[NikoleS]

Will it be ridiculous if I ask my doctor for a sleep study?

My tiredness is getting worse.
I'm scared to ask my doctor or tell my doctor about the tiredness because I'm scared he will think it's silly. Also, everyone gets tired? But do people get overwhelmingly tired? Falling asleep driving and stuff.

I looked into narcolepsy. I do seem to have symptoms, but I've seen a documentary before where they fall asleep during work and stuff. I don't seem bad?

I haven't been at work or school in awhile.
Although when I did. Going to school I would fall asleep driving or fall asleep in class. But I thought that was normal?

If you ask me how I feel any day, most likely I will say tired.
I need naps everyday. I can sleep 20+ hours. Still be tired.

I got my blood checked before for a basic exam starting Medicare. Nothing abnormal besides cholesterol a little high.

The past couple weeks have been bad. It's extremely hard to stay awake during the day.

I would think it was medication side effects but I think it's something more. With or without medication this happens.

I just feel ridiculous asking the doctor about it.
Because when I think of narcolepsy I think of someone falling asleep anywhere anytime.

But the sleepiness is getting out of hand and I get made fun of how much I sleep.

I'm 21 by the way.

[Skeezyks]

Well... I don't really know anything about this in particular. But it makes sense to me to discuss this with your doctor. You may or may not have narcolepsy. But that's not the only thing that might be going on here I wouldn't think.

I recall reading an article in our local newspaper a while that that talked about the importance of getting down into the deeper levels of sleep because this is where the body heals itself. So perhaps there is something going on with you that is preventing you from reaching those deeper levels of sleep. Thus, no matter how much you sleep, you're still tired. I've pretty-much always been tired too. In my case, I've always just presumed it was the result of the load of anxiety I've always carried around. Anyway... good luck talking with your doctor!

[-jimi-]

I had a friend with narcolepsy. She did not fall asleep all the time like the severe cases you see on TV. But she would be tired in daytime and have a strong tendency to fall asleep if she wasn't doing anything. She was diagnosed even if she did not have cataplexy. She had bad vivid dreams and sleep paralysis with hypnopompic hallucinations though, which is common with narcolepsy.

No one knew she even had it. She hid it quite well.

It does not seem odd to want a sleep study. I hope someone take you seriously to do so or at least look into this. It is easy for them to say all people get tired so it is really important to actually describe how tired you get and in what situations and lot of examples. That might make them understand.

[-jimi-]

Originally Posted by Skeezyks

I recall reading an article in our local newspaper a while that that talked about the importance of getting down into the deeper levels of sleep because this is where the body heals itself. So perhaps there is something going on with you that is preventing you from reaching those deeper levels of sleep.

People with narcolepsy have much less deep sleep than others. It is one of the cornerstones of the condition.

[NikoleS]

Originally Posted by -jimi-

I had a friend with narcolepsy. She did not fall asleep all the time like the severe cases you see on TV. But she would be tired in daytime and have a strong tendency to fall asleep if she wasn't doing anything. She was diagnosed even if she did not have cataplexy. She had bad vivid dreams and sleep paralysis with hypnopompic hallucinations though, which is common with narcolepsy.

No one knew she even had it. She hid it quite well.

It does not seem odd to want a sleep study. I hope someone take you seriously to do so or at least look into this. It is easy for them to say all people get tired so it is really important to actually describe how tired you get and in what situations and lot of examples. That might make them understand.

Sounds exactly like me!
Thanks for the input!
What do they do for it?

[NikoleS]

Hmm...I'm going to try to solve this sleep issue myself before bringing it up to the doctor. Thanks guys for input!

My eyes are widened; especially the bit about falling asleep while driving. My goodness. I will assume then you have not again gotten behind the wheel.

I ask if there is a pattern to your sleepiness. Does it occur during regular intervals or times of the day? Is the pattern possibly connected to when you take your medication? What about activities; are their activities you can think of which are triggers to the exhaustion? These are all things to tell your doctor about - and yes I encourage you to tell them.

You owe it to yourself - and others if you are still driving - to talk to your doctor about this.

[NikoleS]

Originally Posted by justafriend306

My eyes are widened; especially the bit about falling asleep while driving. My goodness. I will assume then you have not again gotten behind the wheel.

I ask if there is a pattern to your sleepiness. Does it occur during regular intervals or times of the day? Is the pattern possibly connected to when you take your medication? What about activities; are their activities you can think of which are triggers to the exhaustion? These are all things to tell your doctor about - and yes I encourage you to tell them.

You owe it to yourself - and others if you are still driving - to talk to your doctor about this.

People drive me around now. Mostly. Unless I have to be DD.

Medication is unrelated it seems to me.
Honestly if I have to get up and move like clean I'll get tired take breaks.
I know is hard to stay up ALL day. Much rather sleep. I don't think there's a definite pattern.

[NikoleS]

The way I can explain it I'm as exhausted as my bf who worked all day on a normal basis and if I did put effort in a day it's like I got shot with tranquilizer i fight it off until I just can't handle anymore and go to bed

Yes, short durations of activity with breaks should help.

Have you heard of 'therapy lamps'? My exhaustion is far worse in the Winter and 15min each morning with my lamp helps a great deal. I still sleep way too much (10hrs a night with a short nap in midday) but it is nothing compared to what my body otherwise wishes to sleep.

[*Laurie*]

I not only don't think it's foolish to ask your doctor about a sleep study, I think you should ask. That's what sleep studies are for.

[-jimi-]

If you have a bed mate you can do this if they are OK with it. They stay awake while you fall asleep. They watch you for signs of REM sleep, if you wonder what it looks like I am sure there are examples on Youtube. Then after 5-10 minutes of sleep they wake you up and ask if you woke from a dream.

This is absolutely NOT a test for narcolepsy, but very many people with it go straight into REM. This is something you can observe without a sleep study. Now there are OTHER conditions where you also go straight into REM sleep, but if it happens often, I would say it is a good reason to have a sleep study. This is hard facts a doctor can take into count when they ask themselves how to go on with investigation.

There are different treatments for narcolepsy, and when I knew my friend, tricyclics and stimulants were the only thing they could offer. Instead of deepen you sleep they worked on keeping you awake in the day. These days there is a medication that works opposite, it deepens night sleep so the person might get a little less sleepy in the day.

Whatever this is I hope you get some answers because it is so frustrating being tired all the time.

About meds I have to say this though... I took Effexor (but it could have been any med, I was just sensitive to this one) and it ruined my sleep. It made me sleep like a narcoleptic almost. It did NOT stop when I stopped the med. It took me three years after I stopped to heal my sleep.