So Hard To Wake Up

[HopeSprings]

Do any of you have a really hard time waking up in the morning? I don't mean that I want to sleep late - my body won't let me sleep past 8am. But the process of waking up. I lay there eyes closed, part of me awake, part of me asleep and have the hardest time trying to open my eyes, to "come to," like I'm fighting heavy duty sedation or like I've been in a coma all night. It's awful. I think part of the morning raciness is my body's attempt to get me out of this state.

[bellgirl]

This is me to a tee Some days are worse than others. Have you ever had a sleep study done? I also have sleep apnea...I always seem to be tired, and yes, it takes a lot of effort to get up out of bed!! I'm usually in my PJ's until noon. If I have to be out before then, I'm completely worn out the next day. I just think it is the nature of this condition. Yes, your body does compensate to rev you up, so to speak. I have a lot of adrenaline rushes in the morning. In fact they sometimes wake me up in the middle of the night, too, unfortunately; then I sweat, and it is hard to get back to sleep, especially with a face mask with my Cpap machine (now my friend!)...but I couldn't sleep at all without it. I could hardly function before being diagnosed, because of lack of sleep. My heart (MVP with tachycardia and arrythmias) would wake me up, and I would be awake for hours. So it has helped immensely...Klonopin helps me sleep, and it also helps with my dizziness, bystolic helps with tachycardia and arrythmias...

[jenglynn]

Oh WOW... I have been dealing with this for the last YEAR and never thought about it having anything to do with POTS or ANS.. but that happens to me most days. I used to ALWAYS be up at 5am for years... I would wake up before my alarm and while I wouldn't say I was always thrilled to be getting up to go to work so early, I never had a problem waking up or getting out of bed and getting ready and by the time I was out of bed I was always wide awake.

Lately, different story completely. It takes me quite some time to wake up. Your description of feeling so sedated and like I am coming out of a coma is exactly how I feel. I actually wake up in my brain before I can even open my eyes or move my body... I almost feel like I am in a coma. Then gradually... I will wake up a little more.. but I am moving slowly and feel like I am recovering from a terrible illness or hangover. It takes about an hour to feel somewhat better. It is just awful. I do not sleep very late either and I don't take sleeping pills at night.

I have an appt. with a sleep doctor on Monday. I am really hoping she can help me because I know I am not getting enough asleep because I have a LOT of problems with adrenal surges at night and it is rare that I am asleep for 2 or 3 am... and I am usually up by 7 or 8 am.. and even though I am ALWAYS tired I have never been a napper in my life and just can't fall asleep during the day. This sleep doctor is also a neurologist so I am hoping that she will be able to help me. By the way, I am sorry that both of you have to live like this too.

Jen

[MomtoGiuliana]

It takes me some time to adjust to being awake and to going from supine to upright. I rarely feel like I can just sit up and get out of bed w/in seconds of waking.

[kmichaelson]

Yes!!! I described my mornings to people using almost these exact words--that it feels like I'm waking from a coma. It takes me so long from when I first wake up until I can move, open my eyes, sit up, etc. It's quite a process! Sometimes my husband will try to talk to me in the morning while I'm still in bed and it's like I can hear him and I'm awake, but I'm not yet awake enough to move or respond so I can't say anything back.

Then I'm also very sore and achy once I get up. Like my feet hurt a lot in the mornings...why this is I have no idea since they should be rested you'd think. I stumble around like a drunk tin man for the first couple hours that I'm up.

[AllAboutPeace]

Yes, I can relate to this in a big way! It takes me really an hour before I'm ready to actually get up and move. The phone rang beside my bed yesterday morning when I was in mid process and my hr went bananas! It's pretty bad when a ringing telephone can throw your morning into chaos.

I think this may be my punishment for always joking about my husband moving at a slower pace while I was multi-tasking all over the place

[puppylove]

YES. When we didn't know what was wrong with me I had to get up for school at 5:45 when I went to bed at midnight or later because of homework. It was nearly impossible and I usually ended up in tears because I thought I had "turned lazy" or something...

[Chaos]

Absolutely!! Prior to POTS, I used to always hate lying in bed in the mornings. Once I was awake I needed to be up and moving- in part because my body would hurt so much if I stayed in bed. Now it's an hour or two process to wake up. Frequently it does feel like I'm coming out of anesthesia or something. It always seems so lame to me how long it takes me to wake up enough to take my pills that I have to take before I get out of bed. If I really have to be somewhere in the morning, I have to set my alarm an hour before I have to take my pills, which I have to take half an hour before I can get up. Considering how many nights I can't go to sleep until 4 am it's totally nuts!

[targs66]

This is all so familiar - I am so utterly useless in the mornings. I wake up early-ish (btwn 6 -8 am), too, but I've learned that I do much better just lying in bed until about 11 am. Most times I can fall back asleep and then I'll do much better that day. I just can't sleep at night - sometimes it's because of pain, sometimes anxiety, sometimes both -no matter how tired I am during the day. I have found that Benadryl (the old kind - diphenhydramine) in very low doses works - even if it doesn't make me sleep, I seem to "rest" better.

Wish someone could solve this! I have a part time job where they let me come in at 1pm. I'm sure there's a lot of raised eyebrows about the fact that I waft in that late, but so what -- at least it means I can work a bit. Just wish I could sleep at night so that I could work a full day.

[jenglynn]

Chaos- I relate so strong to what you said!!! A year ago, I could not STAND to just lie in bed once I was awake. As soon as I woke up, I got up and gone on with the day. Even if I wasn't feeling fantastic or especially energetic (I think that I've had my autonomic neuropathy or autonomic issues my whole life) the thought of just lying around doing "nothing" was not acceptable for my Type A personality and I've learned now that I lived on adrenaline my whole life. Total adrenaline junkie. Once I felt tired, instead of giving in and resting like my body was trying to tell me do- I couldn't do that- there was always more to do- do that triggered the release of more- and the cycle continued. I was also convinced the world would fall off of its axis if I didn't do EVERY single thing myself- at home, work, volunteering, plus in grad school so I would never consider asking for help. I did all the cooking, cleaning, laundry- everything including cleaning and organizing my kids' rooms AND picking out their clothes for the next day the night before (I have six kids). I've learned since I first got sick, how controlling it was. I thought if I didn't do it, it wouldn't be done right (perfect) so it was actually a HUGE disservice to my children and husband. I first had signs of this flare last April but it was gradual- started with syncope, dizziness, more fatigue that I ignored- progressed a few months later to breathing problems- I was seeking medical answers but changed nothing at home and did not until I completely crashed- one day, all of a sudden after returning from a business trip in which I flew cross country (not my best idea) the next morning I got up to go to work and within 20 seconds I couldn't see and next thing I know my husband is picking me up and I had gashed my head open- requiring 15 staples- but hardly bled at all my BP was so low. That was in late Sept. and I have been unable to work or do much of anything since that day. I can't stand more than a minute without syncope but it's usually 30-45 seconds. Up until that point, the progression was so gradual so I don't know why all of a sudden it worsened- could have been flying which I did with no precautions or extra care- or my body finally gave in. But I've only gone downhill- so all I can say to others- listen to your body!!!!!

And now I have no choice but to ask for help and rely on my husband and kids to take care of the house. I have had to let go of my controlling ways (OH, it's been so hard) and realize if they are doing it and I'm not, as long as they are trying their best, it's good enough and shut my mouth. Luckily, my kids are not little- we have ages: 9 year old, (2) 11 year olds, (2) 13 year olds and a 15 year. old. We don't have 2 sets of twins, we are a blended family but have 4 of them full time and 50/50 of the other 2 but they are at our house every day after school until about 6pm. Moral of the story- listen to your body and delegate when you need to rest!!

Jen

[AllAboutPeace]

Jen - Wow, that schedule you described would keep four people busy!! I agree that it's very hard to lose that independence and accept being vulnerable. While I would prefer that none of us were in this situation, it does give our family members an opportunity to develop qualities in themselves that they might not have even known they have. I know that I've seen my husband really step up to care for me, especially when I was at my absolute worst. {Not trying to pretend its all sunshine and lollipops , but it has helped me to see a side of him that I might not otherwise have seen}

I was also relating to your description of living on adrenaline. I'm not a type A personality by nature, but I became one. I couldn't sit still for a minute (I seemed to bounce in and out of chairs rather than actually sit in them) because there was always something to do. I thought I was doing the right things by eating a healthy diet and exercising but I didn't really 'listen' to what my body was telling me- instead I pushed harder. Life was pretty stressful for me and I can see now that I didn't pay enough attention to that. My body has my full attention now...

Hang in there!

[jenglynn]

It is interesting- I've had so many friends and family members tell me in the last few months- that they KNEW I was sick off and on over the years and someday something major would happen. No one can say "why" for sure... Maybe I looked tired, or the weird illnesses I'd get because of my autoimmune disease, or intuition- but it's also a feeling I have always had. A doctor recently asked when was the last time I felt healthy- and I answered honestly- I can't EVER remember a day when I felt healthy or out of pain. Maybe there were some here and there, but I don't remember any. I just wonder how much my crazy, busy, do it all lifestyle led to what I'm dealing with now.

It certainly has changed my perspective though. I think of all the nights I'd stay up until 1am because the house wasn't perfect... You should see it NOW! Lol. Everyone is still alive (even me) and other than the stress and worry that goes along with Mommy having a major, debilitating at this point, illness- everyone seems a little less stressed because I'm not as tense and freaking out about a clean house. I really regret all of the energy and years I wasted on worrying about that when I could have spent more time nurturing relationships. That is the ONE thing about this wretched illness that I will always be grateful for- and often think- what if I NEVER got sick? Would I have lived that way forever? Now I know what REALLY matters and I also know I have to prioritize and I can never do "everything" again- even if I were to get a 100% cure tomorrow. In that way, I'm thankful for this illness for waking me up- but now that I'm "AWAKE" and realize the error of my ways- it can go away anytime

Jen

[Megan Gibson]

My issue is this I work two jobs but even before with the one and just part time hours I had a horrible time going to sleep. N its last four yrs but within the last two yrs of the four I'm having a hard hard hard hard time waking up. It's like someone could be standing in my face n I won't realize. I have been called 58 times before n alarms going off I hear none of it. I'm missing work n being late to work.  I'm close to losing my lively hood behind it all. I'm forgetting my routes once I'm off of work becuz I'm feeling so exhausted n I work night **** but I also work on day shift as well. I'm pulling 14 hrs Monday --- Friday n ten -15 on the weekend combined. It's like I can't sleep n then when I do I can't wake up. Sometimes it feels like I can hear things but I can't wake up to what I'm hearing. I'm n a sleep so deep when I wake up I can't tell if I've slept 15 mins or 6 hrs. Becuz it never feels like I got a proper 5 mins. I'm exhausted bad bags under my eyes.. eyes swollen at times. Sometimes when I'm so tired I fall asleep talking to someone or listening but that's after days of only getting 2-3 hrs of sleep n days where I can finally get more like 5 hrs I'm sleep so deep my life around me resting is effected. I need some kind of help and answers or suggestions becuz I don't understand but the energy n a day is gone. Example I used to be vibrant now excitement to me is just being in comfort of my home n just being there Becuz I'm too tired to concentrate most times n my memory is shot . When I can't sleep I find myself getting extremely moody n cranky.