Sleep? What's that?: - Cure Parkinson's
Sleep? What's that?
Most nights I am only able to sleep about four hours a night. It doesn't matter if I take a nap or not. Even sleeping pills do not do much. I took a 5 mg of Ambian at 9:30 pm and was back up at 11:00 pm.
Ahhh, the ongoing battle of wits with my husband! He constantly nags and chides me about getting more sleep. I also sleep maybe four good hours in a row, if that much, wake up, stay awake as many as four hours, then maybe fall asleep again. Doesn't matter about the nap. I fall asleep in the car, at movies, at the symphony, at lectures...my husband is "embarrassed", especially because I snore, so he's constantly nudging me awake. I do not like the foggy-headed aftereffects of sleeping pills that last half a day (Lord knows I'm foggy-headed enough already!); I've tried reading, TV, wine, music...doesn't matter. I may fall asleep, but I don't stay asleep. My opinion is, forget the "normal" world's schedule. Sleep when I need to, and make the most of the time I'm awake.
me too. I
can get about 4 solid hours then wake up but can go right back to sleep for 2-3 hours but durning the day I'm like a computer battery if I'm active I/m on but not working I'll go into the save mode so I live with it and adjust let others know though
I also get 4 good hours of sleep a night. Also have to keep busy during the day or I'm down. My poor husband has to drive all the time because being in the car puts me to sleep. I guess my new norm is the PD norm.
It would seem I fit in with the with the general sleep pattern. I have to be up at 5 am for my first round of meds. At first tried to go to bed at 9:30. Well that only lasted a week.. Had no effect what so ever. I went to slep and then Bingo I was awake at midnight. Then up for an hour taking Benedryl and trrying to sleep again only to wake 2 hours later, This normal for me now. I am up to 4-5 hours of sleep a night. I start waking at 3:30 then 4 then 4:40 so i just get up and stay up. So to answer the question. Sleep , Whats that? It is something I need much more of but is justs beyond my capacity to reach..
I'm sorry to hear of the sleep troubles people have. I know how tough that is.
I had sleep trouble long before I had more specific symptoms that were eventually diagnosed as Parkinson's. I'm 55 and had been having sleep trouble throughout my adult life. In the mid-90s's, I saw my GP about this and got on 2 sleep meds (one helps me get to sleep and one helps me stay asleep). Since then, sleep has been a pleasure, rather than a frustrating ordeal that leaves me dragging my carcass around during the day. I get to sleep within ~10 min, and virtually always dream (REM sleep). Before the meds, I rarely recalled dreaming when I woke up.
My definite Parkinson's symptoms started approx 2003 or 2004. I was diagnosed with PD ~2 years ago. It was then that I learned that my life-long weak sense of smell and sleep trouble could be attributed to or associated with Parkinson's.
Let's see: why am I writing this? Because I have Parkinson's, but have found a way to get excellent sleep. I've had to change my sleep meds several times over the years when my sleep started degrading. What works well varies by individual and can change over time/circumstances and takes some experimenting. (Example: Ambien backfired for me. It was the main contributor to a 92 hour stretch in which I got 2 hours of sleep.) I've been on Mirtazepine/Remeron from the beginning of this (~'96), and currently my other sleep med is Clonazepam/Klonopin. If you're a person with sleep trouble who's ok with pharmaceuticals / Western medicine, I encourage you to see a Dr (assuming you haven't already) and try different meds -- it has worked great for me.
Boots, you said you took an Ambien. I'm no doctor and I don't play one on TV. (Who here is old enough to know that reference?). But, don't you typically need to be on such a ("maintenance") med on an ongoing basis (eg, every night for at least several days) for it to even begin making a difference? Obviously, I'm assuming here that you took it as a one-off thing and that a one-off Ambien wouldn't be effective -- sorry if those are wrong assumptions.
pd
I've been signing my emails and other messages with "pd" for many years without knowing that eventually I'd have PD. Let's change that:
Paul
Hi Paul, it sounds like you have more experience with the Ambien then I do. I've been taking Diazepam for the last 3 years or so but never on a dailey basis. When I started having trouble sleeping I found they helped me to sleep. I would guess that my body got used to them and stopped working for me. So I asked my doctor for the Ambien. We really did not discuss how they should be used. I just thought, can't sleep, take the Ambien. Plus my insurance will only allow me 14 tablets every 23 days and I wanted to stretch them out. By the way I'm old enough that reference...wasn't it Robert Young who first used it??
Hi, I have had a sleep problem for as long as I can remember, I don't think sleeping tablets are the solution, in fact I started taking sleeping pills, then I got use to them, so I had to take more,and more. Then my doctor changed the tablets, pills for other brands. but I was not sleeping, some of us for some reason do not need 8 hours sleep. I stay up until I feel very tired and if I don't fall a sleep, I get up and try an hour later, you can try clearing your head of all thoughts. not easily done I know,but you will find your body and head will give in and let you sleep. and remember sleeping is for wimps. you gotta laugh your self to sleep. bye Danny
My sleep troubles come and go. I tried the c-pap machine three or four times and HATED IT! I also tried melatonin and sleeping pills which didn't work too well. So now, I just try to think, I'm not an insomniac, I'm NOCTURNAL! If I can't sleep, I get up! I eat! I watch TV! I write! I play with the cats! Why fight it! Eventually, I almost always do get some overnight sleep, not enough, but some. And during the day, I can sleep whenever I want to. Of course, I'm retired, so I don't have to be on all day.
Bots > By the way I'm old enough that reference...wasn't it Robert Young who first used it??
Yes, Robert Young as Marcus Welby, M.D (TV show, '69-'76)). He pitched some medical product (wearing a doctors's white lab coat) based on the qualification: "I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV." Seems hilarious/ridiculous now, but it ran frequently then (70's?). (Too lazy* to google it now.)
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Danny > sleep problem for as long as I can remember, I don't think sleeping tablets are the solution, in fact I started taking sleeping pills, then I got use to them, so I had to take more,and more
Ok. Fortunately, they work for me. Like night and day. I've had to change one of them 2 or 3 times in the ~15 years, so maybe there was a "getting used to them" factor. But, the bulk of the time (including now), my sleep is excellent. I think it can vary a lot by individual, as particular meds can vary from person to person.
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Michael > I just try to think, I'm not an insomniac, I'm NOCTURNAL! If I can't sleep, I get up! [...] And during the day, I can sleep whenever I want to. Of course, I'm retired,
Yeah, being retired, thus having a lot of control over your schedule, is a huge help. When you have to be at work by 8:30 and often work late (as a programmer, some things have to be done outside business hours), there's a lot less slack.
* Ok, not too lazy. There's: askville.amazon.com/doctor-...
But. the link to the video of the commercial doesn't work because that youtube acct is closed. I couldn't quickly find it anywhere else.
Sleep is impossible for me without meds. Currently I take 2mg. of Lorazepam (ativan) and 400mg of AdvilPM. It knocks me out for about 5 hours. I'm up for an hour and most of the time can manage to go back to sleep for another hour or 2. Most of the time I still need an afternoon nap. Also take Paxil, Mirtazapine, and Terazosin (for PD related bladder issues) at bedtime.
HI I have PSP a rar e form of PARKINSONS
And have ot go for a wee 3 times in the nghit (wiht medS oxybutanin whiich reduces it from evey hour)
Bbut i am wakign at 3 30 or 4 am and only gettign about 4 /5 hours sleep a ngiht
cnanot nap in the afternoons as i am" on the go"
i get up blog and feed the cat his early breakfast and am trying a new med tongiht for 1st itme
jil
Hello good folks with a bad problem. I also suffer from lack of sleep and the last thing I want is to take more Rx. However, in this I have little choice. No pills= no sleep, so I take a quarter of a Klonopin tab about an hour before I want to go to bed, 1-2 am is my target, then half hour later another quarter this seems to help. Now I get @ 4-6 hours sleep at night. Duriing the day, I lie down and listen to some meditation tapes that I've made for this exact reason. Sometimes I "fall out" for 30 minutes and wake refreshed, ready to shuffle off to Buffalo. I exercise as much as possible, which also helps. It is a very tough battle we are fighting and no stone gathers moss like we do....
Danny2401,
> if I don't fall a sleep, I get up and try an hour later, you can try clearing your head of all thoughts. not easily done I know,but you will find your body and head will give in and let you sleep.
Before I first saw a Dr (my GP), I was assuming that I couldn't get to sleep because my brain wouldn't stop thinking about things. Turns out I had that backward: I was thinking of things because I was awake. Why was I awake? Apparently, because of how the sleep meds work, not enough of a certain chemical was getting to certain receptors in my brain. So, once I got more of that chemical via the pills, I could sleep well.
The person who said they take remeron and clonopin.....what dosage do you take and in what order. I have REM disorder which can lead to parkinson's disease and am having a very difficult time with sleep. I take Wellbutrin for depression, and clonopin for sleep. I take up to 3.5mg of clonopin, but still wake up at about 4. Can't get back to sleep, and if I do my dreams are very anxious. Gives me a headache. I also have alot of movement. Ugh!!!
Sleep
Sleep? 
Sleep
What's normal?
