2 semesters ago, i stayed up for ~100 hours straight to do homework, go to class, rinse & repeat (with a few 5-10 minute stretch- & snack- breaks here and there to stay awake). each assignment i had to do was important enough where if i skipped them and got 0's, my best-case scenario was <= an 80% in the classes if i got perfect grades on the rest of my assignments. i didn't procrastinate; my database class moved up the due date on a project from a week to 2 days due to my professor's motivations to familiarize us with more material before our final project. this left me just over a day for each of my 3 assignments due for the week.
come the end of the stretch while i attended my last class of the week, i had radiating pain in my chest, a loss of breath & itchy sensations in my left armpit. i literally stumbled my way back home after the class ended & worked about 8 more hours on my last assignment. when i could finally lie down after turning in the final assignment online, i couldn't immediately fall asleep due to intense visual & auditory hallucinations that lasted about an hour.
ever since then, i've had pulsatile tinnitus in my right ear which is amplified by stress &/or further sleep deprivation.
i've posted about this before, but the consequences of a stretch from 2 semesters ago were frustratingly debilitating last semester (the pulsatile tinnitus completely destroys my sleep quality &, when audible, my ability to focus) & i just wanted to rant.
i had an MRI of my head & neck over the summer which came up inconclusive (good in the sense of no observable damage, but bad in the sense of lacking a diagnosis). none of the doctors i've been to (including an ENT) have offered any useful advice other than to take OTC sleep medication without regard to developing tolerance just in order to be able to sleep. i refuse to do this on the sole basis of certain sleep medication (namely diphenhydramine which has been the most effective in improving my sleep quality) being potentially neurotoxic with long-term usage. even if my condition is currently physically inhibitive, it seems to have had minimal effect on my reasoning faculties. i can't chance my long-term prospects due to symptoms which may only be in the short-term. my condition has admittedly improved over the summer by taking it as easy as possible (i.e. the "whooshing" sounds happen less frequently & aren't as loud unless i bend over or otherwise contort my body). unfortunately, i also have radiating nerve pain of various intensities in my digits which seems to have gotten worse over time (namely in the joints of my toes with very slight discomfort in my secondary & tertiary knuckles of my fingers) & correspondingly confound my sleep problems.
regardless, i sincerely regret not swallowing my pride & asking for an extension. over a year of this shit is awful & i wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy.