Something Different

[Mrs. T]

H has an awful time sleeping. Has for years. For a month, maybe two, he was sleeping about 0-3 hrs a night. More in the1-2 Hr range. Then he started taking sleeping pills. They made him groggy but not necessarily sleepy. He changed to a better pill recently that seems to be allowing him to get some sleep.

Anyways, recently he has been sleeping at random times. Granted, his body needs it, but he never sleeps without a fight.

The other day he finished work that he did overnight. The guys he was working with invited him over for a bite to eat before he went home. He said he sat in a chair and woke up 6 hours later.

Today, he went out to his zone out place, after work. He fell asleep at the counter with his head propped up and his eyes open. After 2 and a half hrs, someone got concerned that something was wrong, and woke him up. Apparently, ppl had tried talking to him that whole time. No one knew he was sleeping.

When he got home, all he wanted was to go to bed. When he got in to bed, he had forgotten to take his sleeping pills, but fell asleep minutes later with the hiccups. Do ppl fall asleep with hiccups?

Is his body just crashing and forcing sleep on him? I know he still wakes up throughout the night, but these random sleeps are different.

 

[LittleHugger]

I have several sleep disorders. I am no expert, but I think this is something you should tell his doctor. It is good he has fallen asleep in relatively safe places, but the concern here would be that, he could fall asleep where he shouldn't, for safety's sake. When the body is in desperate need of sleep, brief periods of sleep can occur, no matter where you are and what your doing (microsleeps). I don't recall micro sleeps lasting for as long as what you describe though....thus the name MICRO. Narcolepsy also causes a person to fall asleep all over the place. Your doctor may want to refer him for a sleep study (polysomnography) to see what is going on. You said there has been a medication change, so maybe this may have some correlation, and would need to be considered as the cause for this new behavior.

 

[Mrs. T]

Thank you! He talked to the Dr about this and all his nightmares. The Dr has changed his meds again. We'll see how these ones go...

 

[LittleHugger]

Thank you!

Your welcome!

Thats what I really like about these boards....to share experiences, which can be very helpful and reassuring....

Glad you checked with your doctor...

Do you mind me asking what they have him on now?

Hope the new med helps...

 

[Mrs. T]

Bio-amitriptyline is what he should be on now. Unfortunately, we have literally $0 (actually I have about $5 which I am buying milk with) so we haven't been able to buy more meds :(. He gets paid on Tuesday. Can't wait until he's back on his meds. Its been a rough week. I'll let you know how these meds work out. Hope they are good. I'm sure a good nights sleep and some anti-depresents could really help him.

 

[LittleHugger]

Amitriptyline is definitely in the line of meds to try. It depends on the dosage, but it shouldn't knock him out cold, and should offer some help getting to, and, staying asleep for an average nights sleep. It is enough for some, and not for others.

Oh boooooy do I hear the $0 thing...it IS tough, especially with the cost of these medications. When I try a new medication, I don't get a full prescription, because if you react to it, don't like it, whatever...you didn't invest in a whole month's supply. I would ask for a week or two, depending on the cost, before I went ahead and filled the whole prescription. Just an idea maybe that could help you out when things are that tight.

Keepin' my fingers crossed, the amitriptyline works...

 

[Mrs. T]

Thanks. I hope this is the one for him.
Thanks for the tip on the partial dosage. I think we should be doing that. Meds are so expensive. I think H feels guilty that we spend so much money on him. Wish he wouldn't, but doesn't listen to me when I tell him not to feel guilty :(