Why do sleep aids make me feel worse?

[stilltired]

I have been suffering from severe daytime sleepiness and fogginess for about five years now.  I also had a variety of other symptoms that were first diagnosed as fibromyalgia and then chronic lyme disease.  The other symptoms have gotten better but the fatigue and focus problems persist.
My sleep troubles range from going to bed extremely tired but still taking hours to fall asleep and then I literally am waking up every half hour or so and being in a state where I feel almost drunk, or I fully wake up and can't get back to sleep.  Every so often when I am waking up for the last time in the early morning I will know I'm awake but feel like I'm dreaming and can't move my muscles or speak at all.  Sometimes this happens and I know I'm just lying in bed and am cognizant that I just need to wait for it to "wear off."   Other times I know I'm awake but am also sort of dreaming and I am trying to say something important but I can't speak, or I need to run or move out of the way of something but I am paralyzed and can't move.  

I have tried many sleep aids, both prescription and over the counter and natural remedies.  I could take the same sleep aid night after night and some nights it will not work at all and some nights I will sleep through the night (or at least not remember waking up a million times - although my husband has said he still sees me wake briefly throughout the night).  The problem is even when a sleep aid appears to help me sleep through the night I feel so much worse the entire next day - more groggy, more tired, less able to think and I even need a nap by mid morning!

I feel like even when I'm sleeping I'm not really "sleeping" and obviously something strange is going on.  I am in the process of getting a referral for a sleep study, but I'm not sure what could be wrong or why taking a sleep aid would actually make me feel worse.  Any thoughts?

[Gregg D Jacobs, Ph.D.]

You should be evaluated at a sleep center because you describe symptoms of three different sleep disorders: insomnia (difficulty falling and staying asleep), daytime sleepiness (a symptom of underlying sleep disorders such as sleep apnea) and sleep paralysis (can’t move or speak when awake).

Sleep medications cause many people to feel worse in the morning (which is why many people stop taking them). This is because many sleep pills disrupt deep sleep and dream sleep and produce a daytime hangover effect because the pill is still on your body.

Dr. Jacobs
www.cbtforinsomnia.com

[Gregg D Jacobs, Ph.D.]

Of course. Many of my patients have insomnia and sleep apnea.

Dr. Jacobs

[stilltired]

Thanks for the reply.  Is it even possible to have several different sleeping disorders at once?  

[stilltired]

P.S.
I should mention that about 3 years ago I gave up all caffeine.  I got to bed at the same time each night, even on weekends, and try my best to get up at the same time every day.  I see a psychiatrist who has ruled out depression or anxiety and prescribes me adderall, which I take in the AM to help with the daytime sleepiness (although even at 30mg I can still easily fall asleep during the day if I don't fight hard against it).  He has also prescribed several prescription sleep aids, including Ativan, but as I said, even when these help me sleep they make me feel almost drunk the next day, so I'd prefer not to take them.