The Anonymous Widower

Do Vitamin B12 Injections Make You Drowsy?

For the last couple of days I’ve been feeling a bit drowsy.

  • The physio at my fitness class possibly noticed it on Friday.
  • I certainly had a good siesta on Friday afternoon.
  • This morning I went back to bed after the Ocado delivery at 06:30 and slept for an hour.

Google AI gave this answer to my question.

Cyanocobalamin is a form of vitamin B12 that is used to increase vitamin B12 levels. It is available in a variety of forms over the counter as a supplement and by prescription as an injection or nasal spray. Some common side effects may include headache, feeling weak or tired, and nausea.

I certainly didn’t have any headache or nausea. But then I rarely have the first and only have the second, when I see Donald Trump or Vladimir Putin on the television.

According to the BBC, we have been having unusually low atmospheric pressure for this time of year.

So I also asked Google AI if low atmospheric pressure can make you drowsy.

Google AI gave this answer to my question.

Yes, low atmospheric pressure can make you drowsy. This is because low pressure systems, often associated with stormy or cloudy weather, can lead to decreased sunlight exposure, which can disrupt the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle (circadian rhythm) and increase melatonin production, the hormone that promotes sleep. Additionally, low pressure can reduce oxygen saturation, potentially causing fatigue.

As my now-retired GP felt I was badly affected by low atmospheric pressure, I’ll go along with that!

As that GP and myself felt that low atmospheric pressure drew water out of my body and made me dehydrated, I asked Google a supplementary question – Does dehydration make you drowsy?

Google AI gave this answer to my question.

Yes, dehydration can definitely make you feel drowsy. When your body is dehydrated, it doesn’t have enough fluids to function optimally, which can lead to fatigue and drowsiness. Dehydration can also cause a drop in blood pressure, which can reduce blood flow to the brain, further contributing to feelings of tiredness and sleepiness, according to A.Vogel UK.

I’ll go along with that.

Conclusion

Did the combination of the B12 injection and the low atmospheric pressure combine to make me unusually drowsy?

It’s certainly a possibility.

The more I ask Dr. Google questions, that he passes to his computerised assistant, the more I like and trust the system.

 

 

August 2, 2025 Posted by | Computing, Health | , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

My Family And Lunchtime Naps

Consider.

  • My father was a great one for a lunchtime nap of perhaps thirty minutes after his sandwiches and a cup of tea in his print works in Wood Green.
  • I can still see him sitting there on a wartime Utility dining-chair fast asleep.
  • As my paternal grandfather was a professional alcoholic, I suspect he slept a lot. But whether he took naps, I do not know.
  • I’ve always been prone to fall asleep, but as I’ve got older, I seem to do it more often.
  • My middle son, also had a nap after Christmas Lunch last year. But was that just coincidence.

These are questions, that I’ve asked Google AI.

Are There Any Medical Benefits Of The Spanish Siesta?

Google AI said.

Yes, there are potential medical benefits associated with the Spanish siesta, which is a short afternoon nap. Studies suggest that siestas can improve cognitive function, mood, and cardiovascular health. A well-timed and appropriately short siesta can help reduce stress, improve memory consolidation, and even lower blood pressure.

That seems fairly positive.

Will A Spanish Siesta Help Atrial Fibrillation?

I ask this question, as I have atrial fibrillation and I was told, it caused my stroke.

Google AI said.

Spanish siesta, or daytime napping, is not a guaranteed or recommended treatment for atrial fibrillation (AFib). While some studies suggest a link between napping and AFib risk, the relationship is complex and depends on nap duration and individual factors. Short naps (15-30 minutes) may be associated with a lower risk, while longer naps could potentially increase the risk, especially in those with hypertension.

As I don’t have hypertension, it could be positive for me!

 

Does Atrial Fibrilation Run In Families?

Google AI said.

Yes, atrial fibrillation (AFib) can run in families, meaning it can be inherited. While many cases of AFib are linked to lifestyle factors, age, and other medical conditions, a significant portion of individuals with AFib, especially those with no clear cause, have a family history of the condition. Studies suggest that up to 30% of people with AFib of unknown cause have a family history of the condition.

As my father’s medical history seems fairly similar to mine, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had had it.

Is there A Connection Between Atrial Fibrilation And Coeliac Disease?

Google AI said.

Yes, there is an association between atrial fibrillation (AF) and celiac disease (CD), with studies indicating an increased risk of AF in individuals with CD. This connection is thought to be linked to the inflammatory nature of both conditions.

I have both and I suspect my father did too. We both had a serious stroke at around sixty.

My father had a second, which killed him a few years later. Modern pharmaceuticals have probably kept me alive.

July 19, 2025 Posted by | Health | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Eyes Full Of Sleep

I can remember my mother telling my wife a; C,  about myself, when I was a baby. She said that my eyes got terribly bunged up with muck, what she called sleep. She also said she’d spend time cleaning out my eyes and ears.

Last night, I was finding, that my eyes were so full of muck, that I couldn’t type, with one in about five letters wrong.

I thought it just could be be my eyes full of sleep, so I ran a deep bath and gave my eyes a thorough flush.

After that I could see and type properly.

I slept well.

In fact I slept so well, that I overslept until nine. Which is very unlike me.

I also wasn’t sure of the day, when I woke up. But at least, I got my drugs right.

An Incident As A Child

In one incident as a child, when I was about five, I can remember my mother picking me up, taking me upstairs, running a bath and then undressing me quickly and putting me in it. I also remember that I was very red.

Any ideas about what she was doing?

February 25, 2025 Posted by | Health | , , , | 3 Comments

Am I Sleeping Better Because Of Ocado?

A couple of months ago, I switched to shopping for food on-line at Ocado, and I am certainly sleeping better.

The only big change in my eating habits, is that I am now having a Marks & Spencer’s Lamb’s Liver and Bacon ready meal once a week.

Is that Vitamin B12 making a difference?

I do wish, that someone would do a proper Italian fegato, like Carluccio’s used to do. It’s virtually unobtainable in London.

After they stopped selling it, I used to have lunch with a friend in a pub in Oxfordshire. But sadly they died a couple of years ago.

If anybody knows of a decent country pub, by a station, that services excellent liver please let me know.

October 10, 2024 Posted by | Food, Health | , , , , , | Leave a comment

How I Was Imprisoned In A Pizza Restaurant And Driven Home By The Metropolitan Police

At lunchtime today, I received a phone call, saying that my GP’s surgery could see me at 16:30 this afternoon, to discuss my lack of sleep, arthritis and various strains and pains.

My middle son; Henry had expressed a desire to be at such an appointment, so I said, that if he could chauffeur me to the GP, he could come along.

His diary co-operated and he duly arrived outside my house at 16:00.By the time of the GP’s appointment, we had parked conveniently outside the surgery and we had been ushered into the GP’s consulting room.

We had a good meeting and by just after five, we had broken up and agreed a comprehensive plan for the diagnosis of my problems.

Henry had three problems of his own.

  • He had legal work to do for the morning.
  • He needed to do some bits of shopping.
  • He also said, that he was feeling rather hungry.
  • I too was hungry and needed to do some  shopping.

So I suggested we drive to Southgate Road and see if we could get a pizza in Sweet Thursday.

  • They do gluten-free pizzas, so I would have no dietary worries.
  • In previous meals, I have found the quality excellent.
  • There are shops nearby, where we could shop, if we needed.

As I approached the restaurant, I decided we had made the right decision, as there was a parking space about twenty metres from the restaurant.

We both had similar meals.

  • Ham and mushroom pizzas, although mine was gluten-free.
  • I drunk a zero-alcohol Lucky Saint, whilst Henry had a Diet-Coke.
  • We both finished off, with two scoops of appropriate ice cream.

It was only, when we had paid and tried to leave that we got a very big surprise.

Parked in front of the restaurant with its disabled ramp extended, like some beached airliner was a 141 bus, that was empty of passengers.

  • There was broken glass at the front of the bus.
  • Was this evidence, that the bus had hit something or somebody?
  • The police had strung white tape everywhere.
  • There were half-a-dozen police cars and ambulances blocking Southgate Road.

Henry’s car wouldn’t be going anywhere for some time, as it was blocked in by two ambulances and a police car with flashing blue lights.

  • So, Henry and I each had a coffee, to pass the time.
  • We also made friends with others trapped in the restaurant.
  • Henry also obtained information from the police, that no-one would be moving, until it was known that no-one would be moving until the full state of the injuries of the person hit by the bus was known.

So Henry and I just sat there with several others on the hard chairs in front of the restaurant.

In the end, for me, it was over very quickly.

  • I live about a kilometre North of the incident.
  • Some were walking from the incident to the Balls Pond Road to get a bus.
  • I am fairly sure, Henry had told the police, that it was far too far for me to walk with my arthritic hip.

I was put in the back of a police car and ferried home, at about 21:45.

Thanks to the Metropolitan Police.

I have some further thoughts.

Do I Drink Enough?

Since lunchtime, I have drunk the following.

  • 4 x 330 ml – Adnams Ghost Ship 0.5 % Beer
  • 1 x 330 ml – Lucky Saint 0.5 % Beer
  • 300 ml – Assorted water and juices.
  • 1 cup – coffee.

Is that enough?

I certainly slept better last night!

 

 

July 30, 2024 Posted by | Food, Health, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

A Very Bad Night’s Sleep

Last night, I must have woke several times in the night, before I finally gave up at about three-thirty and got up and started doing the puzzles on the Internet, and having some mugs of tea.

At four I went back to bed and was able to grab perhaps thirty minutes of sleep.

But my body hurt all over with a vengeance.

  • There was pain in the back of my left hand.
  • My toes hurt badly.
  • My right hip was painful.
  • All my skin felt very dry.

So at five,  I decided to get up and have the cure-all remedy, which is a deep hot bath.

It certainly worked and I felt a lot better,

After the bath, I got back in bed, and although I didn’t sleep, I rose and  left the house soon after nine to get my gluten-free breakfast in Leon on Moorgate, with added tea and orange juice.

As I left the house, I noticed that one of the upstairs windows was open, so I had to go back and shut it.

 

As I never open this window, I thought it must have been the cleaners, who’d left it open. Especially, as it had happened before, a couple of weeks ago.

But then, I realised what had happened.

  • The window hadn’t been properly secured.
  • Last night, a storm with a low-pressure area had gone through..
  • The pressure had just been low enough to pop the window open.
  • The low-pressure had then just sucked the water out of my body.

My hot bath had put the water back in, the way, that it had come out.

After breakfast and picking up a prescription from Boots, I took a bus home.

On arriving home, I needed to have a poo, but was unable to go, as I was just too constipated.

After a laxative and several drinks, that problem was cured.

Conclusion

Were all my problems today, down to the fact that the weather stole my body’s water and I didn’t drink enough to put it all back?

July 16, 2024 Posted by | Computing, Health | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Can I Please Have A Good Night’s Sleep?

In all my seventy-six years, I’ve never had trouble getting to sleep. I can sleep on trains and in planes and like my father, I have no trouble going to sleep in a hard upright chair.

But everything changed two weeks ago. I would go to bed at my usual 23:00 and perhaps drop off for a quarter if an hour and then start to lie there fully awake.

Normally, I now get up at about two-thirty and do the puzzles in The Times.

Welcome to the chewed-string lifestyle.

I’ve tried herbal sleeping tables, but they don’t help!

I went to see my GP and she made no suggestions.

Can I Please Have A Good Night’s Sleep?

June 7, 2024 Posted by | Health | , , | 4 Comments

Last Night, I Had A Very Bad Night’s Sleep

I usually sleep very well. In fact like my father, if I need a nap, I can even take it on a hard upright chair.

He would have a nap like this every day in his printworks. It also looks like my 53 year old middle son has this ability to take a quick nap.

Last night, I slept very badly and woke about two, with a pain in my hip.

I nearly phoned 111, as I felt so rough. Luckily I didn’t!

I didn’t get much more sleep and eventually had perhaps a nap of an hour or so, before I gave up and got out of bed to do a few puzzles on the Internet.

After a large mug of tea, the pain in my hip receded.

My now-retired GP, reckoned I suffered when the atmospheric pressure was low.

So, did an area of low pressure pass through last night and suck water out of my body?

After a good bath, I certainly feel better now, with no pain in my hip.

In My Strange Skin, I describe an incident, where weather sucked water out of my body!

It’s Now Ten O’Clock

I’ve survived the day and managed to take a train to Reading and back.

I had intended to take pictures in Oxford, but when I got to Reading, it was raining hard and I turned back.

May 26, 2024 Posted by | Health | , , , , | 2 Comments

It Must Be Warm, As I’ve Put My Electric Blanket Away

I’ve taken my electric blanket off the bed, as I have found I’ve not used it for some months.

The bed ceretainly feels more comfortable and the only new problem I’ve got is that I can’t fold it up to put it away.

 

January 19, 2015 Posted by | World | , | 2 Comments

Two Very Different Beds

I had two nights in Scotland and they couldn’t have been more different.

The first was in the Premier Inn at Lauriston Place in Edinburgh.

I’ve stayed there before and although not the best placed, it was easy to get to from the station after we finally found a taxi.

But I wasn’t prepared for what I found, although the receptionist said that my top-floor-room might be a bit hot.

A Greeting From Two Fans

A Greeting From Two Fans

I’ve never been met by two fans as I entered a room.

It was hot and so I opened the window as far as I could. But in the morning, this is what I read on my hygrometer/thermometer.

This Is Just Too Hot!

This Is Just Too Hot!

It is the worst case I’ve found of top-floor-overheating I’ve found.

It was much worst than the room, that I’d suffered in Iceland.

My second bed was on the Caledonian Sleeper. I took this picture lying in the comfortable enough bed.

Looking Around My Cabin

Looking Around My Cabin

When I got up it was nineteen degrees on the train, with a very pleasant humidity of 26%.

Strangely the quality of the sleep on both nights was about the same, but I have felt a lot better today, than I did yesterday.

The interesting thing though was that the single-occupancy bed on the Sleeper was cheaper than the night in Edinburgh.

July 30, 2014 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , | Leave a comment