MEDICAL MATTERS
- Medical Matters features questions asked by Members of the ME Association on health-related topics.
- Dr Charles Shepherd and the ME Association’s other advisers answer these questions by sharing their expert knowledge.
- Medical Matters is based on the popular ‘Ask the Doctor’ series in ME Essential magazine.
- It is a free resource that supplements the detailed information contained in the full range of literature that can be found in the website shop.
Search all questions
Choose a letter to see our categories
- Show all
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- H
- I
- J
- K
- L
- M
- N
- O
- P
- Q
- R
- S
- T
- U
- V
- W
- Y
Questions in the Category: Unrefreshing Sleep
Sleep apnoea
Like most people with ME/CFS, I always wake up from what is often an erratic night’s sleep feeling totally unrefreshed. I also went through a phase of sleeping for very long periods at the start of my illness. I now find that I’m feeling very sleepy during the day but this isn’t the same as the debilitating ME fatigue that I also experience.
My GP has queried whether I might have a condition called sleep apnoea. Is this more common in people with ME? And can it be treated?
Daridorexant (Quviviq) for sleep disturbance
I have been reading about an interesting new drug for treating insomnia called daridorexant. I thought it might be worth trying as I have difficulty getting off to sleep, wake up several times during the night and always wake up feeling completely unrefreshed. My GP said she didn’t have any experience of using this new drug and that it was also quite expensive. So she wasn’t willing to prescribe it.
Is there any evidence that this is a drug that could be helpful for people with ME/CFS? If so, should I go back to my GP?
What is non-restorative/unrefreshing sleep?
Like most people with ME I wake up each day, even after a good night’s sleep, not feeling any better than when I went to bed and sometimes even worse. So I can understand why unrefreshing sleep, often combined with various other sleep disturbances, is a key diagnostic feature of ME. But do we know about why people with ME have such unrefreshing sleep?
Paralysed by Sleep
Like most people with ME my sleep has been badly affected. I never manage to get a solid night’s sleep and always feel ‘sleep deprived’ on waking up.
More recently, I’ve had a more unusual symptom which can best be described as feeling ‘paralysed by sleep’ when I wake up. I can’t move or speakfor a short period of time – after which everything quickly returns to normal. My GP isn’t sure what is going wrong. Could this be connected to ME?
Night sweats
Do people with ME have night sweats? This is a new symptom that is causing myself and my partner considerable distress.
Post-Viral Fatigue Syndrome, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis or Encephalopathy, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and Long Covid
Please can you define what PVFS, ME/CFS, and Long Covid mean. I am having difficulty determining if they are the same disease or different. Thank you!
Symptom: Vivid Dreams
Are vivid dreams a recognised symptom of ME? Like most people with ME I have unrefreshing sleep and sometimes wake up in the night. But I’ve recently been waking in the middle of the night with very clear memories of rather bizarre vivid dreams. Fortunately, nothing frightening has happened so far!
Dr Charles Shepherd
Dr Shepherd has been Trustee and Hon. Medical Adviser to the ME Association for more than 40 years. He is integral to the charity’s activities and provides information and support based on his professional knowledge, personal experience as a doctor with ME/CFS, and the understanding gained from helping many thousands of people with the condition. He was a member of the comittee responsible for the 2021 NICE Clinical Guideline and is a recognised expert on ME/CFS in the UK. His knowledge extends to Post-Viral Fatigue Syndromes (PVFS), Myalgic Encephalopathy/Encephalomyelitis (ME), Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), and Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) or Long Covid.
If you have questions about ME/CFS or Long Covid, you can:
- Review the free information in the What is ME/CFS section of the website, and the free Covid-19 and Long Covid information in the website shop.
- Review the largest range of literature covering all aspects of living with ME/CFS. Download detailed information about symptoms, diagnosis, management, co-mordidities, employment, education, related health conditions, The 2021 NICE Clinical Guideline, welfare benefits etc.
- Join the ME Association as a member and you’ll receive the highly-rated ME Essential magazine, and you can ask questions of the charity’s expert advisers including Dr Shepherd.
- Contact us via the ME Connect Telephone Helpline (open 365 days a year) and speak to one of the national team of fully-trained volunteers who waiting to provide information and support.
- Contact us via email or social media:
Medical Matters is based on the popular ‘Ask the Doctor‘ series featured in the highly-regarded member’s magazine, ME Essential, and in the healthcare professional magazine, ME Medical. Both are produced by the ME Association and published as hard-copy magazines every 3 months and sent to members and healthcare professionals by post to home or business addresses.
If you are a Health Care Professional you can sign-up to receive ME Medical magazine (people with ME/CFS can also nominate their HCP by completing the sign-up form).