Can't sleep at night because of Prednisone

[xoxava]

well i started treatment a week ago and i know there wont be such a significant difference yet. im on asacol, prilosec, and prednisone. i take my prednisone early in the morning and i still cant sleep at night! i get tired throughout the day and have to rest. i can fall asleep at night but never sleep longer than 30 minute - 1 hr periods. i took lactaid to try to eat some different foods, has anyone had success with this? i can tell my stomach isnt hurting as much, but im still having bms just as frequently. and i even have the pain of sometimes having to go and i cant and it drives me insane!! i am exhausted and lazy and dont know where to turn. LOL any advice is appreciated!

 

[Crohns08]

I remember being on pred... I couldn't sleep at all! I've heard if you take it earlier in the morning it'll help you to be able to sleep a little more later. The asacol will prob take another week to kick in. In the mean time I would stick with the foods you know won't hurt you and slowly experiment with other foods.

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

I agree with Toni, definitely take it first thing in the morning (when I was on pred, I'd take it at 5 or 6 AM so that it'd have worn off somewhat by bedtime). Also, you might want to check with your doc to see if there's a gentle sleep aid that you can take. My doc prescribed me Trazodone, which is an anti-depressant, but it's mild and it has a bonus side effect of being a sleep aid. I was given Trazodone because I specifically asked for a sleep aid that isn't habit-forming and wouldn't make me do crazy things like drive or cook (like what Ambien can do). I don't take it every night, just on those nights when I need a little help with sleep. It worked pretty well when I was on pred.

I'm surprised that you say you're "exhausted and lazy" on pred - it had the opposite effect on me, gave me tons of energy and I got quite a lot of cleaning done! Of course then I overdid things and made my flare worse. What dosage of pred are you on? Maybe you should ask your doctor if an increase in dosage would be appropriate?

Another thought - I wasn't on pred for very long, but I've heard others say that the pred-induced insomnia starts to wear off as you start to taper down. So hopefully the sleeplessness doesn't last much longer for you. Good luck!

 

[MapleLeafGirl]

I agree - give it a little longer. I too am on pred and having difficulty sleeping. I have tried everything and nothing really works. Sometimes I get up and sleep on the couch and for some reason I am getting better sleep there. As you taper down, you will be able to sleep again.

 

[duck68]

I'm on Pred and am having trouble sleeping too...I'm also very tired and lazy through the day (but can't sleep!!). Some days I feel like I'm bouncing off the walls and erratic and then others I'm just "blah"...I don't get it! I am tapering off it now and am on 12.5mg and hope to be finished with it in 2 weeks...

I sometimes take Lacteeze (in Aust) which is similar to Lactaid I think and it seems to help me if I want to "bust out" and have something yummy - but I'm not doing it often - just as a treat or if we are out and about. I'm still experimenting with food but finding it hard to distinguish what is affecting and what isn't.

I hope your other medications kick in soon for you too. :thumright:

 

[RollinontheRvr]

Sorry...

I can not give you any good advice on this as I am the odd man out when it comes to meds. I take prednisone during a flare and I sleep like a baby all day long. At times when I take vicodin for pain it amps me up rather than knocking me out. I hope you get some relief.