I live in a dormer bungalow and up until recently my bedroom has been one of the rooms upstairs - I love the shape of my bedroom. Being in the roof space it has quirky slants, a huge panoramic window (overlooking Falmouth Harbour) and 'neat' little corners.
BUT!!! since being breathless (really short of breath sometimes) I tend to stay downstairs. There is a bedroom downstairs but I don't use it. Most nights, lately, I stay in my sitting room and sleep on the three-seater sofa. I put my PJs on and sleep on my sofa covered by a wine-coloured blanket (really cosy) and what I call my 'mink' (a furry blanket I bought years ago in BHS).
Am I the only one who does this because I am afraid that by the time I get to the top of the stairs I will be in a 'bit of a state' or are there others who do the same as I do?
Even though no one else does this, I am not going to stop. I can watch TV when I'm 'in bed' and once I switch off TV I can see the outside light shining through one of the windows. I feel safe in my 'alternative bed'.
It's almost midnight and I am going to wash, put my PJs on and get into my 'alternative bed'.
Goodnight all you lovely people. Have a good night.
Lots of hugs
Annec
xxxxx
Written by
Pepsicoley
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Hi Annec. No I don't do this because I live in a flat anyway. Have always wanted a bungalow. I don't think any sofa could be as comfortable as my lovely bed anyway.
I was brought up in some cottages which were converted into one cottage (Laurel Cottage) and it was all on one level and I really envied my friends who had stairs in their house. I'll put a picture of my childhood home on a blog for you - it was a wonderful place to grow up in.
When Peter and I bought our first home (in the 70s) it was a bungalow on The Lizard (in Cornwall) - all one level again!!!!! The places we rented beforehand were flats.
We moved to (near) Falmouth in the 80s to another bungalow (but a dormer this time - with lovely stairs).
Peter and I have separate beds now (he reckoned I twitch about and squiggle too much) and I do really love being in my own bed. It's just the stairs that take it out of me. The sofa isn't as comfy as my bed but I can (usually) manage to lie down on it and sleep well without being SOB.
Aw thank you Annec. I sleep tight with the help of mirtazapine and alcohol...Oh and the cat cuddling up next to me.
My sister sleeps in her lounge because her bedroom is a bit damp but also because this creep lives over her and she said he can hear every sound from her bedroom! Nasty.
Sweet dreams to you. And lots of hugs xxxxx
Bev xx
As long as it's suiting you, I don't see the problem. I'm like hypercat, I live in a flat - sadly an upstairs one.....
Night Night Pepsicoley hope you have a nice sleep in your comfy sofa x x
I love going to bed by myself (on my own, with nobody else). Even if I don't manage to get to sleep quickly (which is very rare for me) being warm and having my 'comfort blankets' is comforting.
hi annec i live in a house and yes i sleep on my sofa. i do go upstairs during the day once or twice to the loo. but i do get out of breath. so i sleep downstairs. i have got my name down for a two bedroom bungalow but finding it hard to get one. because they are all so far from my children whom have grown up. so im sitting tight continuing to sleep down on my sofa till one comes up
I hope you get your bungalow soon. I do go upstairs now and again but not very often (my bathroom is downstairs).
My true love (Peter) could be running a brothel in the upstairs bedrooms for all I know!!!!!
My son, David, lives in Bristol and I would love to live near him but my husband is against moving away from here. Cornwall has been our home since the mid-sixties so I suppose it's understandable.
Are you hoping that a Council comes up with a bungalow for you or are you hoping for a private landlord?
i have my name down with the council but if i get a private landlord with one il go for that only problem is they are so expensive they all want ridiculous amounts i live in the north east of england a little place called seaham and there is loads of bungalows just all near enough one bedroomed ha and i can bet once i have mine there will no doubt be another dozen or so to follow it usually happens that way.but having said that my sofa is like a single bed plenty of room on it and so comfortable
Surely the Council would pay your rent for you or at least pay towards it if it was too much for you.
I'm a socialist through and through and believe that we should look after our people - especially those who are ill. I had better not start on politics or I'll be struck off this website.
I really do wish you luck in your search and I hope that you soon have what you wish for.
I've been sleeping mainly downstairs for some time now. I just cannot settle in bed and find that I get SOB or start to cough very easily. I've tried extra pillows, no pillows, Olbas oil on a tissue next to the pillow, extra covers, less covers, sleeping naked, wearing the wife's nightie - hey, anything that works would be good news!
I find that I can only sleep well if I am propped up on the sofa or in my armchair. So, I've an array of sleeping bags and fleece blankets, depending on how chilly it is. The last couple of nights I've had a summer weight sleeping bag plus a fleece blanket over the top and been OK. If I try adding any more I get too hot, apart from my feet and legs. I have to keep those well insulated with bedsocks and even legwarmers. In the winter I even keep my slippers on inside the sleeping bag.
If I can't drop off I can always put the TV on without disturbing anyone else, I spend a bit of time on the computer too, and the dog loves the extra play time she gets
I do find that going up the stairs makes me breathless, but by the time I've got sorted out in the bathroom and into bed it's not normally too bad.
My wife works funny shifts and can up up at 5am some days, so she manages to get some undisturbed sleep without me wriggling about trying to get settled. I've tried going up to bed once she's gone to work, but still can't settle - so it's not her fault
All of that has just been altered though. My youngest son (19) has come to live with us for a while, until he can get a job and his own place. It's a long story but he's homeless at present.
We've taken him in to try and help but he's been here 3 weeks now and he's sleeping on the sofa and has the sleeping bags, so I have had to go to bed - which is causing problems. He's just stayed with his Nan for a couple of nights, so I managed to get some much needed rest. We don't have a spare room or anything.
I'm so sorry that your son is having problems. If I could pack up one of my bedrooms I would send it to you for your son.
I only managed to produce one child, my son, David. He lives in Bristol but does come down quite often to see me (and his Dad) and also his friends. More often than not he says with friends - this place seems to be a halfway house!!!!
With luck, your boy will sort things out and manage to move into his own place. It must be awful for you to have to give up your sleeping place and climb the stairs. We love our children though and I suppose we will do anything to comfort them.
It's great being able to put the television on without disturbing anyone in the house - I do it quite often although I lie when Peter (my husband) asks me if I had the TV on last night. No, I say - perhaps you dreamt it.
Good luck Gordon and I hope you soon have your sleeing place back.
Time for bed said Zebedee!
Sweet dreams Gordon.
Lots of hugs
Annec
xxxxx
All us nightbirds should be in the land of nod ha ha
It's gone past one o'clock Bev so I think that you are sooooooo right. It is time for bed. I'll get my PJs on, get into my 'bed' and think about all the nice messages I have had.
I'm not too good at drinking (spirits). I think that I am absolutely minging.
Seems I'm one of the "lucky" ones with two floors. I go up to bed at night, come down in the morning and that's it! Anything needed from upstairs during the day my wife fetches for me (seems she must love me really!).
I hate those stairs with a passion, made worst by them being in the corner of the room all the time - just sitting there, smugly staring at me, knowing I can't/won't attempt them - I think they have a life of their own, sometimes they seem shorter as if they are trying to invite me to test them but I know they will only revert to their original mountainous size if I ever attempt the climb!
I don't think I'm really crazy - I just don't like the stairs so I make up stories about them!
Sleep tight - wherever you sleep and don't let the stairs win!
I did sleep really well. Didn't get up until about 10am today. My husband huffed and puffed a bit about that but that's life.
Annec
xxxxx
I think we all have different routines when we go to bed. I have a upstairs room with a view of the firestation and ambulance which doesn't sound pretty, but in actual fact, it isn't too bad. There are beautiful trees now in blossom. In fact, it can be quite reassurinng if an ambulance is needed.
I take my kindle fire up which does all sorts of tricks. Husband is in the next room. He is such a light sleeper, in fact we both are. I have my meds lined up, position the bed, get comfortable, have a camomile tea, read my kindle, follow messsages, take my meds, and hopefully sleep(not always)
Think it really tough for Gordon having to give his usual sleeping area. Someone should go and give him a massage to help him sleep.
Have a good Sunday, all. The sun is out, and a "walk" with Brian to see how far he can walk after the chemo.
I had a brilliant idea last night - the two end seats on my sofa have levers which extend the foot rests. Like you, I had my medicine lined up on the extension together with my glasses (absolutely useless without my glasses), the TV remote control (in case I couldn't sleep) and a little torch (so that if I woke in the night I would be able to see to switch the light on).
I have tried camomile tea but I really hate the taste of it.
It is a bit overcast here today but it is dry. I hope that you and Brian have a lovely walk.
Yes, we enjoyed our walk, but Brian was ready to sit down. It was only a short walk but at least he had it. I was on my buggy. Camomile tea can come with honey - better.
I have slept downstairs in a reclining chair for the last three years. Like Gordon I just don't sleep well in bed anymore but my chair reclines to keep me at just the right angle. Sleeping downstairs also keeps me safe from wifeys nocturnal wanderings. By the way, sorry to hear you are a socialist. Is there no hope of a recovery from it? he he. Lots of love from Bobby xxx
What do you mean - you're sorry to hear I'm a Socialist. I came from Scotland so I couldn't possibly be anything else. No, I doubt if I will be anything other than a Socialist.
Every night I say to Dennis ' I'll never make it up those damn stairs' and he always says 'yes you will', and I do but with some effort. Some nights seem easy some nights difficult but I shall perservere.
I think that I'm feeling a bit like a shirker now.
I am going to make a real effort to get upstairs to bed tonight. It may take me quite a while but I will make an effort.
Love from
Annec
xxxxx
Hi Annec
I HAVE to do stairs as our house is 'upside down' bedrooms and bathroom down and living room up. Not only have I slept on the sofa for the past 8 years (since the night my dad died) but I don't even bother to get undressed - I don't care!
I have to do stairs several times a day...to answer the door, go to the loo etc and put on clean clothes in the morning. I just count it as part of my exercise. Put a blanket over me anywhere and I'll fall asleep!
Just to clarify...we have a view of Mudeford harbour but only from upstairs hence the upside down house.
I'm known for sleeping anywhere and at any time. Some of my friends joke about it. I understand that it is one of the symptoms of depression. Being warm, cosy, and sleepy is one of my favourite things. Being asleep puts everything off for a while. My motto, these days, seems to be 'I'll do it later'.
What a lovely view from your sittingroom - you lucky lady. A friend, Sharon, went to live in Christchurch, some years ago, but I have lost touch with her. While still in touch, she told me what a wonderful place Christchurch was.
I remember Sharon's father coming in to see me at work one day to say "Sharon's been knocked up". Everyone in the reception area was looking at him and I was thinking "Oh my God, what an awful thing to happen when she has just left home". It turned out that John, her father meant that she had had an accident - someone has knocked into her (not knocked her up).
It must be lovely to have an uside-down house. Would you be able to have a stairlift put in?
hi annec i sleep downstairs because i moved into a bungalow 6 months ago from a house i got a transfer from my H A i used to live at the bottom of a hill and i could not get up the hill because of my COPD now everything is on the level and it is better yours reddy
I think I am very lucky because I can still get upstairs and when I can't I will have a stair lift put in. I am also lucky because I have a downstairs loo as well so I don't have to go up and down during the day. When I can't sleep I read, play comp games, crochet, sing whatever I live on my own so I only have myself to please.
I really should make more of an effort. I do have one bedroom downstairs but I can't make the effort to go across the hall to go and sleep there! How lazy am I? Don't answer that.
Most days I think to myself "I must make an effort. Tomorrow I will be different." Unfortunately, in my case tomorrow hasn't actually arrived yet!
my husband slept down stairs on the sofa for over five years lucky are bathroom is downstairs we have a small two up two down .so the only room in the house was also husbands bedroom so to speak but to small for a bed so like i said the sofa was his bed for ovr five years.so no you are not the only one
I have sometimes had to sleep downstairs in a chair, but now I have a stairlift wont need to in future, was much easier than moving home to meet my needs.
I live in a bungalow and love my bedroom but also love to be able to watch tele/read in my liv ing room for a change of scenery. Hopefully when the sun starts shining you will be able to get out more. Susie xx
I do miss my bedroom ustairs. I think that I will have to make an effort and move into my downstairs bedroom (I still keep it as my son's bedroom although he moved out years ago).
The bedroom downstairs doesn't have such a nice view as the upstairs one - I have a view of the garden from downstairs which, at the moment is OK because it's all neat and tidy. It's not so nice when Jason (the lovely person who does my garden) hasn't been for a while.
The sun is shining here today, in Falmouth, but it is still a bit nippy.
We used to live in a 3 bedroomed house but my husband found it very hard to get up the stairs. In the end we sold it and our daughter and husband sold their property and together we bought a house with a downstairs annexe.
I miss our house but we now live on the ground floor and I realise that it was the best solution. We have had to get rid of furniture etc., but my daughter and her husband are on hand to help us and in turn we help with the children.
I know not everybody would want to do this but as my husband has advanced COPD it works and we see our grandchildren everyday.
Looking forward to better weather when we can go out together.
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