why cant I stay awake?

Question

For at least a week or more, I have needed to sleep between 16 and 20 hours every day. I feel like I have sandbags on my eyes. I take vitamins, have tried coffee and other caffine drinks, but within a few minutes I start to fall asleep. I cant drive, shop, cook on the stove( I can use microwave, it is alot safer) I am NOT pregnant and all blood test come up negetive. Any clues?

Answer 1

I have the same problem. You may have a sleeping disorder, such as sleep apnea, narcolepsy, or hypersomnia.

I have hypersomnia, which means no matter how much sleep I get, I am still tired. I have been struggling with this for years. Family and friends always thought I was just lazy.

It wasn't until a couple of years ago, I heard anything about sleep disorders, so I started following up on it, and finally got diagnosed.

Go see a doctor who specializes in sleep disorders. They will do a sleep study, which means you would stay overnight at a sleep lab, and they monitor your body while you are sleeping. If need be, they will have you stay for what's called a MSLT, where you take a series of 20 minute naps throughout the day. The test is to basically see if you will fall asleep within those 20 minutes each time.

You don't hear too much about sleep disorders, so when people experience these symptomes, it just gets blown off as laziness, depression, stress, etc.... It could be something more serious than that.

Answer 2

So now you'll think you have heard from a nut case.
"Try exercise."

Believe it or not exercise will cure a lot of ills.
If as you say ,blood test all show normal, normal dosage of vitamins, you can OD on vits. as with anything else.
Have you checked your emotional relationships with significant others, work relations, money stress etc. Also don't forget it has been a long winter with short amounts of sunlight. All of the above plus any emotional stress that you can identify may have sleep disorder side affects.
Oh; and don't forget thoses mind games that people like to play with us.
There is a lot of good to say about stopping long enough to smell the roses. Also stop long enough to take a good long look in the mirror (sometimes this is hard to do especially if you are or have been in an abusive relationship) and tell yourself that the person you see is a good person. Then go out for a walk.....
Start slow on exercise and build up accordingly. Also make sure that your doctor approves of it.
I would also suggest visiting a gym, that way you will make new acquaintance and become accountable to them for showing up at a routine time.
One last thing " pray".
Well that's it in a nut shell. And why an I qualified to suggest this? I know because it works for me.
Jim

Answer 3

This happened to me several years ago. I finally had to seek medical attention, as nothing I tried seemed to work. I would only stay awake long enough to eat, and take a shower. I was unable to continue working.
I finally went to the doctor, and much to my surprise, he told me I was suffering from depression. I wasn't sure he was right, but decided to try the medication anyway, as nothing I tried had worked. Within a few days I felt better, and after trying a few different medications over time, I can now say I feel great.
Depression isn't always obvious. A person won't always feel sad. They may be angry a lot of the time. They may be apathetic (lack of feeling, nothings really funny, etc.), or they might sleep constantly.
Of course, this is only one possibility, but your extreme need to sleep is definitely something you need to continue investigating. Have you considered a carbon monoxide leak in your house? Do you feel different after being away from your house for a few hours? Do you have a pet that also sleeps constantly?
Don't give up on this.Try a different doctor. If your doctor has done "all the tests", per se, and shakes his head; to me that screams "I need a new doctor".
I wish you well, the answer is out there. Good luck.

Answer 4

yea....you're lazy.