So here it is 2:45am again and as usual I’m wide awake. I have got the worst sleep problems of anyone I know of. If I get 3 hours of sleep a night its amazing. Probably why Ive aged 10 years for every one year! Anyone else have this problem? I tried ambiem and it made it worse, then I fell asleep and woke up after 2 hours.
Lou…ever tried catfishing? Just got home and I’m dog tired…
Sorry, about your sleep problem. Makes for a long day. 
Have you gone to the doc for the sleep test?
Briank has a completely different issue if he goes catfishing all night, comes home dead tired and feels the need to log-on at 3:00 am 
cheers
My sleep issues have just begun. As of Tuesday Ive got a kindergarterner. Problem is, since I live WAYYYYYY out in the sticks, the bus comes (for AM) at 7o clock. The kid has an hour long bus ride to get there. Wakin up at 6 is killin me. Anyone wanna relieve me and wake up with my kid tomorrow???
I sort of suffer from the same problem. I fall right to sleep 9 out of 10 nights so going to sleep is almost never a problem for me. The problem is that I’ll wake up between 3 and 4am. I used to try and go back to sleep but most of the time I’d just lay there wide awake so now I just get up. It makes it nice for hitting the water or the treestand early. I am lucky if I get 6 hours of sleep a night. My theory is that I’m single and have no reason to stay in bed. Married guys stay in bed because of their wives. Some because they love their wives. Others because the longer they stay in bed the less time they have to deal with their wives.
Eyehunter
It might be because of your bed. I had some similar sleep problems a few years ago and, for me, I know that it was the bed. I just couldn’t get comfortable. If it happens every night I would see a good sleep specialist.
I now have a slect comfort bed and it is great. Never once have I had any sleep problems.
Lou, I sent you an PM.
My dad had a problem for years I told him to get a sleep study done and after a couple years of putting up a fight he finally broke down and went. diagnosis sleep apnea (spell check) they gave him a small Cpap and he sleeps like a dream. 
If it is a problem falling asleep take two morgan cokes it does it for me
I have had 2 sleep studies. Been on a cpap for 8 years now as well. They dam near had to knock me out for last sleep study. It aint a whole lotta fun. But on the plus side….I sure buy a lot of crap I dont need on ebay…lol!
Lou- I have a good friend who had the same thing as you. He went to the sleep clinic where they monitored him for a couple of nights. He now has a machine and some kind of mask that he wears at night. Hell you can’t even wake him up now he sleeps so well. Good Luck and go see a specialist. Love2Fish.
Quote:
I’m single and have no reason to stay in bed
Now that there is funny! 
I’m married…and at age 50…have no reason to stay in bed!
I have a cpap and it worked all right. but now I have lost some weight and started walking and the dam thing seemed to start orver powering me. So I am off it for now but only sleep for about 5-6 hours. But that is all I slept with the machine.
Another thing is if you nap while watching tv that will mess your sleep up big time. I also can’t have any caffine after noon. Caffine drives me nuts. Another thing that helps me is a light snack like a small bowl of cereal before night night time. Just my 2 cents. The cpap is the answer to most problems though.
Gundy
You most likely have some form of obstructive sleep apnea. If they have you on CPAP and you can not sleep, I would look into a Bi-Pap machine.
CPAP stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure and basically uses a minimal amount of positive pressure to keep your airway from obstructing while you breath. The problem with CPAP is the pressure is constant and often not tolerated well.
Bi-Pap is pretty much the same as CPAP but it uses two levels are positive pressure, one while you are inhaling and one while you exhale. Usually this is tolerated much better.
You NEED to do something about this or it will kill you. I would look at some other options besides CPAP because you need to be getting more sleep.
First I would recommend you lose some weight. No matter what you weigh, losing weight will help. Second, I would look at seeing a different pulmonologist or going to the Mayo clinic to have you issues looked at. Like I said earlier…this will kill you eventually if you do not address the problem.
It is time you make some life changes. I would diet like my life depended on it. Get out and exercise. I know it is hard because you always feel tired and run down but you have to do it. Start with those two and go see a specialist. If in the end surgury is necessary, get it done!
I go through it a few times a year. It’ll last for a week-month at a time. I know how you feel…it’s brutal!!! I go through the, “what’s on the agenda for tomorrow”, my mind will go on and on about the dumbest things and I can’t make it stop to get to sleep! What I have realized is caffeine and lack of excersize is the main factor that puts me in this mode. No caffeine after dinner and excersize does pretty well for me. Try “simply sleep”, it’s really helped on the nights I feel insomnia coming on.
BIRDDOG
Sounds likes Insomnia which is different from Sleep Apnea.
Lou, let me know if you get the new meds.. 
Scott, Would this bi-pap machine be less over powering on a person? After I started getting in better shape my C-Pap seemed to overpower me. Losing weight is number 1. Last year I could not walk 100 yards with out stopping to catch my breath and my heart rate was out’a sight. Now I can walk 2-3 miles before my legs tell me that’s enough. So losing weight is huge.
Gundy
Gundy
I suppose since I opened this can of worms I should tell you a bit more. I have a mind that will not shut down…ever! I also have RLS and diabetes(controlled). I use my cpap every night and wouldnt even think of sleeping without it. I never nap during the day. Most people with sleep apnea fall asleep at the drop of a hat…not me, I can lay in bed for hours before I relax enough to sleep. I am encouraged for sleep tonight as my Dr. gave me a sample of Ambien CR to try. I am glad to see many others recognize the effects of sleep apnea as well. Its a killer disease that often goes untreated and is found funny by some. We all know the guy that snores like a bear all night.I have tried a bi pap and felt like I was suffocating, for me the cpap is a necessary tool to get any rest. Keep the thoughts and ideas coming and I will let you know how I sleep tonight! Thanks to all!
I think alot of people in this country were waken to the fact that sleep apnea is a killer when Reggie White died! As trajic as it was a whole lot of press and peoples eyes were open to the fact that this is what is happening to them or a loved one!
Best of luck tonight and everynight
Well for many years now ever since I was in the service I have been having problems going to sleep and staying asleep. I usually get up around 5:30 a.m. wide awake but that is not the entire story cause I just got to bed around 4 a.m. When I lay there trying to relax my feet start this twitching thing and I have to get up and walk. Then I eat a little snack and try to go back to bed but that is useless now that school has started and as a single dad I have to get my boys off to school. Before the school start up I was able to get back to sleep for another hour and if I was lucky I could get 2 hours but then I was up for the day until the next morning around 4 again. I have not told my family about my problem with sleep and they think I am a bum that works 2nd shift comes home and sleeps til 10 a.m. cause sometimes that is when I finally start to get my R.E.M’s between 8 and 10 in the morning. But like I said that is done now that school has started. I knew others had problems like mine but I just thought I was living life to the fullest… 
So Lou I feel for you and I am in your shoes I do not know what to try next. Nyquil just makes me stay up longer. Any type of sleeping pill knocks me out for an hour and boom wide awake like I had 8 hours of sleep. Sometimes I just think maybe I should just go fishing at 3a.m. and come home to get the kids off to school.. 
Might want to give the Ambien CR a try. Its a controlled release sleep aid so it keeps you asleep. NyQuil contains alcohol and when it leaves the body, the body wakes you up asking for more.
Getting into REM the last few hours of sleep is normal.
after seeing all these posts and others answers I am definetly going to check into some of these options.. Thanks
I got a Sleep Number bed about 6 months ago. I would not own anything else. My sleep has been excellent. No more lower back pain.. 
There is a medication that is commonly used for sleep that has been very successful for folks who have trouble shutting their mind down at night. It’s an old anti-depressant called Trazodone. It never really worked worth a crap as an antidepressant but has worked wonders as a sleep aid and the main benefit we have found is that it doesn’t have much for side effects. It’s also very cheap! It’s a medication that will generally hit you really hard at first, so the doc will start you off with low doses and let your body get used to it for a while, while they increase the dose over time. You have to be sure to take it early enough in the evening that the effects are gone by morning. People sometimes wait too late at night and then complain of being tired in the morning. It may give you a little bit of that tired feeling in the morning for the first week that you take it, but that should go away in a short time. This medication has been one of the best, most effective, safest, and cheapest medications we’ve found to aid sleep, but you never hear much about it. You know why? $$$$$$ Money!! $$$$$$ Nobody’s getting rich off the stuff. Ask your doc about trazodone and if he won’t prescribe it to you then you might check with a psychiatrist who will. Sleep problems are a serious medical AND psychiatric problem and, as you know, can cause great harm to the mind and body.
One other point… it’s one of the few medications that I know several professionals in the field use for their own use. It tells you something when the docs will take it too.
There are other medication that may help, as well as some other psychological techniques, but most of the other meds have a greater risk of side effects. Like some said, losing weight can help the physical causes, as can increased excerise. I would suggest doing both as well. Good luck and let us know how it goes.
WHAT A WEBSITE!
IN-DEPTHANGLING.COM
For Fishing, Hunting, Spelling, the Mind and the Body!
…and I’m not even going to mention gas prices!
Lou, great advice here. Actually what you describe is not sleep apnea at all, you just can’t sleep! (Unless your CPAP mask keeps you up)?
For everyone: Apnea means no breathing, or better put, a person is not moving any air (as with OSA). CPAP or BiPAP will keep your airway open so you don’t wake up all night from not breathing (snoring).
Scott Steil has the best advise for OSA and a great explanation of CPAP and BiPAP!
For Lou: Read Derek Johnson’s posts again. I’d be looking in that direction. But I think Wade Kuehl’s post might be the answer. If it was me, I’d try the Trazadone, but I don’t know anything about the medication side of this and the only advise for medication should be from your MD.
For gjk1970: BiPAP may help you. What CPAP mashine do you use? Newer ones have a ‘ramp’ feature that lets you fall asleep, then the pressure slowly ‘ramps’ up to your set pressure 30 or so mins. later so you are not blasted right away before your head hits the pillow.
Another option is an auto titrating device like the Tranquility CPAP that adjusts the pressure for you for what you need. If you had a sleep study, I bet they used this machine to determine your pressure, but that may need to be adjusted now that you lost some weight.
The most important thing is that you have to be comfortable with your mask. So many people are claustrophobic and can’t deal with having anything on their face but there are other options that may work.
Let`s see….2;56 AM Yea I don`t have a probolem………..Have been this way 4 to 6 hours max a night, ever since I can remember.
Good morning – 4am. I slept 5 hours tonight after taking the ambien CR. Still a fitful sleep, but at least it was sleep!
As for trazadone – tried it already, didnt help sleep problem at all and it made me feel like I was crawling the walls.
I am going to continue the ambien CR through the weekend to see if it gets progressively better. Am seeing Dr. on Monday to discuss other options.
Quote:
Good morning – 4am. I slept 5 hours tonight after taking the ambien CR. Still a fitful sleep, but at least it was sleep!
As for trazadone – tried it already, didnt help sleep problem at all and it made me feel like I was crawling the walls.
I am going to continue the ambien CR through the weekend to see if it gets progressively better. Am seeing Dr. on Monday to discuss other options.
That’s a bummer. No med works for everyone and you might need something even stronger. Keep working with your doc. You’ll find something that works.
BTW, did you give the trazodone a good chance to work? Like I said above, it seems to hit folks hard at first and can have those side effects but they tend to go away after a few days to a week for most people. But, unfortunately it’s not for everyone.
Just curious as to whether anyone who is having trouble sleeping is getting the daily dose of excercise ? Before turning to meds you may want to look at eating habits and whether your getting enough excercise or not ?
(Coincidentally, I first read this post at 4:00 AM, right after Briank posted at 3:00 ) 
I have the same problem and like you the cpap machine didn’t work. They tried different masks, for example one that covers my entire face and one that covers my nose, and neither did much good.
My sleep does improve if I eat early, go for a walk at night and take a medication called Triazolam. However, the medicine is habit forming and I am limited to taking it 3-4 nights per week. You might want to check with your doctor and give it a try. The other thing the doctor told me was that it would probably help to lose some weight. I am about 25 pounds overweight.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
