Problems waking up...
 

I've spent the last year not being able to sleep - I was very happy if I was able to get more than 2-3 hours of sleep a night.

Now I'm sleeping more, but I'm running into a new problem. I haven't noticed it anywhere else on here, so I thought I'd throw it out there and see if anyone has any ideas.

I still have difficulties getting to sleep, though I now sleep about 5-6 hours a night (which I'm thrilled about!). Prior to my injury, I often slept 10-12 hours a night if I didn't have to wake up at a particular time.

The problem is, I'm having issues with the waking up process.

My alarm clock rings, and it wakes me up. It just doesn't "register". I can hear my alarm, but it can take forever for me to actually realize that my alarm is going off... then it takes longer for me to realize that I need to get up... then it takes longer for me to realize that getting up is URGENT and not an option.

My current scenario is this - My first alarm goes off at 5. My second alarm starts at 6. My third alarm starts at 6:30. I am lucky to struggle out of bed a few minutes after 7. I need to be out the door at 7:30.

My alarms are loud. I choose "obnoxious" ringtones for the alarms on my phone. I don't hit snooze. My dog tries to wake me up - even jumping on me at times!

I know that all of this chaos is happening, but nothing "registers" for quite some time - that's the best I can do at explaining it. It isn't AT ALL like my college days of - ugh! there goes the alarm again... maybe I can ignore it for a few more minutes.

Once I reach a state of realization, I'm fine and I function "normally".

Anyone else experience this? Any ideas for how to handle this?

Is there anyone in the house who can physically wake you up when your alarm goes off? I know I have problems with sleep again. I have trouble falling asleep and I am up often. It's almost like my body doesn't know quite how to do it. It takes a 100 mg of Elavil to knock me out. Maybe there is a medication that is causing this? When I do set my alarm I shut it off and fall back asleep but if I had a dog jumping on me I think I'd get up lol...

Let us know the outcome... I'm curious... Good luck.

Katie,

I wonder about two issues. Could it be you have conditioned yourself to disregard the alarm by setting a very early alarm that goes off at a time when there is not much urgency? Maybe you should set the second alarm to go off 10 minutes after the first and the third ten minutes later. Each alarm allows you to get back to deep sleep before the next alarm.

You also sound like you are sleep deprived. I don't think I need to tell you than you probably need to find a way to get more sleep, so you can wake up refreshed and energetic.

My best to you.

Re: Problems waking up
 

Katie,
I think the 1st question that was asked about being conditioned to iignore your alarm because you know you have set it before you actually have to wake up is probably the most obvious place to start. I would suggest you set your alarm for the actual time you need to get out of bed, and maybe your response to the alarm will become, well, alarming! If we know we can condition our minds to awake at a certain time without an alarm clock, its certainly possible we can condition ourselves to ignore an alarm clock!

Beyond that, I looked at your bio to see your approx age, to see if possibly you have obstructive sleep apnea, where you get so sleep deprived from constant awakenings to stage 1 to start breathing again, that you rarely get into Stage 3 or Dellta Sleep, which is where the real restoration happens.(Not in REM as I saw posted here somewhere) REM is critical to a healthy mind, but Stage 3-4 is where your mind gets restored and takes short term memory and makes it long tern memory, among other things. I know this because I have Severe OSA and even with CPAP therapy to keep me breathing, I rarely get into Delta, and it is extremely debilitating.

The fact that once you realize you need to be awake, you become alert enough to function tells me that there is nothing serious going on, yet anyway. After 7-8 hours of sleep, it take me anywhere from 30 - 120 minutes to be able function well enough to leave the house and be productive and lucid.

Last question I would have for now is, are you taking any meds before bed?

Good luck
AzManatheart

Arizona man,

My comments about REM sleep points to research that has determined when neurons repair. Restorative Delta sleep is not necessarily the point of neuronal repair. Neuronal and axonal repair is of utmost importance to PCS sufferers.

Many with PCS may struggle with Central Sleep Apnea due to upper neck injuries.

Thanks for the responses.

I'm not on any meds, so that's not the problem. I do take some otc sleep meds when I don't have to be up a certain time because I know I am really sleep deprived.

I like the thought about the alarm clock conditioning - I'll experiment with that.

I had one random week of sleep since posting this. I slept 10-15 hours each night. However, now I'm back to my new normal.

I think that sleep deprivation is the main issue - sleep has been a major issue for me throughout this whole ordeal. It's like my body is tired, but my brain doesn't realize it.

Going back to the doctor for this would be a last, last resort - I'm pretty sure I never want to visit another doctor again in my entire life! (Sorry for some personal venting right there...)

Could something else be causing the insomnia besides PCS ?? If you're routinely getting only a few hours of sleep each night there may possibly be something else causing it. Probably not, but just thought I'd throw it out there for contemplation.

Thyroid diseases can cause insomnia. I went 5-6 years undiagnosed with Hashimoto's disease (which doesn't always show on a standard thyroid panel but has to be specifically tested for).

I'm sure there are other ailments that can cause insomnia too.

It's kinda odd how PCS disrupts sleep patterns. My hubby (with PCS) never used to have trouble falling asleep and now (post PCS) he has to take medicine to get to sleep. Once asleep .... he'll sleep forever, I think.

Good luck to you. I know how debilitating it is to try to function with little sleep ---- add PCS on top of that and just the thought gives me the chills.

Amy