fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2618 ]

[ SECRET POST #2618 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2618 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 039 secrets from Secret Submission Post #374.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

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Anyone here have one?

I have idiopathic hypersomnia with narcolepsy possibly indicated, and I've never been able to talk to anyone else experiencing the same thing. So I thought I'd try here!

I have idiopathic chronic fatigue combined with alternating bouts of hypersomnia and insomnia. So I feel you, fellow nonny. I feel you. :/

OP

I'm sorry-- it truly sucks. Solidarity!

It took forever for me to get a doctor to listen to me and agree to prescribe tests; everyone always told me I just needed to get better sleep habits or stop working so hard, etc. And I kept saying that it probably wasn't normal to sleep 15+ hours and then not be able to stop myself from falling asleep in the middle of doing things. And lo and behold, my tests showed off the charts EDS.

Anyways. No one in IRL seems to really get it, so there's something reassuring about knowing other people out there understand.

Sleep paralysis, sometimes. Used to be pretty bad when I was a teenager, but I hardly ever get it these days. Stiiiilll sucks though.

OP

Oof, that's horrifying-- I'm sorry. I very rarely get sleep paralysis, but I do get horrific hypnapompic hallucinations pretty much whenever I wake up at night.

Man, the human mind/body is a bizarre contraption sometimes.

Well it was only really horrifying until I figured out what was going on. Actually it was one of the things that lead me to my field of science/study.

I mean, it still feels pretty terrible and all, but now I can appreciate it as one of those mysterious quirks of an organ I find utterly fascinating.

And I think I'd actually be more inclined to freak out if I were hallucinating and able to move as opposed to hallucinating and unable to move, so I feel worse for you, friend.

(First, happy birthday! Hope it's an excellent one :) )

That's kind of a cool story, then! Are you in research or practice, if you don't mind me asking?

And true, when I'm not frustrated and annoyed with my brain for functioning (or malfunctioning) the way it does, it's pretty incredible to think about.

The hallucinations were rough when they first started happening, because they didn't start until I was in college. They generally pass fairly quickly-- it's usually just about a minute before they disappear. It's usually spiders or some sort of indistinct creature, but the worst ever was when I woke up hallucinating that someone else was in my bed with me. It took me about ten minutes to get over it, and I almost woke up my roommate at the time to ask for help.

Even that is sort of just odd now as a memory, though, terrifying as it was at the time.

(/cool story, thanks for sharing with the class, etc.)

Forgive me for not answering your question (I'd prefer not to for reasons related to career).

This is relevant to my interests though, and I hope you won't mind me asking when, approximately, in college they did start? Are they frequent still? Have you noticed any kind of pattern to them?

I ask because these things are pretty poorly understood as far as sleep disorders go, and any additional info, no matter if anecdotal is a benefit to me.

Re: Sleep disorders

(Anonymous) - 2014-03-05 02:12 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Sleep disorders

herpymcderp - 2014-03-05 02:27 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Sleep disorders

(Anonymous) - 2014-03-05 02:36 (UTC) - Expand

Sleep paralysis sucks. For years, I had episodes in which I would wake up and hear footsteps and people speaking in the hallway outside my room, which is not something you want to hear when you live alone. I'd even hear them taking a pee and washing their hands in the hall bathroom. The footsteps would get closer and closer to my door, and I'd lie there thinking "I've got to get up THIS MINUTE, I'll open the window and climb out"--and of course I couldn't move. Then I'd wake up for real.

Almost as creepy: when I switched rooms, it never happened again.

That is pretty creepy. But then, getting out of a pattern that you find stressful or an environment you associate with episodic symptoms tends to go a long way to improving mental health in general, so I wouldn't be at all surprised if this was somewhat the same for sleep disorders.

That's an interesting story though, anon. I'm glad it resolved for you.

That could be the answer!

My mother, on the other hand, told me quite seriously that it was probably my two aunts, who used to sleep in that room, and who worked the late shift at the family restaurant...

Another one with chronic fatigue. I hate when I suddenly wake up with my laptop on the floor because I fell asleep sitting up.

OP

The worst. I've dropped stuff on the train while having a sleep attack, and then it's embarrassing on top of being awful and annoying :(

I have terrible insomnia. I can lay in bed for hours waiting to fall asleep and I usually wake up several times. I have tried sleep meds but they don't seem to work.

I also have terrible nightmares but I don't think that is anything I can be diagnosed with...

Out of curiosity, what have you tried exactly?

Various over the counter sleep aids. I don't want to try any of the prescribed stuff because my sister and mom have both reacted badly to ambien. I have tried meditating before sleep, listening to nothing (never again), listening to music (meh), and listening to white noise (which I always do now). I work out and such so I don't think that is a problem.

There are a couple of things which you may want to also try if you're afraid you might be sensitive to diazepines (which make up most of the prescribed sleep aids, though there are others). I'd caution you that neither of them is something you should really take habitually, but here are some options:

Lorazepam (Ativan) often has drowsiness as a side effect, though it is mainly used as an antianxiety/antipsychotic medication. You can ask your primary care physician about this one, though it's more of a last resort measure than something you should be using continually.

Good ol' Jim Beam (or liquor of your choice). It's perhaps not ideal, and not recommended if you're on other medication which might interact with it, but a shot before bed is a time tested cure for insomnia that might work well for you. It's also not likely to be harmful if you stick to one drink per day, and if you don't want to go to the trouble of asking for a prescription then this might be a solution for slightly more regular use.

I hope you find something that works. Insomnia is a serious problem and can be incredibly damaging to your overall health if it's not brought under control.

PS. Not that I think I need to particularly, but I should caution that you should never use any combination of non-prescription or prescription drugs and alcohol together as a general rule. I would hope that this is common sense, but I'll just leave this as a PSA.

Re: Sleep disorders

kaijinscendre - 2014-03-05 03:56 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Sleep disorders

herpymcderp - 2014-03-05 04:05 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Sleep disorders

kaijinscendre - 2014-03-05 04:41 (UTC) - Expand

Insomnia is awful-- I'm sorry. Sleep meds are so hard, too, because I hate feeling drowsy or like I'm out of control (which is a large part of the reason I hate my sleep problems in general). I don't know if it would help you, but I found that taking valerian root would sometimes help me feel calmer, as my insomnia was usually triggered by anxiety. Probably 10000% placebo, but if you haven't tried it, maybe it would help a little? (And sorry in advance-- I know it can be really annoying when people's first reactions are 'HEY BUT HAVE YOU TRIED THIS. IT'LL PROBABLY FIX EVERYTHING.' but I thought I'd at least suggest it :) )

I have terrible nightmares too. In fact, one of the few panic attacks I've had was triggered by a nightmare. For me, I think it's all tied to my anxiety disorder.

In any case, wishing you nightmare free sleep and lots of it in the near future!

DA--a couple of caveats on valerian. One, it tastes terrible. Two, like all herbal medicines, just because it is a plant does not mean it's safe to take without medical supervision, especially if you take other medications. If you want to give it a go, talk to your doctor first. Also avoid taking it with alcohol. Good luck getting a good night's rest.

Oh my God, yes. Valerian smells like a laundry bag full of festering gym socks.

I had a few nasty episodes of somnambulism when I was younger, but that seems to have subsided. (And by nasty, I mean "Had to get a single room at college because I scared the living shit out of my poor roommate.")

These days, I snore at a volume that cannot be considered normal, and there's some evidence of sleep apnea. I'm waiting on a proper sleep study.

Oh no! Sleepwalking is such a wild and oddly fascinating thing to me. I used to sleepwalk (and talk-- as in have full fledged conversations with people) when I was a child, but as far as I know that's mostly subsided for me as well. Then again, I live alone and have not slept in the same place as someone consistently for a long time, so I'm not certain I would know. I also used to wake up by sitting straight up in bed and looking around, which terrified my older siblings. Apparently I might still do this sometimes...

Good luck with the sleep study! I was so nervous going into mine because I desperately wanted an answer to what was wrong with me, but it turned out to really not be so bad. It was mostly just really boring and having all the leads attached to me was somewhat awkward and uncomfortable.

I hope everything turns out well for you :)

I used to have a lot of trouble falling asleep.

And I'd yell a ton in my sleep, which my parents assumed to be from night terrors. I hardly ever remembered my dreams, though, so I can't confirm one way or another.

I've never been officially diagnosed with anything (I've been given sleeping pills and such, but I don't like them), but I've always had horrid sleeping patterns since I was a kid. Even when I was like 6 or 7, I'd stay awake reading until like midnight or later and then wake up for school. (So getting 6 hours instead of the 10 that kids are supposed to get.) And then when I'd done this for awhile, I'd just crash. The worst was one night in high school when I came back from an event and then slept for the next 36 hours (only getting up to pee and then going back to bed, never fully awake). I still do this now, as a 38-year-old, generally getting from 2-5 hours of sleep most nights and occasionally (like once a year or so?) crashing hard. I guess I don't mind too much, as it gives me more hours to play on the internet and read and things like that, but I do feel out of it at other times, and I don't like that feeling.

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