need to sleep all day, awake all night

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badnights
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need to sleep all day, awake all night

Post by badnights »

I don't know how this happened, but my days and nights have suddenly become reversed.

I had to come home early from work on Wednesday cuz I was dead tired, and I fell into a sound sleep with only a few wakenings for 3 hours til my legs came alive. I took my meds at the usual times that night and slept normally, so the afternoon sleep didn't disturb my schedule or anything.

Friday I took the day off because I have overtime coming to me, and I intended to work on my thesis defense, but I decided to let myself sleep in, to recover from my month working in the field. But I couldn't get up in the morning! When I did, I just fell asleep again on the couch, and then again in the bed, and all day was like that until a couple hours after I took my meds, when I finally shook it off and got a few hours of work done.

Saturday the same thing happened. So I didn't let myself do any work that night. I went to bed at the normal time, but my legs woke me up 90 minutes later! Finally after an hour I got back to sleep, but the same darn thing happened today, three days in a row of being UNABLE to wake up! I went outside and walked around, but still I wanted to lie down when I came back in. I found myself waking up in bed without realizing I had lain down.

And I'm not really sleeping all that time I'm lying down, at least I don't feel refreshed when I wake up, I feel exactly the same as when I lay down.

What in tarnation is going on?

So today I took my meds way early, at 4 PM. I figured, if they're waking me up, at least I'll get it over with sooner in the day.

My Zeo tells me nothing new, I get maybe 15 minutes of deep sleep a night, lots of REM and light sleep. Maybe that's the problem: it's all finally catching up with me??? how am I supposed to know? I don't even feel sleepy at night anymore, no matter how exhausted I am, until I take my stupid little blue pill that tells my clcok it's nighttime. But all day - the last three days - I just want to sleep sleep sleep and can't function.

I think I 'm just crazy.
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
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Chipmunk
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Post by Chipmunk »

Maybe your body finally figured out it could get good sleep during the day? Is that schedule sustainable?
Tracy

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ViewsAskew
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Post by ViewsAskew »

Beth, I've been in similar boat for a couple of years. While I can get to sleep before 3 AM, I don't sleep well and then I need to sleep later/longer - like 10-12 hours. When I go to sleep at 3-5 AM, I seem to need less sleep. My theory is that the meds are enough to cover 80% of the worst RLS, so that when I try to sleep when it's the worst, I have frequent awakenings and am tired. When I sleep after the worst is over, I sleep much better.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

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badnights
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Post by badnights »

Whatever I did seems to have worked. But what did I do? I had insane RLS all day Monday, and since I had taken my meds 4 hr early the day before, I knew I wouldn't last til my regular time, so I took some early and some at the usual time, totalling 18 mg instead of my prescribed 15. RLS still nuts after it was all in me, so I added pramipexole 0.25 mg. Cold cold cold but when I had enough clothing and blankets on me, I fell asleep and had the first good sleep I've had in weeks.

Today the malevolent force was singing in my bones all day again, but it was bearable.

But was it all the extra meds, or was it vitamin D?? I remembered last night that I had altered my D intake about 10 days ago!! I had dropped from 4000 to 2000 IU per day. So I ate 4000 last night, another 4000 this morning. The SAME thing happened the last time I dropped from 4000 to 2000 : my RLS got worse, I couldn't figure out why, I raised the D and it got better.

hmmm.
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
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Chipmunk
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Post by Chipmunk »

I find the same link with my Vitamin D levels - hope increasing your dose helps the legs!!
Tracy

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the WED/RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

badnights
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Post by badnights »

today wans't too bad, better than yesterday, so I'm seeing a steady improvement within a day of upping the vitamin D. This is significant, I think, since it's the second time I've done this (unintentionally) with the same results.

thanks for the good wishes! I think they work 8)
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
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SquirmingSusan
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Post by SquirmingSusan »

I hope the trend toward sleeping at night and being awake during the day keeps up, Beth!

Have you ever put the Zeo on during some of those daytime naps? I'm just curious because sometimes you sound like you have narcolepsy, with problems sleeping at night, staying awake during the day, lots of REM, not much deep sleep. REM during daytime naps is a big symptom.

OK, I'm going to stop projecting my other sleep disorder onto you now. 8)
Susan

ViewsAskew
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Post by ViewsAskew »

SquirmingSusan wrote:I hope the trend toward sleeping at night and being awake during the day keeps up, Beth!

Have you ever put the Zeo on during some of those daytime naps? I'm just curious because sometimes you sound like you have narcolepsy, with problems sleeping at night, staying awake during the day, lots of REM, not much deep sleep. REM during daytime naps is a big symptom.

OK, I'm going to stop projecting my other sleep disorder onto you now. 8)


I have the same symptoms and Dr B said no to narcolepsy... lots of REM, little deep sleep, instant REM upon falling asleep, particularly during naps....must be some other weird thing, lol.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

badnights
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Post by badnights »

As usual, Ann could be describing my disease as well as her own
.. lots of REM, little deep sleep, instant REM upon falling asleep, particularly during naps....
My nighttime Zeo says I get about 30 min of deep and 2-3 hr of REM. I no longer go straight into REM, but it happens when I get really tired.

I've never tried the Zeo in naps. I do fall straight into REM pretty often in my naps but I had a PSG and a MSLT, and no narcolepsy.
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
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doety
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Post by doety »

Fascinating to hear about the Vitamin D. I've got a bottle of 4000 strength and was afraid to take it. I'll start tonight and see what happens.
I think I just read in Dr. B's book that RLS peaks about midnight and is at its "best" early, like 9 a.m. If only the world would fit in with our body schedules. I"m sure it's true, but it's just so hard to do. I do know that my body won't take orders from me.

badnights
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Post by badnights »

This darn disease just goes up and down for no reason. Well, some things are solid in my life; the D and iron are essential, I know that now, and I will never sleep at night without a sleeping pill (zopiclone) as long as I'm taking opioids, and I need some kind of opioid to control the RLS/WED. Those things are sure. But it goes up and down even when I'm doing everything right.

Last night I felt it in me even after my meds had kicked in, and I knew I would never be able to fall asleep, so I added a .25 pill of pramipexole (Mirapex). That's the drug I stopped taking because it made me sleepy all day, but I keep an emergency stash on hand.

Well, I slept wonderfully! I only woke up 4 times or so, as compared to once an hour like it's been lately, and I didn't set my alarm and didn't go to work until almost noon. But - I worked at one job for 2.5 hours, moved on to my real job for 8 hours without stopping (2:30 to 10:30 PM), came home and had the good sense to make supper and eat it before I started doing paperwork and then checked the discussion board and good lord it's 2:30 AM and I'm hyper-wide-awake. I didn't even get the sleepy-all-day side effect.

It's been a long time since I had this much energy. I remember a little bit (but can't really imagine it) what I used to be like. How much energy I had then. How I would appreciate it if I could have it back again!

Anyway I suppose I had better kill the joy and take that little blue pill. Otherwise I will get all off-kilter again. Deep sleep to everyone !
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
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Chipmunk
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Post by Chipmunk »

I wonder if our bodies are used to getting such little sleep that when we do get sleep we get a bit hyper?? I have been able to sleep later recently and I have had such a hard time falling asleep at night. Not complaining, just wish I could adjust the rest of the world to go along with my sleep schedule!

Hope the good sleep repeats!
Tracy

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the WED/RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

waterloo2
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Post by waterloo2 »

Hi
Do you think vitamin D helps your legs.
waterloo2 (gill) x

badnights
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Post by badnights »

I am convinced the D helps my legs.

I was taking it for other reasons, and dropped down from 4000 to 2000 IU for some reason, and my RLS got bad. I couldn't figure it out - I eliminated coffee, upped my iron, nothing worked til I raised the D.

A few months later I dropped the D to 2000 again, and the same thing happened, so I became convinced.

To top it off, I came across an article that describes a post-mortem study of RLS brains that found the myelin sheath on RLS brain neurons was defective (there was less of it plus loss of its integrity). The article notes that iron is needed for healthy myelin, but there is some evidence that vitamin D is required as well (mainly, as far as I know, that MS has been linked indirectly to insufficient vitamin D; MS is a disease in which the myelin sheath on brain and spinal neurons is damaged). So it makes sense that taking D and iron might help keep the myelin sheath from deteriorating further. No actual proof, though.

Lots of people in N Am are deficient in D. No doctor I've told about my taking 4000 IU has batted an eye.
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
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I am a volunteer moderator. My posts are not medical advice. My posts do not reflect RLS Foundation opinion.

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