Clusterheadaches.com Message Board


    
      
        Clusterheadaches.com Message Board
        (http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi)
      

        New Message Board Archives >> 2004 Cluster Headache Specific Posts >> Weird sleeping habits
        
(Message started by: pubgirl on Sep 3^rd, 2004, 10:29pm)

Title: Weird sleeping habits
Post by pubgirl on Sep 3^rd, 2004, 10:29pm

Sorry folks, next potentially irrelevant question (has been asked before but curious for an update)

1. How many sufferers here had weird sleeping habits BEFORE they developed clusters.

2. Were they spontaneous, or have you attributed them to something else e.g. shift working, insomnia, childcare etc?

Reason I ask is that I am well known for it (long before clusters developed) but also have a father and two brothers with the same lifetime habits. All three of us sleep at mostly random times within a 24 hour period, normally in segments of 2-4 hours, or go without much sleep for several days. My mother doesn't, but she and I seem genetically very unalike in every respect and I closely resemble my father's side of the family.

Just awondering as usual

Wendy

Title: Re: Weird sleeping habits
Post by don on Sep 3^rd, 2004, 10:59pm

Sounds like a family of vampires.

Title: Re: Weird sleeping habits
Post by pubgirl on Sep 3^rd, 2004, 11:02pm

[smiley=sgrin.gif]

Shit, you discovered my secret Dr Van Helsing!
(It's 4am here and the sheet is already turned down on my coffin)

Title: Re: Weird sleeping habits
Post by Tom K on Sep 3^rd, 2004, 11:15pm

I've noticed that if I stay up late or screw with my sleep habits, my cycle starts quicker. Doesn't mean it ends any quicker, though :-/

Title: Re: Weird sleeping habits
Post by E-Double on Sep 3^rd, 2004, 11:22pm

I've had really screwed up sleeping patterns since my late teens and they've continued ever since whether in cycle or out (started getting hit @ 21).
The only way I've found to regulate is with melatonin but even with that I am kinda scared to stop because my night hits are practically gone.

I wonder if the slepp patterns of my teens were precursor to the CH. who knows???

Title: Re: Weird sleeping habits
Post by Lizzie2 on Sep 3^rd, 2004, 11:33pm

I've always had weird sleep habits for as long as I can remember!!! I've just always felt that I'm a "nocturnal" person! I hope to work evening or night shift when I get a job because that's usually when I'm most awake.

Lizzie :)

Title: Re: Weird sleeping habits
Post by Jonny on Sep 3^rd, 2004, 11:33pm

on 09/03/04 at 23:22:59, E-Double wrote:

I wonder if the slepp patterns of my teens were precursor to the CH. who knows???

If you ask me its the damn pesky Slepp patterns thats screwing you up.........LMMFAO ;;D

Gotcha, Bro! ;)

...................................jonny

Title: Re: Weird sleeping habits
Post by eyes_afire on Sep 3^rd, 2004, 11:42pm

My sleep brainwaves are somewhat abnormal. Vivid dreams, sleepwalking, sleeptalking, sleep paralysis, hypnagogic hallucinations, etc... BTDT. Before I knew what CH was, I tried to correct my sleep abnormalities thinking it would help the insane 'headaches'. I considered both symptoms as being from the same cause since they seemed related.

I had strange sleep way back when I was a wee one... before CH.

--- Steve

Title: Re: Weird sleeping habits
Post by broomhilda on Sep 4^th, 2004, 12:12am

I have never been a good sleeper since University, odd hours of the night and am a light sleeper as well, then becoming a parent along with ch, not sure when I sleep any more!!!

Now wheres my coffin, I need to lie down ;)

Title: Re: Weird sleeping habits
Post by BobG on Sep 4^th, 2004, 6:07am

1. I have irregular sleep habits, though I would not say weird. Habits started before the clusters.

2. Attribute them to shift work.

When I work graveyard shift I (usually try to) sleep 2pm to 9pm.
When I work swing shift I (usually try to) sleep 2 am to 9am.
When I work day shift I (usually try to ) sleep 9pm to 5am.

Title: Re: Weird sleeping habits
Post by pubgirl on Sep 4^th, 2004, 6:15am

Bob

Did they start before the shift work? I did shifts including nights for two years, but the odd sleeping habits happened before that and many years before Ch showed itself. I think the shift work made them worse though as after being able to cope with shifts, I KNOW I can go to sleep whenever I need to (opposite to an insomniac) so I never worry about sleeping "at the right time". Just take sleeps when I feel like it, or the opportunity is there.

Wendy

Title: Re: Weird sleeping habits
Post by BobG on Sep 4^th, 2004, 6:48am

I started shift work about 6 years before my first cluster.
My sleep schedule that I 'usually try to' stick with has reasons that work for me.

Graveyard shift-midnight to 8am. Most people work only day shifts, say 8am to 5pm. After work they will have dinner, watch TV, play computer stuff, whatever and go to bed about 4-5 hours after getting off work. I try to do the same. I get off at 8am and go to bed about 5 hours later. That way I can get 7-8 hours sleep, get up for coffee-newspaper-shower and off to work.

Swingshift-4pm to midnight. Because everyone in the house is asleep I can't do much in there. Because the neighbors are asleep I can't do much in the garage. So I just watch some TV and go to bed about 2 hours after getting home. That way I can get my 7-8 hours sleep and be up early enough to have about 6 hours before having to get back to the job.

Dayshift-8am to 4pm. Like I said above, most people go to bed about 4-5 hours after getting off work. I do the same. By going to bed at 9pm I can be up around 5am and have time for the coffee-newspaper-shower routine.

The graveyard and swing shifts are great. I have lots of "day" time to get things done. You know.......yard work, appointments, Home Depot visits, etc.

And because of the rotating shifts I have days off in the middle of the week. Restraunts are not as crowded on weekdays. Home Depot is deserted until after noon. Don't have to take time off to go to the doctor or get a hair cut. Most of the rest of the world is at work during the weekdays and I can take advantage of it.

Title: Re: Weird sleeping habits
Post by Lizzie2 on Sep 4^th, 2004, 7:16am

Bob,

I feel the same way about the evening shifts..I really do like them a lot better than day shift because it is great to have the whole day free to get done whatever I need to do. I haven't done any graveyard shifts yet, but I imagine that I will soon enough. How often does your shift work change shifts? I find that I have a difficult time even with the fact that on Wednesdays I have clinical from 4-11 and then I have class the next morning at 9. I can't really "readjust" my schedule that quickly! Of course any shift "work" I do right now is for school and not paid. On the 25th of this month, I start my paying job as a nurse extern. On my weekend to work they want me to try to do day shift, but then during the week they said I can do whatever shift I want. I was thinking maybe once or twice I might have clinical from 4-11 and then pick u p a shift from 11pm -7am. It might be a little rough, so I won't do it too often!

Last summer when I worked in the ER, my scheduled shift was 12noon -7:30pm. I took the train into Philly most times which required me to take a 10:30 train in and a 8:20 train back out of there. Basically I was in transit about 2 hours each way...I hated that! When I drove, it cut travel time down to about an hour or so. I had 2 jobs then, so when necessary, I did about 7am or 8am to noon doing research in the headache center and then noon to 7:30 in the ER. After staying 15 days in the hospital, 10 of which were a rather interesting experience on the telemetry floor, I decided that I wouldn't work both jobs in the same day anymore!!! :P

I will be interested to see how the shift changes affect both my clusters and my sleep.

Take care!
Lizzie :)

Title: Re: Weird sleeping habits
Post by BobG on Sep 4^th, 2004, 8:55am

Hi Lizzie.
This is how it goes.....

Day shift- Start on Friday and work thru Wednesday.

Thursday and Friday off.
Graveyard- Start on Saturday (Midnight Friday night) and work 7 graveyard shifts.

Saturday and Sunday off.

**Day shift- Monday thru Friday.

Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday off.

Swing shift- Start on Wednesday and work 7 swings thru Tuesday.

Wednesday and Thursday off.

Go back to the top and start over.

Advantage: see the day shift with the **?
There are two days off before it and 4 days off after it. I have 30 days vacation each year. (This year I have 48 because I held 18 days from last year) If I take those dayshift days as vacation I get 11 days in a row off. I end up having an 11 days vacation almost every month of the year.

Cool huh?

Title: Re: Weird sleeping habits
Post by Lizzie2 on Sep 4^th, 2004, 11:04am

Oooh yeah that is nice!! :) My schedule right now is Monday to Wednesday 4-11. Thursday 9-3. Friday 9-12:50. And then on 9/11 and 9/18 I work 7a to 7p. Then once my job starts...things will start getting a little more messy!!

Title: Re: Weird sleeping habits
Post by manana on Sep 5^th, 2004, 9:26am

I really admire cats for their ability & apparently enjoyable life style of taking naps. Wake up play a little, grab a bite to eat, find a nice place to curl up & back to sleep. I've never really followed one around at night to see what it does but, I can't see at night anyway like they can.

Title: Re: Weird sleeping habits
Post by floridian on Sep 5^th, 2004, 10:16am

My clusters started in grad school - my mantra was "grad students don't need sleep." Lots of caffeine, lots of pseudofed (both for sinuses, and to stay up late).

Title: Re: Weird sleeping habits
Post by StanTheMan on Sep 11^th, 2004, 8:47pm

Strange sleeping patterns are not strange to this clusterhead!!

I started having early AM awakenings back in college (around 1983) -- they gradually worsened and peaked when I had an emotional / physical breakdown in 1988 and became clinically depressed.

I got the depression business straighted out about 2 years after that. But the sleep problems continued.

Then in 1992 I had by first bout with CH's.

The CH cycles continue and so does the sleep disorder.

I'm convinced it's connected somehow...

But still trying to keep my chin up -- look on the bright side of things and keep going! Things could be MUCH worse!!

StanTheMan :)

Title: Re: Weird sleeping habits
Post by chuck on Sep 12^th, 2004, 12:46am

I'm definitely a non-conventional sleeper and always have been since I was a kid. I also went through a similar period as Floridian when in High School. I thought it made me "tough" to never sleep, so I operated on about 4 hrs a night for those four years. Sleep has definitely been a factor for my own CH.