Sleeping disorders are a major symptom for those of us with ME/CFS and I am no exception to this. For the past 20 plus years I have not slept properly and it seems that the older I get and the longer I have CFS, the worse my sleeping problems get. I will have spells where I will sleep well, but those are few and far between. My doctors have always told me that they feel the major key to getting my CFS under control would be if they could fix my sleeping issues. I actually agree because I have found that during the rare times I have been able to sleep well, I will notice a major improvement in my overall health and well-being.
The sleeipng disorder issues have really heightened since the Major Depressive Disorder problems started and now it’s like I’m trying to battle this beast that is coming at me from two different angles. The combination of the two illnesses makes me want to sleep some during the day and as much as I try to fight it, I cannot stay awake no matter what I do. Then at night, I’m up, even with taking sleeping medications and I can’t get my body turned around. I’ve tried staying up without sleeping and tried not sleeping any during the day so that at night I could go to bed but at 10 o’clock, my body seems to go on that overdrive mode and I’m wide awake whether I was up the entire night before or not.
It’s a vicious cycle I can’t seem to get out of and I’m losing the battle. I’m frustrated, exhausted, tired of not having a normal life because of my sleeping habits and when I do sleep, even if it is during the day, it is like getting cat naps. I sleep on and off – in and out – nothing too deep, nothing refreshing. The Trazadone I take at night, if it does eventually kick in, will take hours to do so. I’m falling asleep now at 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. in the morning and many times I have to be up by 8 a.m. It’s awful. Then IF the Trazadone does kick in, and I fall asleep around 4 or 5 a.m. and I don’t have to be up early, I sleep on and off until late morning because the effects of the pill keep me from fully getting around and getting awake before that time.
I was hoping by now the increase in Prozac would help me sleep better but it’s not. I wonder if maybe it’s keeping me awake? Does anyone have any thoughts on this? I guess I will have to go back to the doctor again and try to find something else to help me get my sleeping back on track because I can’t keep going like this. I’m not having any kind of a life and I’m just plain miserable.
I’m surprised that you are on both. Trazadone is actually an antidepressant. Its use as a sleep med is off label and at a much lower dose than the antidepressant dosing. Are the two meds fighting each other? Something to ask the doc.
Bunkum – I was on a 40th of a standard daily pschiatric dose of Amitrirptyline – Elavil in US – an antidepressant for 16 years and it gave me stage 4 sleep! If I missed a dose I was awake all night.When i came off it I still had the problem for a while
Prozac Sandy consists of fluoride – a highly toxic poison. It will accumulate in your body and give you horrid side-effects.