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Trouble sleeping, and eating

Ziac45Ziac45 Registered User regular
edited December 2009 in Help / Advice Forum
Within the past few weeks I have been waking up around 4 A.M. and not being able to go back to sleep. This continued for a few weeks and last night it hit a whole new level. I went to bed at 3 A.M. and had to be up for work at 7, I just laid there for 4 hours not able to sleep at all. I was very tired when I went to bed and I even came close to falling asleep but whenever I got close I would all of a sudden wake up and not even realize it. It is possible that I fell asleep for a few seconds each time but not long enough to interrupt my train of thought. So here I am going on 33 hours without being asleep except for about 10 minutes before my one class, and I am not feeling very tired currently.

So the second part of this started yesterday and hit really hard today. I have no appetite, and if I force myself to eat a full meal I want to throw up for the next three hours. I keep going to meals with my friends like normal and attempting to eat but I just will eat a few fries or nuggets and never a full meal.

Working back from it the only thing I can think it would be is stress, I have a large paper due soon and I am having relationship problems with a few different people. However no matter how stressed out I have been in the past it has never effected my sleeping or eating, I could always depend on at least 6 or 7 hours of sleep each night and I normally eat like a horse.

Just wondering if anyone has any idea on what I can do to have an easier time falling asleep, preferably without medicine, or if maybe its a simple fix to get my body back on track.

Ziac45 on

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    PracticalProblemSolverPracticalProblemSolver Registered User regular
    edited December 2009
    exercise

    meditation maybe

    The eating thing is worrisome to me though, is there a doctor you can see?

    PracticalProblemSolver on
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    Ziac45Ziac45 Registered User regular
    edited December 2009
    I actually work at a gym, so I work out a fair bit as well as being active on campus. I honestly cannot afford to visit a doctor and no one in my family can afford to pay for me at the moment.

    Ziac45 on
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    ShogunShogun Hair long; money long; me and broke wizards we don't get along Registered User regular
    edited December 2009
    Stress can have a myriad of negative effects on one's life. The lack of sleep will only compound problems. You might try taking some personal time as soon as the semester is over. Finish up whatever you have and take a break.

    Shogun on
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    ReitenReiten Registered User regular
    edited December 2009
    You need to try some meditation before trying to sleep. Turn down or off the lights, breath deeply and slowly, etc., for 10 to 15 minutes. If you don't let your brain slow down before you sleep, it will just start spinning. Your lack of appetite could be the same. If you're at school, check out and see if there are school counselors/therapists. They should be free.

    Reiten on
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    TaGuelleTaGuelle Registered User regular
    edited December 2009
    Pick up this book. It's a survey of the Korean Language from a linguistics point of view. I'm a linguistics major and I love it to death, but this book puts even me to sleep.

    http://www.amazon.com/Korean-Language-Cambridge-Surveys/dp/0521369436/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259989887&sr=1-5

    And this might get me an infraction or whatever, but maybe try smoking a little pot. Increases your appetite and might help you sleep.

    TaGuelle on
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    MagnumCTMagnumCT Registered User regular
    edited December 2009
    You're not over-training are you?

    MagnumCT on
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    ueanuean Registered User regular
    edited December 2009
    Stress. Or a parasite.

    Living in rural Africa, I can say that your symptoms are pretty identical to mine. I had Bilharzia. Once that was taken care of, I was back to normal. Then a massive bout of stress hit, and the same symptoms... I literally did not eat for five days straight at one point, and over three weeks lost 20 pounds. Lack of sleep, combined with being weak from not eating... its like a self-fulfilling prophecy, and is hard to break. Severe stress can do some absolutely crazy things with your body though.

    uean on
    Guys? Hay guys?
    PSN - sumowot
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    QliphothQliphoth Registered User regular
    edited December 2009
    Is medical marijuana legal where you're located?

    Qliphoth on
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    SwashbucklerXXSwashbucklerXX Swashbucklin' Canuck Registered User regular
    edited December 2009
    Do you have a campus health centre that will allow you to see at least a nurse practitioner for free? Are there any health clinics for low income people in your area? This really seems like something you should see a doctor for, and I'm saying this as somebody who has had issues with insomnia throughout my life. Not sleeping plus hardly eating is nooooo good.

    I'll go ahead and give my usual advice, in case it helps. Cover up any clocks you can see at night before you sleep. Knowing how long you've been lying awake will only increase your stress and make it harder to get to sleep. Also, try doing a muscular tense-and-release exercise in the late afternoon. Lie somewhere comfortable, and part by part, tense your muscles up as much as you can, hold for 5 seconds, then relax. Do this starting at your head and going down to your toes, isolating one section of your body at a time.

    Still... if you have a parasite or something, you don't want to fuck around with that. Look into any free/affordable health care options in your area.

    SwashbucklerXX on
    Want to find me on a gaming service? I'm SwashbucklerXX everywhere.
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    Ziac45Ziac45 Registered User regular
    edited December 2009
    I live in Maryland so I highly doubt its a parasite as I have just been eating on campus recently. The campus health center charges 10 dollars per person and right now I just do not have that kind of money to pay.

    Medical marijuana is not legal but I can smoke some marijuana before bed tonight and see if that helps me at all.

    Ziac45 on
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    ueanuean Registered User regular
    edited December 2009
    Ziac45 wrote: »
    I live in Maryland so I highly doubt its a parasite as I have just been eating on campus recently. The campus health center charges 10 dollars per person and right now I just do not have that kind of money to pay.

    Medical marijuana is not legal but I can smoke some marijuana before bed tonight and see if that helps me at all.

    Believe it or not, Schistosomiasis is not uncommon in North America. Been swimming lately?

    (I'm in no way saying you actually have it, cause I'm no doctor and there's a billion reasons for your symptoms, the most likely of which have already been mentioned, other than a parasite, but I just wanted to clarify that you don't need to live in Africa to get one)

    uean on
    Guys? Hay guys?
    PSN - sumowot
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    Ziac45Ziac45 Registered User regular
    edited December 2009
    I haven't gone swimming in a little over a year

    Ziac45 on
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    desperaterobotsdesperaterobots perth, ausRegistered User regular
    edited December 2009
    Try a night cap.

    As in, a lovely warm drink of delicious whisky/port/whatever.

    And give yourself an hour before bed of computer/news/distraction free reading time.

    White noise helps too (a fan, or an online whitenoise generator!)

    Rolling around in bed stressing out about not being able to sleep is the worst thing ever (I've posted a similar thread here!). The above helped me a lot.

    desperaterobots on
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    Ziac45Ziac45 Registered User regular
    edited December 2009
    Thanks for all the great replies! I do believe it was stress and am feeling, and sleeping, much better. Last night after I got my lit paper back (determined whether or not I would pass, or fail, the class) I ended up getting an A and slept much better. I only laid awake for an hour or two and my mind was clearly on relationship issues the whole time, so once I get those resolved I should be doing just fine.

    Ziac45 on
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    desperaterobotsdesperaterobots perth, ausRegistered User regular
    edited December 2009
    *golf clap*

    desperaterobots on
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    JohnnyCacheJohnnyCache Starting Defense Place at the tableRegistered User regular
    edited December 2009
    Ziac45 wrote: »
    I live in Maryland so I highly doubt its a parasite as I have just been eating on campus recently. The campus health center charges 10 dollars per person and right now I just do not have that kind of money to pay.

    Medical marijuana is not legal but I can smoke some marijuana before bed tonight and see if that helps me at all.

    you're tense because you don't have any money.

    Seriously I'm glad some general stress relief helped somewhat, but I just watched someone collapse and end up in ICU because he didn't have money to go to the doctor. I don't want to re-ruin your sleep or anything but if you think it's a medical problem, scramble up the ten bucks.

    JohnnyCache on
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    Ziac45Ziac45 Registered User regular
    edited December 2009
    Ziac45 wrote: »
    I live in Maryland so I highly doubt its a parasite as I have just been eating on campus recently. The campus health center charges 10 dollars per person and right now I just do not have that kind of money to pay.

    Medical marijuana is not legal but I can smoke some marijuana before bed tonight and see if that helps me at all.

    you're tense because you don't have any money.

    Seriously I'm glad some general stress relief helped somewhat, but I just watched someone collapse and end up in ICU because he didn't have money to go to the doctor. I don't want to re-ruin your sleep or anything but if you think it's a medical problem, scramble up the ten bucks.

    It is just not possible till my next paycheck, I forewent the usual entertainment expenses I have but next paycheck I will o get checked out and make sure its nothing serious. ( I get paid in 1 week)

    Ziac45 on
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    JohnnyCacheJohnnyCache Starting Defense Place at the tableRegistered User regular
    edited December 2009
    Ziac45 wrote: »
    Ziac45 wrote: »
    I live in Maryland so I highly doubt its a parasite as I have just been eating on campus recently. The campus health center charges 10 dollars per person and right now I just do not have that kind of money to pay.

    Medical marijuana is not legal but I can smoke some marijuana before bed tonight and see if that helps me at all.

    you're tense because you don't have any money.

    Seriously I'm glad some general stress relief helped somewhat, but I just watched someone collapse and end up in ICU because he didn't have money to go to the doctor. I don't want to re-ruin your sleep or anything but if you think it's a medical problem, scramble up the ten bucks.

    It is just not possible till my next paycheck, I forewent the usual entertainment expenses I have but next paycheck I will o get checked out and make sure its nothing serious. ( I get paid in 1 week)

    if you really, honestly don't have 10 bucks to your name for the next week, you're in a sub hobo bracket and it probably is a source of your stress.

    JohnnyCache on
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    MonoxideMonoxide Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited December 2009
    it's almost certainly stress related, as your financial/social/academic problems are putting you under a lot of pressure

    though I have to ask how can you afford pot to try to self medicate, but not ten bucks to see a doctor?

    Monoxide on
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    Ziac45Ziac45 Registered User regular
    edited December 2009
    I bought it a long time ago for fairly cheap, I bought it than never ended up smoking it.

    Ziac45 on
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