HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Feeling grrreat ....... when i get a lot of sleep

Support Forums
>
Lyme Disease
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 8/11/2017 8:19 PM (GMT 0)
I couldn't sleep for years. Now I can, but I need a lot (10 hrs). Had the day off, slept in and feel like superman, no AM coffee was needed. Biked, worked out, did house work ect.

If you cant sleep, you cant heal..another catch 22.

The real world is pretty time consuming if you do everything your supposed to do and work ( I do) full time. Proper eating takes time. Exercise takes time. Low stress "vegging" takes time. Work and driving to it takes a good part of the day even at only 40rs/wk. This all adds up to more time than 24 hrs!!

Everyone knows people who live on 5-6 hrs of sleep a night, get up at 4-5 AM, and function FINE, not sleepy at all, , just "regular" people who eat junk food, no exercise ect, I wonder what makes them tick so well!

I'm a eating and sleeping machine, a gas guzzling old school v-8 in car terms, in shape again, but not the most efficient working body.

If I dont get 10 hrs, I need a good power nap after work LOL. I wonder how normal this is and if this will ever improve (less sleep needed)?

Note: before lyme Dx, I did a sleep study twice. The conclusion: I didn't sleep so they couldn't do the study.

I tried a c-pap sleep air/mask thingie anyway and it felt like an alien on my face. Now I do sleep (deeply too), but never tried the test again.

Post Edited (astroman) : 8/11/2017 2:31:37 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 8/11/2017 8:28 PM (GMT 0)
I wish I could sleep 10 hrs , I have always been up at 430- 5 am getting only about 6 sometimes 7 hrs sleep and my motor(preferably a big block 396 V-8) smileruns pretty strong all day until about 4 30 pm then I begin to go down hill a bit.

You are right doesn't the world seem so busy and time consuming these days. I have today off from work and I usually have tons of errands etc to do but I decided my dog and I would go down to the gorge near where we live.... it was so refreshing and relaxing.

The house work, errands, work, Lyme and co. , etc will always be there but everyone please take a breather once in a while and enjoy a few moments doing something fun or relaxing.

Take care, Jo
Posted 8/11/2017 9:02 PM (GMT 0)
Mines out of gas today!
Posted 8/11/2017 11:03 PM (GMT 0)
yeah, lyme requires a lot of sleep I've found. I think the body does something to the spirochetes during sleep... detox maybe? but it's pretty essential.

Do you just have physical lyme, or neuro lyme? With neuro lyme sleep is critical.
Posted 8/11/2017 11:47 PM (GMT 0)
10 hours is a lot of sleep...maybe you're still recovering?

If you're feeling great - then it's probably fine.

Have you tried maybe a little less - like 9 hours?

I used to be able to function well with 5-6 hours of sleep, even though I preferred 8 hours. I would always 'catch up' on my days off.
Posted 8/12/2017 6:45 PM (GMT 0)

gfields said...
yeah, lyme requires a lot of sleep I've found. I think the body does something to the spirochetes during sleep... detox maybe? but it's pretty essential.

Do you just have physical lyme, or neuro lyme? With neuro lyme sleep is critical.

physical lyme, or neuro lyme- I had both bad for years. Was like MS in many ways. It would get a lot better some years and then got real bad 05 and on.

*This would be a matter of opinion, some might say I'm in "remission". I'd like to say I'm in recovery and rebuild phase - which seems to be the case for the last 8 months, as my improvement suddenly sped up.. No ABX or herbal in 2 years now.

I dont have a good base line to remember whats normal since I had this off and on my whole adult life (for 30 years or so). Muscles are improving, have more energy if I sleep a lot, still some light brain fog and word search issues, but its not as noticeable as it once was, I could not carry on a conversation very well before.

Post Edited (astroman) : 8/12/2017 12:51:19 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 8/12/2017 6:50 PM (GMT 0)
Girlie- I slept 10 hrs again, ha ha. No alarm, just got up when I felt like it. Of course the last hr was "drifting" in and out of sleep till I was wide awake. I cant really do this on workdays, not enough time for everything.
Posted 8/12/2017 7:09 PM (GMT 0)
I think it's fine to 'catch up' on the weekends. You're probably only getting 8 hours or so on the week days.
Posted 8/12/2017 9:04 PM (GMT 0)
I love to sleep! I love naps!

Before dx and Tx I could sleep 12 hours and want more.

Now on good days it's hard to sleep more than 8.

This new abx protocol has me sleepy again tho.
Posted 8/13/2017 9:35 PM (GMT 0)
I often wonder at what point someone declares them self "cured" (remission actually).

This process has been so slow for me, and the fact that I dont remember what normal is like is the reason I mention this. Since were real humans (with gene issues), everyone's "normal" is different too. Autoimmune makes this confusing for me too.
Posted 8/14/2017 12:17 AM (GMT 0)
Hi astroman,
They say 2 full months with no symptoms. Hope that helps.

I cant wait for normal again..it will be so nice.

But I do accept that it will take some time to get there.

Have a good night, Jo
Posted 8/14/2017 4:12 AM (GMT 0)
Well, what makes this confusing, is its hard to tell for anyone with autoimmune to tell just what autoimmune symptoms are vs lyme since its really so wide spread.

That said, I'm in the process of actually decreasing some autoimmune antibodies too, my diet seems to be doing this - ongoing process of slow healing.

People with autoimmune can probably relate to it a little easier. Its another part of medicine conventional Drs dont understand very well and just treat symptoms.

I'm certainly a LOT better , but still in progress.
Posted 8/14/2017 8:15 AM (GMT 0)
Wish I could sleep more than 1-2 hours. I usually only get a couple of minutes of sleep every other day despite tons of melatonin and valerian etc. But when I do get a dream I feel so good - even if it's just a horrible nightmare (lots of nightmares recently).

For a year I've been having this constantly ringing ear noise (tinnitus), lightning bolt migrating stinging headaches (hotspots temple area and base of skull), low grade fever when ingesting the wrong herbs (herx), joint pain, burning sensation in sole of foot, feces look and smell weird, weak bladder, etc.
I think I might have a really aggressive strain of bartonella or babesia or something in addition to the borrelia. Or is it toxoplasma gondii? Who knows.
But I'm confident that things will get better soon. Never give up. Remember there's always someone worse off than you.

Post Edited (Insomniaa) : 8/14/2017 2:22:42 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 8/14/2017 10:32 AM (GMT 0)
it is very important to sleep at least 6.5 hrs when u deal with lyme. Sleep will turn off the inflammatory cytokines, so it makes a huge difference in how you feel. I think any lyme patient that does not sleep well will NOT recover (Dr. H's own words, not mine) , and you should do anything it takes to sleep, including taking real sleeping pills if the regular tricks do not work.

It is worth buying a fitness bracelet and monitor your sleep patterns, REM time, deep sleep, etc... if you have lyme sleep is as important as antibiotics.
Posted 8/14/2017 2:03 PM (GMT 0)

mpost said...


It is worth buying a fitness bracelet and monitor your sleep patterns, REM time, deep sleep, etc... if you have lyme sleep is as important as antibiotics.

- Can anyone elaborate on these, I know nothing about these, sounds cool, and useful.



For the record, I could only sleep about 3 hrs a night for many years before.
Posted 8/14/2017 3:09 PM (GMT 0)
I slept fine for years because my job was so physical. But, I worked long hours at the same time. 7 hours was not enough with the physical activity I was doing.

Then menopause came and I was awake all night.... lovely and still was doing that physical job.

I retired and was doing 8 hours a night and this felt "normal."

Then lyme came and I slept a lot all day long and slept at night too. My sleep with lyme was erratic. One night I could not get to sleep and the next I was dreaming horrifying nightmares where I yelled for help out loud. Lyme messed with my sleep in so many ways. My sleep went through different stages.

Now, healed, I probably sleep 9 hours a night and that is my comfortable spot. If I do a lot of physical work (above and beyond my workouts or playtime) I might sleep even more, but I am 66. Not such a spring chicken. A heavy duty bike ride or long distance swim and I will go to bed an hour earlier.

However, I have found that a good book messes with my sleep too. One of those books you can't put down..... I am a huge reader and have to do something light and easy at night. I love Janet Evanovich for night time reading. Fast, easy and lots of humor.
Posted 8/14/2017 8:56 PM (GMT 0)

astroman said...

- Can anyone elaborate on these, I know nothing about these, sounds cool, and useful.

the fitness trackers ? check this out

/www.amazon.com/fitness-tracker/b?ie=UTF8&node=5393958011

just get one that you like, that has heart monitor and sleep tracking. there are LOTS of models, based on budget and features...
Posted 8/15/2017 2:11 AM (GMT 0)
Here is a good one for you. I sleep 5 hours a night every night. If I take a multivitamin, I sleep 4 hours a night. If I exercise during the day, I can sleep 6 to 8 hours. Vitamin D can sometimes bump me to 6 hours for a few nights. Lithium orotate can sometimes give me an extra hour or more.
Posted 8/15/2017 2:16 AM (GMT 0)
The days I get can get at least 8 hours feels stupendous. I feel like a new man. When it's bad sleep night, the lyme symptoms worsen. And I feel like I'm hungover (even thought I didn't drink a sip of alcohol).

So I know how it is Astroman. It makes you really appreciate those days more.
Posted 8/15/2017 2:17 AM (GMT 0)
Also, I don't remember the last time I got 10 hours of sleep. I envy that. When I get 8 it's a victory. And since getting lyme I've slept 9 hours like twice.
Posted 8/16/2017 9:09 AM (GMT 0)

dacarte3 said...
Also, I don't remember the last time I got 10 hours of sleep. I envy that. When I get 8 it's a victory. And since getting lyme I've slept 9 hours like twice.

I haven't slept 9 hours in 14 years. I can get to 8 with treatment, but it's a lot of effort.
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply