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Poor sleep drove me insane, and my long path to recovery

writing.samsonhu.com

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Re: Poor sleep drove me insane, and my long path to recovery

#221

Post by soiler »

Lio wrote: post #129
Wagthesam wrote: post #3

This is quite raw and I'm actually somewhat afraid to share this. But I think sleep apnea is criminally under-discussed and underdiagnosed. It can f your life up sideways and can take years to diagnose. So sharing my story and hope I can advocate for it. If you have sleep apnea, no amount of sleep gadgets, good habits, exercise, will help you. You must fix the root cause

Thanks for sharing this, it rings very true for me. I've had many of the same symptoms for years, I put mine down to a dust mite allergy. It's the bane of my existence! :D I'm very interested in your experiences of surgery. I've often considered this as an alternative to antihistamines or anti-inflammatories like Flixonase. I don't think long term use of either of those is good for anyone. (Antihistamines being linke…

> (Antihistamines being linked to dementia and steroids being linked to membrane damage amongst other things)

Oh, cool. I guess I should stop

I'm severely allergic to dust mites as well. I get weekly allergy shots and while they've had a great effect on itchy eyes, runny nose, extreme stuffiness, and other seasonal allergy symptoms... my nose is still congested almost all the time.

I got a dust mite-proof cover for my mattress, tried vacuuming + cleaning more. No improvement.

I got two different nasal procedures to open my airways. First a turbinate reduction - no benefit. Later "vivair" or something... it was non-surgical, basically "radio" treatment or something. I don't think it makes sense that it was radio waves that burned my flesh since, y'know, that's not how radio waves work. Maybe microwaves or something, but the nurses and doctor couldn't explain it. As you can see, I was desperate enough to try it. Anyway - it didn't help. My nose is still clogged almost all the time. YMMV

Re: Poor sleep drove me insane, and my long path to recovery

#222

Post by culebron21 »

M5x7wI3CmbEem10 wrote: post #141
culebron21 wrote: post #63

Very useful read. My friend, an osteopath, says neck issues also can create breathing obstructions, and it makes a good deal of people wake up in the middle of the night and stay awake, even though they don't even think it's a problem. Symptom to watch for: you wake up and your nose is stuffy, can't breathe through it, but there's no snot. And in 5-15 minutes it gets clear. If you have it, it means lymph flow out of…

what’s the solution to congestion?

He suggests osteopathy, but there's criticism to the methods. I guess, if we exclude osteopathy, it would be mild massage, and excercise to move and rotate the neck.

Re: Poor sleep drove me insane, and my long path to recovery

#223

Post by dangwhy »

aantix wrote: post #146

I recently discovered that I’m a slow metabolizer of caffeine. Via my raw 23andme data. https://you.23andme.com/tools/data/?query=rs762551 C/C genotype. https://www.geneticlifehacks.com/liver-detox-genes-cyp1a2/#C... Instead of coffee being a net positive, it actually takes caffeine 4X the time to process through my body and increases my cardiac event risk by 2X. I can drink a cup of coffee at 8am and it still impact…

> it actually takes caffeine 4X the time

I have C/C like you and feel effects of caffeine at night from 6 am coffee like you.

I am really curious about 4x and 2x risk. I didn't seem to find that info in the link you posted.

Re: Poor sleep drove me insane, and my long path to recovery

#224

Post by culebron21 »

stef25 wrote: post #177
culebron21 wrote: post #63

Very useful read. My friend, an osteopath, says neck issues also can create breathing obstructions, and it makes a good deal of people wake up in the middle of the night and stay awake, even though they don't even think it's a problem. Symptom to watch for: you wake up and your nose is stuffy, can't breathe through it, but there's no snot. And in 5-15 minutes it gets clear. If you have it, it means lymph flow out of…

Strange, I often have this. Feels like it's related to more to smoking, drinking, dust, lack of fresh air. My doc told me once you're better off rinsing your noise with salt water and then positioning your head in a certain way to let gravity do its thing and it works wonders even without rinsing the nose. Avoid OTC nose sprays at all cost! Osteopaths gave me nothing but witchcraft over a period of 15 years: "your lo…

This friend of mine studied 8 years at univeristy, and still 15 years into career digs into medical literature and atlases, so he's very rigorous, and having scientific background myself, I can distinguish those who tell myths and fairy tales, like "just breathe fresh air".

In my case, he just told me this story in a conversation, without me asking, and then I noticed his explanation was the most convincing: the days I have pain in the neck, coincide with waking up with stuffy nose and a feeling of "inflated" head. So this sort of fits even Popper criterium (make a verifiable prediction).

Re: Poor sleep drove me insane, and my long path to recovery

#225

Post by tinyhouse »

Wagthesam wrote: post #3

This is quite raw and I'm actually somewhat afraid to share this. But I think sleep apnea is criminally under-discussed and underdiagnosed. It can f your life up sideways and can take years to diagnose. So sharing my story and hope I can advocate for it. If you have sleep apnea, no amount of sleep gadgets, good habits, exercise, will help you. You must fix the root cause

Thanks for sharing. Are you still taking any meds for nasal issues on a daily basis?

Re: Poor sleep drove me insane, and my long path to recovery

#226

Post by KuiN »

galleywest200 wrote: post #166
marhee wrote: post #92

> And I started taking antihistamines daily. Antihistamines can make you drowsy, ie. "brain foggy": (Quoting the web) Side effects of antihistamines * sleepiness (drowsiness) and reduced co-ordination, reaction speed and judgement – do not drive or use machinery after taking these antihistamines. * dry mouth. * blurred vision. * difficulty peeing. I take them sometime myself (for the same symptoms as the article) and…

Antihistamines make my insomnia worse. They trigger my restless leg syndrome like nobody's business. Stimulants (prescribed) help me sleep, they shut my brain up.

Restless Leg Syndrome is absolute hell. Combined with insomnia it's nearly killed me a few times. I think a lot of people (including many doctors I've dealt with) underestimate it due to it's rather benign sounding name.

Re: Poor sleep drove me insane, and my long path to recovery

#227

Post by Lio »

soiler wrote: post #221
Lio wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for sharing this, it rings very true for me. I've had many of the same symptoms for years, I put mine down to a dust mite allergy. It's the bane of my existence! :D I'm very interested in your experiences of surgery. I've often considered this as an alternative to antihistamines or anti-inflammatories like Flixonase. I don't think long term use of either of those is good for anyone. (Antihistamines being linke…

> (Antihistamines being linked to dementia and steroids being linked to membrane damage amongst other things) Oh, cool. I guess I should stop I'm severely allergic to dust mites as well. I get weekly allergy shots and while they've had a great effect on itchy eyes, runny nose, extreme stuffiness, and other seasonal allergy symptoms... my nose is still congested almost all the time. I got a dust mite-proof cover for m…

Sorry to hear the turbinate reduction didn't work for you, that was actually what I was considering next.

I seem to remember that the dementia thing was to do with long term use of first generation antihistamines (the drowsy kind). I can't quite remember if second generation antihistamines were a problem or not so might be worth check out with a doctor if you're worried.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/common-anticholinergic-d...

Re: Poor sleep drove me insane, and my long path to recovery

#228

Post by triceratops »

brailsafe wrote: post #195
culebron21 wrote: post #63

Very useful read. My friend, an osteopath, says neck issues also can create breathing obstructions, and it makes a good deal of people wake up in the middle of the night and stay awake, even though they don't even think it's a problem. Symptom to watch for: you wake up and your nose is stuffy, can't breathe through it, but there's no snot. And in 5-15 minutes it gets clear. If you have it, it means lymph flow out of…

This sounds like some of the pseudoscience my friend was talking about before he had psychotic episode. Is there any legitimacy to Osteopathy?

In the US osteopaths are considered equivalent to MDs.

Re: Poor sleep drove me insane, and my long path to recovery

#229

Post by Clamchop »

MavisBacon wrote: post #201
TeMPOraL wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Might be that, but on a meta level: the studies are too expensive and too big of a hassle, because there's not enough demand, because not enough people are being directed to make them, instead having their problems rounded up to e.g. obesity, because that's much easier for everyone than getting a test that's very expensive... You can see a feedback loop forming here.

This, definitely this. Though apneas aren’t a component, I have a severe neurological sleep disorder that went undiagnosed largely due to physicians not ordering a sleep study. Even a sleep generalist I saw favored assuming psychological insomnia and regurgitated behavioral advice like no screens before bed and asked if I tried melatonin. As my sleep debt piled up and my sanity diminished each day, I threw my hands i…

Can you say more about the diagnosis and the treatment?

I've had severe primary insomnia my entire life that appears to be getting worse with age and I rather rationally wonder for how much longer life will be worth living.

Re: Poor sleep drove me insane, and my long path to recovery

#230

Post by tayo42 »

culebron21 wrote: post #63

Very useful read. My friend, an osteopath, says neck issues also can create breathing obstructions, and it makes a good deal of people wake up in the middle of the night and stay awake, even though they don't even think it's a problem. Symptom to watch for: you wake up and your nose is stuffy, can't breathe through it, but there's no snot. And in 5-15 minutes it gets clear. If you have it, it means lymph flow out of…

Does this have a name, I wake up to sometimes with a clogged nose, can't breathe until it drains out. I started sleeping with more pillows to keep my head higher and it stopped, but I think it's a weird angle and makes my throat collapse.
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