Sign-in to Ask A Doctor - 24x7
OR
Sign in with Google
What Causes Excessive Daytime Sleepiness While Having Restless Leg Syndrome?
Question: Occasionally, I cannot stay awake while driving during the day followed by felling exhausted when home and having to sleep , very uncharacteristic for me ? I do have restless leg syndrome
Brief Answer:
Read below
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern.
When in front of a case of excessive daytime somnolence the first thing to be considered is sleep quality. Bad quality sleep may lead to fatigue and somnolence during the day.
The most common cause of that is obstructive sleep apnea, a condition where during sleep there is loss of tonicity of the walls of the airways with obstruction of breathing. It is more common in overweight people, but can happen in other people as well when airways are more narrow than usual. The best test to diagnose it is polysomnography a recording of brain electrical activity during sleep.
Restless legs syndrome may also be a cause if it leads to difficulty falling asleep and frequent awakening during the night.
One last possibility might be medication side effects. In your case it should be considered the possibility of prolonged Clonazepam action and possibly substituted with another alternative for restless legs syndrome such as dopa agonist drugs, the most commonly used medication for that purpose.
I remain at your disposal for other questions.
Read below
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern.
When in front of a case of excessive daytime somnolence the first thing to be considered is sleep quality. Bad quality sleep may lead to fatigue and somnolence during the day.
The most common cause of that is obstructive sleep apnea, a condition where during sleep there is loss of tonicity of the walls of the airways with obstruction of breathing. It is more common in overweight people, but can happen in other people as well when airways are more narrow than usual. The best test to diagnose it is polysomnography a recording of brain electrical activity during sleep.
Restless legs syndrome may also be a cause if it leads to difficulty falling asleep and frequent awakening during the night.
One last possibility might be medication side effects. In your case it should be considered the possibility of prolonged Clonazepam action and possibly substituted with another alternative for restless legs syndrome such as dopa agonist drugs, the most commonly used medication for that purpose.
I remain at your disposal for other questions.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
Get personalised answers from verified doctor in minutes across 80+ specialties
