It all began with minor sleep issues. Initially, I'd sleep 8-9 hours but still feel the need to nap during the day due to excessive sleepiness. Currently, after three years, it has escalated to a point where I sleep up to 10 hours and still take short naps during the day, leaving me with no energy to function.
I have ahi of 6/h and tried CPAP but it didnt improve my sleep, since then i got new symptoms regarding my sleep
Concerning sleep itself, I encounter strange hallucinations before falling asleep and during naps. I hear sounds, sometimes see things, as if I'm already asleep and dreaming even though I haven't fallen asleep yet. Additionally, about once every two weeks after waking up, I experience an olfactory hallucination – I smell an odor that doesn't exist. This happens after sleeping and lasts about 30 minutes to an hour (with the smell appearing for a few seconds intermittently during this time). I feel like I recognize the smell but can't name it, and it triggers a peculiar sensation in my body, often followed by slight twitching and intense coldness.
Typically, when this smell occurs, my teeth and tongue ache the entire day (I also wear dental braces). Upon waking up, I frequently have vision problems, as if someone dropped a stone into water and made waves in it, blurring a point in my field of vision. The pulsating blurred spot in vision happens in the same spot in both eyes and subsides after a few seconds.
I've observed that I remember a significant number of dreams (4-5 per night), and they are highly realistic and vivid. Occasionally, during a dream, I wake up to a loud ringing in one ear; it becomes 'quiet,' and I feel faint for a few seconds. All these symptoms, except for the ringing in the ear, occur only during sleep or immediately after waking up.
As the quality of my sleep has significantly deteriorated, I lack the energy to function daily. I constantly feel the urge to sleep, and I'm starting to experience job and relationship losses. I have no idea which doctor to consult or what to investigate.
The tests I've undergone so far include:
- MRI and CT of the head – clear.
- Vision tests – vision is clear, with no issues in the eye itself and its nerves (the doctor suggested that visual problems might be caused by something else in the body).
- Polysomnography – 5 AHI/hour, indicating very mild apnea. CPAP was tested but did not help.
- EEG for epilepsy – no abnormalities detected after a normal night's sleep.