Guest guest Posted May 20, 2002 Report Share Posted May 20, 2002 hi margeret, my sleep problems started in 95 when i had to do a bout of chemo to get rid of hodgkins disease... in fact it was the hodgkins medicine that gave me the heart problems..... the doc gave me 10 mgs of ambien and ive been on it every night since......works for me.....but i admit i am hopelessley addicted....but at 59 years. icd,,,cancer survivor and congestive heart failure.....so be it......whatever works.... life is whats coming, not what was bob in pa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 21, 2002 Report Share Posted May 21, 2002 Hi ita; I don't know if you're gonna get this on time but I just wanted you to know my thoughts and prayers are with you honey, good luck with your procedure. Good Luck Good Health and Good Heart. Love TURK >From: " " <Scrapnfriend@...> >Reply- >< > >Subject: Re: Sleepless Nights >Date: Sun, 19 May 2002 18:54:08 -0700 (Pacific Daylight Time) > >ita, > >Good luck tomorrow....know that you will be fine and hopefully much better >off afterwards. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers. Have your >husband let us know how it goes. Otherwise I will worry!!!! > >With love and hugs, > > > >-- Re: Sleepless Nights > >Margaret - >My arrhythmias are a lot worse at night and I was having trouble sleeping >as >well -- You may be able to get a short-term prescription from your dr. for >something like ambien or restoril (both for short term insomnia) -- I found >that to be very helpful -- then at least I'm not losing sleep ALL the time. >They make me drowsy enough that I can sleep despite the arrhythmia's. >ita > Sleepless Nights > > >Hello All! >As some of you know I received my ICD in Fed of this year. I have >Long QT which then goes into VT. I was zapped for the third time >last Tuesday at 4:45am. Now I am haveing a hard time sleeping. I >know it is just my mind, but everytime I get to sleep I wake myself >back up. Does anyone have a way to get some sleep? > >Sleepless in Santa >Margaret > > > >Please visit the Zapper homepage at >http://www.ZapLife.org > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 21, 2002 Report Share Posted May 21, 2002 Hello Margarette; First a question, did i ever say welcome home to the most wonderful friendship(support) group in the world(i think i did if i didn't i am sorry). I still seldomly lose sleep because i can't sleep on my back or stomack i can only sleep by turning to the opposite side of my aicd. If i lose any sleep i take a small pill called Clonazepam (clonopin) which i dont take all that often but it does wonders for my sleeping and anxiety attacks. Good Luck, Good Health and Good Heart. Love TURK. >From: pschatsky@... >Reply- > >Subject: Re: Sleepless Nights >Date: Sun, 19 May 2002 21:51:14 EDT > >In a message dated 5/19/02 11:41:23 AM Eastern Daylight Time, >margaretlingron@... writes: > > > > Hello All! > > As some of you know I received my ICD in Fed of this year. I have > > Long QT which then goes into VT. I was zapped for the third time > > last Tuesday at 4:45am. Now I am haveing a hard time sleeping. I > > know it is just my mind, but everytime I get to sleep I wake myself > > back up. Does anyone have a way to get some sleep? > > > > Sleepless in Santa > > Margaret > > > > > > > >Hi Margaret: > >Not sleeping is a dreadful thing especially between the hours of 2 and 4AM >it >seems all the demons come out to make me think of the most awful things. > > I am not one for meds if I can help it (although now I am on scads of >them), >but my doctor give me Trazadone to take before I go to sleep. I find it is >wonderful. Now if things get really bad an Ambien is good, but start with >a >small amount to see how it works on you, most doctors prescribe that. > > In the hospital this year (for three weeks) I was a wreck and the doctor >prescribed Ativan and not Ambien. It was great I was out and got up in the >morning. I know that as the sun sets the fears set in there nothing as >wonderful as seeing a morning.; > >Of course nothing should be taken, NOTHING without consulting with the >doctor > >I hope you will have sweet dreams soon. I fought these until my doctor >told >me that I was entitled to sleep and feel good, > >Write soon > >Phyllis _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 28, 2002 Report Share Posted May 28, 2002 Thanks, Turk! Everything went great and I am doing fine, now. Hopefully we can avoid hospitals for awhile! We are just ready to have a fun summer with our 5 year old! Hope you are doing ok! ita in Ohio Sleepless Nights>>>Hello All!>As some of you know I received my ICD in Fed of this year. I have>Long QT which then goes into VT. I was zapped for the third time>last Tuesday at 4:45am. Now I am haveing a hard time sleeping. I>know it is just my mind, but everytime I get to sleep I wake myself>back up. Does anyone have a way to get some sleep?>>Sleepless in Santa >Margaret>>>>Please visit the Zapper homepage at>http://www.ZapLife.org>> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 29, 2002 Report Share Posted May 29, 2002 Thank you I am doing very well as well(thank God). TURK >From: " Phylip Divine " <jdivine@...> >Reply- >< > >Subject: Re: Sleepless Nights >Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 10:17:18 -0400 > >Thanks, Turk! Everything went great and I am doing fine, now. Hopefully >we can avoid hospitals for awhile! We are just ready to have a fun summer >with our 5 year old! >Hope you are doing ok! >ita in Ohio > > Sleepless Nights > > > > > >Hello All! > >As some of you know I received my ICD in Fed of this year. I have > >Long QT which then goes into VT. I was zapped for the third time > >last Tuesday at 4:45am. Now I am haveing a hard time sleeping. I > >know it is just my mind, but everytime I get to sleep I wake myself > >back up. Does anyone have a way to get some sleep? > > > >Sleepless in Santa > >Margaret > > > > > > > >Please visit the Zapper homepage at > >http://www.ZapLife.org > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 23, 2003 Report Share Posted February 23, 2003 Dear Kathleen, Once again, thank you so much for your support and encouraging words! I really cannot tell you how much it means to me to "talk" to people who have gone through similar experiences to mine. I think that one of the problems we scoli patients incur is isolation - scoliosis is not a famous, well-advertised disease. We are still "in the closet!" I remember when my surgeon first diagnosed me as having degenerative scoliosis and said that my surgery would be 12 hours long. He was sorry that my surgery would have to be performed "front and back." I had absolutely no clue what he was talking about. I was still in a state of shock from being told that someone would actually operate on me, as no doctor I had visited in 6 years would touch me with a 10 foot scalpel! Not to mention the fact that they all told me to "forget my scoliosis - I've seen worse!" (the parameters of degenerative curves are quite small and my case was classic) My surgeon told me to read "The Scoliosis Handbook" by Dr. Neuwirth which explained in explicit detail what "front & back" surgery was. I had some kind of vague picture of the doctor reaching around my spine to get to the other side, crazy as that sounds! Waiting for that first surgery was such a lonely time; there was no to share my fears with, no one who had gone through such surgery, no one who could commiserate with knowledge borne of experience. My husband tried his best to be supportive, but he knew even less than me. And are there any husbands out there who can keep up the role of caretaker/nurturer longer than temporary? As for sleeping - you are so right about the link between not sleeping and fibromyalgia. I know a little about fibromyalgia - during my desperate six years of trying to find out what was wrong with me I did consider fibromyalgia. I read a book on the subject, and went to my internist (who is also a rheumatologist!) and asked him to test me for the 11? points. I didn't have enough points to score, though. But I do know that if one continues to suffer from chronically sleepless nights, one can develop fibromyalgia. I'm going to look into your melatonin suggestion - I'd rather take something natural as opposed to an opiate. Been there, done that for years before my 1st diagnosis. I just will not take anything except post surgically because I hate the side effects (constipation, dry-mouth, feeling fuzzy) more than I hate the pain! And please, I do not mean to put down anyone's decision to use Ultrim, or Neurontin, or Elavil, etc. - I well understand the desperate need to be out of pain for even just five minutes. I have made this decision for myself only, knowing well what the consequences are. For me, and me only, this is the right decision. By the way, I spent some pleasant time today exploring the Salvaged Sisters site. Thank you for passing that information my way. It's a huge site and most informative and interesting. And I read a letter from you (I think!) that leads me to ask - did you develop that site? Anyway, I'm actually getting tired now, so I think I'll toddle off, hopefully to Dreamland! Take good care, Carol in Chicago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 25, 2003 Report Share Posted February 25, 2003 Carol, I so agree with your comment about scoliosis not being a famous, well known disease. My husband made a horrible, but illustrative observation the other morning after hearing a bit of news about breast cancer on a local t.v. station. He said, " Gee, Lori, why couldn't you have a popular disease, like breast cancer instead of flatback syndrome. " Donna, I admit that on occasion I also stoop to making similarly sick jokes to keep my sanity. Well I certainly don't wish for breast cancer, but I will say that plodding along trying to get the best advice about revision surgery is sure not fun. Good luck to everyone with your own plodding along finding answers to and taking action on your medical predicaments. It definitely helps me to have the support and cameraderie of you all. loriann Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 18, 2004 Report Share Posted October 18, 2004 - Just a question regarding your post. Do you find that melatonin loses its effectiveness if used regularly? I have heard that it does and have been advised to have my son off of it on occasion. Thanks. Tracey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 18, 2004 Report Share Posted October 18, 2004 I forgot to ask...What do you think is causing this sleeplessness ? Is he hyperactive ? Over tired ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 18, 2004 Report Share Posted October 18, 2004 Thanks again Mike, you are such a wealth of information. I am amaed that you find the time to not only help your own child, but also sooo many other people's children as well. To answer your questions, Josiah is 4 yrs old- 37 lbs. I will definately increase the melatonin dose. I think that whatever his reason for being sleepless it is definately related to the seizures- chicken or egg- which comes first. Mostly our sleep problems present themselves like this: he's tired but will NOT sleep, sings, kicks the wall rolls around in bed etc... Josiah is NOT a hyper kid, but there is some sleep resistance he has. As soon as it's bed time he rev's up. Less often, he will succumb to sleep only to be very restless, moaning, rolling around. Seizures alomst always follow a day or so of poor sleep. Do you know much about supplementing with GABA? thanks again- Elise --- Mike Mchugh <mcpitza@...> wrote: > Elise, > How old is Josiah ? Melatonin can be used safely up > to 10 mg. depending on his age, weight etc. Also > with melatonin you need to buy the right brand. Are > you using a sublingual form? They are faster acting. > Are you using a nightlight in the bedroom? Is there > moonlight or a streetlight coming through the > window? If so block it out. Melatonin with warm milk > may be more effective. > > Sleepy Time Tea with stevia can be useful. > > Calcium Magnesium will help greatly with sleeping. > My son is 9 and weighs about 65 pounds. He generally > takes about 500mg at bedtime. > > Valerian Root is useful for sleeping but it smells > nasty - most kids won't swallow it and if he reacted > badly to depakote I would not use Valerian as that > drug is derived from the plant I believe. > > Benadryl works well for some children - though I am > not a big advocate for this I would use it before > using the Tylenol PM. > > There are homepathic remedies for sleeping that are > very safe for kids. You can get them in most helath > food stores. Bach Flower Remedies are good for this > as well. Most stores have a booklet where you can > look up the symptoms to find the right one. > > Warm Epsom Salts bath before bed is another idea. > Lavendar can work but you must be careful not to > overdo this. > > > > > [ ] sleepless nights > > > Hi all, any suggestions for getting your child to > sleep at night? I've tried melatonin twice at low > dose - didn't seem to do anything.. GABA has been > suggested too but ???? Are there any > " conventional " > sleep aids for kids? I know that tylenol pm > knocks > me out but why can't we give it to kids? Whenever > Josiah has a sleepless night he will have a > seizure > the next day. My theory is that if we can get him > to > sleep , then no seizure the next day. But the > question remains- why can't he sleep in the first > place? thanks brave parents. Elise and Josiah > > > > --- Mike Mchugh <mcpitza@...> wrote: > > > Elise, > > This portion of an article will explain IVIG > better > > than I could - but the short answer is that IVIG > can > > be used either way - to suppress or increase - > the > > reason we considered using it for my son was to > > increase his immune system as he would stop > having > > seizures whenever he took antibiotics - in some > kids > > cases they want to supress the immune system if > they > > believe it is attacking things it shopuld not be > > attacking: > > IVIG > > > > IVIG is pooled human immunoglobulin type G (IgG) > > collected from blood donors. The IgG is purified > > from the plasma component of the blood, and it > is > > estimated that tens of thousands of individual > > donors are represented in one batch of IVIG. > > Therefore, the product contains a large variety > of > > IgG, which is likely important to its function. > > > > Immunoglobulins are the antibodies of the immune > > system. They are proteins that have one end > which is > > highly variable between different antibodies, so > > that they have varying affinity for different > > substances. This affinity determines what the > > antibodies can target. The other end interacts > with > > other components of the immune system. > Therefore, > > antibodies with an affinity for a particular > protein > > on an invading organism, such as a virus, will > bind > > to the protein with their variable end, while > the > > other end activates the cellular components of > the > > immune system, thereby targeting and destroying > the > > invader. It also stimulates immune cells to > produce > > more of the antibodies, thereby increasing the > > immune response against the invader. > > > > IVIG has two primary medical uses, quite > opposite in > > effect. Some individuals have an > immunodeficiency > > syndrome where they cannot produce their own > > antibodies in sufficient amounts to maintain an > > immune defense against infection. In these > patients > > IVIG is given to supplement their immune system > and > > increase their defense. In some autoimmune > diseases > > such as MG, one particular type of antibody is > > produced in large numbers that is attacking the > > patient's own healthy tissue. In these cases > IVIG > > can be given to suppress the immune system. > > > > There are several known mechanisms of immune > > suppression with IVIG, although the relative > > importance of each in various diseases is still > a > > matter of debate. The simplest mechanism is that > the > > infused antibodies will, for a time, dilute the > > abnormal host antibodies that are causing the > > disease. The presence of large amounts of IgG > will > > also suppress the production of host IgG > (including, > > hopefully, the disease causing antibodies). The > > donated antibodies will also bind to the other > > components of the immune system thereby using up > > resources. There will therefore be fewer immune > > resources available to do damage. (This is like > > starting a fire to burn away the underbrush and > > thereby decrease the spread of a wild fire by > > depriving it of fuel.) The infused antibodies > also > > may bind to host antibodies, including those > causing > > disease, and take them out of action. IVIG also > > increases the breakdown of host immunoglobulin > and > > decreases its production. > > > > As an immunosuppressant treatment IVIG can be > used > > in one of two basic strategies. The first is > acute > > therapy: as a rapidly acting but relatively > short > > lasting treatment for an autoimmune disease that > is > > itself short lasting (days to weeks), or is > > currently flaring. A common example of this use > is > > for Guillain Barre Syndrome, which is an acute > > autoimmune disease with about three weeks of > immune > > activity. The second is for chronic autoimmune > > disease. In this case IVIG is given > approximately > > once every 1-3 months over time for long term > > immunosuppression. > > > > Side effects of IVIG are usually minimal, > including > > headache, local skin reaction at the infusion > site, > > and flu like symptoms. Less commonly patients > may > > develop an aseptic meningitis, although without > long > > term consequence. Rare but severe side effects > > include thromboembolic events, such as pulmonary > > embolism, caused by the resulting increase in > the > > blood's viscosity. > > > > Of note, another treatment, plasmapheresis, is > very > > similar to IVIG in effect and use. > Plasmapheresis === message truncated === __________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 20, 2004 Report Share Posted October 20, 2004 Elise, I don't have any peersonal experience with GABA. I would recommend checking the book by Dr. Atkins " The Vita-Nutrient Solution " out of the library. He has great info on nearly every supplement. Lots of thoughts on seizure control too. Thanks for the nice words - there are a lot of helpful people here. this is where I learned much of my info. [ ] sleepless nights > > > Hi all, any suggestions for getting your child to > sleep at night? I've tried melatonin twice at low > dose - didn't seem to do anything.. GABA has been > suggested too but ???? Are there any > " conventional " > sleep aids for kids? I know that tylenol pm > knocks > me out but why can't we give it to kids? Whenever > Josiah has a sleepless night he will have a > seizure > the next day. My theory is that if we can get him > to > sleep , then no seizure the next day. But the > question remains- why can't he sleep in the first > place? thanks brave parents. Elise and Josiah > > > > --- Mike Mchugh <mcpitza@...> wrote: > > > Elise, > > This portion of an article will explain IVIG > better > > than I could - but the short answer is that IVIG > can > > be used either way - to suppress or increase - > the > > reason we considered using it for my son was to > > increase his immune system as he would stop > having > > seizures whenever he took antibiotics - in some > kids > > cases they want to supress the immune system if > they > > believe it is attacking things it shopuld not be > > attacking: > > IVIG > > > > IVIG is pooled human immunoglobulin type G (IgG) > > collected from blood donors. The IgG is purified > > from the plasma component of the blood, and it > is > > estimated that tens of thousands of individual > > donors are represented in one batch of IVIG. > > Therefore, the product contains a large variety > of > > IgG, which is likely important to its function. > > > > Immunoglobulins are the antibodies of the immune > > system. They are proteins that have one end > which is > > highly variable between different antibodies, so > > that they have varying affinity for different > > substances. This affinity determines what the > > antibodies can target. The other end interacts > with > > other components of the immune system. > Therefore, > > antibodies with an affinity for a particular > protein > > on an invading organism, such as a virus, will > bind > > to the protein with their variable end, while > the > > other end activates the cellular components of > the > > immune system, thereby targeting and destroying > the > > invader. It also stimulates immune cells to > produce > > more of the antibodies, thereby increasing the > > immune response against the invader. > > > > IVIG has two primary medical uses, quite > opposite in > > effect. Some individuals have an > immunodeficiency > > syndrome where they cannot produce their own > > antibodies in sufficient amounts to maintain an > > immune defense against infection. In these > patients > > IVIG is given to supplement their immune system > and > > increase their defense. In some autoimmune > diseases > > such as MG, one particular type of antibody is > > produced in large numbers that is attacking the > > patient's own healthy tissue. In these cases > IVIG > > can be given to suppress the immune system. > > > > There are several known mechanisms of immune > > suppression with IVIG, although the relative > > importance of each in various diseases is still > a > > matter of debate. The simplest mechanism is that > the > > infused antibodies will, for a time, dilute the > > abnormal host antibodies that are causing the > > disease. The presence of large amounts of IgG > will > > also suppress the production of host IgG > (including, > > hopefully, the disease causing antibodies). The > > donated antibodies will also bind to the other > > components of the immune system thereby using up > > resources. There will therefore be fewer immune > > resources available to do damage. (This is like > > starting a fire to burn away the underbrush and > > thereby decrease the spread of a wild fire by > > depriving it of fuel.) The infused antibodies > also > > may bind to host antibodies, including those > causing > > disease, and take them out of action. IVIG also > > increases the breakdown of host immunoglobulin > and > > decreases its production. > > > > As an immunosuppressant treatment IVIG can be > used > > in one of two basic strategies. The first is > acute > > therapy: as a rapidly acting but relatively > short > > lasting treatment for an autoimmune disease that > is > > itself short lasting (days to weeks), or is > > currently flaring. A common example of this use > is > > for Guillain Barre Syndrome, which is an acute > > autoimmune disease with about three weeks of > immune > > activity. The second is for chronic autoimmune > > disease. In this case IVIG is given > approximately > > once every 1-3 months over time for long term > > immunosuppression. > > > > Side effects of IVIG are usually minimal, > including > > headache, local skin reaction at the infusion > site, > > and flu like symptoms. Less commonly patients > may > > develop an aseptic meningitis, although without > long > > term consequence. Rare but severe side effects > > include thromboembolic events, such as pulmonary > > embolism, caused by the resulting increase in > the > > blood's viscosity. > > > > Of note, another treatment, plasmapheresis, is > very > > similar to IVIG in effect and use. > Plasmapheresis === message truncated === __________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 20, 2004 Report Share Posted October 20, 2004 Tracey, I think you are right, from my experience. I only use it to help train my son back into a healthy sleeping pattern if he has a change in schedule or experiences a stretch of hyper activity etc. About two weeks tops will generally set him straight for awhile. Re: [ ] sleepless nights - Just a question regarding your post. Do you find that melatonin loses its effectiveness if used regularly? I have heard that it does and have been advised to have my son off of it on occasion. Thanks. Tracey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 Hi there, Stefan had Eosinophilic Esophagitis diagnosed some months ago and was on steroids for a while, which seemed to clear up the problem (he's now taking anti histamines each day as a way of keeping down inflammation). Good luck to you and Mark on Friday! Sally and Stefan London UK > > It's Thursday 25th that he has the dilatation, but I will pass > > on the message to him. I have had to put it at the back of my > > mind for a week or so, as I have sleepless nights if I let my > > mind wander on it too much. > > I have the same problem. I stopped drinking coffee altogether > when my son was diagnosed, and I've been making a much better > effort to run a half-hour on the treadmill several times per > week, which I need to do to prevent insomnia. I used to try to > do that if I had time, but now it's not just optional anymore. > Even so, I sometimes wake up at 3 AM and have trouble getting > back to sleep. There are so many unknowns. > > Mark goes for his endoscopy on Friday the 26th. His manometry > showed a low-pressure LES but no peristalsis and no coordinated > relaxation, and his barium swallow looks like classic achalasia. > The pediatric gastroenterologist is going to take biopsies to > check for all sorts of things including eosinophilic esophagitis. > > I hope Stefan's dilation is a success. > > in Lancaster, PA > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 16, 2006 Report Share Posted August 16, 2006 hey ethel this is for your husband and he has only been on ldn for a few weeks-am i correct?? all this should go away. cyndi [low dose naltrexone] Sleepless nights > >Any suggestions for quenching an over active mind at night and restlessness >? > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 16, 2006 Report Share Posted August 16, 2006 WELL ETHEL, THERE'S LOTS OF STUFF LIKE TRYING MEDITATION OR FOR SUPPLEMENTS THERE'S VALERIAN OR MELATONIN OR CHAMOMILE TEA OR ESSENCE OF LAVENDER IS VERY SOOTHING AS WELL. HOPE THIS HELPS. DONNA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 I take a prescription drug that is in the benadryl family. If you are interested I will search for name...hydro something or other....  I use to share your frustration. Raniolo From: pcortas1 <pcortas1@...> Subject: [ ] Sleepless nights Date: Wednesday, September 9, 2009, 11:47 PM  Okay everybody, It's 8:45 pacific time & I am getting ready to go to bed. I know that by 12:30am I will be wide awake & wondering what to do to go back to sleep. Does anyone have this same problem? Is this due to the Rituxan I have in my system? I start going to sleep again at 3:00am when hubby leaves to work & I awake by 7:00am. Any advice will be appreciated. Mousie in Calif. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 > > Okay everybody, > It's 8:45 pacific time & I am getting ready to go to bed. I know that by 12:30am I will be wide awake & wondering what to do to go back to sleep. Does anyone have this same problem? Is this due to the Rituxan I have in my system? I start going to sleep again at 3:00am when hubby leaves to work & I awake by 7:00am. Any advice will be appreciated. > Mousie in Calif. > mousie, I have suffered from sleepless nights for a very long time. and one of the things that I discovered is that when i go to be too early this happens to me i would sleep for 3 or 4 hours and then up either for the rest of the day so my day would start by 1 or 2 am or i would fall back to sleep at 3 and get up before 8. going to bed to early was my pit fall because i was so tired i wanted to get all the rest i could buy my brain was not going along with it. I still have to take some sleep aids because of my restless brain. but now i just have more trouble falling asleep then staying asleep. I had to make sure i go to bed about the same time every day and get up around the same time every day even on the weekends this is the stuff that has helped me. you may even want to talk to your doctor about melatonin extended release to get you threw the night best of luck I know that pain and everything that gos with it are intensified when you don't get proper sleep. best wishes from Northern Michigan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 Hi there! I have the exact same problem but I had it before I started Rituxan. You should still ask your doc if it is a side effect. Are you currently taking anything to help you sleep? in SC From: lamiefulk <klamiefulk@...> Subject: [ ] Re: Sleepless nights Date: Thursday, September 10, 2009, 6:37 AM Â > > Okay everybody, > It's 8:45 pacific time & I am getting ready to go to bed. I know that by 12:30am I will be wide awake & wondering what to do to go back to sleep. Does anyone have this same problem? Is this due to the Rituxan I have in my system? I start going to sleep again at 3:00am when hubby leaves to work & I awake by 7:00am. Any advice will be appreciated. > Mousie in Calif. > mousie, I have suffered from sleepless nights for a very long time. and one of the things that I discovered is that when i go to be too early this happens to me i would sleep for 3 or 4 hours and then up either for the rest of the day so my day would start by 1 or 2 am or i would fall back to sleep at 3 and get up before 8. going to bed to early was my pit fall because i was so tired i wanted to get all the rest i could buy my brain was not going along with it. I still have to take some sleep aids because of my restless brain. but now i just have more trouble falling asleep then staying asleep. I had to make sure i go to bed about the same time every day and get up around the same time every day even on the weekends this is the stuff that has helped me. you may even want to talk to your doctor about melatonin extended release to get you threw the night best of luck I know that pain and everything that gos with it are intensified when you don't get proper sleep. best wishes from Northern Michigan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 Print out one of 's posts to read when you go to bed, you'll be asleep in seconds. Stan Seattle, Sun! [ ] Sleepless nights Okay everybody, It's 8:45 pacific time & I am getting ready to go to bed. I know that by 12:30am I will be wide awake & wondering what to do to go back to sleep. Does anyone have this same problem? Is this due to the Rituxan I have in my system? I start going to sleep again at 3:00am when hubby leaves to work & I awake by 7:00am. Any advice will be appreciated. Mousie in Calif. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 You're grounded, Stan! Not an MD On Thu, Sep 10, 2009 at 2:41 PM, <stanpfister@...> wrote: > > > Print out one of 's posts to read when you go to bed, you'll be asleep in seconds. > > > > Stan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 Stan, I love your attitude, hehehehe! Mousie in Calif > > > > Print out one of 's posts to read when you go to bed, you'll be asleep in seconds. > > > > Stan > > Seattle, Sun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 13, 2009 Report Share Posted September 13, 2009 I do hope it is okay to post this. I just found it on my AOL welcome page tonight and thought it was fitting to the subject. Hope it can help someone. Michigan Six Steps to Better Sleep It's 3:00 a.m., and your mind is bubbling over with thoughts: I need to get to sleep. Why can't I just fall asleep? I'll screw up that presentation at work if I'm too tired. What if I get sick from all of this lack of sleep? We've probably all had that internal insomnia-induced dialogue at one time or another. But for people with chronic _insomnia,_ (http://www.aolhealth.com/sleep-disorders/learn-about-it/insomnia) it's commonplace -- and they often reach for a prescription sleep aid. _Sleeping pills_ (http://www.aolhealth.com/sleep-disorders/learn-about-it/insomnia/medications-fo\ r-treating-ins omnia) now represent a $4.5 billion market, but they're not long-term solutions, says _Gregg s, Ph.D.,_ an insomnia specialist at UMass Memorial Medical Center and author of _ " Say Good Night to Insomnia: The 6-Week Program. " _ s's book is full of tips and techniques for getting rid of insomnia. Here are six techniques he recommends. 1. Stop trying to achieve the perfect eight. " The recommendation that we all need eight hours of sleep is a myth, " s says. A major study of more than one million adults conducted in 2002 by _ Kripke,_ (http://psychiatry.ucsd.edu/faculty/dkripke.html) M.D., at the University of California-San Diego found that sleeping seven hours a night was associated with lower death rates than sleeping eight hours or more. Keep in mind that these are long-term epidemiological studies -- it doesn't mean that crashing for 10 hours one night suddenly puts you into a high death-risk category. A 2004 study from Japan that monitored the sleep habits of more than 1,000 participants, ages 40 to 79, over a nine-year-period found that those who slept an average of nine hours a night had a higher risk of death than people who slept five; people who slept 10 hours had a higher risk than people who slept four. It's important for people with insomnia to understand that their insomnia is not going to kill them or make them sick. Part of what fuels the cycle of insomnia is the worry about lack of sleep. Taking the fear factor out is the first step. Also, it's important to not attribute lack of sleep to everything that might be going wrong in your life. " People need to understand that sleep is not the primary cause of all of their problems, " cautions Donna Arand, Ph.D., clinical director of the _Kettering Sleep Disorders Center._ (http://www.kmcnetwork.org/sleep/kmc/) 2. Change your attitude. A big chunk of s's program teaches people how to swap out negative sleep thoughts (NSTs) with positive sleep thoughts (PSTs). NSTs are unconstructive, often exaggerated thoughts. Examples of NSTs include: " I'm dreading bedtime, " " I can't sleep without a sleeping pill " or " I'm going to lose my job eventually if I can't sleep. " NSTs are knee-jerk reactions. Sometimes you don't even know you're having them -- and that they're having a disastrous effect on your sleep. You need to learn to recognize them and then actively replace them with PSTs, like, " I need less sleep than I thought, " " I always fall back to sleep sooner or later " or " My sleep is getting better and better. " Sound hokey? Just try it: The little mantras we repeat in our brains have a much bigger impact than we think. s gives the example of one patient who practiced subbing PSTs for NSTs for one week. After the week was up, she told s that it was the best week of sleep she'd had in years. After four weeks, she was sleeping close to seven hours a night and learned to think about sleep without panicking. 3. Stop giving yourself jet lag. If you use the weekends to make up for sleep you lost during the week, you're just fueling the cycle of insomnia. By Sunday night, you haven't been awake long enough (called " prior wakefulness " ) to be able to fall asleep at your normal time. You've basically induced jet lag. The best thing to do is to establish a regular rising time -- and stick to it, no matter what time you fall asleep. If you have the opportunity to nap during the day, even for just 10 minutes, s suggests you do it -- just limit it to 45 minutes and don't take it later than 4 p.m., or within six hours of bedtime. 4. Don't go to bed too early. Going to bed early in an attempt to " catch up " if you're not really tired will most likely leave you lying awake and growing more frustrated. If you can't fall asleep, or you wake up, get out of bed after 20 minutes, says Norah , Ph.D., associate professor at the _University of Manitoba's department of clinical health psychology._ (http://www.umanitoba.ca/medicine/clinical_health_psych/) " Have a place you go, and do something dull, " she says. Only go back to bed when you're sleepy. 5. Your bed isn't the enemy. You want to turn your bed into a cue for sleep -- not wakefulness. When _conducted a study on online-based CBT training,_ (http://insomniastudy.moodleserv.com/) sleep restriction -- or not spending too much time in bed -- was key. Try to avoid doing anything else in bed (except sex), like watching TV, checking e-mail on your laptop or talking on the phone, advise both and s. 6. Find your relaxation response. Just as your body has a stress response (to fight or flee), it also has a relaxation response (RR). CBT programs like s's and 's teach you how to channel your body's natural ability to calm down through relaxing the muscles, deep breathing (belly breathing, which is how we breathe when we sleep), imagery -- such as a favorite vacation spot, floating on a cloud, the beach, a mountain or any other place that feels peaceful to you -- and simply repeating mantras, words like " relax " or " peace. " Practicing the RR throughout the day (10 to 20 minutes of practice a day is ideal) will help you become a pro when it's time to relax at night. Start by relaxing your muscles, and then move to noticing your breathing patterns and using a mantra or trying visual imagery. Growing Support Overall, 90 percent of the people s and his colleagues at Harvard have worked with over the course of 20 years have been able to eliminate sleeping pills through CBT, which includes the tips described above -- essential components of the " 6-Week Program. " Since the book's release in 1999, results from three major sleep studies have come out, providing further support for s's claims. Unlike many sleep researchers, s is not funded by, or a paid speaker for, drug companies. One was a 2004 study, funded by the National Institutes of Health and published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, conducted by s and his Harvard colleagues, which compared CBT to _Ambien_ (http://www.aolhealth.com/drugs/zolpidem) (the most widely prescribed sleeping pill) in 63 adults with insomnia. CBT was more effective than Ambien both in the short-term (four weeks) and the long-term (one year), and any benefit Ambien had disappeared once the drug group stopped taking it. The two other major studies (both published in the Journal of the American Medical Association) that compared sleeping pills to CBT also point to CBT being the more effective remedy. s isn't alone in his support for CBT. " If insomnia resurfaces, a person who has learned CBT has all the tools to help themselves, " says Arand, of the Kettering Sleep Disorders Center. The easiest and quickest option for primary care physicians is to prescribe sleeping pills (especially since most aren't trained in sleep medicine), Arand says. Now that research is showing these techniques work, she's seeing the professional community begin to embrace CBT. _The New England Journal of Medicine,_ (http://content.nejm.org/) _National Institutes of Health_ (http://www.nih.gov/) and the _American Psychological Association_ (http://www.apa.org/) now recommend CBT for treating insomnia, s says. Unlike sleeping pills, CBT has no side effects (like dependency or a hangover effect), and anyone can learn these techniques if they take the time to follow the program. Unlearning bad sleep behaviors and getting yourself to think differently about sleep takes some time. " The vast majority of people show maximum improvement in about six weeks, " s says. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 9, 2010 Report Share Posted August 9, 2010 Jane...he's a tad young for me.(LOL) but I'm throwing in ny Depp with my ice cream. a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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