Brief Answer:
You are PHASE SHIFTED

Detailed Answer:
Good afternoon Ms. LeBlanc. My name is Dr. Saghafi and I am a neurologist. Let me first say that the drummer who was in our college band's last name was LeBlanc as well. I'm sure he was of no relation but his name was XXXXXXX LeBlanc and he graduated from the music school at the University of XXXXXXX At any rate, I would like to answer your very question if I could.

You have undergone what is referred to a PHASE SHIFT in your day/night sleep cycle. It's hard to explain why as of July it has now become so easy for you to stay awake all night long when before that time you were fast asleep. Perhaps, the excitement of the job or the responsibility of knowing you needed to work and even if that meant taking a Graveyard shift you would do it and not do anything to jeopardize the position and so now your body is EXTREMELY motivated to stay awake and work. However, when you finish your shift you are poorly able to get to asleep as most people would who are night shift workers.

It's unfortunate that you've no healthcare insurance because obviously, in order to maximally help you there need to be some testing and likely a referral to a sleep disorders specialist so I don't know how you're going to figure on doing these suggestions without medical insurance but perhaps, you can look into that.

From a medical point of view the first thing I would do in such a situation would be to make sure all of your laboratories and chemistries were in order. This requires bloodwork for the most part.

Next, I would ask that you filled out a detailed SLEEP DIARY or LOG which you could download over the Internet. There are even apps for the iphone and droid phones that are electronic in nature and very handy and dare I say, EVEN FUN to play with and fill out so that we can have a detailed document that shows exactly how you go to sleep and how you stay awake.

Do you take any medications (either prescribed, illicit, or other prescriptions not meant for you)? This could be a problem if you are doing any of this.

Finally, I would ask you to get a sleep study and/or consult with a sleep specialist that will look at the amount time it takes you to fall asleep and how things are going to either wake you up or keep you awake and on the basis of this a diagnosis may be rendered.

Then, once a diagnosis is in hand an intervention, whether it's medicaiton or otherwise, can be devised.

If this information has provided you with any measure of increased knowledge in order to answer your questions then, I'd appreciate a kind written feedback note with CLOSING OF THE QUERY if you have no further questions or comments to signal to the network that it is fine to process and archive the consult for future reference.

Looking forward to hearing some more information about your condition if you find my comments helpful.

Just so you also keep in mind that Healthcaremagic doctors are not capable of prescribing medications through this service but we can perhaps, recommend the name of a connection you can contact in terms of getting you a definitive consult.

This query required 18 minutes of physician specific time in order to review, research, and document in final draft format for envoy.

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Brief Answer:
Phase shifted sleep/wake cycle- time to readjust

Detailed Answer:
Thank you for your follow up information. The fact you get sleepy before ready to go to work is not surprising, especially if you have a hard time getting to sleep after you get off your shift. You are working throughout the night time, coming home, not easily going to sleep, and by the time it is time to go back to work at night time you'll have only gotten perhaps a minimal amount of sleep time from what you're telling me (although you really haven't said exactly how many hours of sleep you are getting per 24 hrs.). At any rate, the sleepiness you feel just before going to your shift can be explained simply based upon the fact that you are likely reaching a point of exhaustion. I don't suggest you run that type of schedule much longer since other things may happen such as falling asleep behind the wheel of your car, on the way to work, on the way home, or elsewhere.

Getting you phase shifted into your job is not hard to do but it requires the intervention of a sleep specialist who can work with you and get more specific information in the form of a sleep log or diary so as to determine what if any factors are preventing you from coming home and easily falling asleep. If it is necessary, medication can be used on a short term basis to get you to fall asleep quickly when necessary after you arrive home.

You also may require some blood work to be done to see if there is any reason why you seem to be able to stay awake after working all night long when most other people would just simply go to bed without difficulty. Again, I think that in the end you'll find that the barriers to being to fall asleep in the morning when you get home are simply environmental distractions which can be overcome but it will require some investigation and time to ferret things out.

The good news is that with your health care insurance that should kick in soon you will have easier access to professionals who can help you. I recommend a good sleep specialist because I think your problem is complex. You do not want someone who is simply willing to prescribe you medication without taking into consideration your entire clinical picture and trying to phase shift you into your work schedule without having to become dependent upon medications of any type.

I would be very very careful with energy drinks as they can have deleterious effects if overused on your heart and people have even suffered strokes when using them due to their high caffeine content. Not only that but people tend to CRASH after drinking those when they are excessively tired and of course, caffeine can be habit forming in some individuals.

Good luck and me know how things work out.

If this information has been helpful please take a moment to provide some written feedback and provide a STAR RATING on the information which will help me know how well I've addressed your concerns.

Also, I'd appreciate it if you would CLOSE THE QUERY so that it may be processed, archived, and credited for future reference.

Don't forget you can always get back in touch with me directly through DIRECT QUERY by going to the following website address:

http://doctor.healthcaremagic.com/doctors/dr-dariush-saghafi/68474

This query required 15 minutes of physician specific time in order to review, research, and provide final format documentation for envoy.

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