sleep journal; ferritin
Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2004 8:35 pm
Possible sleep journal entries that I have come up with:
sleep night date; night of week; activity just before bed; conditions of room; where was night spent, (own bed, couch, hotel); symptoms at time of going to bed; time went to bed ;approx time fell asleep; # of arousals; time of arousal and how long; why aroused; time awaken and was it to an alarm; time got up; approx hours of sleep; rate nights sleep; how felt when woke up;
meds taken during day, how much, time of day; drug side effects during day;
exercise, time of day and how long; caffeine intake; water intake; stress during day; remedies tried before going to bed; amount of sunlight; amount of alcohol; any naps during day, time, and how long;
what worked; what did not work; comments
I am trying to put together a sleep journal to help me and Dr. evaluate what is happening with my sleep patterns, lifestyle and what is or is not working. I am hoping this will help me to talk to my Doctor in three months regarding progress I have made in getting better sleep. I have set this up in a spreadsheet excel. I can evaluate things better by looking at info in a spreadsheet, versus looking at individual pages of info and having to flip back and forth to compare entries.
What do you think? I think some of you have already been doing journals and I am looking for some input as to what are some good things to keep notes on for this condition and how things contribute to RLS problems and what helps relieve and help me get better sleep.
BACKGROUND: I am a fairly health, 40 something, overweight female. In the past I have been getting a fairly good nights sleep, but find it hard to get out of bed because I feel like I am not rested. This has been going on for about 4 years. About a year ago, I changed General Practice Dr after other Drs not doing much for me. For past year, GP has tried many remedies to rule out things. Finally, doctor indicated a sleep study needed to be done.
PLMS/RLS: After the sleep study which was done about 2 months ago, I was diagnosed with PLMS a kissing cousin to RLS. I had never heard of these sleep disorders and was quite shocked when I was expecting some form of sleep apnea. The study said my overall sleep architecture was normal except for increased stage 1 sleep. Movement index was 25 movements/hr hence the PLMS diagnosis. I am lucky, because I have been referred to a very good sleep doc who is very knowledgeable regarding RLS and diagnosed the PLMS. I have found no support groups for PLMS on the web. He is not diagnosing RLS at this time because I do not present the usually creepy crawly and I can sit for prolonged times without having to get up and walk it off to get relief. From reading some of the posts, I think I could be borderline with RLS. Legs are sore like I have had a Charlie horse, but have not had one. Just changing positions relieves my symptoms. I never paid much attention to it before as a symptom. I seem to have a high tolerance for pain so for me soreness is just a nuisance and to others it might be something that makes you have to walk the floor.
MEDS/LIFESTYLE: Sleep Dr. originally prescribed mirapex and clonazepam. For me, the side effects were worse than not getting a good night sleep. Instead of just being tired with meds I was groggy, not clear headed, zoning out driving and barely functioning at work. Stopped meds and working on lifestyle changes. Hence, some of the entries in the journal. I’m a nightowl, and trying to work on better sleep patterns and force myself to go to bed earlier and getup at the same time each day. I am a chocoholic; this is the only caffeine that I get. I’m working on losing weight and exercising more. If I drink the 8 glasses of water a day that you are suppose to drink, it makes me get up in the middle of the night, which irritates me. I perceive a connection with SAD because the more exposure to sun makes me sleep and feel better. I do not get much sun exposure normally due to an inside office location, short drive to work and work long hours.
IRON/FERRITIN: After doing some research on PLMS and RLS, I found that low iron was a potential culprit. I knew I had a possible iron problem because on occasion I could not donate blood due to low iron. I had been regularly checked for iron and thyroid levels in past (I think) because I had been complaining of being tired all the time. I found that ferritin was not a part of the regular bloodwork test CBC. I requested my GP do more blood tests for iron, ferritin, serum and B12. My ferritin was a 5 last week and min for normal is 10. Everything else was in normal range. On my first visit to sleep dr after sleep study, he saw the bloodwork results done that week. He prescribed ferrous gluconate 300mg x2, 3x a day with vitamin C. First few times I took it without vitamin C because it was not handy and had a lot of heartburn. Started taking ferrous with chewable vitamin C tablets and have not had as much heartburn. Vitiamin C is suppose to help absorb the iron and seems to help the heartburn at the same time.
BLOOD DONATOR: Asked Dr. about giving blood and he said to stop until I got things under control. I’ve been giving blood several times a year since I was a teenager. I have lost track of how many gallons I have donated over my lifetime. Any other blood donators with RLS out there?
BLOODWORK: FYI, I talked to my Sleep Doctor who is knowledgeable about RLS regarding several blood related comments that I had found in my research. He indicated the following. Iron and ferritin need to be watched. Ferritin affects the way iron is absorbed and if iron is not absorbed it effects the dopamine levels. Maybe this is why dopamine drugs seem to work and are usually prescribed? Dr. indicates that Magnesium, potassium, calcium levels are usually normal in RLS sufferers.
Sorry about the long post to just get feedback on the journal, but thought some of my findings would be of interest.
sleep night date; night of week; activity just before bed; conditions of room; where was night spent, (own bed, couch, hotel); symptoms at time of going to bed; time went to bed ;approx time fell asleep; # of arousals; time of arousal and how long; why aroused; time awaken and was it to an alarm; time got up; approx hours of sleep; rate nights sleep; how felt when woke up;
meds taken during day, how much, time of day; drug side effects during day;
exercise, time of day and how long; caffeine intake; water intake; stress during day; remedies tried before going to bed; amount of sunlight; amount of alcohol; any naps during day, time, and how long;
what worked; what did not work; comments
I am trying to put together a sleep journal to help me and Dr. evaluate what is happening with my sleep patterns, lifestyle and what is or is not working. I am hoping this will help me to talk to my Doctor in three months regarding progress I have made in getting better sleep. I have set this up in a spreadsheet excel. I can evaluate things better by looking at info in a spreadsheet, versus looking at individual pages of info and having to flip back and forth to compare entries.
What do you think? I think some of you have already been doing journals and I am looking for some input as to what are some good things to keep notes on for this condition and how things contribute to RLS problems and what helps relieve and help me get better sleep.
BACKGROUND: I am a fairly health, 40 something, overweight female. In the past I have been getting a fairly good nights sleep, but find it hard to get out of bed because I feel like I am not rested. This has been going on for about 4 years. About a year ago, I changed General Practice Dr after other Drs not doing much for me. For past year, GP has tried many remedies to rule out things. Finally, doctor indicated a sleep study needed to be done.
PLMS/RLS: After the sleep study which was done about 2 months ago, I was diagnosed with PLMS a kissing cousin to RLS. I had never heard of these sleep disorders and was quite shocked when I was expecting some form of sleep apnea. The study said my overall sleep architecture was normal except for increased stage 1 sleep. Movement index was 25 movements/hr hence the PLMS diagnosis. I am lucky, because I have been referred to a very good sleep doc who is very knowledgeable regarding RLS and diagnosed the PLMS. I have found no support groups for PLMS on the web. He is not diagnosing RLS at this time because I do not present the usually creepy crawly and I can sit for prolonged times without having to get up and walk it off to get relief. From reading some of the posts, I think I could be borderline with RLS. Legs are sore like I have had a Charlie horse, but have not had one. Just changing positions relieves my symptoms. I never paid much attention to it before as a symptom. I seem to have a high tolerance for pain so for me soreness is just a nuisance and to others it might be something that makes you have to walk the floor.
MEDS/LIFESTYLE: Sleep Dr. originally prescribed mirapex and clonazepam. For me, the side effects were worse than not getting a good night sleep. Instead of just being tired with meds I was groggy, not clear headed, zoning out driving and barely functioning at work. Stopped meds and working on lifestyle changes. Hence, some of the entries in the journal. I’m a nightowl, and trying to work on better sleep patterns and force myself to go to bed earlier and getup at the same time each day. I am a chocoholic; this is the only caffeine that I get. I’m working on losing weight and exercising more. If I drink the 8 glasses of water a day that you are suppose to drink, it makes me get up in the middle of the night, which irritates me. I perceive a connection with SAD because the more exposure to sun makes me sleep and feel better. I do not get much sun exposure normally due to an inside office location, short drive to work and work long hours.
IRON/FERRITIN: After doing some research on PLMS and RLS, I found that low iron was a potential culprit. I knew I had a possible iron problem because on occasion I could not donate blood due to low iron. I had been regularly checked for iron and thyroid levels in past (I think) because I had been complaining of being tired all the time. I found that ferritin was not a part of the regular bloodwork test CBC. I requested my GP do more blood tests for iron, ferritin, serum and B12. My ferritin was a 5 last week and min for normal is 10. Everything else was in normal range. On my first visit to sleep dr after sleep study, he saw the bloodwork results done that week. He prescribed ferrous gluconate 300mg x2, 3x a day with vitamin C. First few times I took it without vitamin C because it was not handy and had a lot of heartburn. Started taking ferrous with chewable vitamin C tablets and have not had as much heartburn. Vitiamin C is suppose to help absorb the iron and seems to help the heartburn at the same time.
BLOOD DONATOR: Asked Dr. about giving blood and he said to stop until I got things under control. I’ve been giving blood several times a year since I was a teenager. I have lost track of how many gallons I have donated over my lifetime. Any other blood donators with RLS out there?
BLOODWORK: FYI, I talked to my Sleep Doctor who is knowledgeable about RLS regarding several blood related comments that I had found in my research. He indicated the following. Iron and ferritin need to be watched. Ferritin affects the way iron is absorbed and if iron is not absorbed it effects the dopamine levels. Maybe this is why dopamine drugs seem to work and are usually prescribed? Dr. indicates that Magnesium, potassium, calcium levels are usually normal in RLS sufferers.
Sorry about the long post to just get feedback on the journal, but thought some of my findings would be of interest.