Just a quick post to link some things about sleep that I've found very informative.
http://scienceblogs.com/clock/2006/06/everything_you_always_wanted_t.php -- Article written by a sleep scientist about sleep, and how your genetic makeup affects your preferred bedtime.
http://www.amazon.com/Counting-Sheep-Science-Pleasures-Dreams/dp/0312327447/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211442265&sr=8-1 -- A book called "Counting Sheep: The Science and Pleasures of Sleep and Dreams". Fantastic overview of current scientific understanding of sleep and its associated disorders presented in a way that is friendly to laymen. Chapters cover specific aspects of sleep, and subchapters seek to answer specific questions such as "How much sleep is enough?".
Of particular interest is that in this book, the author explains that ADHD has significant links to various disorders of sleep. Generally, people with ADHD will take longer to get to sleep, as well as being more likely to have other sleep disorders. Also, many sleep disorders such as Narcolepsy and Sleep Apnoea can present symptoms similar to those of ADHD.
http://www.lucidity.com/LucidDreamingFAQ2.html -- Interesting overview of Lucid Dreaming. A lucid dream is when you are aware that you are dreaming and can exert control over the course of the dream.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Sleep
Well apparently I don't have any sleep disorder. I spent the night in a hospital with wires all over my head, and the diagnosis is "normal". In fact, my sleep efficiency is above average.
I found this surprising, since I've always had huge problems getting to work on time because of difficulty getting up in the morning. I've been thinking about this for a little while, and I have a few ideas, and how this might relate to ADHD -- in particular, I think the stimulants' effect on my sleep quality is part of the reason they lost their effectiveness.
First, I'm a night owl. I'm a late sleeper and late waker by default. I think that having ADHD, and growing up in a household where bedtimes were never really enforced, I'd never developed a nighttime routine. I just kinda stayed up until I was exhausted. Not being very good at keeping track of time would have compounded this. So in the past, poor quality of sleep is mainly to blame on bad sleep hygeine.
Now this story gets a little more complicated when dex and ritalin come into the picture. When I first started taking Dextroamphetamine, the effect was dramatic. All of a sudden, I was planning my evenings and keeping better track of time. But I was still going to bed quite late, simply because I did not feel tired because of the dex.
Interestingly at first, my sleep felt a bit better. I was waking up earlier in the morning and feeling less tired when I woke up. But gradually, it became harder and harder to wake up in the morning. This did not matter so much at first, because when I woke up I'd just take my dex and a few minutes later I'd be wide awake. But over a period of weeks and months, this sleep debt was building up. Eventually I was yawning continuously during the day, even though I was on speed! I'd always been careful not to take the dex later than about one or two in the afternoon, so I didn't really put two and two together that it might be the dex impacting on my sleep.
So, not really understading my dex was affecting my sleep, I spoke to my GP about not getting good sleep and I talked about how I'd always had difficulty with sleeping (though before dex, it was for different reasons) and he suggested I take Melatonin in the evenings. So I tried that, but was unhappy with the results. So I talked to my GP again, and we both agreed that we didn't want to try proper sleeping pills, so he prescribed me Amitriptyline which is an antidepressant. A side effect of Amitriptyline is drowsiness, even in low doses where it is not effective as an antidepressant. So I used it for a while, but it left me feeling flat and not very energetic during the days. It helped me sleep great, but it seemed to be effecting me the next day as well. So I talked to my GP again and I got a referral to a sleep specialist. At this point, I felt like I had sleep inertia until 2 in the afternoon, and generally just felt groggy and exhausted during the day. For a period in this time, I also tried using Ritalin thinking that dex was no longer effective.
For the test, I had to stop taking all stimulants for about a week beforehand, so was off my medication for a little while. And I did notice that I slept far better for that week, which the testing confirmed. The week off all medications also confirmed that in fact they were still having a very dramatic effect on my day-to-day functioning. Since I'd been taking the meds for so long, I forgot what it was like not to take them, and feeling exhausted during the day masked a lot of the improvement.
So this left me with a choice: do I continue with the stimulants despite negative effects on my sleep? Or do I explore other options? I've chosen the latter for now. After the sleep examination came back okay, my sleep doctor wanted to do another examination, this time with full stimulant medication to see to what degree it is effecting my sleep. For now, I've decided to put that on hold and explore nonstimulant options. If all else fails, I'll switch back to the simulants and get that examination.
I wonder how often dex severely interferes with the sleep of people with ADHD without them realizing it? I have a feeling it happens more often than a lot of doctors realize. Neither my GP or Psychiatrist seemed to come to this conclusion when I complained of poor sleep, so I wonder whether this is the case for many other people. Part of the problem is it's difficult for me to express to my doctors how my bad my sleep was, so is the onus on the patient to push their case? Also, many people might not realise that their sleep is even being effected, since they're taking stimulants every day!
Anyway, I plan to write about my experiences with nonstimlants in the not-too-distant future.
Ciao for now.
I found this surprising, since I've always had huge problems getting to work on time because of difficulty getting up in the morning. I've been thinking about this for a little while, and I have a few ideas, and how this might relate to ADHD -- in particular, I think the stimulants' effect on my sleep quality is part of the reason they lost their effectiveness.
First, I'm a night owl. I'm a late sleeper and late waker by default. I think that having ADHD, and growing up in a household where bedtimes were never really enforced, I'd never developed a nighttime routine. I just kinda stayed up until I was exhausted. Not being very good at keeping track of time would have compounded this. So in the past, poor quality of sleep is mainly to blame on bad sleep hygeine.
Now this story gets a little more complicated when dex and ritalin come into the picture. When I first started taking Dextroamphetamine, the effect was dramatic. All of a sudden, I was planning my evenings and keeping better track of time. But I was still going to bed quite late, simply because I did not feel tired because of the dex.
Interestingly at first, my sleep felt a bit better. I was waking up earlier in the morning and feeling less tired when I woke up. But gradually, it became harder and harder to wake up in the morning. This did not matter so much at first, because when I woke up I'd just take my dex and a few minutes later I'd be wide awake. But over a period of weeks and months, this sleep debt was building up. Eventually I was yawning continuously during the day, even though I was on speed! I'd always been careful not to take the dex later than about one or two in the afternoon, so I didn't really put two and two together that it might be the dex impacting on my sleep.
So, not really understading my dex was affecting my sleep, I spoke to my GP about not getting good sleep and I talked about how I'd always had difficulty with sleeping (though before dex, it was for different reasons) and he suggested I take Melatonin in the evenings. So I tried that, but was unhappy with the results. So I talked to my GP again, and we both agreed that we didn't want to try proper sleeping pills, so he prescribed me Amitriptyline which is an antidepressant. A side effect of Amitriptyline is drowsiness, even in low doses where it is not effective as an antidepressant. So I used it for a while, but it left me feeling flat and not very energetic during the days. It helped me sleep great, but it seemed to be effecting me the next day as well. So I talked to my GP again and I got a referral to a sleep specialist. At this point, I felt like I had sleep inertia until 2 in the afternoon, and generally just felt groggy and exhausted during the day. For a period in this time, I also tried using Ritalin thinking that dex was no longer effective.
For the test, I had to stop taking all stimulants for about a week beforehand, so was off my medication for a little while. And I did notice that I slept far better for that week, which the testing confirmed. The week off all medications also confirmed that in fact they were still having a very dramatic effect on my day-to-day functioning. Since I'd been taking the meds for so long, I forgot what it was like not to take them, and feeling exhausted during the day masked a lot of the improvement.
So this left me with a choice: do I continue with the stimulants despite negative effects on my sleep? Or do I explore other options? I've chosen the latter for now. After the sleep examination came back okay, my sleep doctor wanted to do another examination, this time with full stimulant medication to see to what degree it is effecting my sleep. For now, I've decided to put that on hold and explore nonstimulant options. If all else fails, I'll switch back to the simulants and get that examination.
I wonder how often dex severely interferes with the sleep of people with ADHD without them realizing it? I have a feeling it happens more often than a lot of doctors realize. Neither my GP or Psychiatrist seemed to come to this conclusion when I complained of poor sleep, so I wonder whether this is the case for many other people. Part of the problem is it's difficult for me to express to my doctors how my bad my sleep was, so is the onus on the patient to push their case? Also, many people might not realise that their sleep is even being effected, since they're taking stimulants every day!
Anyway, I plan to write about my experiences with nonstimlants in the not-too-distant future.
Ciao for now.
Links
Here are some links to start learning about ADHD. If you've done a google search, you might have come across these resources already. I consider these some of the better places to start learning about ADHD.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adhd -- Wikipedia article on ADHD. It is a good starting point, with lots of useful links in the references at the bottom of the page. I usually reread this page every few months, as it seems to be updated a bit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adult_attention-deficit_disorder -- Wikipedia article on Adult ADHD. Once again, lots of useful links in the references. It is a popular misconception that ADHD is a children's disorder, but this is not true.
http://www.schwablearning.org/pdfs/2200_7-barktran.pdf?date=4-12-05 -- VERY interesting overview of recent understanding of ADHD from Dr. Russell Barkely, an authority on ADHD. It is quite long, but well worth it. It is a transcript of a lecture given by Dr Barkely in 2000.
http://www.add.org/articles/index.html -- List of articles on ADHD. Hosted by the Attention Deficit Disorder Association, a non-profit association formed to provide information and resources for adults with ADHD.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adhd -- Wikipedia article on ADHD. It is a good starting point, with lots of useful links in the references at the bottom of the page. I usually reread this page every few months, as it seems to be updated a bit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adult_attention-deficit_disorder -- Wikipedia article on Adult ADHD. Once again, lots of useful links in the references. It is a popular misconception that ADHD is a children's disorder, but this is not true.
http://www.schwablearning.org/pdfs/2200_7-barktran.pdf?date=4-12-05 -- VERY interesting overview of recent understanding of ADHD from Dr. Russell Barkely, an authority on ADHD. It is quite long, but well worth it. It is a transcript of a lecture given by Dr Barkely in 2000.
http://www.add.org/articles/index.html -- List of articles on ADHD. Hosted by the Attention Deficit Disorder Association, a non-profit association formed to provide information and resources for adults with ADHD.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Hello
Hi. I have ADHD, and I've noticed that there doesn't seem to be much content on the web about ADHD from the perspective of someone who actually has it. So basically I intend to use this blog as a place to collect my thoughts on the topic.
I also have some sleep issues, which at this stage are yet to be determined. I'm seeing a doctor about this and hopefully will know more soon.
A second objective is to pull together information that I've found useful. I've spent countless hours searching and reading about ADHD and sleep issues, so hopefully I could be of help to someone going through the same as me. Also, now that I am on the cusp of trying out some treatments that aren't the standard amphetamine-like agents, I would have liked to read about other peoples' experiences with these new treatments -- once again, something I've noticed is lacking online and hopefully my writing can provide to other people.
Now, about myself. I have been diagnosed with ADHD, predominantly inattentive type, though I was hyperactive as a child and still am fairly fidgety. My ADHD is beginning to prove a little resistant to treatment. After about eight months on Dextroamphetamine, its effectiveness has worn off a lot, though when I started it was extremely effective. I recently tried Ritalin, and it was okay at first, but its effectiveness seems to have worn off recently as well.
I would like to add a little disclaimer: I am probably going to talk a lot about current research and scientific understaning of ADHD, and although I have done a lot of reading on the subject I am in no way qualified to put the contents of this blog into proper context. My writing is the opinion and understanding of an interested layman and should be treated as such.
If you suspect you have ADHD, please talk to your doctor. There are other things that can cause symptoms similar to those of ADHD such as Hyperthyroidism, certain sleep disorders or simply sleep deprivation, learning disorders, anxiety or depression. Many of these can co-exist with ADHD thus making diagnosis and treatment more difficult.
Finally, to those who might like to explain to me that ADHD is not a real disorder and that I'm just lazy or a victim of our fast-paced modern society or whatever, please take it elsewhere. You are wrong. ADHD is the impaired end of a spectrum of biological capacity to anticipate the future, inhibit behaviour and "privatise" thoughts and emotions (ie, keep to yourself inside your own mind instead of expressing externally). This is just the same as Dyslexia is the impaired end of a spectrum of a person's innate ability to interpret visual language. I am happy to answer questions, but won't be drawn into an argument about whether the disorder really exists. I have it, and I can tell you that it sucks.
So that's about it for now. I have no planned schedule for updates, so I don't know how often I'm going to post. I'm just going to feel it out and see what happens. So whenever the next post is, until then goodbye.
I also have some sleep issues, which at this stage are yet to be determined. I'm seeing a doctor about this and hopefully will know more soon.
A second objective is to pull together information that I've found useful. I've spent countless hours searching and reading about ADHD and sleep issues, so hopefully I could be of help to someone going through the same as me. Also, now that I am on the cusp of trying out some treatments that aren't the standard amphetamine-like agents, I would have liked to read about other peoples' experiences with these new treatments -- once again, something I've noticed is lacking online and hopefully my writing can provide to other people.
Now, about myself. I have been diagnosed with ADHD, predominantly inattentive type, though I was hyperactive as a child and still am fairly fidgety. My ADHD is beginning to prove a little resistant to treatment. After about eight months on Dextroamphetamine, its effectiveness has worn off a lot, though when I started it was extremely effective. I recently tried Ritalin, and it was okay at first, but its effectiveness seems to have worn off recently as well.
I would like to add a little disclaimer: I am probably going to talk a lot about current research and scientific understaning of ADHD, and although I have done a lot of reading on the subject I am in no way qualified to put the contents of this blog into proper context. My writing is the opinion and understanding of an interested layman and should be treated as such.
If you suspect you have ADHD, please talk to your doctor. There are other things that can cause symptoms similar to those of ADHD such as Hyperthyroidism, certain sleep disorders or simply sleep deprivation, learning disorders, anxiety or depression. Many of these can co-exist with ADHD thus making diagnosis and treatment more difficult.
Finally, to those who might like to explain to me that ADHD is not a real disorder and that I'm just lazy or a victim of our fast-paced modern society or whatever, please take it elsewhere. You are wrong. ADHD is the impaired end of a spectrum of biological capacity to anticipate the future, inhibit behaviour and "privatise" thoughts and emotions (ie, keep to yourself inside your own mind instead of expressing externally). This is just the same as Dyslexia is the impaired end of a spectrum of a person's innate ability to interpret visual language. I am happy to answer questions, but won't be drawn into an argument about whether the disorder really exists. I have it, and I can tell you that it sucks.
So that's about it for now. I have no planned schedule for updates, so I don't know how often I'm going to post. I'm just going to feel it out and see what happens. So whenever the next post is, until then goodbye.
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