Wondering how many of you have sleep problems

[noseall]

First of all, ironing isn't ever 'me time'. That's called a chore.

Only ribbing Blighty.

Traditionally 'me time' is pamper time, time out from the stresses of life.

See, we are on the same page.

And second of all, I can't comment on the type of ladies you keep company with!!

I am not in a position to choose my wife's acquaintances or the amount they choose to drink. However, it's always interesting listening to idle female chit chat once inhibitions are somewhat dulled.

 

[Ihavenojob]

I've heard one or two ladies refer to 'me time' and they were very specific and it had nowt to do with ironing.

But did it refer to another domestic appliance, ie the washing machine?

 

[noseall]

But did it refer to another domestic appliance, ie the washing machine?

Not quite. One of the ladies (a musician) referred to me time as 'having a strum'.

 

[Ihavenojob]

One of the ladies (a musician)

Cello ?

 

[noseall]

Cello ?

Sax. And she lives in Surrey.

 

[Brigadier]

Flicking the bean.

 

[noseall]

Flicking the bean.

Do you have to be so crude!

 

[blightymam]

I am not in a position to choose my wife's acquaintances or the amount they choose to drink.

Glad to hear it!

However, it's always interesting listening to idle female chit chat once inhibitions are somewhat dulled.

Yes, I should imagine it's quite entertaining

 

[Brigadier]

Don't know what you mean, I was playing with the remnants of my tea

 

[securespark]

Just wondering if anyone shares this problem and what I can do to get on top of it? I was thinking about attending a sleep clinic to see how I'm doing and whether there's something underlying that needs addressing. Also seeing a endocrinologist and a few hormones are out of wack so I'm waiting to hear back on a few things.

I had really bad sleep issues. It was a family joke that as soon as I sat down, I would fall asleep. I even fell asleep standing up and once I even fell asleep sitting down and fell off the chair without waking up.

It got so bad, Mrs Secure dragged me to the quack after writing him a letter saying if there was a fire she would leave me in the building as she just could not rouse me.

I attended a clinic and saw a respiratory medicine specialist who sent me home with devices strapped to me.

It turned out from the data that I was waking up every 90 seconds. Not enough to be conscious, but enough to ensure my sleep pattern never entered the deep sleep phase. So all I ever had when asleep was shallow sleep.

I was diagnosed with OSA: Obstructive Sleep Apnoea and given a CPAP machine with a mask to use every night. It's a bit awkward to wear and makes a romantic cuddle impossible with it on (unless your other half fancies Darth Vadar) but it makes a fantastic difference and if I miss a night, I can tell the next day.

I also have several hormones out of whack. I have had a prolactinoma, where a benign tumour presses on the pituitary. I also have hypopituitarism, which causes a lack of thyroxine, testosterone, growth hormone, and causes adrenal insufficiency.

These all have various symptoms like fatigue, weight gain, impaired attention and memory, osteoporosis, loss of libido and body hair.

These are being replaced, but, rather like a hearing aid to a deaf person, does not bring back full function.

I also have several other chronic, lifelong conditions

I can sometimes take in excess of 50 tablets and other meds every day. This causes reflux and makes me feel very sick. This has the knock-on effect that I often do not feel like eating at the same time as the family so meals become snatched whenever I am feeling OK thus I end up eating at irregular times.

Aqua: I like white noise to mask my tinnitus, but Mrs S can't stand it. Apparently, the nicest noise is not white noise but pink!

 

[DaveHerns]

It turned out from the data that I was waking up every 90 seconds.

I was doing it 60 times an hour and now down to 5 or 6 with the help of the machine. If only I could get some relief from my peripheral neuropathy .....

 

[securespark]

Yes, that's bad news, I am starting to get numbness in my hands which I need to get checked out. Here is what the NHS page on PN has to say about causes:


In the UK, diabetes (both type 1 and type 2) is the most common cause of peripheral neuropathy.

Over time, the high blood sugar levels associated with diabetes can damage the nerves. This type of nerve damage is known as diabetic polyneuropathy.

Peripheral neuropathy can also have a wide range of other causes. For example, it can be caused by:

• physical injury to the nerves
• a viral infection such as shingles
• a side effect of certain medications or drinking too much alcohol

So it is well worth going to see your quack about it.

 

[HawkEye244]

Using a dimmer in the bedroom may disturb you. Most LED drivers and many dimmers use switch mode technology to control the brightness. They switch at high frequency ( 20 to 60 kHz ) and produce some audio noise at frequencies too high to be consciously heard but which can affect the subconscious. The light from some LEDs can also have a degree of flicker at at 100 pulse per second which also affects the subconscious far more than the conscious mind.

For peaceful dimming of bedroom lamps connect two identical 230 volt incandescent lamps in series so that each is gettting only half the mains voltage. They then glow with a warm soothing light.

I didn't know this and it begs the question why are they phasing them in if they know blue light (especially from LEDs) can disrupt peoples circadian rhythm? Seems counter-productive. We have mostly halogens anyway at the moment fortunately and with that bit of info I won't be rushing out to replace them!

I had really bad sleep issues. It was a family joke that as soon as I sat down, I would fall asleep. I even fell asleep standing up and once I even fell asleep sitting down and fell off the chair without waking up.

It got so bad, Mrs Secure dragged me to the quack after writing him a letter saying if there was a fire she would leave me in the building as she just could not rouse me.

I attended a clinic and saw a respiratory medicine specialist who sent me home with devices strapped to me.

It turned out from the data that I was waking up every 90 seconds. Not enough to be conscious, but enough to ensure my sleep pattern never entered the deep sleep phase. So all I ever had when asleep was shallow sleep.

I was diagnosed with OSA: Obstructive Sleep Apnoea and given a CPAP machine with a mask to use every night. It's a bit awkward to wear and makes a romantic cuddle impossible with it on (unless your other half fancies Darth Vadar) but it makes a fantastic difference and if I miss a night, I can tell the next day.

I also have several hormones out of whack. I have had a prolactinoma, where a benign tumour presses on the pituitary. I also have hypopituitarism, which causes a lack of thyroxine, testosterone, growth hormone, and causes adrenal insufficiency.

These all have various symptoms like fatigue, weight gain, impaired attention and memory, osteoporosis, loss of libido and body hair.

These are being replaced, but, rather like a hearing aid to a deaf person, does not bring back full function.

I also have several other chronic, lifelong conditions

I can sometimes take in excess of 50 tablets and other meds every day. This causes reflux and makes me feel very sick. This has the knock-on effect that I often do not feel like eating at the same time as the family so meals become snatched whenever I am feeling OK thus I end up eating at irregular times.

Aqua: I like white noise to mask my tinnitus, but Mrs S can't stand it. Apparently, the nicest noise is not white noise but pink!

Sorry to hear that secures, sounds a nightmare mate. How did you get a referral, was it through the GP ?

My skin issues are MAJORLY affected by stress, and not just after a few weeks or months, they will bother me within hours of being sleep deprived. I get this intense itching in certain areas and out come the rashes. Usually it's where I don't want them, on my face, chest line, head, back of ears, sometimes hands, around my nose. It's like clockwork.

The hormones I tested low on were FSH (follicule stimulating hormone), and SHBG (sex hormone binding globulin), and the endocrinologist agreed to have me do an MRI scan of the brain to pick up something like what you mentioned, but nothing came back. The other hormones like testosterone came back within range. I kind of put 2 and 2 together and thought as they cannot find much physically wrong, perhaps it's lifestyle induced, to an extent. My sleep has always been terrible which lead me to think this is something I need to nail. Of course they prescribe creams/ointments etc, but these don't really work much, sometimes don't work at all.

With regards to your meds, is there a way to cut back on what you're taking? Because surely that's going to mess with your natural rise and fall? How did your problems start? 50 meds and counting a day is mental! Did you ever consider surgery for the tumour? Or did they steer you away from the idea?

 

[securespark]

Sorry to hear that secures, sounds a nightmare mate. How did you get a referral, was it through the GP ?

Actually OH referred me privately.

With regards to your meds, is there a way to cut back on what you're taking? Because surely that's going to mess with your natural rise and fall?

Not really, I am supposed to religiously take them all, but I am going to talk to Endo about whether I can possibly cut back.

How did your problems start?

With me suddenly suffering double vision one day at work, that was eventually diagnosed as Myasthenia Gravis. Then I had a short synacthen test in hospital (an injection) to determine my hormone levels because Endo suspected from my symptoms there were major issues. I suffered anaphylaxis that stopped my heat and the crash team brought me back... From there it went downhill and I was diagnosed with more and medical issues one after another after another.

Still, at least I'm still here!!

Did you ever consider surgery for the tumour? Or did they steer you away from the idea?

Thankfully, medication shrunk the tumour.

 

[HawkEye244]

Actually OH referred me privately.



Not really, I am supposed to religiously take them all, but I am going to talk to Endo about whether I can possibly cut back.



With me suddenly suffering double vision one day at work, that was eventually diagnosed as Myasthenia Gravis. Then I had a short synacthen test in hospital (an injection) to determine my hormone levels because Endo suspected from my symptoms there were major issues. I suffered anaphylaxis that stopped my heat and the crash team brought me back... From there it went downhill and I was diagnosed with more and medical issues one after another after another.

Still, at least I'm still here!!



Thankfully, medication shrunk the tumour.

Fair enough secures, I hope it irons out eventually. They have tried to get my mum on medication before for arthritis and she was quite happy having the steroid injections prior to that but for the NHS it was a funding issue. I think it's difficult to trust doctors sometimes when options are limited due to cost, and as a patient you may end up being pushed onto something which is more detrimental with more side effects, some of them potentially life threatening. She has had to fight really hard to get the treatment that's best for her and won't become one of those pill poppers. Good luck with it mate.