Insomnia

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pinkflutterby
pinkflutterby Member Posts: 615 Member
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
Is anyone else dealing with insomnia? I cant fall asleep or stay asleep for that matter and I yawn all day long.

Just wondering if anyone else has this problem.

:) Libby

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  • CR1954
    CR1954 Member Posts: 1,390 Member
    #2
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    Ooooooh yes!
    I have only slept through a few nights since surgery, last August. Doc has prescribed sleeping pills, but they didn't work. Then I tried Tylenol PM because my sister swears by it. It was of no help.

    So now, I take Xanax before bed and I sometimes get a few hours sleep.

    It's so frustrating!

    CR
  • dyaneb123
    dyaneb123 Member Posts: 950
    #3
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    CR1954 said:

    Ooooooh yes!
    I have only slept through a few nights since surgery, last August. Doc has prescribed sleeping pills, but they didn't work. Then I tried Tylenol PM because my sister swears by it. It was of no help.

    So now, I take Xanax before bed and I sometimes get a few hours sleep.

    It's so frustrating!

    CR

    oh I sleep..'til bout 4:30

    oh I sleep..'til bout 4:30 a.m.!Then wide awake and ready to do...what?
  • taleena
    taleena Member Posts: 1,612 Member
    #4
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    Welcome to the land of
    Welcome to the land of insomniacts... I too have problems sleeping.. but only since my lumpectomy.. I am hoping it is a short lived problem.. I am exhausted all the time..

    Hugs.
    ~T
  • cats_toy
    cats_toy Member Posts: 1,462 Member
    #5
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    insomnia
    I think we all to a certain extent go through that, some people can take sleeping pills, others don't want to. Try benadryl, it works most nites for me as long as I don't take it two nites in a row. My doc told me to try that because it is non addictive. I was also prescribed Ambien, and it works sometimes too. I usually switch out on weeknights because I need to get up for work, but then leave it alone on the weekends.
    Good luck!
    Cat
  • pinkflutterby
    pinkflutterby Member Posts: 615 Member
    #6
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    cats_toy said:

    insomnia
    I think we all to a certain extent go through that, some people can take sleeping pills, others don't want to. Try benadryl, it works most nites for me as long as I don't take it two nites in a row. My doc told me to try that because it is non addictive. I was also prescribed Ambien, and it works sometimes too. I usually switch out on weeknights because I need to get up for work, but then leave it alone on the weekends.
    Good luck!
    Cat

    Glad to know I'm not alone.
    Glad to know I'm not alone. I flip and flop and watch mindless TV all night long.
  • rjjj
    rjjj Member Posts: 1,822 Member
    #7
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    Hi Libby
    I still take ativan when i am overly anxious and can't sleep. It was also good for nausea when i was doing chemo. Also Trazadone is a good anti-depressant that is sleep inducing. Talk to your Dr. about it. sleep deprivation can cause anxiety and depression all by itself. The whole world seems better when you are well rested.
    hugs, Jackie
  • CR1954
    CR1954 Member Posts: 1,390 Member
    #8
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    pinkflutterby said:

    Glad to know I'm not alone.
    Glad to know I'm not alone. I flip and flop and watch mindless TV all night long.

    I feel your pain Libby...
    I sit here, either with tv on or playing dopey computer games, because what else is there to do during the night? It seems as though everyone in the world is peacefully sleeping, while I sit by myself in the dark.

    CR
  • Akiss4me
    Akiss4me Member Posts: 2,188
    #9
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    Up all night!!
    If your ever bored..you can find me most nights here. Stop by and we'll chat. Ever since I took off work to go through my cancer treatment, I find I absolutely have no disipline anymore as far as a schedule goes. I'm all out of wack!! Plus lately I seem to be lying around "healing" so therefor I am not tiring myself out? I just keep hoping it will straighten itself out eventually. Hope we all get our sleep patterns back!! :) Pammy
  • dmc_emmy
    dmc_emmy Member Posts: 549
    #10
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    three and 1/2 years later...
    I'm still an insomniac! But, now I have all of you to keep me company :D). I cannot tell you how often I wanted to call someone in the wee hours of the morning just to chat, then self-preservance stepped in and I figured that would be a lousy idea.

    Now that I am off for the summer, it's not that big of deal if I stay up until all hours of the night. When I was working, I found myself nodding off while the students worked at
    their desks, not a real good example for my kids. When I was working as the support teacher in the classroom (I'm a SpEd teacher, so this year my job was not always to directly teach, but to re-teach or provide needed support in the math classes)I would catch myself falling asleep while the primary teacher was instructing and, when I opened my head fell backwards (rather embarrassing, I must say) I would wake-up to kids in the front row smiling at me.

    When I couldn't sleep at night and I had to go to work the next morning, I often drove off the road and awakened to gravel under my wheels. I missed several mailboxes by mere inches. In order to arrive to work safely and not cause anyone or thing any undue harm, I would have to stop about half way and get a 24oz of cappuchino. This would keep me going for the day, sometimes with a boost of caffeine later, and then I would begin the cycle all over again and when time for bed arrived, I would unable to sleep again.

    In the AM would hit my alarm numerous times and, when I would finally drag myself out of bed, I often would have only 10-20 min to eat, feed my dog, put the dogs out (we have 3), dress, fix a lunch, put on face, and drag myself out the door. I often had mismatched socks on, since I couldn't see straght, and one time I put two different styles of black shoes. I would run into work with my shirt untucked and my morning java...not a pretty picture.

    That's part of the med program. I'm off the meds now, at least until my dr and I talk in July, and I'm actually getting to bed at a more reasonable hour. I can't always go to sleep, nor do I always get a sound sleep...oh well, at least I have some great company!

    dmc
  • arbojenn
    arbojenn Member Posts: 118
    #11
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    dmc_emmy said:

    three and 1/2 years later...
    I'm still an insomniac! But, now I have all of you to keep me company :D). I cannot tell you how often I wanted to call someone in the wee hours of the morning just to chat, then self-preservance stepped in and I figured that would be a lousy idea.

    Now that I am off for the summer, it's not that big of deal if I stay up until all hours of the night. When I was working, I found myself nodding off while the students worked at
    their desks, not a real good example for my kids. When I was working as the support teacher in the classroom (I'm a SpEd teacher, so this year my job was not always to directly teach, but to re-teach or provide needed support in the math classes)I would catch myself falling asleep while the primary teacher was instructing and, when I opened my head fell backwards (rather embarrassing, I must say) I would wake-up to kids in the front row smiling at me.

    When I couldn't sleep at night and I had to go to work the next morning, I often drove off the road and awakened to gravel under my wheels. I missed several mailboxes by mere inches. In order to arrive to work safely and not cause anyone or thing any undue harm, I would have to stop about half way and get a 24oz of cappuchino. This would keep me going for the day, sometimes with a boost of caffeine later, and then I would begin the cycle all over again and when time for bed arrived, I would unable to sleep again.

    In the AM would hit my alarm numerous times and, when I would finally drag myself out of bed, I often would have only 10-20 min to eat, feed my dog, put the dogs out (we have 3), dress, fix a lunch, put on face, and drag myself out the door. I often had mismatched socks on, since I couldn't see straght, and one time I put two different styles of black shoes. I would run into work with my shirt untucked and my morning java...not a pretty picture.

    That's part of the med program. I'm off the meds now, at least until my dr and I talk in July, and I'm actually getting to bed at a more reasonable hour. I can't always go to sleep, nor do I always get a sound sleep...oh well, at least I have some great company!

    dmc

    Me too!
    Emmy,
    Did you have problems sleeping before your diagnosis? What kinds of meds are you on? I too teach--I am your counterpart in an inclusion math setting--and since going on Femara have had problems sleeping. I have Ambien and xanax, but I fear getting addicted or having it affect my "mood" or ability to respond quickly in the classroom. I find being tired makes me cranky but the meds make me zone out. How have you been doing since you stopped the meds? Can you tell a difference even though you cannot sleep well? Are you on summer break now? I am, but I can't even sleep when I lie down for a nap. What grade do you teach? I may have some questions for you in the fall as I will need to take a medical leave to have my surgery and rads: I want my special ed inclusion teacher to take the lead role so they kids won't be affected so much by the teacher-sub-teacher comes back cycle.
  • Kristin N
    Kristin N Member Posts: 1,968 Member
    #12
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    arbojenn said:

    Me too!
    Emmy,
    Did you have problems sleeping before your diagnosis? What kinds of meds are you on? I too teach--I am your counterpart in an inclusion math setting--and since going on Femara have had problems sleeping. I have Ambien and xanax, but I fear getting addicted or having it affect my "mood" or ability to respond quickly in the classroom. I find being tired makes me cranky but the meds make me zone out. How have you been doing since you stopped the meds? Can you tell a difference even though you cannot sleep well? Are you on summer break now? I am, but I can't even sleep when I lie down for a nap. What grade do you teach? I may have some questions for you in the fall as I will need to take a medical leave to have my surgery and rads: I want my special ed inclusion teacher to take the lead role so they kids won't be affected so much by the teacher-sub-teacher comes back cycle.

    Ask your oncologist for some
    Ask your oncologist for some sleeping pills or some nerve pills that will help you to sleep.

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