Daily Guilt Trips

[Maytay]

Does anyone else feel guilty about sleeping late and/or taking hours of naps throughout the day?

I have been out of work since March 2012 now I can easily sleep 12-14 hours a night. I mostly go to bed around 8:30 - 9:00 pm and wake up around 11:30am - 12:00noon. My kids are in high school and college, so I don't have to "take care of them". My husband works full time. Usually, by the time I get up and take my meds, let the dogs out and check my bank account online, it's time to start planning supper for everyone.

I also have a lot of text messages or voicemails on my phone and feel guilty that I missed the calls/texts. My family and close friends don't seem to care, but I do!

I just feel like such a loser. What 43 year old mom sleeps until 12 noon? It's not every single day, but enough that I feel labeled as "lazy". I've always been the "strong" one, who makes all the decisions and keeps everyone together. Now, I feel just useless.

Okay, pity party over. I'd like to hear similar stories so I don't feel so alone in this.

[Cindybridgeman]

Maytay--I don't have a similar story, so please forgive me. However, you need to take care of yourself as best you can. If that means taking as much rest as you need, then so be it.

Please continue taking care of yourself. No guilt, no excuses.

Just be.

[littlemaya]

I can relate

Yes, I sleep a lot, and I spend a lot of time beating myself up about it. But the truth is, I need the sleep. If I get overly tired, look out! I don't like the person I become when I'm exhausted.

Sleeping is the lesser of two evils, and I have to remind myself of that fact just about every day.

LittleMaya

[mercadies25]

That's called MS fatigue.

Some days I sleep all day. 24-48 hours. I get up and pee (way more than I would like to) take my meds and get a bite to eat.

It's just me and my hubby so he will let the dogs out before he leaves checks on me and then goes on his merry way. He comes home checks on me , makes sure I took my meds then lets the dogs out. He fixes himself something to eat and I just sleep.

I used to feel guilty but I have no choice. I always feel It when it's at it's worse and I say see ya in a couple of days.

Don't feel guilty we don't have a choice. Take care of yourself.

Good luck!!

[Maytay]

Zombie Alert

On the flip side of the guilt sleeping, I also go through periods where I can't sleep at all. Huh? Not side effects from steroids, (haven't been on those for a long time) just random nights that my eyes won't close. My husband's alarm goes off at 6am and he finds me sitting on the couch surfing the channels looking like a zombie. I have to reassure him that I'm not going to eat his brains. I probably would be less smarter if I ate them anyway!

This can last up to 48 hours. Although I'm awake that whole time, I still function like a zombie....going through the motions. Of course, once I do crash, I crash hard and sleep another 48 hours. I don't remember anything I said/did during that insomnia episode. I wonder what zombies are thinking sometimes? You know, besides, "Brains, Brains!"

Anyway, my teenage daughters have learned to take advantage of me when I'm in that zombie state. They ask me for money, to go places and invite people over and of course I say "yes" to everything. Then, when I've caught up with my sleep, I have to keep asking why I can't find my credit cards, why is our bank account low, and why am I getting email confirmations about products or concert tickets I've ordered.

[Seasha]

Sorry for your problems, Maytay. Have you ever considered having a sleep study done? You will want to ask your doctor about this. Just a thought here, JMO, but sleeping for 12 hours at a time and then being awake for 48 hours might be indicative of a sleep patterning problem.