I have had the same sleep/morning drowsiness problem for five years now. I go to bed at a normal time for work the next day (i.e. 9 or 10), have alarms set for 6:50 and 7:00 and still manage to wake up completely exhausted. This leads to me calling in sick to sleep in an extra three or more hours using a "doctor's appointment" excuse or something similar.

Back in 2018 I was diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea. I took home a CPAP- the mask version- and it did not work. So I assumed that the CPAP in general would not work. Late last year my co-worker, who has sleep apnea, recommended the nasal pillow CPAP. So I tried that as well and unfortunately it did not work.

I also looked into the symptoms for some mental health medications that I had been taking for five years- lithium and risperidone- and found out that they both cause severe morning drowsiness. That and risperidone causes interrupted breathing during sleep. So I stopped taking both medications and for four days straight I was finally able to get up on time. After that I reverted right back to the same problem and called in sick again and it has been the same outcome for me all the way until today.

Does anyone know what else could be causing my sleep problem? I'm at my wit's end and am terrified of losing my job. I work for the state and my supervisors so far have been a million times more lax than my previous jobs' supervisors would have been had I had this problem (hence the fact that the problem has lasted for five years and I am still employed). But I don't think my luck will last much longer. I'll eventually get written up and a warning and after that I will be terminated.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.