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I have two diagnosed sleep disorders: narcolepsy without cataplexy and obstructive sleep apnea. Prior to treatment, I was constantly tired and headachey. Sometimes I would fall asleep for 1-6 hours and wake up alert. Sometimes I could get 6-8 hours of sleep before my office job, but other times I would feel too alert to fall back asleep. Invariably, I always felt exhausted the following day. I never fell asleep without control, but I often napped in my car over my lunch break. I would feel a little alert for about half an hour after these naps and then I would go back to feeling exhausted. I tried melatonin, restricting screen time, different sleep aids, working out, adjusting my diet, restricting caffeine, getting bloodwork... Nothing worked until I got properly diagnosed and treated. For the OSA, I sleep with a CPAP. I want to note that I've lost 100 pounds and had two surgeries to remove obstructions from my airway (septoplasty with turbinate reduction and a tonsillectomy with adenoidectomy), but I still manage mild OSA. For the narcolepsy, I take a nighttime medicine called Xyrem twice a night. I also take a wakefulness promoter to help me stay awake during the day. I usually wake up feeling rested and I don't have awful headaches as much anymore. I'm really shocked by how miserable I felt for so long. If anyone reading this thread feels constantly tired and exhausted and miserable no matter what they do, I recommend seeing a doctor specializing in sleep medicine. Usually this will be a neurologist but it can also be a pulmonologist. Usually doctors will request an in-lab overnight sleep study so they can see how your brain, cardio-respiratory system and muscles are performing during sleep. One of my friends had a stroke in his sleep in his early 40s due to untreated sleep apnea so it can become pretty serious if you wait on it. Plus, people feel so much better after getting their sleep issues fixed. EDIT: If this would be of interest to anyone, the obstructive sleep apnea thread is over here! A while back I started a narcolepsy thread in A/T that a few other goons with narcolepsy joined, but it became inactive after a few weeks and is now locked. legsarerequired fucked around with this message at 21:58 on Jan 18, 2021 |
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Sep 30, 2020 01:37
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PhysicsFrenzy posted:I also saw a major improvement in my ability to sleep when I disassociated my bed from anything besides sleep (though I've fallen out of the habit recently). If I wanted to lay down and play on my phone I'd go to the couch, and only physically lay in bed when I was ready to actually sleep. Yes! Sleep hygiene is so helpful for getting good quality sleep. Medical professionals who are familiar with sleep medicine wil frequently advocate and ask about sleep hygiene habits. Anyone interested in accessing consistent sleep can learn more about sleep hygiene here. People living in regions that practice daylight savings time should pay attention to the bullet point about gradual, incremental adjustments to sleep scheduling/bedtimes. The upcoming "fall back"/"gaining an hour" tends to be easier on people than "spring forward"/"losing an hour" but if you want to adjust your sleep schedule to avoid getting tired "early" in the evening after the time change it might be a good idea to start adjusting your bedtime soon. legsarerequired fucked around with this message at 05:35 on Oct 3, 2020 |
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Oct 3, 2020 05:31
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Nanomachine Son posted:I’ve always had sleep problems but it’s only gotten worse lately. I have the most issues when it comes to getting to sleep, and also typically wake up at least once during a normal rest period to use the bathroom. I’m pretty sure most of my problems can be attributed to diet / weight, though I was told by my parents it was an issue even when I was a baby so who knows. Please don't be hard on yourself about diet or weight. It's difficult to make major dietary/exercise changes, especially if you aren't getting good quality sleep. I know I consume much less sugar and caffeine now that I'm actually having restful sleep at night. I also want to note that even after my 100-pound weight loss and getting two surgeries to remove obstructions from my airway, I still have a mild form of obstructive sleep apnea and narcolepsy. I will say that making diet/exercise changes was much easier for me AFTER I got both of my sleep disorders properly diagnosed and treated. I always feel so bad when I see people talk about how they should change their diet before they go to a sleep doctor because I remember how much harder it was for me to control that stuff when I felt constantly exhausted. quote:Out of curiosity for those who have gone through the process, how did you schedule a sleep study and how much did it cost you? I have some fairly minimal insurance so I’m sure it’d be out of pocket, but the idea is tempting if it could correct my issues. Unfortunately I don't remember how much my tests cost me. There was one overnight sleep study where I paid ~$1200 out of pocket because insurance refused to cover it, but for the others I think I only paid the copay. (I'm not a medical professional of any kind so someone please correct any inaccuracy in the below text! I'm just a patient. Please check with your medical team about the best option for your situation.) There are a few kinds of sleep studies: - at-home overnight sleep study: In my experience this is the one more likely to be covered by insurance but it doesn't pick up nearly as much information as an in-lab sleep study. The doctor might have the study kit at their office and will send you home with it, then tell you to bring it back at your follow-up. I haven't had one of these in several years, but from what I remember it had something to track my pulse that connected to my finger, and plastic tubes to put near my mouth/nose to track my breathing. Please note that while the test is inexpensive, it might not pick up on certain sleep disorders. For example, this test did not detect my mild obstructive sleep apnea. I also don't think it would be able to detect narcolepsy or certain other sleep disorders because it can't track brain waves. - in-lab overnight sleep study/polysomnography: In this study, the sleep technician can observe your heart rate, breathing pattern, snoring, brain waves, eye movements, blood oxygen level, body position and chest/abdominal/limb movement. I've heard some health insurance policies will cover the in-lab sleep study if the at-home overnight sleep study doesn't detect anything (the idea being that the expense is now justified for the more sensitive test) or if your doctor pushes them to cover the study from the get-go. My GP and ENT had me make the appointment myself at one of the sleep centers in their hospital system. When I switched to seeing a neurologist specializing in sleep medicine, he worked at a clinic that had its own sleep lab on-site so I just made an appointment with his receptionist. - MSLT: you stay in the lab the next day after your in-lab so your doctor can gather brain wave data as you take 4-5 naps. (note: I think this one is typically only done when the doctor is concerned you have narcolepsy or idiopathic hypersomnia) EDIT: some doctors might ask you to wean off certain prescriptions (mainly stimulants and certain psychiatric meds) for two weeks prior to a sleep study. This is because certain medications can affect your sleep (for example some antidepressants can reduce the amount of REM sleep you have at night). Please know that some doctors will allow you to take the test without weaning. I myself couldn't stop my antidepressant so I'm glad none of my doctors asked me to stop it prior to my overnight sleep studies. legsarerequired fucked around with this message at 14:22 on Nov 24, 2020 |
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Nov 23, 2020 03:41
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