- Messages
- 59
- Location
- Lancashire, UK
Hi folks,
Over the past year I've become somewhat convinced that perhaps I am not sleeping soundly throughout the night, as I assumed I was. I'd really like to investigate this now, and figure out if anything is going on.
A little background. I have mild-moderate ME but sleep reasonably well. It takes me longer than the average person to fall asleep - particularly so when I'm feeling unwell and have that tired-but-wired feeling with the associated insomnia - but I often sleep roughly 9 hours without waking. I am on no medication but supplement with Cod Liver Oil, Ubiquinol, Vit D, and a B complex most mornings.
I generally feel lousy in the morning, and I know this is common. I feel best in the evenings and often this is the most productive part of my day for me. For example, some vision problems, which I've had since the start of the year, seem to improve later in the day.
So, here's a list of things that have started up over the past year, related to sleeping. Perhaps they are possible clues.
- The first thing is that i have discomfort on my right side - chest / shoulder area - which is worse in the morning and gets better as they day goes on. It sort of feels muscular, but at the same time not. It's really hard to explain. I have a feeling it could be due to soft tissue / rib problems. It is not extremely painful - I describe it as discomfort/soreness, but I wish it would go away.
- I've always considered myself a quiet/light sleeper. I don't think I snore, and I'm otherwise healthy (*lol*) and average weight for my height. However, a couple of times over the past six months or so I have had the feeling of my throat closing just as I'm getting to sleep, or perhaps I was asleep. It was like one snort that woke me up each time. This has made me consider the possibility of sleep apnea.
- I wake up with a dry mouth and sore throat most mornings. This started around the time I started to feel more ill, and has been pretty constant. Some mornings are worse than others. Like other symptoms, these don't generally bother me later in the day, but i do generally have a tight-throat sort of feeling (again hard to describe) which has been the case for years now.
- A visit to the dentist a few months back revealed that i have some tooth erosion (not expected at my age), despite otherwise good dental hygeine. This was a bit of a shock, but I had started to notice whitening of front upper teeth and that these same teeth were becoming very sharp at the bottom. This is all due to enamel being worn away. I spoke to the dentist and we came to the conclusion this was either grinding or acid erosion caused by acidic drinks/foods or GERD.
- I have mild IBS but heartburn / acid reflux has never really been an issue for me. However, over the past year or so I have had some instances of what I assume is acid reflux - particularly so the morning after drinking alcohol (though I drink it very rarely).
So, any thoughts? What do you think is most probable? Would a sleep study be a good thing to ask for? I'm even thinking of trying to film myself at home :thumbdown: though I don't know if this would be good enough to prove or discount anything.
This was longer than expected, so thanks in advance!
Over the past year I've become somewhat convinced that perhaps I am not sleeping soundly throughout the night, as I assumed I was. I'd really like to investigate this now, and figure out if anything is going on.
A little background. I have mild-moderate ME but sleep reasonably well. It takes me longer than the average person to fall asleep - particularly so when I'm feeling unwell and have that tired-but-wired feeling with the associated insomnia - but I often sleep roughly 9 hours without waking. I am on no medication but supplement with Cod Liver Oil, Ubiquinol, Vit D, and a B complex most mornings.
I generally feel lousy in the morning, and I know this is common. I feel best in the evenings and often this is the most productive part of my day for me. For example, some vision problems, which I've had since the start of the year, seem to improve later in the day.
So, here's a list of things that have started up over the past year, related to sleeping. Perhaps they are possible clues.
- The first thing is that i have discomfort on my right side - chest / shoulder area - which is worse in the morning and gets better as they day goes on. It sort of feels muscular, but at the same time not. It's really hard to explain. I have a feeling it could be due to soft tissue / rib problems. It is not extremely painful - I describe it as discomfort/soreness, but I wish it would go away.
- I've always considered myself a quiet/light sleeper. I don't think I snore, and I'm otherwise healthy (*lol*) and average weight for my height. However, a couple of times over the past six months or so I have had the feeling of my throat closing just as I'm getting to sleep, or perhaps I was asleep. It was like one snort that woke me up each time. This has made me consider the possibility of sleep apnea.
- I wake up with a dry mouth and sore throat most mornings. This started around the time I started to feel more ill, and has been pretty constant. Some mornings are worse than others. Like other symptoms, these don't generally bother me later in the day, but i do generally have a tight-throat sort of feeling (again hard to describe) which has been the case for years now.
- A visit to the dentist a few months back revealed that i have some tooth erosion (not expected at my age), despite otherwise good dental hygeine. This was a bit of a shock, but I had started to notice whitening of front upper teeth and that these same teeth were becoming very sharp at the bottom. This is all due to enamel being worn away. I spoke to the dentist and we came to the conclusion this was either grinding or acid erosion caused by acidic drinks/foods or GERD.
- I have mild IBS but heartburn / acid reflux has never really been an issue for me. However, over the past year or so I have had some instances of what I assume is acid reflux - particularly so the morning after drinking alcohol (though I drink it very rarely).
So, any thoughts? What do you think is most probable? Would a sleep study be a good thing to ask for? I'm even thinking of trying to film myself at home :thumbdown: though I don't know if this would be good enough to prove or discount anything.
This was longer than expected, so thanks in advance!
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