Need advice for better sleep!

[jonathanzn]

Since I was diagnosed a month ago, I could not sleep very well. I usually sleep at 9 pm, and I would wake up at 2 am in the morning. Then I could not go back into deep sleep again, and all my mind is about my disease, my medicines, my future and so on. Maybe it's side effect of pred. Sleep is so important for the disease, so What could I do?

Thanks!

 

[Trysha]

I find listening to good music is helpful
Trysha

 

[Manzyb]

I had a horrible time sleeping while on Prednisone! I ended up getting some ambien to take at night so I could get some good sleep.

 

[Dawn Gibson]

The question is, are you tired?

When I was taking Pred I was like a hyperactive child overdosing on articifical colouring. Two or three hours of sleep was my max, but I never felt tired, so I found the best thing to do was keep busy (cleaning became an obsession for me!) and not worry about losing sleep.

However, if you are exhausted, it can be incredibly frustrating not being able to sleep at night. I'm not one for taking uneccessary chemicals if I don't have to so I wasn't keen on taking sleeping pills. But I have had improved sleep with natural sleeping pills. You can find them in most pharmacies and they are made from hops and chamomile etc. I find them to be very effective. Just take them an hour before bedtime (I would usually then have a nice hot shower to aid the process) and then get into bed feeling all relaxed. Try some deep breathing, and focus on the words "calm and relaxed" repeat these words over and over and try not to think of anything else. It's hard and takes practice, your mind will want to wander, but I PROMISE that it helps.

Good luck!

 

[tots]

Benedryl!!


Lauren

 

[Momto3]

A vitamin called Melatonin works for me. Plus its natural.

 

[Billk78]

I saw a psychiatrist and was given clonazepam to help me sleep.

 

[rkoll327]

I too had this problem, for a very long time after my diagnosis (which was 4 years ago). Prednisone definitely made it worse too. I find it best to start with all natural solutions, as I am sure we can all say the last thing we want is another prescription to add to our list. I also took melatonin (herbal supplement) that worked really well for me. Sometimes too well! I also would try to drink tea before bed to help settle my stomach. For a while in the beginning that wasn't working great, so my doctor prescribed me Lorazepam (5mg), but I didn't like the idea of being on such a strong drug so I started doing the melatonin again (which to be honest had about the same effect), drinking some tea and reading before bed to take my mind off of things. Also, like Trysha said music can work wonders. Weightless by Marconi Union was voted the most relaxing song by Time Magazine! Get that on loop on your iPod and you will be asleep in no time.

I know how annoying and stressful not being able to sleep can be, especially when you aren't feeling well so I hope that helps!

 

[EthanPSU]

The thing that I do every night, I can't remember the last time I slept without it but for some reason it puts me right to sleep.

I put an episode of South Park or Family Guy on my ipod and put one headphone in and just listen to it. It takes away all of the mind wondering you do when you try to sleep and makes you fall right to sleep if your tired

 

[cas127]

I've had surprisingly good luck with melatonin myself - not only did my sleep improve (after many, many years of low quality sleep) but my ulcerative colitis (sigmoid and lower) has definitely improved (which was a shock - I had no idea that melatonin might help UC).

There is some research on Pubmed.gov indicating that melatonin can increase the secretion of bicarbonate in the digestive tract - that may explain its beneficial effect.

Interestingly, I get the best effects with the 1mg Spring Valley melatonin (the Walmart house brand) - it comes combined with B6 (a rarity among melatonins).

It is unclear why the B6 helps (a lot) but B6 does increase some neurotransmitters which, in addition to being in your brain, are surprisingly abundant in your digestive tract.

I would definitely give melatonin/B6 a try - it has been strongly beneficial for me.