Sleep or lack of it...

[Vlal]

I am into another weird sleep cycle. Damn it.

Basically I have swung around to this:

Feel sleepy and have trouble to stay awake/keep eyes open in the evening 7, 8, 9 pm and then by my 'normal' sleep time of 10-11 pm, I am wide awake until 2 or 3 am sometimes even later.

So last night I thought I would try and grab the sleepy feeling in the evening and went to bed very early. Would you believed it, at midnight it was like: BHAAAAAAAM. I snapped awake and was wide awake as if it were the morning (not that I ever feel like that in the morning, but it's how I imagine I should feel) and I then was unable to get to sleep till after 2 am. Then when I woke up in the morning... I felt like sh!t... like something the cat had dragged in.

It's so frustrating because I was trying so hard to stick to a good routine. I am not sure why I am even posting this. Just wanted to rant and wondered if anyone else experiences this also.

[pinhey]

I don't know why I bother going to bed sometimes,it's just tossing and turning all night,I was still awake at 5am last night,when I eventually feel that I'm falling asleep the bloody alarm goes off to get my daughter up for school,what gets me really mad is my husband goes to bed hours after me and he's snoring within 10 minutes,I feel like smothering him with his pillow.Rant away vickie it makes you feel better to have a rant sometimes ,hope you get some sleep tonight.
pinhey

[Paul Clarke]

It is very common amongst our members to have trouble sleeping. Sleeping longer than usual feeling the need for more sleep is common. Waking frequently during sleep is common. The sudden unfightable need to sleep is common. Going for a much needed nap and waking feeling much worse is common.

One reason for waking constantly can be pain. My sleep pattern has now established into sleeping for 1 hour & 20 minutes before waking. This is due to pain caused by congestion from the body being in a lying down position. Sitting up for 20 minutes allows gravity to do some work and relieve some of the pressure. I now normally sleep in a kneeling position propped up with six pillows.

Chronic lack of sleep can be dangerous with your body going straight from awake to REM or dream state micro sleeps which can last seconds. Not too bad unless you are driving. I had a close call recently when my van left the road and I was awoken by the sound of tyres crunching through gravel at 90 mph picking the only safe spot within miles to do so. That trick was done by trained should have known betters and we strongly urge you not to attempt this at home!

Winding down the window or listening to music will not help. You MUST pull off the road. A change of underpants is advisable.

Sleeping tablets can offer a temporary solution however, the sleep you get under the influence of tablets carries little value to the body.

There are two types of insomnia, the most common being the inability to get to sleep, the other being the inability to stay asleep. For the former, I have found stilnocht to be very effective, lasting only about 20 minutes in your system but long enough to get you off. For the latter, I have found Zanax to be an excellent sleeping tablet, keeping me asleep for a solid eight hours and waking up feeling refreshed with no “hang-over”. These should be used with caution if you are on any opioid based pain killers as the breathing reflex is damaged / affected by these drugs. I know a lady who was given her normal dose of Oxynorm liquid, had her nap as usual, only this time, she never woke up. The breathing reflex stopped to the point that she died. It was a sad case as the husband had given her the pain killers that killed her however, hours later when they went to move her body, they found her horrible mangy old cat under her. I suppose you could have called the cat her flat mate and was buried with her.

There is a lot about sleep that is misunderstood, primarily, why do we need to sleep. While the body repairs itself from the day’s wear and tear, and the brain files away all its experiences for the day, lack of sleep can have profound effects. After about 72 hours, you will start to hallucinate which is very frightening. Studies done by the Nazis using the Jews showed that after 6 days without sleep, permanent mental damage occurs. More than 50% of subjects died at day 11 and the longest recorded was 16 days before death occurred. The actual cause of death was not ascertained. I am stating research that was done in the early nineties and someone may have more accurate information on the subject.

It is a subject, like pain, the gravity of which is greatly unappreciated by the medical profession. While any doctors or nurses bed side locker is practically guaranteed to contain sleeping tablets, they hate dispensing them as they don’t see patients die from either. Quality of life does not go into spreadsheets well.

Tablets should be seen as a way to get you back into a sleeping pattern. I am currently prescribed large doses of 4 different sleepers, one of whom comes under controlled drugs. I can take the full script of eight tablets and still lie awake for hours. Resistance builds up quickly and I come off all sleepers regularly for about a week to ten days ever 5 weeks or so. Certain sleepers can be amazingly addictive and should be handled with care.

Sleep Apnaoia is another dangerous condition that is common among our members and can be responsible for waking suddenly several times a night.

It is interesting to note that sleep deprivation is a recognised form of torture that is banned by The Geneva Convention.

That as is usual for my postings probably answers a whole plethora of questions you never asked

Good night – see you in another hour and 20 minutes,

Paul

[JohnwithanhD]

I noticed that since starting Somatuline (lanreotide) that my sleep patterns have been a bit off. Wide awake at some times during the night, waking up at 1am as it feels like it is time to get up. Then again at 4am. Naturally I am then drifting off when the alarm goes off at 7. However, this may just be my manifestation of the 'hyper' feeling that some people get when starting this drug.

However, it's nothing like the sleep disruption I got before my op with acromegaly. I had what was diagnosed "very mild" sleep apnoea. Believe me, waking up with a start but feeling incapable of doing whatever it takes to start breathing again is scary! There is nothing "very mild" about it. The sleep disruption the year or so before the operation was probably the worst I had ever experienced. I just felt tired all day long.

John

[Vlal]

Hehe Paul... no, it's very interesting.

Pinhey - I know what you mean about your husband. My dad is like that... he can just drop off in a few minutes and mum and I would still be wide awake.

John - I am getting the hyper sleeping symptoms without the drug you are taking/having...

Was awake most of last night to then go in and have the dental appointment from hell...

I will be addressing sleep issues with doctor when I see one.