Anyone else here have DSPS? Got a few questions

[Amber]

I haven't been diagnosed with this but I'm 99% sure I have it. If I had health insurance I'd definately go get checked out for this. I thought I'd ask in here if anyone had it so they could tell me if this sounds like I have it or not.

All my life my family and friends have been on my case about this and I just discovered that there is actually a name for this, so I"m really happy right now! I just thought I was lazy! Ever since I can remember, I had to have been only 4 or 5 years old...my parents would put me to bed and I'd get back up because I wasn't tired but they never knew cuz I stayed in my room. Then in the mornings I'd literally have to be dressed by my mom or I would NEVER have made it to school.

On weekend nights during high school I remember easily being able to stay up until sometimes 1 am, even if I had gotten up at 6 am. After I graduated, I was able to get a job working in the afternoons/evenings, so I was finally able to sleep til noon and go to bed at like 3 or 4 am. This continued for many years, and then I was lucky enough to get a job working the midnight shift so I was able to sleep ALL day then!   I got laid off from that job a year ago, and even still I can't get to bed until 4 or 5 am. And most of the time I lay there for at least an hour til I can fall asleep, and it takes me at least an hour to drag myself out of bed in the morning (well, afternoon!). Then I am still pretty tired for the first few hours of my day, and my energy gradually increases as the night goes on. I often do my exercising between midnight and 3 am, then going to bed at 4 or 5 or occasionally later if I am busy doing something.

Does it sound like I have DSPS? How do other people deal with it, with friends and family members who might not think it's a real disorder? Are we forced to get jobs on the late shifts? Any tips for how to function normally if you have to get up really early one day? I literally feel sick if I have to get up more than 3 hours earlier than normal, and going to bed early does NOT help! In fact if I know I have to get up early, it makes me even more unable to sleep normally!

[straycat]

I have DSPS and have asked to be diagnosed with it as a separate diagnosis. If that happened I don't know.

I have a huge problem not pushing my sleep pattern ahead, my body wants to go by its inner day which is about 26 hours long. I work hard every day with trying to push it back in place.

There is no hope in heck I could sleep like normal people. No matter what I'm WIDE AWAKE when people are at their most tired at maybe 10 and onwards. If I sleep before 10 pm it is nap like sleep and I can't sleep more than 4 hours. If I fall asleep in the day which I avoid, people basically can't wake me up despite the fact my night sleep is shallow. I try to keep a pattern which is hard and artificial. I feel most OK when I go to bed around 5 am and sleep to 2 am.

I don't have a problem falling asleep if I go to sleep at a time good for my body. If I go to bed earlier I will just stay awake until the time my body wants to sleep. I can try for ages to get up early and go to bed early but it NEVER STICKS.

That is DSPS for me.

[Amber]

Yep that sounds like me pretty much! It sucks. Well it's ok as long as I can stick to my schedule but if anything makes me change it, I'm miserable. I wish I could go to a sleep specialist about it so I could get diagnosed and have a REAL excuse to tell people!  How do they diagnose this, anyway, do they ask you a bunch of questions or do you have to sleep somewhere while they monitor you? I dont see how that would help because either you will sleep normally or you won't, you could easily just tell them that without having to show them.

[Jabberwocky]

I never heard of DSPS until i intuitively clicked on your post. This is me to a T. I have been researching it today and Im am shocked that it is real and not just me unable to fit in with the worlds schedule.
Wikipedia has a very thorough explanation of it complete with a list pf suggested therapies.
This condition has been making my life very difficult since I was very young.Now I am 24. Knowing that it is a catagorized problem doesnt help me but at least I have something other than "insomnia" to research remedies for. Insomnia never seemed to be my problem. I cant sleep. but once I fall asleep I sleep heavily and soundly.
no matter what I try to change to make my sleep patterns better, I revert back instantly. I go to bed at 4ish everynight no matter what. I have been fired from all my jobs because my alarms simply could not wake me and I could not go to sleep on time.  Everyone I know judges me and critisizes me beacuse of my bad routine and ive been like this since I was mabye 12. A part of me wants to be like everyone else and get up early go to bed early... but another part of me just wants to embrace it and find a routine that works for me. being inbetween for years has caused me alot of turmoil. when I want to eat, its too late, when I want to excersize, its too late. when I want to get outtta bed, I cant...  When I manage toforce myself onto a better timeline with others help, one night of staying up late reverts me into my normal time. no matter how tired I am, I cant sleep until 4ish. I don't remeber EVER going to bed before midnight.....
Im going on and on. because Ive never  thought this was something I had any reason for...  I dont want to make excuses for it but for me it is a chronic and daily issue. 

I think this syndrome exists only because of technology... before we had lights at night I doubt anyone had this issue.  It must be a modern society problem.
I have tried melatonin, sleeping pills, and willpower, alarms and others help but here I am at my height of energy at midnight....
I don't know what to do about it anymore. I have a semi flexible job but still Im not able to do the daytime things I need/want to do....  Im so ashamed.. I hide in my room alot because I dont want anyone to know what time I woke up.. I lie and say I was out somewhere.. or couldnt make it for this and that because I was busy... I dont get enough excersize becuase when I feel like working out it is so late.....
 AAKKKKK im going on and on.... what to do? All the websites are very disturbing in that they all claim DSPS to be "A life long condition that may be only partially treatable" should I do everything in my power to fight it? or just give in and tell everyone to F-off
thanks for reading
-R

[Amber]

Hi Jabberwocky! Yes I would definately say you have DSPS!! I'm self diagnosing myself too but what else could it be, if it matches us to a T!

I too have put up with criticism from everyone that has ever known me. I was relieved after I found out this was a real problem so now I know I'm not just lazy. I am FAR from lazy in the evening hours all the way til about 3 or 4 am, like you! That's usually when I do my exercising too, before I go to bed.

You should really just get a job where you don't have to get up too early. I have always worked jobs where I could sleep til 1 in the afternoon, or overnight jobs where I could sleep ALL day and get up whenever the hell I wanted as long as it was before 9pm!

I am struggling with this big time right now because 2 months ago I got a job where I have to get up at 9 am...for the first month it was torture, I only got an hour or two of sleep a night, maybe 3 if I was lucky. I was a zombie and wanted to quit so bad. But I slowly got somewhat used to it even though now I'm still only getting 6 or 7 hours of sleep, which is better I guess. But I still drag for like the first 3 hours of my day. And I HATE HATE HATE (cannot stress this enough!) going to bed at midnight or 1 am!! I always feel like it's against what my body wants to do, I'm always in the middle of stuff I'd rather keep doing. But, while I have this job I have no choice.

[Jabberwocky]

I know how you feel about the morning job... I used to have jobs where I had to be there at 6 or 7 AM and I was always exausted and often didn't sleep at all...   now I only get jobs that start late and classes at school that start late too..  I have to leave my house at 10 30 in the morn tomorrow and I'm so anxious about it because it's already 5 am and Im afraid I won't wake up to my alarm.... Im tempted to try to stay up all night...even though that doesn't work out so well..  It's a full moon too and that makes it so much worse for me... plus anxiety about this and that..... 
I wish I had a treadmill or something because I always want to excersize late at night also but I dont know what to do..I guess I'm not disciplined enough to jump rope and do sit ups or something.. I dont know.. I prefer riding my bike outside or something like that..but not at 2 am! 
What do you do for excersize at night?
I feel like my timing is getting worse over time sort of....I could never go to work at 6 now..... I really want to get a grip on it but I don't... My boyfriend has it too... but he has slightly more determination than me to fight it.  Is it just a habit that can be changed through mabye melatonin, a strict schedule, light therapy ect????? I've tried everything, but not all at once, vigorously, and for months....   Im 24, I don't want to be like this forever!!!  mabye it will get easier to change over time..?
take care! I hope your life is going well even if you're up late! 

[Amber]

I'm not disciplined enough either, I honestly sit on my couch on my laptop 99% of the time I'm home. Sometimes I'll put my iPod on through my headphones and a song will make me wanna dance and then I might end up dancing for an hour or two, but I can almost never motivate myself to move without music. I used to go for walks but have no motivation or energy for that anymore. It's so hard to work out when you can't see immediate results or even any results within 2 weeks.

[kite]

Hmm.  I recall reading that Wikipedia article on DSPS quite a while back when I was being tested and stuff for sleep disorders.  Reading it again now....  Wow.  That is totally me.

I started staying up most of the night when I was a teenager.  I would go to my room at bedtime, try to fall asleep, and then just got back up.  I also stayed in my room most of the night, so my parents wouldn't know that I wasn't sleeping.  Sometimes, I would get so bored during the night that I would rearrange all the furniture in my room!  Haha.  That always threw my mom for a loop when she would come in to wake me up in the morning.

But I did do the thing with multiple alarm clocks to try to wake up on time in the morning.  At my last job, my mom would even call me on the phone every morning to help me wake up.  I tried melatonin, various herbal remedies, OTC sleeping pills, Rx sleeping pills.  My doctor also prescribed me medicine just to stay awake during the day while I was at work and school.  At one point, I was taking Ambien at night (which usually didn't make me fall asleep, it just made me loopy), and then I would take Provigil or Dexedrine in the morning to wake up!  What a mess.

I'm trying to get into a career now that will accommodate my "night owl" tendencies.  I hope to be able to work evenings and nights for a business that is 24-hours.  I would guess that most people wouldn't want late hours like that, but I sure would!  The only problem at the moment is that my second interview is this Friday at 10:45am!  That's early, early for me.  ;)

[Amber]

I started staying up most of the night when I was a teenager.  I would go to my room at bedtime, try to fall asleep, and then just got back up.  I also stayed in my room most of the night, so my parents wouldn't know that I wasn't sleeping.  Sometimes, I would get so bored during the night that I would rearrange all the furniture in my room!  Haha.  That always threw my mom for a loop when she would come in to wake me up in the morning.

  Oh that is too funny!! Your mom was probably like, what in the hell!? 

But I did do the thing with multiple alarm clocks to try to wake up on time in the morning.  At my last job, my mom would even call me on the phone every morning to help me wake up.  I tried melatonin, various herbal remedies, OTC sleeping pills, Rx sleeping pills.  My doctor also prescribed me medicine just to stay awake during the day while I was at work and school.  At one point, I was taking Ambien at night (which usually didn't make me fall asleep, it just made me loopy), and then I would take Provigil or Dexedrine in the morning to wake up!  What a mess.

Ugh! That makes me tired just reading about all those things you had to do to get tired! And they didn't even work! I've also tried melatonin, tea, sleeping pills (those only made me jittery and unable to sleep!). Doesn't it make you wonder how some of us are like this, when humans have that internal clock that goes by the sun? How is it possible that anybody would be awake when it's dark out, if that's how we were made? 

I'm trying to get into a career now that will accommodate my "night owl" tendencies.  I hope to be able to work evenings and nights for a business that is 24-hours.  I would guess that most people wouldn't want late hours like that, but I sure would!  The only problem at the moment is that my second interview is this Friday at 10:45am!  That's early, early for me.  ;)

Aww that interview will be a bitch but if you get it, that will be awesome! I want a job like that too, working late when nobody else wants to, but there aren't many places you can do that at. You can work at a hotel, a 24/hr factory (which I did), a gas station, or a grocery store. I'm trying to find a full time job right now and I am actually scared to go through a temp agency because all they'll find for me are day jobs probably!

[kite]

Ack.  I tried to do the "quoting" thing to insert my appropriate responses, but I don't understand that programming language!

I am lucky in one aspect in trying to find a late-night job.  I do have quite a bit of college under my belt.  The job I'm going for right now is a management position at a reputable 24-hour retail pharmacy.  They still need a manager-on-duty during the night, and I would guess that most "professionals" want a day shift.  I might get a good foot in the door just by proclaiming that I would *love* to work nights, weekends, and holidays!

It wouldn't hurt to try a temp agency.  There are some jobs out there (many factory, like you had done before) that have second or even third shifts.  You could also try hospitals.  They still need clerks and other positions 24 hours.  And other retail that's open 24 hours.

I did try to do the day-shift thing for a decade.  It just plain sucked.  Yes, all the crap that I tried to get to a normal "day" routine....  It's just not worth it for me.  So, a career change is in order.  I really hope this works out!

[Amber]

I am lucky in one aspect in trying to find a late-night job.  I do have quite a bit of college under my belt.  The job I'm going for right now is a management position at a reputable 24-hour retail pharmacy.  They still need a manager-on-duty during the night, and I would guess that most "professionals" want a day shift.  I might get a good foot in the door just by proclaiming that I would *love* to work nights, weekends, and holidays!

That's cool, I agree, you will probably get it since hardly anybody wants nights, weekends and holidays! I don't mind working those either, I don't have much of a social life anymore (i'm 38  ).

It wouldn't hurt to try a temp agency.  There are some jobs out there (many factory, like you had done before) that have second or even third shifts.  You could also try hospitals.  They still need clerks and other positions 24 hours.  And other retail that's open 24 hours.

At a temp agency can you tell them you only want later hours? I just thought you had to take whatever they gave you whether you wanted it or not. I have applied at factories and hospitals, no luck yet.