RA and Oversleeping

I accidentally scared the heck out of my parents today. We were going to meet for lunch, and they called me on my home phone when I didn't show up (I have a phone by my bed and an extension in the kitchen) and I was completely zonked out and didn't hear the phone. For 1 and 1/2 hours they kept calling and I was just so out of it I never even heard the phone.

Has anyone else had this level of fatigue? I didn't take my MTX this weekend because I have a bacterial infection, so I can't blame it on that. The RA does make me sleep a lot, take a lot of naps, and generally I sleep like a rock, but I almost always hear the telephone, especially if it rings repeatedly. Just wondering if anyone else has been through something like this.

My poor parents feared the worst, and even though they're both somewhat disabled, they made it up the 15 steps to my apartment, let themselves in, and when I woke they were both hovering over my bed asking me if I was OK. I felt terrible for frightening them like that, but that's what happened. They ended up going out without me, because while I was in bed I said I'd just throw on some clothes and we could go, but once I got up (with great difficulty) and had more pain in my feet, shoulders, and hands, than normal, I didn't feel like even trying to go out.

So basically, it's a low energy day with a flare up, and I slept like a rock. I don't think a tornado would have woken me. Has anyone else experienced this?

sjkly,
How long did it take before you didn't have to sleep so much? How much do you sleep now? I've been on MTX for just 5 weeks now, and my rheumy wants to start me on Remicaid in 3 or 4 weeks. Left to my own devices, I sleep 14-18 hours a day, and I'm still tired. However, I've been trying to get up after about 12-14 hours and get out of my apartment as many days a week as I can.

I don't do much when I'm out, just go to the coffee shop or grocery, or go have coffee with my unemployed friends. I drink A LOT of coffee and sugar-free energy drinks to keep going through the day, and I still have to take naps. I just feel like I'm going to go stir-crazy when I stay in my apartment all the time, even though I'm mostly sleeping or up and down napping.

I have the vague sense that all the coffee and energy drinks are not good for me, but I hate being so lethargic all the time!!! I wonder if the knocked-out sleep is my body's way of making up for when I keep it going through artificial means (coffee and energy drinks).

Tonight I am going for a "sleep study" to see if I have sleep apnia. My rheumy suspects that the sleep I get is not good enough, and that's why I am so fatigued. The sleep Dr. agrees that I may have apnia- so here we go! I am sure that it is not the only reason I am fatigued, but if it helps any I will be sooo happy.

I sleep about 10-11 hours in the night, push myself to stay awake through most of the am, take a 1-2 hour nap (if I can) in the afternoon, and have most of my energy in the evening. The trouble is- my 3 kids don't have the same sleep schedule and don't deserve a "zombie mommy."

It turns out that I DO have sleep apnea, and will get my CPAP today. I have RA pain nearly all the time too, and I am also bipolar. I have always needed a lot of sleep- but since getting RA and starting on MTX it has gotten a bit ridiculous. I want to sleep all the time! I am hoping that after the CPAP has had time to work I will see across the board improvements in both of my conditions.