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Posted 3/21/2009 11:15 AM (GMT 0)
Well it's been a month since my surgery and all is well except.
I'm having a problem with sleeping. I'm not sure what the problem is. I'm on my normal meds that I have been on for years. It could be stress as my work cut everyones hours to 32 hours and it looks like something else may happen soon as this darn economy is getting worse. Anyhow my problem is that I go to bed at 10:00-10:30 every night but for some weird reason I wake up at 2 a.m and I cannot go back to sleep. I lay there and things go through my mind about work and money. I get up and watch some TV and if that doesn't help I jump on the computer and do some reading in hopes to make me tired. By then the time is 4-4:30 a.m and I need to get up at 5-5:30 so I go lay down and try to sleep until then. This happens daily for me and I'm worried that it is not helping my healing process nor helping my Crohns. I'm looking for any advise as to what to do. I see my surgeon next week Thursday and I was going to tell here and although i don't like taking medication. I was going to see if she could prescribe something.

Any thoughts?

Sleepless in Wisconsin
Posted 3/21/2009 2:59 PM (GMT 0)
You might want to ask your doc about Ambien or something. I also take Benedryl to help me sleep sometimes. I think the stress at your place of work is causing your sleeplessness. Good luck and keep us posted.

Hugs
Gail *Nanners*
Posted 3/21/2009 3:15 PM (GMT 0)

Hi Wolfie, I have the same problem but have never been the best sleeper and it doesn't happen every night and I don't have to get up early. Don't go to bed before midnight and sometimes later because I'm just not tired then. Do too much thinking at night? I do get up and watch TV but think that might be a bad habit and I try to stay away from the computer. When I was first diagnosed and on Pred, I had a pen and paper by my bed to write down questions, helped in going back to sleep but thankfully that phase has passed. I was also given sleeping pills but will only take half a pill very very rarely as I don't want to become dependent on them and want them to work when I really need a good night's sleep. Don't know if you used them for a short time and got into a better routine if it would help or not. Hard to tell somebody not to worry so much but I try to think of the positives and things usually work themselves out.

I would appreciate another response to my pre-op and hope you find something that works for you. Take care,

Posted 3/21/2009 3:41 PM (GMT 0)
That happens a lot to me, I fall asleep fine, sleep great until about 3-ish and wake thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking. My doctor gave me something called Trazodone - it's actually an antidepressant but in a small dose. When I looked it up it sounds like it's frequently prescribed for anxiety sleep issues. I took it for a week but ended up going back to antihistamines. I take doxylamine succinate - it's also OTC marketed as a sleep aid. It's actually another antihistamine. Works better for me than Benadryl. The antihistamines are not supposed to create physical dependency. Sometimes I feel like I need one (mental) but then again, I pop steroids each night (suppositories) so I recognize how that effects things too.

Good luck. I've finally decided that sleeping is required to handle all the other stuff in daily life, especially with Crohn's!
Posted 3/21/2009 3:56 PM (GMT 0)

P.S. I think I can safely say this to you. I am thankful every day where I am with this disease, financially, and in my relationship with my husband. There are always people that have it much worse.

Didn't see Nanner's reply until after I posted. My thought was that stress may be your culprit right now if sleeplessness is something that is just occurring now. You don't have any discomfort from the surgery that might be waking you up?

Posted 3/21/2009 9:53 PM (GMT 0)
i feel your pain. i have had insomnia for years, literally to the point i called in to work crying that i hadn't slept all week and was delusional at that point.

anyways, i have tried all different things. ambien sounds like it might be good for a short term round. i take trazodone now and it works wonderfully.

best of luck getting some shut eye!
Posted 3/21/2009 10:21 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks everyone! It looks like I'm not alone in this. I will ask my doctor on Thursday. I just might try some benadryl tonight and see if that works.

Thanks again and I'll keep you all posted.
Posted 3/22/2009 2:26 AM (GMT 0)
Ask your doctor to refer you for a sleep study. That way, you may receive additional help for sleeping.

Donnaeil
Posted 3/22/2009 5:16 AM (GMT 0)
My sleep schedule is ALL messed up. We live in Georgia (moved from West Coast in 2001) and husband claims I am still on California Time. I regularly go to bed between 2-3am and get up between 10-noon. I also try to have a 1-2hr nap after eating my lunch meal. Things were getting very messed up just before the time change and the TC has just made things worse. I am now getting to sleep around 4am and getting up at noon or later.
See? Currently it is quarter after 1am where I am at. What I need to do is begin my evening chores (clean litterboxes, feed cats, pick/up/put/away in the LR and Kitchen, load the dishwasher, have my evening snack and then head to bed earlier. I need to turn OFF the computer between 11-midnight and then I am sure I can get to bed earlier and get up earlier, too.

To resolve this, I plan on setting my alarm clock for 11am for a week, then the next week I'll set it for 10am and if that works well, I may try another week at 9am. I usually just work according to my internal clock, but something has really set it out-of-whack so I need to take drastic measures to get back in control.

Something that has always helped me if I wake and cannot fall back to sleep because I am just thinking/thinking/thinking is to get up and write down everything I am thinking about. There is something about writing down those spinning thoughts that is catharctic. By having them written down, I now have a hard copy and do not have to rely on my memory. Knowing they are on paper and will be waiting for me in the morning when I get up review them is enough relief to allow my brain to slow down and be able to shut down to allow me to fall asleep.
Best wishes,
Heidi
Posted 3/22/2009 4:53 PM (GMT 0)
I get the early morning awakening insomnia when I'm entering a flare up usually. There have been studies that show sleep disturbance is common in IBD. Just another fun part of it apparently.
Posted 3/22/2009 5:02 PM (GMT 0)
I usually go the same thing you're experiencing for two reasons. a) I'm under a lot of stress, or b) the seasons are changing. Right now I'm having the sleep issues for both reasons, lol.
Posted 3/22/2009 11:22 PM (GMT 0)
idea Low B12 may affect sleep patterns, as it helps regulate melatonin, the hormone that sets your sleep cycle.
In my case, I use a full spectrum lamp as an alarm clock, to get a regular night's sleep in wintertime - any other time, I find I have to put something lightproof over my eyes to ensure I get to sleep. In fact I've been doing that for so long, I'm like a blooming parrot - I can't sleep without dark ! So maybe a sleepmask would help you, like the ones you get on plane flights ?
(Sleep researchers reckon that complete dark will cure even the most hardened of insomniacs, the only question is how long an individual will take to fall asleep when deprived of all visual stimuli.)
Posted 3/23/2009 12:54 AM (GMT 0)
I have had sleep issues for 22 years which are compounded by this disease and the surgeries removing some of my small bowel. I am chronically fatigued during the day and when night comes, no sleep for me. I have taken Ambien and now take Ambien CR. My psyc said the CR is a much better medication than Ambien. I don't like relying on medication to sleep, but I also know that if I don't, I will be awake most of the night. Good luck and hope you find the answers you are looking for.
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