excessive sleepiness

[laCster]

i don;t understand why i sleep so much; sometimes i sleep up to 18-20hrs a day, but usually i sleep anywhere between 12-14hrs a day. when i do sleep, i have extremely elongated and vivid dreams, or so it feels. sometimes i feel it is necessary to drink alcohol, pop some pill, or smoke marijuana to inhibit REM sleep because of these fucking dreams! i absolutely hate them because never have i dreamt of mythical, fascinating creatures or of riveting adventures, always of upsetting and straight up scary topics for some reason. for the past four years of my life i never experienced any of these dreams or could not remembr any because of chronic marijuana abuse. however, abusing drugs is not an option for me anymore.

all this sleep is really been putting me in a funk lately to the point in which i feel ashamed for how much sleep i get resulting in making me want to escape by sleeping even more!. some days i feel like doing nothing else with my life but to sleep it away. my parents and therapist believe it is as a result of my medication, but for me it doesn't feel right scapegoating my drugs because this has been happening almost all my life, but on a slightly lesser scale. this summer i went on suboxone to stop my heroin and oxycodone abuse, and it has worked absolute wonders as i have not used either in 4 months (wow i still cant believe it)! Is the suboxone to good to be true; is it the cause of my extreme sleepiness? My parents think so, but i beg to differ as whenever i take it i feel more elated and energized, not tired and sleepy... I am on 1-2mgs of subs, 1800mgs gabapentin, 150mgs wellbutrin, and 50mgs hydroxyzine a day/night. My personal belief is that my depression is causing severe REM sleep.

frankly, i don;t know where to turn. i've tried exercising atleast 3-4 times a week for 30-60 minutes and sometimes even more frequent. i cut out almost all fatty foods in my diet, but i allow myself to have 1 exception a day whether it be icecream or fried chicken. i've tried setting multiple alarm clocks around the room so that i could not simply turn to my side and hit snooze, but nothing seems to work.

yesterday i didn't even take any of my medication for whatever reason, and last night/today i still had the same problem. i went to bed around 12:45 am and woke up at 1:30pm the today causing me to miss an appointment with my therapist and ditch a friend i was planning to exercise with. i tried to put my finger on why i sleep so much but nothing seems to really stick. is it my depression, not enough diet/exercise, some type of sleep disorder, my medications, or just lack of will power?! there are so many options and worrying about it makes me even sleepier and physically/mentally exhausted.

please help me bluelight, i cannot keep living my life like this!

 

[1394]

You sound depressed. Do something, anything really. Write out a list of things you have to do, and do them. Just don't persue midnight epiphanies as you'll burn out during the day.

hope it works out.

 

[Herbal~Jah]

I'll keep it simple, I would drop the "1800mgs gabapentin, 150mgs wellbutrin, and 50mgs hydroxyzine" and that would most likely make u feel less groggy and sleepy. Excercise can work wonders also, even just going for a stroll around the block/neighborhood can also make you feel better and more energized.

 

[webbykevin]

You sound like you need a job, a full time job, exercising 30 minutes a day is not enough, it's great that you are trying to maintain a healthy diet and your outlook and attitude seems positive enough, just get a job and change your habits and patterns, that would be my advice, If I let myself I would be the laziest person alive so I make myself do stuff and be active.

it's all about willpower and self control, you can do it.

You will be amazed how much support, encouragement and help you get from your family if you tell them you want a full time job.

 

[mellowyellows]

Methlyphenidate, amphetamines, dextro-amphetamines as well as other pharmaceutical stimulants are all successful and prescribed medications for excessive sleepiness. Talk to your doctor.

 

[ArtVandalay]

It's probably not the suboxone, but all the other meds and depression. I take suboxone and usually feel sleepy around 4 and take a quick nap, sleep 7 to 8 hours a night. But when the anxiety/depression kicks in, I just want to hide in my room and sleep. I force myself to go out, excersise, even just 20 min does wonders. Also, what webbykevin said, a full time job is essential. Even if you hate it, it something positive to do, it gets you out in the world. and you make money : )

 

[MissNervosa]

Methlyphenidate, amphetamines, dextro-amphetamines as well as other pharmaceutical stimulants are all successful and prescribed medications for excessive sleepiness. Talk to your doctor.

^This. Provigil/Modafinil is also very good-very clean feeling compared to amphetamines.

Also think about having a sleep study done to get to the root of things.You may have sleep apnea,narcolepsy or any number of conditions that could explain things

 

[Swimmingdancer]

I would highly recommend you try to find the cause of your excessive sleepiness instead of just taking more drugs to try to counteract it.

The medications you are taking (hydroxyzine, gabapentin and buprenorphine) could definitely be causing or worsening it. If you have had this problem before you started taking the drugs, then it could be due to a medical condition. There are many things that can cause excessive sleep or fatigue, such as hormonal imbalances, auto-immune disorders, fibromyalgia, depression, etc. See a doctor for a full medical work up and blood testing, and get a sleep study done. You may not be getting very good quality sleep, for example not much deep sleep, or waking up a lot in the night without realizing, or physically trying to act out your dreams, etc, which could be causing you to sleep more to compensate.

Other contributing factors which worsen it could include not getting enough exercise, not eating healthy enough, or not getting enough fresh air.

As for the dreams, you might want to consider trying to make peace with the dreams instead of fearing them. You could also look into learning how to lucid dream. Lucid dreaming is dreaming while being aware that you are dreaming. It is a skill that can be learned. It might make you feel more excited about dreaming instead of dreading it. Eventually one can even learn how to exert control over what you do in your dreams or choose what you dream about.

What are you taking the gabapentin and the hydroxyzine for by the way? That could provide a clue.

 

[hthr007]

I was having excessive sleepiness and I went to the doctor to talk to her about it. Like others have stated, the medications that you are taking (hydroxyzine, gabapentin, bupe) may certainly be causeing or contributing to your fatigue.

Fatigue can be caused by a number of things: hormonal imbalances, depression, auto immune diseases, etc. In my case it turned out I had mononucleosis and vitamin deficincies. In that case the only cure for mono is sleeping. I would advise you get blood work done to rule out any diseases by a physician. Mono can be extremely dangerous if you have an over enlarged spleen -- if you get hit in it the results will be bad. It may even need to be removed if it is too problematic. I was deficient in vitamin D and vitamin B. I take 4000 iu of vitamin D daily and a super b complex vitamin. This has helped me tremendously with the fatigue. I also take vitamin C if i'm feeling particularly run-down. I work 40 hrs a week and go to school full time so I get tired very easily especially since the epstein-barr virus is in my body.

Bottom line: get checked by the doctor to see what is going on in your body. Good luck and feel better

 

[TurelGrigori]

Hydroxine is a mega-sleep drug for me. I go from sleeping 6-9 hrs to 12-20hrs when I take hydroxine. Its great for hives and other allergic problems but it renders me extra non-functional.

Major Depression can cause somnolence but typically MD people have more problems with insomnia and early awakenings with a feeling of dread. The depressed phase of bi-polar disorder more often presents with hypersomnia. Not trying to diagnose, just throwing out factoids that potentially could be relevant. I think having your Doc do some labs is important-hypothyroidism, anemia, and several other dozen things that routine blood work could uncover or hint at could be involved.

 

[Swimmingdancer]

Major Depression can cause somnolence but typically MD people have more problems with insomnia and early awakenings with a feeling of dread.

Wow, that's interesting, I totally have a feeling of dread when I wake up. I didn't realize it was a common thing with depression. I don't wake up early though. I have a mix of insomnia and then excessive sleeping when I finally do get to sleep, feeling groggy and unrested.

 

[laCster]

i appreciate all the responses, thanks to everyone for postnng to try to help me out!

its not the medicine, and adding more drugs to the mix is definitely not the solution or even an option for me, especially highly addictive medication like amphetamines which i seem to particularly enjoy. as much as a i want to, i cannot take them.

having a job is not an option either as i start my university classes on August 13th which will be somewhat like havng a job in the sense that it will take up time.

i agree that the excessive sleepiness is probably a result of depression. the past two days i have forced myself to wake up around 10am and hit the gym, and its been working out pretty well. once i wake up and starting going, i cease to feel exhausted and tired, it's only the initial waking up process in which i have problems with. i have to literally struggle and roll out of bed. once i do, i feel like shit for 10-30 minutes but after that i feel much better.

who knows? maybe i do have some type of sleep disorder. i scheduled an appointment with a sleep specialist next week, but i do feel like it is merely a symptom of the chronic depression i suffer from. i have felt depressed and numb almost n my life until i was introduced to drugs which worked wonders for a while, but eventually i drove myself deeper into the ground as a result of using. this summer has been really tough in that i have experienced an OD where i died, got woken up, and ever since then i have been struggling to stay sober. i ended up homeless without anything but the clothes on my back because i went back out. within the past month i have been sober and every little thing seems to be impossible. i have always been depressed but never as much so...

 

[DeathDomokun]

I know this doesn't help you OP, nor does it really contribute to the thread, but Cannabis does not inhibit REM..

 

[herbavore]

i have felt depressed and numb almost n my life until i was introduced to drugs which worked wonders for a while, but eventually i drove myself deeper into the ground as a result of using. this summer has been really tough in that i have experienced an OD where i died, got woken up, and ever since then i have been struggling to stay sober. i ended up homeless without anything but the clothes on my back because i went back out. within the past month i have been sober and every little thing seems to be impossible. i have always been depressed but never as much so...

I think that this is where you need to delve. You have been depressed for most of your life and you got some temporary relief from drugs and then they turned on you. Now you are left back where you started and that seems to me to be the place you need to explore. How can you deal with the depression in a non-drug manner? Have you ever tried meditating or mindfulness techniques? There are usually classes through hospital outreach programs. etc. Your university may even offer one. I would recommend trying to really delve into the feelings under the depression and then going from there. Good luck. It's not an easy road, I know.

 

[laCster]

thank you for support herbavore, i am currently working a 12-step program (AA) which does include some of the treatments you suggested in an indirect manner, but i am onlly on the 2nd step; i have a sponsor and go to meetings everyday. i stopped hanging around old friends and using places and been trying my hardest to stay busy.

i definitely agree with you though, using drugs even those that are prescribed to me only cover up the situation which is hard to internalize because it seems like they are working. i keep praying that everything will work out the way it is supposed to, and hopefully i will be able to really delve into what makes me depressed. it is extremely hard because there isn't just one thing that makes me depressed, it is just something that appearsin my life. i have so much on my plate right now, that is hard to tackle everything at once, yah know? i have to get sober before i can even think about taking on my depression.

maybe i do have some type of sleep disorder because i have had sleep issues all of my life, come to thnk of it, i also remember being depressed at an early age...

I know this doesn't help you OP, nor does it really contribute to the thread, but Cannabis does not inhibit REM..

im sorry, but yes it does. it is a well know fact about marijuana. it does not completely eliminate REM sleep, but it significantly decreases the time spent in REM sleep.

 

[Swimmingdancer]

Have you ever tried meditating or mindfulness techniques?

^This is an excellent suggestion.

I know this doesn't help you OP, nor does it really contribute to the thread, but Cannabis does not inhibit REM..

im sorry, but yes it does. it is a well know fact about marijuana. it does not completely eliminate REM sleep, but it significantly decreases the time spent in REM sleep.

It really seems to depend on the person. Some people I know get a deep dreamless sleep (at least they can't remember their dreams, which is all that really matters in practical terms), and some report more vivid dreams. There was a study done back in 1975 (if I recall the date correctly) that found reduced REM sleep while participants were heavily under the influence of cannabis, and that REM was increased once the effects of the cannabis wore off. There have also been many studies done that show marijuana has an effect on memory. So it seems it would depend on how soon before bed you smoked it and of course your individual brain and metabolism.

 

[webbykevin]

When I have a break from smoking pot (especially if I have been smoking daily for weeks) my dreams increase by heaps and are always really intense, this has been something I have observed in myself and many of my pot smoking friends have also noticed in themselves and others. It would seem to be more common than not.

 

[DeathDomokun]

Oh, it's a well known fact is it? Could you please source me just one study in favour of that?
Well shit, let's have a look at these studies then, shall we?
It would seem we're both wrong, but I am more wrong. It would appear that CBD increases wakefulness whilst THC
I found one study on humans with a massive 8 participants!
Here are a few studies on CBD in rats; 1, 2, 3

And lastly here's a study on the influence of REM sleep-deprivation (or the stress associated with deprivation) on the response rats have to Cannabis (as well as dopaminergic drugs)

Funnily enough, this study indicates that 20 minutes after smoking Cannabis the participants had a %4000 increase in Melatonin (due to an increase in PGE2), and as you should know, Melatonin plays a crucial role in sleep (and lesser so, hunger)

Now I can get sources for Melatonins role in sleep, but I really cbf as it took me ages to find that last study.The reason I spent that time looking for it, was to indicate the complexity of Cannabis and our brains and the interactions between them.

So in the end, Cannabis decreasing REM sleep is not fact, although there are studies in favour of it. There are also studies in favour of increases in Melatonin, which directly affects sleep and REM. Shit is complicated and we know fuck all, is what I'm trying to convey.

Also, you didn't even mention the first half of REM and then the rebound and yada yada that dancer brought up

Also, just some subjective anecdotes here, but Cannabis doesn't affect my dreams in any noticeable way. Then again, I rarely remember my dreams irrespective of drug use..

 

[laCster]

this is the dark side, i don't want to stray from the main priorities and issues at hand. it simply isn't fair to me or other users that are seeking help. this thread has nothing to do with MJ; you could have just sent me a polite pm and we could have duked it out in private. don't waste the space that others are trying to use to get healthy and recover. if you want to continue this conversation, please send me a pm, but don't take away from others. please don't post things that aren't nice or are not contributing or helpful, this forum is not about that

 

[DeathDomokun]

I didn't want to lead the thread OT, I just wanted clear up something that you adressed.
I'm sorry you took offense to that, and this will be the last post I make in this thread.
Good luck with your recovery or issues or help or whatever.