Sleeping

[gdomaracki]

As odd as this sounds, I'm going to ask it anyways.

Is it normal for people with dysautonomia to sleep SO much?

I had been doing really well until about a month ago with my energy levels, and I had even started to do some exercising that my doctor had reccomended. Now, I'm back to sleeping 10+ hours during the night and on top of that I am taking a nap in the afternoon. If I don't, I end up feeling ill in the evening. The even crazier thing, is that when I do sleep, I feel even MORE tired than before I laid down?!? Does this happen to any of you? And my memory fog...its just frustrating!

Anyways, I just wanted to clear with you guys that this chronic fatigue is normal and if there is anything I can try and do to help relieve my symptoms. (I upped salt/water already) Thank you for advice!

Enjoy your *Memorial Weekend*!!!!

[Jacquie802]

Yes, I believe there is such a thing as too much sleep, and I am a good example of it!

Some months I tend to do better than others. Lately I have been sooo tired, and it's hard to "force" myself to get up out of bed. I wish I had some good advice to offer you, but I am looking for something that helps with this prob too.

Jacquie

[halmad85]

I've got the same problem. I am always so tired. I nap during the day and wake up tired. Sometimes I'm just walking around like a zombie. Hopefully someone can shed some light on this for all of us.

[bttrflyamby1981]

I think sleeping too much is very easy to do! I do it too. My kids though will wake me up when they get up, and I usually don't go to bed untill really late. Taking a nap would be great, but don't have time latley.

I really have bad mornings though, so if you feel anything like I do, it's very easy to stay in bed.

Good luck,

Amber

[dizzygirl]

hmmm--well yeah i would say tha sleeping alot is normal for us potsies..

i sleep a minimum of 10-14 hours a night.. I though do not have children or anything like that to take care of.. so I am able to do that...

sleeping 10-14 hours at a time is during the night is about normal for me.. I do also need about 2 naps thru out the day...depending on the time i wake up...

On the average I nap about 1-2 hours at a time..

so over all in a normal potsy day i sleep about 12-16 hours.

If i am really really bad off with pots..(as a few members here can tell you) I have areally really hard time staying awake and wil sleep roughly 18 hours traight wake up to pee.. and fall back alseep.. and wake up whenever..and whne i'm bad of like that I'm generally only awake for maybe 2-4 hours on days like that.. and canbe like tha tfor several days..

i also go the othet way where I dont sleep at all.. this opast year i had horrible insomnia for nearly a year.. then i traveled to toldeo this opast march... and poor Julie couldnt get me to wake up!! I slept like alot.. the traveling really whipped me out...

on very rare occasion I sleep about 8-9 hours and will wake up feeling great.. but that raely happens.. maybe once or twice a year..

so i think if you are tired.. and feel sleepy then sleep if you are able too..b/c you body probably needs it.. remember we use more energy then the average person to do simple task suck as standing.. so of course we are going to be more popped out then average joe!!

Oh yeah...I usually feel even more tired after a nap too.. then before i dozed off.. i really dont get that.. but it always happens!

you have a happy memorial day weekend too dear!..

dont worry about sleeping abit more.. your probably need some extra zzz's right now

[Guest tearose]

It is hard for me to say...

When I can I do try to sleep a lot. I take naps when I feel I need and I can. Sometimes 10 minutes will be enough, sometimes I need two-three hours. It is so inconsistent!

I only wish I had better quality of sleep.

If you are sleeping long stretches, it may be because the quality of restorative sleep is lacking.

I do not have sleep apnea but during a sleep study they documented hundreds of mini-awakenings which leaves me with non-restorative sleep.

It is a field that is being studied but these disturbances in our ANS continue in our sleep. Hopefully the research will explain better...someday!

tearose

[Sunfish]

in short, i sleep TONS. i have sleep apnea (which is treated with a CPAP) and have had a full sleep study so know that i technically do have restorative sleep so for me at least that's not the culprit.

i've been needing more & more sleep over the past few years though this past week or two i've done a bit better with not falling asleep constantly (i.e. during a video, TV show, etc.). this may be b/c my hematocrit/hemoglobin numbers are back to normal but who knows. i still sleep between 12-16 hrs/day total...not exactly a slight amount.

so...normal or not, you're definitely not alone .

melissa

[Guest CyberPixie]

I have 7-8 hrs and don't sleep in the day. Much better if you stay upright as much as poss (is for me anyway).

[MomtoGiuliana]

I don't know if it is possible to sleep too much, but one problem for POTS patients is lying prone for too long. I remember reading a statement in some Johns Hopkins literature that if a POTS patient sleeps for longer than a 9 hour stretch, she or he is more prone to the symptoms of orthostatic intolerance due to loss of fluids that occurs when we lie down (and don't drink). In general a lot of lying down tends to make POTS symptoms worse as the body adjusts to being prone. When I was really sick with POTS my electrophysiologist told me to try not to sleep longer than 8 hours without drinking something. (Since I had an infant at the time, sleeping that long a stretch wasn't possible anyway!)

Hope this is helpful.

Take care,

Katherine

[nadine]

I have had CFIDS for a very long time and for me it was never really sleeping too much, but more pure body exhaustion as well as many other symptoms. I have never been able to sleep long periods of time and often don't get enough sleep, which makes the symptoms much worse. I was always a morning person, but since this last illness, I have a real hard time getting my body to physically move in the morning. I have no physical tolerance what so ever. I have taken medication for about 20 years at night to help me get at least 5-6 hours of straight sleep. I rest, but not sleep all day. I could use a little more sleep!

[Sophia3]

I too have documented frequent awakenings, or alpha-delta sleep disorder..I get such a fraction of restorative sleep that on 6-8 hours, it's almost like NONE.

My insomnia was my first symptom 18 or so years ago and has gotten worse. So IF, IF I can sleep a LOT a few days in a row. 12 -14 hrs, the better for me. Those are the days I can "push better" and get things done.

Lack of sleep, I crash and burn and get black outs and have to rest. So for me, there is no such thing as too much sleep as it's never happened. I ALWAYS wake up groggy and hungover...even on the nights I sleep without meds. It's because my sleep cycles are horrible and I sometimes wake up from too deep a level of sleep, perpetuated by the vicious cycle of years of insomnia.

So your body will let you know. If you sleep to much, some folks do claim to feel 'water logged' groggy and worse. But for the truly sleep deprived which is documented only in sleep clinics, the more sleep the better,

p.s. just my two pennies for my situation!

[Guest dionna]

i sleep a lot as well. especially now that it is summer and that the heat is taking its toll on my body. everyday for the past two weeks i have slept no fewer than atleast 12 hours in a day. usually i sleep atleast 10 hours at night (for me it is now days to keep out of the heat) and atleast one nap. so to me it is weird and has become a rather common thing actually. before the heat wave came this year, i usually slept 6-10 hours at night and maybe a nap or two during the day if i was active. sleep for me is usually just the weather or my activities and of course meds. hope you don't have to sleep all your days away and you are able to get up and enjoy something. good luck to you.

dionna

[pcola2pa@netzero.com]

i also am very tired all the time. i sleep all night and wake tired. i also noticed that you are from PA. i too am from PA. but now live in FL. i think the hardest thing for me now is that i was very active in sports as a kid and now i can hardly get myself to get out of bed. i keep my spirits up and go to work everyday. it's a push but i do it! i work probably 10 to 12 hrs a day on my feet. i often wonder how much longer i'll be able to do that. well just wanted to let you know you're not the only one that's tired. guess most of us are.

[willows]

I've just woken up having slept from 1 am until 5 pm and I'm so tired still I feel unsteady on my feet and keep dropping things and nearly falling over, its not as if I didn't sleep last night either I was laying on the bed tired out at 6 pm last night ( watching TV ) then went to sleep at 11 pm until 8 am this morning .

Since the last big 'wave ' hit me in 2001...........after I came home from a holiday abroad, I've been getting tireder and tidier every year, sometime I can sleep all day ( 24 hours total).

I sometimes think I'm sleeping my life away , but as the doctor has said your body knows when it needs it .

May be I'm turning into a squirrel or a bear and keep wanting to go into hibernation, trouble is its the wrong tome of the year ...............

Willows.

[Babettegall]

I can't seem to get enough sleep. For a while, I thought it was me just being lazy. It's nothing to feel the need to sleep for 12 hours a night and then take 2 really good naps (1+ hours) during the day. I suppose I should push to have a sleep study done, to figure out if I have sleep apnea, but the doctor says it's caused by both POTS as well as simple CFS.

I'm getting tired just thinking about all the sleep I need.

[gdomaracki]

Thank you all for your wonderful advice and for sharing your stories about your sleeping trouble.

It is a shame that they can't do anything really to help us with this but I am definately glad that I'm not alone. Makes things not so scary for me.

As I do sleep alot, it does take me a good hour to fall asleep or maybe more depending on if my heart is racing or not. And when i do fall asleep, I am easily disturbed and awoken and I can't sleep for more than 5 hours at a time at night. I will wake up, get a drink, and wait around till I get sleepy again. Very odd.

Thank you again.