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Irritated after today's appt....

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Posted 9/25/2006 11:49 PM (GMT 0)
mad  Ok, you know, sometimes I just get so irritated it's not even funny...

 

I had a follow-up appt with my Internal Medicine doctor today to go over the results of my sleep study I had last month... redface

 

Well, see I had the sleep study 'cause I have insomnia, and my regular docs can't figure out why.. I'm not on Prednisone, so that's not it... But it takes me forever to fall asleep and once I'm asleep, I wake up often, so I only get about 3 hours of sleep a night and I NEVER feel rested... hence the sleep study, to find out what the deal is... nono

 

So I am excited about going to the doc today, 'cause I am expecting the doctor to tell me what is wrong with me... and guess what?  He didn't tell me crap.  He told me he ".. has know idea why I'm not sleeping..." They didn't really observe anything on the sleep study that would indicate what is causing the insomnia, so he says, "Just take Ambien."  I DON'T WANNA TAKE AMBIEN.  I want to know what is wrong with me!  Is that too much to ask?  So I am back to square one.  Not sleeping worth a crap and have no idea why.  nono

 

I am going to call my primary tomorrow to see what she thinks... so frustrating... thanks for letting me vent... I'm gonna go eat some carrots and pretend that they are candy bars!  eyes

 

Duck

Posted 9/26/2006 1:11 AM (GMT 0)
Duck, I don't blame you for being irritated, especially when getting a good night's sleep is so important for our mental health (as well as physical health). I also don't blame you for not wanting to take ambien. I'd be afraid that I'd get addicted to it (it is addictive). I started having severe insomnia when I was pregnant with my girls. After I had them, I started taking tylenol pm every night and I've been doing it ever since. Works just fine for me, and the tylenol certainly helps with the aches and pains from the day. I've tried just the sleeping component of it minus the tylenol, and it doesn't work for me. Maybe I'm addicted to the tylenol :)

I know many people who have graduated to ambien or lunesta, or anything else in that category; they swear tylenol pm does nothing for them. I'm not trying to minimize your situation; just wanted to offer a strategy that works for me. And I can get a mega bottle of generic tylenol pm at Costco for $9.99!

Elcamino
Posted 9/26/2006 1:26 AM (GMT 0)
Hey ElCamino... oh I know you're not trying to minimalize my situation, I don't feel that way at all... I have taken Tylenol PM in the past, but unfortunately, it doesn't help me much at all... Instead of waking up every 20 minutes or so, I wake up every 45 minutes... but I still have a hard time falling asleep... The doc said, just take the Ambien whenever you need a good night's sleep... Uh HELLO?! I need a good night's sleep every night, but I can't take it every night, he even said so himself. So what do I do? He said to only take it maybe twice a week.. so I only get 2 nights worth of sleep? Seriously? I am so frustrated it's not even funny.
Posted 9/26/2006 3:41 AM (GMT 0)
hmmmmmmmmmmm, sounds frustrating.... now i think you work and have kids so u r active all day and in need of rest.... so u think a lot at night time, maybe cuz it is finally quiet? hmmmmmmmm, are u tired at night and just cant sleep or not tired at all? some people dont need much sleep?..... Hormones! have u told the gyn? maybe it has something to do with that?! i say when in doubt .... blame it on hormones!

sry i dont know what else to tell u...... warm milk? it is suppose to release that turkey stuff "tri........"

good luck thinking of u as it is almost midnight here and i am up too! :( had work to do.
Posted 9/26/2006 4:51 AM (GMT 0)
Hey yalinda... yes I am tired at night... I just can't fall asleep... and when I do fall asleep, I wake up every 20 - 30 minutes... I never feel rested when I get up, and I am just exhausted all day long... I've told my primary which is my gyn and that's why they sent me for a sleep study 'cause they figured it was my tonsils and I had sleep apnea. But according to the doc today, that's not the case.... I can't drink warm milk, I am allergic to milk.... yeah, it's 1250 here and I am still up... is gonna be another long night for me :( thanks for thinking of me!
Posted 9/26/2006 4:55 AM (GMT 0)
You should ask the doctor with no clue to refer you to one with a clue, or at least one who is willing to investigate a little instead of throwing more pills at you. I'm very anti-doctor today, so I might be just saying that due to Bitter Mist which is a new thing I invented kinda like Brain Fog, cept it just makes you dislike the medical establishment all the time with or without reason. The other recommendation I would make is to eat chocolate bars and pretend they're carrots instead. I heard an infomercial once that said you can do anything if you visualize it first. So, it should be fine. Cheerios!
Posted 9/26/2006 5:06 AM (GMT 0)
I am calling my primary first thing in the morning to try and find out what the deal is... 'cause this is just crap.... I am very anti-doctor at the moment myself....hopefully my primary will have better info for me tomorrow... one can only hope
Posted 9/26/2006 5:56 AM (GMT 0)
LOL at the anti doctor sentiment. Can I join that club? I have been through the WORST run around for the past 5 months and have seen doctors make REALLY awful mistakes with my records, keep poor notes, lose paperwork, prescribe wrong meds, forget to write down my meds, etc etc etc.

I've also had a doctor jump all over me because of my religious beliefs (I refused some treatment based on my personal beliefs) and tell me that I need to quit being so STUPID and take her advice and not lean on superstition and wrong thinking. I told her that her advice was stupid, she was disrespectful, and I'd rather believe in something that seemed to make sense...like my religion, rather than believing in doctors. I, ahem, won't be seeing her again. She backed off, but to be honest, she is a LOUSY doctor and VERY careless. Good riddance, huh?

Sometimes I am amazed we SURVIVE our doctors :(

Kimber
Posted 9/26/2006 2:23 PM (GMT 0)
Hey there Kimber... welcome to our rant... I can't believe your doctor called your stupid, I honestly don't know what I would do if one of my docs said that... good thing you're not going to her anymore... nono

eyes  Soooooo... I make an appt today to see the doc about the Ambien and see if we can run some other tests or something, 'cause there has to be a reason why I'm not sleeping... well, they schedule me an appt, but not with my primary... and after I get there, they tell me..."Well, Dr. Gordon isn't your primary, and she won't prescribe anything for you, you'll have to see Dr. Nelson (my doc)..." mad

 

Ok, when I made the appt, I specifically stated that I need to see MY primary... Yeah, and I got 3 hours of sleep last night... lord have mercy I feel sorry for these people when I finally do get seen!  skull

Posted 9/27/2006 1:32 AM (GMT 0)
Ducky Hi,

I know how frustrating it can be but hang in there and hopefully your PCP will be able to tell you what she thinks the problem is.I have never had a sleep study my self but do know of some that has had it done.Please let us know what she has to say and remember that we are here for you and i have you in my thoughts and prayers that they will fine what is causeing you to be not to sleep.
Posted 9/27/2006 1:36 AM (GMT 0)
thanks Mela, it means a lot!
Posted 9/28/2006 3:21 PM (GMT 0)
I certainly understand your frustration with physicians. Lack of sleep effects us on all levels. I am one of the lucky people that can fall asleep sitting up. Lately however, I have had my sleep interupted by pain. I get so uncomfortable in one position that I wake up..in pain..can't go back to sleep. If I do take something to make me sleep then I lay in one position sleeping and in the mornings I can hardly move. I am so stiff from being in one position all night the sleep is almost not worth the pain. So bottom line I was wondering if it's the pain that is waking you up?  It sounds as if your Doctors want to treat your lack of sleep.. because they can't tell you why your not sleeping. Medical science isn't an exact science now but  maybe some day. I am hoping that when my kids are older there will be a medication or procedure that will block all the angry pain receptors and  make their life more manageable. Until then I am so grateful to the carrying doctors that have helped me and I try to move on and get past my anger toward the other doctors that have not been of any help. I hope you find a method that allows you to get adequate sleep. We might never find out the Why of alot of our pain and diseases. Hope you find that rest we all deserve.

 

Posted 9/28/2006 4:02 PM (GMT 0)
I had a sleep study a  few yrs.ago.I didn't get sleepy  til  4 am.They said my days & nights were mixed up.They were right,lol.

Posted 9/28/2006 9:34 PM (GMT 0)
Do you get up to go to the bathroom, Ducky? I found that by not drinking liquids or food three or four hour before sleeping, I would not get up as often at night. I did that because it is a GERD rule and I might have GERD and was surprised how much more rested I felt after sleeping a full night. I also had to cut down on caffeine and since it makes you urinate a lot that also helped.

Don't forget the doc made money on the sleep study. They should not be rude but they are...they treat me like a dummy sometimes but I am the recipient of three scholarships in my lifetime. Some of it is a money trip and some of it is a power trip. They make far too much money to be rude and offensive or offhandish or ignorant. It is just not fair to treat us this way.
Posted 9/28/2006 11:33 PM (GMT 0)

Hi Ducky!

I have the same problem with sleep.  It is a classic symptom of perimenopause.  Not sure how old you are but could it be?  I wake often during the night.  I recently started taking benadryl (the one that contains antihistamine) about an hour before bed and it is helping me sleep through night.

I rather take that instead of sleeping pills.  I also don't need it every night now.  Another thing to watch nono   is caffeine intake especially diet soda and coffee. 

Here's hoping your dreaming soon!

caprie

Posted 9/28/2006 11:47 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Caprie... I don't drink sodas or coffee anymore.. only diet green tea and water.. and I only drink the green tea during the day.... As for peri-menopause, I don't know when that starts, but I am 33... I was hoping that wouldn't start for a few more years yet... :)
Posted 9/29/2006 1:21 AM (GMT 0)
Hey I have to get on the DR band wagon too.

Remember they are practicing, and mostly on us I believe(smile). I am in Canada and here we have gravol its a motion sickness pill.

It knocked me out, see if you can take it with the meds you are on. Really works wonders and costs about 3 dollars here. I also had graves before my RA. well before they found out they gave me valium. So I can relate to not sleeping, I was the energizer bunny. Untill they gave me the radio active iodine, but even now between the pain of RA etc.

So perhaps gravol could help it keepted me asleep for at least 3 hours.
Posted 9/29/2006 3:04 AM (GMT 0)
Hey chevy... thanks for that info, I've never heard of gravol, I'll have to see if I can find it... thanks again!
Posted 9/29/2006 6:58 AM (GMT 0)

hi ducky it is 3 am here in fl and i cant slepp eitehr in spite of taking xanax 1mg, 1-2 ambiern cr tabs, and norco to boot.

last nov i had a eeg-qeeg test done on my brain to find out something-all they said was that i was prone to seziures but said b/c of a mild head concussion i had from my crash in 02'

since then i cant sleep i have day night mixed also.

they throw pills a at you but dont tell you why or another way to train youreself to reverse it al if it can be reversed.

i been livng like this for a long time.

now i am on 30 mg cymbalta whoich is helping alttile of the of the pain part but gives me headaches and insomina

so round and round we go where we get off nobody knows....merry go round here it sucks..i am with you all the ay. and i am scared of taking one of those slep tests b/c i dont want them to tell me i got a brain tumor or something crazy like this, so i try to live with it some how, also it helps taht my husband snores and i cant stand taht

Posted 10/2/2006 6:02 AM (GMT 0)
Hey Duck,
I know you are gonna slap my wrist for this, but have you ever thought you may have FMS also? That is one of the main symptoms, not able to sleep and not feeling rested after sleep. You know with one AI, there comes another.

Ok, shutting up now, but I luvs ya

flopsie
Posted 10/2/2006 11:57 AM (GMT 0)
Oh Flopsie... BITE YOUR TONGUE! tee hee hee.. you know, I have thought of that, but I'm too chicken to ask the rheumy about it.. ignorance is bliss! :)
Posted 10/2/2006 1:22 PM (GMT 0)
Hey, Duck,

Just poppeed over from the Ep side for a moment and saw your post. 1. Sorry to here about your insomnia and Dr. problems. I'll jump on the anti-Dr. bandwagon with ya. Email me and I'll tell ya since it isn't an arthritis issue. lol. Back to your insomnia problems. Have you ever gotten your overseas vaccinations?
Posted 10/2/2006 2:46 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Joan, somehow I skipped over your post.. sorry! But to answer your question, no I don't get up to use the restroom, I just wake up, then it takes me FOREVER to fall back asleep... :(

Hey HALO - Ok, I'll shoot ya' an email in just a minute... and to answer your question, yes, I have gotten all of my overseas vaccinations!
Posted 10/3/2006 8:14 PM (GMT 0)
Hi ducky...just read through the post and you will know when you are perimenopausal or at least I did. I was warm from the elbows up. It is disturbing and you do feel like of nutty and stressed but then you can get used to it. That is the most common side effect of menopause...heat wave or as I prefer to call it.........POWER SURGE.

Hope you get some good rest soon.
Posted 10/10/2006 9:13 PM (GMT 0)

sad  ah Duck! i just read this whole thing. {{{{{{ big hug }}}}}}}}}}

my first thought was your thyroid?  thyroid plus (gulp) perimenopause (double gulp) could definitely send ya into insomnia-ville for years.  and do physician's really take into consideration all the factors? heck NO.

i caved and agreed to go on Tamezapam (for sleep) & Trazodone (anti-depressant which knocks ya out) when it came to 4 and 5 nites in a row with no sleep.

having no justification for a problem is the worst. give em' hell girl! 

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