sleep 15-24 hours at a time

i'm a 26 year old female, and within the past 3 months, i haven't been able to get by with less than 15 hours sleep.  mostly, i sleep around 20-24.  when i wake with any less sleep than that, i feel like i haven't slept at all.  i had a sleep study done, and i never went into REM sleep and woke 98 times in 6 hours.  the found only 1 hypopnea during the test, where my o2 sat dropped to 88%.  i had a follow up with the neurologist, and she told me "it wasn't anything that was going to kill me", and i "needed to force myself to stay awake to get back on a nor mal schedule."... only problem is, i can't stay awake.  i had to drop out of college because i was sleeping between classes, then i'd get home, and get no homework done in the evening, because all i could do was sleep.  the same thing on the weekends.  i don't drink.  i take some medications that cause drowsiness, but i was on them before, and i never slept like this in my life until a few months ago.  please, someone help me.  i can't live like this, and i want to be able to have a normal sleep schedule so i can attend school.  this is not the only condition/symptom i have, my profile has my myriad of "diagnoses" on it.  anyone that can help, thank you.

-Becky

[BhumikaMD]

Hi,

With the multiple medical problems that you have and the medications that you must be on it is very difficult to find out the exact casue of your symptoms.

Is your thyroid function tests in the normal range?

What medications are you taking currently?

Do you follow up for all these regularly with a doctor or specialist?

I would suggest you see a specialist and discuss all your symptoms and medical history in detail with the doctor.

Only this would help to come to a probable diagnosis.

The furtehr management paln would the be decided.

Do keep us posted.

Hope this helps.

Good luck.

[RWebster]

i've been hypothyroid for a year now, which i take Synthroid for.  i'm on Cymbalta, Depakote, Xanax, Synthroid, Hydrocone (as needed) and Skelakin once a nite for my fibromyalgia. and toporol for my premature ventricular tacharcydia.  i have followed up with a neurologist, cardiologist, endochriologist, rhumetologist, and now the neurologist reffered me to a psychaitrist.  i see my primary car physician at least once a month.  no one will stop concentrating on their specialty, and put the big picture together.  i've had problems with my immune system and waking up since i was a child.  i would miss weeks and weeks of school dues to sickness that was always diagnosed as a "sinus infection".  i've been very unhealthy all my life, and just last year, my ejection fraction dropped to 40%.  it's only come back up to 50 % since then, so i also have Cardiomyopathy with the other heart condition.  i would like to go to a big hospital like Johns Hopkins, and be observed and have tests run, but i don't know what would have to be done to get me there.

-Becky

[eev]

I know how you feel.  I have been sleeping 24 out of 24 hours for 3 months now.  Have had a lengthy conversation with my primary care doctor about this.  It is very discouraging because noone seems to understand the inability to stay awake.  I do and I really feel for you.

I feel like I am wasting my whole life sleeping and can't get anything done.  and the doctors don't seem to take this condition as seriously as they do insomnia.

elaine.

[gingersnap07]

Have same problem off and on.  ANd no answers from the Medical Community other than, mono hmm -not really,  Some long explanation that gos over my head.... Then its concern of depression - told to go exercise 35 minutes at least 4 times a week.  Nice, I tried to do that the other day and fell asleep before I could get to the gym.  They are still trying to figure it out.  Who in the world knows, maybe there is some new kind of virus out that makes this happen.  ANd not enough people suffering from it yet, to realy try and figure it out.  I don't know whatever it is or why or whatever, just wish there was a solution to it.  I am Glad but sad to know I am not the only one out there with the same problem of too much sleeping.  Sad - that you have to endure the same problem as I do.

I looked up celiac, and corn allergies too.  Doctor told me to not assume things until an allergy test can be done.  If its a corn allergy I have no Idea what I am going to do, because what I am used to eating has corn/corn syrup in it.

[KatEyes]

About your sleep study - Most apneas happen during REM, and without that your sleep study was likely inconclusive in regards to apnea. Get a copy of your sleep study and study it. What did the study show was the cause of your many awakenings? Why don't you get REM sleep? Did you have many limb movements? A second opinion from a new sleep doctor may prove more helpful.

Are your thyroid levels remaining therapeutic?

Please don't think there are no answers. They just haven't been uncovered yet.  it's hard to persist when you're so sleepy, but this study was just a jumping off point. Wish you well.

[strictlyforpain]

Hey, I've followed Bhumika's replies for a while and they are spot on. So I'm only going to confirm (from a sick person - me) what a healthy person (Bhumika) is telling you.

I have two conditions that effect me in life. Before I get into those I want to call you to take roots in your education. I'm a computer scientist you are an EE. Just like our schooling teaches us keep your distance from the problem. Stay neutral and don't let biases permeate your thinking. You sound like a "VICTIM" and what concerns me is self-fullfilling natures of that process. You can become your worst fear if you obsess over it long enough. Surely in your school you've run across the thinking in some capacity that people have fear mainly because they don't understand. People don't understand because they have never slowed down to reason. Quit being a victim and start being an engineer. Clearly state the problem in writing. (Most people don't get this but if you don't write it down your memory will taint the validity of what you experience.) Revise your problem statement 3 times. Have a close friend read it and see if they agree that it states your problem. Have a distant friend read it and have them explain to you what they understand in reading it. Then have a person you have not spoke to before (your doctor) read it and explain it back to you. If all 3 of them do it well you have a good definition. Now start taking notes about your life and you need to include everything. If you are narcoleptic for example then visual stimulus is important. So document:

* Feeding times and what you ate.
* Relaxation times and what you did (video games, loud music, etc...)
* Every hour of your day should be in writing. If you think something is important use red ink.

Next document your own anxiety. Sometimes writing out your anxiety and how it makes you feel can do so much for helping you to relax. People with irritable bowel syndrome do something like this and it has a profound affect on their condition.

Collect this information in detail. Then before your next doctor visit condense it into one maybe two pages at the most. Summarize the trends and emphasize the things you think are important. 1 - 2 pages at most.

Now I have severe sleep apnea with 98 apnic events an hour. I have some RLS, some centralapnea and some other minor things. I used to weigh 275 pounds and am a 5'11" tall male. I took up rigorous exercise now way 177 pounds, feel great but still have tons of apnea. I'm self-employed so I work too much and don't sleep enough so my lifestye is a lot like yours if you are in school (sounds like you aren't).

I also have a very serious injury to my facet joints in my back and because of that I take 350MG Soma, 15Mg Oxycodone, 20Mg Oxycontin. Sucks but that's my life. If I think I am not doing well with all of it but if something seems wrong I start writing stuff down.

For you this could by nutritional, visual stimulus it's tough to know. One doctor is not a panacea. Keep seeing doctors and ask them to share records and information. You cannot stop with one and then cry "Please help!" be an Engineer. See many and begin to put it together in your own mind. Knowledge is power and you must start to accumulate knowledge. They have a neat journal here. I'd start logging stuff in the journal. It's so easy and you can do it from anywhere. Or get a free blog make it 100% private so only you can see it and take notes in it. You have to start accumulating knowledge.

I promise you there is a common thread here and you just are not seeing it. It could very well be the medicine and stress. It's just tough to say. Don't stop seeing doctors until you feel satisfied you know what is going on.

Just think like an engineer, approach the problem with discipline, collect data, etc...

You can do this. You can totally do this.

Rex

[pattir727]

Hi
How about serotonin syndrome?
Have one of your doctors check your serum level.
Have narcolepsy and problem with medication high in serotonin.

pattir727

[Kiminky]

I have required 12-15 hours of sleep per day my whole life. As a teenager I was called lazy. After I had children I was told I had post-partum depression. After my divorce it was full blown depression. I kept telling these doctors I wasn't depressed, I was tired! Finally, after falling asleep in traffic, I had a sleep study done and proved that I can let go and will myself to sleep anytime I want. 13 times during the 24 hour study! I was depressed because I was tired not the other way around! Final diagnosis - idiopathic hypersomnia. I take same meds as for narcolepsey (Provigil and Prozac) which help, however, anything little thing can throw me into an endless state of exhaustion. Daylight savings is a killer. People are very unsympathetic because most have trouble falling asleep. I get "must be nice" and "you must feel good after that long sleep" all the time and I have to bite my toungue. Like you, I feel like I'm sleeping my life away.

[Lindsey1997]

Im a 22yr old female. Ive recently blown two (very expensive) terms in college because I cannot wake up. I have been sleeping up to 15 hours a night. I can easily go to bed at 11pm and sleep til 5pm. And I feel sick and tired when I wake up. Ive also noticed how hard my heart pounds just walking up steps. Im only 140 lb and 5'7 so Im confused why even showering feels exhausting. Ive had a lot of neck pain and some minor weight gain. Even when I set my alarm, Im still sleeping when I turn it off. Ive slept through finals! Which is very out of character for me considering up until now Ive maintained a 3.7gpa. Ive never felt so out of shape and tired in my life. Im not sure if I should talk to a doctor or try and switch my sleeping schedule naturally? Something has to change, im sleeping my college career away.

[stephanie_C]

You guys took the words right out of my mouth! I have ALWAYS been tired! No matter how many hours I slept I would still be sleepy. I had a sleep study followed by a MSLT in my early twenties and the doctors told me I was tired and needed to get more sleep! blah....blah....blah! So several years later (about six months ago) I went back to a new sleep doctor and he ordered another sleep study and MSLT (as well as requested the results from the first one I had from a different hospital). Turns out I have narcolepsy. After some trial and error, my doctors currently have me on adderall (adderrall) as needed (which I typically take about 20-30mg a day), and a drug called Xyrem. It's kind of scary cause it's basically GHB and you have be VERY carefully with making sure you take the right amount. They have really patient education that you have to go thru before you can take it. Anyways to make a long story short, it has changed my life!!!!! I actual wake up after 8 hours of sleep with my alarm and I feel rested! I would say that I feel like I have my life back again, but this is the first time in my life that I have ever felt this way!
I hope that you can find something that works for you. Just because one or two doctors say one thing, or one combination of drugs doesn't quite work for you, keep trying cause eventually you'll find what works for you and your life will be so much better!!!!

Good luck to everyone who is suffering from a sleep disorder. There is hope!

[Johnny320]

Yooo i go thru the same thing i just slept 24 hours an i keep sleeping i dont know what is wrong with me, i feel better that others are going thru the same
i believe these are factors that involve these sleeping patterns:
Anemia - lack of food, iron etc can make u tired
Lack of excercise - Staying active is important!
Even the type of bed you sleep on because the quality of sleep you get can really change things and how noisy it is when u sleep, things like that.
Drugs can only partially improve sleep patterns but you dont wanna be dependant on drugs they really dont help as much you think when its something mental.
I've been fighting this sleeping disorder for a while now and i believe the cure is concentration and strong discipline which does not come across so easy to one who struggles with these things such as ourselves.
We arent lazy because we have dreams an aspirations like others but physically something stops us and it is random and annoying keep fighting.
Everyone's problem with this disorder is different really look into the issue an try every possible way to fix it without drugs.

[tookietookie]

I have dealt with this my entire life, and so has my father. Everybody thinks I'm lazy untill I tell them how my mom would have to wake me up at noon on christmas morning, or howas a very young child, I would leave my friends outside to go and take a nap. I did'nt need a nap time because my mom already knew I would be in shortly to take one anyway. Doctors tell you to excercise, how can I do that when I'm so tired? I am 32 years old now and have children and this has not only effected my life but my children's too. There are so many things I have to force myself to do on a daily basis. My 7yr. old son is the same way. I have caught him sleep outside because I made him go outside and play(won't do that anymore). I'm tirered of it and the ignorant remarks from people who have no understanding of how much I want to be awake. Or how dangerous it can be when you force yourself to stay awake and accomplish everyday tasks and you feel so so tired. It's like I never get enough sleep. My father has lost very good jobs over ths. If it we'ren't for my supportive husband, I probably have the same problem. Before I had children, I would sleep for days. Getting up only to use the bathroom or get something to drink. This has taken over my life. I have no energy to do anything. I heard about adderall (adderrall), and I would like to try it but you can't go and ask your doctor for it specifically, it's a narcotic. What should I do?  

[allmymarbles]

You say you have fibromyalgia. This is very often associated with sleep apnea.

[tanya861]

I have read throu most of these writings and find myself speachless, i myself have the same sleeping problems SLEEP TO MUCH!!! i am so sick of hearing the same answers depretion,ur a mother ect... im 24 yr mother of a 3 yr on antidepresants becouse of sleeping and i agree im depresed becouse i sleep i could sleep 12 hours at night and again 4-5 hours a day and longer if i could having my baby girl is what makes me stay awake i have been to so many doctors ect.. to be told cronic (chronic) fatuige wrong again thats a pathetic excuse for i dont know!!! i just hate everyday waking up tierd and going to bed tierd plz if anyone out there know of anything to help! i dont want to be like this anymore.

[allmymarbles]

You might have sleep apnea. Many of those who suffer from it don't know it. My daughter had it all her life, but we only discovered it when she was 41!!! You need to go to a sleep clinic where you can be monitored.

[adriana21]

I have the same problem. I always liked to sleep a lot but now it has developed to be a real problem where I could sleep 24 hours a day.

I will not let it take over my life. I plan to do a lot of exercising and eat really good food. I dont want to take any medicine

[allmymarbles]

Sleep apnea is not treated with medicine. Natural anti-inflammatories, however, may be used.

[Jules77733]

I'm tired all the time and can easily sleep for 12 - 15 hours at a time, but still wake up feeling tired. Although I don't snore, it appears I have intermittent sleep apnea (it shows up on some sleep studies but not others). I also have mild hypothyroidism and a pineal cyst. Any one or all of these issues could be causing my "idiopathic hypersomnolence" (aka "excessive sleepiness"). Then again, it could be chronic fatigue syndrome, as one of my GPs suggested. If so, I don't know when the tiredness will ever go away.....

Just some thoughts--it's nice to know I'm not alone!

[larae81]

My over sleeping comes from my depression. When im not depressed I can sleep 5-7 or 8 hours, but once I finally let all my problems overwhelm me, I slowly strart sleeping long hours. I'll sleep all day and stay up at nite. And I feel sad and guilty for not gettin up when I opened my eyes the many times I was laying down. Sometimes dont even feel like showering or combing my hair. The worst part is I havent been treated and ive been depressed off and on since middle school. Sometimes I want to die so I wont have to go thru depression anymore. And anti depressants dont FIX depression, it only numbs u. I just want to be happy and LIVE life....today i slept til 9pm....I HATE THIS!!!!!

[papajacks]

This may seem counter-intuitive, but have you ever tried taking sleeping meds?  It seems those that are sleeping for 12+ hour sessions claim to wake up constantly in sleep studies and others are not getting rem. It may be as simple as not getting deep enough quality sleep sessions.  Trying a low dose of melatonin or some other form may be interesting to try.

[papajacks]

Can heart conditions also cause this problem?

[randi75]

Hi!  I have had this problem all my life.  As a newborn my mom could not keep me awake and I slept 20 hours a day.  Then as a toddler it got better, around 12 hours a day, then when I hit puberty up to around 15 hours a day.  I have gone on spells where I sleep 3 days straigt.  I wake up Tuesday thinking it is Sunday.  Nothing can wake me up when I am in a spell.  Even when I wake up I am still tired.  I have been diagnosed with narcolepsy, but I don't think I have this. I have been on every narc medicine under the sun and nothing has helped, but I also have polycistic ovarian syndrome, and hypothyroidism.  My doctor put me on tramadol, 50mg every eight hours or as needed for pain (for ovairan cysts) and I couldn't believe how it gave me energy.  I have never had energy like this in my life.  It only lasts 4-6 hours so it wears off before I can take another pill, but I actually can get things done now.  I haven't told my doctor about this because I am afraid he will take it away.  I have no idea why it works but it does.  

[randi75]

Hi!  I have had this problem all my life.  As a newborn my mom could not keep me awake and I slept 20 hours a day.  Then as a toddler it got better, around 12 hours a day, then when I hit puberty up to around 15 hours a day.  I have gone on spells where I sleep 3 days straigt.  I wake up Tuesday thinking it is Sunday.  Nothing can wake me up when I am in a spell.  Even when I wake up I am still tired.  I have been diagnosed with narcolepsy, but I don't think I have this. I have been on every narc medicine under the sun and nothing has helped, but I also have polycistic ovarian syndrome, and hypothyroidism.  My doctor put me on tramadol, 50mg every eight hours or as needed for pain (for ovairan cysts) and I couldn't believe how it gave me energy.  I have never had energy like this in my life.  It only lasts 4-6 hours so it wears off before I can take another pill, but I actually can get things done now.  I haven't told my doctor about this because I am afraid he will take it away.  I have no idea why it works but it does.  

[Laflaca77]

Omg! This is me! Only now I am kind of getting backwards; now at about 11 pm I start to get jittery and have to concentrate harder to fall asleep due to I have to be up at 6 am to take one kid to school, then the other one to school at 9. It is very irritating to listen to those we love, tolerate, ect, telling us it must be nice. Mine has thankfully never fallen asleep at the wheel, but put me in my home and good night if I just sit down, unfortunately I have only found two things to "keep me awake" but it was in the teenage / young adult stage of life, so I fight sober, sleepy, and lots of wth? I thought I was just watching tv with the kids, now I am waking up... Provigil and that stuff did not work, the serotonin booster did not allow me to eat on it and I have no weight to spare.
Feeling the pain.

[fleur27]

God - you are just the same as me. I am at my wits end - I now just cry in my waking hours because of thelife I am missing - I just feel tired all the time. If there is any conflict in my life my first point of call is sleep - if I feel ill I sleep- but most of all I sleep because I feel shattered. i am so miserable - and the doctors just put it down to depression.

I wish you luck and thanks for sharing..