Changes in sleeping pattern

[Just J]

We are awaiting diagnosed for my husband. It's been two long years, 2 surgeries (neck fusion to relieve compression in C4,C5,C6) with only my husband's mobilitiy getting increasingly worse every month. Never better. So far other than numbness and tingling in arms and hands, all classic symptoms are in his legs and feet.

Today I wanted to ask about other things that have changed about my husband...the man never forgets a single detail and is very diligent about paying bills on time, oil changes for the cars etc. Over the past few months he has forgotten about paying a couple of bills. Totally out of character. Maybe its just everything else that is on his mind. Also, he normally used to sleep only about 5 hrs a night and his mind/body was good with that. He didn't need any more sleep. Now in the past 18 months or so he is sleeping longer and longer and now averages about 8.5 hrs sleep per night. He was never ever one to take a nap or even lay down during the day but he is doing that more often now. Is the added sleep b/c of depression or the body just needing more rest b/c it can not function like it used to? Just wondering if anyone else out there has experienced the need for more sleep.

 

[brooksea]

JustJ,

My husband sleeps on average about 11 hours and then may sit in his recliner all day, depending on the amount of fatigue. This is proportionate to how far he has pushed himself the previous day or so.

The nurse at the ALS Clinic said that anti-depressants may or may not help the exhaustion and they haven't helped my husband in that area. We go this Friday and will discuss other alternatives to fighting fatigue.

I hope the forgetfulness your husband is experiencing is due to being overwhelmed with the possibilities of his diagnosed and the severity of his symptoms. When will you "know?"

 

[Just J]

CJ ~ thank you for you input. My husband has f/u appt with surgeon in December (his recent surgery was Oct 3 to correct compression). Anyway, then its back to our GP to get referral for next doc which will be Johns Hopkins center for Adult Neurology and MND. I am guessing we can get in to see them in January or February. Naturally we hope that its not a MND but after 2 yrs of no real answers I think that this is logically the next step.

 

[myooshka]

I am in the process of being diagosed I used to pay all of the bills but that is now left to my husband, that was one of the first things I noticed was I forgot to pay bills. My memory has been effected, my ability to do tasks such as things around the house, mine started wtih not knowing how to spell simple words and my word finding skills. It is not as common for this to happen to people but it can. If you are concerned you can be referred to a neuropsychiatrist who will do memory, cognitive testing. There is a lady on this forum marymck who is quite knowledgeable on this issue. It may simply be from stress, but if you are concerned talk to your physician. The sleep issue I used to feel the best on five now I sleep 10 and still feel tired so this is normal.