Greetings All – Newbie
Question:
Mike Foley wrote: > I have had insomnia for the last 7 years. My problem is getting to > sleep. I stay awake sometimes for 2 or 3 days at a time with less > than an hour or two of sleep. Even when absolutely exhausted (like > tonight) sleep just does not happen. A little history, in 1991 I > recieved a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), have completely lost my sense > of smell as a result (bummer as I was a profesional chef) all in all I > am very very lucky and fortunate as I saw many people my age who will > never have the chance to live even a somewhat ‘normal’ life. That > happened when I was 24 and I am now 32. I have had tremendous > difficulty getting a nights sleep since that injury. I have tried > every herbal concoction known to man in every possible combination but
snip > I just stay up for days and sit at this stupid computer and type. I > have not been tested for a sleep disorder but I keep telling my GP I > am having trouble with getting any sleep. I have gone to a > neurologist for MRI’s etc and he can see problems (I can’t recall > specific terms here but will be happy to look them up if anyone thinks > that will help) When I do finally fall asleep I can spend an entire > day in bed, but once I’m up, I’m up. If anyone has any similar > experience or advice I would very much appreciate your feedback. This > is very frustrating and I am really tired of being awake all the time.
TBIs can cause all kinds of problems. Your neuro should refer you for a sleep test if you let him know you’re having a problem. In fact, you should insist on it. That doesn’t guarantee that they can get you back to sleep, but you may have something that’s fixable.
Response:
"Sarah Bellum" wrote: > TBIs can cause all kinds of problems. Your neuro should > refer you for a sleep test if you let him know you’re having > a problem. In fact, you should insist on it. That doesn’t > guarantee that they can get you back to sleep, but you may > have something that’s fixable.
First a note on your alias: "Sarah Bellum" … I *like* it! Has a distinctive Southern ring to it! ;^) That would place it at the Southern part of the brain? ;^) By the way, is this an indication you have problems with your cerebellum? I would be interested in a private (email) conversation … since it appears mine has a mind of it’s own! :-( And I definitely concur on your suggestion of a sleep study. But I would like to suggest the original poster should see a neurologist who also specializes in sleep disorders. Such a doctor should be better equipped to handle issues connected to the TBI as well as the resulting sleep problems. (Unless your neurologist is board certified in sleep disorders, s/he is simply not equipped to understand the mechanics of sleep and how your TBI might interfere with them). And just going to a sleep lab for a sleep disorder might result in a pulmonologist ‘reading’ the sleep lab report and providing essentially useless information. For the original poster, the person reading the sleep lab report should also understand the implications of the TBI. Also, do you have problems waking frequently when you try to sleep? Do you wake up ‘panicked’? Do the awakenings seem to occur regularly (such as every xx number of minutes)? Hope this helps. And keep us posted. You are not alone with this problem. Regards, =jbf= John B. Fisher
Response:
On Mon, 12 Jul 1999 13:16:48 -0400, "John B. Fisher" <john_b_fis…@bellsouth.net> wrote: >"Sarah Bellum" wrote: >First a note on your alias: "Sarah Bellum" … I *like* it! Has a >distinctive Southern ring to it! ;^) That would place it at the Southern >part of the brain? ;^)
It’s the Southern part of the brain when looking in the direction the Damn Yankees come from. <grin>
Response:
Hi Mike I am not a doctor, nor an expert on anything! I do have diagnosed sleep apnea…both central and obstructive. Central sleep apnea occurs when the brain does not tell the body to breathe (put simply). I have read that TBI’s can cause central apnea. You might want to suggest to your GP…heck, insist, that you do undergo a Polysomnogram in the sleep lab to verify or rule out central sleep apnea. It is generally treated with Bipap. It works for me! Good luck to you, Mike! Tracy
Response:
Hi All, I have had insomnia for the last 7 years. My problem is getting to sleep. I stay awake sometimes for 2 or 3 days at a time with less than an hour or two of sleep. Even when absolutely exhausted (like tonight) sleep just does not happen. A little history, in 1991 I recieved a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), have completely lost my sense of smell as a result (bummer as I was a profesional chef) all in all I am very very lucky and fortunate as I saw many people my age who will never have the chance to live even a somewhat ‘normal’ life. That happened when I was 24 and I am now 32. I have had tremendous difficulty getting a nights sleep since that injury. I have tried every herbal concoction known to man in every possible combination but no help. I take AMBIEN but even that gives me little help as I think I just build up a tolerence to it and I can take 2X what is prescribed (I know I shouldn’t do that and don’t do it anymore so we don’t need to hash that out). I avoid caffine and all that stuff, nothing works. I just stay up for days and sit at this stupid computer and type. I have not been tested for a sleep disorder but I keep telling my GP I am having trouble with getting any sleep. I have gone to a neurologist for MRI’s etc and he can see problems (I can’t recall specific terms here but will be happy to look them up if anyone thinks that will help) When I do finally fall asleep I can spend an entire day in bed, but once I’m up, I’m up. If anyone has any similar experience or advice I would very much appreciate your feedback. This is very frustrating and I am really tired of being awake all the time. Thanks -peace Mike Go Placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. From DESIDERATA By: Max Ehrmann (1872-1945) Remove: _no_spam_ to reply
