Exceptionally Sleepy Person

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Exceptionally Sleepy Person
« on: August 17, 2008, 11:44:35 PM » by beckyoto

Hi all,

A man in my church was recently tested for Narcolepsy and Sleep Apnea, and both tests came out negative. After spending 1800 dollars Roll Eyes

they basically just told him that he is just an 'exceptionally sleepy person'.
Have any of you ever heard that 'disorder'?! Sounds a bit ridiculous to me.

He falls asleep very easily, even in the middle of conversations, driving, and sitting in church service. He just can't stay awake. He has to take a caffeine pill before each church service just to make it through without falling asleep. Caffeine pills...That can't be healthy Undecided

He knows that I prefer natural remedies whenever possible so he asked me to do some research and see if we can find out what's causing him to be so sleepy. I am heading over to the Candida thread now to start there (11 pages long?! That'll take me a while). But I do have strong suspicions that the problem is in his gut - he is a junk food junky despite the efforts of his sweet wife). But other than that I'm not sure where to look. Any other suggestions?

He would also like something natural that could substitute for the caffeine pills. Something that will 'really work' to keep him awake, especially through church. Any thoughts on that?

I greatly appreciate any help you all can offer!

BeckyOto

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Re: Exceptionally Sleepy Person
« Reply #1 on: August 18, 2008, 12:26:56 AM » by Becks

Sounds funny... but my thought is diabetes. My mom was falling asleep at the wheel Shocked

. She was tested for narcalepsie (sp?) too. Finally they found it was directly related to type 2 diabetes. Since going on insulin shots she stays awake fine. Not a fun thing to have to deal with, but it at least gives you a new idea to explore.

« Last Edit: September 19, 2008, 07:43:59 PM by shekinah »
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Re: Exceptionally Sleepy Person
« Reply #2 on: August 18, 2008, 12:39:15 AM » by herbalmom

The things that come to mind are allergies, low blood sugar, exhausted adrenal glands, yeast/fungus & chemical sensitivities. In reality, all of them tend to go together & set each other off. All of them can cause severe sleepiness. I have had MAJOR problems with it myself.

A good book on allergies & chemical sensitivities & the many ways they can effect you is: An alternative approach to allergies : the new field of clinical ecology unravels the environmental causes of mental and physical ills By Theron G. Randolph and Ralph W. Moss. It is a dozy title but it is an EXCELLENT book & is understandable. The book Unraveling the Mysteries of Autism would probably help. Don't let the title scare you - it has A LOT of info about allergies in it. Also Is This Your Child? by Dr Doris Rapp & any of her other books. Even though they are about children they have good info about allergies in general.

HTH Blessings ~herbalmom

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Re: Exceptionally Sleepy Person
« Reply #3 on: August 18, 2008, 10:36:36 AM » by healthybratt

Chronic fatigue and depression are both often symptoms of a different, more significant problem. These can often be a result of candidiasis and/or leaky gut syndrome. Indirectly it can be related to adrenal fatigue, thyroid upset, etc, but candidiasis can cause these problems as well or at the very least contribute to them.

When I say "depression" I don't mean "sad". I mean a depletion of neurotransmitters (hormones) in the brain that should be available to cause "awake".

Once a cycle gets started, it's very difficult to break. If he's overtired, he's probably not getting quality sleep, therefore, he's probably also not making melatonin (made only in dark and while sleeping) and this makes him more tired because this is the hormone that makes you sleep. On the flip side, if he's sleeping all the time then he might be making too much melatonin which will further add to the problem as well.

And if he has clinical depression as I mentioned above, the neurotranmitters that make awake will continue to deplete themselves, therefore cycling further and further downwards. Adrenal fatigue could be a cause but it could also be a symptom because his adrenal gland is overcompensating to keep him moving in spite of his hormone deficiencies in the brain, etc and on and on.

http://www.welltellme.com/discuss/index.php/topic,2698.msg24644.html#msg24644

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My favorite herb book!!

Re: Exceptionally Sleepy Person
« Reply #4 on: August 18, 2008, 08:28:37 PM » by beckyoto

Hi there!

Thank you Ladies for your help. This definitely gives me some direction to go. I think I'll start with the leaky gut and candida angle. Boy, I have a lot of reading to do. That's okay, I've been meaning to read those threads anyway, so I best get to it!

Hmm, I suspect he won't like me telling him he should cut out the sweet cakes and ding-dongs Cheesy

Thanks again Ladies!
BeckyOto

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Re: Exceptionally Sleepy Person
« Reply #5 on: April 03, 2009, 02:03:38 PM » by WellTellMommy

I agree with Hb!!!
Gut is the first place I'd look to but, something I read in GAPS came to mind ...
Gluten and Casein proteins in people with unbalanced gut flora do not get digested properly and turns into substances with similar chemical structures to opiates.
If our gut is unbalanced it can be like being Drugged .....causing us to be overstimulated or fall asleep.

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Re: Exceptionally Sleepy Person
« Reply #6 on: April 03, 2009, 04:21:14 PM » by mykidsmom

Becky,

I sound just like this guy! I can literally fall asleep anywhere. I have struggled with it since I was a teenager. The targets for me that have made a huge difference have been adrenal fatigue (took Isocort while I used diet to correct), watching my blood sugar (I'm a diabetes risk because of GD), and food allergies. Fixing my food allergies seems to be a biggie. The gut is so critical to our body's function. It sounds like he just needs to radically change his diet. If he does, many of these things will heal themselves. A few targeted supplements might also be in order. I'm guessing he has severe adrenal fatigue at this point.

patti

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