Another sleepless night

Hi rayboy 

sorry I’ve no advice but I know what you mean.  It was my daughters 15th birthday yesterday and the wondering of if I’ll be here to see her next one has left me with a sleepless night (again).

take care.x

Hi

Oh yes. That’s very familiar. Sleepless by night. Gritty eyes by day. I am often on the community in the wee small hours as are many others. It’s such a common experience that the breast group has a long running thread called “awake” where they gee each other up through insomnia.

I was up last night with pain from my kidney but it was so bad I couldn’t focus on reading, let alone typing. My GP is in the process of moving me from slow release morphine tablets to patches and we haven’t got the dose right yet. I have some OxyContin tablets for break through pain but they can take a while to work. 

You asked for advice. I think the thing that’s helped me most is meditating. The headspace app has some really helpful stuff on anxiety and sleep. I find the sleep stuff useful during bouts of sleeplessness but actually it’s more helpful overall if I spend 10 to 15 minutes meditating as a regular part of my early morning routine. It doesn’t necessarily stop the worries and doubts but it helps me stop focusing on them. I’m better able to notice them and move on when I meditate regularly. 

Xx

Thanks Daloni

I have downloaded the Headspace App and will give it a try.

I guess the main difficulty is everything seems more difficult in the early hours.  Thanks for your response.

Best wishes

Hi rayboy, sorry you are still having sleep issues, the early hours used to be called The hour of the wolf.....I think that is a good description.

i mentioned problems sleeping to my palliative nurse and she produced sleeping tablets.  I’ve not used them but just having them there beside the bed has offered reassurance in an odd way.  I’ve found other silly things help...the animal alphabet (a is for aardvark etc) helped me switch my brain off when I was very anxious before surgery, and I also find thinking of all my friends and family who have been amazing....I think of presents I would like to buy them to say thank you and tell them I love them....sometimes it takes ages to think of a good present and then I fall asleep! I think this is a specific trick for me, but there might be something similar for you?

also it might be worth mentioning the itching to the doc just in case, it might be treatment related and something that can be eased.

Sending you my very best wishes xxx

Hi Rayboy

Like you, I am troubled with difficulty in sleeping, mine is caused by pain from various places due mostly to arthritis. 

Strangely enough I am attending a 10 week course that my GP suggested which deals with various ways to deal with the pain caused by arthritis, and this week it was breathing properly and also meditation. We practiced some meditation and because I had been awake that morning from 2.30am, I dozed off for a while (I wasn't the only one!). I was ready for bed pretty soon after dinner that night, I was sitting, constantly having periods of dozing and the sensible thing was to get into bed.

Tvman 

Thanks Roobarb.  I guess I need to work on distractions. I’ll certainly try to develop my own strategies. 

Thanks Tyman  looks like meditation can be a powerful tool. I guess it is about managing to shift focus from pain or in my case itching I’ll certainly give it a try. 

Hi daloni

I was put on fentanyl patch 50  they worked much better than morphine patches  my gp said we had to start on lowest morphine patch and work upwards it was a long process but got there in the end along with oxycodone fast acting  liquid  medicine and gabapentin I'm not pain free but it is now bearable 

Kym 

xxx

Thanks . That’s helpful to know. We will get there but it’s tricky in the meantime

xx