Searching for a good night's sleep ... with benefits

Yes, I'm kind of sleep-obsessed. Like all

humans, especially ET patients, I need a 
a good night's sleep, an essential component
to health and quality of life.

As I've noted in other posts, ET complicates everything, including getting a good night's sleep. Now that it's winter, I keep my bedroom unheated and the night sweats have subsided. And I sleep better here in the Upper Midwest in lower light conditions of winter and fall. Call me weird (thousands do!), but I love seeing that sunset at 4:30 p.m. instead of 9:30 p.m. in summer.

Anyhow, I'm kind of nutty about the topic of sleep because, along with the ET, I have a bad back and occasional sciatic pain. This has been greatly relieved by physical therapy. But I took note of recent radio news on the topic of sleep in my quest to feel better rested and improve quality of life

"Eyes Wide Open" is a two-part report on sleep by Shankar Vedantam on his "Hidden Brain" program. (And if you aren't familiar with Vedantam and his fascinating reports on the vectors between hard science and social behavior, you are missing a really interesting show.)

Spleen-o-rama

Had my annual visit with Dr. Blood yesterday, and she ordered another spleen ultrasound. I had one when I was first diagnosed with ET two years ago, but since my platelets are moving from the 600s to the 700s, she wants to check it again. If it's OK, I'll continue on wait-and-watch with aspirin only. If it's enlarged, I will join Club Hydrea.

So this seems like a good time to talk about spleens!

UPDATE 3 (December 2, 2017): Spleen ultrasound was normal, so back to wait-and-watch mode for another year unless platelets spike. But here's a fun math problem! Below are the dimensions of my spleen in 2015 and the latest dimensions. Figure the number of cubic centimeters to determine any size change. Show your work!

2015 spleen: 9.7 centimeters by 5.2 centimeters by 10.2 centimeters
2017 spleen: 10 centimeters by 4.4 centimeters by 9.8 centimeters

UPDATE 2 (November 29, 2017): Had my spleen ultrasound this morning, so hope to know the verdict about whether it's time to start the hydroxyurea by Friday.

UPDATE 1: Here's Dr. Oh explaining the spleen issue for you.