Pain, Fatigue & ASMR

[singedsun]

About a month ago I went to the doctor for a nerve issue in my upper back and shoulders. I constantly felt like I was standing with my back to an open window, a cold just settling between my shoulders all the time. Having fibro makes me pretty sensitive to new weird potentially nerve related things, and in 2017 a bout of pancreatitis brought on by gallstones was preceded by about two months of shoulder pain. I ended up having my gallbladder out when that happened, so I knew that was unlikely to be the issue unless I was having another round of pancreatitis, which would've been an indicator of something far worse.

The doctor wasn't sure what to make of it but agreed it was likely a pinched nerve or something and prescribed me a z-pac of steroids to see if that would loosen things up and take care of the problem. Thankfully, after a few days and a really thorough back massage by the masseuse that comes into our office once every other week, it seemed to do the trick.

Unfortunately the side effects to a heavy dose of steroids I'm not used to has meant about a month of bad insomnia and getting my period two weeks early (and then it lasted the rest of the month). My body seems to be settling back into order but getting my sleep normal again is a hassle. It's not good in a normal month where my fibromyalgia pain and fatigue is pretty under control.

I've started to lean pretty heavily on pre-bed rituals, like writing and listening to ASMR videos instead of music to help get my head in the right space. Writing before bed can sometimes fight back in a few ways; I stay up too late with a good idea, I feel more awake once I get through the words I wanted to write, or I finish one thing and get hit with ideas for the next one. It's been worse in the past when I'm listening to music, so switching over to having ASMR videos playing in the background has been helpful. I'm strictly of the simple no talking, no roleplaying, dry sounds only kind of ASMR. I need it to sound a little like white noise without actually using white noise.

Are there any other ASMR fans out there?

I know it can be different for everyone like I absolutely can't do wet sounds or talking or anything like that. If it doesn't sound like scratching or soft tapping, I can't do it. But I have discovered that if I really need to focus on sleep that the videos with really distinct hand motions in them also help. I've also realized I'm very partial to videos where there's a single mic, not the ears or the head or whatever else the mics can be built into. ASMR Bakery on YouTube has become my go to for that kind of stuff. But I've started to build a playlist on YouTube of stuff that works for me.

Comments

[eloquated]

As a fellow spoonie, I empathize with your pain and the frustration!

I'm no help with the ASMR, (it doesn't do much for me!) but I really hope things settle for you soon. Even if it's just enough for you to get some proper sleep!

[singedsun]

Thank you!

[peachpai]

Steriods are the fucking worst. I don't sleep at all on them either, and I also don't want to eat because everything taste like ash. Never had them affect my period, but that sounds awful.

I appreciate ASMR, but I am more into soundscapes and binaural beats. I've been using them for anxiety/depression/focus issues, but I'm going to try it for sleep too. Maybe I should try more ASMR as well - do you have any recs for pre-bed relaxation?

[singedsun]

As mentioned ASMR Bakery is one of my favorites to watch/listen to. Mostly it's because there's no talking in like 99% of their videos. Recently, I've been watching this video a lot lately. They also did a leather sounds tapping video that I like a lot too.

[unikorento]

I didn't know writing could help as a pre-bed ritual. For me, I get somehow activated by it, and even if I do fall asleep, I'll typically either have the weirdest dreams or wake up several times.

ASMR, though? Hard same. I can't handle wet sounds either, but I do like a soft spoken voice. You don't like roleplays at all, then?

[singedsun]

Writing helps as a brain dump at the end of the day, especially if I've been mulling over a scene or conversation. I can get it out of my head instead of thinking about it in bed. But it can backfire if it leads to something new that I get really excited about, or close to an ending that I want to reach before bed. I try to keep it to only 200-300 new words though.

I don't really like any roleplays, no. Most of them require talking and most whispered voices still don't work for me. Although I will make an exception for this video that's like a Reiki session roleplay. She's got a good whispered voice and the hand motions make me real sleepy every time. I usually skip the beginning and go to like 4 and a half minutes in.

[unikorento]

Yep. That was definitely relaxing. Thanks for the link! It's weird, the things that one finds relaxing. Certain hand motions definitely hit the spot.

[singedsun]

If you liked that one, you might like this one I found last night which has layered sounds and hand motions too. Here.

[unikorento]

Whoa! My first thought was "oh, its a male asmrtist, this probably won't work for me". But I was so wrong. I wish he'd been just a tiny bit slower sometimes, but then sometimes the overwhelming quality of it actually added to the tingles. Very cool! Thanks! :D

[ssterchaos]

I'm not big on ASMR. It just doesn't appeal to me the way white noise or ambient music does. I honestly don't understand how ASMR can sound good to someone, but to each their own lol.

[singedsun]

The triggers for ASMR are extremely varied, so what works for some won't work for others, if at all. The stuff I use has to sound very similar to white noise. The majority of available ASMR videos, even from creators I like, aren't for me. But when I do find one that does work for me, it's really nice. I don't think it's much different than when people use like the sounds that mimic a coffeehouse while working at home, just another way to settle your brain.