My husband has hereditary spherocytosis as do his brother and father. However my husband seems to out sleep them all. On weekends he can easily sleep until noon. Sometimes he'll go to bed at 6 p.m. at night, then sleep 14-16 hours. It's hard because we have a two-year-old who's up at 7 a.m, and another baby on the way. And sometimes he's tired at night too. He's only 35. His brother doesn't seem to sleep nearly as much, and he just had his spleen out this year. My husband had his out in highschool, which I thought possibly was related to his fatigue. Anybody have a similar experience with someone with this disease? Does anything help? He rarely exercises, but I can't seem to talk him into doing more. He takes folic acid, but is not very regular about it.
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spherocytosis and sleeping a lot
- By ed77
- Posted July 23, 2009 at 3:49 pm · 4 replies
- In Tips for caregivers
- Shared with the public
Explore topics in this discussion:
Provigil Sleep apnea Depression Spherocytosis Narcolepsy Folic acid Anemia
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- By Earthling
- Posted July 24, 2009 at 8:44 am
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Has he had a sleep test? Maybe there's something else going on... Provigil is good for people who can't stay awake.. expensive.. Need a dx of narcolepsy or sleep apnea to get some insurers to cover some of the cost... depending on what insurance you have.
- By Blblues_1
- Posted July 24, 2009 at 11:08 am
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I do sleep A Lot ... I also have HS. I lost my spleen at age 9. I have always been tired. You have to remember that we pick up EVERY little virus, cold, flu, and sinus infections. Sometime you don't know you are sick....you just feel worn out!! However, I don't sleep that much. I do take naps or would like to daily.
I also have 3 children, 3 and under who also have the disease. They sleep a lot too...My 3 yr old will take a 4 hr. nap. So I think sleeping a lot is normal, but your husband's seems to be excessive. He might need his thyrod checked, my husband was the same age and the same way when his was going bad!!!
- By Neeners
- Posted August 27, 2009 at 4:32 pm
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I have a friend whose entire family, (6 of them) including herself, and now her 13 yr old daughter suffer from hereditary spherocytosis.
None of them sleep a lot. - However - they have ALL had their GALL BLADDER taken out as well as their spleen. Often, with this disorder, the spleen is taken out first - and a "wait and see" attitude is taken with the gall bladder. Rightfully so - you don't wanna go pullin' organs out willy nilly, right? LOL -- However, their doctors are of the belief that both organs need to go in order to avoid associated problems with HS later down the road.
Anemia - a common problem with untreated HS - will absolutely cause fatigue.
I am certainly no doctor, so take this all with a grain of salt - but I would have his gall bladder checked - and definitely do some blood work to check for anemia!!! -- ALSO - SLEEP APNEA is always a good thing to look at too. Does he snore? Stop breathing at night? Sleep Apnea saps a person's ability to stay awake and alert during the day because they're never getting enough deep sleep at night. A sleep study couldn't hurt.
Of course...if your husband is a normal man - it could be darn near impossible to get him to a doctor at all. LOL be patient and insistant.
Good luck!
- By Duracell
- Posted October 2, 2009 at 6:52 pm
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I can relate. I recall this year booking a day off work with the sole intention of using it to sleep. Of course I was ridiculed for it, but I was shattered. That weekend I slept in bursts, I slept for somewhere in the region of 26 hours, which is what triggered a trip to the doctors, where I was told I had depression. Which I refuted. During that time none of my housework got done I was in total shutdown, after that I was fine for weeks and then the tiredness came back with a vengence and now I just can't stay awake in the day, whereas prior to that shutdown I could stay awake in the day.
Sleep is really intriguing, a sleep study would be a great way to eliminate or look at a sleep disorder, but so far for myself at least a lot of things tie in with the HS.
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