#THE CURE TO BEING CONSTANTLY FATIGUED IS TO SLEEP. WHY DIDNT I THINK OF THAT!!!!

[pixlmonkeys]

its been like 4 months since I’ve been able to get a full nights sleep im sooooo fine

[flipflopfishing]

sorry it's long, sleep is complex

okay is anyone else seeing this new research is being misinterpreted and i've seen one or two layman sources saying ADHD is due to poor sleep? this irritates me massively and here's why:

-i was diagnosed late. at the time i was diagnosed my sleeping was pretty much the best it's ever been. yet my symptoms we're still present and limiting me.

-okay, yeah. i didn't sleep as a baby. seriously my parents couldn't get me to sleep for the whole night and by the time i was walking etc. despite not sleeping the night, i didn't nap. YET i had energy. i do not recall being so constantly fatigued as a child but i do recall the mindless hours spent just laying in bed bored thanks to delayed onset of sleep. (okay most the time i got bored after like 45mins and left my bed lmao but sometimes i'd lay there waiting for like up to 2 hours)

-also! i was a restless sleeper! past tense. i woke up a loooot. and always got a bit spooked and went to my parents room. they took a lot of hits and kicks from my limbs flailing as i slept. but again, I WAS FINE IN THE DAY. NO FATIGUE.

-at around age 13 things changed. i started to nod off in school (understimulation rather than poor sleep), it was no longer acceptable to squirm or chat once work was done and i was punished in some classes for doodling and swinging in chairs etc. whilst teachers talked at us. i stopped any stimming i was doing, well, subconsciously to maintain focus. as a result i was unable stay awake in those classes. HOWEVER by age 14/15 i started to fall asleep faster at night. so i was getting more sleep than before.

-by age 17 i was sleeping in ~70% of classes. i was getting 7-7.5 hours at night, which wasn't ideal but it entirely due to my being too focussed on a task or spaced out in a daydream to go to bed on time. it wasn't the actual sleeping that was an issue. all my sleep at school in the day was probably adding 2 hours on to my 7. but i was still tired. THIS CONTINUED UNTIL MY SECOND YEAR OF UNI (age 19/20). Except by then I was sleeping 8-8.5 hours at night, had a fairly regular bed time and wake up time and was even tireder and falling asleep in probably 80% of lectures first year and 45% second year (i was more actively engaging in lectures or starting to doodle and plait my hair and play with a pen to stay awake and slightly more focused again) and i'm a week into third year so can't really comment

-also last time i had to share a bed with my mam at age 18 (cheaper to get a hotel room for the two nights we were away if we got a double) she commented i didnt move even half as much anymore

-in my first two years of uni i struggled to stay awake in lectures so much and was never getting a satisfying night sleep. one of my lecturers, who teaches sleep physiology, overheard a casual conversation about sleep between myself and another student and suggested i take a sleepyness study used by professionals in healthcare (epsworth i think it's called, sleep isnt actually my field) and if it indicated anything to get further help,,,, surprise it suggested i potentially had a mild sleep disorder hence the unsatisfactory sleep

-how is my sleeping current day? it's 2:30AM. answer that yourself. how are my energy levels? same as last year tbh bit less energy but that could be due to other factors in my life rn

WHAT IS MY POINT? as you can see adhd and sleep have lots of related issues. the hormonal dysregulations and issues of adhd impact our sleep. but adhd is not a /sleep issue/.

yes, symptoms are amplified when tired. yes, good sleep can help manage symptoms and even, to some extent, alleviate some of them!

my adhd causes my symptoms, at various times in my life including now sleep difficulties are one of the symptoms.

sleep difficulty does not cause my adhd symptoms. they prevail (many will often exist in the same degree/intensity as after a bad nights sleep) when im well rested and over rested. my adhd does however often cause various sleep issues. which obviously doesn't help.

i won't be pleased if an NT tells me during a good sleep phase of life that i'll focus better or be less forgetful if i sleep well.

here is a good report on the findings. they point out they aren't blaming a disturbed circadium rhythm and poor sleep for all symptoms but they are certain it's an important element. however they're also still questioning if sleepyness causes adhd or adhd causes sleepyness when it's both tbh. and even though it's not solid evidence, off personal experience if i had to pick one i will currently advocate that sure they're intertwined and but adhd definitely causes sleepyness. because no matter how well i sleep, i'm still gonna be at least slightly noticeably ND. https://www.ecnp.eu/~/media/Files/ecnp/About%20ECNP/Press/2017/Kooij%20pr%20FINAL_Sunday.pdf?la=en

TL;DR adhd is not due to sleep disorders but it has evident links and is worsened by them. new research is leading to phrasings of "adhd happens because poor sleep". no, it's "sleeping complications happen because of adhd". so to everyone using sleep and adhd in the same freakin discussion, please watch your phrasing and please don't imply my condition could be successfully treated (or worse, "cured") with a bit more sleep alone.

[ohsuchislife-blog]

How I discovered of my mdds?

My husband and I had planned a beach holiday in Redang Island (Malaysia) and the travel itinerary was rather quite daunting. However, we had been to Redang before though it never triggered mdds back then.

The travelling consists of - car > plane > car > boat > island.

Going to the island was a breeze. None of the vehicles triggered any mdds symptoms.

We spent 3 nights on the island. The first day we bummed around. Second day we went snorkelling (by boat), lots of swimming (floating on a float) and third day we did another snorkelling trip (more boating) and more swimming/snorkelling. I actually felt a bit queasy on the third trip from the constant boat rocking but manage to stabilise myself on the boat. (biggest mistake lol)

Thinking back... the 3rd night, I woke up to pee! I felt dizzy or rather unbalance when I walked to the toilet. But I kinda ignored it thinking I was just super tired from all that snorkelling. So I went back to sleep. On top of that, it was my first day without taking my birth control pills [my 7 day no pill commenced] (they normally help my cramps, headaches etc)..  BIG MISTAKE. I should have taken a back to back!

Woke up fourth day with no mdds issue.

We packed our stuff and headed for the boat to go back to town. Taking the speed boat back to town was rather annoying this time. The boat seats were sideways so we all had to sit sideways. Our views were sideways obviously. Secondly, the driver drove like a maniac. The boat was extremely rocky and we constantly flew over the waves like a roller coaster. I was holding on to the lousy wooden seats tightly so I don’t fly out in to the ocean. I was sitting awkwardly as well. But the biggest mistake was that I kept looking sideways and backwards of the boat! The whole trip lasted 45 minutes of extreme boat flying into the air and waves, boat diving into the waters and swerving left and right like we were chasing pirates. Once we got to the dock, no mdds at all. I walked normally. In fact, I walked normally the whole day after a boat ride, bus ride, plane ride and car ride.

When we got home, I was really tired! Having travelled the whole day on different types of transportation; I really just wanted to sleep! I slept and woke up with immediate mdds symptoms.

I was rocking, swaying, bobbing and felt the pushing and pulling of gravity. At that time, I didn’t know the existence of mdds. I just thought I had vertigo. So, I ignored it and went on living in that way for the next week or so. Until, I felt like this wasn’t right. I had suffered vertigo 7 years ago so I knew the symptoms of vertigo was feeling dizzy; especially when I turn my head or ride in a car. But these symptoms didn’t feel like vertigo at all. I proceeded to the pharmacy to buy betaserc and stugeron pills. These pills helped my previous vertigo. Took em and still no difference. I was also getting brain fog, forgetting things and feeling tired all the time.

I started researching online. Voila! Immediately came out mdds symptoms. Never heard of it and felt rather quite miserable. I wanted to go see the doctors but I tried to search for mdds specialist in Malaysia. None existed. So I decided to go see my ENT and I was right that the doctors here knew nothing... he just said I had vertigo and I should continue to take betaserc for a whole month until my symptoms subside.

2 months later and my symptoms are still around.

I stopped taking betaserc and stugeron. No difference. I bought gingko biloba to help my fatigue. It actually helped me from NOT being SLEEPY. I even tested Valerian root (didnt help!).

I did a lot of self experiment for vestibular exercises at home. I was shaking my head, walking up and down, focusing my eyes and doing all kinds of therapies the whole day everyday!! Nope, it rarely helped.

I was constantly researching and reading a lot about mdds. The research led to a dead end. There was no medication to cure it. No therapies to heal it and no meditation or yoga to counter it. It was a complete dead end.

Looking back at my trip... I try to figure out what really triggered my symptoms. These were the few that came up my mind after my extensive research kinda correlates my triggers.

mdds possible triggers: 1. I was on my contraceptive pills daily until the 3rd day of my trip. On that night, I finished my pill pack. Normally, that meant that my period was coming within the next 7 days! From my research, some doctors said that mdds triggers could be hormone related especially during periods. So if you’re on BCP like me, please take a back 2 back pills while on your trips.

2. The rocky boat ride! Due to the fact that I didn’t stare in FRONT of the boat; I starred at the back of the boat could have contributed to my mdds. I strongly advise to NOT take any boats if possible. If you have to, take a normal boat! Don’t take speedboats!! And always LOOK IN FRONT of the boat.

3. Non-stop boating, snorkelling and using floating device (float, life jacket). I was doing all these 3 activities daily. Each of this activity could have made it worse after another. I strongly suggest to taper down your water activities. Maybe just 1 snorkel trip is enough!

I was really relaxed and stress free throughout the whole trip so I felt sceptical that being anxious could make mdds symptoms worst. And most mdds symptoms are triggered by some boat ride especially from a long cruise! Cruise are suppose to be a RELAXING and STRESS FREE journey. I highly doubt that stress or being anxious triggers mdds. Still, nobody can give us an answer on why these symptoms kinda appear from no where. I’ve read a few that it sometimes trigger when you’ve never even been on a boat ride!

If any of you are reading this and are in remission; please let me know how you did it! I am willing to try anything!