[JoAnnC]

Anyone have an explanation why I feel so tired and exhausted after I take a short nap (15-30 minutes)? It doesn't matter if I have just taken my meds or if I took them 4 hours ago. It doesn't matter if the nap is early in the day or later. That's the only time I get this feeling...not when I get up in the morning or before bedtime. (I've checked my blood pressure and that's fine.) Is this just one of those unexplained things that happens to PWP?

[Jaye]

Hi, JoAnnC,

I think no one's answering because they really don't have an explanation. However, fools rush in where angels fear to tread, so here I am with my explanation for me. I can only tell you what I've heard and read, from people with PD and by doctors, and that is that tiredness is the symptom we most complain about, and the one the doctors know the least about.

I gather you feel sleepier after your nap than before you started it. IMHO (in My Humble Opinion) that's because it takes us a few minutes to relax enough to get really sleepy, and that's because so many of us have dystonia.

You also say the nap is 15-30 minutes long. Easy question for me, LOL (Laughing Out Loud), diagnosed over 12 years ago: the nap was too short!

Also check with doctors who prescribe various meds you're taking. There just might be a combination or a time lag from taking it to feeling the side effects. Or maybe someone here has an idea on that.

Above all, if you can sleep often enough and deeply enough to get the rest you need, enjoy it as long as it lasts, may you always be well-rested! I act out my dreams, to the point of hitting my husband with my fists during the night, because I don't go all the way to sleep. I have to be careful where I take naps, ROFL. I also scream.

The following is for readers who may not know the lingo yet:

dystonia |disˈtōnēə|
noun Medicine
a state of abnormal muscle tone resulting in muscular spasm and abnormal posture, typically due to neurological disease or a side effect of drug therapy.

not to be confused with

dyskinesia |ˌdiskiˈnē zh ə|
noun Medicine
abnormality or impairment of voluntary movement.

Dystonia and dyskinesia can each be a symptom or a side effect. In talking to your doc about them, it will help doc if you note your med times and the times of these symptoms for a few days, and then take your notes with you.

All the best to you,
Jaye

[stevem53]

I get about 5-6 hours of sleep at night..Then on days when I dont have much to do, I can sleep almost all day, after my meds kick in, and wake up tired..I think the Stalevo is making me tired all day..After my meds wear off for the day, I am not tired anymore

I am getting sick and tired, of being sick and tired