Hi, Peggy.

My husband had a similar experience except it was during chemo treatments before Thanksgiving. He slept so much that I would watch him to make sure he was breathing! He went from bed to couch to bed again and I could do little else but fret about what to do.

Turns out his white counts were off, he was dehydrated, his electrolytes were out of wack--potassium and sodium levels were terrible. He was put in the hospital and they got him straightened out after a few days. One thing we learned that had masked us discovering all of this sooner was that his pain meds made him sleepy. He was on Percoset and morphine, and I attributed his sleeping to the effects of those meds, not realizing there were other things going on that were very serious. Morphine alone works better now to control his pain and best of all he's lucid now. I felt like I was alone on a ship at sea when he was sleeping all the time. It was like he had already left me.

That was a tough lesson for me: I can't expect him to take responsibility for decisions while he is so ill. I'd ask him if he was OK, and he'd insist yes, that he was just so weak and tired. He said just let him sleep a bit longer. Then, hours later, I'd insist he get up and talk awhile, drink some water, let me know how he was feeling. I asked him if he thought something was wrong and he said, I don't know. Let's wait a bit longer. This went on for days.

I finally took matters in my own hands and insisted he go to the doctor. That's when they put him in the hospital. He told me later that he had felt like there was a veil of fog between him and the world during that time and he couldn't have gotten out of it by himself.

So, consider all of these factors if your husband continues to sleep such long hours each day. It's not good for him, not to mention what it must be doing to you.

I hope things get better soon.
Christine

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Husband diagnosed with SCC of hard palate, right tonsil, right nodes in neck. Currently undergoing chemo and awaiting surgery.

Wife of Scott: SCC, Stage I retromolar 10/02--33 rad; recurrence 10/03--Docetaxol, 5FU, Cisplatin; 1/04 radical right neck, hard palate, right tonsil; recurrence 2/04--mets to skin and neck; Xeloda and palliative care 3/04-4/04; died 5/01/04.