[Blindtlk] ernestly seeking advice about sleep irregularities

Tue May 25 02:09:37 UTC 2010

Hi Peter,

You make some very excellent points, and it appears that what Robert needs
is just simply a solid diagnosis.  If this is done through a sleep study
test on-site at a medical facility, well, this is different as it is actual
diagnostic testing.  I do appreciate your feedback on this article as it
shed a little more light on the inside of what many probably think is
legitimate research, unless of course these factors are accounted for in the
study, but there is nothing that indicates this.  

Steven

-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Peter Donahue
Sent: Monday, May 24, 2010 7:20 PM
To: Blind Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] ernestly seeking advice about sleep irregularities

Good evening everyone,

    The whole idea of blindness effecting one's sleep cycles is something I
find distasteful! I had trouble sleeping when I was growing up and no one
offered to investigate further It was only after an unfortunate incident at
the 2001 national convention that lead to the proper diagnosis of my Sleep
Apnea. It was too little too late! People probably figured that blindness
caused one to have irregular sleep patterns ignoring the fact that there
could be bonafied  underlying sleep disorders. Now that my Sleep Apnea is
being properly treated I feel great and things are much better. I just wish
it could have been discovered when I was much younger.

    It is for this reason that I'm very concerned about these sleep research
projects being done on blind persons to determine if blindness does indeed
effect one's sleep-wake cycles and the rest. I'd like to know if routine
sleep studies are done on these folks to rule out sleep disorders before
these researchers persue their whims. If they're failing to do this their
research is definitely flawed and blind people with undiagnosed sleep
disorders will pay the price. For that reason this house won't go near them
with a ten-foot pole!

Peter Donahue

 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Alan" <awheeler at neb.rr.com>
To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, May 24, 2010 4:39 PM
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] ernestly seeking advice about sleep irregularities

Very good idea. I can speak from experience on the sleep apnea.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Cindy Handel" <cindy425 at verizon.net>
To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, May 24, 2010 4:21 PM
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] ernestly seeking advice about sleep irregularities

> Have you talked with your doctor about this?  You could have sleep apnea
> and
> need some treatment for the condition.  I'm not sure that you can
> automatically connect your difficulty in sleeping to your blindness.  I'd
> suggest that you speak with a doctor about it.
>
> Cindy
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Robert J Smith" <rsmith247 at csc.com>
> To: <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, May 24, 2010 4:11 PM
> Subject: [Blindtlk] ernestly seeking advice about sleep irregularities
>
>
> Hi all.  I am a person who is totally blind with prosthetic eyes.  You
> will see why I mention this right at the beginning later in this message.
> I am ernestly seeking advice from other totally blind persons who suffer,
> or have suffered from sleep irregularities.  I take Melatonin which helps
> the problem somewhat but it could be better.  Without Melatonin, I would
> sleep for two maybe three hours per night, wake up, and stay awake the
> rest of the night.  With Melatonin, I sleep about five hours a night but
> still get sleepy sometimes during the day.  Any ideas as to how I can
> improve my alertness during the entire day?  Cafinated coffee doesn't do
> it.  I can sit and yawn and get drowsy while drinking it.  I take one
> Melatonin tablet at night.  Should I possibly take two?  Should I take
> something to keep me alert during the day instead of focusing on the
> night?  I am open to all suggestions!  Of course I know that nobody can
> prescribe anything on this list.  I have heard that blind persons who have
> no light perception have been known to have sleep irregularity problems.
> This seems to follow with me because when I was a kid I had light
> perception.  I would sit in front of a lamp in my bedroom when doing my
> homework first to be just like my sighted younger brother when he did his
> homework, second because I liked actually seeing something since I had
> both real eyes at that point.  When I was a kid, I did not have sleep and
> alertness troubles.
>
> Thanks much in advance,
>
> Robert Smith
>
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