Sleep--or lack thereof

I have had sleep issues for quite some time. About two years ago, I blogged about my inability to sleep well and how tired I was and a friend of a friend responded to my blog with a sleep doctor recommendation. I called immediately as I was getting rather desperate. As you might be able to tell, I tend to keep a pretty busy schedule, so not having adequate sleep really took a toll on me. I made an appointment with the Virginia Mason Sleep Disorders Clinic. Dr. Lee was great and we talked about the possible causes of my sleep issues, which were actually quite complex. He scheduled a sleep study, where I slept at the hopstial with a million cords and electrodes stuck to me.

I can't remember the exact results, but I was waking up over a hundred times a night--no wonder I wasn't feeling rested! I had minor obstructive sleep apnea and also Restless Leg Syndrome (who knew??). He referred me to an ENT surgeron because of my large tonsils and sinus issues. I had surgery to remove the tonsils and adnoids and also to repair a deviated septum and trim my turbinates. I was amazed at how much better I could breathe, and I didn't even know I was having trouble!


I did another sleep test to see where I was post surgery, and there was still some mild sleep apnea, so he set me up with a CPAP machine. I hate that thing, but wear it sometimes (okay, not that often).


The big problem, however, was being able to fall asleep at all now--insomnia. So, I started on Ambien, and basically took it every night. I did fantastic for a few months--amazed at the amount of engery I had from getting sleep! But lately it has started to get worse again and I was having some problems with the medication.


So, I went to see Dr. Lee again and he put me in an insomnia workshop/clinic. The idea is that people can develop basically a learned response to insomnia, so even if they are not stressed or anxious, they still have sleep issue. It is a 5-6 week treatment and I went to my second session yesterday.


We are starting to try something called Sleep Restriction. The basic idea is that people with insomnia are in bed a lot longer than they actually sleep. So, you restrict the time that they are in bed and make them really tired and hopefully they will start to sleep more of the time that they are in bed. This will also help determine the amount of sleep that I need. So, I am starting that this week, and a bit scared. I am supposed to go to sleep at 11:30 pm and get up at 5:00 am. Everyday. Even on weekends. So, if you see me and I look like I haven't slept in days, you might be right :) But, I am optimistic that this will help and I will be on my road to real sleep without medication!