[livingwith]

Am 35 years old and have had this condition since early teens…..just learned of DSPS this morning…..was shaking when I read the symptoms. Now only feel a mixture of sadness (for all the unnecessary pain and lost opportunities) and extreme anger (went to tons of doctors and sleep centers over the years- why the H*** didn’t anyone diagnose this for me???).
Have so many questions…does the light therapy work? Do you need to be awake for the session or can you just have i...Read the full article

[Circadiabsurdium]

I have a lot of the same anger, but I think the answer as always is that it takes time to research this stuff and then even longer to get the word out b/c doctors don't (or can't) always stay up to date on their continuing education - the issue certainly isn't unique to sleep problems. Also, I think a lot of doctors are especially reluctant to accept the existence of something like a circadian rhythm disorder; any patient with anything that can't be measured on some lab test tends to be labeled a hypochondriac until some critical mass of doctors accept the existence of the disorder -- just look at how long it took for doctors to learn about hypothyroidism, and there are still plenty that don't know as much about it as they should. (Hypothyroidism, briefly, is a disorder that basically causes a slowdown in body functioning, including metabolism, and it typically causes low energy, weight gain, muscle aches, sensitivity to cold, and often depression. Many people, mostly women, suffered for years before doctors finally made the right diagnosis). I think the analogy is the same with stuff like chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia, and the same will likely be true for DSPS. So it is up to us to be informed consumers and help light some fires under the uninformed docs.

But even worse than total ignorance about DSPS is all the conflicting information coming from doctors, medical websites, and the media in general (if anyone has seen the April 2008 issue of Readers Digest claiming to have all the latest sleep research, don't waste your money because it's just a rehash of all the common-sense advice that's already out there). Take napping, for example. Is it good because it allows us to "refresh" and "get an edge" or should we avoid it because it hinders falling asleep that night? I have seen articles that advocate both approaches. Personally, napping seems to have no effect on how early I start to get drowsy. And adhering to a strict schedule does nothing to help me fall asleep earlier. What does happen is that I become progressively more sleep deprived from only being able to sleep 0-4 hours per night, and after about 10-14 days I am so exhausted that I couldn't possibly do anything but sleep, so yes, that night I finally get a full dose of sleep. But in the meantime, my productivity suffers dramatically and I do ridiculously stupid things like leave my wallet at the checkstand, leave the keys in the door (in a not so safe neighborhood), forget what day it is and show up to the wrong class, fall asleep while driving, etc., etc. I have to wonder, what's the point of sticking to a schedule that doesn't do what it's supposed to and seems to lead to dangerous levels of sleep deprivation?

Anyway, I am very hopeful about light therapy, but don't have many answers. From what I've gathered poking around online, some researchers say they think the circadian rhythm is triggered by light exposure to some mysterious third type of receptors in the eyes (i.e., something besides the "rods' and "cones" everyone already agrees exist). Some have said that the light need not hit the eyes directly but that it definitely must hit the eyes, so I'm guessing that you probably can't do the light therapy with your eyes closed or it would either not work or not be effective. I would like to hear from some people re whether light box therapy is working at all, eyes open or not. It has been a while since you posted, so maybe you have tried it in the meantime-any news?

I can't afford to get a light box just now, but I am trying to self-treat with natural sunlight early in the morning, avoiding sunlight in the afternoon. I haven't noticed any change, but it has only been three days and that's really too early to say. Will post again later with an update.

Hope all is well.