Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Snooze, needing lots of sleep

Lately I have been sleeping a lot. That of course pushes my night time bedtime back a bit to what may be a normal bedtime.

I'm not sure why I'm so tired. Perhaps it's just the last few weeks catching up with me. A lot of stress worrying that every phone call is bad news, which it usually was for a while. Then there were the trips in the car and standing and sitting around in the ICU talking to someone who couldn't talk back. Emotionally, there was another vortex of happiness swirling around because my brother and sister were coming home from Iraq and I was delighted to see them.

Maybe that's why I have been so tired. Then again it could be the MS doing its special thing and letting me know that it was in charge, no matter what I was thinking.

For example, I went to bed late on Friday night for me, somewhere between 9:30-10. I slept through until 12:09 p.m Saturday afternoon. And, I took a nap.

Repeat on Sunday and then today.

I was supposed to get up at 7:30 today for physical therapy at 8:30. I turned off the alarm and there was no way I could get up. I was exhausted. Granted I fell asleep reeeeally late last night, after ten for some reason (perhaps all the sleep I've been getting). I totally blew off PT; I didn't call them today and they didn't call me so I need to call tomorrow and apologize for missing my appointment.

I feel bad about it but apparently not bad enough to get up for PT.

Does anyone else with MS ever get into this type of hyper-sleeping mode?

If I take Provigil for a few days I can forgo the naps but then it seems to catch up with me and I need all this sleep. I know some people with MS experience insomnia and I can't even imagine that. If I had to stay awake almost all the time it would make me wacky, moreso than usual.

Anyone want to comment on sleep issues?

4 comments:

Heather said...

Oh, I wish I could sleep and sleep and sleep and nap and nap and nap but with a 10 month old it really isn't an option. Recently I have been feeling really tired. I usually get super sleepy around 1:00. I've given up coffee but think I need to start again.

Lisa Emrich said...

Thankfully, I haven't been experiencing the daily daytime fatigue which I used to. I think that it has alot to do with the PT I'm doing as well.

However, on a day where I do practically drop on the couch comatose, I'm out for quite a while. But then it messes with my sleep during the night.

I have found that using a mild sleep aid helps me to get better quality sleep and that I'm less fatigued during the day. I'm one who does experience insomnia on occasion so Ambien is a friendly option.

Anne said...

When I'm having an MS attack I sleep as much as fifteen hours a day. It's hard for me to go a day without taking a nap, and I wouldn't survive on less than eight hours a night.

That said, I take Wellbutrin for depression, and that has some energy boosting effects. I did acupuncture for a bit, and had significant improvement in my fatigue, but cannot afford to do that regularly. I also take Provigil if I have to be awake all day long and don't think I'll make it, but it makes me feel like my eyes are going to pop out of my head.

Anne said...

Reading some of your other posts, and seeing the amount of stressful things going on for you right now, I think it is totally find and good to give yourself permission to sleep all day long.