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Often tired, too tired for sex, sleep lots and "puff" in my sleep. Help!
#21
RE: Often tired, too tired for sex, sleep lots and "puff" in my sleep. Help!
(04-27-2014, 06:34 PM)Peter_C Wrote:
(04-27-2014, 05:18 PM)retired_guy Wrote: "So now my hands are much, much worse - but now I have my own special fork and spoon"

Well there you have it! You would like to take nsaids but instead you got forked!

I don't do nsaids well either. Doc says, "I want you to take a baby aspirin once a day." Says I, "Aspirin makes me bleed out." Says doc, "one little old baby aspirin can't hurt anything..........." ..................Says I, "Nurse? Is it time for my next transfusion?"

Yup, hit the nail in one.

Been on the blood thinners for over 2yrs, along with 200mg of celebrex, and two 325mg aspirins (morning and night - heart DOC), with nary an issue til last DEC when my left back of my thigh started blowing up like a balloon, bruising badly - making me think 'DVT', went to hospital, INR was 2.4 (fine), did a scan (both legs) no DVT so the young pup said "Mr Crockett, you must have slept wrong, go home, put the leg up, use ice, and if it doesn't improve in a week, come back." - Hate hearing that. Went home, never got out of bed (pain not managed at all at this point), 4-5 days later my lovely wife said let's go back - this time someone thought to do a blood count and found me a pint or more low.

So, into the hospital for a refill, and my PCP Doc says, it happened once, so no more NSAIDs of any kind, ever again.

Switching off the good stuff to Celebrex was bad enough, but this is the first time in the last 30+ years without any form of NSAID, and it's rough, really rough.

You know, you might be the poster child for why marijuana should be made legal, or at least legal with a prescription. But watch out for those Brownies! You could gain way too much weight. .....and you'll probably just discover you have a gluten problem anyhow. But hey! The nice thing about marijuana is even if you do have a problem, you won't care!

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#22
RE: Often tired, too tired for sex, sleep lots and "puff" in my sleep. Help!
Having never tried marijuana, I have no idea in what way it would help?

I'd trade pain meds for NSAIDs any day, as the pain meds may help with the pain (most of the time), but the NSAIDs allow me to do more stuff, and to do more stuff without as much pain. I can't do more stuff on pain meds really, as I can't keep taking more and more of them. Pain meds in no case help keep me from dropping silverware while eating, or keep me from asking my lovely wife to cut up stuff for me. But NSAIDs will help in those matters.

So, what does marijuana do - act as a pain med, or as a NSAID? And of course, I wonder about conflicts with all the other meds I take daily?
*I* am not a DOCTOR or any type of Health Care Professional.  My thoughts/suggestions/ideas are strictly only my opinions.

"Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you. Jesus Christ and the American Soldier. One died for your Soul, the other for your Freedom."
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#23
RE: Often tired, too tired for sex, sleep lots and "puff" in my sleep. Help!
To the best of my knowledge Marijuana will not conflict with anything else. I don't know if you're in a "medical marijuana" state or not, so talking to your doctor about it may or may not lead to any meaningful help. It is well known for it's ability to help people with chemo-therepy side effects, glaucoma issues and so forth. What I know of it's pain assist properties is first hand with a friend who has severe back pain and cannot take other meds, except for occasional visits to Oxycontin, which is really better to avoid. He uses a tincture of the stuff in marijuana that does the magic. Primarily he just puts it on his tongue. That way he avoids any of the issues with smoking it, which is probably a good idea. If he could not use the marijuana I doubt that he would be able to continue to work. But work he does, which is a good thing because my house would be a mess if it were not for him repairing stuff.

You can research it but the problem with that is proponents tend to over blow it's effectiveness reporting it to be a medical cure for everything from ingrown toenail to accidental hanging. So read between the lines and focus on what it realistically could do for you, then talk to the docs if you wish about it.
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#24
RE: Often tired, too tired for sex, sleep lots and "puff" in my sleep. Help!
Coffee Coffee This is my first post, and I am a new cpap user, but your sleep patterns and the puffing on exhale sounds just like my husband. He is on oxygen and a cpap, but no significant issues with his sweet little snores...they just sound funny. As for the other behaviors, I agree with lincolnr, above, that it sounds like you may have ADHD as part of your problem too. We fight to be awake enough to function in the daytime, and fight sleep all night, and it is a vicious cycle. Coffee or caffeine is our self-medication. It would be good to get the sleep study, and as much as I hate to say it, avoid the caffeine and try and establish a regular time for bed and getting up. And getting regular exercise each day...all those things we know we should do, but never quite get around to making that commitment to ourselves. Discipline! Maybe with getting real sleep, we might get to the place we can function like everyone else for a change. Best of luck to you.
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#25
RE: Often tired, too tired for sex, sleep lots and "puff" in my sleep. Help!
Tiredness is certainly a symptom of apnea. There are others: Snoring? GERD? Depression? (Yeah, you got that.)

So how often are people prescribed anti-depressants to combat symptoms caused by apnea? Don't know, but I'll bet a lot.

So the place to start is to rule in or rule out sleep apnea. To do that you do need a test. Home test or in-clinic test, either way. Be straight forward with your doc and say you do not want to go down the anti-depressant path until apnea is ruled out.
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#26
RE: Often tired, too tired for sex, sleep lots and "puff" in my sleep. Help!
Quote:There's a myth that only fatties get apnea. It may be more common, but there are plenty of thin apneacs.


Don't make the mistake of writing off Sleep Apnea because you are in shape.
My brother in law has if not the best mens body I have err seen, at least one of them. He has abs to die for and he doesn't take any steroids etc but works out religiously at the gym and can lift weights that steroid users could only dream of being able to lift.
He eats incredibly well with daily tuna for lunch, boneless skinless chicken for dinner etc.

IF anyone was a walking ad for who people assume DONT have sleep apnea, David would be that one yet he was diagnosed last year with SEVERE SLEEP APNEA!


IF David can have it, models can...........so don't think that you can't just because you are in great shape!


BTW I too must sleep 8 hrs per night, albeit not 12.
Wouldn't remember a dream if my life depended on it
and I also am out like a light as soon as my head hits the pillow
although in my case, unlike yours, i never feel tired
i never felt as if i were sleep deprived
nor do I still so not sure why I don't and others do

The point being, don't assume you don't have Sleep Apnea just because you are thin and in great shape
Otherwise you would be in shock if you saw my brother in law David and all misconceptions you have about it would fly out the window.


Good Luck.
Get the sleep test ;-)
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#27
RE: Often tired, too tired for sex, sleep lots and "puff" in my sleep. Help!
Shelagh is absolutely right.

I am thin too (6' 0" and 145 lbs) - though, sadly, don't have abbs to die for - and likewise have severe sleep apnea.

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#28
RE: Often tired, too tired for sex, sleep lots and "puff" in my sleep. Help!
Quote:There are many different kinds of anti depressants, and people have different reactions to them.

The problem with antidepressant meds is, the fact you need to take them makes you depressed.Rolleyes Along with all that's been said so far, I would add that you need a regulated sleep regime. That is, go to bed regularly around the same time each night (except for the occasional night out) and rise about the same time each morning. Quality sleep it appears to me is about habit. Chronic fatigue or CFS has not been mentioned, but it is real. For years there was no diagnosis for this disease & in fact it was not accepted as such for years. Sufferers were branded "lazy Ba***ds" who could not get out of their own way. Ultimately it was decided that rather than a disease, CFS is an end point reached after a patient has suffered from a retro virus, such as Mononucleosis, Ross River, Barma Forest etc.My research shows this to be true. Unfortunately because it is "retro" there is no cure, no treatment and worst of all, no understanding of the disability of sufferers. The first diagnosis GP's make is "depression". This it seems is their "go to" diagnosis when all else fails. Ironically this is the diagnostic guide for CFS. "If no other cause can be found." Take heart, there are many others who share your tiredness, & even though it can't be cured, it can be helped. Listen to all the good value advice given here, as well as develop a management plan of your own, & I'm sure you will begin to do better. Most importantly, have a sleep study done.Thinking-about
[Image: signature.png]Keep on breathin'
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#29
RE: Often tired, too tired for sex, sleep lots and "puff" in my sleep. Help!
(06-23-2014, 11:16 PM)retired_guy Wrote: Tiredness is certainly a symptom of apnea.
Once you get apnea treated with CPAP but still wake up tired, there might be more to the story, important talk to your doctor exploring other possibilities



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#30
RE: Often tired, too tired for sex, sleep lots and "puff" in my sleep. Help!
(09-23-2013, 09:18 PM)TiredInTheUK Wrote: Hi everyone.

I'm a new member and really, really need some help. My story is this....

I'm a 41 year old guy and I would describe myself as 5'10 and around 12 stone. I'm a home delivery driver for a supermarket three days a week (26hrs in total) that is quite stressful and involves a fair bit of heavy lifting. I do no other real exercise or sport but I would say I'm reasonably fit. I've been a vegetarian since I was 15 and most people have said that my tiredness *must* be linked to my vegetarian diet, but I've had various blood tests and they have always come back that I'm not deficient in anything. I also had my testosterone levels checked some 10 years ago and the results came back as normal for that as well.



My problem is that since I was a teenager I have always wanted to sleep for at least 8-10 hours a night and given the chance I can easily sleep up to 12-14. It goes without saying that this has caused me lots of problems in my personal life/relationships and work. When I'm awake I sometimes find I'm having to drink 4-5 cups of coffee a day to feel alert and to concentrate properly.

My sleep is all over the place and because some days I sleep longer than others (because I don't have to get up for work), I'm finding that I then often go to bed late at maybe 2-3am in the morning. This of course makes the situation worse when I then have to get up in the morning and I often don't wake up until 11am-midday time. I can't remember the last time I went to bed before midnight!

When I wake up I always feel very tired and lethargic and struggle to get up and get on with things. My concentration level is terrible and it is normal for me to "drift" all day and get nothing constructive done when I have tons of urgent things that need doing.

It goes without saying that I'm *always* tired when a partner wants to have sex and I have almost always made the excuse that I'm dog tired and need sleep. A true reason, but not one that has got much sympathy. I have now had 3-4 relationships where sleep/tiredness problems have ended them, the latest being a month ago.

My sleep pattern? Well according to several partners, my head hits the pillow and within seconds I'm fast asleep. I'm like this every night with no exceptions. I usually sleep on my side (no preference which side) and apparently I breathe in through my nose but always breathe out and "puff" through my mouth. My last ex said she thought that was unusual as she'd never known anyone breathe like that when they were asleep! I also *never* remember dreaming which to me seems odd.

As I said before, my last relationship with a partner ended a month ago because I was shattered and we had a massive row and this week I had a big argument with my boss at work which has seriously jeopardized my position. He was being a d**k but I was tired and I could and should have handled the situation more calmly than I did.

I sat myself down today and I have finally realised that I can't go on like this any more and I need to find a solution to my constant tiredness. I've been to my doctor and according to him I'm depressed and need anti-depressants, but I've seen the effect they have had on a couple of my friends and I don't want to try them. Maybe I am depressed, but if I am, the underlying cause is my tiredness and I want to fix that and not be pumped full of pills just because that's easier for the doctor to prescribe!!!

So, please, can you guys offer any help or advice?

Many thanks in advance.

I'm 70 and was diagnosed with Chronic Sleep Apnoea whilst working as a Critical Care Staff Nurse in North Carolina. I served on Desert Storm and was diagnosed with Post traumatic stress disorder and the symptoms you refer to, lethargy, lack of concentration, not getting things done are consistent with Depression. I underwent treatment and now I am back in the groove, play golf 3-4 times a week and worked until I was 68, doing 13 hour shifts in an Intensive Care Unit back in England. I don't think that Sleep Apnoea is your main problem. Good luck.Smile
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