sleeping a 24 hour period is new & wierd...

[TLGvegas]

A little History......I fell down 2 flights of stairs On 6/17/08, I broke my back and all ribs on the right side - some multiple breaks, my lung collapsed, I was on life support, died & came back. That's recent history, I've had 3 back surgiers w/fusions and a Steffi plate so I was on pain meds - Methadone, Lortab, and Soma. Got out of hospital where they had me on morphine IV, morphine extended tabs, morphine tabs, percocet.Now thru my pain mgmt Dr. I'm on Methadone (only 30 mgs) every 6 hours (was 80 before). Oxcyodone 15 mgs w/no filler) and Gababenten 300 mgs 3 x day. Ok, got out of hospital to find I am now disabled 100%, I have tremors now, lost the house I was renting as it foreclosed on. So, we're staying with friends. Now, my true problem...every few weeks, not all the time I will have trouble sleeping and then before I know it I've lost a day to sleep. I woke up this morning not knowing till told that I slept thru yesterday. I checked with my daughter and she confirms..this insn't the first time it's happened.I can't ask questions for reasons I won't go into. Anyway, my pain Dr. thinks I may have had a head injury (concussion) that wasn't caught at the hospital But I'm going nuts trying to put all of this together but can't. Any advice??????

[Dr_Smita_S]

Hi
How are you doing?
You might be suffering from hypersomnia which can be related to your head injury leading to brain damage. The other causes can be  genetic, medical disorders such as clinical depression, uremia and fibromyalgia and sleep disorders such as narcolepsy, sleep apnea, and restless leg syndrome.
Hypersomnia is an excessive sleep condition where a person sleeps for 10 or more hours each night (for at least two consecutive weeks) and still experiences feelings of tiredness during the day. It may present as excessive daytime sleepiness or nocturnal sleep of long duration (as much as 12 h or more) or sleep drunkenness.

You should consult a neurologist for a complete medical workup. He may prescribe you some anti-depressants and advise psychotherapy. Besides you should adopt other measures like avoiding caffeine and alcohol, exercising regularly, using some relaxation techniques.
Do keep us posted about your progress. Take care

[KatEyes]

Just when I get to feeling a bit sorry for myself, I'm snapped back to reality by what someone else must endure. You've been through so much - I hope you find the medical help you need for those things you're still dealing with.

I can certainly see why your pain doctor would be concerned about a possible head injury. Can you get evaluated by a neurologist? They may even want to do a sleep study on you to see what happens when you sleep. The study watches the brain waves as to the stages of sleep you achieve and if they are in the expected proportion.

And then there's the meds - maybe with your injuries your reaction to the meds is different than expected. Whatever is going on, I do hope you will get a referral to a good neuro doc for a thorough evaluation.