i'm new here - please tell me if i'm looking in the right place

Hi.  I m 43 and always tired.  I can sleep 14 hours at night and then get up and eat breakfast and go back to sleep for an 8 hour nap and am always tired when I force myself to get up from these long sleeps.  All I ever want to do is sleep.  What is wrong with me?  This can't be normal.  People say I must be lazy but I don't feel lazy.  When I can stay awake I am quite productive.  Am I alone in this or are there others out there?  Please advise.

This type of problem can be a symptom of many things. Have you discussed it with your doctor? Have you had a sleep study done? 18 million Americans over the age of 40 have sleep apnea. I do not know your age, just want you to understand, sleep apnea could be the problem. I was diagnosed at 52, 2 of my sons have it, they are 33 and 27, their's is severe. Needing more sleep all the time can mean you are not getting the proper sleep when you need it. Check it out.

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We urge all doctors to take time to listen to your patients...don't "isolate" symptoms but look at the whole spectrum.  If a patient tells you s/h feels as if s/he's falling apart and "nothing seems to be working properly", chances are s/he's right!

Hi SoccerMom & welcome. I agree with Deb, it may be that all this sleep you are getting isn't good sleep. You may not be making it to REM sleep or even if you do,you don't make it to the level of sleep after REM, which is the sleep that is needed for healing the body. If you are not healing the day to day trauma that we all experience in living our lives then it is cumulative & just builds & builds until you can't go any more. A sleep study would help. There are many illnesses that can cause sleep problems & both Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome are just 2 of them. Have you been to a Doctor about this? Let us know how things are going. Hugs, Denise

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 ^{_{I have:  Fibromyalgia, ME/CFS, Holt-Oram Syndrome, nasal allergies, food allergies, depression, TMJ, anxiety  Married to a wonderful supportive husband & between us we have 4 children & 7 grandchildren As apples of gold in silver carvings is a word spoken at the right time for it.    Prov. 25:11}}