Post mastectomy sleeplessness

texas972
texas972 Member Posts: 5
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
Hi all, I am reposting this mssg from earlier b/c my mom is still having problems sleeping. My mother had a mastectomy at the beginning of June and since then has not been able to sleep soundly. Now over a month and a half, she can not sleep without waking up 3-5 times a nite and is starting to get depressed. She has tried nearly every med for anxiety and insomnia but still can not sleep.

She is also NOT in pain. So we ruled that out. I am so worried and wish she could sleep as much as she wishes. She is trying mellodyn tonight, a melatonin supplement. Has anyone experienced or heard about anything else? Any words of advice? I am going to schedule an appt for a sleep disorder doctor this week, but wanted to see what everyone else thinks first. Thanks again and god bless.

Comments

  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    #2
    Good idea about the sleep disorder doc...may find something else is going on....
    Otherwise, I can't be of much help, I'm sorry. Ever since my chemo, I sleep like a LOG...

    I'll ask some of my buddies...one had a double mastectomy....

    Hugs, kathi
  • LesleyH
    LesleyH Member Posts: 370
    #3
    I'm sorry your mom is still going through this. I am not a good sleeper and after my diagnosis, it took about 3 or 4 months for me to sleep normally. I still wake often at night, but I have learned some relaxing techniques which help me get back to sleep. I hope a sleep disorder specialist will help your mom with that. Research has shown that they are much more effective than drugs.

    Does your mom wake to go to the bathroom? If so, she can cut out fluids in the evening. Here are some tips I have picked up. Something may work.
    1. Wake up the same time every morning.
    2. Don't lie in bed for hours worrying. Read or watch TV until you are tired.
    3. Go for a walk during the day and then again in the evening. This will set her melatonin.
    4. Remove all clocks from the room - especially ones that glow with a blue light - they stop melatonin production.
    5. The room should be quiet and completely dark.
    6. As soon as she wakes at night, start to do relaxing exercises. Focus on breathing. Count breaths. Focus on relaxing. Relax feet, then legs, then hands, etc. Don't switch on a light.

    Hugs.

    Lesley
  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    #4
    LesleyH said:

    I'm sorry your mom is still going through this. I am not a good sleeper and after my diagnosis, it took about 3 or 4 months for me to sleep normally. I still wake often at night, but I have learned some relaxing techniques which help me get back to sleep. I hope a sleep disorder specialist will help your mom with that. Research has shown that they are much more effective than drugs.

    Does your mom wake to go to the bathroom? If so, she can cut out fluids in the evening. Here are some tips I have picked up. Something may work.
    1. Wake up the same time every morning.
    2. Don't lie in bed for hours worrying. Read or watch TV until you are tired.
    3. Go for a walk during the day and then again in the evening. This will set her melatonin.
    4. Remove all clocks from the room - especially ones that glow with a blue light - they stop melatonin production.
    5. The room should be quiet and completely dark.
    6. As soon as she wakes at night, start to do relaxing exercises. Focus on breathing. Count breaths. Focus on relaxing. Relax feet, then legs, then hands, etc. Don't switch on a light.

    Hugs.

    Lesley

    WOW, Lesley...you are so good at this!

    I didn't know about the blue clock thing...I think mine is red...and its on the other side of the bed...

    I have the added advantage of white noise from my beau's breathing machine...constant rushing air sound...

    Hugs, Kathi
    p.s. I wonder if part of the night waking is from in the hospital...during my bowel resection stay, my nurses WOKE me at 2am EVERY darn night to take my blood pressure/temp...sigh...I SWEAR it was to motivate me to GO HOME!!!!!! lol
  • Susan956
    Susan956 Member Posts: 510
    #5
    Sorry your Mom is still having problems. She seems to have more of the issues (axiety/depression) that I dealt with when my fiance died. I had a friend that had lost his wife and his advice was the following. Force yourself to exercise... even when you don't feel like it. Do something.. work, read, watch TV etc until you are exhausted and then sleep. Keep getting up at the same normal time. Try not to take long naps, a short one early in the afernoon is OK. It worked for me. But I will admit that it took about 6 months. When the mind is shocked it takes awhile to get readjusted. The main thing to tell your Mom that it does get better.

    3 years after that I got breast cancer, so emotionaly it wasn't as hard for me... I guess life does truly make you stronger. But the drugs that come with this trip, again robed me of sleep. I have been taking Ambien 5mg for almost a year now. For me it really helps. But I still follow the rules above. Excercise.. Exercise.. Never lay down to go to sleep if I am not tired. That way I don't start fretting... which then means it will take forever to go to sleep.

    But the big thing is to tell your MOM..... WITH TIME IT WILL GET BETTER.... I know at times I thought it would never get better... but it is a temporary issue... and with time she will feel better...

    Don't give up hope... God Bless...

    Susan

    P. S. I follow all of Lesley's rules as well.
  • 24242
    24242 Member Posts: 1,398
    #6
    I had many troubles with sleeping and discomfort. There are plenty of non opiod medication out there that might be helpful. These are actually drugs that effect the nerves and might help Amitryptoline and Nortryptoline. Sometimes after surgery and treatments the trauma causes actual physical problems and these inturn affect most everything. There is a small percentage of society that is very sensative to everything done to us whether surgically or medication wise. We seem to suffer the side effects that are present. Hope this helps. Sleep is very important for healing and living most of us never get enough of this one thing at the best of times.

    Tara
  • vac
    vac Member Posts: 97
    #7
    I had the same problem, this may sound like an easy way out. I take ambien my doctor said i need my sleep, i have been on it for 4 years and sleep like a baby. I take 5mg i use to take 10mg. but i break them in half the prescription last longer. good luck
  • jdubious
    jdubious Member Posts: 113
    #8
    Hi,
    One thing that I have noticed since treatment is that I sleep better on certain beds. I've been sleeping in the guest room because I can't sleep well on the bed in the master bedroom anymore. I'm also unable to sleep on other beds that I previously found really comfy. It might be worth it to try a different bed or mattress.
    j.d.

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