Epilepsy/narcolepsy help please

Barneysmom

My DH has epilepsy. He had a big lorry accident a few years ago, I don't know if the epilepsy was the result or the cause of it though.

But I'm worried about the amount he is sleeping now. Today I went to work at 7.00 a.m and he went back to sleep after I left.
I phoned him at 13.15 this afternoon and he'd only just woken up.
He stayed awake till I got home at about half past three, and now he's asleep again. I mean a real deep sleep, snoring.
I'm sitting here typing this in the dark using the light from the monitor to see the keypad.
I was wondering if he might have narcolepsy but don't know what to do.
Or if maybe it's some sort of trauma thing from the army, he was a soldier for 20 years and saw a lot of bad stuff, the worst in the 80's when he had to help bury hundreds of people who died in the famine in Sudan.

I really don't know what to do with him, or even how to broach the subject. Should I sneak down to the doctors and have a word?
He's 44.
I do get a bit annoyed sometimes aswell, as I'm out grafting to pay the mortgage and the rest of the bills while he sleeps all day, though I know it's not his fault.
He does get some incapacity benefit but as you can imagine, it covers next to nowt.

sharon59

He may be sleeping a lot due to his epilepsy medication if this has been going on for a while.If it is a new thing it could be depression or boredom.
Why are you sitting in the dark-think it would be better if you put a gentle light on and tv and carried on with your life and wake him and see if you can comminicate with each other and this may spur him on to get help and help you feel less stressed and burdened.Its your home too and he needs to be told that you cant !!!!! foot about waiting for him to wake up! Cant he prepare tea for your return?
He is an adult and you need to treat him as such-even if he is ill he can do something to help!not meaning to sound harsh but he sounds like he needs a bit of a shake up as you sound worn out.Hope things improve for you.Please let us know how your doing.
sharonx

spora

hey

I suffer from narcolepsy and with the amount he is sleeping it does sound like a possibilty. It does usually develop around late teens/ 20's, but thats not to say it cannot devolop later on in life. Does he get tired doing things? For example, if i do cleaning for about 20mins i will have to go to bed for a few hours. Or if i go out shopping for half a day i will have to load myself up with caffine to stay awake and then will be shattered for the next two days. Does any of this sound like him?

Another possibility is that it could be Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Really the doctor needs to speak to him. I think for any tests to be done he has to have been like that for at least 6 months. It is also helpful if he keeps a sleep diary so the doctor can see how much he sleeps for a day and if normal activities tire him out.

If it has been going on for a while then i suggest he goes to the doctor- probably if you went with him to back up what he says it will help. Ive read that the most common problem doctors see patients for is being tired all the time (they call it TATT). So make sure he stresses that it is interfering with his everyday life and that he cant do normal tasks without it tiring him out (if this is true, of course) and that its not a case of him being a bit tired.

There is normally quite a lengthy wait to get a sleep study done (a few months) and to get the results back (a few weeks) then to get an appointment with a neurologist (about couple of months) so if the doctor thinks he needs a sleep study then be perpared for a long long wait. Just speaking from my expeirence though.

Definitly make him go to the docs. Let us know how he gets on

[Deleted User]

Barneysmom wrote: »

My DH has epilepsy. He had a big lorry accident a few years ago, I don't know if the epilepsy was the result or the cause of it though.

But I'm worried about the amount he is sleeping now. Today I went to work at 7.00 a.m and he went back to sleep after I left.
I phoned him at 13.15 this afternoon and he'd only just woken up.
He stayed awake till I got home at about half past three, and now he's asleep again. I mean a real deep sleep, snoring.
I'm sitting here typing this in the dark using the light from the monitor to see the keypad.
I was wondering if he might have narcolepsy but don't know what to do.
Or if maybe it's some sort of trauma thing from the army, he was a soldier for 20 years and saw a lot of bad stuff, the worst in the 80's when he had to help bury hundreds of people who died in the famine in Sudan.

I really don't know what to do with him, or even how to broach the subject. Should I sneak down to the doctors and have a word?
He's 44.
I do get a bit annoyed sometimes aswell, as I'm out grafting to pay the mortgage and the rest of the bills while he sleeps all day, though I know it's not his fault.
He does get some incapacity benefit but as you can imagine, it covers next to nowt.

It could be the epilepsy or even the medication thats making him tired,i`m 49 and take 3 different ep.meds plus 12 others and i can sleep for england,and of course the seizures themselves are very tiring.
Depending on the frequency of his seizures and if he gets any warning (or auras)or not,then he maybe entitled to DLA which wont affect his other benefits and can add from £17 to £115 per week to your income
if you need more info on this feel free to pm me anytime
also take a look at this (free)forum/website
http://www.epilepsynse.org.uk/

Barneysmom

Thanks everyone, I'm a bit scared to fill in DLA forms, they are baffling.
I find it hard to talk, feel I'm being disloyal?