approx. 3:00pm sitting up reading, after about 20 minutes or less fall asleep sitting up in chair, very frustrating
HI. Im a neurologist and can try to answer your question
are you there?
well I will leave you my answer as we cannot chat now. Please review it, then ask questions and I will return to reply, ok? If you feel I answered your question please hit the accept button as that is how I get credited for my work, in not, please ask more questions.
You are a 64 year old gentleman, who fell asleep in a chair at 3 pm after reading a book for 20 min. From your frustration, I assume that this is a common occurance. Questions I would have for your are: do you sleep regular hours nightly, how many, do you have interrupted sleep during the night, how many times are you up? reason to get up (bladder) . Do you make a lot of arm and leg movements during the night? do you snore?
Any other medical problems, how long has this sleep disturbance been going on. Have you tried any medications for it? what meds are you on now?
From the brief description, you have EDS, Excessive Daytime Sleepiness. I will leave you some webpage to describe this condition and its treatment. If you have good medical insurance, there is a sleep study called a MSLT or multiple sleep latency test, to test you for conditions like Narcolepsy where you fall asleep during the day for no known reason. and there are some newer medications for this excessive daytime sleepiness
hi are you there?
yes
great. please read the above and then get back to me ok?
I will wait here
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/589694
sleep 11:00PM TO 7:00am, wake up 2 times to walk dogs. Turn over side to side due to hip pain pressure. No arm or leg movements durning night. Snore ususally. Get up once for bathroom some nights. No insurance, no med for sleeping.
ok. You snore a ton?
wife says not a ton.
ok, does your wife ever notice you actually stop breathing? (do you have obstructive sleep apnea?)
no apnea known of
so you have obstructive sleep apnea it sound like. this is the major reason across the country for excessive daytime sleepiness.
??? if you stop breathing for short periods you have apnea, am I missing something?
no, wife says 15 to 20 seconds, this is new to me
that is the way it usually is. You need a test called a polysomnogram but it is expensive without insurance.
and you need a trial of a machine called nasal cpap, also expensive without insurance
but this is the deal, untreated obstuctive sleep apnea leads to heart disease leads to increased risk of heart attack and/or stroke
there is also a medicine you can take during the day to keep you up during the day, and you will sleep better at night, but of course, it is also expensive
it is called Nuvigil or armodafinil
apnea is usually 15 to 20 sec, your wife is sharp and on the money
do you have any more questions? Did I answer your question? If yes, please hit the accept as that is how I get paid, and thank you or ask away
thanks for the insite, I
I
no problem good luck