Sleep Inversion

[Gabriella7]

Here I am again wide awake at 1am after sleeping off and on most of the day. I had a visit with my neurologist this afternoon and we discussed this new problem of being awake at night and sleeping most of the day. He said I have "sleep inversion". Anyone else ever had this problem? The solution is not going to be easy....it never is.....is it?

He said it would be a rough two weeks. I will be picking up a prescription tomorrow as well as melatonin and going to bed at 11:00pm setting the alarm for 7:00am getting up and not taking more than 2, 30 minute naps during the day while setting an alarm to insure that I am awakened. I asked him how to handle the fatigue but I didn't get any answer.

Also, he told me again I have progressed to Secondary Progressive. I guess that was to alert me that I have no treatment unless something comes down the pike soon. He doesn't think I am exacerbating as I no longer relapse with new symptoms just all the old ones at the same time.

Gabriella

[renee]

Hi G7-
I have a terrible, terrible case of sleep inversion.
A few people here have remarked on my 3 a.m. postings. Oy.
I absolutely hate my sleep habits and need to do some serious schedule modification.

In the evening I have the energy to eat and do chores so I do those things.
Everything I do takes longer than most people and I lose sense of time (sometimes that is helpful
in that I don't beat myself up about my slow pace).
Consequently I do myself in.

I always wake very groggy and have lost time to follow through on all things
that can only be done between 8:30 to 4 or 5.

It bums me out and, sheet, I don't need to whip myself more than I already do.
With the loss of light and long days it becomes worse.

Good luck to you and good luck to us.

[Virginia]

I can relate to both you Gabriella and Renee. I have very bad sleep problems. Unfortunately, I am hooked on sleeping pills to get any sleep at all. I am usually worthless in the mornings. In the late afternoon and evenings I am usually a little better, but it is a vicious cycle. I became hooked on the sleeping pills in order to keep working longer and now that I am not going out to work everyday I find it hard to try and turn this around.

Since I have had problems for years I may never be able to get out of this cycle. I am in the process of trying to cut back on the dosage of the sleeping pill a little bit.

I hate the feeling of being "just not up to myself mentally". I know that I am not physically, but the mental part should not be gone. However, it is hard to be sharp when one is suffering much of the time from lack of proper sleep.

I will be following you to see how you manage and the progress you are able to make with this problem.

Good Luck

[Gary]

So THAT is what it is!!

Although I read somewhere sometime that melatonin was not recommended for people with MS. I never had the problem until after I retired and I have some sleeping pills probably 4 or 5 years old now but the problem I found that they kept working until about 3 or 4 in the afternoon. I do take a benadryl now and then. I usually get up wander around the house look out the front door and turn on some TV. My wife has been putting up with this for several years so she ignores me unless I am awake longer than 45 min or so. I will say that getting a CPAP machine has made a world of difference. When I had the test they said that I woke up 67 times in 1 hour. Something to think about.

[Gabriella7]

I just lost my reply.... so here we go again and I'll try and remember what I said before. I have noticed the presence of "others" here on the board in the wee hours of the darkness of night. I picked up melatonin 5 mg and took one after dinner. The other prescription is for trazodone 50mg which is an antidepressive and I'll take one of those at bedtime and see how I feel tomorrow. Sleeping pills and I don't get along together. One I was given kept me walking the halls of the hospital all night. Another one had me getting up and moving furniture around thinking I was working in a furniture warehouse and looking for a way out of the building. Benedryl will raise my BP and gives me drowsiness the next day. I tried Valerian root herb and it worked so-so but its hard to get past the smell to take it and it was not really refreshing sleep.

Hopefully, I will get some much needed sleep tonight. I have taken the sleep test several years ago and I was borderline for apnea. My brother has it and has had a hard time finding a mouth piece that will fit his mouth. The last time we talked he said he was going to have to have surgery to reposition his jaw before the CPAP will work. That sounds drastic to me but if one is desperate for sleep one might be willing to do most anything. I have taken more hydrocodone than prescribed just to get a few hours sleep. That is not the answer as it can affect the kidneys but I still stay below the 4000mg limit for tylenol. I guess I am glad to have company as the saying goes...."misery loves company".

Gary, I did a little research on the net and you are correct as Dr. Allen Bowling, Colorada has written that it can stimulate the immune system so more research needs to be done but it appears to be safe for short term with a low dosage just to overcome the sleep problem and reset one's internal clock. My neurologist is in the MS Center and he is a MS specialist so he must think it is safe for the problem I have.

[Gabriella7]

I was in a hurry last night when I picked up the Melatonin and took one as soon as we got home from dinner. About 3 hours later I fell asleep in my recliner watching "White Collar" and waiting for "Covert Affairs" to come on at 10pm..... an action packed CIA series and one of my favorite shows. I didn't even realize I had fallen asleep until my neck started hurting and that woke me up as my head had fallen over to my shoulder. At 11pm I took the trazodone and then got on the computer for a little while. That was a mistake as the bright light of the screen woke me up again and I stayed up too late reading and posting.

This morning my dog woke me up at 6am needing to go out for a wee. I let her out and back in.... then came back to bed with a cool pack on both knees for a while. Now the reason for the warning is I had more tingling, burning, and weird sensations all over my body. I went and got the bottle of Melatonin and read all the fine print and found it also contains Vitamin B6 10mg....500% RDA. Since I have had reactions to B Complex vitamins with high percentages and not had reactions to plain Melatonin I can only assume this is the culprit. I spoke with the pharmacist and she agreed it could be a reaction. The bottle does have a warning about speaking with one's doctor if one has a auto-immune disease. Since my doctor prescribed it, I will try it for the short term. I am going to buy the plain Melatonin 3mg tonight.

The Melatonin definately did work in putting me to sleep I just need to be in bed when it hits.

Gabriella

[stillstANNding]

I am sorry for all of you with this problem. It makes every other problem worse when we don't get our sleep. Usually, I sleep 8-10 hours but some nights I can't sleep at all. I have learned to take 25 mg (a low dose) of Benedryl. I sleep well. I see it also works for Gary. Worth a try.
ANN

[Virginia]

Gabriella, are you saying there is a difference in Melatonin? You said you would pick up the "plain" melatonin. Did you mean just the fact that it is a weaker strength or does it not have the Vitamin B in it?

[Gabriella7]

Virginia, There are a number of different mixtures containing Melatonin sold now since I purchased it years ago. I went back to Walgren's Drug Store and they gave me credit for the other bottle and I bought Melatonin 1mg with nothing else added. They also had 3mg, 5mg, and some other combinations.

I can always take more than one tablet if the 1mg doesn't work or stops working after a while. I should probably let you know that my MS neuro is also over the research at the MS Center. If you want to try Melatonin you should probably discuss it with you doctor to make certain it will not interact with other medications you are taking. My neuro ask me what I am still taking and he checked for interactions and there were none.

I took the 1mg around 7pm and it is starting to have an affect on me as I am getting sleepy.

Gabriella

[Gabriella7]

I had to get my inhaler refilled as I have had a reaction....I guess to the melatonin. My shortness of breath has gotten worse and I can only point the finger of blame to the melatonin. Having to use the inhaler has caused me to stay awake longer as well. It's like a vicious circle that I can't seem to get off of. I'm like that little hamster that runs round and round on the wheel. Tonight I will only take the Trazodone and see what happens.....

Gabriella