Sleepdesk Problems Forum

Hello i dont know if i have come to the right site but i have been searching for ages. what i would like to know is if its true that if a child has bright coloured walls in their bedroom can it keep them awake because it keeps their mind active. thank you caz x

When I was younger I suffered occasionally from sleep paralysis (when under stress). Just recently (I am 55) I have experienced, just as I am about to go to sleep or during the night when I wake up, a jolt/spasm in my head which makes me wide awake and scared. Has anyone else experienced this?

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Reply from: Rebecca
Location: Wakefield
Date: Friday 8th June 2007 at 07:05 PM
I was reading your message and had to reply. I suffer from hallucinations and sleep paralysis. I am on medication to treat these. However, sometimes I get so tired I have to lay down in the afternoon and this is when I get a hypnogogic jerk. This usually involves my shoulder jerking or reflexing and I cannot control it and it stops me from going to sleep. When it does happen I don't sleep just sort of drift. it scares me too, I think it's my heart or my chest. I feel really alone with this, my family and boyfriend do not understand and think the medication I take is really bad. I hope this makes you feel better. The term hypnongogic jerk comes from research I have done into the area. Do you still suffer from it now or have you found a way to resolve it.
Kind wishes
Rebecca

I fear that what I'm going to write will upset some people, but I intend it to be helpful. I used to suffer from sleep problems. For the first 40 years of my life I woke up most nights in the early hours of the morning to find myself in the middle of horrific nightmares which left me feeling exhausted and distressed. I used to feel it was impossible to get any rest at night and when it came to morning I felt like dying through having to cope with life with a lack of sleep. Other people seemed able to wake early if need be, for example in order to start out on holiday or start work at an earlier time, but if I was woken earlier than about 8am I didn't really recover for the rest of the day: I failed to fully wake up, felt irritable, had headaches and a 'foggy' feeling in my head. I also suffered from recurrent headaches and felt constantly stressed. No doubt all of that is familiar to many people who have problems with sleeping in a way that is refreshing. I was helped to break the pattern of my sleep difficulties within psychotherapy. I hadn't had a particularly happy childhood but I didn't have any events that were what most people would think of as major trauma. However, through a lengthy period of psycho dynamic psychotherapy I was gradually able to work through the difficulties that had been behind my lifelong sleep problems, as well as other less exhausting but no less important difficulties such as under-achieving and feeling low. I remember the period of time when I finally began to fall asleep with a sense of feeling like a child being looked after and how when I slept with that comforted feeling I slept peacefully and woke up refreshed and looking forward to the day. Now I look enjoy sleeping when I'm tired. One ongoing problem is that having solved my own sleep problem I am now married to a man who I love but he has sleep apnoea! I find it impossible to sleep next to his constant heavy snoring, grunting and repeated jerks and twitches, together with the massive gulps he takes every 10 seconds or so throughout a large proportion of the night. I love him dearly, but find that I only sleep well when we sleep in separate rooms. That saddens me as it means that we have far less cuddles than we used to. I would like him to seek help with his sleep problem, but it isn't possible to persuade someone into psychotherapy as motivation is a major factor in determining a person's ability to stay in therapy when things get painful and appear to making everything worse. I now work myself as a psycho dynamic psychotherapist and sometimes find that I am able to help my clients in ways that result in their sleep pattern improving. I find that gives some meaning to the years that I spent struggling with my sleep problems. I would encourage anyone who feels that talking with someone about their feelings about the sleep problem (and who can afford long-term therapy, because it's seldom available on the NHS) to find themselves a competent, well trained psycho dynamic therapist and discover whether there are emotional factors behind the physical symptoms. I hope that all of you who have sleep problems learn to sleep deeply and peacefully, and to have good dreams.

Hi! I'm interesting some information about apnea or apnoea. My father has this problems and he needs use the mask but in my country is very very expensive. How I live in Pensylvannia USA, I'm looking for this mask... I'd like to know where can I find and informations about the price! Is it possible you guys help me? I'm really appreciate.... thanks a lot!

Hi All,
I have just scrolled back many months to read most messages and Bob's responses. I have worked in Sleep Medicine for over 25 years and agree with Bob's comments that the UK falls behind the US and other countries. I guess it is possible to summarise the theme of many of your messages and I add my own thoughts.
Sleep Medicine is not a recognised speciality in the UK and doctors receive no formalised training in this field.
Most of you will be aware that there are many different sleep disorders (87) but that most UK services are geared to sleep apnoea and snoring. Access to diagnosis and treatment is poor and quality standards of "clinics" and those who work in them are unknown to patients and GPs. The NHS still has no strategy for Sleep Disorders and hundreds of thousands of people are not diagnosed or treated. The NHS and (some of its professionals) have particularly failed to manage the Sleep Apnoea epidemic (less than 10% of those who need treatment receive such).
Some final thoughts before I ride off into the sunset and leave the NHS to start my own Private services. The UK (NHS or Private) can purchase CPAP machines made overseas cheaper than any other country and given the life of the machine and consumables the cost of CPAP per night is 11p. An Aspirin from Tescos costs 13p
I am amazed that we do not screen people at risk of having Sleep Apnoea with a simple cheap home study. This would be very cost effective and reduce the number of patients with "no significant problem" referred to the few clogged up clinics. Too many patients are referred for unnecessary tests and this lengthens the waiting list for those who need treatment. Keep up the good work Bob.

Hi Mike.
An interesting link, but don't forget that they are in the business of making money. You need to see an ENT specialist to see if the treatment would suit you. I've had 2 operations on my throat without any improvement at all. My uvula (the dangly bit) and that area has been totally removed.

Don't forget that some of these procedures can alter your voice and make eating and swallowing different. I had to re-learn drinking as it when down the wrong hole. Something to think about before you go ahead.

Happy New Year to all.

I was diagnosed with OSA in June 2004 and have been using a nasal mask and CPAP ever since. I was wondering if anyone has heard of this pillar treatment by 'Restore Medical', it seems to be only available in the States, does anyone know of a Clinic in the UK or Europe that does this procedure, private or otherwise. I really want to give this a go even if it involves going to the states, but would refer not to have to travel a great distance for it

http://www.restoremedical.com/pillar.asp

The link as info on the 'Pillar Procedure' and some movie demos of whats involved

Hi Mike and Bob
Thank you for your replies. I will contact the support group and thanks for your support.
I will keep in touch

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU BOTH AND EVERYONE ELSE ON HERE

Pooh

Hi Pooh,

Just to give you some encouragement. I was diagnosed with OSA in sept 2001 and have been using a nasal mask and CPAP ever since. It has given me my life back. I have had the odd problem with elements of the mask breaking but the nurses at the Churchill are very helpful and post out replacement parts which arrive promptly. I also use a chin strap to keep my mouth closed and again I have found this okay. I really enjoy a good nights sleep now. Kind regards. Mike

Hi Pooh.
Sorry to hear you've been diagnosed with OSA. Phone that support group straight away. Some people find a CPAP machine soothes them to sleep. When you get one, try laying on the bed with it on (just for 15 mins) then build the time up.

When you get your cpap, don't let them fob you off with a mask that leaks slightly. Just a small leak will stop you getting to sleep. If you're a mouth breather, you may have problems with a nasal mask. There are other masks but they are more expensive, so they don't like giving them out.

The first time you use a cpap will be strange, but you'll get used to it. The sensation of air blowing in took a while to get used to. I needed a chin strap to keep my mouth shut. Otherwise, air blows out of your mouth. Trying to talk is hilarious. An added bonus is that it's a total cure for snoring.

Don't know of any support groups, but you can ask any question here if you want. Your sleep clinic should know if there are any groups in your area.

Hi
I was diagnosed with OSA in Sept 04. I will not get my CPAP machine until mid March therefore I am signed off work until then. I am finding it hard to accept that I will have to wear a mask for life! (literally). I have spent a lot of time getting upset and hoping that it will just go away. I know that it won't but I can always hope. I am a mouth-breather and have always had this fear of being smothered or gagged, so the idea of a mask is scary!
I think you call them apnoeas - well mine are 15 times an hour. Not high compared to some people I have heard of.
I understand there are support groups out there. I have one in my area but have yet to phone them. Has anyone found them effective and friendly? Does anyone on here know the Oxford Group?
Hope to hear from someone in my area
Pooh

Hi Kevin.
I'm lucky that I don't need anything connected to it at night, just a Buchanan filter cover.

For cleaning, most people I know use a weak solution of hydrogen peroxide or just soapy water. I have heard that some use vinegar, but not too keen on that idea.

The ventilator tubes you mention are quite small in diameter, so I wouldn't have thought it would be too much of a problem. Some have a CPAP machine connected, which would be of large diameter so they would pull on the connector, I'm assuming.

Hi Bob,

Thank you for replying. I am just doing tracheostomy tubes in general, i am trying to develop tests to simulate the use enviroment. My main question is would the tube be subjected to many forces when in use in a patient, e.g. would the ventilator pull on the connector when u sleep or would you wake up, and what kind of cleaning agents would be used with the tubes. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Kevin.
Are you doing a survey on tracheostomy tubes for obstructive sleep apnoea or just generally?

I use a Montgomery, which is a total cure for OSA, but can't be used for all conditions. The tube itself is extremely comfortable. The downside is removing it for cleaning, which is not at all pleasant. The inner flange being larger than the hole in my neck makes me cough like hell, but I only remove it once a week.

I started with the standard Shiley for the 1st year, which is easy to clean or remove, but bulky and feels really uncomfortable.

Hi all
I am currently conducting a survey on the use of tracheostomy tubes.i would like to know does many of you use tracheostomy tubes and any problems you may have with them. Do they cause pain or discomfort during use. Your Feed back would be appreciated, as it is difficult in finding people who use them and troublesome in people who want to talk about them. Thank you for reading this.

Re the smells you get that could be diabetes as many people say they smell pear drops or acid drops when they are low in blood sugar

worth getting a test for that

hope I havnt scared you but you should get that checked out

I wake up during the night, and i get this strange smell, some times it smells like acid drops or nail varnish? some times it can be other smells, but similar, i dont seem to sleep well, and i am very tired most of the day, has anybody got any information that may help

(Don, you used the 'Contact Me' button on the homepage to send this message and didn't leave an email address. I'm assuming that you wanted to post the message here, so I put it on for you.)

But, I've never heard of this before and totally baffled. Hope someone else can answer.

Hi Steve.
It's possible you've had sleep apnea since being very young, but it's rare. If it's "obstructive" sleep apnea caused by the throat getting floppy, it probably started later in life. My OSA seemed to start when I got addicted to neat dark rum in my late 20's. My memory got really poor, but it was probably the rum *grin* (never touch the stuff now).

If the cpap machine works for you, what you will experience is no daytime tiredness, feeling more refreshed in the morning, no napping at breaks and dinnertime, and generally more alert throughout the whole day. If tiredness was the cause of your memory or concentration loss, you should certainly see some improvement.

I personally found that I don't need much sleep now, in fact I have trouble sleeping, but I'm 58 and you don't seem to need as much sleep as you get older. I put this down to my body adjusting to OSA over the years, and now that it's cured, 4 hrs proper sleep is like 8 hrs of OSA sleep.

I got diagnosed with Sleep apnea (12 Apneas per hour and 25 awakenings per hour) and I've been classed as Moderate/Severe.

I think that I've had sleep apnea for a very long time (I'm 39). My father kept copies of all my early school reports that stated I was unable to concentrate or listen effectively and disturbed the rest of the class. As an adult I can understand things but find concentrating really hard. I will visually skip words in sentences and 'skim' when reading. My memory is really poor.

Does any one think that I might have had sleep apnea going back into childhood? Has any one got any suggestions on how things might improve when I get a CPAP machine sorted out (Have they experienced significant memory/concentration improvements.

Cheers,
Steve.

Hi
Not sure what to say here, I'm 36 and have suffered with intermittent insomnia for as long as I can remember. I've always managed to tolerate it because it passes, but during the course of the last 12 months I've had no respite. I sleep from 4 am to 7 am if I'm lucky, and that's despite using sleeping pills (zopiclone, zolpidem, temazepam and amitriptylene are a few I've been on as well as 'over the counter' remedies )
Nothing really seems to work, I've tried all the sleep advice from websites and bought enough books on insomnia as start a library ! I don't think anyone takes me seriously or understands if I actually happen to mention how tired I feel, because I hold down a job and generally make it through the day. There's no other underlying problem to my insomnia, I just can't sleep, although I will say I'm a bit depressed about it just now.
Anyway, probably just wanted to send a post on here as obviously, people reading this message board have a sleep disorder themselves and would understand how it feels.
Thanks for reading this, I hope everyone finds something that helps them sleep a little better.