The long term effects of sleep deprivation on my career

[gracie97]

Along with OSA, I have Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome where my sleep/wake cycle is deleyed (3-11 am), so having had to start work at 9 am has been a nightmare. I thank god about being diagnosed and treated for both these conditions.

I also have delayed sleep phase and suffer a lot from it.

You imply that you were successfully treated for it? Can you please tell me how you overcame that problem?

[MandoJohnny]

I can empathize also, I nearly lost couple of jobs due to daytime sleepiness and I have seen a colleague actually lose his job due to it, before I had ever heard of apnea. I got a sleep study seven years ago and was not diagnosed because of an incompetent sleep study tech and an inexperienced doctor. Recently, my job was threatened once again due to sleepiness and I got a new sleep doc. This guy is good and so were my sleep center techs. My new doc also got a hold of my old study from seven years ago and said that I should have been diagnosed from that. So my guess is that I have suffered from apnea for over 10 years, at least, and I would be much farther along in my career now if I have been diagnosed and treated that long ago. That is not to mention the problems it probably caused in my overall health, my relationships and my self esteem.

Oh, well. There are people lots worse off than me. Now I am diagnosed and responding well. I will see what the future holds. LOL, what other choices do I have?

[GoofyUT]

Interesting thread.My sleep doc speculates that I have "Advanced Sleep Phase Syndrome" (ASPS) (9P-4A). Anyone heard of this and any ways of managing it? Personally, I think he's full of crap.

Chuck

[Snoredog]

Interesting thread.My sleep doc speculates that I have "Advanced Sleep Phase Syndrome" (ASPS) (9P-4A). Anyone heard of this and any ways of managing it? Personally, I think he's full of crap.

Chuck

Commonly referred to as Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome. It basically means your day/night sleep cycles are all screwed up and you have no real set pattern for awake and sleep.

http://www.stanford.edu/~dement/delayed.html

What most people don't realize is sitting in front of a computer can act like light therapy.

[Guest]

Delayed Phase Syndrome (DPS) and Advanced Phase Syndrome (APS) are two flip sides of a circadian rhythm disorder that entails the body's internal clock not being completely synchronized with 24 hour days.

APS typically entails the circadian rhythm recognizing days as being shorter than 24 hours. Your evening sleep onset phase tends to happen prematurely with APS. For some people with APS that premature sleep onset can happen earlier and earlier each day.

DPS typically entails the circadian rhythm recognizing days as being longer than 24 hours. Your evening sleep onset phase tends to be latent with DPS. For some people with DPS that latent sleep onset can happen later and later each day.

[Guest]

Bill,

When I first started visiting this forum a few months ago, I considered you to be a "success story" - living large in spite of sleep apnea. I came here quite desperate, looking for hope that life could possibly improve. It's been a hard road, but two things have helped turn my zombie state around and I believe could help some others. First, give your body and brain whatever it needs to heal. Secondly, consider medications that can help clear the head until the brain has healed. That will mean something different to each person - for me it was a no-other-choice decision to call time out on all obligations and cater to my body's needs that saved my life. Figure out what that means to you; below is how that looked for me for those who like stories. Otherwise skip it.

Since my sleep seemed best between 4am and 9am, and I needed naps after every few waking minutes, for the first time in 54 years of living I put me first and essentially went into hibernation. Lost my career, lost my retirement, lost all income, lost my insurance - SAVED MY LIFE.

I had taken a nose dive in my functionality and cognitive abilities, and over a year's time my (mis)management of two departments in a large non-profit threatened to sink the ship. I told the CEO six months prior "If I was any kind of manager I would fire myself." But he believed in the me I used to be - sharp, on top of things - and waited for me to get a grip. But after fighting multiple sleep disorders for 10 diagnosed and many prior years, it wasn't going to happen. I could literally feel myself - my life - slipping away. I gave a one month notice before taking my entire 5 weeks time bank off, but feared I wouldn't survive till then. I was indescribably utterly depleted, praying for the strength to put one foot in front of the other each one more time. In the end I relinquished my job to allow myself time to heal. My crash was long (over 2 months) and hard, but gradually I began to pay off my sleep debt (wish I could say that for my other debts - no income is no joke). Taking Provigil helped keep me awake a little, but taking Concerta has done wonders for the brain fog. Oh, I'm still a mess, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Oh my - that was unintentional but so appropriate! That was a micro nap. But as I was saying, my brain feels more like the old me than it has in years. To all those in a fog - don't give up hope.

Kathy

[kteague]

Last post was me.
Kathy

[MandoJohnny]

Are are the margins on this page all messed up for everyone else besides me? Anyone know what caused that?

[NightHawkeye]

Are are the margins on this page all messed up for everyone else besides me? Anyone know what caused that?

It was the inadvertent long string of zzzzz's without a carriage return in Kathy's post.

Regards,
Bill

[*Willy*]

Bill, hang in there. There is a light at the end of the tunnel but it takes time. I am new to the forum and to my sleep disorder that I did not know that I had. After I saw a doctor about a different problem he ordered a sleep study and I was rated at a 40 AHI after i.5 hours. I just sat there is that bed for a half hour thinking "how could this be". After several different mask that night and hardly any sleep I went to work dead tried. The following week I got my basic REMstar than unit set at 16 and it seemed like I had most of the same problems that I read about on this site. After a week of very little sleep I called a meeting with my staff and told them my about my problem and that they needed to pick up some thing until I could get control of this problem. I did not travel, make any key decisions, etc. for more than a month. I almost gave up (that would be a big mistake). I finally purchased a different unit a little more that a week ago and I now feel better that I ever have in my life. I am sure I have even more room for improvement and I did not even know I had a problem. I will continue to read postings at this sight because with good information this disorder can be controlled. You have to be determined to get this under control and than you can get back into your daily functions at your company stronger thatn you have ever been. I am on the new REMstar "M" auto and my AHI past 7 days 2.2 with a average pressure of 7. This is not a one type of equipment answer, different things work for different people. Your answer is out there and you will find it and then you will get back what you have lost and more. I would tell you "best of luck" but luck has nothing to do this it.

[Guest]

Bill is doing just fine now. He wrote that post a year ago! This thread got brought back to the surface by spam.. This thread is a year old.

[kteague]

Sorry 'bout the zs messing up the margins. Didn't know that would cause margin trouble.
Kathy

[Guest]

Bill is doing just fine now. /b].

How do we know? He never writes, calls or posts anymore!

< sob > < sob >

[Guest]

Mine has been horrible, and unless someone has been there, they don't understand.

I was near completely incapacitated by mine. At my level, one doesn't feel tired; you feel like a continuous bad flu. I've discovered that I have been being impacted by this for many years with varying degrees of severity. Everything in my life was impacted. Not caring? Oh yeah. Geez, I could go on and on.

As for work, it is not a life. Prioritize your health first. My career is on hold until this is resolved. I just returned from an ENT consult and discovered I am an excellent candidate for surgical intervention. I'm going for it. No hesitation at all. My CPAP experience has been tough.

Good luck. Hang tough. There are many others with you.

[sleepypirate555]

What career? Sleep apnea started when I was 17. I quit (miraculously graduated early) school cause I was sleeping 15ish hours a day, I didn't have the energy to get to and from school, much less stay awake while I was there. I lost job after job, wound up homeless at 18. When I dated someone, I had to live off of them because I couldn't get out of my fog. Was in a couple of abusive relationships cause I didn't have the energy to leave, much less anywhere to go. My husband was the first to actually recognize something was wrong and DEMANDED that my doctor get me a sleep study. I've been on treatment for 2 weeks, and I'm only feeling worse each day. My hope is to feel better, and get a job! To actually keep a job. Any job.