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After getting covid in 2022 I developed long term difficulties falling asleep. I now am sick with a new virus currently sick with Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) and I feel 100 times more sick than I did with covid. I have a terrible cough and been sick since Christmas with bad throat pain, swelling of throat, and tightening. I am on antibiotics and not sure if it is helping or not. I am very nervous and starting to think these viruses are somehow destroying my sleep in some type of way. If any one has any ideas what can be going on with my body or have any sleep remedies you can share please do so. Below I will include some of my research and please advise what I should look into. I am a young and healthy individual with no known health issues. Every time I try to fall asleep it seems that I have so much energy and not tired enough to fall asleep or I get distracted just walking around my bedroom trying to do breathing techniques and meditation.
1. My research from google: "During sleep, your immune system releases proteins called cytokines, some of which help promote sleep. Certain cytokines need to increase when you have an infection or inflammation, or when you're under stress. Sleep deprivation may decrease production of these protective cytokines." (My question is how can I increase cytokines?)
2. Research from google: "Hyperthyroidism, defined as the presence of increased thyroid activity, and thyrotoxicosis, defined as the presence of too much thyroid hormone, are common and well-known causes of sleep dysfunction. Often, sleep disturbances associated with hyperthyroidism are caused by hyperkinetic features of the disorder." (I had blood work done on this and it came back fine with no medications needed perhaps I should get bloodwork again for this)
Could it be inflamation in the body not making me fall asleep as quickly/easily as I did before I was infected?
Any other ideas what can be causing this? I do not believe it to be OCD. I also really want to stay away from taking sleep aid pills as they are addicting but before this sickness I was taking melatonin and was on a somewhat consistent healthy sleep schedule. I stopped melatonin because of my antibiotics I am currently on. I haven't slept in 2 full days and I am stressing out. Any ideas, advice, or help you can share is much appreciated. This is my cry for help, I do not know what else to do. I live in the tri-state areas and everyone I know are becoming sick with this terrible virus.
1. There is no treatment for HMPV, so all you can do is treat the individual symptoms. Since it's a virus, and not a bacteria, antibiotics won't help unless you ALSO have a bacterial infection, but HMPV is not a bacteria-related illness at all.
2. You should check with the doctor who diagnosed you and prescribed your antibiotics with all your questions. Strangers on the internet are not qualified (and in this forum, not allowed) to tell you why you have your symptoms.
1. There is no treatment for HMPV, so all you can do is treat the individual symptoms. Since it's a virus, and not a bacteria, antibiotics won't help unless you ALSO have a bacterial infection, but HMPV is not a bacteria-related illness at all.
2. You should check with the doctor who diagnosed you and prescribed your antibiotics with all your questions. Strangers on the internet are not qualified (and in this forum, not allowed) to tell you why you have your symptoms.
I believe I had white exudate on tonsils and swollen lymph nodes in the neck which is why I am on antibiotics. Even though my family members who I was around on Christmas all tested negative for strep it's not impossibe it was a false negative. Those tests are not always accurate. I did an online phone visit with a doctor and I am trying to find a better primary care doctor but I dont have one yet. Should I take a steroid for HMPV?
Last edited by possibleyou; 01-03-2024 at 11:19 AM..
I believe I had white exudate on tonsils and swollen lymph nodes in the neck which is why I am on antibiotics. Even though my family members who I was around on Christmas all tested negative for strep it's not impossibe it was a false negative. Those tests are not always accurate. I did an online phone visit with a doctor and I am trying to find a better primary care doctor but I dont have one yet. Should I take a steroid for HMPV?
Lymph nodes swell because the immune system is ramped up and the nodes are busy producing white blood cells to help fight off the infecting organism. And that organism could be either viral or bacterial. Swollen nodes in your neck wouldn't be diagnostic of either one. As already mentioned, antibiotics won't treat a virus. You might be given antibiotics to ward off a secondary bacterial infection while the virus runs its course.
As for the steroid or your sleep concerns, you should be discussing appropriate treatment with the doctor who can evaluate you and your personal health history in person, not a bunch of strangers on the web! There are ways to promote sleep that don't involve ingesting anything. IMHO, if you needed to take melatonin in order to sleep it wasn't all that healthy to begin with. Lots of behavioral/mental/emotional issues interfere with sleep, including uncontrolled anxiety. You said it yourself; you're anxious, preoccupied, and overthinking your illness. Gotta learn techniques that will help you derail that thought train so you can rest.
Last edited by Parnassia; 01-03-2024 at 02:46 PM..
If it were me I would get a complete battery of labs done if my insurance covered it. It could be any number of things that are out of whack, and seeing the lab results is a good start on knowing what may need to be done.
Get yourself some sort of sleep aids. Sleep is vital to wellness. They're not all alike, and what knocks one person out may not have any effect at all on another person. Melatonin is usually the safest OTC medication, but there are other OTC medications that may help. None of them are addictive but many are just variations of Benadryl. That drug may help you to sleep and help you to breathe, but again, get your labs done first as it causes urine retention. If your kidneys aren't working right you don't want to stress them out further w/ urine retention.
I take a prescription drug called gabapentin. It's a non opiate drug used mostly for nephropathy, but it helps a lot of other medical conditions. I use it as a sleep aid because of tinnitus, so sleeping is often very difficult. No spaced out feeling in the mornings, its non addictive, you would need to experiment w/ the dosage to get it where it works best for you. If you can, find a doctor willing to let you give a lot of input regarding your own care. The last thing you want is someone who doesn't listen to you and just prescribes meds, or doesn't want to prescribe meds that might help. Watch out for antibiotics, that's how I got tinnitus.
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