"It's really hard to wake up" sounds very familiar to me. Until two months ago, I would regularly go to bed wired and wake up exhausted after 8+ hours of sleep.
I found an article called “6 Surprising Sleep Wreckers” on WebMD dot com with this quote in it "People with chronic pain often wake up feeling more tired than they were when they went to bed," The best description of my problem I have ever heard.
Quote:
People who have GERD -- gastroesophageal reflux disorder -- often find the nights difficult. Once they're lying down, the acid can back into the esophagus, causing heartburn and pain. Some try to sleep propped up on pillows to cope.
"Acid reflux is a biggie when it comes to disturbed sleep," says Ronald Kramer, MD, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and specialist at the Colorado Sleep Disorders Center in Englewood, Colo. "Whenever I see a person with sleep problems, I always screen for it."
What you might not know is that GERD doesn't always cause such dramatic symptoms. Some people might only have one constant symptom: disturbed sleep.
"Even if you rarely have pain, the acid can still be waking you up at night," says Kramer...
"6 Surprising Sleep Wreckers"
After I read that, I decided to test it for myself. I had already been diagnosed with GERD, but I had ignored it because it didn't seem to bother me much. I tested the theory by taking a full dose of Ibuprofen (400mg) and Acetaminophen (500mg) every 4 hours when trying to sleep. I also took Tums (calcium carbonate) and slept in a reclining chair. I considered this a test case to confirm that pain/discomfort was the problem. I noticed better sleep after 3-4 days. I also started taking Zantac at night and avoided foods with hot spices, tomatoes, onions.
I'm not a doctor, so I can not recommend that you do the same. Both of those medications can cause liver damage when taken for longer than recommended. I would recommend that you see a doctor, but I saw 5 doctors about this and I usually got some equivalent of "exercise more" or "I don't know" as an answer after they ran some tests. But, recently I've seen a Gastroenterologist and was diagnosed with IBS contribute to the GERD.
I have done some research and a few facts seem uncontroversial. GERD causes pain. Pain is a well documented cause of insomnia. ASD is correlated with GI problems and insensitivity to pain.
19 Aug 2012, 6:03 pm
