Insomnia for chemo night

ColleenN
ColleenN Member Posts: 73
edited March 2014 in Ovarian Cancer #1
Does anyone else have trouble with insomnia the night you get chemo? I try unsuccessfully to doze a little there, and am tired until about 10 pm, then I wake up. It's now 3:30 am and I still can't sleep. I know they warned me that one of the side effects of one of my anti-reaction drugs (Dexamethasone) was not being able to sleep, but I was hoping the first time was a fluke. Even my pets look at me like I'm nuts! I've tried everything I can think of, but nothing seems to work. I hate asking my doctor for something to sleep. Between the chemo, the anti-nausea meds, the pain killers for the body aches, and my ususal vitamins and prescriptions I don't think there's room for anything more! Just another one of the "joys" I guess. I hope you all had a peaceful night's sleep, and have a wonderful day on Friday.
Colleen

P.S. I've actually been paying attention to the commercials and in the paper and I still haven't seen one ad about it being Ovarian Cancer awareness month. I realize it's only the 5th, but you think there would have been something out by now.

Comments

  • floridajo
    floridajo Member Posts: 480
    #2
    Colleen
    You are having the side effect from the steriods. I have bad insomnia on them as well. I know you don't want to take another med,but what about benadryl or Tylenol nighttime?? They have a small dose of benadryl and it seems to help me. I also take Elavil for the hot flashes and because it knocks me out I take it at bedtime. Another good med for hot flashes that help with sleep is Effexor. Good luck..hope you get some sleep soon~~~Joanne
  • saundra
    saundra Member Posts: 1,370 Member
    #3
    Sleepless
    With the double dose of benedryl and anti-depressant, I have a hard time staying awake on the day of chemo. The benedryl just knocks be out. Also works on the rash I get.

    Still nothing about Sept. being OVCA month in our local paper either. However, there was a front page feature with picture of six local ladies walking for breast cancer this morning.

    Hugs and prayers, Saundra
  • ColleenN
    ColleenN Member Posts: 73
    #4
    saundra said:

    Sleepless
    With the double dose of benedryl and anti-depressant, I have a hard time staying awake on the day of chemo. The benedryl just knocks be out. Also works on the rash I get.

    Still nothing about Sept. being OVCA month in our local paper either. However, there was a front page feature with picture of six local ladies walking for breast cancer this morning.

    Hugs and prayers, Saundra

    Thanks
    Thanks for the input. It's nice to know that it's normal not to sleep the first night! Usually benedryl knocks me out too, but not with this stuff. I even took two before trying to go to sleep along with hot cocoa.

    I contacted my paper, and they are going to put in a press release from the MN Ovarian Cancer Association for us! They were happy to do it. It's a little paper, but it's a start.
  • JeanneA
    JeanneA Member Posts: 6
    #5
    Colleen
    I had trouble sleeping on chemo night, too. One of the meds. I was given for nausea was Lorazapam (Ativan) and was told to put it under my tongue. I was on 3 different anti-nausea meds which were alternated every few hours and was prescribed Lorazapam as a fill in if needed for nausea. I used it at night. It helped me sleep through the night and also kept the nausea at bay for those hours. I would take it about 30-45 minutes before I wanted to go to sleep.
  • kris43
    kris43 Member Posts: 275
    #6
    Ativan
    I too take Ativan (still do) to help with sleep. I've never heard of Ativan being used as an anti-nausea drug because it's an anti-anxiety drug. I take it about 30 minutes before bed also - it's 1 mg, it's not habit forming and it also helps immensely if you find yourself stressed before going to a doc appointment or before treatment. It takes the edge off.

    Good luck!
    Kris
  • groundeffect
    groundeffect Member Posts: 639 Member
    #7
    Sleepless
    Hi Colleen,

    I wasn't aware that the steroids made so many women so "active" after their chemo. I don't remember having that effect at all.

    Having trouble sleeping has been a problem for me for a while, though, and I take a generic equivalent of Benadryl (Diphenhydramine hydrochloride, about $5 for a bottle of 100 at WalMart) almost every night. It relaxes me enough to fall asleep, and my oncologist has said it's all right to use that way. It's one of those things that's been used for a while by a lot of people, so I'm comfortable using it.

    Of course, you should check with your doctor before using it; I know that older folks can have some trouble with it.

    I've seen a few things about OVCA Awareness month, but there's nothing wrong with you approaching your local paper about the subject. A letter to the editor would be a good start. In my area, there's a woman who writes for the paper and talks on different local news shows to spread the word. She's an OVCA survivor, too, and I appreciate all of her efforts. I think we're overwhelmed by the "Big Pink"-I've seen plenty of notices of October events!

    My support group is going to participate in a walk that is not local, and I'm going to contact our paper to see if they'll give us some print about the event. It's hard to get attention, and I know of a few women who are set against having anyone know they have OVCA, and will not participate in anything that might expose them. It's too bad, and I welcome talking to them any chance I have, but their reluctance to help put the word out is a little mystifying to me. I'd like to be able to educate all women about it, with the hope that the symptoms start to be recognized as OVCA, rather than IBS, menopause, or the host of other problems that could be causing trouble.
  • JeanneA
    JeanneA Member Posts: 6
    #8
    Ativan
    I was surprised that my oncologist prescribed Ativan because I, too, know it is an anti-anxiety med. However, she said it works on some people for nausea and it helped me.

    I haven't seen anything in our area (NH)regarding Sept. being ovarian cancer month. It sure takes a back seat to breast cancer, doesn't it?

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