Anyone else with aspergers suddenly develop insomnia?

Page 1 of 2 [ 19 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next

raw83472
Tufted Titmouse
Tufted Titmouse

Joined: 28 Apr 2017
Age: 42
Gender: Male
Posts: 37
Location: Florida

30 Sep 2017, 7:22 pm

I'm 34 y/o, male, and always slept perfect up until I was about 31 years old, and then gradually my sleep got worse and worse until the point where I had such bad insomnia I had to quit my job and move in with my parents. And like I said, I always slept very well up until about age 31 and always just thought insomnia was people purposely staying up late... I didn't even think it was possible to have sleep issues. And then gradually over a course of about 8 months I slowly lost the ability to sleep (except with medicine like Unisom Sleep tabs or other antihistamines).

I now use Remeron (15mg) every night and have no problem getting to sleep, but I still wake up at 2 AM sometimes and can't get my to sleep. I've just started Lunesta so am about to see how this does with Remeron...

This is my timeline:

December 2014: 31 y/o, no sleep issues prior to this. Like I said above... I didn't even think it was possible to (not purposely) have sleep issues.
January 2015: About 5 nights of the month I have bad insomnia and get little/no sleep
February 2015: About 8 nights of the month I have bad insomnia and get little/no sleep
March 2015: About 10 nights of the month I have bad insomnia and get little/no sleep. I now start to freak out about what's going on and go to the drugstore because I heard about over-the-counter sleep medicine (Unisom).
April 2015: About 12 nights of the month I have bad insomnia and get little/no sleep
May 2015: About 15 nights of the month I have bad insomnia and get little/no sleep
June 2015 - December 2015: About 15 nights of the month I have bad insomnia and get little/no sleep (Unisom helps but only for about two days in a row because of tolerance)
December 2015: Forced to move back to Florida from NYC because of sleep. My job was awesome and not stressful at all so I hate that I had to leave.


So did anyone else suddenly get insomnia out of nowhere as they got older? Like I said above, I always slept perfect up until about age 31...



the_phoenix
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 30 Jan 2008
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,489
Location: up from the ashes

30 Sep 2017, 9:15 pm

I was born with insomnia.
As in, from the time I was a little kid,
I was allowed to have a late bedtime
because my parents knew there was no way
I would fall asleep at a normal bedtime for a child of my age,
just couldn't get sleepy.

That said, I can sleep for eight hours.
The issue is, how late I stay up.



raw83472
Tufted Titmouse
Tufted Titmouse

Joined: 28 Apr 2017
Age: 42
Gender: Male
Posts: 37
Location: Florida

01 Oct 2017, 8:49 am

the_phoenix wrote:
I was born with insomnia.
As in, from the time I was a little kid,
I was allowed to have a late bedtime
because my parents knew there was no way
I would fall asleep at a normal bedtime for a child of my age,
just couldn't get sleepy.

That said, I can sleep for eight hours.
The issue is, how late I stay up.


So what's your normal bedtime and waketime? Are you saying that if you don't go to bed at a certain time, you'll have bad sleep?



the_phoenix
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 30 Jan 2008
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,489
Location: up from the ashes

01 Oct 2017, 10:19 am

When left to my own devices,
with no school, no schedule, no job ...
I tend to stay up until 3:30 a.m. or 4:00
and then sleep until 9:30 a.m. or 10:30.

If I were a full-time artist, I would happily stay on my "normal" night-owl schedule.

If I'm on vacation, I can get up before 6:00 a.m.
and go to sleep around 10:00 p.m.
because then there's motivation for me to be awake
during daylight hours.

Currently I have a job,
so I always set two alarm clocks.

Meaning that if I go to bed at 2:00 a.m.,
I still have to get up around 6:00 a.m.
or be late to work.



Edna3362
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 29 Oct 2011
Gender: Female
Posts: 13,727
Location: ᜆᜄᜎᜓᜄ᜔

01 Oct 2017, 10:50 am

At age 8, it was when I had it first.
At least ⅓s or so I spent time in school ends up with sleeping. It was wildly irregular: ranges from exhaustion that leads to 15+ hours of sleep, to 3 days of no sleep at all, simply because my body or mind said so. I usually roll with every sleepless nights I have and might as well enjoy it.
It persisted until I was around 19 -- Around before I end up with a fulltime job.

I may or may not still have it.
I have some episodes from time to time, yet it's one of those supposed problems I could afford having that ends up not being a problem itself -- so I never took meds or any treatment for it.

.. And I'm sure, it's not the whole story. :|


But then, in my case, laying down on a bed(mostly postural), sleeping(breathing, the air itself, whatnot and it's quality overall), AND waking up(hormones, others) is troublesome because nonallergic factor(s) of rhinitis -- so every day I wake up, and every night I go to bed, even on daily basis of my waking life, I had to deal with my damned sinuses.
So I grew up hating the concept of sleep with it. :x
Thus, not minding insomnia, or whatever sleeping issues I ended up with. I'll be more than glad if I wake up all the sudden and cut sleeping time shorter, consequences or not. It'll only a problem to me if I sleep too much, and it's not usually worth it -- if anything, the longer I sleep, the worse I end up with headaches or likely waking up sick.
So I still have issues with sleep, insomnia or not. Heck, autism or not, I'll still have a reason for having sleeping issues. :x


_________________
Gained Number Post Count (1).
Lose Time (n).

Lose more time here - Updates at least once a week.


harry12345
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

Joined: 26 Nov 2016
Age: 50
Gender: Male
Posts: 316

01 Oct 2017, 3:35 pm

Quote:
Anyone else with aspergers suddenly develop insomnia?


Yes. Getting a bad case of insomnia is what eventually lead to my diagnosis.

Insomnia is a symptom of something else and not an "illness" as such in it's own right - though it can feel like an illness I know. :cry: :cry:



raw83472
Tufted Titmouse
Tufted Titmouse

Joined: 28 Apr 2017
Age: 42
Gender: Male
Posts: 37
Location: Florida

01 Oct 2017, 5:14 pm

harry12345 wrote:
Quote:
Anyone else with aspergers suddenly develop insomnia?


Yes. Getting a bad case of insomnia is what eventually lead to my diagnosis.

Insomnia is a symptom of something else and not an "illness" as such in it's own right - though it can feel like an illness I know. :cry: :cry:


Did your insomnia go away? I've found that with Remeron I can at least get a restful night of sleep once every three nights or so...



Joe90
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 23 Feb 2010
Gender: Female
Posts: 26,492
Location: UK

02 Oct 2017, 4:56 am

I hope not. I love sleep, and I get really upset if I don't sleep at night, especially when I got to get up for work the next morning. Is there treatment or cure for insomnia? At the moment I'm generally a good sleeper, but I hope that suddenly won't change.


_________________
Female


harry12345
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

Joined: 26 Nov 2016
Age: 50
Gender: Male
Posts: 316

02 Oct 2017, 12:07 pm

raw83472 wrote:
harry12345 wrote:
Quote:
Anyone else with aspergers suddenly develop insomnia?


Yes. Getting a bad case of insomnia is what eventually lead to my diagnosis.

Insomnia is a symptom of something else and not an "illness" as such in it's own right - though it can feel like an illness I know. :cry: :cry:


Did your insomnia go away? I've found that with Remeron I can at least get a restful night of sleep once every three nights or so...


Yes, eventually, once I'd worked out what was causing it - mainly shift work, far too many social interactions through the week and trying to pretend to everyone (including myself) that everything was alright.



Voxish
Velociraptor
Velociraptor

User avatar

Joined: 16 Apr 2016
Gender: Male
Posts: 426

02 Oct 2017, 1:37 pm

I can’t sleep to save my life. Last night, in fact the last two were classic me. Go to bed, sleep two hours, wake up, toss and turn for 4 hours, sleep for an hour and then get up. Sometimes I might not sleep at all for several days. If I miss an entire night I might not sleep at all for 3 or 4 days


_________________
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder (Level 1)
AQ: 42
RAADS-R: 160
BBC: Radio 4


Joe90
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 23 Feb 2010
Gender: Female
Posts: 26,492
Location: UK

02 Oct 2017, 2:58 pm

Sleep catches up with me pretty quick. If I've had one or two sleepless nights and no long lay-ins, chances are it will catch up with me eventually and I'll sleep like a log for about 9-10 hours. But I do need to pee during the night, usually about 3 times in the night, so I obviously have to get out of bed to use the bathroom.


_________________
Female


Noca
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 9 May 2015
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,932
Location: Canada

02 Oct 2017, 4:27 pm

I slept perfectly until I was about 18 yrs old. I take like a half dozen drugs to sleep at night and have struggle with sleep a lot for over a decade.



SaveFerris
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 3 Sep 2016
Gender: Male
Posts: 14,762
Location: UK

02 Oct 2017, 5:55 pm

I have not been Dx so this may not be ASD related.

I do have trouble sleeping and it is always related to not being able to switch off my mind. I'm not sure if it's anxiety or obsessional or a bit of both , I am always replaying events/conversations in my mind at bed time or trying to visualise and act out future events.

Like the_phoenix if I'm left to my own devices I adopt a night owl schedule ( it feels like my natural body rhythm ) , which is fine if you work for yourself or don't work but can cause real problems if you have to start work early.


_________________
R Tape loading error, 0:1

Hypocrisy is the greatest luxury. Raise the double standard


Ichinin
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 3 Apr 2009
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,653
Location: A cold place with lots of blondes.

03 Oct 2017, 6:14 am

Parts of my life, i've had serious insomnia often resulting in me rotating day/night. As an adult i've made sure to get sleeping pills when i've needed them or i wouldn't be able to have a job.


_________________
"It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring" (Carl Sagan)


raw83472
Tufted Titmouse
Tufted Titmouse

Joined: 28 Apr 2017
Age: 42
Gender: Male
Posts: 37
Location: Florida

07 Oct 2017, 9:36 am

Voxish wrote:
I can’t sleep to save my life. Last night, in fact the last two were classic me. Go to bed, sleep two hours, wake up, toss and turn for 4 hours, sleep for an hour and then get up. Sometimes I might not sleep at all for several days. If I miss an entire night I might not sleep at all for 3 or 4 days


So how are you able to function/work? Was it always like this for you? Since I developed chronic insomnia, I've had to live with my parents and haven't been able to work.



raw83472
Tufted Titmouse
Tufted Titmouse

Joined: 28 Apr 2017
Age: 42
Gender: Male
Posts: 37
Location: Florida

07 Oct 2017, 9:43 am

Noca wrote:
I slept perfectly until I was about 18 yrs old. I take like a half dozen drugs to sleep at night and have struggle with sleep a lot for over a decade.


What drugs do you take? I've tried Seroquel, Unisom, Trazodone, Remeron, Sonata, Ambien, Xanax, and Lunesta... but currently I only take Remeron (15mg) and Lunesta (3mg, which I just started on). Remeron works every night to put me to sleep within about an hour, so I no longer have issues going to sleep. Highly recommend trying Remeron if you haven't since it's the only medicine that puts me to sleep each night without a problem. Although, now my issue is that I always wake up at 3 AM and can't get back to sleep. Here's my drug experiences...

Seroquel (50 mg): Works for a couple of days, then stops working.
Unisom (25mg): Works for a couple of days, then stops working.
Trazodone: Gave me priapism so stopped taking it.
Ambien (10 mg): Did absolutely nothing to help me sleep
Sonata: Did absolutely nothing to help me sleep
Xanax (0.5mg): Helps me sleep but it's very unrefreshing sleep so worthless for me.
Remeron (15mg): Works to put me to sleep every night. Highly recommend. I've been taking this for the last 5 months and it never fails to put me to sleep.
Lunesta (3mg): Just started this about 5 days ago so not sure if it's helping yet.