Alpha Wave Intrusion

[cryuncle]

After years of struggling with insomnia, I have come to the conclusion I have Alpha Wave Intrusion. Unaided by medication I sleep only for 15-20 minutes out of 8 hours. I have done everything under the sun as far as trying to beat this without meds. Now, I must take one of the hypnotic's to get any sleep at all.

Question is, anyone else effected by Alpha Wave Intrusion? If so, what do you do/take to help? Can this condition be reversed or at least relieved?

My sleep Doc is not much help, he just writes more meds. He has tried in the past to get a patient on xyrem but was unsuccessful and would not even try to procure it for me.

I understand there is a new class of sleep drug that has been through all the clinical trials and will be submitted to the FDA this year for a NDA. It is said to work on a completely different GABA receptor than what is currently available. I sure am looking forward to trying this out.

[SleepyInStLouis]

I have had alpha wave intrusion and sleep apnea when I sleep on my back for many years.  I always wondered why it felt like I had slept soundly but I could not get up in the morning because I was so exhausted!  I also have allergies to many many things and have been getting allergy shots and taking allergy meds year round every day.  I also had a deviated septum corrected and the openings to my sinuses enlarged about 10 years ago.  That has definitely helped me get fewer (than 3-4 per year) sinus infections.  I've been taking 150 mg of Trazodone every night, but have recently decreased to 125 because sometimes 150 knocked me out for too long.  I, too, have always fallen asleep to talk radio or tv.  It's like my brain needs something (boring) to be directed to or it races in a thousand different directions.  I feel a lot less tired since starting the Trazodone, but I still feel sleepiness a lot and can fall asleep if I stop moving and doing things, usually within 5 minutes or less.  I have a hard time focusing my brain to do work that takes concentration also.  I also started taking Ativan for severe anxiety, which made it almost impossible for me to be tense or worry when I first started taking it a couple of years ago, but it is not that powerful for me any more.  Also take Wellbutrin and Zoloft.  So plenty of meds and definite improvement in symptoms since finding out about Alpha Wave Intrusion after my sleep study.  My sleep dr. explained that for me, my brain acts like most people's brain does when they are at rest, not sleeping, so the brain never decreases its activity to allow sleep.

[Nyomi_P4]

I have suffered from Alpha Intrusion for nearly 13 years.  Mine initially started and was diagnosed after I was in a Coma and Total Organ Shutdown for just over 2 months due to an allergic reaction to Dilantin and Depakote called "Stephen's Johnson Syndrome".  I have always had trouble sleeping...even since birth, but after my Coma, everything got worse.  I go for routine Sleep Studies every 6 months and every Sleep Study indicates that my Alpha Intrusion is getting worse.  On top of the Alpha Intrusion, I have Obstructive Sleep Apnea.  My Neurologist just recently (about 2 months ago) discovered that my Uvula is deviated to the left and that the entire left side of my Soft Palate and Upper Throat are paralyzed.  I had an MRI done to try to figure out why I have this Deviation and Paralyzation, but it came up inconclusive.  I've had a very difficult time swallowing since I was a kid, but it has gotten much worse recently.  I'm scheduled for a Swallow Study next month and am looking forward to figuring all that out.
I have tried nearly EVERY medication under the sun for my Insomnia and Alpha Intrusion, including medications NOT indicated for this use.  The only medication I have yet to try is Xyrem because I have not heard of it before now.  I DO know however, that a LOT of "sleeping" medications can actually have the OPPOSITE INTENDED EFFECT.  For instance, one of the medications that I currently have and use on RARE occasions, is Trazadone.  I VERY rarely use it because it causes me to only get about 1 hour of sleep per 24 after the first dose which DOES allow me to get a "full night's sleep".  With people who have brains like ours, medications designed to help us FALL and STAY asleep can quite often cause us to have Insomnia and further WORSEN our already existing Alpha Intrusion.  If anyone is a fan of the show "Grey's Anatomy", there is a partial explanation for this on Season 9 Episode 22.  There HAVE been several studies where Coma Victims regain consciousness and other things lost due to the coma, but as of right now, there is no SIGNIFICANT FDA approved "proof" that this actually works.  Still, there are people out there like me who can genuinely say that some sleeping medications may actually KEEP you from sleeping.
Someone mentioned (sekhmet611 on 4/30/2011) trying to sleep with a movie on.  This is pretty much the ONLY way that I can sleep.  I HAVE to have light that "moves" (the changing of scenes and changes within scenes) and constant noise in order for my brain to understand that it is time to relax and sleep.  I keep the volume at a level just a NOTCH above where I otherwise wouldn't be able to hear it and I put the movie on repeat.  It took my husband a while to get used to it, but it DOES work for me for the most part.  Recently (the past 3 weeks) I have only been able to sleep for about 2 hours at a time with a MINIMUM of 8 hours before trying to fall asleep again.  This is WITH my taking Valium (30mg), Zanaflex (24mg), Seroquel (25mg), Trazadone (200mg), a couple different pain medications and a few other medications.  This combination of high dose medications would knock most people out for a week and cause SERIOUS CNS-Depression, but because my Brain and Body are how they are, I still am not able to get the sleep I so desperately need.
I totally feel ALL of your pains and can relate.  I wish that I had more to say, something that could actually help, but at this point, I'm pretty much at as much a loss as you all.  I will check back after I get the results for my upcoming Sleep Study and Swallow Study and let you all know how they went and if there is anything that I can add, I certainly will.  Please don't hesitate to contact me for support or to chat when you can't sleep.  I'm almost always awake and almost always on the computer!  Take Care my fellow sufferers, and happy dreaming!

[holdemstacy]

I've just stumbled onto this site.  Wow!  People like me.  What a thing this is.  I have felt alone for a long time now with this.  I walk around like a zombie unable to focus.  It's like my brain isn't awake.  Kinda like a sensory overload or something.  I even went to the Mayo Cliinic to find out what was wrong.  They did a study and said I have alpha wave intrusion.  That's how I got here.  Your comment stood out to me because I have issues with my sinuses. I've had an operation to fix a deviated septum and to roto-rooter out the sinuses.  Horrible experience.  Man any help at this point is appreciated.  The Mayo clinic down played my problem and suggested hypnotics.  The doctor there obviously doesn't suffer from this.  I "sleep" all night and wake up more tired than when I went to bed.  What causes this and how to treat it.  What effects on my health.  I feel like I'm dying

[Redkodiak2]

If pharma can’t push a drug solution, docs are clueless to investigate root cause. Just my experience

[tekis]

Wow!  That explains why when I fall asleep in front of the tv I feel that I've slept much better than without it--gotta be the reason.  I was just telling someone about his two days ago!  I said that an hour (asleep) in front of the tv is more restorative/restful than several hours in bed.  Thanks for this info!

[sunrunner]

I'm being seen for Fibromyalgia this week or the next; I have high hopes that I may procure the Xyrem RX. I'll try to update once I test its efficacy in my case.

[Heather_Chicago]

I was diagnosed with Alpha Wave Intrusions several years ago. I have been taking clonazepam (half pill - .25mg I think). It has helped me for the most part without feeling hazy. I do wake up frequently in the mornings, but am getting at least 4-6 hours sleep. I do have periods where I'm up every hour, but it's not enough to make me want to increase my dosage. When I ask my doctor if there has been any news on this disorder, he tells me no. I try to look it up myself  every now and then. I have not heard of the other medications listed, so I'll look into those. Does anyone have any articles or websites that are useful for our problem?