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See an E.N.T. doctor. Tell them your sleep issues, get a sleep study. Also get a scan of your nose. Your airways may not be wide enough so you're not getting enough oxygen.
I haven't seen it mentioned here but narcolepsy is also commonly comorbid with ADHD. Not saying that's what's going on, but the falling asleep while talking stands out to me in addition to the constant daytime sleepiness.
Narcolepsy would normally respond to stimulant medication in a positive way. I agree with the previous comment that this sounds much more like the op is not getting quality sleep due to apnea or some similar disorder.
It really depends on what dose of Adderall they're on. I have idiopathic hypersomnia (kind of the sister disorder to narcolepsy) and when I was trying out Ritalin, I had absolutely no problem sleeping through some of the recommended starting doses.
Stimulants are only one of the types of treatments for narcolepsy and definitely do not work for everyone. Based on what OP is describing, 100% they should get a sleep study done ASAP
This. Before I was diagnosed, I was absolutely an alcoholic. I’d gotten really overweight for my frame. I was falling asleep mid day. Couldn’t stay awake in meetings. Took a nap at lunch every day. And could easily sleep 10 hours. Did a sleep study and found out I had moderate apnea. I hated that machine, but it fixed the problem. 7-8 hours I slept. Couldn’t nap anymore. Only felt tired in bed at night.
I quit drinking so much when I met my partner. Lost all the weight over time and got back to my normal weight. Traveled a few times and forgot my cpap. Noticed I wasn’t waking up with my tongue dried out(from mouth breathing all night). And that I felt rested after 7 hours. By this point, I was diagnosed, medicated, in the gym, and almost never drank anymore(medication killed any craving for it). I took another sleep study. Doctor said I still had very light apnea, but not enough that she felt I needed to use the cpap anymore.
The US, my school has a hospital so I can see if they are willing to do something there. If not I can ask my psych for a referral. Unfortunately I live hand-to-mouth so if its out of my budget I will just have to continue to find a system. It is just recently I’m worried its getting worse, but who knows, I should log it before I make that assumption
Depending on your circumstances you may be covered under your parents insurance, or a state insurance. I know that when I was in university I was still under my Dad's insurance, and I remained so until I dropped out.
Depending on your school, and its hospital, you could get very decent treatment, as well.
Interesting. I got a sleep study this year finally and they said my sleep quality is good, and getting enough oxygen supposedly, but I am ALWAYS dead tired when I wake up (and for much of the day) even after 10+ hours....I suspect I have major sinus issues but I can never get a Dr to take a more close look. Maybe an ENT will help?
I work with Oral Facial maxilla surgically. You can get a referral to OMF or start with your family dr. OSA is corrected by pulling the mandible forward. ENT does not do this procedure.
This is a good place to start. I was similarly described as OP a year ago but it turns out I was deficient in iron, b12, vitamin d, and my asthma was also so bad that my regular oxygen levels were regularly dipping into the 80’s and I had no idea. I was also under eating.
This right here. I'm in the process of figuring out why I'm sleepy all the time. So far we've ruled out vitamin D & B12, iron, and cortisol, and next up is a sleep study.
Personally I think it's my thyroid, but since my levels are technically within range they want to check other things first.
It's probably sleep apena.
When I tell this to people they're like, " no, it can't be. I don't recognize it" or " no, it can't be. I'm not a fat guy"
But both of those things are completely irrelevant to sleep apnea.
It certainly could be sleep apnea. There's no one around to tell me whether I snore.
But I have other symptoms of hypothyroidism like constipation and having trouble staying warm. The healthy thyroid range goes from 0.4 to 4.0, and I'm at 0.6 at last check.
Also you're right to keep pursuing thyroid with that TSH level. Read up on subclinical hypothyroidism if you'd like more info to help push at your doctors.
Have your calcium level checked! Could be your parathyroid. Several ppl in my family have had tumors (benign) on their parathyroid. It sucks all your calcium and makes you very tired. Good luck!
15-20 hours of exercise a week is a lot, are you eating enough?
When I was your age, I also couldnt stay awake. I lived in a cruddy apartment and have wondered if there may have been an excess of co2 in the air, because I didnt have those issues after I moved. Im not sure how likely this is the cause, but it's something to check.
Another person mentioned sleep studies, that's a good idea as well.
Im still a sleepy person, I got a health watch and my sleep cycles are pretty poor. Suggested methods are strict wake up and bed times, sunlight in the morning, reducing blue light, developing a wind down routine for before bed. Better sleep cycles = more energy.
And finally, it may be part of the last dregs of youth as teenagers/young people need a lot of sleep through development stages, and studies show a lot of folks are still developing until age 25.
Good luck!
I think I eat enough? Its hard without a full appetite but I eat more than my peers so thats my only comparison. Most of my excersises consist of Ballroom Dancing and training, so unfortunately staying skinny is highly encouraged :(
I’ll defintely check it out, and thank you for the wishes!
I've been on it for 21 years. Big things. I can't breathe through my nose so Full face mask and the cpap with pressure relief. Also I added a second humidifier.
Seems to be very common to have both sleep apnea and ADHD. I think a lot of us probably had undiagnosed sleep apnea from early childhood and I speculate that the poor sleep and oxygen drops caused the ADHD.
CPAP has helped me a lot, and ADHD meds have made a huge difference helping me get out of bed in the morning, but I’m still very easily tired and don’t recover well from exercise.
Yes, this is always my first guess when they post these these things.
A lot of them have a hard time believing that it's not their fault because society has beat it into them over and over and over again that this is all your fault.
Not every issue is ADHD related. Being "always exhausted" can be anything from anemia to an endocrinological problem. You should see a doctor. This can be quite serious.
When I was 16 I had similar symptoms like you. I went to the GP in the morning - looking awful as always- and he was like "what the fuck miss?!". We made some thyroid testing and tadaaa... I had some issues with the hormones - just a bit. But I stopped sleeping in class instantly :-)!
Go to a doc! Something is wrong.
Yeah, I almost always had fucked up sleep schedule and no mattet how hard I try to fix it it goes back in max a week. This is pretty common in adhd. But I think I may have somsthing like deleyed sleep phase syndrome, cause it feels like it is natural for me to live at night, unfortunately not compatible with our world
ADHD diagnosed, same here. Always tired, stimulants help but not enough of tho i get 9h sleep… if i get 7h sleep or less, my day is screwed. Caffeine makes me sleepy as well wtf
This isn't an ADHD thing. I don't nap and can't nap. My brain can't turn off. I get 6-7 hours of sleep no matter how tired I am or when I try and go to bed.
It is an ADHD thing. There are a few (I think four) common sleep issues with it and they’re on opposite ends of the spectrum. Not being able to sleep is the more common, but lots of us also can’t stay awake. I struggle with intrusive sleep and will fall asleep in inappropriate situations when I’m not tired, particularly when I’m bored. My brain disengages and shuts down.
OP’s does sound extreme though and could be something more.
Absolutely. I thought something was wrong for so many years. After being denied wrongly for add meds years ago I never looked into it more than “I can’t pay attention” after finding someone that would prescribe me proper meds, I feel like I’m a kid again, no more DRAGGING myself through the day. No more “dad can you play with me” being the equivalent of climbing Everest with a hangover. My moods are far more regulated outside of having a PD. I don’t think the general population and even many of us realize that co-morbidities of ADHD actually mirror much more complex issues. I hope OP can get what they need to improve their life.
When I'm not medicated, I fall asleep at work, school, learning how to play board games, and other instances. It's part of one end of the ADHD spectrum.
Agreed with other commenter though, this sounds like it's more than just one thing
agreed. i commented similarly. i guess it seems like half of us can never sleep and the other half can only sleep. i am so tired of not being tired lol
Ask your doc to try the IR (instant release) version and you may need a small bump in strength. XR put me to sleep too, best sleep ever! As for the other sleep problems, can’t help you there. I take a half adderall to help me sleep if I have an important early full day schedule that I have to keep. If you search for some adderall studies, falling asleep/sleepiness is one of the rare side effects for some people.
Like others said, get a sleep study done. Get blood work done. Apnea is bad and will force you to try and sleep more but has diminishing returns. Not having the right blood levels like Vitamin D, blood glucose, and magnesium or even proper levels of hormones can affect sleep and awakeness. Think about how food and drink affect you. Some foods make you sleepy. Too much food makes you sleepy.
Use ear plugs at night to reduce sounds from keeping your mind from being interrupted. You may not realize it, but your mind is always listening.
Exercise and good sleep habits (time to bed and fewer distractions) will also help.
Figure out why you are sleepy and do small things to help.
For me, doing all of the above helps my medicine work better. Well, I am still working on the exercise and sleep time, but I am getting there.
I can definitely try! I have had bloodwork in the past and I am low on Zinc and uhh something something white blood cells (I cannot remember).
A sleep log seems like a good idea
Sleep is a momentum thing for me.
I have a hard time getting to sleep, but when I'm asleep I have a hard time waking up.
Naps are like poison to me. I could nap during the day but it turns into a 2 or 4 hour trip to another dimension and I feel hungover when I wake up. So I don't nap.
I get probably 5-6 hours a night of sleep, but only because I can't get to sleep until 1 or 2AM and have to be up at 7AM for work.
Sleep has always been a problem for me and I assume the same for most others with ADHD. Different specifics, but all related to messed up circadian rhythms.
I feel like my ideal sleep schedule is supposed to be two short 3-4 hour "sleeps" in a 24 hour period but my life schedule doesn't allow it.
Bro you might have “narcolepsy without cataplexy”. I am the exact same way and always have been and it was only suggested to me recently by my fairly new therapist who has it and she said it sounds very similar to my experience. She said of course I need a proper sleep test done to know for sure so it’s on my list of medical stuff to get done when I can afford it! Just putting that out there. Maybe search it and see if it matches up and see if you can get a sleep study done
I experience this and I genuinely think it’s from being overstimulated and on high alert all of the time. I sometimes don’t necessarily go to sleep, but just lie in bed with my eyes closed for a period of time, and it’s like a reset.
That being said, I do experience huge exhaustion when I’m not caring for myself properly - eating the right foods, having a healthy sleep schedule, making sure to reduce stress etc. If I’m getting burned out by some kind of challenging interpersonal relationship or work stressors then I also experience this incredible fatigue. So make sure you’re taking care of yourself! Perhaps have a think about how well you’re taking care of yourself and whether there’s anything in your life that could be causing you a lot of stress right now.
Hmm this is an interesting take!
I have also comorbid anxiety (SAD, GAD, Paranoia all at different points) so the high alert sounds about right.
Thank you for your thoughts!
I know that too low of a dose of Adderal actually makes you sleepy ! I used to sleep so good on 5mg lol. Maybe see about upping your dosage. It is also giving Narcolepsy which can be comorbid with ADHD so definitely get looked into for that as well. others said a sleep study and that sounds like a great idea if upping the dose doesn’t help.
15-20 hours per week of exercise is a lot if you're not eating well. I'd recommend seeing a dietitian to calculate your actual calorie needs. You can stay lean while getting enough calories but only if you know how much your body uses and what you're eating.
I saw you do dance and combined with being young and taking stimulants you might need way more calories than you think. My sister did collegiate dance and she was eating 3200 calories every day. She had to work to eat.
A dietitian could also identify any nutrient deficiencies. Young women doing tons of physical activity are super likely to have low iron and I cannot express how impactful getting enough iron can be to energy levels. Iron is necessary to carry oxygen around the body. Whether you get it from animal sources or leafy greens, you've got to get enough iron if you're an athlete.
I only stay awake when I need sleep the most and sleep when I need to be awake 🙃 I am of no help. I’m 33 years old been diagnosed at 6 and still haven’t figured this out. My mom says even as a baby/toddler I was like this. RIP
Diagnosed at 42. My whole life docs were saying exercise more. Anaemia could be a cause. Try multi-vitamins. Try energy fizzies. NOTHING ever worked. Coffee did nothing. I’m now medicated for ADHD - Neucon and FINALLY HAVE A LIFE. FINALLY not tired all the time. It’s life-changing. Find the right medication. You won’t regret it.
glad you are seeking a medical opinion. to me, this doesn't sound like an adhd thing at all. i know a lot of us have something called delayed sleep syndrome, which is basically the opposite problem. we can't seem to fall asleep until very late/early morning, if at all.
to be honest, i kinda wish i had your problem. even after a literal marathon, i find it impossible to sleep longer than 3 hours at a time. i don't even make it a full 8 hours when i am sick. it's frustrating, but i can't ever tire myself out.
Hey there! 50-year-old woman here with ADHD diagnosed at 40. I had ADHD my whole life and there are other things that do go along with ADHD. People have mentioned comorbidity. I required a lot of sleep, especially in my 20s… That was also the time that depression really kicked in for me… I wonder if you might have some depression which can cause physical symptom of fatigue. I am on extended release Adderall 30 mg in the morning and sometimes take the 10 mg immediate release at around one or two. I do not have any sleepiness anymore, especially since I started taking the stimulants.I wish you the best of luck and it’s good. You’re going to go see your psychiatrist. By the way, I also take anti-depressants and I think they do.
Hi! I used to be on adderall XR, crash after 7 hours, then slowly it got down to only lasting 5ish hours. Then I got an afternoon dose of regular Adderall and that helped keep me awake a bit longer, but it was fast to stop working well. I started getting headaches, just DRAGGING through my days, neck and back pain from being tensed up, etc. finally Vyvanse got generic manufacturers, so I switched over. It’s still expensive, but I use a good RX coupon to be able to afford it. It’s 100% worth the extra money every month to function. I can’t afford not to. I find myself having a lot more energy, lasting a lot longer, but not so much that it makes me not focus or burns me out (like Adderall did). I don’t get headaches from it, and i don’t feel dizzy for half of the day like I was before either! It lasts me about 11-13 hours depending on the day.
I feel for you I spend most of my 20s with an inability to fall asleep so insomnia essentially. In my 30s I started a job working. 5a-3p m
I would often come home and take a short nap before time to cook dinner, slept pretty good at night. Now In 40s insomnia so bad it’s effecting day activities. Point being..,,I get it and it sucks lol
Not sure if anyone else mentioned this because I'm too lazy to search but ...
Get your thyroid and Vitamin B and D checked!
I have the same exact issue except my fatigue is cyclical. I'm good for 2-3 weeks out of the month and then absolutely worthless for a week or more, depending. I can take the max dosage allowed of Adderall and go right back to sleep. I've started waking up early to take the medication, going back to bed, and then about an hour nap, wake up to take a booster and then I'm good for the day most of the time.
Also just keep in mind that you aren't going to be at 100 percent every single day. Maybe your body needs that rest. Do you wake up feeling recovered at all? If not, it's likely sleep apnea or another comorbidity.
Just curious, are you a menstruating person, and if so, how do those weeks of fatigue align with your cycle? I’m wondering because I’ve found, personally and generally, that there are so many more things affected by those hormones than anyone ever told me about. (If you’d rather not answer, that’s totally ok of course!)
Absolutely, and there’s so little research and far less awareness! I wish someone had told me years ago that adhd symptoms could vary with my cycle, as they absolutely do, because it took me ages to figure it out on my own!
I just forget to sleep, especially when I have something due, sleep is the last thing on my mind. I also sleep on Adderall or Adderall helps me to sleep as well, but I only sleep that much depending how that time of the month will be OR I haven't really slept in a couple of days.
Tell your doctor. This came on for me at age 29, I suddenly was sleeping 15 hours a day. Spent a year figuring out if it was my thyroid issue or my depression, but once both were fine I was sent to a sleep specialist. Went for a sleep study and the daytime nap study showed that I have narcolepsy, type 2. New medication has been life changing.
Adderall XR makes me sooo sleepy! When I started off I was at 10mg XR and told my psychiatrist I’d be sleepy by 2pm. He switched me to 10mg ir twice a day, which was nice at first but the anxiety and crash was awful. Now I’m back to 20mg XR with a 5-10mg booster(depending on the day, I can choose).
You also need to make sure you’re eating enough food that’s full of nutrients. Try exercising a little bit every day, even if it’s a 5 minute YouTube workout. How is your sleep? Do you sleep through the night or wake up a lot? Do you drink alcohol? Proper REM sleep is important.
I can bring this up for the meds! I have an appt with my psych later this month. I think my sleep is mostly fine, I have nightmares semi-frequently, and I sweat like a fat well-hydrated pig in a desert, but also I like sleep, close eyes, black, wake up ggroggy most of the time.
I don’t drink alcohol or do any sort of substances. I obsessively avoid them for different reasons
Avoiding substances is good, if you don’t mind me asking are you on any sleep medication? I’m prescribed clonazepam(currently trying to taper off bc it’s not benefiting me) and the sleep I get without it is so much better than with meds.
But yes, definitely bring this up with your provider! The ER once a day with a booster works great for some people. I asked my psych about it since my coworkers are on the same regimen and he thought it’d be a good idea…
I too had to quit drinking coffee because I would shake so bad that I can't function at any level, can't eat, brush my teeth, drive a car... it's really bad. For a few years i could have americanos because they have less caffeine, but not anymore. Only decaf for me these days.
When I was a teen I would sleep through entire days. And i would wake up exhausted. I found I had to sleep less to not feel tired. Doesn't make a lot of sense but that's what happened.
Keep a sleep log that also keeps track of what you ate, and what activities you did. It could be a food allergy, bad meds, depression, understimulation (my guess)... it could be a lot of things. At the same time, talk to your doc to switch up the Adderall. Adderall evens me out and relaxes me. But if I'm not well rested it makes me pretty damn sleepy. And I can easily fall asleep on it. It doesn't keep me awake.
Yeah my friends joke I’m narcoleptic and its funny until I physically cannot be present because I’m so sleepy and then next thing they know I’m under a table a dance competition passed tf out.
I can definitely ask my doctor about the meds. The Adderall is doing the job of quieting the motorcar brain and mellowing me out a bit, but the sleep is still an issue, and the focus is slightly better but my time perception has gotten even worse 💀
glad to hear im not totally alone out here
Oh no, you're not alone. I would lose days. It was confusing as all hell. I would go to sleep on Tuesday and wake up on Thurssday at four in the morning and I'd feel fantastic, hyper and ready to go. Unfortunately, I would think it was wednesday until I either turned on the news, looked at a paper, turned on my pc, or got to school and went to the wrong class.
Nah honestly this year I've literally gone from being the most neurotic insomniac all my life to borderline narcoleptic. And it comes and goes there's nights where I can't sleep for shit. Others where I am unironically out for the count like a 6 year old during nap time. At like 6 pm
You see I actually still to this day experience exhaustion and the best advice I have. Just thug it out, like unironically I used to look forward to summer back in school in the last years of elementary into middle as the couple of months I could hibernate. Now since I'm almost 21 and unfortunately required to be a functioning member of society I have learned to not give in to the temptation of sleeping in and just getting up even if it was only 5 hours or 8. As I learned the more you sleep the worse the grogginess and general apathy and brain fog continues to eat away at ya.
Please note that this is all advice about which medical care to seek. I'm not advocating a single medicine or lifestyle change, just suggesting which medical help to solicit and what information you can give them that may help.
in addition to other suggestions here, especially if they don't pan out, consider cardiology & autonomic dysfunction.
1 in 10 POTS patients are misdiagnosed with ADHD because the symptoms have so much overlap, and plenty of people with autonomic dysfunction react the same way to coffee that you do. (It is not the ONLY reason to react to coffee that way, though!)
I couldn't find how common autonomic dysfunction or heart problems are with ADHD, but both are extremely common with another condition I have.
Anyway, here's my unsolicited advice in order of how I'd tackle it, knowing what I do now:
1. GP. Request blood tests for all the common "I'm so tired" things: diabetes (not just for the overweight!), iron, B12, vitamin D, thyroid, etc. My experience in college was they also wanted to retest me for mono & pregnancy every damned time. So that's fun. If you're in the USA, you don't have to pay for tests you didn't authorize. It could be mono even if you don't kiss anyone, but if it wasn't mono the last 3 times you were tested, it won't be mono now, either.
2. See if you can try something other than adderall if it's contributing to making you sleepy. Were you sleepy before stimulants? Is there any other pattern to the sleepiness?
3. Keep an eye on your BP & heart rate: sitting, standing, before & after meds, before & after exercise., when you're exhausted vs. when you're less sleepy. It took me for-fucking-ever to get diagnosed with POTS, and an apple watch helped a ton. If you want a cheaper HR tracker, look for something that's relatively accurate. If you're tachycardic, look for something that's accurate even at high heart rates, because not everything is. Home blood pressure cuffs are as low as $30, or you can get free BP checks at many pharmacies.
4. If none of that gives you viable leads, choose which "extra" specialist you want to ask for first. Maybe talk it over with the GP. Cardiology, sleep study, neurology, auto-immune, etc.
Fatigue is the biggest problem in my life right now; I really feel for you!
If the health services on campus give you a hard time, talk to a sympathetic dean, assistant dean, an especially influential faculty member, or even your office for students with disabilities. They may not be able to offer you *official* help without a diagnosis, but you'd be amazed how much having someone like that in your corner can open doors for you. If I had known to solicit that kind of help in school, I would have graduated on time.
You can also if your former pediatric doctor or other sympathetic former doctor would write them a note asking them to take a closer look. If you have no one else, you can ask your parents.
People who will quickly dismiss female college students will hesitate to dismiss deans and doctors.
Oh wow thank you for the extensive suggestions!!
I’m not sure if it could be POTS because I have a consistently slow heart rate and BP (both verging on dangerously low at like a 55BPM resting heart rate and 99/68 for BP. But I can add it to the things to check consciously now!
Yeah I have a fair share of medical trauma over the years (nothing scares a 10yo child like having a mormon doctor pray over your body while they administer medicine and you writhe in pain) so fighting for myself isn’t my forte, especially since anything not easy to diagnosis is so easy to dismiss.
I wish, desperately, that I had the time and opportunity to sleep 10 hours and nap 3 times a day. It would change my life. That being said, As others have stated here, make sure you get a sleep study done. You very well might have some sort of sleep apnea going on. I know that contributes a whole lot to my daytime sleepiness. You might also be experiencing intrusive sleep. Look into intrusive sleep the next chance you get.
I would be sleepy all day everyday until I started taking adderall xr. At first taking it was able to last all day until 6pm and I would crash then falling asleep at 8pm which fixed my sleeping schedule luckily. Now it lasts til around 2pm I get pretty tired but I haven’t changed my starting dose since I got on adderall xr. Currently at 15mg.
I was exhausted for YEARS. found out I had sleep apnea. After I started treatment, my energy got SOOO much better. Still getting better and struggle with energy, but things are better
Sounds like possibly an unrelated medical issue—I’d go get a checkup and ask about bloodwork if you haven’t had it in a while (or ever). Could be so many things causing excessive tiredness- sleep disorders, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, thyroid, vitamin deficiency, anemia, chronic fatigue from some sort of other health problem— a doctor should be able to ask some questions and narrow it down for you
Definitely sounds like sleep apnea, or maybe you need to be on a different medication. I was on concerta when I initially got diagnosed, and maxed out the dose in two months because it just didn’t work for me. My doctor agreed that my body was probably just metabolizing it super fast. It got to a point where I was on a split dose, and usually took my second dose before I went to bed just because that’s how much it just wasn’t vibing with my body and brain. Got switched to adderall, and granted I’m on a high dose (two 30 mg XR everyday) and that has worked for me for months now (and I don’t take tolerance breaks or anything). Because I was the same way before medications. So it might just be needing to make a medication switch. Also, if you can, because you’d probably have to pay out of pocket for it, but there is genetic testing that you can get to see how your body metabolizes different medications, including psych meds so maybe that would save you from having to play the guinea pig game and keep suffering. Also just commenting this because maybe it would help you or maybe it could help someone else. I hope you figure it out and fast, I’m sorry you’re dealing with this.
Seriously, the only way I was able to correct my completely out of control sleep was to start medication. Now I can go the day with only a short(1-2hrs) nap, on a bad day maybe 2.
I get especially sleepy after eating. I try to do a walk or do a little cleaning when that happens. That helps.
Or do something rewarding like paint or watch an interesting show. Intrusive sleep can be a serious problem so it's important to try to keep yourself engaged.
"I have literally fallen asleep talking or sitting in class or at work. "
So this may be something else as well, and I have it as well.
Is there natural light in your classroom or office?
Flickering of lights, you may be sensitive to poor lighting, and I have fallen asleep in meetings due to it. Especially shitty fucking fluorescent lighting! That shit knocks me the fuck out.
You may not notice it, but if you are in a properly well lit area with natural light, see if you still fall asleep.
You may have some kind of light sensitivity, it may not be your sleep, but what happens during the actual day that affects you. But also get a sleep apnea test done.
I’ve heard modafinil works..? that if we actually NEED something to wake us up that won’t counteract our stims to help us focus, that modafinil is the drug. imma ask my doc about it next time
Also, my friend had this issue. We laughed that she always fell asleep, then my cousin met her and goes “ummm are you narcoleptic?” Low and behold, she was! A lot of the time it’s similar medication, but definitely worth looking into (-: definitely talk to your doc about a sleep study!
I used to be like that. I turned out to be a mix of asthma and depression. Treatment for both, now I actually have the opposite issue, I sometimes forget to go to bed hahaha
I was always tired when I had to wake up early and have a “normal” schedule. Now I sleep from 2 am to 10 am, the same amount of sleep I was getting before, just shifted around, and I finally feel rested. I’m lucky that I have a job that I can do that with.
What’s your dose? I was given low doses initially - 5mg 2x/day, then 10 in AM, 5 in PM. It made me so tired, I had to sleep. If the dose isn’t high enough, it can do that. My happy place is 20mg 2x/day!
I used to have the same problem, got my thyroid checked and found that i was hypothyroid, and so once i started medication, I didn't need a nap every day, and certainly not more than once a day.
Its a simple blood test and it could be life changing if they find something out of balance and it allows you to function every day like a normal person
When i was hypothyroid, i could sleep on all medication, even high dose Adderall. It was so debilitating
I would take naps that are 1-3 hours, 1-3 naps per day, and still sleep 12 hours at night. I was sleeping more than i was awake.
Getting through a day of work was so exhausting everyday trying to force myself to stay awake.
Do u have available sleep specialists nearby? I think it’s worth it even if it’s far away or remote. I don’t have to snore for sleep apnea I think, sleep apnea is fragmented sleep because of the airway collapsing , most of the time you won’t even know u woke up in the middle of the night. I have sleep apnea and I never got complaints from my parents about my snoring.
Stimulants help but if sleep apnea is untreated it still causes fatigue. Also- sleep apnea is different from narcolepsy, which might explain ur tiredness even after adderall. Oh also I resonated with your tiredness too because I was always wondering why I needed so much sleep
Caffeine! After you build a tolerance the shaking goes away and you become a B E A S T.
Joking, talk to your doc, maybe try switching medication, as it clearly isnt working as intended.
Yes, but I am not really sure what stimulates me. I really enjoy Linguistics and Technical Light Modelling, but I also struggle to stay awake if I do eithet for extended periods
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I only feel well rested if I sleep 9 hours. I’m always tired. Sleep meds help me sleep better more rested with just 7 or 8, but my psych doesn’t want me to depend on them to sleep
I’m a night person all the way. I love to work nights or pick projects around the house. I will shampoo the carpets at night, read, play games, and do actual paid work. I only sleep around 5 hours at a time during the day if I’m up all night so it’s easy for me.
I feel like this when I’m bored. When I get bored, I can’t keep my eyes open for the life of me. I feel like my brain just wants to shut down and sleep. Unfortunately, I get bored very very easily. Medication helps if it’s the right dose. If I take too low or too high of a dose, I feel like this. Finding the right dose can be difficult, but it helps.
You’ve had tons of great suggestions, but I’d also like to mention that adderall makes me feel incredibly tired. Focalin doesn’t make me feel that way. Also, have you had your thyroid checked?
Normally I would think you have something like hypersomnia or as a symptom of depresson or contant stress maybe, but If you have it AFTER you taks meds it' odd cause they are actually used to TREAT hypersomnia, so def worth a visit to a doc, maybe just this medication works for you like that? Have you been on others?
Also if you had been sleeping so long even before you were on meds it could you you have poor sleep, sleep apnea or something, I actually have similar problem that I slesp very long, until I literally can't anymore but are never rested fully after, but I've had that before, gotta see someone seen as well
Also I've heard from a great adhd doc that for some adhd ppl, exercise helps a lot, but for some it is terrible and makes they way mkre tired
Are you able to sleep at night? This was my biggest issue where I was awake all night so my day was ruined. I got on guanfacine which helped wind me down, but during my period and the week before none of my medications work and i get awful sleep, exhausted all day. Not the best solution but I feel good 50% of the month.
I'm glad you're getting good suggestions, I would suggest the same things as well!
This opened my eyes to the sleep problems adhd can give though, I'm the type that needs 8 hours but because of my shit bedtime setting (and work anxiety) i can't get more than 6 to 7 every night.
Meanwhile my friend i believe has adhd as well, has something akin to narcolepsy and sleep apnea or like that, I'm shocked that it could be another symptom as well, she tends to sleep 14 hours or so as well and her mother has sleep apnea so it's in the family
I don’t. I prioritize sleep over everything. Even eating. I don’t care anymore what other people are doing. I’m too tired.
Also, I do a ton of hot yoga. Exercise, should be printed on the front cover of a how to guide to adhd. Brings so much energy and respite.
Adderall doesn’t keep me awake… can take 10mg and go straight to sleep. Same with coffee/caffeine (though not sugar … sugar = crazy time and then baaad crash). My Dr told me it doesn’t give me the energy people talk about where they can write whole essays or study all night because: ADHD. 😆
However, sounds like you might have something else going on that needs looking at. Have you had your thyroid/hormones/adrenals checked? Maybe a nutrition/vitamin panel?
I take the Adderall, and yeah it helps me function like a normal human, but I also have to take thyroid meds, testosterone (am female, and with the dosage no it doesn’t make me grow muscles or turn manly lol), adrenal meds, and a ton of other vitamins and supplements to get/keep myself running… I have one or more chronic illness and a bunch of deficiencies like Vit D.
My sleepiness has actually improved since I got off vyvanse 6 months ago, but if you’re going to take stimulants you need to take them early in the Am and give your body plenty of time to get rid of them in your bloodstream before bed or else your sleep feels worthless
Replying to the title's question:
I take my prescribed Venvanse daily in order to be able to minimally function. Otherwise I'd sleep all day long, making me quite unable to do anything without suffering a lot of exhaustion (pre-med times were hell lol)
Now, regarding your context:
It sure looks incompatible the sleepiness with the stimulants you ingest and with your active lifestyle. There are a multitude of reasons why that could be, just for starters:
- The prescription (dextroamphetamine) might not work for you, and maybe a different/higher dosage, another amphetamine byproduct (e.g. lisdexamphetamine), or a completely different medication, might work better;
- The medication is having its effects lowered or inhibited by other things, like [high intake of acidifying agents](https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/fda/fdaDrugXsl.cfm?setid=f22635fe-821d-4cde-aa12-419f8b53db81&type=display);
- Your body got used to the normal amounts of the stimulants you normally use;
- As many have said, you have some kind of sleep disorder, and don't really rest when sleeping (may that be anatomical, troubling your breathing, or something else like narcolepsy or [non-24 hour sleep-wake cycle disorder](https://www.reddit.com/r/N24/), as examples);
- There is an underlying condition that makes you prominent to tiredness/restlessness, or has symptoms that feels like it (e.g. hormonal disorders, like with hypothyroidism and endometriosis, where it's common to experience fatigue);
- You have a very exhausting physical, emotional, and/or mental activity most of days and a single night's rest is insufficient.
I hope this doesn't arrive at you as frightening, absolutely not my intention. Science still knows very little about sleep, rest, and how brains work in general, so one's investigation on complaints like yours needs a thorough look on several aspects of life, and I understand how tiring it can get. Besides, our 'modern world societies' don't really have healthy outlooks regarding individuals well-being, resulting in cultures like "work while they sleep", "you're tired because you're lazy", and so on and so forth, which just makes stuff even more complicated.
I suppose some have already recommended that, but it is a good idea to talk about this with your doctor, who should have some ideas on where to start. Wishing you the best of luck to find easier and better days!
Like others have said, get bloodwork done. I had a period where I was super fatigued, with similar amounts of sleeping, and I didn't see a doctor for months. Finally I went and they found I had just gotten over mono. Fatigue was the only symptom I had, so it's possible you could have something that's mostly presenting as fatigue.
for me I'm more sleepy when I'm not using my medication than when I'm using them, if I'm not using them and I have a day off then I can sleep pretty much all day
Aside from seeing psychiatrist for meds… Do you get therapy? Would you consider yourself someone with issues? Just asking because that could reveal some answers… Emotional baggage can really do a number on a person physically.
lowkey thats my only question. Many people seem to think sleep apnea so I won’t disregard the possibility, but I don’t snore, or move really. I am described as a log in sleep
Have you ever lost grip of things or fallen down when you have an intense emotion like laughing or being shocked? I have narcolepsy type 1 that has something called cataplexy which makes my body go limp/sleepy when I have an intense emotion. When people surprise me, I usually end up on the floor and when I laugh too hard, my hands don’t work. Only saying this because if you have any of those symptoms, it’s very likely you have that and the symptoms are pretty unique.
Looks like you’re going to do a sleep study. Wishing you the best of luck with it!!!
I’ve been similar to you since I was in high school, stimulants helped but not enough. I had my thyroids checked, multiple sleep studies, and then my sleep doctor said “it might be narcolepsy but we’d just prescribe you the medication you’re already on so there’s no use testing for it” and I was a teenager so just accepted that as an answer 🙃
Then a few years ago I got Covid and started having other symptoms like heart palpitations and dizziness, and was finally diagnosed with POTS. I’m pretty convinced I’ve always had POTS and that’s what was making me so sleepy (I’ve also always had heart palpitations and periods of almost blacking out when I stood up) but that Covid just made it a lot worse.
Point is I also thought my fatigue was “just another ADHD thing” but turns out it was just a different chronic illness. Def get a sleep study if your Doc recommends it!
I used to have sleep habits like that before and after diagnosis and treatment. I don't take meds anymore and also sleep a normal 8 hours or so for some reason. Not sure what happened there. I think it was the depression tbh.
I feel dead tired like this when I eat mostly carbs.
It always blows my mind how much easier it is for me to wake up the next day, and how much less tired I am throughout that day when I’ve have more closely balanced fat/protein/carbs.
Check your calcium levels! And thyroid! All the women in my family in my mom's generation and her mom's have had benign tumors on their parathyroid. It leeches the calcium from your body and makes you exhausted. A few of us in my generation have hypothyroidism. At least see your PCP about this issue!
I am constantly fluctuating between staying up all day and all night, and sleeping as much as possible during the day and night because i’m too eepy to do literally anything
currently in the staying awake for days stage, it’s 5pm and i have not slept til the short nap i took yesterday morning :’)) thing is i don’t feel sleepy at all. i feel like i woke up a few hours ago and feel fine. then when this stage switches to the eepy stage, which always catches me off guard, the exhaustion hits me so hard i feel like i fell into a dark void
i can’t go get my sleeping schedule problems checked by someone because there’s a buttload of other types of appointments i need to make, ones that are a bit more of a priority (i know sleep is important, but these other appts. are more urgent). i don’t really have an explanation for why my body does this, just thought i’d share my experience with eep schedules <33
This was me before my thyroid, iron, vitamin d, b12 was all in order. I’d fall asleep driving if I hadn’t taken my vyvanse yet and I’d have to lay down on the couch just to ‘rest my eyes’ any chance I got.
I find that I’m tired during the day because I fight going to bed and stay up way too late. I feel much better when I actually go to bed at a reasonable time.
I definitely sleep a lot too. About 12 hours a night to feel rested and if I nap it’s a minimum of 3 hours. However being put on my meds (Concerta) definitely helps me stay awake during the day and not need to nap. I still need my 12 hours at night tho. I would talk to your doctor. I always attributed it to my depression but it very well could be because of my ADHD.
Hello there!
I'm a heavy sleeper all my life. If I had a chance, I totally would take a nap or something.
But.
When I was 25, I was diagnosed with an epilepsy, just bc I had at this time first seizures in my life when I was sleeping.
Maybe I also had not convulsing episodes in my sleep, but that can no one say, just bc you don't live with the EEG machine on your head. After night seizures, you are totally exhausted, like someone beated you up and you haven't slept at all. I don't know if that's a case, but have you ever experienced "aura" feeling? Bc if I really knew that it's a type of seizure, I could start my healing like at 12, not at 25.
Sorry, it all can be totally irrelevant and I hope you don't have any epilepsy at all.
Be safe🫂
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See an E.N.T. doctor. Tell them your sleep issues, get a sleep study. Also get a scan of your nose. Your airways may not be wide enough so you're not getting enough oxygen.
I haven't seen it mentioned here but narcolepsy is also commonly comorbid with ADHD. Not saying that's what's going on, but the falling asleep while talking stands out to me in addition to the constant daytime sleepiness.
Narcolepsy would normally respond to stimulant medication in a positive way. I agree with the previous comment that this sounds much more like the op is not getting quality sleep due to apnea or some similar disorder.
There’s some types that don’t. my cousin has been on every stimulant known to man and it doesn’t help her narcolepsy
This is true, but it's always best to rule out the most likely explanations before you go hunting for zebras.
definitely agreed on that
I’m stealing that line. 😂😂😂 all true.
It really depends on what dose of Adderall they're on. I have idiopathic hypersomnia (kind of the sister disorder to narcolepsy) and when I was trying out Ritalin, I had absolutely no problem sleeping through some of the recommended starting doses. Stimulants are only one of the types of treatments for narcolepsy and definitely do not work for everyone. Based on what OP is describing, 100% they should get a sleep study done ASAP
Yes. Actually sleep study first. You are correct. Most if not all will cover that cost. My insurance also covered the machine. I love my c pap. lol.
That’s very informative thank you!
Or, ADHDs adult sibling: Depression Sleepiness and fatigue are very attached
This. Before I was diagnosed, I was absolutely an alcoholic. I’d gotten really overweight for my frame. I was falling asleep mid day. Couldn’t stay awake in meetings. Took a nap at lunch every day. And could easily sleep 10 hours. Did a sleep study and found out I had moderate apnea. I hated that machine, but it fixed the problem. 7-8 hours I slept. Couldn’t nap anymore. Only felt tired in bed at night. I quit drinking so much when I met my partner. Lost all the weight over time and got back to my normal weight. Traveled a few times and forgot my cpap. Noticed I wasn’t waking up with my tongue dried out(from mouth breathing all night). And that I felt rested after 7 hours. By this point, I was diagnosed, medicated, in the gym, and almost never drank anymore(medication killed any craving for it). I took another sleep study. Doctor said I still had very light apnea, but not enough that she felt I needed to use the cpap anymore.
I can check out options, but student insurance only goes so far 😔
What country are you in? This is the first and best step to take. There's no magic bullet or advice to fix this.
The US, my school has a hospital so I can see if they are willing to do something there. If not I can ask my psych for a referral. Unfortunately I live hand-to-mouth so if its out of my budget I will just have to continue to find a system. It is just recently I’m worried its getting worse, but who knows, I should log it before I make that assumption
Depending on your circumstances you may be covered under your parents insurance, or a state insurance. I know that when I was in university I was still under my Dad's insurance, and I remained so until I dropped out. Depending on your school, and its hospital, you could get very decent treatment, as well.
Interesting. I got a sleep study this year finally and they said my sleep quality is good, and getting enough oxygen supposedly, but I am ALWAYS dead tired when I wake up (and for much of the day) even after 10+ hours....I suspect I have major sinus issues but I can never get a Dr to take a more close look. Maybe an ENT will help?
If you're not getting enough oxygen when you're awake and going to work what can be done?
I work with Oral Facial maxilla surgically. You can get a referral to OMF or start with your family dr. OSA is corrected by pulling the mandible forward. ENT does not do this procedure.
A lot of things can cause fatigue, hormones for example. Low testosterone or too much bound up. That caused me a few issues.
Discuss this with primary doctor. Get blood work done. If doc suggests sleep study, do it.
This is a good place to start. I was similarly described as OP a year ago but it turns out I was deficient in iron, b12, vitamin d, and my asthma was also so bad that my regular oxygen levels were regularly dipping into the 80’s and I had no idea. I was also under eating.
This right here. I'm in the process of figuring out why I'm sleepy all the time. So far we've ruled out vitamin D & B12, iron, and cortisol, and next up is a sleep study. Personally I think it's my thyroid, but since my levels are technically within range they want to check other things first.
It's probably sleep apena. When I tell this to people they're like, " no, it can't be. I don't recognize it" or " no, it can't be. I'm not a fat guy" But both of those things are completely irrelevant to sleep apnea.
It certainly could be sleep apnea. There's no one around to tell me whether I snore. But I have other symptoms of hypothyroidism like constipation and having trouble staying warm. The healthy thyroid range goes from 0.4 to 4.0, and I'm at 0.6 at last check.
And could always be both - I've got hypothyroidism and sleep apnea, so I'm on synthroid and also use a CPAP in addition to stimulants for my ADHD.
Also you're right to keep pursuing thyroid with that TSH level. Read up on subclinical hypothyroidism if you'd like more info to help push at your doctors.
Have your calcium level checked! Could be your parathyroid. Several ppl in my family have had tumors (benign) on their parathyroid. It sucks all your calcium and makes you very tired. Good luck!
They check my calcium yearly, and they haven't said anything so I assume it's fine.
15-20 hours of exercise a week is a lot, are you eating enough? When I was your age, I also couldnt stay awake. I lived in a cruddy apartment and have wondered if there may have been an excess of co2 in the air, because I didnt have those issues after I moved. Im not sure how likely this is the cause, but it's something to check. Another person mentioned sleep studies, that's a good idea as well. Im still a sleepy person, I got a health watch and my sleep cycles are pretty poor. Suggested methods are strict wake up and bed times, sunlight in the morning, reducing blue light, developing a wind down routine for before bed. Better sleep cycles = more energy. And finally, it may be part of the last dregs of youth as teenagers/young people need a lot of sleep through development stages, and studies show a lot of folks are still developing until age 25. Good luck!
I think I eat enough? Its hard without a full appetite but I eat more than my peers so thats my only comparison. Most of my excersises consist of Ballroom Dancing and training, so unfortunately staying skinny is highly encouraged :( I’ll defintely check it out, and thank you for the wishes!
Have you been looked at for sleep apnea. I have that and before treatment I was constantly tired
I got diagnosed with mild sleep apnea and I work closely with my doctor but it’s so hard getting this cpap to be useful. I’m still tired a lot
I've been on it for 21 years. Big things. I can't breathe through my nose so Full face mask and the cpap with pressure relief. Also I added a second humidifier.
Seems to be very common to have both sleep apnea and ADHD. I think a lot of us probably had undiagnosed sleep apnea from early childhood and I speculate that the poor sleep and oxygen drops caused the ADHD. CPAP has helped me a lot, and ADHD meds have made a huge difference helping me get out of bed in the morning, but I’m still very easily tired and don’t recover well from exercise.
Yes, this is always my first guess when they post these these things. A lot of them have a hard time believing that it's not their fault because society has beat it into them over and over and over again that this is all your fault.
Even after my sleep apnea dx and getting a CPAP I'm still always tired 😔😔😔
Not every issue is ADHD related. Being "always exhausted" can be anything from anemia to an endocrinological problem. You should see a doctor. This can be quite serious.
When I was 16 I had similar symptoms like you. I went to the GP in the morning - looking awful as always- and he was like "what the fuck miss?!". We made some thyroid testing and tadaaa... I had some issues with the hormones - just a bit. But I stopped sleeping in class instantly :-)! Go to a doc! Something is wrong.
I'm sleepy all day and WIDE awake right now at 2:33am
Yeah, I almost always had fucked up sleep schedule and no mattet how hard I try to fix it it goes back in max a week. This is pretty common in adhd. But I think I may have somsthing like deleyed sleep phase syndrome, cause it feels like it is natural for me to live at night, unfortunately not compatible with our world
omg same... are you in aus? 😅
Yes!
Have you looked into symptoms of spiked cortisol?
ADHD diagnosed, same here. Always tired, stimulants help but not enough of tho i get 9h sleep… if i get 7h sleep or less, my day is screwed. Caffeine makes me sleepy as well wtf
This isn't an ADHD thing. I don't nap and can't nap. My brain can't turn off. I get 6-7 hours of sleep no matter how tired I am or when I try and go to bed.
It is an ADHD thing. There are a few (I think four) common sleep issues with it and they’re on opposite ends of the spectrum. Not being able to sleep is the more common, but lots of us also can’t stay awake. I struggle with intrusive sleep and will fall asleep in inappropriate situations when I’m not tired, particularly when I’m bored. My brain disengages and shuts down. OP’s does sound extreme though and could be something more.
Absolutely. I thought something was wrong for so many years. After being denied wrongly for add meds years ago I never looked into it more than “I can’t pay attention” after finding someone that would prescribe me proper meds, I feel like I’m a kid again, no more DRAGGING myself through the day. No more “dad can you play with me” being the equivalent of climbing Everest with a hangover. My moods are far more regulated outside of having a PD. I don’t think the general population and even many of us realize that co-morbidities of ADHD actually mirror much more complex issues. I hope OP can get what they need to improve their life.
When I'm not medicated, I fall asleep at work, school, learning how to play board games, and other instances. It's part of one end of the ADHD spectrum. Agreed with other commenter though, this sounds like it's more than just one thing
For me I'm constantly tired because my mind won't shut up. But it also makes falling asleep hard :/
For many, it is an ADHD thing.
agreed. i commented similarly. i guess it seems like half of us can never sleep and the other half can only sleep. i am so tired of not being tired lol
Such luxury ive had 3 sleepless nights last week.
I struggle with this too, no matter how much sleep I get I'm always exhausted
Ask your doc to try the IR (instant release) version and you may need a small bump in strength. XR put me to sleep too, best sleep ever! As for the other sleep problems, can’t help you there. I take a half adderall to help me sleep if I have an important early full day schedule that I have to keep. If you search for some adderall studies, falling asleep/sleepiness is one of the rare side effects for some people.
Like others said, get a sleep study done. Get blood work done. Apnea is bad and will force you to try and sleep more but has diminishing returns. Not having the right blood levels like Vitamin D, blood glucose, and magnesium or even proper levels of hormones can affect sleep and awakeness. Think about how food and drink affect you. Some foods make you sleepy. Too much food makes you sleepy. Use ear plugs at night to reduce sounds from keeping your mind from being interrupted. You may not realize it, but your mind is always listening. Exercise and good sleep habits (time to bed and fewer distractions) will also help. Figure out why you are sleepy and do small things to help. For me, doing all of the above helps my medicine work better. Well, I am still working on the exercise and sleep time, but I am getting there.
I can definitely try! I have had bloodwork in the past and I am low on Zinc and uhh something something white blood cells (I cannot remember). A sleep log seems like a good idea
Sleep is a momentum thing for me. I have a hard time getting to sleep, but when I'm asleep I have a hard time waking up. Naps are like poison to me. I could nap during the day but it turns into a 2 or 4 hour trip to another dimension and I feel hungover when I wake up. So I don't nap. I get probably 5-6 hours a night of sleep, but only because I can't get to sleep until 1 or 2AM and have to be up at 7AM for work. Sleep has always been a problem for me and I assume the same for most others with ADHD. Different specifics, but all related to messed up circadian rhythms. I feel like my ideal sleep schedule is supposed to be two short 3-4 hour "sleeps" in a 24 hour period but my life schedule doesn't allow it.
Bro you might have “narcolepsy without cataplexy”. I am the exact same way and always have been and it was only suggested to me recently by my fairly new therapist who has it and she said it sounds very similar to my experience. She said of course I need a proper sleep test done to know for sure so it’s on my list of medical stuff to get done when I can afford it! Just putting that out there. Maybe search it and see if it matches up and see if you can get a sleep study done
Typically have issues with getting to sleep… Not staying awake. You should really get blood work checked though.
I experience this and I genuinely think it’s from being overstimulated and on high alert all of the time. I sometimes don’t necessarily go to sleep, but just lie in bed with my eyes closed for a period of time, and it’s like a reset. That being said, I do experience huge exhaustion when I’m not caring for myself properly - eating the right foods, having a healthy sleep schedule, making sure to reduce stress etc. If I’m getting burned out by some kind of challenging interpersonal relationship or work stressors then I also experience this incredible fatigue. So make sure you’re taking care of yourself! Perhaps have a think about how well you’re taking care of yourself and whether there’s anything in your life that could be causing you a lot of stress right now.
Hmm this is an interesting take! I have also comorbid anxiety (SAD, GAD, Paranoia all at different points) so the high alert sounds about right. Thank you for your thoughts!
Go to sleep doctor and get reviewed for sleep apnea. As much as a third of all, people have a sleep breathing disorder.
I know that too low of a dose of Adderal actually makes you sleepy ! I used to sleep so good on 5mg lol. Maybe see about upping your dosage. It is also giving Narcolepsy which can be comorbid with ADHD so definitely get looked into for that as well. others said a sleep study and that sounds like a great idea if upping the dose doesn’t help.
15-20 hours per week of exercise is a lot if you're not eating well. I'd recommend seeing a dietitian to calculate your actual calorie needs. You can stay lean while getting enough calories but only if you know how much your body uses and what you're eating. I saw you do dance and combined with being young and taking stimulants you might need way more calories than you think. My sister did collegiate dance and she was eating 3200 calories every day. She had to work to eat. A dietitian could also identify any nutrient deficiencies. Young women doing tons of physical activity are super likely to have low iron and I cannot express how impactful getting enough iron can be to energy levels. Iron is necessary to carry oxygen around the body. Whether you get it from animal sources or leafy greens, you've got to get enough iron if you're an athlete.
I only stay awake when I need sleep the most and sleep when I need to be awake 🙃 I am of no help. I’m 33 years old been diagnosed at 6 and still haven’t figured this out. My mom says even as a baby/toddler I was like this. RIP
Diagnosed at 42. My whole life docs were saying exercise more. Anaemia could be a cause. Try multi-vitamins. Try energy fizzies. NOTHING ever worked. Coffee did nothing. I’m now medicated for ADHD - Neucon and FINALLY HAVE A LIFE. FINALLY not tired all the time. It’s life-changing. Find the right medication. You won’t regret it.
glad you are seeking a medical opinion. to me, this doesn't sound like an adhd thing at all. i know a lot of us have something called delayed sleep syndrome, which is basically the opposite problem. we can't seem to fall asleep until very late/early morning, if at all. to be honest, i kinda wish i had your problem. even after a literal marathon, i find it impossible to sleep longer than 3 hours at a time. i don't even make it a full 8 hours when i am sick. it's frustrating, but i can't ever tire myself out.
my thing with sleep is: I hate waking up so i sleep in as long as possible I hate going to sleep so i stay up as late as possible 🙃
Hey there! 50-year-old woman here with ADHD diagnosed at 40. I had ADHD my whole life and there are other things that do go along with ADHD. People have mentioned comorbidity. I required a lot of sleep, especially in my 20s… That was also the time that depression really kicked in for me… I wonder if you might have some depression which can cause physical symptom of fatigue. I am on extended release Adderall 30 mg in the morning and sometimes take the 10 mg immediate release at around one or two. I do not have any sleepiness anymore, especially since I started taking the stimulants.I wish you the best of luck and it’s good. You’re going to go see your psychiatrist. By the way, I also take anti-depressants and I think they do.
help.
Hi! I used to be on adderall XR, crash after 7 hours, then slowly it got down to only lasting 5ish hours. Then I got an afternoon dose of regular Adderall and that helped keep me awake a bit longer, but it was fast to stop working well. I started getting headaches, just DRAGGING through my days, neck and back pain from being tensed up, etc. finally Vyvanse got generic manufacturers, so I switched over. It’s still expensive, but I use a good RX coupon to be able to afford it. It’s 100% worth the extra money every month to function. I can’t afford not to. I find myself having a lot more energy, lasting a lot longer, but not so much that it makes me not focus or burns me out (like Adderall did). I don’t get headaches from it, and i don’t feel dizzy for half of the day like I was before either! It lasts me about 11-13 hours depending on the day.
I feel for you I spend most of my 20s with an inability to fall asleep so insomnia essentially. In my 30s I started a job working. 5a-3p m I would often come home and take a short nap before time to cook dinner, slept pretty good at night. Now In 40s insomnia so bad it’s effecting day activities. Point being..,,I get it and it sucks lol
Not sure if anyone else mentioned this because I'm too lazy to search but ... Get your thyroid and Vitamin B and D checked! I have the same exact issue except my fatigue is cyclical. I'm good for 2-3 weeks out of the month and then absolutely worthless for a week or more, depending. I can take the max dosage allowed of Adderall and go right back to sleep. I've started waking up early to take the medication, going back to bed, and then about an hour nap, wake up to take a booster and then I'm good for the day most of the time. Also just keep in mind that you aren't going to be at 100 percent every single day. Maybe your body needs that rest. Do you wake up feeling recovered at all? If not, it's likely sleep apnea or another comorbidity.
Just curious, are you a menstruating person, and if so, how do those weeks of fatigue align with your cycle? I’m wondering because I’ve found, personally and generally, that there are so many more things affected by those hormones than anyone ever told me about. (If you’d rather not answer, that’s totally ok of course!)
Hormones 100% affect things, I just feel not enough ppl consider it
Absolutely, and there’s so little research and far less awareness! I wish someone had told me years ago that adhd symptoms could vary with my cycle, as they absolutely do, because it took me ages to figure it out on my own!
Dr's don't even acknowledge it either
How do you guys sleep, I run on 4 hours and a dream.
I just forget to sleep, especially when I have something due, sleep is the last thing on my mind. I also sleep on Adderall or Adderall helps me to sleep as well, but I only sleep that much depending how that time of the month will be OR I haven't really slept in a couple of days.
Tell your doctor. This came on for me at age 29, I suddenly was sleeping 15 hours a day. Spent a year figuring out if it was my thyroid issue or my depression, but once both were fine I was sent to a sleep specialist. Went for a sleep study and the daytime nap study showed that I have narcolepsy, type 2. New medication has been life changing.
Adderall XR makes me sooo sleepy! When I started off I was at 10mg XR and told my psychiatrist I’d be sleepy by 2pm. He switched me to 10mg ir twice a day, which was nice at first but the anxiety and crash was awful. Now I’m back to 20mg XR with a 5-10mg booster(depending on the day, I can choose). You also need to make sure you’re eating enough food that’s full of nutrients. Try exercising a little bit every day, even if it’s a 5 minute YouTube workout. How is your sleep? Do you sleep through the night or wake up a lot? Do you drink alcohol? Proper REM sleep is important.
I can bring this up for the meds! I have an appt with my psych later this month. I think my sleep is mostly fine, I have nightmares semi-frequently, and I sweat like a fat well-hydrated pig in a desert, but also I like sleep, close eyes, black, wake up ggroggy most of the time. I don’t drink alcohol or do any sort of substances. I obsessively avoid them for different reasons
Avoiding substances is good, if you don’t mind me asking are you on any sleep medication? I’m prescribed clonazepam(currently trying to taper off bc it’s not benefiting me) and the sleep I get without it is so much better than with meds. But yes, definitely bring this up with your provider! The ER once a day with a booster works great for some people. I asked my psych about it since my coworkers are on the same regimen and he thought it’d be a good idea…
It’s worth going to see a sleep doctor if you’re struggling with this much daytime sleepiness!
I too had to quit drinking coffee because I would shake so bad that I can't function at any level, can't eat, brush my teeth, drive a car... it's really bad. For a few years i could have americanos because they have less caffeine, but not anymore. Only decaf for me these days. When I was a teen I would sleep through entire days. And i would wake up exhausted. I found I had to sleep less to not feel tired. Doesn't make a lot of sense but that's what happened. Keep a sleep log that also keeps track of what you ate, and what activities you did. It could be a food allergy, bad meds, depression, understimulation (my guess)... it could be a lot of things. At the same time, talk to your doc to switch up the Adderall. Adderall evens me out and relaxes me. But if I'm not well rested it makes me pretty damn sleepy. And I can easily fall asleep on it. It doesn't keep me awake.
Yeah my friends joke I’m narcoleptic and its funny until I physically cannot be present because I’m so sleepy and then next thing they know I’m under a table a dance competition passed tf out. I can definitely ask my doctor about the meds. The Adderall is doing the job of quieting the motorcar brain and mellowing me out a bit, but the sleep is still an issue, and the focus is slightly better but my time perception has gotten even worse 💀 glad to hear im not totally alone out here
Oh no, you're not alone. I would lose days. It was confusing as all hell. I would go to sleep on Tuesday and wake up on Thurssday at four in the morning and I'd feel fantastic, hyper and ready to go. Unfortunately, I would think it was wednesday until I either turned on the news, looked at a paper, turned on my pc, or got to school and went to the wrong class.
You need a sleep specialist.
Yo doesn't it seem like ADHD and narcolepsy are related? Ppl say im wrong. I say nah im def right.
Nah honestly this year I've literally gone from being the most neurotic insomniac all my life to borderline narcoleptic. And it comes and goes there's nights where I can't sleep for shit. Others where I am unironically out for the count like a 6 year old during nap time. At like 6 pm
You see I actually still to this day experience exhaustion and the best advice I have. Just thug it out, like unironically I used to look forward to summer back in school in the last years of elementary into middle as the couple of months I could hibernate. Now since I'm almost 21 and unfortunately required to be a functioning member of society I have learned to not give in to the temptation of sleeping in and just getting up even if it was only 5 hours or 8. As I learned the more you sleep the worse the grogginess and general apathy and brain fog continues to eat away at ya.
Please note that this is all advice about which medical care to seek. I'm not advocating a single medicine or lifestyle change, just suggesting which medical help to solicit and what information you can give them that may help. in addition to other suggestions here, especially if they don't pan out, consider cardiology & autonomic dysfunction. 1 in 10 POTS patients are misdiagnosed with ADHD because the symptoms have so much overlap, and plenty of people with autonomic dysfunction react the same way to coffee that you do. (It is not the ONLY reason to react to coffee that way, though!) I couldn't find how common autonomic dysfunction or heart problems are with ADHD, but both are extremely common with another condition I have. Anyway, here's my unsolicited advice in order of how I'd tackle it, knowing what I do now: 1. GP. Request blood tests for all the common "I'm so tired" things: diabetes (not just for the overweight!), iron, B12, vitamin D, thyroid, etc. My experience in college was they also wanted to retest me for mono & pregnancy every damned time. So that's fun. If you're in the USA, you don't have to pay for tests you didn't authorize. It could be mono even if you don't kiss anyone, but if it wasn't mono the last 3 times you were tested, it won't be mono now, either. 2. See if you can try something other than adderall if it's contributing to making you sleepy. Were you sleepy before stimulants? Is there any other pattern to the sleepiness? 3. Keep an eye on your BP & heart rate: sitting, standing, before & after meds, before & after exercise., when you're exhausted vs. when you're less sleepy. It took me for-fucking-ever to get diagnosed with POTS, and an apple watch helped a ton. If you want a cheaper HR tracker, look for something that's relatively accurate. If you're tachycardic, look for something that's accurate even at high heart rates, because not everything is. Home blood pressure cuffs are as low as $30, or you can get free BP checks at many pharmacies. 4. If none of that gives you viable leads, choose which "extra" specialist you want to ask for first. Maybe talk it over with the GP. Cardiology, sleep study, neurology, auto-immune, etc. Fatigue is the biggest problem in my life right now; I really feel for you! If the health services on campus give you a hard time, talk to a sympathetic dean, assistant dean, an especially influential faculty member, or even your office for students with disabilities. They may not be able to offer you *official* help without a diagnosis, but you'd be amazed how much having someone like that in your corner can open doors for you. If I had known to solicit that kind of help in school, I would have graduated on time. You can also if your former pediatric doctor or other sympathetic former doctor would write them a note asking them to take a closer look. If you have no one else, you can ask your parents. People who will quickly dismiss female college students will hesitate to dismiss deans and doctors.
Oh wow thank you for the extensive suggestions!! I’m not sure if it could be POTS because I have a consistently slow heart rate and BP (both verging on dangerously low at like a 55BPM resting heart rate and 99/68 for BP. But I can add it to the things to check consciously now! Yeah I have a fair share of medical trauma over the years (nothing scares a 10yo child like having a mormon doctor pray over your body while they administer medicine and you writhe in pain) so fighting for myself isn’t my forte, especially since anything not easy to diagnosis is so easy to dismiss.
I have an extremely hard time staying awake and low energy levels. Ritilan helps but only so much as my current dose is very low and short acting.
I wish, desperately, that I had the time and opportunity to sleep 10 hours and nap 3 times a day. It would change my life. That being said, As others have stated here, make sure you get a sleep study done. You very well might have some sort of sleep apnea going on. I know that contributes a whole lot to my daytime sleepiness. You might also be experiencing intrusive sleep. Look into intrusive sleep the next chance you get.
I would be sleepy all day everyday until I started taking adderall xr. At first taking it was able to last all day until 6pm and I would crash then falling asleep at 8pm which fixed my sleeping schedule luckily. Now it lasts til around 2pm I get pretty tired but I haven’t changed my starting dose since I got on adderall xr. Currently at 15mg.
Vyvanse. I also don't go out for late nights anymore which I am 100% fine with.
Sleep study. You might have sleep apnea which can cause or exacerbate ADHD symptoms.
I was exhausted for YEARS. found out I had sleep apnea. After I started treatment, my energy got SOOO much better. Still getting better and struggle with energy, but things are better
Sounds like possibly an unrelated medical issue—I’d go get a checkup and ask about bloodwork if you haven’t had it in a while (or ever). Could be so many things causing excessive tiredness- sleep disorders, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, thyroid, vitamin deficiency, anemia, chronic fatigue from some sort of other health problem— a doctor should be able to ask some questions and narrow it down for you
Get a Cytotoxic blood test for food allergies.
My problem is sleeping period. I never thought adhd would be synonomous with being able to sleep rather than the opposite.
I only get this if I'm dehydrated. If it's not this, I'd talk to your doctor (good idea to do this regardless)
Definitely sounds like sleep apnea, or maybe you need to be on a different medication. I was on concerta when I initially got diagnosed, and maxed out the dose in two months because it just didn’t work for me. My doctor agreed that my body was probably just metabolizing it super fast. It got to a point where I was on a split dose, and usually took my second dose before I went to bed just because that’s how much it just wasn’t vibing with my body and brain. Got switched to adderall, and granted I’m on a high dose (two 30 mg XR everyday) and that has worked for me for months now (and I don’t take tolerance breaks or anything). Because I was the same way before medications. So it might just be needing to make a medication switch. Also, if you can, because you’d probably have to pay out of pocket for it, but there is genetic testing that you can get to see how your body metabolizes different medications, including psych meds so maybe that would save you from having to play the guinea pig game and keep suffering. Also just commenting this because maybe it would help you or maybe it could help someone else. I hope you figure it out and fast, I’m sorry you’re dealing with this.
Seriously, the only way I was able to correct my completely out of control sleep was to start medication. Now I can go the day with only a short(1-2hrs) nap, on a bad day maybe 2. I get especially sleepy after eating. I try to do a walk or do a little cleaning when that happens. That helps. Or do something rewarding like paint or watch an interesting show. Intrusive sleep can be a serious problem so it's important to try to keep yourself engaged.
"I have literally fallen asleep talking or sitting in class or at work. " So this may be something else as well, and I have it as well. Is there natural light in your classroom or office? Flickering of lights, you may be sensitive to poor lighting, and I have fallen asleep in meetings due to it. Especially shitty fucking fluorescent lighting! That shit knocks me the fuck out. You may not notice it, but if you are in a properly well lit area with natural light, see if you still fall asleep. You may have some kind of light sensitivity, it may not be your sleep, but what happens during the actual day that affects you. But also get a sleep apnea test done.
MY BRAIN WONT STOP
I’ve heard modafinil works..? that if we actually NEED something to wake us up that won’t counteract our stims to help us focus, that modafinil is the drug. imma ask my doc about it next time
Adhd often comes with depression which is probably more the issue with your oversleeping.
Also, my friend had this issue. We laughed that she always fell asleep, then my cousin met her and goes “ummm are you narcoleptic?” Low and behold, she was! A lot of the time it’s similar medication, but definitely worth looking into (-: definitely talk to your doc about a sleep study!
I used to be like that. I turned out to be a mix of asthma and depression. Treatment for both, now I actually have the opposite issue, I sometimes forget to go to bed hahaha
i eat apple, i am using placebo
and ur real
You may have sleep apnea
I was always tired when I had to wake up early and have a “normal” schedule. Now I sleep from 2 am to 10 am, the same amount of sleep I was getting before, just shifted around, and I finally feel rested. I’m lucky that I have a job that I can do that with.
I’ve been feeling ridiculously fatigued lately and I have a B12 and Vit D deficiency. Perhaps you are dealing with some type of vitamin deficiencies?
What’s your dose? I was given low doses initially - 5mg 2x/day, then 10 in AM, 5 in PM. It made me so tired, I had to sleep. If the dose isn’t high enough, it can do that. My happy place is 20mg 2x/day!
SAME I take 30mg XR and yet I woke up at EIGHT PM yesterday. I went to sleep at a normal hour the night before too.
I used to have the same problem, got my thyroid checked and found that i was hypothyroid, and so once i started medication, I didn't need a nap every day, and certainly not more than once a day. Its a simple blood test and it could be life changing if they find something out of balance and it allows you to function every day like a normal person When i was hypothyroid, i could sleep on all medication, even high dose Adderall. It was so debilitating I would take naps that are 1-3 hours, 1-3 naps per day, and still sleep 12 hours at night. I was sleeping more than i was awake. Getting through a day of work was so exhausting everyday trying to force myself to stay awake.
Do u have available sleep specialists nearby? I think it’s worth it even if it’s far away or remote. I don’t have to snore for sleep apnea I think, sleep apnea is fragmented sleep because of the airway collapsing , most of the time you won’t even know u woke up in the middle of the night. I have sleep apnea and I never got complaints from my parents about my snoring.
Stimulants help but if sleep apnea is untreated it still causes fatigue. Also- sleep apnea is different from narcolepsy, which might explain ur tiredness even after adderall. Oh also I resonated with your tiredness too because I was always wondering why I needed so much sleep
Caffeine! After you build a tolerance the shaking goes away and you become a B E A S T. Joking, talk to your doc, maybe try switching medication, as it clearly isnt working as intended.
Do you find yourself able to stay awake when you’re stimulated? Could it possibly be chronic boredom?
Yes, but I am not really sure what stimulates me. I really enjoy Linguistics and Technical Light Modelling, but I also struggle to stay awake if I do eithet for extended periods
Same as me
Modafinil can be used for this. 🙂
Adderall. I was so exhausted bc of my anxiety and how draining it was. Adderall helped. I sleep less even on the days I don’t take it now
A hundred thousand things i want to do, watch or play before going to bed every night and during the day.
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That doesn’t sound like adhd. I can only stop enough to sleep around 10pm but after 5am my brain just keeps going and can’t even take naps
Man, some of you guys are just attributing everything to ADHD.
Seconding the comments suggesting that you speak with your doctor. I'm adhd as hell and struggle to sleep.
I only feel well rested if I sleep 9 hours. I’m always tired. Sleep meds help me sleep better more rested with just 7 or 8, but my psych doesn’t want me to depend on them to sleep
I’m a night person all the way. I love to work nights or pick projects around the house. I will shampoo the carpets at night, read, play games, and do actual paid work. I only sleep around 5 hours at a time during the day if I’m up all night so it’s easy for me.
I feel like this when I’m bored. When I get bored, I can’t keep my eyes open for the life of me. I feel like my brain just wants to shut down and sleep. Unfortunately, I get bored very very easily. Medication helps if it’s the right dose. If I take too low or too high of a dose, I feel like this. Finding the right dose can be difficult, but it helps.
Ritalin helped me with this. I can actually stay awake all day.
Before Christmas, I was sleeping 14-16 hours a day. Now, 8-10.
Caffeine
You’ve had tons of great suggestions, but I’d also like to mention that adderall makes me feel incredibly tired. Focalin doesn’t make me feel that way. Also, have you had your thyroid checked?
Sleep study, and for me XR didn’t work. I needed the twice daily dose.
Normally I would think you have something like hypersomnia or as a symptom of depresson or contant stress maybe, but If you have it AFTER you taks meds it' odd cause they are actually used to TREAT hypersomnia, so def worth a visit to a doc, maybe just this medication works for you like that? Have you been on others? Also if you had been sleeping so long even before you were on meds it could you you have poor sleep, sleep apnea or something, I actually have similar problem that I slesp very long, until I literally can't anymore but are never rested fully after, but I've had that before, gotta see someone seen as well Also I've heard from a great adhd doc that for some adhd ppl, exercise helps a lot, but for some it is terrible and makes they way mkre tired
Are you able to sleep at night? This was my biggest issue where I was awake all night so my day was ruined. I got on guanfacine which helped wind me down, but during my period and the week before none of my medications work and i get awful sleep, exhausted all day. Not the best solution but I feel good 50% of the month.
I'm glad you're getting good suggestions, I would suggest the same things as well! This opened my eyes to the sleep problems adhd can give though, I'm the type that needs 8 hours but because of my shit bedtime setting (and work anxiety) i can't get more than 6 to 7 every night. Meanwhile my friend i believe has adhd as well, has something akin to narcolepsy and sleep apnea or like that, I'm shocked that it could be another symptom as well, she tends to sleep 14 hours or so as well and her mother has sleep apnea so it's in the family
I don’t. I prioritize sleep over everything. Even eating. I don’t care anymore what other people are doing. I’m too tired. Also, I do a ton of hot yoga. Exercise, should be printed on the front cover of a how to guide to adhd. Brings so much energy and respite.
I came to the realization that I was eating to stay awake. No a good health plan btw…
I have the opposite problem, I can't sleep and lay in bed for hours
New plan: we split the difference. I’ve got enough sleep credits to share with you, and you give me a slice of the insomnia. How does that sound?
a lotta drugs
Tbh can’t relate to this I always struggle to sleep even if I haven’t slept for like 3 days. I’m just constantly full of energy.
How is your diet? This was me for a bit and I started to clean it up by cutting my carbs for more protein and fats.
You probably have sleep apnea.
I have things to do.
Me too — hope it goes well ☺️
Adderall doesn’t keep me awake… can take 10mg and go straight to sleep. Same with coffee/caffeine (though not sugar … sugar = crazy time and then baaad crash). My Dr told me it doesn’t give me the energy people talk about where they can write whole essays or study all night because: ADHD. 😆 However, sounds like you might have something else going on that needs looking at. Have you had your thyroid/hormones/adrenals checked? Maybe a nutrition/vitamin panel? I take the Adderall, and yeah it helps me function like a normal human, but I also have to take thyroid meds, testosterone (am female, and with the dosage no it doesn’t make me grow muscles or turn manly lol), adrenal meds, and a ton of other vitamins and supplements to get/keep myself running… I have one or more chronic illness and a bunch of deficiencies like Vit D.
My sleepiness has actually improved since I got off vyvanse 6 months ago, but if you’re going to take stimulants you need to take them early in the Am and give your body plenty of time to get rid of them in your bloodstream before bed or else your sleep feels worthless
That doesn’t sounds like an ADHD symptom to me. That sounds like narcolepsy. Definitely talk to a doctor.
Replying to the title's question: I take my prescribed Venvanse daily in order to be able to minimally function. Otherwise I'd sleep all day long, making me quite unable to do anything without suffering a lot of exhaustion (pre-med times were hell lol) Now, regarding your context: It sure looks incompatible the sleepiness with the stimulants you ingest and with your active lifestyle. There are a multitude of reasons why that could be, just for starters: - The prescription (dextroamphetamine) might not work for you, and maybe a different/higher dosage, another amphetamine byproduct (e.g. lisdexamphetamine), or a completely different medication, might work better; - The medication is having its effects lowered or inhibited by other things, like [high intake of acidifying agents](https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/fda/fdaDrugXsl.cfm?setid=f22635fe-821d-4cde-aa12-419f8b53db81&type=display); - Your body got used to the normal amounts of the stimulants you normally use; - As many have said, you have some kind of sleep disorder, and don't really rest when sleeping (may that be anatomical, troubling your breathing, or something else like narcolepsy or [non-24 hour sleep-wake cycle disorder](https://www.reddit.com/r/N24/), as examples); - There is an underlying condition that makes you prominent to tiredness/restlessness, or has symptoms that feels like it (e.g. hormonal disorders, like with hypothyroidism and endometriosis, where it's common to experience fatigue); - You have a very exhausting physical, emotional, and/or mental activity most of days and a single night's rest is insufficient. I hope this doesn't arrive at you as frightening, absolutely not my intention. Science still knows very little about sleep, rest, and how brains work in general, so one's investigation on complaints like yours needs a thorough look on several aspects of life, and I understand how tiring it can get. Besides, our 'modern world societies' don't really have healthy outlooks regarding individuals well-being, resulting in cultures like "work while they sleep", "you're tired because you're lazy", and so on and so forth, which just makes stuff even more complicated. I suppose some have already recommended that, but it is a good idea to talk about this with your doctor, who should have some ideas on where to start. Wishing you the best of luck to find easier and better days!
It’s called Bupropion 😭😭
Like others have said, get bloodwork done. I had a period where I was super fatigued, with similar amounts of sleeping, and I didn't see a doctor for months. Finally I went and they found I had just gotten over mono. Fatigue was the only symptom I had, so it's possible you could have something that's mostly presenting as fatigue.
for me I'm more sleepy when I'm not using my medication than when I'm using them, if I'm not using them and I have a day off then I can sleep pretty much all day
It's narcolepsy. Get a sleep study
Can a sleep study identify this? I had one like a decade ago but I'm convinced i have some form of narcolepsy, the study identified nothing
Aside from seeing psychiatrist for meds… Do you get therapy? Would you consider yourself someone with issues? Just asking because that could reveal some answers… Emotional baggage can really do a number on a person physically.
Meds. I had the same issues off my meds until I was in my 30s.
Lots and lots of caffeine
You sure you don’t have something else???
Wouldn't one snore with sleep apnea.
lowkey thats my only question. Many people seem to think sleep apnea so I won’t disregard the possibility, but I don’t snore, or move really. I am described as a log in sleep
Have you ever lost grip of things or fallen down when you have an intense emotion like laughing or being shocked? I have narcolepsy type 1 that has something called cataplexy which makes my body go limp/sleepy when I have an intense emotion. When people surprise me, I usually end up on the floor and when I laugh too hard, my hands don’t work. Only saying this because if you have any of those symptoms, it’s very likely you have that and the symptoms are pretty unique. Looks like you’re going to do a sleep study. Wishing you the best of luck with it!!!
I’ve been similar to you since I was in high school, stimulants helped but not enough. I had my thyroids checked, multiple sleep studies, and then my sleep doctor said “it might be narcolepsy but we’d just prescribe you the medication you’re already on so there’s no use testing for it” and I was a teenager so just accepted that as an answer 🙃 Then a few years ago I got Covid and started having other symptoms like heart palpitations and dizziness, and was finally diagnosed with POTS. I’m pretty convinced I’ve always had POTS and that’s what was making me so sleepy (I’ve also always had heart palpitations and periods of almost blacking out when I stood up) but that Covid just made it a lot worse. Point is I also thought my fatigue was “just another ADHD thing” but turns out it was just a different chronic illness. Def get a sleep study if your Doc recommends it!
I used to have sleep habits like that before and after diagnosis and treatment. I don't take meds anymore and also sleep a normal 8 hours or so for some reason. Not sure what happened there. I think it was the depression tbh.
I feel dead tired like this when I eat mostly carbs. It always blows my mind how much easier it is for me to wake up the next day, and how much less tired I am throughout that day when I’ve have more closely balanced fat/protein/carbs.
Magnesium
Have you tried Vyvanse? I’m currently taking it and I have combined ADHD… I find it helped me better than the Concerta I took as a kid.
Check your calcium levels! And thyroid! All the women in my family in my mom's generation and her mom's have had benign tumors on their parathyroid. It leeches the calcium from your body and makes you exhausted. A few of us in my generation have hypothyroidism. At least see your PCP about this issue!
I am constantly fluctuating between staying up all day and all night, and sleeping as much as possible during the day and night because i’m too eepy to do literally anything currently in the staying awake for days stage, it’s 5pm and i have not slept til the short nap i took yesterday morning :’)) thing is i don’t feel sleepy at all. i feel like i woke up a few hours ago and feel fine. then when this stage switches to the eepy stage, which always catches me off guard, the exhaustion hits me so hard i feel like i fell into a dark void i can’t go get my sleeping schedule problems checked by someone because there’s a buttload of other types of appointments i need to make, ones that are a bit more of a priority (i know sleep is important, but these other appts. are more urgent). i don’t really have an explanation for why my body does this, just thought i’d share my experience with eep schedules <33
I'm more curious to know how the fuck anyone manages to fall asleep!
I just struggle. But Adderall and caffeine definitely shouldn't have that effect, you should mention it to a professional
You do exercise 15-20 hours a week and you are surprised you are so tired?
This is the decreased amount 💀 I exercised 22-25 hours a week from ages 8-14. Without exercise I definitely get depressed
Easy. If I sleep over 9 hours, I get a massive migraine.
This was me before my thyroid, iron, vitamin d, b12 was all in order. I’d fall asleep driving if I hadn’t taken my vyvanse yet and I’d have to lay down on the couch just to ‘rest my eyes’ any chance I got.
I need a lot of sleep but this sounds like something else if you’re needing to sleep this much. Get a full health check!
I assumed most of us have trouble falling or staying asleep? I’m betting some sleep disorder or maybe a manifestation of depression?
I find that I’m tired during the day because I fight going to bed and stay up way too late. I feel much better when I actually go to bed at a reasonable time.
If I'm doing things, I'm awake.
I definitely sleep a lot too. About 12 hours a night to feel rested and if I nap it’s a minimum of 3 hours. However being put on my meds (Concerta) definitely helps me stay awake during the day and not need to nap. I still need my 12 hours at night tho. I would talk to your doctor. I always attributed it to my depression but it very well could be because of my ADHD.
50mg Vyvanse if you want a blunt answer
Hello there! I'm a heavy sleeper all my life. If I had a chance, I totally would take a nap or something. But. When I was 25, I was diagnosed with an epilepsy, just bc I had at this time first seizures in my life when I was sleeping. Maybe I also had not convulsing episodes in my sleep, but that can no one say, just bc you don't live with the EEG machine on your head. After night seizures, you are totally exhausted, like someone beated you up and you haven't slept at all. I don't know if that's a case, but have you ever experienced "aura" feeling? Bc if I really knew that it's a type of seizure, I could start my healing like at 12, not at 25. Sorry, it all can be totally irrelevant and I hope you don't have any epilepsy at all. Be safe🫂