozed off once on the couch, all snuggly in sweats. At least tonight if necessary I have an electric blanket I can plug in. Or I should just pull some wires loose. They said they could make it today if the unit quit altogether …. hmmm
LOL… No, not laughing at you but rather the difference between us. If I had woken at 3:00 a.m. I would have had a big smile on my face thinking what a great night of rest I had gotten. I’m usually up by 4:00 a.m. and ready for another morning in Cyberspace because that’s about all I can get out of a night’s rest..
It seems you and I are both up at midnight but for different reasons. Your ending your day while my sleep is once again being interrupted by Mother Nature.
Sorry about your heating. That kind of stuff stresses me out. The stress most times makes the problem worse than it really is but what can you do? Yea, 15 years old is getting up there for the old heater. But I don’t blame you for squeezing all you can out of it before it gives up the ghost. You may recall I’ve been squeezing my fridge now for some 28 years. Every time I hear it cycle off I hold my breath until it comes back on. 🙂
I am really surprised you don’t have a great electric blanket, especially given where you live. I tell you, I use mine every night and even in the summertime sometimes. I couldn’t survive without it.
Oh I do have said blanket. Just hadn’t been needing it. Tonight it will be definitely be plugged in and ready to go.
Hope my fridge will last 28 years. Everything in my kitchen is 15 years old and acts like it’s on it’s last legs.
Oh wow…I am so sorry to hear. I get cold her in FL and in some parts of Jamaica so don’t know if I could manage to live anywhere that was so cold. I am paranoid of electric blankets though, I think that would keep me awake more than the cold…LOL…perhaps I need to stop watching so much TV
I was very paranoid about the old electric blankets. Had one that actually charred a hole through itself. The new ones don’t get nearly as hot, which is rather unfortunate, but if you get them turned on well ahead of time and give them plenty of time to warm up, they do provide gentle warmth. Not outright heat you can feel, but subtle warmth is there. Best use, I think, is to preheat your bed 45 minutes before you turn in, then turn it off after you get in bed if they worry you.
PiedType that sounds more like what I would do. There is no way I would be sleeping with anything electric on me…LOL
It’s worked well for me. I get to slide into a nice, warm, relaxing bed, cuddly clear down to my toes. Then turn it off and I’m asleep before it cools completely. With another blanket on top, it actually holds the warmth pretty well. You just have to allow amply warm-up time. Unlike the old blankets, it hardly feels warm to the touch.
Cool
So sorry to hear about the furnace and the sleep!
I kind of chuckled at a night time temp of 68, because that is about what we set for a day time temp. At night we have the furnace set for 57. We have a down filled quilt on our bed, and the combination of that and the memory foam type mattress (that seems to be like a heat sink) works for us. Of course, we live in a land of winter ice and snow, so I think we are just programmed for cooler temperatures!
I do like it cool in the bedroom so I can snuggle under some covers. But I don’t like it so cold in the room that getting up at night is a painful experience. And at my age, I’m usually up several times a night.
I consider nights like that to be a torment from hell. When I was a kid I saw a television show (I think it was a Three Stooges short) where a guy was having an argument with his wife and had to sleep on the sofa. He couldn’t get comfortable and dreamed he was covered with a dozen devils about 6 inches tall, all stabbing him with pitchforks. I didn’t understand it at the time, but now that image comes to mind whenever I’m having a bad night…
There are times when I wish I could drink. Here’s to never being deviled during the night!
Funny. I was in and out all night and frequently accompanied by a bed full of unrecognizable animals. Friendly enough, all jockeying for a space on the bed, but none of this world. More like cartoon animals. Very strange night.
Oh great — as if being old and sleepless wasn’t bad enough, now scientists say that poor sleep quality can be a marker for having a stroke!
http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2016/01/15/Poor-sleep-quality-puts-seniors-at-higher-risk-for-stroke/7841452880515/?spt=su
Oh terrific. Just what I needed to hear. But hear this. If I stroke out tonight, I blame the furnace repair guy who couldn’t be bothered to fix it right the first time! His invoice is right here on the front table. He’ll be easy to find.
😛
I really hope your day was better after this hellish night…and good luck with the furnace repair!
I was kind of in a fog yesterday, and not at all happy with the circumstances, but I slept well last night and feel much better this morning. Now if only that furnace guy would get here and get this place warmed up.
I hope you’re warm now!
I am. And it’s delicious!
I HATE nights like that…I had one like that just recently…but it was followed up by a colonoscopy in the morning.
Yikes, with a prospect like that I wouldn’t have slept at all. And I’d have been an insufferable bitch about it, too.
lol!!
Oh my, this is all too familiar. I haven’t slept well in a week, but my relating my experiences would not be half so entertaining as yours I think.
At least I slept like a baby last night, snuggled under several blankets. But it sure was tough getting up in a cold house. All better now, though. Repairman has come and gone and the house is warm again.
We need our warmth!😨
Glad you got the furnace fixed! But yeah, I can see how insomnia can be aggravating if you’re not used to it.
Sometimes I wake up and can’t get back to sleep, but it’s rare.
I sleep pretty well under one thin blanket sandwiched between two topsheets and with a warm partner and a cat. It was 66F this a.m. in the kitchen, which seemed very cold to us. The even tropical climate here, usually up to the low 80’s in the daytime and the high 60s at night and the bright days and dark nights of about even length really do make for comfortable sleeping.
60-something is my idea of the perfect sleeping temperature. Cool enough to be refreshing and restful under some covers (I need covers with a little weight; insecurity I guess), but not cold enough to chill you or make you uncomfortable.
Gotta do something about that avatar! Yikes. That could keep me awake!
Sorry, it’s assigned automatically by WordPress computers. You should go to en.gravatar.com (run by WordPress) and set up one you like, using whatever image you choose.
Nights like that are horrible! My sleeping schedule is all out of whack. Since I work from home, I don’t have to worry about getting up and to the office. Plus I set my own hours. It’s not unusual for me to still be awake at 3 am or even 4 am. I don’t want to go to sleep. I’m always up on my tablets either cruising the internet or doing some of my puzzle games. It just seems like I can’t get enough new stuff in my head these days so I stay awake too long. Eventually I go to sleep – usually with my tablet laying in my lap. I’ll get up mid-morning, commute to the coffee maker in the kitchen, then commute to my computer. I’ve started to notice that my productivity is really starting to wan so decided that I need to get more sleep during proper hours. So I’ll put the tablet down, turn off the light, and end up tossing and turning until 3 or 4 am. Ugh.
Sleep can be so elusive, and even more so when you’re trying so hard to get it. And it’s my top priority. Sleep, then food. Lacking enough of either, I can’t function and you sure don’t want to be in the same room with me. The problem I have to fight is that it’s often easier to stay on the couch, browsing on my laptop, than it is to get up and go through the routine to get to bed. And the longer I put it off, the harder it gets. I don’t think I’d do well at all working from home and trying to maintain something like a normal work schedule. There’d be just that much more pressure to get some sleep!
A bit cool at night is OK – but with these storms coming across, the mornings could be really cold! Hope they darn thing is fixed.
Ours died (during the second very cold spell we had this year, naturally) We bought a new unit ( with variable speed fan…not recommending that. They say energy savings, but isn’t doesn’t work well in this climate. SNARL). So it got put in…and the company “repair/install” guys have been back 4 times already…forgot to do something on the outside unit during install, did something wrong up stairs, not adjusted properly, Oh – this unit has one of the defective parts that we always have to repair….the list is endless and infuriating. It’s a Trane – and it stops every time it wants. UGH
Thank goodness for fireplaces and blankets..dishwashers really warm up a kitchen. HA HA
(We stopped using electric blankets with the broken wire worry – but more for the electromagnetic field.)
Okay, definitely crossing Trane off my list. That’s a real horror story (but maybe the fault of the techs instead of the equipment?). Variable speed fans seem to be the in thing now, from what little I’ve read so far. (But what good is variable speed? If it needs to blow, it should go all out. If it doesn’t, it shouldn’t run at all.) Based on what I know about those energy saving things that shut off your A/C in the summer whether you like it or not, I’m reluctant to cede any control of my HVAC systems to any outside entity or energy saving feature. My HVAC, my choice!
Google “AC makes huge clunking noise outside when the fan shuts off” – it’s typical of the variable speed units – it can’t be good for it ( We didn’t know – we researched and researched – but not a choice we would make again. It doesn’t move enough air on “low” variable speed – not working after living with it for a bit.) Unit came from factory with defective part that the local installers are forced to replace (if you notice it)
It looks like most of the houses in our subdivision reached the end of the builder’s units last year and this. The must have a time clock for shelf life HA HA (grrrr)
You can bet I’ll remember this when I start shopping for a new system.