This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

[jaycee]

There's a lot of talk on this site about fatigue, sleeping a lot, naps, etc. My problem is LACK of sleep and NOT being able to sleep. Is that just the old menopause thing (I've been doing that for 10 years) or is MS contributing? When I don't get enough sleep, my MS symptoms are worse but I can't seem to fall asleep and stay asleep at night.

[Melody]

Actually hubby used to be awake most of the night with restless leg syndrome. So during the day he nodded off at all hours through the day. He is 41 years old. Now he started on Lipitor in January so that could have impacted it. He was just diagnosed in January by the way so I also started him on a low fat diet which limits sat fats. We also had him tested for all allergies and have removed even the ones he is slightly intolerant to. I've added ground flax seed(3Tbs) per day as well as a 2TBS of turmeric.Also I'm paying around with different probiotics in food. He is also taking a huge list of vitamins and on July 4 he started on copaxone. It has been the last 2 weeks we have noted he sleeps right through the night and he is down to one nap now during the day. That runs between 1 to 2 hours. The tingling has also gone from his left side and that had been there a year. I'm not sure what has affected his restless leg but he has had that all his life and it is the first time it has gone. Right now I just try to document each change so that later it might all make sense. Are you on any meds that might affect your sleeping pattern?????

[Shayk]

Jaycee

Is that just the old menopause thing (I've been doing that for 10 years) or is MS contributing?

The old menopause thing does interfer with sleep, that's for sure. And, I seem to recall a study earlier this year that identified disturbed sleep patterns in people with MS. So, I think it could be either one.

As Melody said, there are also lots of medications that can interfer with sleep. Progesterone is supposed to help sleep. Quoting from John R. Lee's book, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause, p. 107

Many of my patients have volunteered that the first benefit they perceived from using natural progesterone was an improved sleep pattern. After years of unsettled sleep they now look forward to retiring each night...

So far I'm happy to say I can sleep just fine. But then again, I'm also taking progesterone. Just maybe it's helping the sleep and the MS.

Take care

Sharon

[mouse]

Hi Jaycee and all! I too am menopausal but I'm not on any drugs for it or MS. I find that the colder I keep the bedroom (temperature wise) the better I sleep.

[jaycee]

Hi mouse, Sharon, all

I don't take any MS drugs. I do use topical estrogen. I used to take oral estrogen and it helped sleep plenty. Oral estrogen and just about anything else gives me stomach problems. I haven't slept well for 3-4 days and that usually means I might get one good night tonight from shear exhaustion. Let's hope.

[Shayk]

Jaycee

Dr. Lee's book lists different brands of progesterone cream that are available over the counter.

It might be worth trying one of them just to see if it would help your sleep. I know I couldn't function without at least 7-8 hours of sleep a night. (I give it a try now and then. It doesn't work for me. )

At any rate, I hope you find something that helps.

Sharon

[Elia]

Rather than duplicate existing topics, I thought I should 'bump' this thread.

As a lifelong insomniac I've always viewed it as a bonus (more hours available for reading, conversations till dawn with insomniac friends). I'll quickly gloss over the occasional sleep-deprived irritability.

Lately I've been falling asleep with virtually no warning though I'm rarely able to sleep for more than an hour at a time. This happens however much I may struggle to stay awake. I use headphones to listen to the television (trying to be a good neighbour) and have frequently fallen asleep with them clamped to my head and woken half an hour later to theme music bellowing in my ear.

Does this seem familiar to other people here? (I'm in my fifties but don't know whether that is a significant factor).

Thanks,
Elia

[Shayk]

Hi Elia

I really appreciate your "bump" of the existing thread on the topic.

Your experience of falling asleep with no warning despite struggling to stay awake is not familiar to me. I've never been an insomniac though to reap those great benefits you described.

If I'm not well rested I sometimes have trouble staying awake to read for a long time. But then I just decide to go to sleep. I don't fight it so I'm not sure what would happen if I did.

Hopefully some others will check in and comment.

Sharon

[Elia]

Thanks for your response, Sharon - much appreciated. Being in limbo re a MS dx, I tend to query whether changes I'm experiencing have any significance.

Elia

[Amazon]

Hi-I'm just turning 50 in December -but I've had that falling asleep experience that started for me about a year ago. The scariest part is that it will happen when I'm driving! For awhile I thought it was all the meds...finally turned out to be my thyroid-so maybe that's a possibility for you? Although with all the fatigue from the ms it's hard to tell what's what anymore...good luck though!

[Elia]

Hello Amazon - that may well be the answer! I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis (which developed after Graves disease wasn't diagnosed or treated in time). I hadn't realised that the sleeping disorder was linked. Thanks for throwing light on this.

Am horrified to hear you fall asleep at the wheel - has that really actually happened, or do you feel drowsy and pull over to the curb in time?

Take care, and thanks for your suggestion re thyroid cause,

Elia

PS If you want to discuss thyroid issues, do feel free to send me a message

[lyndacarol]

I hope this is related--even just a little.

This week Oprah Winfrey revealed on her TV program that she was diagnosed with hypothyroidism this summer. Her symptoms were weight gain of about twenty pounds and fatigue (big time!); doctor on the show said also that muscle cramps were another common symptom. The symptoms sound reminiscent of MS. Oprah says she is better with thyroid hormone now.

With the common thread among "autoimmune" diseases, maybe the thyroid hormone levels should be routinely checked in people with MS.

[Elia]

Think you're right, lyndacarol - it makes sense for GPs to check thyroid levels since the origin of some of the symptoms could be masked. I'd also suggest a routine test for B12 deficiency since that is highly represented in the MS population.

Elia

[popsie]

Hi Amazon and all,

I have restless legs ( more common with people with MS) that keep me awake & definitely (for me) tied in with allergies (to everything food, drugs, supplements, synthetics etc). Desensing to allergies has helped heaps also at night when the legs wake me I do a few minutes on a stepper and then can sleep another hour or two before I wake and go on stepper again.

I used to have shocking spasms, up 15 times a night, 7 showers. Then I had the same falling asleep at traffic lights etc. Very scary. I used to keep a bottle of water handy to splash me awake. Then had a microsleep - one minute driving down my street the next I woke up dodging trees on the pavement on the other side of street. Fortunately, there was no one around but I stopped driving. Now I have a baclofen pump, no more spasms & consider only waking 3-6 times a night pure bliss!! Back driving again with no sleepiness.