Hello forum,
I need some advice if possible. I'll be discussing my situation with my GP in a few days' time but would be interested to hear others' opinions too.
I suffer from poor health. I am very very tired most of the time & my levels of physical activity are correspondingly low. There's a familiar pattern to this, which is that most mornings when I wake up I feel dizzy, weak and a bit sick. It's the same feeling you get when you have to crawl out of bed at 3am (eg to catch an early flight), but I get it almost every day, and no matter how long I sleep, it doesn't help. I tend to very slowly improve as the day goes on, so that by the evening I usually feel reasonable-ish.
Something isn't right with my sleep - I'm sure of that. I might wake up once or twice during the night, which isn't such a big deal, and I tend to be able to get back to sleep fairly quickly. But when I'm half-asleep & dozing, I notice that my breathing seems to be very shallow & often I find myself being shaken awake by slight dizziness & having to take a few deep breaths. It's much worse when I sleep on my back so I invariably sleep on my side.
I've long suspected that there's some sleep apnoea going on, but about 18 months ago I had a test for apneoa which came back negative. Results said 'moderate snoring', blood oxygenation ok, etc. But it wasn't a full-blown test in one of the sleep study centres, it was done using a little machine which I borrowed from the hospital & took home with me - measured pulse & blood oxygen (thingy on end of finger), microphone to listen to breathing, motion sensor, etc. Are those things very reliable?
I desperately need to find out what's going on. I've only been well enough to work for about 1 year in the last 4, and I spend most of my time looking & feeling like a zombie - very tired, very depressed and very anxious, and virtually no physical or mental energy at all. I suffer from poor memory & concentration too. Most of my days are spent in bed. Even when I do have the strength to exercise, I am usually exhausted afterwards & can find myself spending 24-48 hours in bed, sleeping fitfully & feeling absolutely terrible.
Grateful for any thoughts, advice, suggestions, etc.
Many thanks,
Alan.
I need some advice if possible. I'll be discussing my situation with my GP in a few days' time but would be interested to hear others' opinions too.
I suffer from poor health. I am very very tired most of the time & my levels of physical activity are correspondingly low. There's a familiar pattern to this, which is that most mornings when I wake up I feel dizzy, weak and a bit sick. It's the same feeling you get when you have to crawl out of bed at 3am (eg to catch an early flight), but I get it almost every day, and no matter how long I sleep, it doesn't help. I tend to very slowly improve as the day goes on, so that by the evening I usually feel reasonable-ish.
Something isn't right with my sleep - I'm sure of that. I might wake up once or twice during the night, which isn't such a big deal, and I tend to be able to get back to sleep fairly quickly. But when I'm half-asleep & dozing, I notice that my breathing seems to be very shallow & often I find myself being shaken awake by slight dizziness & having to take a few deep breaths. It's much worse when I sleep on my back so I invariably sleep on my side.
I've long suspected that there's some sleep apnoea going on, but about 18 months ago I had a test for apneoa which came back negative. Results said 'moderate snoring', blood oxygenation ok, etc. But it wasn't a full-blown test in one of the sleep study centres, it was done using a little machine which I borrowed from the hospital & took home with me - measured pulse & blood oxygen (thingy on end of finger), microphone to listen to breathing, motion sensor, etc. Are those things very reliable?
I desperately need to find out what's going on. I've only been well enough to work for about 1 year in the last 4, and I spend most of my time looking & feeling like a zombie - very tired, very depressed and very anxious, and virtually no physical or mental energy at all. I suffer from poor memory & concentration too. Most of my days are spent in bed. Even when I do have the strength to exercise, I am usually exhausted afterwards & can find myself spending 24-48 hours in bed, sleeping fitfully & feeling absolutely terrible.
Grateful for any thoughts, advice, suggestions, etc.
Many thanks,
Alan.
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