Sober for 1 Year - Sleeping Too Much
 

Hello everyone.
I am an alcoholic that has been sober one year. I feel the steps working in me, I have a good connection with my higher power , I have friends in the program, and life is good. I have a desire to live like I've never had before.
The problem is, is that I'm so tired all of the time. I can easily sleep my whole day away. I have absolutely no problem with sleeping for 14 hours on end. I don't usually sleep through the day, but I usually sleep in till 11-12 every day, even if I go to bed early.
This has been affecting me a lot because I work at 3, so I'm not able to live the life I want to like this. I have no time to do anything. More importantly, I can't go to my meetings.
I set my alarm and I just immediately go back to sleep. I feel deathly tired. This also affects my appetite for the rest of the day, and I feel more groggy when I've slept too much.
I've tried si many things and I just don't know what to do.
It's affecting me a lot. This has always been an issue for me, even before I got sober. I've struggled with depression and anxiety.

I think this is a question for your dr. Blood work up, thyroid, hormones, all that good stuff.

Yep... thyroid was the first thing that sprung to my mind. Underactive or overactive can cause severe lethargy.
Defs go to a doc and get a full blood test.
Or it could be that your body is still healing from the years of drinking.
I hope you feel better soon :)

Probably should have mentioned.. got a full blood test already, everything is fine :/

Have you considered sleep apnea? It's pretty common. Untreated apnea can keep you tired no matter how much sleep you're getting. Just a thought.

Has this sleep thing just started happening or has been happening this past year?
Could it be insomnia maybe? Or depending on how long it has been happening, might just be a temporary phase.
Last few weeks I was averaging 4 hours sleep a night :( this week I have been averaging 7-8 hours. No change in diet or exercise so I put it down to my body just needing that rest as it still heals from the years of abuse.

Have you had a sleep study? Apnea springs to mind. Go see your dr.

A few things....I am almost a year sober and sleep is a big deal for me. It was a HUGE thing in my first months (I am 345 days sober today) and I slept a LOT.

It evened out mostly and I was taking a nap some days of the week. In Dec, I went on an antidepressant (added to my other drugs which does include seroquel for sleep) and it knackered me for a good number of weeks, probably 4-5. I HAD to lay down with very sudden onset and was napping for a couple hours at a time, or even about two hours after I got up. That has evened out and now I nap some/most days for shorter periods of time and they work around work, meetings etc- so one question for you is if you are on any psych drugs?

Are you dreaming or having nightmares? Any other symptoms (sweating, etc)? I ask because I went through all of that and did get some help from my psych in terms of adjusted meds.

Can you exercise? How are you eating? I understand very well what you are saying about the overwhelming nature of this kind of sleep thing. Perhaps even though the tests you've had are normal, it's worth discussing what's going on with your dr.

Take care of yourself.

Thanks so much everyone! To answer some of the questions:
This has been an ongoing problem for me. I remember when I was a teen I would sleep in till noon on weekends. I've been depressed a lot of my life and my coping mechanism was to sleep. And then, when I was drinking, I would be so exhausted the day after. So this has been going on for quite some time. I just have always loved sleep and never had trouble sleeping, could do it for hours and hours. And then I would still feel tired when I woke up, and throughout the day sometimes too. I do tend to go to sleep pretty late though. I think the only time I'm not able to sleep is like early evening. I have to wait until at least 10, and most of the time I'll wait until 1 or so.
My eating habits are healthy except I'm not able to eat enough sometimes because I'm sleeping too much, and I do exercise occasionally. I have no trouble sleeping once I'm actually asleep at all.
Yesterday, I slept the ENTIRE day - woke up at 11am and then went back to sleep from about 3pm to 9pm, and then didn't wake up the next day till like 12pm.
To be fair I was sick, I usually don't sleep through the day, but the point is is that I fully well, easily, could, I just force myself to wake up. During the day I'm usually okay and not exhausted, but sometimes it'll hit me around 4pm or so, and I'll drink some caffeine but not much. I just normally feel a little tired always though, like it's hard for me to feel full of energy.

I will see my doctor. I talked to her briefly about it but not much, because I was mainly seeing her because I was having a hard time eating. She thought I may be depressed and referred me to a therapist.
I touched on this briefly with my therapist and we agreed that I get up when I absolutely have to, like for work, so he suggested I start building my life so I HAVE to get up - take up a morning class, get a commitment at a morning meeting, etc.
I just want to know why I'm so tired!

Depression definitely could cause the sleepiness, so I'm glad you are seeing your doctor. I know that as tired as I am exercise, even if it is just a short walk helps get my energy back again.

I had to edit, because I almost forgot to say congratulations on a year sober!!!!

Thank you so much!! ❤️
I definitely think depression is the cause but I just feel so much better so I'm not sure why this is still happening. I don't think depression cares if we feel better though.. it still lingers!

Btw I see you just celebrated a year too!! Congrats!