I'm a 29 year old male, and for the last six months I've been sleeping anywhere from 10-14 hours a day (when work permits). It's immensely frustrating because I've become extremely unproductive, not to mention the hours of my day that I feel are taken away from me because I just don't wake up.

I immediately noticed the change when moving back home to Iowa from California. I figured that at first it was just a difference in climate, or altitude, or just a lack of things to do. It seems though that after six months things haven't returned to normal. My sleep pattern is very random.

Some days I wake up after 2 hours, am not able to get back to sleep until I've eaten, then I'll sleep for 10 or more. Other days I'll sleep for 6 hours, but be extremely groggy unless I get another six. If left to my own devices (alone, with no disturbances, and a day off) I can easily sleep for 14 hours.

My diet is healthier than average - no greasy foods, a few vegetables every day, some bread, milk, eggs, cheese. Perhaps more carbohydrates than usual. I don't drink, don't use any drugs (prescription or otherwise), I am a smoker.

I work a job that swings me from working as early as 2 in the afternoon, to finishing as late as 5am. It's a job that requires a medium amount of physical activity, so I don't feel that lack of exercise is the problem. Of note, this job provides no health insurance - so please, recommending I go see a battery of specialists or get prescription medication without giving a moderate amount of certainty that this bit of advice will fix my problem, or lead to a quick diagnosis doesn't help me.

I have noticed I've gone through some other behavioral changes since I've started having this sleep difficulty. I've become very irritable. It seems that I'll find a way to see anything that happens in a negative light. Nothing really seems to interest me, not reading books or watching television, or going out to the bars, going after a girl. Those things would have motivated me in the past but now it seems the only activities that motivate me are eating and sleeping.

Caffeine seems to help a little, for the one or two hours that I'll be 'awake' I feel more close to normal, able to be interested in things, and able to focus.

I've considered that it might be depression, but honestly I think I'm fairly happy with my life at the moment. I've got a stable job, a nice place, I'm living among old friends, don't have any pressing bills. I think I feel happy, but just frustrated that I never seem to be awake. Maybe my idea of what depression is isn't correct.

So if I were to go see a doctor and didn't want to get the run-around battery of expensive tests, didn't want to hear "improve your diet" or "wake up earlier" or the plethora of other things that aren't a fix to my problem, what should I say?