35 replies to this topic

[sometimes]

The only thing that has helped me is taking my medication an hour or so prior to waking up.

[Big Dog]

I'm kinda hoping to keep this thread going because I absolutely hate waking up. I can't remeber a morning conversation that I've had in months though I converse with my wife most every morning. I think those who live with narcoleptics have the biggest problem here too and many relationships are damaged by it. I've tried the taking meds and going back to sleep trick. It has been helpful when I do it, but usually I just do it later (when I actually wake up)

[b0rd3rline]

I have been struggling with waking up in the morning for as long as I can remember. There were generally no consequences when I would sleep through 4 alarms and end up getting to class an hour or 2 late. However, once I had to start worrying about waking up for work and being chewed out by my supervisor a couple of times, I went on the quest to find a more effective way to get out of automatic mode in the morning. Nothing I tried seemed to work (multiple alarms, starting my alarms earlier, having somebody else come try to wake me up), and I really started getting frustrated. Then, this last summer, I decided to splurge and get one of the new Droid smart phones (basically like an iPhone), and started browsing the apps. And then I came across one of these applications that has at least partially solved my problem with waking up: An alarm clock that involves math equations.

Once my alarm clock goes off in the morning now, I have to answer 3 medium difficulty math equations (e.g 345-32+13) in order to shut it off. The difficulty and # of equations needed to shut off the alarm are changeable. Answering these equations allows me to wake up just enough out of that automatic state, and gives me enough wherewithal to roll over and take my morning dose of Provigil. From there, I set an iTunes alarm on my computer for about 10 min later, followed by another, more annoying alarm 4 min later, and BAM! I'm up and getting ready for the day.

I'm not sure how successful this option would be for other PWN's, but I know it has been a life-changer for me, and wanted to share this discovery with others. Oh, and if you suck at math and think this would be a terrible idea, think again. I also am not the best at math, but in the 5 months since I discovered this, I have become increasingly more competent with my addition and subtraction. Lol. Hope you get a chance to try this (Alarm Clock Plus on the Android martket, but I'm sure they have actual alarm clocks that implement the same ideas elsewhere).

Goodluck waking up my friends! =)

[Big Dog]

I love that idea. If I could afford a new phone every day to replace the one I destroyed for making me do math before it shut up I'd be all over it. Seriously though that's a great idea.

[drago]

And then I came across one of these applications that has at least partially solved my problem with waking up: An alarm clock that involves math equations.

Once my alarm clock goes off in the morning now, I have to answer 3 medium difficulty math equations (e.g 345-32+13) in order to shut it off. The difficulty and # of equations needed to shut off the alarm are changeable. Answering these equations allows me to wake up just enough out of that automatic state, and gives me enough wherewithal to roll over and take my morning dose of Provigil. From there, I set an iTunes alarm on my computer for about 10 min later, followed by another, more annoying alarm 4 min later, and BAM! I'm up and getting ready for the day.

I'm not sure how successful this option would be for other PWN's, but I know it has been a life-changer for me, and wanted to share this discovery with others. Oh, and if you suck at math and think this would be a terrible idea, think again. I also am not the best at math, but in the 5 months since I discovered this, I have become increasingly more competent with my addition and subtraction.

I had a similar alarm clock. It would increase in difficulty if you solved the problem and then snoozed again. I was doing square-roots of numbers to turn the thing off - all while still asleep, mind you -- before I realized that it was ineffective for me. :-p

However, I now have THE BEST THING OF ALL TIME EVER. I have previously used a deaf alarm clock that shakes the bed to make sure I wake up enough to take my medication. However, I have a tendency to get used to stimuli and adapt (as shown above in my ability to memorize enough square roots to turn the alarm off!) so I can stay asleep. What I really needed was something that had more options -- for example, something that would shake the bed a different way each day, because I was used to the general sensation, but a new sensation would make me thing OH NO, DANGER! and wake me up.

So the best thing of all time? It's the i.relax Aroma Diffuser -- it uses light and aromatherapy to wake you up, which is especially affective for me because I have a tendency to sleep through sounds, especially if I have used them for alarms before.

The product is from Oregon Scientific. See more here: http://us.oregonscie...user-Elite.html

You can pick whatever sent/essential oil works, and for me it really wakes me up in a nice, HEY-it's time to stop being asleep way, instead of the traditional alarm method I have had to use, which is more along the lines of WAKE UP NOW OR YOU WILL DIE!!! WAKE UP! ROBOT INVASION! DINOSAURS WILL EAT YOU! NO REALLY! WAKE UP! It's been so nice to wake up to the smell of citrus fruits or herbs than to "Why is my bed shaking?" And since I can change up the smell on a nightly basis, I have had much more success with it.

It also has light censors and nature sounds, too. I use it in combination with my deaf alarm clock right now... but thought I'd pass along the tip.


drago

[lyndawn2]

How do I wake up? I wake up because my husband sucks..... or at least I think so in the mornings..lol

He works 3rd shift. I work mostly on my own time as long as I get the work done (great for PWN). I sleep on the couch because of RLS. He gets home at 9am and wakes me up. He talks, and talks, and talks. On a side note, he has been known to talk for an hr straight without a response from the person he's talking to and he doesn't realize this. He sleeps on the couch through the week so he can wake up when the kids get home from school.

So, as soon as I sit up, he just lays down and knocks me off the couch. Because I am force to go somewhere else, I wake up (I am groggy for 30 min to 2 hrs though)

Lynette

[Sleepingcrow]

Alarms make my narcolepsy worse for the day. If someone is waking me up I ask them to simply say my name once at a normal level, it takes me a bit, but it usually pulls me out of that deep dream place and within 10 or 15 minutes it feels like I've woken up naturally. If they're insistent and keep talking I'm screwed for the rest of the day.

But the best for me is sunlight. I'll sleep forever in a darkened room, even though I have trouble falling asleep in one that's too dark, so I go to bed in the moonlight and wake up naturally in the sunlight. And i tell people not to talk to me until I've had my morning shower. if they're respectful, it's all good.

[Damiana9]

I have the hardest time waking up in the morning. Especially if I get 8 hours or more of sleep, it seems to be harder. I will wake up initially to my alarm or my kids, whichever comes first, and usually end up dozing off into dreamworlds, that make it very hard to get out of. I am prescribed adderall, so I will take this between one of my morning naps and still can sleep on it for about an hour or so. Sometimes I find it is helpful for me if I dont sit down or lie down after getting up since I'm prone to falling asleep in the mornings, however sometimes its a losing battle, because i feel like I have to lay down. I dont have cataplexy I was diagnosed with narcolepsy in 2008.My symptoms are the worst it seems around my menstrual cycle. I have weird episodes sometimes that I mimic my hypnogogic hallucinations during sleep paralysis, but I will be awake, unable to fall asleep. Sleep paralysis used to be constant for me in my teenage years, now its about once a month since Ive been on the adderall. I could really use some advice too. Mornings are the worst

[Damiana9]

The only thing that has helped me is taking my medication an hour or so prior to waking up.

yep, this is what I do, i take it between morning naps then fall asleep and it usually takes a good hour to be able to actually get up and stay up

[Mom]

My son was diagnosed with Narcolepsy w/o Cataplexy last Oct and it really answered alot of questions. He is now 31, and I can see that this has been going on since he was a teen. He and I are handling this pretty good, however I am in need of help on the subject of waking up in the morning. He doesn't hear his alarm(s). They could go off forever and he wouldn't hear them. A bomb could go off and he wouldn't hear it. When I wake him up in the morning I have to start 2 hours before he needs to be at work. It is so hard, so frustrating. I cry almost every morning because he just can't get up. I scream, I yell, I push him, I shove him. But I have to be careful about the touching part because he gets very violent and will take swings at whoever or whatever is near. He doesn't remember doing any of those things. He does some really funny things that are not funny at the time, and he does some things that are so sad and he doesn't even know he's doing them. He has a great job and loves his work but he has to be there extremely early and then he doesn't get home until extremely late. So he maybe will get 4-6 hrs of sleep a night. I keep thinking that this just can't go on, there has to be a way, there has to be something out there that can help. I am so afraid that if anything should happen to me then he will be out on the streets because of all of this. Can anyone help us?

[bdavis]

This is soooooo nice to read about! I'm narcoleptic and a college student who has morning classes because this semester that was all that was available. I have slept through most of my morning classes since school started I think because i am adjusting to the schedule and i am just on adderall ( I can;t take Nuvigil). It is nice to read that among other narcoleptic sufferers I'm "normal" because I've started to feel like such a lazy failure!

[sleepystarz]

My son was diagnosed with Narcolepsy w/o Cataplexy last Oct and it really answered alot of questions. He is now 31, and I can see that this has been going on since he was a teen. He and I are handling this pretty good, however I am in need of help on the subject of waking up in the morning. He doesn't hear his alarm(s). They could go off forever and he wouldn't hear them. A bomb could go off and he wouldn't hear it. When I wake him up in the morning I have to start 2 hours before he needs to be at work. It is so hard, so frustrating. I cry almost every morning because he just can't get up. I scream, I yell, I push him, I shove him. But I have to be careful about the touching part because he gets very violent and will take swings at whoever or whatever is near. He doesn't remember doing any of those things. He does some really funny things that are not funny at the time, and he does some things that are so sad and he doesn't even know he's doing them. He has a great job and loves his work but he has to be there extremely early and then he doesn't get home until extremely late. So he maybe will get 4-6 hrs of sleep a night. I keep thinking that this just can't go on, there has to be a way, there has to be something out there that can help. I am so afraid that if anything should happen to me then he will be out on the streets because of all of this. Can anyone help us?

I would guess a good share of his problems are being caused by major sleep deprivation. 4-6 hours just isn't enough. He's not waking up because he needs more sleep, not necessarily because of narcolepsy. He's either got to go to sleep earlier and sacrifice his free time at home, or cut back on work hours so he has more time to himself. Most normal people wouldn't do well long-term on 4-6 hours of sleep. Someone who's already sleepy due to narcolepsy sure is gonna have a hard time. All the medication in the world won't make up for necessary sleep.

[songbird]

I have a Sonic Boom alarm clock. It has a bed shaker under it. I put mine under my pillow instead. The reason it helps me is because when I first wake up, I'm conscious, but I just can't move yet. Sounds don't help, light doesn't help, but a physical sensation I can latch on to? It's like an anchor. I'm the same way waking up from naps. If I can put my phone somewhere I can feel it vibrate, it's easier to wake up. In general, though, I tend to wake up, take my medicine, and go back sleep for an hour or so.

My multiple shaking alarms annoy my roommates, but balls to them!

Side note: I find it funny (or at least odd) that several people cannot take provigil or nuvigil, so they take adderall instead. Adderall barely kept me up, and it made me more irritable.

[Fluffybunny5000]

I have found the cure to narcolepsy oversleeping hahaha. (see link at bottom) I shivered at the price originally but i told myself.. its loose my job or this. Well so I bought it.. as well as the new iPhone4S (which has an app for narcoleptics! where you can keep track of your sleep and your symptoms) but anyways.. i downloaded a "police chase siren" "air raid horn" "tornado warning horn" "ak-47 attack" and some loud ass music. well.. I have 10 alarms set.. but i never need more than 2 of them.. if i snooze once the 2nd one im getting up because it......

SCARES THE LIVING *BEEP* OUT OF ME!!!!!!!!!!!

sO.. If your like me and can sleep through anything... best 100 bucks i ever spent.. no more oversleeping! hahahaha (oh yeah and i've had it since january)










http://www.bestbuy.c...1&skuId=3316142

[LauraL]

Excellent thread! Thanks for the suggestions. Until I was diagnosed and started treatment (just a few weeks ago), I was routinely sleeping through three alarm clocks--a bright light/radio alarm, my cell phone's beeping/vibrating, and my clocky (alarm clock on wheels--you have to chase it down). After sleeping through my workday more than once , I was getting a little desperate, and even talked to a neighbor (who's also a friend) about giving her a key to my apartment so she could come haul me out of bed in the morning!

Fortunately, since I've started the Nuvigil, I don't find mornings nearly as hard. Not sure why--maybe my body is getting reacquainted with what it's like to be awake, so it's not as strange a sensation first thing in the morning.

I would like to give a plug to the clocky, though. The thing I find most helpful is not the wheels, but the fact that the alarm consists of various beeps and tones deployed at random, so every morning the pattern is different. I think I'm more likely to block the sound out when it's a familiar pattern.

I'm still setting three alarms, but sometimes I wake up to the first one. It feels miraculous! I just ordered one of the bed-shaking alarms designed for people with hearing loss. Goodness, mornings are getting busy around here!

[songbird]

Fluffy, I have that Sony clock! I keep it on the other side of the bed from my Sonic Boom and phone. That thing is loud as hell! I mostly use it just for the radio now. Putting the Sonic Boom bed shaker right under my pillow along with taking the provigil an hour early has cut my alarms from 7 to 3.

LauraL, I'd love to try a Clocky, sounds fun! Haha, I can imagine my cats interacting with that thing. They already think the Roomba is the devil.