My GI doctor put me on 40mg of prednisone for two weeks, starting on day 5 I haven't been able to sleep at ALL. I haven't slept in three days. My doctor recommended benadryl, I took the maximum dosage and it didn't work. I asked for further assistance, and I was told to contact my primary care provider for further recommendations. That seems very uncaring to me, do GI doctors not prescribe a sleep aid with sterioids?
On prednisone, haven't slept in days please help
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What time of day do you take the prednisone? If not doing it already, try taking it first thing in the morning, and/or splitting up the dosage so you take it multiple times through the day to even out the concentration in your body. I know other people have had issues with sleep - I personally don't remember having sleep issues while on pred, but I do notice an energy 'bump' after I get my Remicade infusion as I get solu-medrol as a pre-med.
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It has been my experience that many doctors, GI's included, do not handle side effects well and pharmaceutical sleep aids in particular can be habit forming.
Everybody seems to have a different response to steroids - they did not work well for me and nearly drove me crazy into the bargain but other folks find them helpful and don't suffer the side effects.
There are over the counter supplements you might consider but Google them first and read up on them, they may not be suitable for you - you are your best ally. I have used all of them without ill effects but they are not the "knock you out" type of supplements.
Gravol - also treats nausea
L-Tryptophan capsules - an amino acid (the one in turkey)
Melatonin - a hormone
Hope you're feeling better.
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I also suffer from insomnia when on Pred, among quite a few other things!
I find a low dose (10mg) of amitriptyline helps a lot with the insomnia as well as with the aggression and irritability that are also side effects from pred.
My gp prescribed it and I much prefer it to sleeping pills as it's not habit forming apparently.
Good luck!
I find a low dose (10mg) of amitriptyline helps a lot with the insomnia as well as with the aggression and irritability that are also side effects from pred.
My gp prescribed it and I much prefer it to sleeping pills as it's not habit forming apparently.
Good luck!
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For me, I was splitting my pred dosage but my new GI told me that she didnt want me to do that and that it should all be at once but Im not sure if thats standard or not. I do know that taking my 40mg with my morning meds instead of the evening ones helped some with the insomnia as did taking a bit of melatonin a bit before bed
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Sorry you are going through this. I would speak to your primary care doctor, since your GI doesn't seem to be able to coordinate this. Something mildly sedating may help. There are some herbal remedies that are helpful, Alteril is one that I use occasionally.
I know I have to Google all the side effects for all my pills. I wasn't diligent in doing that when they put me on pentasa for a flare up and the er doctor last night freaked me out telling me that some people's bones thin on it and one guy he knew lost both hip joints in a week. I almost cried. I been on the med's four days and they still want me to take them. right now I am in hospital and I feel like they don't know what to do with me.
I know it sound weird but I drink this tazo calming tea from shoppers Drug Mart when I can't sleep and usually within half hour I'm out. Not sure what's in there but its all natural
First, sorry you are in the hospital...second, someone will NOT lose both hip joints due to Pentasa in just a week.....the thinning of bones does take time, and everyone is different - I for on was on steroids (sometimes up to 80 mg/day to start!) and my last bone density scan was fine....no noticeable bone loss. Do some people have issues, yes they do - but everyone is individual and not everyone gets the worst side effects.
I remember when I used to be on salofalk and it was making me super tired. The doctor didn't believe me so I went to the pharmacist. turns out 8 percent of people have that problem. Ur pharmacist can be a great resource because they know what all the side effects can be and which pills react with others. A lot of doctors don't even know or care about side effects. After u leave them it become ur problem
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For sleep aid on prednisone my Chemist recommends an over the counter antihistamine called Doxylamine (brand name: Restavit or Unisom SleepTabs). I take half a 25mg tablet which usually puts me to sleep easily. It does give me a slight hang over in the morning so I recommend taking it early on in the night. Of course consult your chemist or dr before taking it.
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I realise it's been a while since this thread was started. How are you doing now, T990?
Insomnia and restlessness were the worst side effects of prednisone for me. My doctor prescribed amitriptyline and it worked like magic. It's used to treat many other things too, but it's much better than other sleep meds because it's not addictive and you shouldn't become tolerant to its sedative effects, so you can take it long term and it will still be effective. And it will put almost everyone to sleep at a high enough dose (I started at a very low dose which didn't help, so my doctor told me to keep upping it until it knocked me out!). The only reason it may fail as a sleep med for some people is if the dose you need to sleep causes you other side effects that you can't tolerate. The forum has a support group for it here: http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=47926 .
Before my doctor tried amitriptyline, I had tried every over-the-counter sleep med I could find, and a few other prescription ones as well. Nothing else helped at all. I had had no troubles sleeping before I took prednisone, but once on prednisone, the amount I slept steadily decreased until I was falling asleep well after midnight and waking, full of energy, at around five in the morning. Prednisone also made me so restive that I couldn't settle to doing anything and was hopelessly bored and restless all the time, which made all these extra hours awake unbearable. I know boredom doesn't sound terrible, but this was not like regular boredom. It drove me mad. After trying all the usual tips on sleeping and trying so many other meds, I wanted my doctor to prescribe some kind of benzodiazepine - these are the ones people are referring to when they warn about addiction to sleep meds. But before I even got a chance to mention it, the doctor brought up the subject and told me I couldn't have benzodiazepines because of the addiction issue, and because you build tolerance to them so quickly that even if they work at first, soon you will be unable to sleep again.
I am so glad my doctor prescribed amitriptyline instead. I really don't need another med addiction problem, and with amitriptyline I got an effective sleep med that's never stopped working, and - by sheer luck I guess - it also stopped the hopeless restlessness, and, after taking it a while, I realised it was working its antidepressant effects on me as well. It has a lot of potential side effects that you have to be very careful with, but I really don't think there's a better sleep med.
Insomnia and restlessness were the worst side effects of prednisone for me. My doctor prescribed amitriptyline and it worked like magic. It's used to treat many other things too, but it's much better than other sleep meds because it's not addictive and you shouldn't become tolerant to its sedative effects, so you can take it long term and it will still be effective. And it will put almost everyone to sleep at a high enough dose (I started at a very low dose which didn't help, so my doctor told me to keep upping it until it knocked me out!). The only reason it may fail as a sleep med for some people is if the dose you need to sleep causes you other side effects that you can't tolerate. The forum has a support group for it here: http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=47926 .
Before my doctor tried amitriptyline, I had tried every over-the-counter sleep med I could find, and a few other prescription ones as well. Nothing else helped at all. I had had no troubles sleeping before I took prednisone, but once on prednisone, the amount I slept steadily decreased until I was falling asleep well after midnight and waking, full of energy, at around five in the morning. Prednisone also made me so restive that I couldn't settle to doing anything and was hopelessly bored and restless all the time, which made all these extra hours awake unbearable. I know boredom doesn't sound terrible, but this was not like regular boredom. It drove me mad. After trying all the usual tips on sleeping and trying so many other meds, I wanted my doctor to prescribe some kind of benzodiazepine - these are the ones people are referring to when they warn about addiction to sleep meds. But before I even got a chance to mention it, the doctor brought up the subject and told me I couldn't have benzodiazepines because of the addiction issue, and because you build tolerance to them so quickly that even if they work at first, soon you will be unable to sleep again.
I am so glad my doctor prescribed amitriptyline instead. I really don't need another med addiction problem, and with amitriptyline I got an effective sleep med that's never stopped working, and - by sheer luck I guess - it also stopped the hopeless restlessness, and, after taking it a while, I realised it was working its antidepressant effects on me as well. It has a lot of potential side effects that you have to be very careful with, but I really don't think there's a better sleep med.
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To those in this thread who have had problems with doctors not informing them about side effects: when it concerns major risks or side effects that could affect the patient, that's inexcusable. However, with steroids and some other medications, some of the major adverse effects occur only with long term use, so doctors may not mention them if they are prescribing them for a short period only. Many medications (prednisone being a good example; amitriptyline, which I talked about in my post above, being another) can potentially cause such a huge number of side effects that a doctor really can't list every single one, though there should always be a leaflet that comes with the medication that provides a comprehensive list. It's well worth checking the whole list for yourself or looking it up online before starting a medication to get an idea of what you need to look out for.
If you read a side effect that you think will be particularly problematic for you, discuss it with your doctor before starting the med. There maybe some side effects that a doctor wouldn't think particularly important (and so wouldn't bring up when there are too many side effects to mention everything) but which you know you'd have trouble dealing with. E.g. prednisone often causes excessive hunger - a doctor may not think that important for a patient who's not overweight, but if that patient was actually continually struggling to keep their weight healthy and control their eating, it's a side effect that needs discussion, and unfortunately it may be the patient who has to bring it up.
If you read a side effect that you think will be particularly problematic for you, discuss it with your doctor before starting the med. There maybe some side effects that a doctor wouldn't think particularly important (and so wouldn't bring up when there are too many side effects to mention everything) but which you know you'd have trouble dealing with. E.g. prednisone often causes excessive hunger - a doctor may not think that important for a patient who's not overweight, but if that patient was actually continually struggling to keep their weight healthy and control their eating, it's a side effect that needs discussion, and unfortunately it may be the patient who has to bring it up.
