Why do I fall asleep everywhere?

Question

My mom died 1 yr. ago. Since then I have trouble sleeping at night. I sleep as long as the sleeping pills work. The problem is my mom had alzhiemers for 12 years. We were under such a tremendous amount of stress that a few months after she passed, I started falling asleep everywhere. I doesn't matter what time it is or where I am. I've had counselling. I can't even drive on the highway anymore. I'm too scared to. I almost ended up under a semi a couple of months ago. If I have to drive 10 miles, I have to get out and walk aroun a couple of times to clear my head. Maybe the stress over mom isn't the reason. I'll be tested for sleep apnia soon. Any other insight?

Answer 1

I would say you probably feel more than stress over your mom. Clearly, something is bothering you and disrupting your sleep pattern. It may help to continue counselling regarding your mom, or sit down with the rest of your family and talk about it. That is a great venue because they all know exactly how you are feeling. Maybe now you feel like you can finally let go and your body has taken it to extremes.

To me, it seems like a physical manifestation of an emotional issue. It's amazing what our minds can do to us. You need to address the underlying issues, including the stress over your mom, before it will completely go away. That's not to say that the narcolepsy is not a serious physical symptom on its own. You definitely need to get to a sleep lab. You can treat the cause and the symptom at the same time.

I've always had trouble sleeping, and have not really found anything to help me. I have found that "sleeping pills" are the worst for me. I don't get a good night's sleep and then I'm tired all day, even though I did get to sleep. A few things that have helped at various times:

Klonopin - normally prescribed for anxiety, it increases a chemical in your brain to make you less responsive to stimuli. When taken to a slight extreme, this makes you lethargic. It helps me shut of my brain so that I can fall asleep.

Melatonin - a natural part of your body's regulation of your sleep cycle, it kinda tells your body to go to sleep. It made me pretty tired at first, but after a week I started sleeping better and being awake during the day. You can find it in the vitamin aisle.

Changing your sleep schedule - at one point, I started hating my job and didn't want to have to be there while everyone else was, so I changed my schedule to 6:30am - 3pm. I never in my life thought I would like getting up that early (I am NOT a morning person), but it actually helped me sleep better, so I would be awake in the morning, and then after working all day, I was able to fall asleep at night like a normal person.

Meditation - I wouldn't consider myself to be really into alternative medicine, new age, etcetera, but I decided to try a meditation CD and it did help me relax enough at night to get to sleep, in addition to helping me let go of the stress I was feeling. One I like is Journey Into Healing Light by Doreen Blumenfeld. It is simple, doesn't ask you to do much, and anyone can understand what is going on and do it. I also like one by Simonette Vaja which is a meditation making your "life coat" called "Love Your Life Meditation". It helps you get some of your emotions out.

These are just some of the things that have helped me. You definitely need to see a doctor and have some lab work done to check out the problem. I'd say, you don't have to stress anymore. Your mother is in a fabulous place, way happier than she was, she is glad she got to be with her family longer even though at the time she didn't really recognize you, but she is also glad now that she has passed on to the next stage. She is happy and would want you to be happy, so take a deep breath and when you let it out, let out all those years of stress and anxiety and hard work taking care of your mom and breath back in all the great memories.

Answer 2

This isn't medical advice, only your doctor can give you that. I'm sorry to hear about your loss and hope you can remember good times that you had with your mom. Your sleepiness does sound like the side effects of sleep apnea or pickwickian syndrome (try an internet search for details). If the tremendous stress you've endured over the last several years has caused you to gain a lot of weight, you may have become more prone to this type of problem. Have you had your thyroid function checked lately? Low levels of thyroid hormones may cause some of your symptoms. Also, I'm glad you've sought counseling because depression can also cause changes in your sleep habits. Please keep seeking medical attention and/or counseling until you are back to your old self. There are so many other possible reasons for your problem that even under the best circumstances it may take a while to figure out exactly what your problem may be.

Answer 3

Get yourself tested for high insulin (hyperinsulinemia). If that is present, it may be the cause of a lot of your problem.

Check yourself out against the symptoms page at www.hufa.org and see if you have other symptoms of pre-diabetes.

In the meantime, go find something to eat right before bedtime. Specifically some low fat meat like chicken, or other protein if you are a vegetarian, and a bit of carbohydrate. While an apple would be ideal, since you need help now, go for a cracker or a single cookie. Also if you have peanuts or almonds on hand (and are not allergic) eat them up. They are protein and good fat.

Don't eat a lot of this though. This snack only needs to be about one ounce of protein and a small amount of carb if you are a woman. Double that if you are a man. Don't worry about the amount of nuts.

This will help you keep a level blood sugar while you sleep. Maybe try to go to sleep naturally, after your snack, but take the pills if you don't drop off after 30 minutes. A person is supposed to be able to drop off to sleep in 7 minutes - or so I have read.

Answer 4

The most likely causes of your sleeping problems would be sleep apnea, depression or sleeping pill addiction.

Getting tested for sleep apnea is a great start.

Continue with the counseling if you are still feeling stress over the loss of your Mom.

Sleeping pills are not meant to be used for greater than 2 weeks, although they often are. This can lead to dependence - you can't sleep without them. You need to get off of the sleeping pills.

Good luck.

Answer 5

Do you snore?Do you take the sleeping meds every night?
They may be accumulated in your system.How did the sleep test go?Talk to your doctor .Stop taking sleeping pills .Get on a regular sleep ritual that sometimes helps IE ... a warm bath read in bed a few minutes then lights out the same time every night and get up the same time every morning.

Answer 6

you could have whats called narcolepsy you need to get your sleep pattern investigated ok