Wake up exhausted, but why?

[theacev]

Hey guys. I know I'm asking a lot but I hope some of you will take the time to read my problems as I have put EVERYTHING out for you. I hope some of you share what is going on with me and have some answers yourself that can help improve my life so here it goes.

My concern is that I wake up exhausted every morning and it is affecting my work and my personal life. I get from 7-9 hours (normally about 8hrs) of sleep every night and once I go to sleep I normally wake up just once so that I can go to the bathroom.

My sleeping symptoms:
I remember VIVID dreams just about every night that seem so real and intense. When I am going to sleep if my wife even touches me I will jerk awake and sometimes yell even if we were talking 3 seconds ago (literally!). When I am going to sleep (even alone) I will see bright flashes or hear loud noises that are so intense they almost hurt normally about once or twice per week. Sometimes I feel like I am walking and one foot doesn't come out fast enough and I hit the pavement causing me to jerk awake.

My symptoms During the day:
I am exhausted in the morning and it takes me about 30 minutes just to get out of bed. I have eye twitching every day. If I have been really been working hard, had more dreams (than normal) or go to bed later then it gets so bad I can barely concentrate on anything. I feel light-headed and ever so slightly dizzy. It is hard for me to focus on anything like this. I have trouble committing things to long term memory. My wife says that I often get quite distracted and I'm always singing a song and I really am in my own world most of the time. Content, but not all there.

Diagnosis:
I have been diagnosised with blepharospasms and clinical depression (even though I do not feel depressed by the traditional sense) 1-year ago, however I have not taken anti-depressants as of yet. I here that the side effects of the medication can be as bad as the problems so I am afraid to take them, do you guys think I should try? I had a sleep study done in 2 consecutive days but I could not fall completely asleep for longer than a half hour because of all the wires attached to me

[theacev]

Another thing is I am such a laid back person I do not see why I would be having the stress problems that I apparently have.

I am a very happy content person most of the time. I am one of the most laid back people you have ever met. I almost never feel sad or depressed or lonely. I am very patient. I don't get annoyed with people hardly ever. People have told me that they thought I was a nice guy.

[theacev]

4 years ago when I slept average 4-6 hours per night about 4 different nights over 6 months where I woke up paralyzed and the whole bed started shaking violently (I suspect I might have had a seizure) and then I was awake. If I believed in ghosts I would have thought I was being possessed.

Around this time I also slept walked. My poor roommate was playing video games and he sees me throw the door open yelling and throwing things. Then he said I crouched down and mumbled to myself and then went back to bed. I remember none of this! I do not know if I have slept walked since then because I have lived alone (until I was married last month in which I have not slept walked)

Also, 2 years ago when my wife kissed me while I was sleeping I thought she was not my wife but an evil clone that wanted to kill me so I grabbed her wrist HARD and I contemplated disabling her so she couldn't kill me but luckily I was awake enough to come to my senses after about 1 minute and not hurt her. We were having a long distance relationship until we were married last month so I am afraid it might happen again. That scared the hell out of me that I might actually hurt my wife! What is wrong with me!

[sfraise]

I've got some of the same symptoms here, just posted a few days ago about help with a sleep study. I also have the loud noice and flashing when trying to fall asleep sometimes, especially if I'm overly tired. I describe it as kind of feeling like an electric shock through my noggin, real fast flash of red or white and an intense buzzing sound with it.

I also have the vivid dreams and usually several times a night will sit up in bed real fast and yell "hey" real loud, and then lay back down and go back to sleep. I never remember any of it. I also will get up and move around and talk to people in my sleep, it's kind of embarasing since I usually sleep in the buff lol.

As a result of all of this I too am drowsy most of the day, and will often sleep 12-16 hours per day, lucky I own my own business cause I wouldn't be able to hold a job other wise. It does effect my business though and I wish I could get it straightened out soon.

I had a sleep study a couple of years ago and was diagnosed with possible rem behavior disorder with a 66% sleep efficiency. Also had sleep latency. I've been taking provigil when I wake up which helps a bunch with the daytime drowsiness but doesn't do much for getting me out of bed in the morning considering I have to take wake up first to take the damn pill.

I started going to a new neuroligist a few months ago since the one trick pony here in my local area sucks, can't really understand what he's saying over his accent, that is when he takes the time to say anything at all. Never even knew what I was suspected of having until I got ahold of the sleep study results myself.

Unfortunately when I took a second sleep study there it was one of the rare nights where I didn't do much, sleep efficiency was still below normal (72%) but no acting out or anything. I've been trying to get the original sleep study to him but somehow it keeps getting lost before it gets to him, I'm getting fairl frustrated with it now actually.

I came accross an article on the internet recently that makes me wonder about this rem behavior diagnosis, which my new neuroligist has doubts on as well since rem behavior disorder shouldn't account for the extended length of time I sleep and the daytime drowsiness. The article was about a patient who was also diagnosed with rem behavior disorder but had many of the same symptoms we have, later to be diagnosed with frontal lobe epilepsy instead. I wonder about this is my case as I have a significant family history of epilepsy on my fathers side, severl aunts and uncles with it as well as a few cousins. I personally have to wonder if this flashing and buzzing we hear when falling asleep are a form of seizure. Frontal lobe epilepsy from when I've read will cause daytime drowsiness and will often times envoke other forms of parasomnias along with it.

I'll try to keep you updated on anything I find out over the next couple of months, that is if I can find out anything from these frickin doctors.

[CarlaH]

Hey. Try not to take the antidepressants if at all possible. They made my symptoms, some very similar to yours, much worse!!!!

[sfraise]

Hi Carla, thanks for the reply! I was also taking an anitdepresant called nortriptyline to help with severe headaches. I stopped taking them about a month ago but unfortunately my symptoms have yet to get any better. How long did it take your symptoms to decline after stopping your antidepresants?

[CarlaH]

Well the first time I stopped them cold turkey and that is an entirely different story. The second time I stopped taking the antid's I tapered over several weeks, which is the best way to go if you want to avoid discontinuation symptoms or even worsening of the side effects that the meds cause. Anyway, the loud noises and crashes when trying to fall asleep went away after a couple of weeks to a month, but I still have strange things happen, like when I am transitoning into a deeper sleep phase i will jerk awake, like a surge of electricity jolts me awake, which would happen before, but now it happens with no loud noises. Sometimes I used to hear banging noises, gunshots, trumpets, all kinds of crazy crashing sounds. No doctor ever understood what I was explaining. My own theory I came up with is that when I fall into a deeper sleep phase, my brain misfires somewhere causing the "electric jolt." It's interesting that my EEG's say that I have frontal lobe abnormalities (some sort of abnormal spike wave discharge) and that there is a history of frontal lobe epilepsy in your family. I've always had problems falling asleep since puberty, but I did not have the whole "loud noise" thing exacerbate until being put on an antidepressant. It is slowly but surely getting a little better each month. Sometimes I don't notice a whole lot for a long time ( several weeks) and then it all comes back full force for a few days. It has gotten pretty random. How about you?

[CarlaH]

Well the first time I stopped them cold turkey and that is an entirely different story. The second time I stopped taking the antid's I tapered over several weeks, which is the best way to go if you want to avoid discontinuation symptoms or even worsening of the side effects that the meds cause. Anyway, the loud noises and crashes when trying to fall asleep went away after a couple of weeks to a month, but I still have strange things happen, like when I am transitoning into a deeper sleep phase i will jerk awake, like a surge of electricity jolts me awake, which would happen before, but now it happens with no loud noises. Sometimes I used to hear banging noises, gunshots, trumpets, all kinds of crazy crashing sounds. No doctor ever understood what I was explaining. My own theory I came up with is that when I fall into a deeper sleep phase, my brain misfires somewhere causing the "electric jolt." It's interesting that my EEG's say that I have frontal lobe abnormalities (some sort of abnormal spike wave discharge) and that there is a history of frontal lobe epilepsy in your family. I've always had problems falling asleep since puberty, but I did not have the whole "loud noise" thing exacerbate until being put on an antidepressant. It is slowly but surely getting a little better each month. Sometimes I don't notice a whole lot for a long time ( several weeks) and then it all comes back full force for a few days. It has gotten pretty random. How about you?

[sfraise]

Well, as far as acting out in my sleep I don't thing there's been any change. It's usually pretty random but happens more time's than not. Usually the sitting up and yelling "hey" thing. The real problem with me lies in the fact that I have to sleep 12-16 hours, in fact just today I slept for 14 hours completely missing work. I could probably start going to be every night by 7pm but then what kind of personal life would I have?

I was told by this new neurologist that I'm seeing that if I faxed him my original sleep study records that he would call me with what he thought, I've faxed them twice now with no reply at all. I'm at the end of my rope now with these people.

All I want to do is be able to sleep for 8 hours per night and live a normal life but right now I'm not seeing any light at the end of the tunnel. Instead it looks like I'm going to have to say good bye to any kind of personal life and hello to nothing but work and sleep.

[theacev]

I appreciate all of your messages. It is nice to know I am not alone. I wanted to follow up with my original post.

After being married for 3 months, ending our long distance relationship, all of my symptoms have been continuously decreasing. That is partially why I wrote the original post; I actually had a good day and realized what I was missing! Now I know it is not just me. I have even had entire days where I felt good all day long. No eye spasms whatsoever!

I work in a lab where I document all of my work. In 2 days of being married my documentation changed overnight. I went from horrible sloppy handwriting and mistakes to exceptional documentation where I have received acclaim from my coworkers. I have the energy to cook for myself, to get to the gym or to go shopping.

All of us have physiological problems but how many of us have a psychological root to our problems? There were 3 main changes to my life since I was married all of which could have positively affected my improvement. I have not been able to determine which have helped. but here they are.

1) Partner:
Having your best friend there all the time is great for me.

2) Repetative behavior:
I would read news and surf the net until late at night about whatever I was obsessing about that day. Now I relax watching TV or playing a game with my wife.

3) Coffee: (mild stimulant)
One cup in the morning and one in early afternoon

I do not know what helped my problems but I think if all of you make sure that you spend times with friends and family instead of doing repetitive stuff, and relax before you go to bed I bet some of you are going to improve.

I'm not there yet myself but I see the light at the end of the tunnel. If I can improve myself there must be a cure for me and just maybe you guys too.

See my post below for my real solution[/b]

[sfraise]

Glad to hear your doing better! I on the other hand and slipping further and further into madness here.

I was doing ok Monday and most of Tuesday, at the office on time both days but then about 4pm Tuesday (yesterday) it was like hitting a brick wall. Suddenly I could barely keep my eyes open, my whole body ached even my teeth. I still needed to call back a customoer to finish up a car insurance policy but I knew if I didn't get in the truck and get home as soon as possible I'd end up crashing right there in the office so I went home.

As soon as I got home I hit the bed and was asleep, but here comes the best part... I just woke up at 5pm Wednsday evening. I just slept an entire day!

This isn't normal, I've never heard of anyone else that could sleep as long as I do! My crappy doctors can't seem to be bothered with me enough to actually try and figure it out, in fact I can't even see them but once every 2 or 3 months and then only for a few minutes with no real point to the visits!!!!

My business will fail soon if things don't change which will leave me broke, homeless, and without any health insurance to try to further fix this problem. Every thing I've worked to build will be lost because of this stupid sleep thing and I'm no closer to knowing what is causing this than I was 3 years ago with no hope in sight of ever figuring it out. I don't know where to turn or what to do at this point.

[theacev]

My previous post I shared with you guys my improvement. Unfortunately, it leveled off until...

I found my true problem: Anxiety

My true answer: Cymbalta

I quickly leveled out in my max improvement until I took Cymbalta. My neck will now feel tense whenever my medication goes low. I didn't even notice it until after I was on the medication. I felt better after 3 days. Every day is a good day now at work. I first tried another drug (Lexapro) and my symptoms only increased. Coffee also helps.