Sleep

bdee

Does anyone have trouble sleeping? I try to go to bed around 10:00 p.m., but sometimes I don't fall asleep until 2:00 a.m. then wake up at 6:15 when my husband gets up for work. I've tried Ambien, Ambien CR and Lunesta. Nothing seems to work. Now this only happens the week I'm off chemo. The week I have chemo (I have it on Monday) I sleep long and hard and don't even hear my husband get up, shower and dress. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Debbie

Annabelle41415

Yup
I have a terrible time sleeping during chemo weeks. I go in for chemo on Tuesday and usually that night I sleep about 2 1/2 hours and that's it (even with a sleeping pill). On Wednesday I get more steroids (that's what keeps me up), I'll sleep about 3-4 hours and on Thursday (disconnect) I'll sleep about 5. So I get about 10-12 hours of sleep in 3 nights. By Friday night I am exhausted. I've tried Ambien CR but because I have an ileostomy and that is coated it doesn't really work like it should. I just watch reruns of Roseanne and Three's Company LOL but I will not watch those infomercials This week I did get up after laying in bed for hours and have a cup of hot chocolate which did help relax me.

Hope you get some much needed rest.

Kim

lmliess

Annabelle41415 said:

Yup
I have a terrible time sleeping during chemo weeks. I go in for chemo on Tuesday and usually that night I sleep about 2 1/2 hours and that's it (even with a sleeping pill). On Wednesday I get more steroids (that's what keeps me up), I'll sleep about 3-4 hours and on Thursday (disconnect) I'll sleep about 5. So I get about 10-12 hours of sleep in 3 nights. By Friday night I am exhausted. I've tried Ambien CR but because I have an ileostomy and that is coated it doesn't really work like it should. I just watch reruns of Roseanne and Three's Company LOL but I will not watch those infomercials This week I did get up after laying in bed for hours and have a cup of hot chocolate which did help relax me.

Hope you get some much needed rest.

Kim

Lorazapam?
I used to take Lorazapam. That worked. Then my dr RX'd me an antidepressant called Mirtazapine. It's primary use is the treatment of moderate depression, which I WAS starting to experience. There is evidence that mirtazapine can be used to treat insomnia, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder,and sleep apnea.

I also have lost a lot of weight so he RX'd me this due to its common side effect of increased appetite and weight gain. So basically, mirtazapine is beneficial to patients who are underweight or are having trouble eating, and can't sleep well. It also helps with nausea and vomiting. Mirtazapine has proven helpful in treating gastroparesis, chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.

Just my experience.......

Linda

PhillieG

Annabelle41415 said:

Yup
I have a terrible time sleeping during chemo weeks. I go in for chemo on Tuesday and usually that night I sleep about 2 1/2 hours and that's it (even with a sleeping pill). On Wednesday I get more steroids (that's what keeps me up), I'll sleep about 3-4 hours and on Thursday (disconnect) I'll sleep about 5. So I get about 10-12 hours of sleep in 3 nights. By Friday night I am exhausted. I've tried Ambien CR but because I have an ileostomy and that is coated it doesn't really work like it should. I just watch reruns of Roseanne and Three's Company LOL but I will not watch those infomercials This week I did get up after laying in bed for hours and have a cup of hot chocolate which did help relax me.

Hope you get some much needed rest.

Kim

Hi Kim
I had a similar experience (minus the Rosanne and Three's Company - I wound up buying 12 Veggamatics and 3 Pocket Fisherman instead) but I would not fight it and I'd get up and play guitar or watch a movie or something. Sometimes a puff or two would do the trick for me. Yet another use for it, it's not just for breakfast anymore! Now, when I get chemo all I want to do is sleep. I was off yesterday and pretty much spent the entire day in my Laz-y-boy chair sleeping and watching the History channel. Follow your body's lead, there is nothing worse than lying in bed not sleeping for me.
-phil

grandma2selena

Sleepless
Oh yes I had a horrible time sleeping during my treatments, I was on Lorazapam, Trazadol and my pain meds and still could not sleep. I would go to bed early but be up about every couple of hours throughout the night. Hang in there, once treatments are totally over sleep will return.

Debbie

Annabelle41415

PhillieG said:

Hi Kim
I had a similar experience (minus the Rosanne and Three's Company - I wound up buying 12 Veggamatics and 3 Pocket Fisherman instead) but I would not fight it and I'd get up and play guitar or watch a movie or something. Sometimes a puff or two would do the trick for me. Yet another use for it, it's not just for breakfast anymore! Now, when I get chemo all I want to do is sleep. I was off yesterday and pretty much spent the entire day in my Laz-y-boy chair sleeping and watching the History channel. Follow your body's lead, there is nothing worse than lying in bed not sleeping for me.
-phil

Laughing
That's so funny about you and the infomercials. You can find anything you want, or never knew you wanted, during the middle of the night. Maybe if I didn't get the steroids I could sleep much better, but they told me that this was one of the side affects. Funny but I haven't been able to hit a baseball any further or tackle a linebacker. Darn it they gave me the wrong type of steroids. Oh but I think I'm getting six pack abs without even trying

Kim

Shayenne

grandma2selena said:

Sleepless
Oh yes I had a horrible time sleeping during my treatments, I was on Lorazapam, Trazadol and my pain meds and still could not sleep. I would go to bed early but be up about every couple of hours throughout the night. Hang in there, once treatments are totally over sleep will return.

Debbie

I take....
...Lorazepams (Ativan), they help me relax, and xanex always helps me relax as well, and as Phil said, a couple puffs do the trick as well!

I also stay up and watch Roseanne reruns when I can't sleep LOL.. I try to take the pills about 10 p.m. and within a couple hours, I'm out like a light!

Hugsss!
~Donna

bdee

grandma2selena said:

Sleepless
Oh yes I had a horrible time sleeping during my treatments, I was on Lorazapam, Trazadol and my pain meds and still could not sleep. I would go to bed early but be up about every couple of hours throughout the night. Hang in there, once treatments are totally over sleep will return.

Debbie

Sleep
I have been prescribed Ativan, but my doctor told me it was just for nausea. When I asked for a sleeping pill, he told me the less chemicals in my body the better the chemo will work. Since I have Stage IV colon cancer, I was listening to him; but I REALLY need to sleep. Staying up just makes me more depressed. I can't even sleep the next day.
I guess I'll take Ativan tonight and tomorrow night (my chemo is Monday) and maybe that will help. Four or five days after chemo I sleep very deeply, then the sleeplessness starts back again. I think if I wait until the treatments are over (my doctor said it could be two or three years before I'm finished)I would be a zombie.

Thanks for the help,
Debbie

P.S. Debbie, are you a Debra or Deborah?

christellabelle

Sounds familiar to me
I had exacly the same problem before. That was from my second treatment folfiri. It was terible, and i tried everything you mentioned above none was working. There was a time i thought i was going to lose my mind then, my doctor suggested me to see a psychiatrist at the cancer center. He then prescribed me ativan with benadryl. yeah i know ativan is for anxiety and nausea, but it did the trick. One and one was not enough to keep me in bed, then he increased the dose. After about 5 months i started to decreased the dose and stopped taking the ativan. So, at one point i was only taking one or two benadryl, and it was still helping me sleeping without ativan. It's been almost two months i'm sleeping on my own without taking nothing. May be it's something you might need to consider, so talk to your doctor or psychiatrist.
best wishes
christelle

christellabelle

bdee said:

Sleep
I have been prescribed Ativan, but my doctor told me it was just for nausea. When I asked for a sleeping pill, he told me the less chemicals in my body the better the chemo will work. Since I have Stage IV colon cancer, I was listening to him; but I REALLY need to sleep. Staying up just makes me more depressed. I can't even sleep the next day.
I guess I'll take Ativan tonight and tomorrow night (my chemo is Monday) and maybe that will help. Four or five days after chemo I sleep very deeply, then the sleeplessness starts back again. I think if I wait until the treatments are over (my doctor said it could be two or three years before I'm finished)I would be a zombie.

Thanks for the help,
Debbie

P.S. Debbie, are you a Debra or Deborah?

You need to sleep
You have to sleep. I was reluctant to take anything, i'm the type that don't really trust those sleeping pill. I thought you can get hooked to them, so i was afraid. Like i said at one point i was unable to concentrate, focus, and i was stressed. It was from not being able to sleep. So you have enough to deal with so i think you should try anything that can help you close your eyes for few hours.
good luck

Annabelle41415

christellabelle said:

Sounds familiar to me
I had exacly the same problem before. That was from my second treatment folfiri. It was terible, and i tried everything you mentioned above none was working. There was a time i thought i was going to lose my mind then, my doctor suggested me to see a psychiatrist at the cancer center. He then prescribed me ativan with benadryl. yeah i know ativan is for anxiety and nausea, but it did the trick. One and one was not enough to keep me in bed, then he increased the dose. After about 5 months i started to decreased the dose and stopped taking the ativan. So, at one point i was only taking one or two benadryl, and it was still helping me sleeping without ativan. It's been almost two months i'm sleeping on my own without taking nothing. May be it's something you might need to consider, so talk to your doctor or psychiatrist.
best wishes
christelle

Christelle
I know what you mean about losing it when nothing is working. When you are sleep deprived it is hard on you mentally and physically. I don't think a psychiatrist could help me with a sleep deprivation, I just need sleep and if a sleeping pill helps me, then so be it. I never heard of ativan being for nausea. I take that once in a while but not very often. Only when I feel major anxiety coming on.

Kim

christellabelle

Annabelle41415 said:

Christelle
I know what you mean about losing it when nothing is working. When you are sleep deprived it is hard on you mentally and physically. I don't think a psychiatrist could help me with a sleep deprivation, I just need sleep and if a sleeping pill helps me, then so be it. I never heard of ativan being for nausea. I take that once in a while but not very often. Only when I feel major anxiety coming on.

Kim

Kim
My oncologist had prescribed me stuff which wasn't working, so pretty much the sychiatrist did help me find a good combination, and he was available at the site so. By the way ativan was found to be very helpful for nausea for some. For me intravenous ativan work better for my nausea.

christelle

Shayenne

christellabelle said:

Kim
My oncologist had prescribed me stuff which wasn't working, so pretty much the sychiatrist did help me find a good combination, and he was available at the site so. By the way ativan was found to be very helpful for nausea for some. For me intravenous ativan work better for my nausea.

christelle

my onc....
...said the Ativans are good for both nausea and anxiety, my dose is so low that I have to double up on those nights I really need to sleep. I don't need to take them every night, I was afraid of getting too hooked on them also, where I couldn't sleep without them, that's why I won't even ask for more dosage, I figure just take a couple more when you really can't sleep, and usually it's the time I'm hooked up to the pump, otherwise, I am sleepy till I start bouncing back to myself, where I don't need to take anything to sleep.

grandma2selena

bdee said:

Sleep
I have been prescribed Ativan, but my doctor told me it was just for nausea. When I asked for a sleeping pill, he told me the less chemicals in my body the better the chemo will work. Since I have Stage IV colon cancer, I was listening to him; but I REALLY need to sleep. Staying up just makes me more depressed. I can't even sleep the next day.
I guess I'll take Ativan tonight and tomorrow night (my chemo is Monday) and maybe that will help. Four or five days after chemo I sleep very deeply, then the sleeplessness starts back again. I think if I wait until the treatments are over (my doctor said it could be two or three years before I'm finished)I would be a zombie.

Thanks for the help,
Debbie

P.S. Debbie, are you a Debra or Deborah?

Debbie, Debra or Deborah?
Actually I am just Debbie.

Debbie

bdee

Shayenne said:

my onc....
...said the Ativans are good for both nausea and anxiety, my dose is so low that I have to double up on those nights I really need to sleep. I don't need to take them every night, I was afraid of getting too hooked on them also, where I couldn't sleep without them, that's why I won't even ask for more dosage, I figure just take a couple more when you really can't sleep, and usually it's the time I'm hooked up to the pump, otherwise, I am sleepy till I start bouncing back to myself, where I don't need to take anything to sleep.

Ativan
My Ativan dosage is .5mg every six hours for nausea. I don't have to take it for nausea except on the day or two after my treatments. But I also take Phenegran at the same time, so I don't know which one of them make me sleepy. I take Aloxi, Phenegran, Tagamet and Ativan by IV before each treatment, so I pretty much sleep during the whole treatment. But I sleep well for three or four nights after treatment.

I'll ask the doctor for another prescription of Ativan.

Thanks,
Debbie

Shayenne

bdee said:

Ativan
My Ativan dosage is .5mg every six hours for nausea. I don't have to take it for nausea except on the day or two after my treatments. But I also take Phenegran at the same time, so I don't know which one of them make me sleepy. I take Aloxi, Phenegran, Tagamet and Ativan by IV before each treatment, so I pretty much sleep during the whole treatment. But I sleep well for three or four nights after treatment.

I'll ask the doctor for another prescription of Ativan.

Thanks,
Debbie

My dose....
... is also .5 mg, which is the lowest dosage, it's why I'll double or triple up on it at times for those very wired nights of being so restless.

Hugssss~
~Donna

taraHK

xanax
I take Xanax in the evenings. I'm fine during the day but when I try to go to sleep my mind buzzes and I can lie there for hours (not good). The Xanax helps.



tara

Nana b

taraHK said:

xanax
I take Xanax in the evenings. I'm fine during the day but when I try to go to sleep my mind buzzes and I can lie there for hours (not good). The Xanax helps.



tara

Ambien
I am on ambien but now that I am back at work only use it on the weekend that I had chemo. It makes me drowsy the next day, wanting me to take my nap that I was able to take when I was home after my surgery.