First, please forgive if this is the wrong forum. It isn’t really a poll, nor is it pointless… to me, anyway.
I have an appointment for a physical on Tuesday, and one of my reasons for seeing my doctor is that for the past 6-8 months, I have been ‘craving’ sleep, but not at the normal hours.
I can sleep for 10 to 14 hours with no trouble at all. Sometimes, I have slept for 8-12 hours, gotten up and been awake for 3 or 4 hours, and then slept 12 hours more. I most want to sleep in the mornings, afternoon and early evening hours. About 10 or 11 pm I feel as though I might be able to get some things accomplished.
I am not depressed, as a doctor suggested several months ago. In fact, despite many major upcoming events, I feel pretty calm and don’t spend a lot of time worrying. I take Paxil(40mg) which has really helped me cope with a variety of things and chlorzoxazone (500mg) for chronic leg, foot and muscle problems, but have the problems with wanting to sleep even when I have skipped the medications. I have been taking these meds for a long time, long enough to get used to their various possible side effects.
I’ve never been a morning person, but now I can fall asleep in my morning cup of coffee. I feel like I could sleep on the floor or hanging by one toe, just as long as I could just have that nap. It’s so weird.
If anyone has ideas on what this might be or it sounds familiar, please respond. I would like to have some ideas from others before talking to my doctor on Tuesday.
You might have freaky seratonin levels, which regulate the sleep cycle, but this is unlikely since you’re taking paxil, which is a seratonin drug and not one of those new reuptake inhibitors?
How old are you? Sometimes women undergoing menopause experience odd sleep/wake cycles.
Did anything unusual happen in your life 6-8 months ago, like the death of a loved one? Did you begin school or a new job, etc?
I would suggest it might be depression, but you’ve already ruled it out. I’m sure there are a lot of things it could be, and unfortunately it seems like doctors have a hard time diagnosing these kinds of problems. This website has some basic information that might be useful. Good luck. http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/1123/getting_up.html#apnea
There are tons of different causes for this, with different remedies.
The most basic issues are those of “sleep hygiene”. Do you drink lots of caffeine, coffee, tea, cola, chocolate? Ever after 5 pm? Are you tired when you go to bed? Do you go to bed at a regular time? How long does it take you to fall asleep and once asleep do you wake up lots?
Do you sleep with a partner? If so, have they noticed any unusual breathing or snoring? Are you overweight?
Depression often causes early morning awakening but can occasionally cause too much sleep too. So can hypothyroidism, apnea and anemia. So can habit. Your doctor may want to try you on a sleeping pill but these are very addictive and only try these if you are very desperate or you may be on them forever. Lots of folks are.
Well, since you seem to be under the care of a doctor, one might assume that he’s checked your blood sugar, but just in case… ask him to do a “urine dip” for diabetes.
I’m a type II diabetic and I find that when my blood sugar gets way too high (400 mg/dl or more) that I get listless and drowsy and sleep a lot.
A side effect of Paxil is sleepiness, and/or the ability to fall asleep easier. Paxil works quite well for many users, and is often the first choice when being prescribed. One other side effect that occurs in some users is nausea, and for this reason users that are so affected are switched to something else in the same (SSRI) class, such as Zoloft. If the SSRI is being prescribed for anxiety, depression, or similar things a good MD will ask if the condition causes insomnia or difficulty in falling asleep; if so, they’ll suggest you try Paxil as the sleepy side effect will alleviate the sleep difficulties along with the main condition. If the condition causes the patient to be less active and more sleepy, they’ll suggest Prozac —one of its side effects is to be more “up” (active and awake). As far as I know, no one has a really good idea as to why these drugs (SSRIs) should all be able to alleviate depression, anxiety, etc., and yet cause such differing side effects.
One thing you may want to consider is how long you (OP’er) have been taking Paxil. Patients tend to get accustomed to the easier ability to sleep with time.
I also suggest the person doing the OP check with their doctor(s) to make sure they know they are taking Paxil and the chlorzoxazone at the same time. I don’t think there are any interactions, but I’m not a pharmacist.
Carbon Monoxide poisoning causes drowsiness, I think other symptoms include headaches . . (If I’m wrong someone please correct me, this is just off the top of my head)
If you have any Gas (Gas type Gas to Petrol/Gas) it might be worth getting them checked out. If you do have any gas appliances it’s a good idea to have a carbon monoxide detector anyway . .
I’ve always had sleep problems so the subject interests me a lot.
Sometimes I purposely “schedule” an all nighter and often feel better afterwards.Got to stay really really active though.
Back in the olden days when I worked screwed up hours tending bar I would sometimes clean house ,well very seldom,until sunrise sleep a few hours and be back at work at noon.
The sugar comments are of interest because I didn’t realize they can cause sleepiness.
I have a related comment/question. Once over a period of a couple of days (i.e. short-term) I had a strong need for sleep and great difficulty waking up. My mother got worried and took me to the hospital, where they did a blood test and checked for interactions among the few medications I was taking. No interactions were found, but bizarrely I tested positive for valium. (After which, I might add, they assumed I had tried to commit suicide and treated me quite horribly.) Not only had I not taken any valium, I didn’t even know anyone who had ever had a valium prescription, and I hadn’t had any social contact with anyone but my immediate family during that time (so no one could have “slipped” me anything). It was utterly bizarre. Ever since then, I’ve wondered if the brain can manufacture something remarkably similar to the drug. Don’t suppose anyone knows off-hand?
Btw, in order to be diagnosed as depressed you do not need to have a depressed mood, but if you don’t, you must have experienced a loss of interest and pleasure in usual activities, among other symptoms, for at least 2 weeks (according to DSM-IV criteria).
Hi, thanks for all of the responses so far. I am still waiting for the blood test results. They did the urinalysis and seemed to think everything there was fine.
They did a chest x-ray and ekg since my grandmother and mom have heart problems… my mom’s leaking mitral, aortic, and tricuspid valves are giving her terrible fatigue. She is having open heart surgery on May 16th to correct this, so all good thoughts and prayers are appreciated. My ekg and x-ray were fine.
My family has had thyroid problems and the women in my family have had to start taking hormones very early on – I’m 31 – so I guess they will check for that.
As for my sleep habits… I do not have a regular sleep schedule, and one reason is that I do not get into the bed until I am sleepy. Sometimes I will if I’m not sleepy, like if I need to get sleep for church the next day, or something. But I had these problems even when my sleep/wake cycles were fairly regular. I never got used to going to bed at 10 pm and getting up at 7 am. Never. Not through school, work, anything. Not working is giving me a better opportunity to ‘express’ it.
I have been taking Paxil for close to a year, I think. I took Zoloft before, but it just didn’t do the trick. I would hate to have to change, because I have just gotten the right dosage to keep me calm about things.
I will update more as my blood tests come in… supposedly I am to call on Monday.