could someone out there please give me the info as to why PD & disrupted sleep patterns go hand in hand. Or is it the agonists that we take. My patterns are 5hours to soon. I fall asleep at 6.00pm & after a few adventures I rise permanently at around 4.00am. If only I could time slip those hours & go to sleep at 10pm. Any clues any one?
Hi Christopher,
Sleep disturbances and PD do appear to go hand in hand for many of us. Throw in d a's and matters are often made worse. 8 hours even with a few adventures seems good to me! I rarely sleep more than an hour before waking up and three hours sleep a night is my idea of a good night. Apomorphine has definitely made my sleep pattern worse so if you find sleep is becoming more of a problem I should ask your PD nurse for advice.
Hope the apo is still giving you a good round of golf!
sejvej
Sleep disturbances and PD do appear to go hand in hand for many of us. Throw in d a's and matters are often made worse. 8 hours even with a few adventures seems good to me! I rarely sleep more than an hour before waking up and three hours sleep a night is my idea of a good night. Apomorphine has definitely made my sleep pattern worse so if you find sleep is becoming more of a problem I should ask your PD nurse for advice.
Hope the apo is still giving you a good round of golf!
sejvej
Hi Christopher,
There does not seem to be an answer for this,I have been advised to go to gp and get something to make sleep. I.m up all hours and surviving on little sleep. Hope you get sorted out.
Marymo
There does not seem to be an answer for this,I have been advised to go to gp and get something to make sleep. I.m up all hours and surviving on little sleep. Hope you get sorted out.
Marymo
actually my erratic sleep patterns don't bother me but my wife gets mad when I sleep in the evenings over tele. I just crash & then she says in the morning-what time did you get up? I try to go back but just can't sleep when I should & the old brain is wide awake!
Sevjev, haven't golfed yet-too wet. but still experemnting. Will try this week.. Horray. Pompey won!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sevjev, haven't golfed yet-too wet. but still experemnting. Will try this week.. Horray. Pompey won!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi,As you can tell from the time, I am wide awake, I tend to feel very sleepy in the evenings andmy eyes keep closing up. I go to bed at ten-ish and wake up around two. I the do some computing or embroidery for a couple of hours, then back to sleep. Trouble is the cats get up with me and want to go outside or have some food. Never mind, I am retired so time of day is not too much of an issue.
Neuro.bloke says he will pres. sleeping tabs. if I want!!!! I don''t think so. Night night or perhaps morning, morning. ....
Hello all,
I believe that I can help you with your sleep problems if you are prepared to put in some hard, consistent, effort to get your sleep pattern back into shape. Why do I know I can help? It is because I have suffered with horrendous insomnia myself for over five years that I was attributing entirely to 'parkinson's', but my recent experience has given some indication that there are other factors such as learned behaviour and diet that may well be involved.
My own experience is that I have gone for as long as three whole days/nights without so much as a minute's sleep. I have tried prescribed medication such as Amitriptilyne and Zopiclone; whilst the former can be used long-term it was inconsistent in getting me to sleep and I felt dreadful from the side effects. The latter can only be used short-term. It is my belief that these medications will never get you back into a sleep pattern by themselves.
For the past two weeks I have been getting 4.5 hrs sleep every night. Whilst this may not seem a lot, it has been a godsend and I can function perfectly well on this amount. I have a tendency to drift off during the day, but my wife is great in keeping me awake.
What I do is this. I go to bed at 11.15pm and get up at 6am every day, seven days a week. At the beginning of this regime I was only sleeping 1-5 - 2hrs a night, but did not waver from getting up at 6am. I was NOT tempted to continue laying in bed in the hope of getting back to sleep. Be firm in your resolve and be consistent!
Also, I never have a caffinated drink, only decaffinated, after tea time AND I also eat a light carbohydrate based meal at that time. Never, ever, eat protein such as meat, cheese at this meal; doing so is not conducive to providing the right neurotransmitters to your brain for sleep. Within a few days of adopting this regime you should begin to experience better sleep.
Resolve to start this regime tonight and tomorrow morning.
Adrian
I believe that I can help you with your sleep problems if you are prepared to put in some hard, consistent, effort to get your sleep pattern back into shape. Why do I know I can help? It is because I have suffered with horrendous insomnia myself for over five years that I was attributing entirely to 'parkinson's', but my recent experience has given some indication that there are other factors such as learned behaviour and diet that may well be involved.
My own experience is that I have gone for as long as three whole days/nights without so much as a minute's sleep. I have tried prescribed medication such as Amitriptilyne and Zopiclone; whilst the former can be used long-term it was inconsistent in getting me to sleep and I felt dreadful from the side effects. The latter can only be used short-term. It is my belief that these medications will never get you back into a sleep pattern by themselves.
For the past two weeks I have been getting 4.5 hrs sleep every night. Whilst this may not seem a lot, it has been a godsend and I can function perfectly well on this amount. I have a tendency to drift off during the day, but my wife is great in keeping me awake.
What I do is this. I go to bed at 11.15pm and get up at 6am every day, seven days a week. At the beginning of this regime I was only sleeping 1-5 - 2hrs a night, but did not waver from getting up at 6am. I was NOT tempted to continue laying in bed in the hope of getting back to sleep. Be firm in your resolve and be consistent!
Also, I never have a caffinated drink, only decaffinated, after tea time AND I also eat a light carbohydrate based meal at that time. Never, ever, eat protein such as meat, cheese at this meal; doing so is not conducive to providing the right neurotransmitters to your brain for sleep. Within a few days of adopting this regime you should begin to experience better sleep.
Resolve to start this regime tonight and tomorrow morning.
Adrian
Hi Adrian
I am willing to give anything a try and will let you know if I see any improvement. Could you please clarify a couple of points
Are you saying you should stay in bed when you are unable to sleep?
And also are you saying have no protein after tea time or at teatime? Sounds as if a hot chocolate at bed time is out of the question!
Sejvej
I am willing to give anything a try and will let you know if I see any improvement. Could you please clarify a couple of points
Are you saying you should stay in bed when you are unable to sleep?
And also are you saying have no protein after tea time or at teatime? Sounds as if a hot chocolate at bed time is out of the question!
Sejvej
Hello Sejvej,
I am pleased that you are going to give it a try. My answers to your questions are as follows:
If you feel able to get up and out of bed when you cannot sleep then do so, but I do not as I still sleep with my wife and I do not want to disturb her. What I do when I wake up about 4.30am is to plug into a small radio and listen to Radio 2 with the added bonus that I sometimes drift off again, but I ALWAYS get up at 6am, seven days a week! I have a little breakfast and take out my dogs for their early morning walk.
In respect of protein, I am saying do NOT take any in after lunchtime. Why? Because the carbohydrate at tea time gives your body chance to convert it to serotonin which is thought to be essential for inducing sleep. Whatever you do, make sure that you do eat adequate amounts of protein for it is an essential food group.
As for a hot mug of chocolate last thing at night; it's a no no!
Why? Because my understanding is that it contains caffeine which is as you know a stimulant. All you PwP who also eat quantities of chocolate after tea should also be aware of this.
Please give this regime a try for at least two weeks and do let us all know if you have success.
Word of warning. If you are taking sleeping tablets you need to come off them under supervision of your GP. Stopping them suddenly will leave you with an insomnia 'rebound' effect. Not good!
I take my hat off to you Sejvej for being sufficiently determined to try this for it takes great determination.
Adrian
I am pleased that you are going to give it a try. My answers to your questions are as follows:
If you feel able to get up and out of bed when you cannot sleep then do so, but I do not as I still sleep with my wife and I do not want to disturb her. What I do when I wake up about 4.30am is to plug into a small radio and listen to Radio 2 with the added bonus that I sometimes drift off again, but I ALWAYS get up at 6am, seven days a week! I have a little breakfast and take out my dogs for their early morning walk.
In respect of protein, I am saying do NOT take any in after lunchtime. Why? Because the carbohydrate at tea time gives your body chance to convert it to serotonin which is thought to be essential for inducing sleep. Whatever you do, make sure that you do eat adequate amounts of protein for it is an essential food group.
As for a hot mug of chocolate last thing at night; it's a no no!
Why? Because my understanding is that it contains caffeine which is as you know a stimulant. All you PwP who also eat quantities of chocolate after tea should also be aware of this.
Please give this regime a try for at least two weeks and do let us all know if you have success.
Word of warning. If you are taking sleeping tablets you need to come off them under supervision of your GP. Stopping them suddenly will leave you with an insomnia 'rebound' effect. Not good!
I take my hat off to you Sejvej for being sufficiently determined to try this for it takes great determination.
Adrian