MarkP Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Okay, here's my problem: I can't make myself go to bed 'on-time', nor can I make myself get up 'on-time' afterwards, and its constantly a self-reinforcing cycle that, despite my best efforts, have been unable to beat. And when I do sleep, it is unrefreshing at best, and I am pretty much fatigued all the time. Other symptoms include strong sensitivity to light almost always, significant problems with short-term memory recall (but excellent long-term memory), impulsiveness, feelings of deja vu, innattentiveness, poor focus, no energy to engage in meaningful exercise, always quite hungry-feeling, etc. I've gone to doctors, and have been offered anti-depressants (useless, usually just made the sleeping problems worse, and took away my ability to think straight), benzos (insane doses, ie: 10mg Ativan required to knock me out, although temazepam did work a little bit better), and anti-psychotics (made me dumb). I've been also tested for thyroid dysfunction and diabetes, and those have been conclusively ruled out. I do find that I sleep better when I'm 'coming down' from mild stimulants such as caffeine, in Coca Cola. I told the psychiatrist this, and told the psychiatrist that the only things I haven't tried as of yet were stimulants and opiates. The psychiatrist pretty much brushed me off, gave me a lecture on the evils of benzos (which I haven't taken for months due to lack of efficacy, and due to the fact that doctors won't write for 10mg/day l'zepam or 120-150mg temazepam), implored me not to see him again unless I was suffering true 'mental illness' (as in, voices, hallucinations, or being suicidal) and sent me packing. I could ask a few friends for the name of a local 'quack' doctor that caters to the druggies and junkies around here -- but is there a way to get a Ritalin prescription from a 'respectable' doctor using the logic that being 'high' on Ritalin during the day will facilitate a crash at night that will put a person to sleep? Psychiatrists and sleep specialists are almost non-existent here (1 psychiatrist per 50k population!), and the GP's mostly do not prescribe psychiatric medicine of any kind, believing it is not their 'place'. Please, someone give me ideas. I don't want to end up like Michael Jackson, on some messed up cocktail of uppers and downers.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tryp Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Have you ever had a sleep study or seen a sleep specialist? I wonder if that might be a better route than psychiatrists. Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkP Posted July 13, 2009 Author Share Posted July 13, 2009 If there was more than 1 sleep specialist for the 1 million population around here.... If the waiting time for a sleep study wasn't 3+ years... If I had a few thousand dollars to spend on a trip to the United States to see someone competent. Argh.. I hate this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayteana Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 Hi MarkP! Here we go - no reputable doctor is going to give you Ritalin for this. Poor sleep isn't treated by getting you high on stimulants all day long so that you can tire yourself out enough to sleep at night. Next week will doctors be prescribing that you snort a line of coke in the morning with your eggs and toast? If you need to tire yourself out during the day - start an exercise program. It would be hard but you could build up slowly. If you want a medicine for depression and lethargy, then maybe you need to try an activating anti-depressant (Wellbutrin, Abilify, Emsam, etc.). If there's something wrong with your sleep itself - the only thing that's going to be able to find it and fix it is a sleep test. To that extent, I have some questions. Are you overweight? Do you snore? Has anyone ever observed pauses in your breathing or choking while you are sleeping? If that's the case, an ENT can check out your throat and let you know if there's a possibility you're not breathing well in your sleep and have some kind of sleep apnea. I do find that I sleep better when I'm 'coming down' from mild stimulants such as caffeine, in Coca Cola. However, that one gives me the most pause. If caffeine is making you tired (along with some of the other symptoms you mentioned) may I suggest that you find a doctor who can test you for ADHD. There is probably a solution to what you have going on, but you do need a doc to dx and monitor whatever the appropriate treatment is. Getting some pills from the crack deal/MD on the other side of town is a good way to end up with a bad drug habit. Which won't help improve your sleep anyway. ~ May Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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