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Feel awful after naps

Messages
77
Hello,

I never let myself take naps because of how terrible I feel after it, I feel so awful if I felt it at any other time I would be worried something is seriously wrong. I just unintentionally fell asleep and was woken by my dad coming home from work and felt horrendous after, feel completely out of it, so sick and dizzy, plus I sometimes get a pain in my stomach which may be because of stress or stomach problems and that is hurting. I was wondering two things, one, why does this happen? And secondly I have realised for quite some time that when I feel at my complete worst it is when I wake up in the middle of the night feeling so sick it is ridiculous, and was wondering if the feeling is being caused by the sensation I get after having a nap, although I do wake up every night pretty much without fail and when it is linked to being awful my stomach has normally had some discomfort the day or two leading up to it and it is quite rare when I feel really awful, maybe every few weeks? But I still don't feel great when I just wkae up at night.

Any ideas?

Thank you

Ps. My nap was about 20 mins which I thought was a good amount time for a nap.
 

Sasha

Fine, thank you
Messages
17,863
Location
UK
I don't have exactly the same symptoms as you but I do feel like death after a nap - malaise and aching. When I wake in the night, I also often though not always feel like death. I'd love to know what that's all about. If I wake early - say 5 a.m. - and get back to sleep, guaranteed like-death when I wake later.
 

jeffrez

Senior Member
Messages
1,112
Location
NY
It might be possible that you just need longer naps. I sometimes feel like crap after a short 15-20 nap, but if I really get a good 1 or 2 hour mini-sleep nap, I can actually wake up feeling quite refreshed (after that initial few minutes upon waking when you feel like death warmed over, lol). Sometimes more refreshed than following a usual night time sleep.

I think in general we could all use more sleep, jmho. It's just so hard with computer/internet, phone, tv, etc. always around and available, speaking personally at least.
 

rosie26

Senior Member
Messages
2,446
Location
NZ
Hi Willhm, I have had this problem since having ME. I never allow myself to go to sleep during the day even in the early years of severe insomnia. Because I would wake up so weak, nauseous and feel like death ! I think it might be either that our blood pressure goes down too low or it could be a glucose thing in the blood (too low)? Oh it would be so sweet to be able to catch up on sleep during the day that missed out during the night. I know how unpleasant that weakness is especially having to deal with it on top of the other ME symptoms.
 

Beyond

Juice Me Up, Scotty!!!
Messages
1,122
Location
Murcia, Spain
Count me in the group of shitty naps. I have had this problem even before being "sick" I think (maybe I always were in a latent form!). I just know longer naps doesnt make it better.
 

soxfan

Senior Member
Messages
995
Location
North Carolina
I rest in the afternoon but never fall asleep...when I get up after an hour or so I feel completely horrible. Even worse then before I laid down. I wouldn't even bother doing it since I always feel so awful when I get up but there is no way I can't...I would never make it through dinner and till my 9 thirty bedtime.

Sometimes I try to just rest Ina chair so I am not laying down but that usually doesn't help. So I feel horrible even if I don't actually fall asleep..I would like to but find it impossible to even doze.
 

liquid sky

Senior Member
Messages
371
I try hard not to ever lay down during the day. I generally cannot fall all the way asleep and I feel horrible when I get back up. Actually, I feel horrible when I am lying there too. I believe it has something to do with being in the supine position. Maybe not getting enough oxygen/blood flow to the brain?

I feel awful when I wake up in the morning also. It takes a few hours to improve somewhat. I have been wondering about getting the blood flow/drainage checked out to my head/neck area. I also tend to desaturate when lying down, so could be connected. It is horrible to be so exhausted and know you will pay if you lie down.
 

SOC

Senior Member
Messages
7,849
Huh! That's quite a few people all having a symptom I don't think I've heard of before. I'll be interested to see if it's common among PWME or not.

When I was sicker than I am currently, I would also feel awful enough after naps of less than an hour, that I would avoid them, but I don't think I felt as awful as others are reporting. Mostly I just felt more tired, brain foggy, headachey, and irritable along with general malaise, but nothing in the nausea area -- but then I don't have GI symptoms anyway. I could take long (1-5 hr) "naps" during the day without any problems. I attributed the short nap thing to not getting into the right sleep state in a short time, or to needing more sleep than I got.

I'm guessing my poor short nap problem is not the same as other people are describing here.
 

Beyond

Juice Me Up, Scotty!!!
Messages
1,122
Location
Murcia, Spain
Its interesting yes, now that I think about it this feeling awful after "siestas" could be a marker of bad health of some sort. As far as I know, lots of "normal" people say that naps make them feel refreshed. For me it takes hours to overcome the nausea, malaise and slight headaches. I dont take naps anymore, indeed, why bother. I try to sleep at night. :D
 

soxfan

Senior Member
Messages
995
Location
North Carolina
I actually feel horrible when I am laying down as well. I know it will always turn out bad but have the overwhelming need to rest. It is especially bad when I work and come home afterwards and rest...that is when I feel the worse. I don't have any type of stomach problems but do feel just totally disgusting when I get up...
 

rosie26

Senior Member
Messages
2,446
Location
NZ
I don't understand why I don't have this problem when I wake up during the night, it only happens to me during the day. And it is so awful, I feel like my heart is hardly beating, feel sick and very weak, I walk all bent over and weak and fragile. It eventually passes but takes hours. Wish I knew what the cause was. Perhaps get the pain in the stomach checked out by doctor incase it's something else going on Willhm, if it worries you. I used to get a stabbing pain in my liver, had it checked out, no gall stones, blood tests normal.
 

ukxmrv

Senior Member
Messages
4,413
Location
London
Are people sleeping with their beds raised so the heads are up? I'm wondering about something Dr Cheney said about heart problems and lying down flat.

Is it the sleeping or the lying down for people?
 

jeffrez

Senior Member
Messages
1,112
Location
NY
Are people sleeping with their beds raised so the heads are up? I'm wondering about something Dr Cheney said about heart problems and lying down flat.

Is it the sleeping or the lying down for people?


Easy enough to check. Just lie down for 20 minutes. ;-) If you're someone who feels worse after a nap, I doubt you'd feel as bad from that.

What's most likely happening (imho) is that the brain is increasing slow waves as one goes into the sleep state, and then probably not cycling back up into the fully waking state, keeping one stuck in that kind of spacey, groggy place for a few hours, with all the attendant para-/sympathetic/hpaa changes that go along with that (lower blood pressure, lower heart rate, etc.).
 

rosie26

Senior Member
Messages
2,446
Location
NZ
It's the falling asleep during the day that is the problem for me.
I've always had my bed raised at the head, since being sick, stuck a pillow under mattress, had to do this as light-headedness, dizziness was too bad, sinus, sore head problems required raised bed at head.

Could be overly sensitive to that sleep cycle you mention jeffrez ? might be a cause

I have also experienced these same symptoms after taking certain painkiller tablets, their is one brand of Panadol that I cannot take, the original brand is fine . It has happened 3 times to me and now stick to what I know is ok.
 

Little Bluestem

All Good Things Must Come to an End
Messages
4,930
Do those of you who feel bad after naps dream a lot when you nap. I sometime do and then feel bad when I wake up. I feel like I get more real rest lying in bed awake listening to non-commercial radio or music CDs.
 

Sasha

Fine, thank you
Messages
17,863
Location
UK
Are people sleeping with their beds raised so the heads are up? I'm wondering about something Dr Cheney said about heart problems and lying down flat.

Is it the sleeping or the lying down for people?


i started to write that for me, it's the sleeping, but then I wondered. I spend a lot of time in the day lying down and feel fine but that's in shorter bursts (15-20 mins) than when I nap (40 mins) or sleep at night - but during the night, this feeling isn't reliably there and seems to depend on the time. If I wake at 4am it's not there; if I wake at 7am, it is. Maybe it's the longer period of sleeping. Hmm...

Cort had a piece on heads-up sleeping a few days ago. I tried resting on a tilted surface a few years ago (I had a 6-foot long foam wedge cut to my spec) and felt a bit worse lying down on it during the day. I was too scared to sleep on it because someone raised the possibility that you might get supine hypertension. I'm thinking of getting a gentler slope cut and trying it again.