Vicodin is a commonly prescribed pain reliever for those recovering from surgery due to illness or injury. It contains hydrocodone, a synthetic form of codeine and acetaminophen. It is classified as an opioid which means that taking it may lead to tolerance and dependence on the drug which may later lead to an addiction. Within six to twelve hours after taking the last dose of this pain reliever, Vicodin withdrawal symptoms manifest.

Vicodin withdrawal works this way:

It stops your brain from receiving pain signals. So if you miss a prescribed dose of Vicodin, your brain will begin receiving pain signals again. Pain is uncomfortable and often unbearable. What most people do the minute they perceive pain is to reach for Vicodin to stop the pain.

" Vicodin Tablets " photo taken by schnaars

What most people do not understand is that opiates and opioids like Vicodin is well- tolerated by the body. The body easily gets used to being happily pain-free. But being well-tolerated also means that as the body gets used to being happily pain – free, the body will need an increasing dosage of Vicodin to achieve the same level of pain relief.

When a regular dose of Vicodin is late, or when you have finished a month’s supply of Vicodin in just two weeks as you will need more and more Vicodin to reach the same freedom from pain; your body will crave for the Vicodin. You cannot rest, be relieved or be happy without Vicodin. Sadly, Vicodin is habit-forming very much like a bad relationship you want to be rid of but are afraid to be without.

So what happens when you stop taking Vicodin? Your body goes into Vicodin withdrawal. Withdrawal is an assortment of changes in your body, in your mood or in your behavior after you stop taking an opiate such as Vicodin. Withdrawal can be physical and it can also be both emotional and psychological.

The first sign of Vicodin withdrawal is the vengeful return of the pain (for which you were prescribed the Vicodin in the first place). It could be real pain, but it can also be imaginary pain, or it may be just the pain of the withdrawal itself.

Your whole body tenses up and your muscles ache. You start shaking and you break out in cold sweat. It feels like you’re about to have a bad case of the flu: you get muscle and joint pains; you become feverish; and your heart starts to race.

Because your heart rate increases, your blood pressure also increases. You feel like screaming and running but if you get up, you feel like throwing up. Your stomach hurts and you are dizzy and nauseous. With all that going on, the Vicodin withdrawal symptoms themselves cause you to lose sleep. It is really difficult to sleep with your stomach churning, your head spinning and your leg jerking. You lose sleep because of the withdrawal symptoms; but then later, insomnia becomes a regular symptom of Vicodin withdrawal. Your mind is alert to all the sensations of pain and discomfort but you are trapped in a shaking and tremulous body. It’s not a wonder that you lose sleep.

When you quit cold-turkey on Vicodin, these withdrawal symptoms will manifest within 6-12 hours from the last dosage. But these Vicodin withdrawal symptoms are mild compared with the full-blown withdrawal you will experience within 24 to 36 hours from quitting Vicodin.

Why are there two stages of Vicodin withdrawal? This is because even after your body rapidly metabolizes and uses up the Vicodin, some of its active ingredients are still freely circulating in your blood and stored in your liver. To stop the awful pain and tremors, your body will use up the Vicodin you’ve stored up—hence the mild withdrawal within 6-12 hours. But when the stored up Vicodin is all gone, full-blown

Vicodin withdrawal begins—hence the onset of terrifying withdrawal symptoms.

" Vicodin " photo taken by Amayzun

Most doctors do not prescribe quitting Vicodin cold-turkey: patients are scared of going into full-blown Vicodin withdrawal. They instead recommend a gradual “weaning” from Vicodin. A gradual weaning may just prolong your agony.

How long does Vicodin withdrawal last? The acute withdrawal symptoms can last from three to five days. This is the worst. But after these three to five days where the Vicodin withdrawal symptoms are mostly physical, the post-acute Vicodin withdrawal stage begins.

The post-acute Vicodin withdrawal stage is different from the acute Vicodin withdrawal stage in that it is episodic. It comes and goes and life feels like a roller-coaster ride. The physical symptoms may lessen, only to be replaced with gnawing emotional and psychological symptoms: the craving for Vicodin nags at you; the anxiety, agitation and restlessness of your mind and your emotions feel like random panic attacks. You often fear that you are losing control, losing your mind.

How long does this post-acute Vicodin withdrawal stage last? It lasts until the body can manufacture its own endorphins again. Endorphins are your “feel good” hormones. In a non-addicted person, endorphins are released by your brain when, for example, you kiss the one you love; when you smell your baby’s clothes; when you laugh watching a good movie; or when you get a promotion at work.

The post-acute Vicodin withdrawal stage can last for months. And this is where insomnia hits you hardest. As you wrestle with feelings of shame, guilt, anxiety and agitation, sleep becomes an impossible dream and an unreachable star. Post-acute Vicodin withdrawal makes you sleep deprived.

How can you relieve post-acute Vicodin withdrawal symptoms that cause sleep deprivation?

• You can practice deep breathing: controlling your breath will calm you down and stem the agitation.
• You can engage in regular physical exercise such as running: it will use up your energies in the daytime and get you tired enough to want to sleep.
• You can try listening to classical music to help you relax.
• You can take herb teas that help ease tension and relax muscles such as passionflower, ginger, and peppermint.
• You can try getting a massage to relax you.
• You can take a hot bath just before bedtime.
• You can see your doctor and ask him about the benefits of the anti- hypertension drug Clonidine. It eases the racing of the heart and the pounding in your ears as blood rushes in your head.

photo taken by Roberto Garcia Fadon

The withdrawal symptoms associated with quitting Vicodin are daunting and intimidating. Realizing that the withdrawal symptoms are not short-lived but will go on for months is staggering. All this may weaken your resolve to quit. But hang on in there!

Your body will adjust to the absence of Vicodin. When because of Vicodin withdrawal you find yourself awake in bed, don’t bulldoze your way through to get some snooze. Relax and go with the flow. Read, watch TV, listen to your favourite CD, watch a chick-flick and cry your eyes out. Find a friend from another time zone and talk through the episode. Think of Vicodin withdrawal as breaking up and falling out of love with Vicodin: it is painful, but it does free you to move on to better things in life. You can get past this rough patch. Hang tough!

Here is the original post for this article: Vicodin Withdrawal: Wide Awake, Shaking And Falling Out Of Love Here is the original blog this article is featured on: Sleep Deprivation Effects Headquarters

What is Methodone? It is a synthetic drug developed in Germany around 1937 primarily as an analgesic and an anti-tussive: it was a cough and pain remedy. It was introduced in the United States ten years later, in 1947. It was initially marketed as a therapy and maintenance drug for cancer and the chronic pain that accompanies cancer.

In time, its potential for use as a drug for treating heroin addiction and withdrawal was discovered. It was then marketed as a substitute drug for heroin and morphine. It worked as a transition drug for those who want to get off of using morphine or heroin. You see, morphine and heroin are highly addictive. Using them poses a great health risk because in time, the same high can no longer be achieved using the same dose: you need increasingly higher and higher doses to get the same freedom from pain.

More than that, morphine and heroin addiction involves severe withdrawal symptoms: stroke, heart attack and seizures are associated with morphine and heroin withdrawal. So methodone was marketed and viewed as a solution to lessen the risk of these severe withdrawal symptoms of morphine and heroin.

So if Methodone is such a miracle drug, why is there a need then for detoxing from methodone? Sometime in 2006, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a public health alert. Years after using methodone as a transition drug, the former heroin and morphine addicts have become methodone addicts!

It’s not hard to see why: those who have been prescribed methodone are usually those who live with chronic pain. For them, pain relief is not a choice or an option; it is a daily necessity. Shifting from morphine and heroin to methodone was like getting off a bullet train to sure death. But getting on methodone was like getting on a steam engine to the same destination. Methodone has been proven to be addictive as well: maybe not as bad as morphine or heroin; maybe not as life-threatening; but just as addictive. Hence came the need for detoxing from methodone. Notice that the word used is not “withdrawing” from methodone, the word used is “detoxing.” The prolonged use of methodone is toxic.

It is toxic because it stays in your body longer than other drugs but its potency is limited to six hours. This means that you get relief for your pain for six hours but the pain immediately comes back even before your body has fully excreted all the methodone. Because the pain is back, you want to take methodone again. What happens is there is a traffic jam in your body: methodone builds up and piles up.

Then you develop arrhythmia (your heartbeat becomes irregular); you develop shortness of breath and even chest pains. Methodone build-up in the body is a recipe for a heart attack. So you really need to get off of Methodone; you need detoxing from methodone.

The good news is: withdrawing and detoxing from methodone is not as immediately life-threatening as withdrawing from morphine and heroin.  Good news is that the physical symptoms of withdrawal are not as acute or as heightened as heroin or morphine. The bad news is: detoxing from methodone lasts longer. It takes about two weeks to six months to detox from methodone.

Another bad news is: the withdrawal symptoms are more emotional and psychological. Among the reported symptoms of detoxing from methodone include paranoia (you become suspicious of everything and everyone); suicidal ideation (suddenly, taking your own life becomes a logical and sensical proposition); depression (you feel like a slowly deflating three-day old balloon); hallucinations (you begin seeing things and hearing things); agitation (you can’t sit still) and prolonged insomnia (you don’t just have problems sleeping, you can’t sleep at all).

It would be good to detox from methodone with a support group or with the help of a therapist. You will need to talk to someone who can help you sort out these thoughts and emotions that surge within you or annoyingly peck and nag at you.

The only symptom that you have to wrestle with on your own is insomnia. You have to be prepared for the insomnia related with detoxing from methodone.

First thing, settle it in your head: you will have problems sleeping while you detox from methodone. Second thing: accept it as a reality: you can’t sleep as you detox from methodone. Third thing: prepare with things to do when you can’t sleep because you are detoxing from methodone.

Forgive yourself: it’s not your fault you have a medical condition that brings your real pain. It is not your fault that you need pain relief, so don’t feel guilty. You are not a bad person for getting hooked on pain relievers. You may not even have known that you can get hooked or that you are already hooked. According to the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham, one common and basic human drive is to avoid pain.

That was all you were doing, you were managing your pain. What to do now?

Relax. Sleepless doesn’t have to mean sadness.

Stack up on DVDs of movies you haven’t watched.

Watch reruns of sitcoms (this way, you may be sleepless but at least you’re laughing).

If you’re the serious intellectual type, watch Shakespeare (some of his plays have been made into movies, you know). Watch Merchant-Ivory movies of English novels.

Watch documentaries from National Geographic or Discovery channel: the voiceovers are soothing and the panoramic vistas of the savannahs are relaxing. If you want to work out aggression, watch lions tearing apart deer while you punch away at a punching bag (suggestion: put your ex’s picture on the punching bag, that should help you get rid of your pent-up anger).

Listen to music.

Exercise (running or brisk walking induces sweating and sweating is a sure way to remove toxins from the body).

If you can arrange it, get a massage or a sauna and a massage. A massage promotes circulation of the blood; and circulation of the blood triggers a more efficient excretion of toxins.

Eat well and drink a lot of fruit juices. Fruits and fruit juices have a laxative and diuretic effect. This will promote further excretion of toxins.

Get a job at a call center and put your sleeplessness into good use: earn money. Or, help others by volunteering at a crisis hotline.

The last word on detoxing from methodone: now that you have decided to do this, be confident that you’ve made a good, sound, healthy decision. You can do it. It will probably be an uphill climb, but , oh, boy, when you get to the summit: to finally be detoxed from methodone, it will be joy unspeakable. Good luck to you, dear friend.

Here is the original post for this article: Detoxing From Methodone: Sleepless and Unsettled Here is the original blog this article is featured on: Sleep Deprivation Effects Headquarters

Suboxone is a drug that is specifically prescribed to treat opiate addiction. It belongs to the opioid family of drugs, but unlike heroin and morphine, it is only a partial agonist. A partial agonist is a drug that mimics the opiate effects of heroin, morphine, codeine or other opium-derived drugs but it does not have the same narcotic effect. It does not produce the same euphoric high and so it is not as highly addictive as heroin or morphine. While it is not addictive, people who take it can still develop a dependence on Suboxone. This means that if they stop taking Suboxone, suboxone withdrawal symptoms will occur.

The drug Suboxone was developed by an American scientist working at Columbia University. It was initially developed as a drug that can be taken by people suffering from chronic pain and have become addicted to heroin or morphine to stop the pain;

Since their pain is chronic, their quality of life will suffer without pain relief: suboxone offers pain relief without the addictive euphoria.

Does it sound too good to be true?

In 2000, another use of Suboxone was sanctioned by the Drug Addiction Treatment Act which authorized the establishment of Suboxone treatment programs aimed at helping heroin and morphine addicts to be cured of their addiction.

The ideal use of Suboxone after the passage of that law is no longer as a substitute pain reliever to heroin or morphine. It was declared as a drug addiction treatment.

A person addicted to heroin or morphine quits cold-turkey and before heroin or morphine withdrawal occurs, the person takes Suboxone. It is prescribed to be taken only for seven days under the law. The seven-day period is the duration of acute heroin and morphine withdrawal.

Suboxone is prescribed as a substitute pain killer to heroin and morphine only until the withdrawal symptoms of heroin and morphine have subsided. Then the dosage will gradually be decreased until after the acute heroin or morphine post-acute withdrawal stage is over.

Suboxone tricks the brain into thinking that it is still getting the same opiates but in truth, the opiates are slowly being removed from the body but without the body going through full-blown acute heroin or morphine withdrawal.

Suboxone is referred to as a step-down drug. It contains buprenorphine, an opioid medication with a less intense “high” than morphine or heroin; and it also contains nalaxone, a drug that occupies the opiate receptors of the brain and blocks other opiates from affecting the brain.

The problem is that people often get dependent and addicted to suboxone itself. What was intended as a temporary remedy to relieve withdrawal symptoms of heroin and morphine addictions, becomes a drug of choice as it fulfills the same tasks of heroin and morphine: it stops the pain; but it is not addictive in that it does not give a ‘high” and yet, it gives pain relief.

So what happens when you get hooked on the step-down drug, suboxone? What happens when you become overly dependent on suboxone? Well, for one, your financial well will dry up. Suboxone is very expensive. This is why it is a temporary

relief. You simply cannot afford to go on taking Suboxone as it costs too much. Your insurance may cover the suboxone treatment but the treatment beyond seven days will no longer be covered by most insurance policies. After the seven days, you cannot rely on your insurance to cover the cost of purchasing suboxone. You will be on your own.

So let’s say you have become dependent on Suboxone. You feel better but you are bothered that your expenses have ballooned. You decide to stop taking suboxone.

What happens next?

Your doctor or your drug rehabilitation professional will try to wean you off of suboxone. You will be titrated: this means that you will be given a gradually smaller dose until your daily dosage of suboxone amounts to no more than one milligram a day. This will ease the transition from suboxone to being finally pain-killer free.

But what if you do not wean yourself off of suboxone first? What if you decide to quit cold-turkey? You go into suboxone withdrawal.

The good news is: suboxone withdrawal symptoms are not as intense or as acute as heroin or morphine withdrawal. Heroin and morphine withdrawal must be undertaken only under medical supervision because serious withdrawal symptoms such as seizures and strokes may occur. In contrast with this, suboxone withdrawal is quite mild, precisely because it creates no addiction.

The bad news: there is a trade-off to mild suboxone withdrawal symptoms; suboxone detoxification takes longer. This means that it takes longer for the suboxone to be removed from your system.

The mild suboxone withdrawal symptoms will not go away in seven days. Acute Suboxone withdrawal lasts for two to three weeks and post-acute suboxone withdrawal lasts for a year.

As with all opiate withdrawal, there is the acute stage which is the most intense part of withdrawal. After this comes the post-acute stage which is the roller-coaster ride which will last for three months to a year. If you’ve read the other articles on opiate withdrawal in this website, you will know that the acute stage of opiate withdrawal is usually a physical withdrawal and the post-acute stage of opiate withdrawal is emotional and psychological.

Insomnia or lack of sleep is one of the side effects of taking suboxone: when you are taking suboxone, you will not get much sleep. But when you go into suboxone withdrawal, insomnia is also a withdrawal symptom. Suboxone deals your sleep pattern a double whammy! You will have problems sleeping.

You will not be able to sleep when you are experiencing acute withdrawal. Your heart will race as though you were extremely nervous and excited all at once. And this will last for two or three weeks.

You will not be able to sleep either when you are experiencing post-acute withdrawal. This time, along with agitation, you will also wrestle with feelings of frustration, of inadequacy and impatience. You are unable to sleep because of the episodic physical symptoms but later, the episodic symptoms are accompanied with emotional upheaval as well. Expect to have problems sleeping.

What do you do when you are experiencing a post-acute suboxone withdrawal episode? First, remember that your goal is over-all health and not just weathering the withdrawal episode. Second, you must take charge over your body: only put in it what’s good for it. Third, you must be consistent in taking care of yourself.

What lifestyle changes can you implement?

• Learn to relax and take a load off. Learn not to bite off more than you can chew.

• Eat more fruits and vegetables. Avoid colas, coffee, tea and other stimulating beverages that aggravate agitation and nighttime sleeplessness.

• Take vitamin supplements that are rich in the amino acid L-tyrosine and Bc12.

• These have a calming and soothing effect on the nerves and the muscles.

• Establish a regular routine that includes exercise and rest.

• Explore other means of pain relief such as meditation, acupuncture and massage.

Being pain-free and being suboxone-free is worth all the effort. Taking control and taking charge of your life will bring its rewards and fulfilment. You can step away from the step-down drug that is Suboxone.

Here is the original post for this article: Suboxone Withdrawal: Stepping Away From The Step-Down Drug Here is the original blog this article is featured on: Sleep Deprivation Effects Headquarters

Apnea monitor those electronic devices that measure and record your sleep patterns while using forced air to maintain proper air flow:

• How deeply you breathe while asleep;
• The rising and falling motion of your chest as it measures the flow of air into your lungs;
• Your heart rate;
• The oxygen levels in your blood;
• The number of times and duration you are breathless while asleep;
• Your breathing pattern as you sleep;
• Your breathing rate per minute;
• Your heart’s electrical signals;

It is a heart and lung monitor and it sounds a beeping alarm when you stop breathing for 5 to 20 seconds while you are asleep. Using a sleep apnea monitor alerts doctors to possible heart and lung problems and prevent them from becoming serious life-threatening conditions.

An apnea monitor is a small light box you can store in a case. Electrodes wired to the monitor are attached to the chest by a belt. Other apnea monitors have hoses and masks that cover the mouth and nose to measure the flow of air.

• Is your nighttime sleep is disturbed by too low or too shallow breathing?
• Are there long pauses in between your breaths while you sleep?
• Does the low shallow breathing happen at 5-30 times in an hour as you sleep?

If you answered yes to those three questions, then you probably have sleep apnea and need an apnea monitor.

You are probably unaware that you your breathing is low and shallow while you sleep. Specialists and sleep disturbance researchers estimate that 95 percent of sleep apnea sufferers unknowingly live with undiagnosed sleep apnea for years.

Your sleep apnea may be caused by a rare malfunction that stops the breathing muscles from working. This is called central sleep apnea (CSA). You may have another kind of sleep apnea where the tissues around your nose, mouth and throat relax too much that they block the airflow as you sleep. This is called obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Do you snore? Have you been told that you snore in your sleep? Most people who have sleep apnea snore. Your snoring is the obvious and unmistakable sound made as air moves through the back of your mouth, nose and throat while these are partially blocked. This means that as you sleep, you breathe through your mouth instead of your nose to compensate for the lack of air. And because your airway is partially blocked, the movement of the air as your breathe makes a tremendously annoying sound.

Have you noticed that you always feel tired and sleepy in the daytime? You feel tired and sluggish in the morning even if you slept for seven or eight hours because your nighttime sleep is continually disturbed.

If you’re tired and sleepy all the time, your focus and mental alertness lessens. Your reaction time slows down. Have you often been involved in serious accidents on the road or while at work? Drowsiness, poor concentration and lack of focus can cause life-threatening accidents and mishaps.

Have you been told that you’re too cranky or even ballistic? When you have sleep apnea, the muscles and soft tissues in your mouth relax while you sleep. They relax too much and often block your airway. When you airway is blocked, you might still be breathing but you are not breathing deeply enough. You don’t inhale enough oxygen to supply your body’s needs. When your body is starved of oxygen, your body responds by sending emergency signals to the adrenal glands near your kidneys. Your adrenal glands release adrenaline in to your blood: you palpitate and wake up.

Since most people who have sleep apnea wake up more than 30 times every hour because of the sudden adrenaline rush, it is no wonder that in the morning, you feel worse than when you have a hangover. Your moods swing between depressed and hopeless, to spaced out and lethargic; from irritable and annoyed to angry and belligerent. You feel like you’ve become a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Have you noticed that you’re gaining weight? When you have sleep apnea and your body is chronically deprived of oxygen you usually feel weak and lacking in pep and vigor. You often remedy your lack of energy by eating more thinking that your lethargy is caused by hunger.

Imagine that your low blood oxygen levels persist over a period, and over that same period, you remedy the resulting lethargy with more food, then it is not difficult to see that unwanted weight gain results. There are many correlations that suggest sleep apnea and weight gain are related.

Studies have shown that when sleep is disturbed for long periods, the levels of leptin diminish as well. Your body produces the protein leptin to control your appetite for food. If your leptin level is low, your appetite will not be regulated. When your appetite is not regulated, then you will tend to eat more. Eating more leads to further weight gain.

The worse thing is, when you gain significant weight, the added weight further aggravates the sleep apnea. A significant weight gain means that you will have extra padding around your throat and mouth that will further narrow your airway and further impede your airflow.

It’s sad but true: significant weight gain leads to obesity; obesity worstens obstructive sleep apnea; sleep apnea triggers increased appetite; an increased appetite leads to further weight gain, and the cycle goes on and on.

You can’t simply purchase a sleep apnea monitor and hooking yourself up to the apnea monitor while you sleep. You have to see a doctor who will recommend a sleep study. You will have to go to a clinic and sleep there. As you sleep, your breathing will be monitored and recorded. After this, you can have a definitive diagnosis. Once the diagnosis of apnea is confirmed, treatments and remedies will be recommended.

The recommendations will involve lifestyle changes:

You have to avoid imbibing alcohol,alcoholic drinks and muscle relaxants because these further relax the already slack muscles and tissues around your airway, causing more blockage.You also have to quit smoking because smoking constricts the blood vessels that supply oxygen to your throat and lungs. You must learn to sleep in a reclining position instead of sleeping straight on your back or on your belly. Sleeping with your upper body at a 30-degree angle to the bed will stop gravity from pulling your throat muscles to block your airway as you sleep.

If your sleep apnea is mild or moderate, your doctor may recommend some gadgets you can use at night. Your doctor may refer you to a dentist who will make a fitted mouthpiece that will keep your lower jaw in place as you sleep to keep your airway clear.

Your doctor may also recommend that you use a chin strap while you sleep. It snugly fits your crown with straps that go around the sides of your head and fasten under the chin. Wearing the chin strap as you sleep will keep your mouth closed the whole night and you will have to breathe through your nose. Breathing through your nose keeps your airway from being blocked. The result is better, smoother nighttime sleep. You can buy chin straps from most medical supplies stores. They are not expensive and you can buy them even without a prescription.

If the blockage is severe, then chin straps may not be of much help at all. Your doctor may then prescribe that you sleep with a CPAP therapy machine. It is a small compressor that pumps air continuously and constantly in and through your airway so that the muscles around the mouth and throat do not slide and block your breath while you sleep. The air is kept constantly in your airway by a mask covering your nose and mouth.

There is a downside to using the CPAP therapy machine, though. Because air continuously flows the whole night, you may feel dryness and soreness in the nose, mouth and throat. You may feel itchy around the are covered by the mask. The CPAP therapy machine also makes quite a bit of noise as it pumps air. It will take getting used to, and because the CPAP therapy machine can vastly improve the quality of your nighttime sleep, its whirring may be preferable to the sound of snoring.

If all these therapies and devices do not work for you at all, then your doctor may recommend surgery to tighten and remove tissues that obstruct your airway.

Sleep apnea is a serious sleep disturbance that not only robs you of your rest; it significantly diminishes the quality of your life. It cannot be ignored, instead, it has to be diagnosed and treated. Treatments are widely available and commonly used. While the treatments may look unflattering and may even be cumbersome and inconvenient when first used, use of the apnea monitor, the sleep apnea chin strap or the CPAP therapy machine will not only alleviate sleep apnea symptoms, they will smoothen your nighttime sleep, sweeten your daylight hours —they may even save your life!

Here is the original post for this article: Improving Your Sleep and Your Life with an Apnea Monitor Here is the original blog this article is featured on: Sleep Deprivation Effects Headquarters

When in 1836 Charles Dickens published his novel, The Pickwick Papers, he never imagined that one of the characters he created, Joe, would be the poster-boy for Pickwickian Syndrome. Charles Dickens was no medical doctor but he was a keen observer of human idiosyncrasies and an accurate portrayer of life-like characters.

Charles Dickens described Joe as a fat, red-faced boy who was always eating and always falling asleep no matter the time of day. Dickens did not know that he concisely painted a picture of a medical condition affecting obese people: Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome. Its more common name is Pickwickian syndrome, a name coined after Charles Dickens’ novel.

Are you suffering from Pickwickian syndrome? Well, if you’re fat (obese) and red-faced (plethoric); if you don’t breathe deeply enough, (hypoventilating); and, you are always drowsy or excessively sleepy even in the daytime (somnolent) you probably have Pickwickian syndrome. The detailed causes of Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome are unknown. But it is always associated with those who are severely obese. It is called a syndrome because it triggers groups of related symptoms that occur together.

Consider that severely obese people carry around the excessive weight of fat cells against their chest wall. The weight on their chest makes it difficult for the lungs to expand in order for them to breathe deeply and normally. Extremely obese people develop short thick necks, too, because of the extra padding of fat around the outside of the neck that constricts the airway. The fat around the inside of the throat and the soft palate also blocks the airway making deep breathing very difficult.

Persistent difficulty in breathing because of shallow or low breathing is called chronic hypoxia. This occurs because your body is starving for oxygen as the oxygen in your blood is too low; while at the same time, you are slowly drowning as carbon dioxide accumulates in your blood instead of being expelled as you exhale. To top this all off, when you have Pickwickian syndrome, you experience sleeplessness or poor sleep quality because you do not breathe fully or normally especially when sleeping at night. So if your nights are rough because you can’t breathe well enough to sleep soundly, your daytime life is even rougher because you also experience excessive daytime sleepiness.

It fits an unfortunate stereotype to imagine an extremely overweight person nodding off to sleep at any time and any place during the day, but the truth is, because obese people suffering from Pickwickian syndrome continuously have trouble sleeping at night they consistently fail to stay awake during the day, too.

Picwickian Syndrome Effects Your Mood

The persistent lack of sound and restful sleep makes you moody. You swing from feelings of annoyance, irritation and agitation to feelings of hopelessness, and depression. If you suffer more severely from complications of Pickwickian syndrome or obesity hypoventilation syndrome you will report headaches, lethargy, fainting, disorientation and loss of concentration. You may find that you have become uncharacteristically quarrelsome: you pick fights and start arguments or you become overly jealous or suspicious of others. These mood swings and abrupt changes in your behavior raises your risk of serious accidents at work or when driving on the road.

It is safe to say that if you are one of the 2.5 million people in the US who suffer from the nighttime sleeplessness and excessive daytime sleepiness due to Pickwickian syndrome, the quality of your life is poor. Excessive drowsiness decreases the quality of your performance at work and it decreases your enjoyment of your work. Excessive drowsiness interferes with your personal relationships. Imagine falling asleep in the middle of a romantic candlelit dinner with your spouse!

Is There a Cure for Picwickian Syndrome?

Since obesity is the most common factor in Pickwickian syndrome, weight loss is one of the first treatments. Your doctor will advise you to go on a sensible and well-balanced diet to keep you healthy and well-nourished. The most likely cause of obesity is eating more than one should or eating when one is not hungry. If you eat when you are already full and mostly consume high-carbohydrate, high-sugar foods, you should consider consulting with your doctor about a sensible diet and exercise program.

Going on a sensible diet to treat obesity will mean not only reducing the amount of food you eat, but also changing the types of food you eat. You will need to increase your intake of dietary fiber: this means eating more fruit and vegetables instead of eating fried, highly processed fast-food. You will have to stop eating out of habit, and eating just because you feel like it: you will have to eat only when you are really hungry and you will have to start eating to stay healthy.

The doctor will also recommend for you to engage in regular physical exercise such as walking, biking and lifting weights. Moving around and doing physical exercise may be difficult and tedious at first. It will take a lot of motivation and will-power on your part to consistently do what is necessary, but a lifestyle change is necessary in order to stay healthy.

Sometimes, behavior modification is not enough to ensure weight loss. When obesity is severe, doctors will often also prescribe anti-obesity drugs. In addition to diet and exercise, the anti-obesity drugs reduce your appetite or stop fat from being absorbed by the body.

When anti-obesity drugs accompanied by a diet and exercise program still do not work, surgery is the last resort. Your doctor may implant a balloon in your stomach so that you will not be able to eat as much at any one time. Or, your doctor may remove a small part of the stomach so that you will feel fuller with a smaller amount of food than you usually eat. Or, because it is when the food you eat is in the small intestines that nutrients are absorbed by your body, your doctor may trim off a portion of your intestines so that you will not absorb as much nutrients from the food you eat.
And to help smoothen your nighttime sleep, and thus reduce your daytime sleepiness, your doctor may also recommend that when sleeping at night, you use a special machine called a CPAP, that continuously pumps air into your nose and mouth to prevent your muscles from blocking your airway.

Obesity hypoventilation syndrome or Pickwickian syndrome due to obesity is not funny or fictional at all. It doesn’t only happen in novels or TV shows. It is now considered a global pandemic. Health authorities have noted with alarm that obesity is increasing among infants, school children, teenagers and adults all around the world.

Obesity causes more than just a fashion problem for you when you can’t find anything in the store that fits you. It causes more than just a social problem for you when you can’t find a date. Obesity hurts your well-being and it ruins your life. The health problems associated with obesity sucks the joy out of life. The complications of obesity such as Pickwickian syndrome are not fictional. It is important that you make the changes in your lifestyle today so that you can have live a happy healthy life tomorrow.

Here is the original post for this article: Picwickian Syndrome: A Truth as Strange as Fiction Here is the original blog this article is featured on: Sleep Deprivation Effects Headquarters

You’re probably like most adults who often feel sleepy around bedtime, but when you finally settle down in bed, you find that you’re not sleepy anymore. You try to relax: take a hot bath, read a book, drink some warm milk, do anything to help you sleep, but still you spend the night hours tossing and turning in bed unable to sleep. You wonder if you will ever be able to stop insomnia.

Some adults have no trouble falling asleep at all: at bedtime, they’re out like a light. But in the dead of night, you find yourself suddenly awake, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling. You try breathing deeply to relax, fluffing your pillows and shutting your eyes tight. You begin to count sheep, waiting for the sandman to come back and work his magic but you just can’t manage to go back to sleep anymore.

If you suffer from these symptoms regularly, or if the symptoms persist for more than a month, and the symptoms result in a noticeable impairment in daytime functioning, you may already have insomnia. Studies have shown that about 35% of adults wish they could stop insomnia. It is a common problem among adults. Insomnia is a persistent inability to sleep. Those who have no trouble falling asleep but do have trouble sleeping through the night or maintaining sufficient restful sleep through the night may also be said to be suffering from insomnia. When nighttime sleep is of such poor quality, or when it is interrupted by periods of wakefulness, it is also insomnia. These manifestations of insomnia persist over a period of time such that it impairs daily functions.

Impairment of daily functions may mean inability to focus or concentrate when accomplishing routine day-to-day tasks. It may mean pronounced fatigue, lethargy, reduced energy, and lack of motivation to work. It may also manifest as headaches, moodiness, sleepiness, and drowsiness during the daytime hours. All these signs accompany insomnia.

Insomnia can be primary

As when its occurrence is not caused by any medical, psychiatric or environmental cause. It may be secondary to another medical disease or condition. An example of secondary insomnia is anxiety insomnia or when insomnia is just an accompanying symptom of a mood disorder such as depression or anxiety. Whether you suffer from primary or secondary insomnia, a complete medical diagnosis is necessary to analyze potential causes for sleeplessness. Before you can stop insomnia it is necessary to accurately pinpoint existing medical conditions or diseases that may cause, trigger or aggravate your condition before medical treatment can begin.

A thorough physical check-up will reveal underlying physical and medical conditions that either cause or exacerbate insomnia. Once the underlying medical or physical condition is diagnosed, surgery or medication, or both can correct the underlying problem. Then once the root cause is removed or treated, the insomnia symptoms will gradually diminish. If the root cause of insomnia, on the other hand, is a mood or psychiatric disorder such as depression or anxiety, therapy and medication may be prescribed by the therapist or psychiatrist and this usually also diminishes the occurrence of insomnia symptoms.

You might be surprised to find one of these brand names on your doctor’s prescription for your insomnia: Beneficat, Desirel, Desyrel, Mesyrel, Molipaxin, Oleptro, Thombran, Trazorel, Tiralodine, and Trittico. These medications contain the ingredient trazodone. Trazodone is usually prescribed for depression, but, trazodone is also capable of easing, if not reversing insomnia symptoms.

If you have objections to medications, you may try herbal preparations that contain valerian. Valerian is an herbal and natural sedative which is available as a tea or in capsules. Valerian has been used by traditional herbalists to remedy insomnia symptoms. It is useful to take it one or two hours before going to bed. Since it is a natural sedative, and since it is taken orally, it passes through the digestive system. It takes a while before relief from the condition occurs. Its effects can only be noticed around two weeks after taking it regularly. Another common complaint is that valerian cannot be used for extended periods of time. Herbalists warn that this natural sedative cannot be used beyond five weeks.

Another herb that is used traditionally as a remedy for insomnia is the passion flower. Marketed as tea or as the active ingredient of a food supplement, it soothes and calms anxiety or panic which may be the root or trigger cause for your condition. Passion flower could help stop insomnia.

Whether you opt to take prescription medication or natural sedatives to treat insomnia, what is important is to get an accurate medical diagnosis first. You must not self-medicate or take over-the-counter sleeping pills, food supplements or herbal remedies without checking with a medical doctor first. Sleeping pills and natural sedatives may have adverse effects on pre-existing and undiagnosed medical conditions and adversely affect the health.

Do not despair if you are suffering from insomnia or when the doctor cannot immediately pinpoint the root cause of your insomnia symptoms. Often, factors in the environment contribute to the development of insomnia. Once these environmental factors are identified, stopping insomnia becomes a lot less complicated. For instance, if the insomnia is caused by long-haul flights that lead to jetlag, then reducing the need and occasions for long-haul flights may ease the severity and stop insomnia. Reducing the level and intensity of the lighting and the noise level in the bedroom and around bedtime may also help ease the symptoms of your condition. If the insomnia is caused by the responsibility of taking care of newborn babies or sickly infants, then the responsibility may be shared by other members of the family.

Insomnia is not incurable. There are proven remedies for insomnia. There are nighttime sleep aids and natural sedatives that may help soothe the suffering and stop insomnia. You can stop insomnia in its tracks and knock insomnia out cold.

Here is the original post for this article: Trouble sleeping? You can stop insomnia Here is the original blog this article is featured on: Sleep Deprivation Effects Headquarters

Could our weight be effected by sleep deprivation side effects? Maybe it could, even though it sounds more like a line from a late night infomercial than fact. When I first heard that one of the sleep deprivation side effects is weight gain, I said “no way.” But then I continued to do research on the effects of not getting enough sleep and the subject of weight gain or loss kept popping up in all kinds of different research studies.

I started to take a closer look at sleep deprivation side effects.

One set of numbers that struck me as odd was that it is estimated that around 30% of American adults have inadequate amounts of sleep and that nearly one-third of American adults are obese. To me it is very interesting that these two groups of people are so similar in their percentages. I am not claiming that a lack of sleep directly causes weight gain, but it is very interesting that their are many overweight people with sleep problems. One could reasonably flip that around and suggest that sleep deprivation side effects cause weight gain. I have tried to find studies that have somehow examined a direct correlation between sleeping and obesity with no avail. A few of the reports I have read have indicated that many of the obese individuals in their study suffered from sleeping disorders, more than likely due to their size instead of their size being caused by their lack of sleep. It only makes sense that an obese person would have more difficulty sleeping because the extra fat could restrict blood flow and breathing, just to name a few things. In addition, all that extra body mass is not a cushion and would make getting comfortable more difficult than an average size person.

In studies on rats, long-term sleep deprivation side effects increase food intake. Hormonal imbalances were also noted on these rats that lead to weight gain and eventually death. This has led to a theory that sleep deprivation could be interfering with hormones in humans that regulate appetite and glucose metabolism. One study showed that reducing an individual’s sleep duration to four hours for two consecutive nights showed decreased circulating leptin levels and increased ghrelin levels, as well as self-reported hunger as common sleep deprivation side effects. Similar endocrine alterations have been shown to occur even after a single night of sleep restriction. These types of results provide further evidence that sleep loss is currently thought to disturb endocrine regulation of energy homeostasis leading to weight gain and obesity.

Without going crazy and expecting that sleeping all the time will make us skinny, it is reasonable to believe that by getting sufficient sleep our bodies will balance the hormones that regulate our appetite and glucose metabolism to a point that we won’t have to fight our natural urges to eat more because we are tired. The possible sleep deprivation side effects of weight gain could be minimized with adequate sleep. Of course, this would not replace other aspects of a healthy lifestyle such as a diet and exercise. Besides, didn’t your mom tell you never to eat in bed which would mean that you won’t be consuming calories while sleeping? With all this great information, it looks like getting the proper amount of sleep will not only avoid sleep deprivation side effects, but could possibly help you regulate your weight.

Here is the original post for this article: Sleep Deprivation Side Effects: Weight Gain Here is the original blog this article is featured on: Sleep Deprivation Effects Headquarters

Welcome to Sleep Deprivation Effects, a comprehensive compilation of articles on the effects of not getting enough sleep, reasons why people are sleep deprived, and solutions to the problem – hopefully, just reading some of the articles won’t put you to sleep. Our bodies are incredible organisms with the ability to repair themselves, especially when a problem is discovered and corrected early. Lack of sleep is easily correctable, in most cases. Getting adequate sleep reverses the majority of sleep deprivation effects.

Why should I be concerned about sleep deprivation effects?

Sleep is vital for a healthy life. Many factors can cause a lack of sleep and lead to sleep deprivation effects. It is important to evaluate yourself from a comprehensive perspective when determining what is causing your sleep problem. Problems could be caused from the food you eat during the day and at particular times, by the level of stress and methods in which you relieve your stress, by the bed you sleep on or the environment in which you sleep, and many other various possibilities. All of these potential problems could cause you a lack of sleep and subsequently result in sleep deprivation effects.

Have you ever heard about the man who goes to the doctor because he gets a pain in his eye every time he drinks a cup of tea? After a thorough exam, the doctor can find no problem with the man’s eye and absolutely nothing to connect the cup of tea to his pain. He told the man to stop drinking tea for a few weeks to see if the pain would come back by itself. A couple of weeks later, the man was back in the doctor’s office complaining that the pain was back even though he had given up his beloved tea. Another exam still found nothing wrong with the man’s eye. Upon questioning, the doctor discovered that the man had started to drink coffee instead of tea, but this made no more sense than it had before. Out of desperation, the doctor had his nurse bring the patient a cup of tea. The man was so delighted to be able to drink his beloved tea once again and would not stop chatting as he stirred the tea. Just as the doctor began to turn around to leave, the man screamed out in pain as he began to drink his tea. The doctor turned towards the man and burst into laughter as he saw the man drinking his tea with the spoon still in the cup – it was the spoon handle poking into the man’s eye that was causing his pain.

The reason for this long joke is to demonstrate that sometimes the solution to some of our problems is blatantly simple and right in front of our face, we just can’t see till someone else points it out to us. You have made the first step to overcome your sleep deprivation effects by finding this site.

I will be exploring the many different reasons why we skip or avoid sleep and how this effects our bodies, especially as we get older. I will be explaining how to best set-up your environment to get a good night’s sleep. We will examine many of the myths about sleep. Most of all, we will find solutions to sleep deprivation effects.

Here is the original post for this article: Sleep Deprivation Effects Here is the original blog this article is featured on: Sleep Deprivation Effects Headquarters

You must be searching for help sleeping, witnessed by the fact that you found this website while you were searching for a solution. It also goes to reason that you are looking to achieve your goal to Get Help Sleeping and ultimately live a longer, happier, healthier life. You have come to the right site. We specialize in the symptoms of sleep deprivation to help you identify when you need to change your sleep patterns to benefits from a good night’s sleep and offer you suggestions to improve your life through getting the sleep your body needs.

If there is any question that our sleeping patterns affect our health, just peruse the articles on this site to see all the symptoms of lack of sleep: irritability, mental fog, tiredness, weight gain, heart problems, breathing disorders, fatigue, irrational decision making, less productivity, and even death. It is estimated that at least 70 million Americans suffer from less than optimum sleep; of which 40 million have chronic long term sleep issues. You are not alone.

Occasionally, we all lose a night’s sleep for any number of good or bad reasons. An occasional sleepless night is easily overcome by the average person who does not let one bad experience change their life forever – especially a minor experience of being awakened in the middle of the night by a sick friend or a noisy neighbor throwing a rare loud party you weren’t invited to (but that could be another issue you need to explore separately). What I am talking about here is the need to get a good night’s rest each and every night to allow your body the opportunity to heal itself and prepare for the day ahead.

Being observant of what your body is telling you about how you are sleeping can change your life. The human body has an amazing ability to warn us of what we are doing to damage it and is able to heal itself given the proper tools and time. Your body will give you warning signs for you to get help sleeping. All we have to do is be aware of the signals it is sending out and react to change what we are doing to harm it. Getting help sleeping and getting a good night’s sleep on a regular basis is one of the best things we can do for ourselves to lead a healthier, happier, longer life without the sleep deprivation effects described within this site.

Here is the original post for this article: If a Healthier, Happier, Longer Life is YOUR Goal, Get Help Sleeping! Here is the original blog this article is featured on: Sleep Deprivation Effects Headquarters

Want a good night’s sleep? Not getting one every night? There are many causes of sleep deprivation that keep us from falling asleep easily or awakened in the middle of the night. Over time, loss of sleep causes many illnesses that affect our quality of life. Many of these reasons have relatively simple solutions you could try.

Solutions to Some Causes of Sleep Deprivation:

1. Room Temperature – Is it too hot to fall asleep or does a blast from the air vent wake you up from a deep sleep? If so, think about sleeping under a cotton sheet (cotton is an all-natural breathable material that is absorbent, unlike man-made fibers that are often blended into cotton to make fabrics permanent press), wearing lightweight cotton sleeveless pajamas or nothing at all, getting a ceiling or bedside oscillating standing fan, drinking a glass of water, or simply turning the temperature down on the thermostat. A hot room is one of the major causes of sleep deprivation. However, if the room is too cold, try warming up your environment by turning up the thermostat, adding a thicker blanket, wearing flannel long-sleeved pajamas, or sleeping with another person (two bodies produce more heat than one).
2. A noisy bed partner – Does he/she really snore that loud? Maybe it is time to consider separate rooms or a new mate. And then again, there may be better options. It might be time to get them to the doctor to make sure they are not having serious issues that are also affecting their sleep. If their snoring is something you are just going to have to get used to, then I suggest a set of good ear plugs.
3. Stress –Instead of worrying about what is wrong with your life, maybe it is time to start celebrating what is good. Getting a good night’s sleep might be the best thing you can do for yourself right this moment to create the ability to actually think clearly about what is bothering you to be able to think of a great solution. Unfortunately, this is one of those situations that feeds upon itself and can take the most work to overcome it. One important things to remember if you are having trouble falling asleep because your mind won’t shut down is that you aren’t doing yourself any good just tossing and turning in bed. If you just can’t turn your mind off, get up and do something that will distract you. I am not talking about getting up and cleaning the house or painting the room. Instead, do something light and boring like reading a book or magazine article, take a warm bath, sip a warm cup of chamomile tea, listen to some soothing music, or watch a quiet movie. When you start to feel more relaxed, slip into bed and think about something soothing. Tomorrow will look much better after a good night’s sleep. Don’t let stress, one of the leading causes of sleep deprivation, keep you from sleeping.
4. A crying baby – First, is the baby yours? If not and you don’t have any way of doing something to help the situation since it is the next door neighbor’s baby, then get some earplugs for the time being. If the baby is your responsibility, then you need to evaluate the situation not only for yourself, but everyone that might be affected by the crying. You may not have any choice than to miss some sleep till the baby gets a little older.
5. A bright light – Did the city just erect a new street light right outside of your bedroom window? If so, shooting out the very expensive light bulb might solve the problem temporarily, but I am sure they will fix the bulb eventually and if they find out it was you who caused the problem . . .  – I don’t recommend this as a solution in any way! A much better solution might be to get light blocking curtains or enjoy the benefits of a good blindfold.
6. Pets – Man’s best friend in the bedroom can be a distraction to getting a good night’s sleep. Don’t get me wrong, benefits from a good guard dog can go a long way towards easing a person’s mind against intruders and providing their owner with peace of mind to insure a good night’s sleep. The problem is more to do with a dog’s natural tendency to be nocturnal. Even with the best of training, a pet needs help to open a door to go outside just to go to the bathroom. As a result, when the urge hits them, they have to get you up – then! A good solution is to make them a comfortable bed just outside your bedroom door. If you are sound asleep when they need to go outside, you probably won’t hear them and they will just wait till you are awake to help them – or so we can only hope.
7. An uncomfortable bed – Is it time for a new mattress or can you work with the one you have? If your mattress is just too hard for you (and this is almost always based on personal preferences), then you can try getting a soft topper that goes between the mattress and your sheets. There are many options on the market specifically made for this purpose from memory foam, egg crate foam, and down, to name a few. If your mattress is too soft, the old adage of putting a board under the mattress might help a little. In this situation, if the mattress is in great shape a memory foam topper might help. It is more difficult to make a soft bed firmer. If all else fails or your mattress is just too old, lumpy, saggy, whatever, it might be time to consider a new mattress to eliminate one of the major causes of sleep deprivation. Even if money is very tight, this is not the place to be too cheap. We spend about one third of our lives in bed. Take your time when you are selecting your new bed. Shop around and make sure you get the most for your money (this will help to reduce the stress – problem #4 – of spending the money, figuring out how to get it home, how to dispose of the old mattress, etc.). A comfortable bed is a must!

I hope this is enough to get you to take a good look at your own situation and start a list of what keeps you from sleeping. Once you have your own list, determine what you can change and do it as quickly as possible. Although this article highlighted only a few of the causes of sleep deprivation, I hope you found it helpful in getting a good nights sleep.

Here is the original post for this article: Causes of Sleep Deprivation and What to Do About Them Here is the original blog this article is featured on: Sleep Deprivation Effects Headquarters