Can someone enlighten me?
How can it be possible that i am so tired and drained by early evening that i cant wait to get into bed each night, i relax for the night watching tv and when i go to bed im asleep within 5 minutes, yet i wake up every 2 hours and when i wake i am AWAKE. i have a drink of water go back to sleep for another 2 hours but hey pesto AWAKE again. its as if my brain wont shut down. 4 in the morning is pretty boring. i just want a good nights sleep.
I am exactly the same! Sleep for a maximum of 2 hrs at a time , to be honest I am used to it now!
Have tried medication and non-medication ideas but to no avail!
Good luck and if you find a miracle cure let me know!
It is 6am, another early start…wish I could have done this when I used to work!!!
I used to blame my wife for ‘tossing and turning’ and then ‘blamed the catheter’ which I have to wear but I don’t know what it is? I’ve tried relaxation and sex (not together) but still ‘waken’ like you. It has become an ‘ongoing battle’ to try end get some ‘un-interrupted sleep’ - when I do (not at all often), I feel like a ‘zombie!’ and it feels like I am on ‘another planet’ - I’m like you and this has been going on ‘for years’ - I’d be ‘really interested’ in any solution you may find. I’ve told my Doctor and even he is mystified (and he has a relative who has MS and he is ‘possibly’ likely to ‘get MS himself!’). I don’t know!.
Marcus.
Thanks . I shall be searching for a solution to this. I sleep better when I’ve been drunk the night before but still wake a few times. I can’t drink every night though so search goes on
I get this too, have done for years, blame everything on being restless, too warm, too cold, uncomfortable, too much light, too much noise (actually has been really noisy by our bedroom as we have had Roland Rat making a home next to ours, he’s gone now though), baby waking, baby not waking, traffic, aircraft…If I do get a better deeper sleep I tend to have the most vivid bizarre dreams (god knows where Jack Whitehall and some chinese men and a slurry pit came from) which leaves me waking and worried.
I comfort myself if I sleep in 2 hour stretches that at least I am getting a complete sleep cycle each time so I must be getting some replenishing rest!
Hi,
Drugs, they help. No not that ones you score on the high street or in the pub, Go to the doctor and also try some therapy. The more you worry the worse it gets.
I used not to be able to drop off. After several sleeping pills I find amitryptaline works but tried several different ones first of all. Suggest you talk to your MS consultant (if you have one) or a doctor who listens to you and your problems.
Good luck,
Patrick
Hi, this happens to me now and then.
One way I have lessened the anxious feeling is by NOT looking at the clock.
When I do see that I have only slept a short time, it seems to make the matter worse. So not looking at the clock makes the problem better.
Give it a go, eh?
I’m so glad I saw this, I saw this. I am waking up every few hours and it is driving me mad, I spend all day feeling exhausted then find myself counting the cobwebs during the night (I really should dust up there!)
Hi
I too have terrible nights, although my problem is more getting off to sleep. The amyptriptyline used to help but doesn’t help now and I dont want to increase it anymore cos of the side effects.
MS is really cruel cos it exhausts me in the day, but will not let me sleep at night, so much now that I hate nights.
Pam
the wonderfull world of MS,I gave in after years of trying to sleep,and got a light sleeping tablet,in the main it works,sleeping better now than,i have done for aa long time
Yep I’m the same too. Which is why I am replying to this post at 4.00am
No solutions here I’m afraid. I just go with it now and don’t stress about it. I snooze during the day too so for me it is now awake 2 hours, asleep 2 hours pretty much around the clock.
B
Hi
It might be worth trying something else last thing at night rather than watching TV, as that could be a bit of a stimulant for the brain. Reading, puzzles, yoga, some simple mindfulness meditation, writing… Lower the lighting as well, as this will help send the message to your brain that it’s time to start winding down for the night.
If you do wake up, getting up is always better rather than tossing & turning. I also turn the clock roiund so I don’t know what the time is - knowing that it’s 4 in the morning just sets my brain off & makes it less likely I’ll sleep so I’m much better off being blissfully unaware. I’ve heard about a book by someone called Colin Espie (if you search his name on Amazon you’ll find it), who specialises in sleeping problems. My wife got it from the library and said it had some useful tips, and another friend found it very helpful.
Other obvious tips are to not drink caffeine after 5 or 6, adn don’t eat late either.
Hope you get some good kip soon.
Dan
Thanks for starting this post! I find that when I have an Amitriptylene tablet I sleep well and for 6/7 hours (don,t even get up to go to the loo!)', but that only lasts for the first two or three nights then back to waking regularly. Like others I don’t want to increase the dose due to side effects the next day. I find (like Adam originally wrote) that I am dreadully tired in the early evening, fall asleep infront of the tv, go to bed and get to sleep easily then wham - wide awake an hour later, heart pounding and pulsatile tinnitis raging in my left ear! I soon realised that it is no good trying to get back to sleep, I am so awake a pile of ironing usually has the desired effect and makes me tired enough to sleep again! How sad is that?! If not then reading on my ipad kindle app with the screen light really turned down usually has me yawning (probably not that good for my eyes though!) It really annoys me that MS seems to be making me nocturnal, I try not to nap too much during the day but sometimes you just have to don’t you. Let’s hope someone comes along with an answer soon! Lilbill x