diagnose me, pretty please

msange727

so... i have this issue. i can sleep the entire night, and yet continue to fall asleep during the entire day, regardless of what i'm doing or where i am. it's getting scary, because now i've been starting to nod off behind the wheel on my way to and from work (we're talking like 7am and 5pm - not cool). i mean, granted, i don't get 8 hours a night, but who does? i usually go to bed between 9:30-10 and i get up at 4 (literally the only time of the day that i can get a good workout in), which i've been doing for about 2 years now. any ideas what might be wrong with me?

raynes

My guess is not enough sleep and possibly not enough/not good enough food.

I recently read something about working out more/eating/sleep, lemme see if I can find it again.

ETA: Found it! 

http://thefatsolutions.com/blog/How+to+Have+More+Energy+and+Sleep+Better/

grrrace

I think it might be a good idea to get your thyroid checked. Call your doctor and ask them for a blood test for TSH levels. I think its something like 3 in 10 women have hypoactive thyroids. 

I was getting a LOT of sleep and still waking up exhausted and continuing to feel exhausted through the day- my doctor gave me a blood test and found out I have hypoactive thyroid, now that I've been on Synthroid I have felt much more energetic. 

Good luck and be safe! Falling asleep at the wheel is scary stuff! 

LaurenDarling

It could be because you're not getting enough REM sleep. There are 4 stages of sleep, the first 2 rest your body, the second 2 reset your mind. REM sleep occurs in stage 4, it is the deepest level of sleep that is like defraging your computer. If you take certain medications before bed, it could throw off your REM sleep, meaning your mind isn't getting enough rest so you're always tired. Also, if there is anything that wakes you up in the middle of the night it could throw you off. You need to go stage 1-3 to get to REM without interruption or else you don't get it at all. 

Jenniebeeb

I second getting your thyroid checked, but also it could be that you're just not getting enough sleep.

I actually had a similar issue as you a couple years ago.  I used to not get 8 hours of sleep, and wake up around 4:30am everyday...After a few years, I found that my body was telling me I could no longer do that.  I changed my schedule, started getting around 8 hours of sleep, woke up later around 6am and it was amazing how much energy I had.  I honestly felt like a new person.

As pp mentioned, it may be something with your thyroid though so you'd want to get it checked to rule it out.

Another thing, do you feel the same way on weekends?

cac847

You need more sleep. All the hours you should be getting but aren't add up.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fact-or-fiction-can-you-catch-up-on-sleep

ucvixy77

Are you on any medications?  Some medications can alter your sleep patterns.  You may just need to take it at different time of day.

Narcolepsy can cause sleepiness and dozing off during the day.  You will need to have sleep studies in order to confirm this.

I would start off by going to your PCP and explaining your problem. 

msange727

thanks girls! about the thyroid suggestion, i did actually suspect something was off with my thyroid about 2 years ago - i had a lot of the symptoms of a sluggish thyroid (a few still linger) but my blood work was iffy. the docs told me that sometimes those types of problems are hard to diagnose if they're not bad cases.

cac- thanks for the article. i know i'm terrible about letting sleep be the first thing to go. i guess i'd better start at least trying to get a few more hours each night and see if i can at least narrow it down.

grrrace

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_getting-shape_diagnose-pretty-please?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:238Discussion:fee70828-5929-4ab2-8f44-55d9f52c16bfPost:970632b2-c199-452f-be3f-dd32ab88798b">Re: diagnose me, pretty please</a>:
[QUOTE] i did actually suspect something was off with my thyroid about 2 years ago - i had a lot of the symptoms of a sluggish thyroid (a few still linger) but my blood work was iffy. the docs told me that sometimes those types of problems are hard to diagnose if they're not bad cases. 
Posted by msange727[/QUOTE]

<div>It is true that it's tricky to diagnose but sometimes even just being a little off can have huge side effects!</div><div>
</div><div>When I was in 8th grade my hair was rapidly falling out, I had gained weight and was so exhausted- my dr. did my blood work and said it was just a little low and put me on meds, after a few weeks I felt much better. </div>

NillaWafer10

Sounds like a lack of thyroid hormone to me.... You could also not be sleeping and not know it.  This can happen if you sleep walk or snore. 

msange727

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_getting-shape_diagnose-pretty-please?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:238Discussion:fee70828-5929-4ab2-8f44-55d9f52c16bfPost:9f8eb90b-479e-455e-aa95-a66e6246aba4">Re: diagnose me, pretty please</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: diagnose me, pretty please : It is true that it's tricky to diagnose but sometimes even just being a little off can have huge side effects! When I was in 8th grade my hair was rapidly falling out, I had gained weight and was so exhausted- <strong>my dr. did my blood work and said it was just a little low and put me on meds, after a few weeks I felt much better. </strong>
Posted by grrrace[/QUOTE]

wow - my doc made it seem like it had to be really off to be "really off," you know? i was having a lot of hair loss (still do - like handfuls each day), i was having period issues (the pill fixed that), i have a tremendously difficult time losing weight and gain it so easily, i absolutely cannot be cold (i'm absolutely intolerant to air conditioning and i have to take very warm showers or i turn blue), i lose my voice quite a bit, etc. and now the tiredness. maybe i should call the doc. *sigh*

chelley599

I would definitely have your thyroid checked for hypothyroidism.  I suffered the same things and found out that I have an underactive thyroid. Mine was borderline for a long time and finally the endocrinologist put me on a low dose of levothyroxin and I was feeling better so we gradually upped it a little.  I don't have a strong dose but it is just what I need to get the thyroid working.

curlycue27

I also wanted to throw in sleep apnea as a possibility, but you should talk to your PCP for sure.

grrrace

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_getting-shape_diagnose-pretty-please?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:238Discussion:fee70828-5929-4ab2-8f44-55d9f52c16bfPost:88e95452-cf44-4cf4-a66d-185edd047184">Re: diagnose me, pretty please</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: diagnose me, pretty please : wow - my doc made it seem like it had to be really off to be "really off," you know?
Posted by msange727[/QUOTE]

<div>weird! i'd definitely get a second opinion! My dr. even told me that being just a little off can really throw off your whole body.</div><div>
</div><div>good luck! i hope everything works out- if it is your thyroid then its a pretty easy fix :) </div>

msange727

thanks grace and everyone else too! i'm going to make a call to the doc as soon as i can.

JZags

Have you ever had Mono?  I had it last year and had been tested a few times before it actually showed up in my blood tests. It made me exhausted!
I would also look into auto immune disorders. I know it's rare but things like Lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and fibromyalgia can make you so tired and also contribute to you turning blue in the shower. I believe it's called Reynauds syndrome when your hands turn blue often and is found to be brought on, or a part of, some auto immune disorders.
Sorry you're feeling so sleepy, that's an awful feeling! I hope you find a resolution very soon!

grrrace

omg Jzags! Your post made me think of another issue that MsAnge may want to look into!

Lymes Disease!

Not to be stalkerish, but I see you live in PA, where Lymes disease is a huge epidemic! I got it 2 years ago (in late June), it sucked- I had 3 huge bulls eyes on my legs. But you can have it without getting a bulls eye. Lymes Disease can make you exhausted, sore, foggy minded, feel flu like symptoms etc- and the longer it goes untreated the more antibiotics you have to take to get it out of your system.

Not to scare you- or make you into a hypochondriac, but I'd mention getting tested for that to your doctor along with Thyroid levels. 

 Of course, there's always the possibility you're just overtired!  

Good luck, Lady! 

JZags

No worries, Grace, you're not being stalkerish!  But you are def right, I didn't think of lyme disease. Thats a good point I would definitely look into it.
Anytime you don't feel right it always seems a little nerve wracking, or scary, but the good thing is the sooner you get it figured out, the faster you feel better and can get back to regular life.
Good Luck Msange. I hope you get everything straightened out ASAP!

msange727

thanks ladies - i didn't see the last few posts until today! i'm pretty sure it's not lyme disease, but i know that it's serious stuff (my uncle's a hunter and he contracted it from a tick bite a while back and was pretty sick); i just don't have flulike symptoms or marks, so i doubt that'd be it. i did have mono in my freshman year of college courtesy of a dbag ex-boyfriend, so it's not that either lol but i'm putting myself on a serious diet of sleep for a couple of weeks to see if i can narrow this down a little, because i've noticed it's definitely more prominent during the week (of course) and not as much on the weekends. i'll keep you posted in case i've somehow contracted some odd exhaustion disease! :]