Evenin' folks! It is just about midnight on Friday and I'm still wide awake! Amazing change, and I'm not all that sure I like it, lol. For someone who has had to take Provigil daily in the past to combat EDS (Excessive Daytime Sleepiness) from my sleep apnea, being awake at close to the bewtiching hour is unheard of!!!!
A little over a week ago my rheumatologist called me out of the blue. It seems he had received a second notice from my insurance company that the Cymbalta he has been prescribing for my fibromyalgia is contraindicated due to my liver disease. Despite my liver specialist giving the okay, my rheumatologist called to find out "just how much relief" the Cymbalta is providing. Quite honestly, I think the steroids he prescribed for my inflammatory process and the Flexeril muscle relaxant are helping my pain the most. So I was okay with him taking me off of the Cymbalta. Less drugs in my body and less money out of my wallet!
However, I am now realizing just how much its sedating effects were countering the insomnia side effects from the steroids. Since stopping the Cymbalta "The Sandman" has apparently lost my address! I WAS hoping that once I am weaned off of the steroids I'd go back to my normal sleep pattern. I kinda doubt it though, as the last two times the doctor stopped the steroids my pain increased dramatically...and then I'm awake for a whole different reason. Oh well, I do some of my best thinking while counting sheep! I am forever grateful to the Serta company for giving me such an adorable little representation to hurdle the fences in my mind.
So, without any further ado, I am going to toddle back to my bed and try (for the third time tonight) to fall asleep. I do hope my poor little sheep aren't getting too tired!
Nighty-night.... (fingers crossed, lol)...and sleep tight!
Good luck. I have trouble sleeping so I often leave comments on people's blogs at 2.00 am
ReplyDeleteI don't know how you handle it! I've been having insomnia for a week or more and it is driving me NUTS! Thank God for the internet. It gives us something to do at 2:00 am! Pinterest is my favorite insomnia pastime, lol. My mom has had insomnia for years and 4 hours of sleep a night is her usual. A bad night is a little over an hour of sleep. She tried melatonin at the recommendation of an Emergency Room physician. Mom thought she was having a stroke. Thankfully, he diagnosed sleep deprivation! The Melatonin worked great for a month or so (8 hours of sleep per night), then my dad had his second cancer surgery and mom was up all night worrying about him and the melatonin has become less effective, I think mainly because she can't "turn off her brain" from worrying.
DeleteMy son, on the other hand, has a week long bout of insomnia about every other month since he was in his teens. I bought him a bottle of Melatonin with his last bout. He will try it with the next insomnia. During his teens he had psuedo-Cushings (thankfully not the real Cushings per testing). One of the blood tests that went sky high was his cortisol (natural steroid). The insomnia started then and has never gone away.
If my insomnia continues after I am off of the steroids, unrelated to pain, I will give the Melatonin a try (after clearing it with all of my physicians, of course). I have always been "a sleeper", as mom calls me, and this change is for the birds! I hope your insomnia improves too!!!
I want to tell you how much I enjoy your blog. I have only been following for a week or so but so much of what you say hits me. Sometimes I get stuck halfway out of my chair when I have been quilting for a while. My back just won't let me stand straight. The joys of getting old. And I appreciate you going to a different craft when one just won't go right. I have been there too. My big love is yard sales not thrift stores but we both have the same joy.
ReplyDeleteWelcome! I hope you find lots to enjoy on my blog in the future. Yes, we do have a lot in common! Ah...the joys of getting old. But, as my grandmother would say, "It's better than the alternative!". She was SO right!
ReplyDeleteInsomnia, does not play fair.
ReplyDeleteI always seem to forget...how I don't know...that when I eat meats [unless it is wild caught fish] I can't sleep.
Something about eating meat keeps me from getting restful sleep.
I have also learned that by eating fresh raw spinach helps me sleep... as in nice restful 7 - 8 hours of deep sleep....
You can probably tell by this post I had a turkey burger for dinner...yep, not sleeping.