Readers Respond: What interferes most with your sleep and how do you deal with it?

Responses: 25

Updated March 19, 2009

This content is not monitored by About.com's Medical Review Board.
Before acting on this information, check with your health provider.

I have severe ms and i cant sleep this has been going on fir over two years and is getting worse. the gp gave me sleeping tablets but i have a reaction to all medication getting severe hives which are very painful. since my sleep problem started i have gone from walking on crutches to a wheel chair i have been on steroids for over two yrars because of the hives. i go to bed exhausted at about 10 but cannot sleep i usuaaly fall asleep at about 7 in the morning and i wake up at about 10am so about 3 hours sleep aday i am so tired if it wasnt for the fact that i react to all medication i would take all the sleping tablets just to put and end to the sleep problems and me my gp sys i eat me am to complicated to treat immunologist wont me as they have given up. neuro is the only one trying to help me he has put me on a clinical trial of chemo. byt i neeed HELP. my hisband has gone to get me some nitol to see if it helps
—Guest rosei

I have had MS for nearly 30 years (20 years diagnosed). Restless legs - aaarrrrggghhh. Just when you are about to fall asleep there is a slight kick in a leg and you just know that it is going to get worse and you will be walking the floors - again. Or it just starts, sometimes when lying in bed or when asleep; a mad kicking of legs. By accident I discovered my cure - DENCORUB! Don't know if it's called the same thing OS. Smells so that my cat goes running out the door. But it works! Slather it on, feels great and no more restless legs immediately. Your partner might hate the smell and that could be a problem but being single it is a dogsend.
—AmberTia

I'm tired of waking up at 2 or 3am every night. seems that this occurs more frequently since my last relapse...why? I just want some deep sleep. When I do wake up, I visualize myself doing things that need to get done only to be fatigued when I actually get up!
—Guest PMills

I have mild-moderate sleep apnea. C-PAP did not help the first time. So I am going to try different form of oxygen at night. Sleep is also interupted by nocturia, hot flashes and severe headache from instability in my neck. PT for the neck helped and am working on that but often have to sleep sitting in a chair. The hot flashes persist since I developed breast cancer and must discontinue the hormones. Nocturia is reduced by intermittent catheterization just prior to bed. I have found that Melatonin helps a bit. I must change my bedtime habits, too.
—Lucybadonna

I've been taking Ambien CR for several years, actually. Doctor says that's fine.
—Guest Pegb47

It's hard for me to fall asleep at night so i only get aa few hours sleep each night. So there will be times during the day that i get so tired i can just fall asleepsitting on the couch.
—Guest rum2drum

I have REM Sleep Behavior Disorder. My neuro. usually sees this in men with Parkinson's. I have violent nightmares that leave me exhausted and panicked. I swear and shout and don't wake up. My husband found this entertaining until the night I doubled up my legs and kicked him hard. My nuero. has me on clonozepam. He says it helps but doctos don't know why. He just increased the dose and I'm getting a good night's sleep for the first time in years. I never had this prior to my MS diagnosis 13 years ago. We don't think its a side effect of any of my meds. Shirley
—szsalas

I take Mirapex 3 x/day for restless leg and always do my weekly injection in the morning. The side effects are bad enough in the morning; if I do them at night, I get no sleep at all.
—annkinzer

I worked night shift for years and I sleep best during the day. Pre-menstrual I will be awake for about 48 hours straight unless I drug myself and that doesn't always do it. I just use the energy and sleep when I am sleepy. It makes daytime appointments hell though. I tend to rotate forwards by a little bit every day so sometimes I sleep days, sometimes at night.
—triara1

My biggest problem is waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to go back to sleep. If I let my thoughts just go, I'll start thinking about stressful things that I have to do or forgot to do. Instead, I make lists of items - all animals that start with the letter "N" (there are not any, besides "nightingale," that I have come up with), all the spices on my shelves, all of the 50 states. It keeps my brain occupied, but in a calm way, and I guess my body decides that it is better to go to sleep than be this bored.
—Guest AmelieS

Previous16-25 of 25

Julie Stachowiak, Ph.D.
Multiple Sclerosis Guide

Explore Multiple Sclerosis

Must Reads