Trouble sleeping - advice?

Aortus
Aortus Member Posts: 967
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
My wife is 8 days out from her first TAC chemo infusion; first three days were okay, next four bad, and today (so far) is an improvement.

Right now, Moopy's nausea is under control, and her main thing now is that she wants to sleep. She can't get comfortable - which is especially bad for someone who has never had any trouble conking out at night.

Any advice would be gratefully welcomed.

Joe

Comments

  • Eil4186
    Eil4186 Member Posts: 949
    #2
    Gotta have sleep
    I remember feeling very tired in the days right after each treatment, but when I layed down I felt sort of jumpy and could'nt sleep. I found that listening to visualization CDs geared for relaxation and sleep helped quite a bit. I often fell asleep while listening.

    Also, my doctor perscribed ambien and that helped on those nights when I was exhausted but just could not sleep.

    Sleep is very important for your body when it is being assaulted by treatment. Actually, my sleep patterns never did get back to normal after chemo and its been over 2 years. My pcp recently suggested melatonin and it has helped. However I still take ambien or valium for those occasional nights when nothing else seems to help.

    Bottom line; sleep is very important for good health and sometimes we need a little help.
  • Harper Valley
    Harper Valley Member Posts: 5
    #3
    Trouble sleeping
    I also had trouble sleeping and could'nt get comgortable the first few days after chemo treatments!!
    My doctor told me to take tylenol PM. That seemed to work for me!! Give it a try.

    Doris
  • chenheart
    chenheart Member Posts: 5,159
    #4
    ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
    Awww.....your poor sweetie! I have pretty much given up ever sleeping again, as important as I know it is! I sleep, maybe on a GOOD night 3 to 31/2 hours. I live with earbuds in my ears, listening to talk radio so as not to disturb my sleeping sweetie!! ( I may be tired, but I know such Trivia, I could be the champion if ever I find myself in NYC in the Cash Cab!) I get up at 6AM, and walk for 7 miles or so, 3X a week. I clean house, re-arrange things, and by 2PM feel as if I have hit a wall. But I know that if I fall asleep during the day, even those precious few night hours will be taken from me.
    And the reason I have never told my Dr? And the reason I have never availed myself of meds? It has absolutely nothing to do with a fear of meds or dependance. It is a true ( albeit silly, I admit) phobia: I live in California, which is earthquake country and have such fear of not being coherent enough to help my family and/or myself in case of an emergency that I suffer sleep deprivation!! There is no rhyme or reason for this; I know what I SHOULD do, of course. Such is the nature of a phobia~ it flies in the face of reason!

    So, I hope your sweet Moopy is smarter than I am, and that she avails herself of the marvelous sleep aids, both natural and prescribed, which are on the market! Good Luck to her, and bless your heart for taking such good care of her!

    Hugs,
    Claudia

    Seriously, on the evenings she is willing and able~ sex is a GREAT sleep inducer! Not only is it a grand physical release, but gosh~ it can even let your wife know she is still a woman, and desirable and YOURS....if this has opened a can of worms, please disregard! But you did ask for advice.....
  • young_one
    young_one Member Posts: 67
    #5
    It's the steroids. They do
    It's the steroids. They do good things for you but also REALLY interfere with sleep. Even if I did fall asleep, I was awake in less than an hour. Not good when you have a 3 year old son. I got an Rx for sleep meds but they didn't work. When I said something to the nurse about it she said she wasn't surprised that they didn't because the steroids they give during infusion are super strong. I hope she's not like me in that respect. And yes, it did go away when chemo was done.
  • rjjj
    rjjj Member Posts: 1,822 Member
    #6
    me too!!
    I also have trouble getting comfy, but thought most of it is still getting used to laying on the side with the incision,, and then the port was sore on the other side, right after my surgery I had to sleep in a recliner in the living room, boy was that lonely. It also seems everything seems much more frightning in the dark and i would wait for the sun to come up.
    i now take a zanax in the evening and it seems to help, but i am wondering if the anti-depressant Trazadone (which also is a sleep aid) would be better. I am going to ask the Doctor about this. Try giving your dear moopie a back-rub..........couldn't hurt!?
    prayers for you both.
    Jackie
  • Redgrl
    Redgrl Member Posts: 3
    #7
    Sleep
    I had problems sleeping during chemo.. Ambien works wonders.. It sisn't leave me groggy the next day..
  • zahalene
    zahalene Member Posts: 670
    #8
    For the physical discomfort
    For the physical discomfort you might try one of those body pillows. You know how babies like to be swaddled? Works for us too. Make the room a little cool, have her cuddle up to a body pillow and 'swaddle' her in a favorite blanket.
    Not magic, but I hope it helps.
  • Derbygirl
    Derbygirl Member Posts: 198
    #9
    Sleep is important but too
    Sleep is important but too much worrying about it doesn't help either. My Doctor prescribed a sedative (IV) with chemo treatments which made me drowsy following treatment and I slept all night. I'm 3 months post chemo treament and sleep well - maybe not as many hours as previosuly. If your wife can't sleep at night, make sure she gets rest at other times. Doctors have recommended the use of Benadryl as a sleep aid to my father and a friend - no side effects and not habit forming. Good luck!
  • mimivac
    mimivac Member Posts: 2,143 Member
    #10
    Sleep is so important
    Her sleep might normalize as she gets used to having the myriad symptoms of chemo. Mine got better in round 2 of TAC. During round 1, I was waking up every few hours, both due to physical and emotional reasons. Part of it was the fear of the unknown: what will chemo do to me now? What does the future hold? Etc, etc. I now have a good idea of what chemo is doing and I have gotten used to not obsessing about what will happen next week, next year, and in ten years. I sleep well now.

    Maybe try relaxation tapes and make sure the room is dark when she is ready to sleep. I do take a xanax at night right before sleeping and that seems to help. I've also heard that soothing, herbal teas can help. This is all very new for your Moopy, so sleep problems are not surprising. If things don't get better, her doctor will be able to help. I am sure that things will get better on that front. Let us know.

    Mimi
  • Aortus
    Aortus Member Posts: 967
    #11
    mimivac said:

    Sleep is so important
    Her sleep might normalize as she gets used to having the myriad symptoms of chemo. Mine got better in round 2 of TAC. During round 1, I was waking up every few hours, both due to physical and emotional reasons. Part of it was the fear of the unknown: what will chemo do to me now? What does the future hold? Etc, etc. I now have a good idea of what chemo is doing and I have gotten used to not obsessing about what will happen next week, next year, and in ten years. I sleep well now.

    Maybe try relaxation tapes and make sure the room is dark when she is ready to sleep. I do take a xanax at night right before sleeping and that seems to help. I've also heard that soothing, herbal teas can help. This is all very new for your Moopy, so sleep problems are not surprising. If things don't get better, her doctor will be able to help. I am sure that things will get better on that front. Let us know.

    Mimi

    Thank you everybody!
    The Moopster and I were both heartened by your prompt, helpful and compassionate responses. Moopy was glad to know that the restlessness wasn't just her - and took a Xanax before bed. She must have slept pretty well, because she took a shower and got fully dressed first thing this morning! It's nice to hear there are so many options to handle this problem.

    BTW, Claudia... Moopy has been put on notice that she will be expected to resume her wifely duties as soon as she is feeling up to this important task. Last time I checked, we have only 29 of the states "properly broken in." So she has no choice but to recover asap!
  • chenheart
    chenheart Member Posts: 5,159
    #12
    Aortus said:

    Thank you everybody!
    The Moopster and I were both heartened by your prompt, helpful and compassionate responses. Moopy was glad to know that the restlessness wasn't just her - and took a Xanax before bed. She must have slept pretty well, because she took a shower and got fully dressed first thing this morning! It's nice to hear there are so many options to handle this problem.

    BTW, Claudia... Moopy has been put on notice that she will be expected to resume her wifely duties as soon as she is feeling up to this important task. Last time I checked, we have only 29 of the states "properly broken in." So she has no choice but to recover asap!

    Here's to finding love AND sleep in 21 more states!
    :-)

    Hugs,
    Claudia
  • mmontero38
    mmontero38 Member Posts: 1,510
    #13
    Aortus said:

    Thank you everybody!
    The Moopster and I were both heartened by your prompt, helpful and compassionate responses. Moopy was glad to know that the restlessness wasn't just her - and took a Xanax before bed. She must have slept pretty well, because she took a shower and got fully dressed first thing this morning! It's nice to hear there are so many options to handle this problem.

    BTW, Claudia... Moopy has been put on notice that she will be expected to resume her wifely duties as soon as she is feeling up to this important task. Last time I checked, we have only 29 of the states "properly broken in." So she has no choice but to recover asap!

    LOL, so get going. You
    LOL, so get going. You still have 29 states. Hugs, Lili

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