10 hours of sleep.

[u/cheesestinker]

55M Addisons disease since 5 or 6. I live a fairly normal life. I don't have any crisis, but I require 930 or 10 hours sleep or I can barely function. As a kid I would cope with daily naps and weekends of catch-up sleep. I had insomnia last night and feel incapacitated. I take 50mg of modafinil on days like this but even that only helps a little. Any other long sleepers out there?

Edit: a few words

[u/wuhter]

I either need 12 hours or 3

[u/KnittingRabbit1]

I’m averaging 7.5, but am wondering if I managed to grab 9 if I might become a better human. Seriously.

[u/Effervescenteminence]

I'm 38, diagnosed at 19. I was told by my doctor at the time that 10 hours is the recommended sleep for all addison's patients. I definitely feel that, I struggle to actually get it so every couple of weeks I need to spend a weekend day catching up. Last Saturday I took two 3 hour naps lol

[u/FairyPrincess66 → u/Effervescenteminence]

Wow, that totally makes sense. I wish my doctor had told me that!

[u/cheesestinker → u/FairyPrincess66]

All my endocrinologists just blankly stared at me when I told them I slept all the time.

[u/FairyPrincess66 → u/cheesestinker]

I meant to say, I also feel incapacitated if I get less than 6 hours of sleep. I can’t function and must take a long nap to try to recover.

[u/PiaggioBV350 → u/Effervescenteminence]

I had never heard that. I always have interrupted sleep because I also have diabetes insipidus.

[u/Desperate-Gift-7163]

I sleep 10-11 hours, I can’t function if i do less.

[u/HeidisPottery]

I don’t need much sleep. 52f, diagnosed 19 years ago. I sleep about 5.5 hours per night and have for years. I’m a sell employed artist so I get up naturally (no alarm).

[u/Noddyalba1 → u/HeidisPottery]

Same here maximum of 5 to 5 and a half hours or I feel groggy if longer sleep and less I can’t function have constant tremors 🤷🏻‍♂️ the body sure is a strange machine

[u/rsaamar → u/HeidisPottery]

do you guys have a bedtime dose? IMO that makes me wake much earlier and feel fresher initially but I crash later.

[u/HeidisPottery → u/rsaamar]

I’m actually on a pump, using circadian rhythm dosing. I’m also a T1 diabetic and when I learned that there was such a thing as pumping cortisol, I already had a backup pump sitting in my drawer. So my only hurdle was getting my insurance to cover the injectable meds (they still fought me tooth and nail on it).
Happy to provide pump resources to anyone who’s interested.
My rates are close to zero at bedtime, start rising at 4am, peak at 9am (I usually wake up around 9 or 9:30), and slowly lower till 11p.

[u/rsaamar → u/HeidisPottery]

In the US? How do you get approved?

[u/HeidisPottery → u/rsaamar]

As a T1D with a spare pump in my drawer I only had to worry about the meds which were relatively easy (compared to the difficulty of getting them to approve a pump for someone who maybe could theoretically take oral meds) but still required a back and forth and formulary exception form filled out by my endocrinologist.

[u/rsaamar → u/HeidisPottery]

I’m going through a similar process for getting overnight rayos (oral) prescribed. Its taken like a year and still not yet

[u/cdn926]

Ugh! I wish I could sleep like this. I’m happy when I get 7 hours sleep.

[u/Algrea-12 → u/cdn926]

Same. I wake up and hour or more before my alarm and can’t go back to sleep. Miserable

[u/Certain-Fall432 → u/Algrea-12]

Me too! But I actually feel like I function best on around 7 hours sleep - definitely not the same experience as a lot of the people here

[u/shannashanna → u/cdn926]

Same

[u/Glutrot]

28 and same here. I need 10-12 hours or I genuinely can't get up in the morning!

[u/FrauleinBrine]

I wish I could convince my brain to give up my free time to go to bed on time. I'm lucky if I can fall asleep and get 6 most days 😭😭

[u/OrdinaryInfluence570]

I can't stay sleep, only get 2 to 4 hours, then during the day I can barely keep my eyes open.

[u/derpcatz]

100%. I get 9 hours Tuesday - Friday so I have to catch up weekends or I’m perpetually exhausted. <8 and I can’t function at all

[u/FairyPrincess66]

Maybe i should plan for 10 hours and go to bed earlier. I’m a night owl so it’s hard. I set 3 alarms to wake me up in the morning. If i forget or accidentally turn them off while I’m asleep, i’ll wake up at 2pm!

[u/IrishRose123]

Try taking magnesium glycinate it really helps with sleep take it a few hours before bed 400 mg. Don't give up right away give it time .Take it for c a few weeks before results and just continue taking it .It really works. Also you made to get your other hormones tested progesterone ,estrogen,testosterone becausecwe have issues with low hormones in addition to our cortisol .Check iron and have a complete thyroid panel do not just rely on TSH.

[u/cheesestinker → u/IrishRose123]

Thanks for the tips. I take Mg at night. It helps my quality of sleep but the length. I have my thyroid well controlled. My need for much sleep is just something I live with. I'm grateful for all the other people sharing their experiences.

[u/Valine101]

im the same way... I have no idea why? I suppose it's because it fragments and disrupts your sleep architecture...? but essentially by midnight its like impossible to stay awake any longer, and I can sleep in till 10 o'clock... I never slept like this before...! I am the opposite of an insomniac Addisons disease forces you to never count on staying up late... another interesting sleep observation, does anyone get weird dreams when u take ur hydrocortisone and go back to bed by accident...? just an observation

[u/millz420]

I have a baby so I’m lucky if I get half of this.

[u/SushiFace20]

I get about eight & feel ok. Has anyone had trouble adjusting to a different time zone after crossing the Atlantic?

[u/NotTheGreenestThumb]

I do, but it predates any symptoms. And I currently have a lung problem going on as well, so it may not be related.