Hi Doydie,

No I haven't.
I asked about it a couple of years ago and was told that the sleep clinics up here mostly check for breathing problems (apnea); and I'm pretty sure that I'm OK in that department. If the HUG is going on, breathing is sometimes difficult...but I'm not usually sleeping much then. My PCP didn't think that I needed a study.

Spasms in the legs wake me up most nights, but my sleeping pattern has been unchanged for years.
I stretch and meditate for an hour or so before bed, go to sleep for a couple of hours, am up for an hour or two around the middle of the night, during which I stretch and meditate some more, and then go to sleep for a few more hours.
5-6 hours of sleep/night is plenty for me; but I meditate for around 5 hours out of every 24, so the body and brain do get their rest.

With love, Erika

I love coffee! I drink it black and usually have 2 cups in the morning and sometimes a small cup at lunch time. It defintely helps wake me up. I also chew Big Red gum which I think helps me stay alert. When I used to work 16 hour shifts I drank it throughout the entire day.

The biggest problem for me is bladder irritation. I seriously have to pee every 15 minutes if I drink too much. I can get a little jittery and irritable but it is more about the excessive urination. Normally I don't drink coffee after 5pm or it can interfere with my sleep.

Erika I'd be concerned with the narcolepsy type component to what you describe and at least mention it to your doc. Good luck!

Thanks Jules,

The MS Neuro is trying different beds. So far no luck though.

With love, Erika

Erika,
i have bouts of falling asleep suddenly, even while driving:eek:
It worries me that it's kind of like narcolepsy. It doesn't happen often, but when that kind of fatigue hits, it lasts for at least 2 weeks. It isn't as if I'm slogging through the day; I just suddenly drop off to sleep. Once I was driving on the highway and awakened suddenly when I was about to introduce myself to the rear end of a semi-luckily I missed:rolleyes:

I do have sleep apnea; my neuro also got certified as a sleep specialist when he did his residency at Mayo. He said even small twitches can interrupt sleep…he told me a bad apnea score was 5 episodes per sleep study. I had 95:eek:

I use a CPAP machine. I still awaken at night, usually from leg spasms. Then I begin to start thinking, and I lay awake for a couple of hours. Sometimes I'll play solitaire on my phone-that puts me to sleep more quickly.

I hope you find some resolution to all of this sweetie:hug::hug:

just a thought to consider-

I was literally falling asleep working or eating, and dragging myself around in a stuppor most of the day. Docs all chalked it up to increasing MS related fatigue. Then my routine annual labs came in. My thyroid levels were super off. They had to jump up my synthroid dose.

Like my neuro said "good reality check - it isn't always MS in a MS patient";)

Just closed browser and lost properly worded reply (******) so..

Night spasms are one of the things I use to judge MS med or supps i'm on.
1 adult Aspirin helped night jolts for me.
I take 140mg/day baclofen, 2 with the aspirin + 1/2 a benadryl before bed.
Not a fan of meditation, MS would kill me if I stayed still that much & probably wouldn't sleep good.
Your sleeping is ng. Bod makes growth hormone & others during deep sleep. How bout a estrogen/progesterone check?

Deep sleep is associated with the Delta brain wave, which is the same one that is pronounced during meditation.

I stretch before, sometimes during (if I am sitting for more than an hour at a go), and again after meditation sessions; so being still for the meditation actually brings relief from spasms and pain more often than not.
I used to sit in a full lotus, but now it is more comfortable to sit in a looser cross legged position on a chair that has a back for support, or on the floor while using the wall as a back support.

My hormones were checked a few month back and all were good then.
I'm going to check on the thyroid again though, because mine conks out from time to time.

With love, Erika

I'm going to have to back off on the coffee because the digestive system has been getting progressively more irritated over the last couple of days, and the joints in my hands and wrists are painfully inflamed again.

I've taken some Ibuprofen and did an Epsom salt soak for the hands around midnight which helped, but I really don't want the joints to get worse or swell again.
The digestive inflammation and joint irritation seem to occur together, so I need to get the digestion settled down...and that means no more coffee.

Ah well, it was worth a try.
I'll have a consult with the MS neuro on Wednesday.

With love, Erika

I cannot drink coffee, for various reasons, but it's OK. because I hate it...:D:p

that's OK sally - I'll drink your share of the java for you:wink: