problem with EDT, doctor clueless.

[modulate242]

hello,

im a 24 year old male. i usually go to bed around 12-1 am, waking up varies due to work schedule. M - 9, T - 10, W - 10, Th - 8, Fri - 9. so as you can see, maybe not as great on thursdays but for the most part i get the recommended amount of sleep.

basically for the last few years i have had EDT(excessive daytime sleepiness) and so my family doctor had me to go a sleep apnea clinic, i went overnight, results came in and my number was 5, something like how often i stopped breathing for the night or hour. which i was told is completely normal, the doctor at the clinic said maybe to take a apnea machine home and give it a try since sometimes patients don't show issues during the overnight study but once they get they machine they feel better. one month goes by, nothing changes. then she said the next step would be to take modafinil(alertec) to see if it maybe just improves my overall well being throughout the day and maybe feel worse at night. i went back to my family doctor with the results and he agreed the modafinil would be the next step, as well as taking some blood tests. i went on the modafinil for 2 months and still absolutely no change. blood tests came back and everything was normal, b12 was a little low, i took some multi-vitamins, went back again for more blood work this time for a whole slew of tests and b12 was normal as was everything else. at this point the doctor has no idea what it could be.

i dont remember exactly when this started happening but i have been largely overweight for the last 10 years or so. starting in february i had if you can believe it almost an epiphany of i need to loose weight or im going to die. i was around 310 lbs. so i went out and spent 900$ on a eliptical machine because if i went to a gym there is no way in hell i could stay commited and i would make excuses not to go all day long. suffice to say, a few weeks ago i reached my goal weight of 220 lbs, so in a little under 7 months (6 months 26 days to be exact) i lost 90 lbs at 15 minutes per night, double on weekends since i feel less tired on weekends (i could not go for longer than 15 minutes i would be just so drained going any longer)

i had hoped that loosing some weight may help the issue but here i am, almost feel like it's getting worse now. my eyelids feel like they're partially closing and almost feel like....there's something stuck in them and i keep rubbing to get it out.

my mother thinks that maybe my brain just in a sense wont shut up at night when i go to bed? i mean while i do tend to play video games at night, usually from about 8 pm - 12 or 1 am. i do take periodic breaks so maybe that's an issue? i have gone extended periods without gaming and it's not made a difference. at this point in time im basically just looking for ANY suggestions on what this might be. im starting to think of seeing another doctor just to get a second opinion on the matter because i can't go on much longer, all i need is some sleep!

thanks, philip

[modulate242]

thanks for your response,

on weekends usually i get up to 10+ hours a week and only reason i feel any better than during the week is no travel time to work and well i dont have to go to work. i have since stopped exercising as my weight has kind of plateaued and right now im taking a much deserved break from it after only not exercising maybe a total of 10 days in the 6ish month period.

i have talked to my doctor about narcolepsy and i don't have any symptoms you mentioned other than the excessive daytime sleepiness and he ruled that out with questions he asked me.

i forgot to mention as well, i have really almost no problem getting to sleep, maximum it takes me is 5-10 minutes but usually it's almost instant. i don't get up in the middle of night basically ever, i sleep the entire night through. it's just when i wake up i feel like i've been hit by a brick wall.

[Paderla Anitha, DNB]

Hello and hope you are doing well.

Just try to get more sleep at night, more hours, each person's requirement varies, so may be just one of them who needs extended hours. Try to have a warm bath before sleeping. Have a glass of milk or read a book before trying to sleep. Don’t watch TV or do exercise before sleeping. Condition yourself that you can relax and that you can sleep well.

Also exercise in the daytime, this promotes deep sleep. If symptoms are still persisting then consult your doctor regarding a sleep disorder called Narcolepsy. This sleep disorder is characterized by excessive day time sleepiness, sleep paralysis, cataplexy where the person has episodes of loss of muscle function while awake, hypnogogic hallucinations and automatic behavior.

Hope this helped and do keep us posted.