Trouble waking up

[lordwaym]

Hi, I'm sorry if this is old ground to a lot of people, I've been trying to figure out if I have an actual sleep disorder that can be treated or not.

I'm in my early twenties and I basically have a lot of trouble waking up in the mornings. I've had it for years and years now, but it seems to be getting worse.
I can sleep through just about anything - I've tried alarm clocks, loud music (loud enough that it wakes other people up in the house), etc.. all that happens is that after a couple of days, it doesn't wake me up any more. Usually, if it does wake me up, I simple turn it off and go back to bed. Sometimes I don't even remember doing it.
If people wake me up, I often don't remember them doing so, and if I do, I'm usually in a very bad mood. People usually have to wake me up several times before I finally get out of bed.
I can often wake up for a few minutes, I feel the need to get out of bed, but for whatever reason I don't - I just fall asleep again. I don't know why.
I'm late for work every day, and as a result my wages are being deducted. This has left me in pretty bad shape financially. My father has got fed up of trying to wake me up, and he hasn't bothered all this week - the past two days, I've slept basically all day - waking up briefly, feeling tired and just falling asleep again. I think I slept for about 15 hours on wednesday and 12 hours today.
Once I am awake, I feel alert and fine. I do get the midday tiredness feeling, sometimes I nod off for a couple of minutes, but I don't think I have it any worse than most other people.
I am now worried about going to bed. Last night I decided to sleep on the floor to see if I'd find it easier to wake up - instead, I woke up at about 7am and got into bed. I can remember doing it, but I don't think I was totally awake as didn't want to do that (although at the time I thought I should, it was weird). I'm now seriously considering staying up all night, because I really need to get to work tomorrow otherwise I'll probably be fired or something.
I did go to a doctor last year, but he didn't really give me a great deal of advice, and left me feeling like it was something I was doing wrong rather than some sort of condition. It's only been these last couple of days that have made me think differently. I really don't feel like I have any control over it.

Has anyone else experienced similar things?

Cheers and sorry for the long message,

Chris.

[XJETGIRLX]

Hi Chris!

I'm in pretty much the same boat you are. I have incredible difficulty waking up. I'm late to work every day, and there's really nothing I can do about it. I've tried everything!

If left to wake up naturally, I sleep around 12 -15 hours. Unfortunately I've found there are few who understand. I don't live with my parents anymore but when I did I was always getting grief from them about sleeping in.

How long have you had difficulty getting up? I'm just curious. I'm 22 and I've had this problem since I was about 15, but I always attributed it to just being a teenager.

I've been to my doctor too, and so far it's just been a waste. He put me on wellbutrin, but that only made me feel worse during the day, and didn't help my sleep at all.

I wish I could offer you some incredibly helpful and insightful information, but I'm afraid all I can do at this point is commisserate.

I'm planning on finding a new doctor soon. I hope you can find one that will help you.

Good luck!
Jet

[<ChrisB>]

Hi Jet,

Thanks for the reply, it's good to hear from someone in the same boat.
I can't really remember exactly when I started having trouble actually waking up in the morning, but I definately had a reputation for it by the time I was 17. It was around about then that I stopped eating breakfast in the morning because I simply didn't have time to eat before I had to be at school/work. I always managed to be at school by 9am though. It's only really from maybe just before the age of 20 that I've really had a hard time waking up and have been regularly late to work (I'll be 22 in three weeks). It's slowly got worse and worse.
I had always attributed it to being a bit lazy really - maybe a phase I was going through or whatever - and I always thought that with the right sort of attitude, I'd be able to overcome it. However, after trying for so long, I'm beginning to think that something else is the problem, as I really am beginning to feel out of control. I don't really know exactly where the problem is or if it's really a sleeping disorder, it's just I don't have any real explanation for it. I must admit that my oversleeping has led me down the route of staying up late to make up for the time I spend in bed during the day, which of course then makes things worse.
Right now, I'm trying to cut down on my late nights and get into a better routine - along with having my Hi-Fi set to maximum volume (which is very, VERY loud!) At three-quarters maximum volume, it's loud enough to wake everyone else in the house up except me - so I'm going to see what happens now.

I hope you have success with a new doctor,

Chris.

[<Vanessa S>]

Wow! I read both of your situations and I seriously almost cried.
I am the exact same way. I’m twenty years old and haven’t been able to wake up easily since I can remember. The first time my mother knew it was a problem was around the age of 7 when we were on vacation in St. Louis and we went to a Cardinals baseball game. The team won and I slept through a band, music, everyone in the crowd cheering. But my mother seemed to push this aside and pretend that it would go away.
It didn’t. She was always pretty good about getting me up until I moved out at the age of 17. I actually got acupuncture for about six weeks and it worked for the last two. I woke up after around six hours of sleep without an alarm and I felt great. At first I thought it sounded crazy but a friend had gotten it for another problem and I was desperate. Living on my own I had to get to school and work. I ended up moving to Ohio where I had roommates that would wake me up. Currently I use seven alarm clocks with different buzzes and music all set to different times and at full volume. I also have friends call me and roommates to help.
Unfortunately I have overslept several times for work lately. I’m starting to get really nervous because my job has been threatened. It’s the best job I’ve ever had, in the past if I overslept a few times I would just quit, but I don’t want to lose this one. Before bed every night I actually get scared, frightened that I’m not going to wake up. It doesn’t matter how much sleep I get, I slept 35 hours straight once sleeping through four alarm clocks.
Anyhow, I’ve been searching online for a week to try and find some sort of disorder that might explain my problem. I have also looked into getting acupuncture again but all of the places I’ve found are 100-250$ a visit (I received it from a college in Gainesville that only took small donations).
I’ve only met one other person that seems to have this problem and she’s usually able to get up easier than I am.
If anyone finds out anything please let me know.
vanessalstewart@hotmail.com

[<relative>]

I have a relative who simply cannot wake up and get up in the morning. He has lost jobs and friends because of this, never can keep a schedule and is late everywhere he goes. He has been this way since he was 16 or so and is now 32. It is hard to believe he isn't just lazy, as he sleeps 14 to 24 hours straight sometimes, and is extremely hard to waken. He will talk to whoever wakes him up and then fall asleep again and can't remember being wakened. He has special clocks that vibrate and flash lights off and on and are very loud, but nothing works. He once slept through a man using a jackhammer outside his room. He refuses to believe he can't control it himself, and always thinks it won't happen if he really tries, but this has gone on so long his family is losing respect for him. He hates taking medicine. He has a thyroid problem for which he takes a supplement (synthroid) but the medication doesn't seem to solve his sleep problem. He is always tired but lately it has been worse than ever. I thought he was the only person alive with this problem until reading recently about a syndrome called Klein-Levin, which is apparently a similar condition that occurs 3 or 4 times a year and then goes away for a time, but there was no known cure or medication. I would do anything to help him but I don't know where to start. He has no medical insurance. Any ideas of herbs or other over the counter helps would be appreciated.

[photopia]

My boyfriend of four years has the same sleeping problem. He continuously oversleeps. He cannot for the life of him get up in the mornings. He has three alarm clocks and can sleep through all of them. Yesterday he slept 18 hours straight. I can have conversations with him, but he won't remember them at all. He seems coherent but can't be as he doesn't remember it. He is not a lazy person at all as he is quite active. He also sweats profoundly at night to the point where the bed is wet with sweat. It is really affecting his life as he is continuously late for work and on the verge of being fired. He feels horrible about it and it wrecks his whole day. It is comforting to know that there are others out there, but at the same time this is a serious problem which a lot of people don't seem to understand. myself included. I used to get angry at him but I realize know that it is not him. The thing of it is, though is that it seems to be also affecting my ability to get up in the mornings, whereas I used to alway wake up without an alarm clock. And the other day I slept through it. weird.
One small suggestion someone gave me was to keep a tube of tooth paste beside your bed and when your alarm goes off, put some tooth paste in your mouth and apparently it wakes you up. I guess anything potent enough might work. Its not really an answer but it might help.

[photopia]

hi there, me again. Just wondering if those of you with the same symptoms are smokers and if so for how long? thanks, Leah

[XJETGIRLX]

Hi Leah,

In response to your question, yes I smoke. I've been smoking on and off since I was in high school. I'm sure that in some way at least, that contributes to the problem and that quitting would be beneficial but there is a catch-22:

All the times I've tried to quit smoking I ended up not being able to sleep at all. The longest I've been able to quit for was a month, and it was horrible! I would only get to sleep for maybe an hour before waking up again, and this would continue throughout the night so that I would only get maybe 3 - 4 hours total of uninterrupted sleep. So I try to quit smoking so I can sleep better, but quitting smoking makes it impossible for me to sleep at all! It just hasn't been worth it for me yet!

[KellyJean]

Hi all!
It's nice to know that there are others out there my age who are going through this same thing. I'm 23 and have been dealing with this since I was a teenager and symptoms continue to increase in sevarity the older I get.

A year and a half ago, I was diagnosed with IH after becoming an extremely sleepy person-- all day, every day-- no matter how much sleep I get.

The mornings are the worst! I hate waking up every day. Some days I can sleep right through my alarms like you all, but most of the time I wake up to them, but am so tired and irrational upon waking that I often roll over and fall back to sleep without a second thought or care of the repercussions of my action. It almost seems physically painful when I have to get up because I am still so very sleepy. I honestly couldn't even tell you the last time I had a morning where I felt refreshed when I first woke up.

I'm constantly late in the mornings for everything-- my job, my classes, appointments-- it doesn't matter what it is- I just can't pull myself out of bed early enough for any of them. I've flunked out of college, and lost jobs because of my morning sleepiness, but since I have become familiar with what is happening to me in the morning, I have been able to improve on getting myself up in the morning.

Not that it's any easier to get out of bed, but sometimes, I FORCE myself to get up as soon as it clicks in my brain that the alarm clock is going off. I can't hesitate even a little or I'll feel the same I do every morning and go back to sleep. I've learned that once I am awake and moving, I can wake my body up very quickly and feel much better. It doesn't really make me feel any better when I first wake up, but I guess just knowing the reward of feeling better (physically and mentally) comes if I just jump over that first huge hurdle of getting myself out of bed.

I wish I had a magic remedy that would make us all snap out of the intoxication that sleep brings in the morning. Will power is the only thing that does it for me-- and that fails quite often, but it usually comes to the rescue (although reluctantly) in order for me to keep my head just above the water.

Have any of you been to see a sleep specialist? I would definitely recomend doing this if you haven't. I know it's expensive when you don't have insurance, but for me, I don't know how in the world I would be able to function without my medications and the fact of knowing what it is that takes such strong control over my life.

Do any of you experience other symptoms besides the extreme morning sleepiness? Just wondering... I've got a bunch, but the morning sleepiness seems to be one that very greatly affects the success I have in trying to function like a normal person in this busy world.

Best of luck to you all! Know that you're not alone and that you can find support here.
-Kelly

[<Amber>]

I was diagnosed with IH in 2001(but the symptoms were there for a few yrs already) after I fell asleep at the wheel & had a major car accident. I've been on dexedrine for @ a year or so. I never used to have a problem waking up in the morning, I always got up like a sec before the alarm, but starting @I think Oct/Nov & steadly getting worse I am having exactly the same problems all of you are talking about. For awhile I was able to sometimes hear the alarm then I would end up turning it off & going back to sleep with out really realizing it cause I was sooooooo tired (& whether I get more or less sleep doesn't make a difference). The only way I have found so far to wake up to was for my father to call me on the phone. (I moved out of my parents house it will be 2yrs on 4th of july,) & live be myself with my dogs, I'm 23 turning 24 in @6 months. It feels like i live at home with him having to wake me up,(except when I lived there I woke up on my own). As of this past week it's gotten worse, before I would eventually hear the alarm & either go back to sleep or end up getting up after awhile, but now Its like I'm completely unaware of the noise, It's also getting to where I am not getting up to the phone ringing until the 2nd last or the last ring. Luckily I was able to get put on FMLA at work(since my doctor, a sleep specialist filled out the forms), but Its to the point that I can't stand it cause starts off the day in a bad way and I never feel refreshed from sleeping, and I've tried to sleep later & end up waking up feeling horrible with headaches & bach aches. I need a new doc I just don't know where to start looking.


Amber_O'Rourke@progressive.com

[<Sng410>]

I am so glad I found this site. I have been researching sleep disorders, but just recently heard about hypersomnia. All of your stories sound exactly like me. This all started when i was about 17 or 18, and I'm now 22. I have always thought it was just stress or laziness. I used to think I had insomnia because I could never sleep. I would go on 2 maybe 3 hours of sleep a night and was always late for work. Now I am able to get more sleep, but I still can't get up in the mornings, and my boyfriend gets mad at me because I fall asleep constantly. I have 3 alarm clocks, and they wake up my family, but not me...they've gotten to the point where they just cut it off because when they try to wake me up I get angry (and I dont' even realize i'm doing it) I do not have health insurance so I am not sure what I have, but I feel like there is something wrong with me. If anyone knows how much the sleep tests costs let me know because I know i need to do something. Thanks

[megg317]

i smoke, but my symptoms started long before i ever lit up. i have not been diagnosed, but everyone's stories sound like my life exactly. i believe i have hypersomnia, but i don't have insurance that will cover a sleep study. how much does one cost?

[martin1833]

Hi Meghan,

I'd have to check my insurance paperwork but it seems like I remember them costing around $1300.00 US. I know it's a lot of money. I would take the advice you've received and check with a hospital. I does’nt cost anything to ask. You need to be diagnosed. There are people who will help you but they will not come looking for you. Just ask.

[Queen Citrus]

Hi all!
I wish that I gould give some relief afterreading your stories...
I got diagnosed summer 2000, and have found a great doctor. Im 25, and have had the same symptoms as you all since I was 11. We have not yet found a reason for the sleepyness, but I am beeing tested again and again for hypothyroksine and other imbalances, just hoping to find something.

Some days are just plain unbearable. Especially when I have doctors appointment and oversleep. Then I hate everything. Earlier, before I got diagnosed, everybody got mad at me, for beeing too late all the time. The fact that I was good at sports and at school was confusing, couse I was everything but lazy. Rather overcompansating. Therefore I used to think that I was depressed. Now I know that it is not so. I only get frustrated when noone understands.

My strategy was to sit down with my parents and in a serious way ask them for help. I told them that I might have found the answer, but that I needed their support to handle it, both financially and emotionally. And when I got diagnosed, I told all my friends. Now everybody knows. Some friends was not real friends, as they saw me as a freak. My boifriend has been told that he has to accept me or leave. He is very supportive, but I also take his frustrations seriously.

When I get "panic" I take Mellerill (10mg), then things look better. I use Melatonin (1,5 mg) at routine hours to promote circadian rythm.

You should start by leading a sleep diary for three weeks or so. Write down when you went to bed, wen you fell asleep, if you woke up during the night (and why), when you woke up, how you felt, and if you where tired during the day (+when). Then you split the amount of sleep whith number of days yours survey.

This is the first thing your sleep doctor will have you to do. Then you should have a SLEEP APNEA test, wich would exclude potential snoring.
If this is not the case, you should have a POLYSOMNOGRAPHY, wich sensors the stages of your sleep, and finally a MSLT test. I dont know what the prices for this is in US. I luckily live in Norway, and we still cling to our famous welfare system.

I wish you all the best. I hope to have been to some assistance, and at least you have my sympathy and understanding. Please let us know how things work out for you.

Stick to this board. We know.

Queen Citrus

[worriedmom]

Has anyone gotten any answers? My son can not keep a job unless he can start getting up in the morning!!!!!!!!!!