Sleep, sleep, sleep

[Jeff D.]

So, like all the other sleep threads I've posted I can't sleep. I think I've gone a month now with getting to sleep around 5-8am. I just want to get a decent nights sleep. Just wanted to rant somewhere about it. Tonight I have a slight reason to not sleep. I was laying on my side when I smelled poo and I know what that means, leakage. It wasn't a lot but apparently my stoma got smaller again and so I had to go to one of the smallest ostomy sizes, a 22. I've been wondering why my flange has been popping up so much and now I know it's because the stool was leaking onto my skin and after a day or so it destroyed the barrier, glue and all. I pray this solves my leakage problem. I'm not sure what's going to happen if it gets any smaller. I think I may need to call my ostomy nurse about it.

Thanks for listening to my rant it wasn't intended to be about my ostomy so let's keep it to sleep.haha

Jeff

 

[Jeff D.]

Sorry to add this but I still can't sleep. After I posted here I went on a theology forum I'm a member of and I just got into a heated debate.lol Why do I put myself through this at 3am. I was digging through books to back up my argument and everything.lol Ugh, I just need to get off this computer and sleep. Maybe I was better off when my hard drive was dead, oh please computer don't die on me again. I think I'm going crazy. See ya'll in the loony bin

 

[DustyKat]

Are you working Jeff? ...........If so ignore this post.

If not, does it matter if you don't go to sleep until that time? I guess what I'm getting at is if you can to go to sleep when your body feels it is ready you have no expectations as to what is "normal". Perhaps then you will worry less and be more relaxed and sleep may come more easily to you.

On the other hand I may be way off the mark.

 

[Jeff D.]

Yeah, I've pretty much figured that I'm just destined to be one of those people that go to bed at 5am. I really want to change that though. I'm considering next week of going without sleep for a night then going to bed early the next day, around 10pm, and waking up at 9am. I just need to get into a routine and I'd really like to be waking up at the time I'm getting to bed as in a year or so I'm going to have to get up at 530)am everyday so I'd like to learn that schedule soon. Thanks for the reply DustyKat

Oh, I almost forgot that I have a semi job of studying theology on my own this year. That's pretty much all I do besides come on here.haha

 

[DustyKat]

Don't be too hard on yourself Jeff, it will most likely take a bit of time to turn things around. I think the trick is not to worry about it and go with the flow and eventually things should go back to normal.Of course it's far easier said than done!

Haha, I just read your second post and debating probably isn't the best thing when trying to sleep!:lol2:

All the best,
Dusty

 

[Guest]

i'm in the no-sleep club too

it's ages - weeks - since i had what i would call a decent night for me, and even then it was only about 5hrs. lately i have been lucky if i get one hour's sleep, and that's in bits & pieces. last night i gave in and took half a diazepam. it did work to some extent, i slept in-between waking up lol. think i got around 3.5hrs in all.

might go for a whole tab tonight - i can't function properly like this and i've got a mega busy weekend coming up.

know how you feel Jeff!

by the way, stoma shrinkage is normal in the weeks after surgery... mine is only a baby one now, about 23mm, so i don't get pre-cut appliances.

 

[Pincushion]

((hugs)) Hope your plan of staying up all night and then going to bed earlier the next day works xx

 

[Sue-2009]

Jeff, whenever I have been hospitalized or had surgery...my sleep is messed up for a while. I think it will take time, but it will come...Good luck! Sue

 

[Keona]

Hey Jeff,

Same here - my days are turned around and has been for a long time. I really want a consistent schedule but with classes and class times changing, etc it makes it difficult as I slept whenever I could. I spoke with a psychologist about it and she told me not to pull an all-nighter to sleep the next day because you cant really "catch up" on your sleep and sleep is important - especially since you just got out of hospital. She told me b/c I have been like this for a long time, it will take a long time to change. She suggested to go to bed a half hour earlier every night but set the wake up time you would like (i.e: 5:30 a.m) and get up at that time no matter what. I tried it...it was difficult but she said it would be and how change isn't easy... yadda..yadda....
I am going to try it though... I was also suggested to get one of those guided imagery cd's...the ones that talk you through a walk in the forrest etc. Also, make sure your room is as dark as you can make it.

Good luck my friend - I know it's not easy :hug:

 

[merrywidow]

jeff have a bath and put some lavendar in the bath before you go to bed. it may relax you down a little

 

[Jeff D.]

Thanks for all the help guys. I still am not sleeping any better but I seem to be crashing in the afternoon or in today's case tonight. I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do. I may just wake up at 6 am no matter what and take no naps during the day. I think the biggest problem is that I haven't been able to exercise. Tomorrow I can begin exercising so I think once I can actually build a good exercise regimen then I will sleep much better.

 

[barmybev]

Hey Jeff, could you not ask your doc for a sleeping tablet just to get you back into a proper sleeping pattern. I had to do this as when I came out of a very traumatic hospital stay and, kept having flashbacks which kept me awake all night the doc prescribed me sleepers which I took for two weeks I am now back into a normal sleeping pattern Its just a thought hope you soon get it resolved x

 

[Jeff D.]

They don't want me to take sleeping pills as they can be addictive and in the end won't be near as good for me as exercising.

 

[Astra]

Hiya Jeff

can I join this club too, it's a killer! and I've gotta work too! I'm only working half days for now since being in hospital a few months back, but I crash and hit the deck come 2pm!
A friend of mine has given me a CD of Paul McKenna (the hypnotist) called 'I can make you sleep'
I haven't tried it yet but I have read 67 reviews on Amazon about it, and everyone is raving about it, 5 stars etc
just something different for you to consider Jeff
xxx

 

[Jeff D.]

Of coarse Joan you can join this club. Hypnotism is against my religion so I won't try that. That kind of stuff scares me. My problem with sleeping right now is I'm so afraid that my pouch is going to leak all over again that I just stay awake so that I can empty it before anything happens. It's weird because I won't have much output at all at night then I fall asleep and ten minutes later my bag is overflowing.

 

[DustyKat]

They don't want me to take sleeping pills as they can be addictive

The decision to take sleeping tablets is a personal one and obviously one only you can take. I hope you don't mind if I toss a couple of thoughts around here.

Yes, sleeping pills can have the potential to be addictive but they don't have to be and it all depends on the individual.

If taking a sleeping pill helps you get though this difficult period and puts you back on track then I don't think there is anything wrong with that. Also after all you have been through, sleep and rest is a very important part of the body's healing process so again anything that can help that process has to be beneficial in some way.

Just my two cents. Take care Jeff,
Dusty

Sorry, just read the end of your last post. Could it be due to the fact that you are completely relaxed?

 

[Astra]

Hiya Jeff

sorry bud, Paul McKenna ia a hypnotist, but the CD isn't hypnotism per se
here's a customer review for example

This review is from: I Can Make You Sleep (Book and CD) (Paperback)
I had the original 'Sleep Like A Log' audio cassette; many of the rules are contained in this new approach, such as:
1 Get up earlier,
2 Go to bed when you're tired,
3 Don't watch tv in bed,
4 Get up if you can't sleep,
5 Don't take naps during the day.
However, there are new tips, like not taking caffeine after 2pm; at first I found this was bringing on headaches, but it just goes to show one can become addicted to something without realising it! You are also advised to not eat 3hrs prior to retiring, in order for the digestive process to settle down.
There are also pragmatic approaches to the things that disturb your sleep, ie, worry, noise, light and temperature.
Paul suggests you sort out your worries during the day, so that intrusive thoughts, whether good or bad, don't disturb you at the 'wrong' time.
I wish I could comment on the content of the hypnosis cd, but I've drifted off before hearing much of it!
I haven't awarded the full 5 stars because there are still occasions when I am woken in the night,but I find the exercises for returning to sleep hard to focus on.
Robert Lumsden wrote in the book 23 Steps to Success and Achievement: The Dynamic Plan That Will Change Your Life; 'sleep comes easiest unsought; cultivate indifference to it'.
After all, if you make a big deal of not sleeping you get, as Paul says, 'more of what you focus on'.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
The book "I can make you sleep", 5 April 2009
By Dr. Michael Edmonds (Tavistock, Devon. UK) - See all my reviews


This review is from: I Can Make You Sleep (Book and CD) (Paperback)
I Can Make You Sleep (Book and CD)
I have found this book and accompanying CD very useful. It is well written and offers very good explanations about sleep and its necessity for healthy living. The CD is quietly sensitive and is a useful aid to making you feel relaxed and ready to close your eyes and go to sleep. I am pleased, and very glad, I have this book and CD available to me. I hope other people who have had problems with sleep will benefit from the experience if they acquire this sleeping aid. I can recommend it. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
The CD works a treat for me, 24 Aug 2009
By The Bogie Fan (West Yorkshire, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Can Make You Sleep (Book and CD) (Paperback)
Not read the book, i bought it just for the CD as occasionally i suffer from insomnia and i tend to find that sleeping tablets don't work for me, plus i'd rather not take any pills if i don't have to.

Anyway i bought it and transferred the CD onto my MP3 player in January after 3 sleepless nights, the second night i'd taken a popular herbal sleeping tablet, and the third i'd taken a regular sleeping tablet, all without success.
I listened to it and the first time i found his voice amusing, it both relaxed me and made me giggle a bit.
Anyway i listened again and fell asleep before the end.
I continued to use it for the rest of that week and slept without any problems and then stopped using it but whenever i've suffered insomnia since i've listened to the CD and it's always worked for me so far.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/0593055381/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

there are loads of these reviews on the book and CD, and I'm gonna give it a go,
but Jeff, he doesn't hypnotise you
xxx

 

[Keona]

I understand your hesitation re: sleeping pills. Addiction and dependent are sort of different. I was on them and although I didnt get addicted, I did get dependent i.e: rebound effect. When I stopped I couldnt sleep at all..it was worse. Also, when I did take them, I found I was just as tired even though I did sleep - it was interfering with my REM cycle.
What if you used one of those plastic mattress covers for awhile Jeff? Or is there a way to put a plastic bag over the pouch? Im just throwing out suggestions. Just use an old blanket and old sheets for awhile.. if it leaks then no harm done really.

...I dont really know what I'm talking about but in my head it works