Zzzzzzz.........
Do any of y'all have trouble sleeping? Yeah....rhetorical question. I KNOW that insomnia runs rampant among the sjoggie population. The Sjogren's Syndrome Foundation thought the issue important enough to create a patient information sheet on sleep.
I had real issues trying to get a good night's sleep last night and guess that I got all of about three hours. Which left me so foggy that I couldn't remember on which side of an envelop to stick the postage stamp. Honestly.
So I know that there's a few basic things that I need to do to weigh the odds in my favor of getting some quality shut-eye tonight, and one of the biggies for me is to completely avoid caffeine. Caffeine not only makes me wired, which actually I kind of like during the day but not so much at about two in the morning, and it also makes my restless leg symptoms flare in a major way. In years past when I found myself wide eyed in the early morning hours, I could pop a Benadryl tablet and be zonked within a half hour. But those days of allergy-medicine-induced sleep are over ever since my neuropathy and restless leg symptoms began because these drugs increase my symptoms.
Tonight, I think I'll draw a warm bath and dump in some epsom salts, then soak until my toes wrinkle. And then will turn off my computer and phone, put on some fluffy jammies, and will open up a good book.
Better do the trick. I'll keep y'all posted.
6 comments:
I usually fall asleep ok, but then I wake up about every hour or two. Usually because I'm thirsty, my eyes are dry or I have to make a bathroom trip - no fun when it's cold in the house. Sometimes I wake up and feel like I'm having an anxiety attack and then I can't get back to sleep at all. I haven't had a good night's sleep in years and always wake up feeling exhausted. Sjogrens really is the gift that keeps on giving.
I fall asleep okay. But I wake up due to a dry mouth or throat, pain, anxiety attacks. I take Amitriptylene but on a really bad night it does not help. I also have a CPAP machine due to sleep apnea. That sometimes wakes me up because I am not comfortable sometimes with the mask 😞
I don't sleep well either. I find it interesting that someone else here commented they wake with the sense of anxiety. This happens to me as well. Nothing I do settles me down and believe me I've tried it all... mediating, slow breathing, chamomile tea, exercise, etc. It's the worst feeling. Since being on Humira though (for other autoimmune conditions) this middle of the night anxiety attack issue has subsided some. Which makes me all the more suspicious inflammation is causing it rather than it being mood mediated. I've found that electronics keep me from going to sleep. I have to shut my computer down at least 2 hours before bedtime. And if I watch TV in the evening it has to be a show that's very mundane. On occasion I take children's liquid Benadryl, half a child's dose. It's enough to allow me to doze off but without the side-effects the adult dose causes for me. I have a friend with MS who swears by Advil PM. I think the sleep agent in it is Dramamine. That might not cause the restless leg issues that Benadryl causes... I don't know.
Take good care my fellow night-owls.
I take a hypnotic now. Works for me but now I am addicted to a quarter dose. so a quarter of a 7.5 tablet. sigh>>>>> I sleep though for me that is better than no sleep. Fluffy jammies always work!
Same boat as many others here, I rarely get a good night's rest. When and IF I do sleep a full night, I wake up feeling bright-eyed and energetic. It is amazing. Most days, I'm sort of in a haze due to lack of rest. I also wake up every two hours or so. Drinking so much liquid during the day to combat the dryness doesn't help the night time restroom trips. I've tried it all with little success ...natural solutions and prescription medication. Tossing and turning is my specialty. Sometimes pain wakes me up, sometimes my throat is dry, sometimes I can't explain it. For me, one of the worst parts of Sjogren's is the terrible fatigue and lack of sleep...end result of a vicious cycle.
When I have trouble sleeping I take a couple of Gravol (something for motion sickness). It makes me drowsy so I can fall asleep.
Post a Comment