T
ThrownOutTheAsylum
Member
Does anyone here struggle with depression alongside lethargy and sleep apnoea?
Why Do I ask?
From 18 to my mid-fifties I never seemed to have a good night's sleep and occasionally had mild depression from being over-critical of myself which I kept under control with self help. I had 2 separate successful and demanding careers where no-one had any idea of my underlying struggles.
Then, seemingly overnight, I had extreme tiredness that quickly led to depression and my effectively taking early retirement. Various antidepressants and talking cures had little or no effect and I overcame the depression with exercise and self-help/CBT. The tiredness remained and sleep studies showed that I had central sleep apnoea (where my brain stops signalling me to breathe rather than the more common throat issues) and Periodic Limb Movement Syndrome (where my legs and often my whole body twitch in my sleep); however, different treatments over 3 years all produced frustrating false dawns, leaving me with excellent sleep statistics but still struggling with feeling tired and crap.
Six weeks ago my struggles got too much and a crushing lethargy quickly led to depression. Doing anything other than sitting and vegetating is hard. I eat healthily and exercise, jogging 3-6 miles each day (not bad for someone in their sixties), so this isn't ME/CFS. Over the years I've had all sorts of blood, neurological and cardiac tests that have come to nothing. I've tried a variety of health-related pills without any success. I seem to be banging my head against a wall, figuratively and literally (yes, really; I've done it in frustration many times).
With the backlog and increased demand caused by the corona virus reaction, I can't see myself getting any help through the NHS.
Why Do I ask?
From 18 to my mid-fifties I never seemed to have a good night's sleep and occasionally had mild depression from being over-critical of myself which I kept under control with self help. I had 2 separate successful and demanding careers where no-one had any idea of my underlying struggles.
Then, seemingly overnight, I had extreme tiredness that quickly led to depression and my effectively taking early retirement. Various antidepressants and talking cures had little or no effect and I overcame the depression with exercise and self-help/CBT. The tiredness remained and sleep studies showed that I had central sleep apnoea (where my brain stops signalling me to breathe rather than the more common throat issues) and Periodic Limb Movement Syndrome (where my legs and often my whole body twitch in my sleep); however, different treatments over 3 years all produced frustrating false dawns, leaving me with excellent sleep statistics but still struggling with feeling tired and crap.
Six weeks ago my struggles got too much and a crushing lethargy quickly led to depression. Doing anything other than sitting and vegetating is hard. I eat healthily and exercise, jogging 3-6 miles each day (not bad for someone in their sixties), so this isn't ME/CFS. Over the years I've had all sorts of blood, neurological and cardiac tests that have come to nothing. I've tried a variety of health-related pills without any success. I seem to be banging my head against a wall, figuratively and literally (yes, really; I've done it in frustration many times).
With the backlog and increased demand caused by the corona virus reaction, I can't see myself getting any help through the NHS.
