Can't sleep HELP :(

Lisaa

For the past couple of weeks now ive been finding that i seem to be getting less and less sleep, despite being insanley tired. I seem unable to to fall asleep untill the very wee hours of the morning, normally around 4 or 5, and then i wake up anywhere from 7.45 to 11. Last wed around 9pm i was dead tired, i thought brilliant it must have all caught up with me finally i'll get a good rest and went to bed, to my horror i woke up 2 hours later bright as a button. A right kick in the teeth that was.

Ive phoned my rhumy nurse and left a message so hopefully she will get back to me soon with whether it had anything to do with my meds. Was just wondering if anyone had any tips or ideas i could try to help me drift off. Im willing to try anything now it would be much appreciated Lisa xxx

Poppyg1rl

Hi Lisa,
It's something a lot of us 'Arfur' sufferers get unfortunately, pain, the sheer exhaustion the condition can cause make our sleep patterns a bit squiffy.
Also there's the worry of coping with the condition and sometimes the meds themselves can upset sleep.
Can I ask what meds you are on? if you are at all worried you could ask your GP for a sleeping aid? You could also give the helplines a call they may well gave some techniques or resources that can point you in the right direction.
Hope that's helps?
Thinking of you Poppy X

Lisaa

Hi Poppy

Yeh i considered making an appointment with my GP, but they are a bit useless so im waiting to hear back from my rhumy nurse first.

Yeh im on a whole bunch of things, methotrexate 25mg, folic acid, Arthrotec, hydroxychloroquine, sulfasalazine (up to 4 a day but have to get up to 6), co-codamol 30/500, omeprazole and the pill. Reluctant to start taking yet another thing to try and help me sleep, tho if i have to then i will.

A wee while back when i had similar problems but not quite as bad my rhumy nurse had said maybe a very small dose of anti depressant might help. Not so keen on that idea since im not depressed

Lisa x

Poppyg1rl

Hi Lisa,
Could be that Rheumy nurse meant something like amtyptriline (sorry spelling dreadful at mo!) which in the doses arthritis sufferers take is good at easing sleep as it helps numb nerve endings (that's how my Rheumy described it) in large doses it is an anti depressant but as I say not in the amounts prescribed for arthritis. Bit like Methotrexate really, large doses are used for cancer treatment as chemo but obviously us arfur sufferers take a much reduced dose.
I'm on meth, Sulfa, folic acid, tramadol and next week start anti TNF Humira.
And you know what? I don't really mind what I take at the moment, this flare up is bad and I would try anything to help control my PA.
Hope your Rheumy nurse calls back soon and can advise, hugs Poppy X

frogmorton

Hi Lisa

Lack of sleep is VILE!!!

how can you cope all day when you are exhausted? Glad you posted what meds you are on incase you were on oral steoids as tehy have been known to affect some people's sleep.

I take amitriptiline at night 25mg (fairly low doSE) and it seems to do the job

Love

Toni xx

Lisaa

Hiya

My rhumy nurse just phoned and said it shouldnt be anything to do with my meds and ive made an appointment with my useless GP who couldnt give me an appointment till thursday :O another 5 sleepless nights away.

Thanks poppy, that was a really useful way of explaining. I had never thought it might be similar to the way we use methortexate. I feel much less apprehensive about maybe having to try it now Sorry to hear about your flare up, hope your not in too much pain today and fingers crossed the anti TNF meds will work. I have an appointment to see my consultant in 2 weeks i think they are considering putting me on and anti TNF too. We shall see anyway.

Toni lack of sleep is vile and im not really copeing without it. Thankfully i have the week off work which has been a godsend otherwise i dont know how i would of coped.Back to real life on monday tho, so that will be interesting to say the least. Off out for lunch with the girls today so that should hopefully cheer me up a bit. Im a bit of a moody cow when i dont get enough sleep :P my poor family!

Hope your both doing well
Lisa x

suzygirl

Hi, lack of sleep is just awful. I also take low dose amitryptiline. My muscles go into spasm and the pain keeps me awake. The amitryptyline is a lifesaver, I get sleep and less pain. I take 10mg although I can go up to 30mg if I want.

I have inflammatory arthritis and take steroids, sulfa, plaquenil etc etc etc

I hate taking so many meds, but sleep is essential to being able to cope with the day and its pain.

Hope you can find something to help you.

spacey

I too have found amitriptylline so helpful to me with sleeping I couldnt be with out it. I can still wake up feeling as physically exhausted as before I went off 8 hours previous but my brain seams to be able to maintain a degree of basic function!! Hubby found the salt cellar in the fridge recently which is a common occurance for me but I was a bit dappy before this all started hence the reason he has always called me spacey x

frogmorton

Hope lunch is fun Lisa

might be just what you need.

Looks like a few of us favour amitrip......? maybe give it some thought?

Having an ok day thanks

Love

Toni xx

julie47

Hi Lisa

Hope you enjoy the lunch with your friends.

And that if you go down the amytrip path I hope that it helps.

Take care
Juliepf x

rugbygirl

I too have issues with sleeping and I think when I speak to the consultant on Tuesday I might see what he says.

I thought a lot of it was to do with my underactive thyroid but I am not so sure now. I am on more than double the dose of thyroxine i was this time last year and last year it was working well

Having said that I can fall asleep during the day and have a good couple of hours sleep on the sofa feeling great when I wake up. Then when I go to bed I struggle to fall asleep until the early hours. Once I have fallen asleep I am ok until the people in the upstairs flat decide that they are going to do their Michael Flattley routine for nearly 3 hours. I wouldnt mind so much if I could get some sleep as they start about 8.30am. Instead I feel like punching someone or something because of the lack of sleep. It has got worse over the past couple of weeks because I complained about their dog continually howling during the day. They both work so the poor dog is left all day and howls the place down disturbing my dog, which in turns disturbs me. I mentioned it to the landlord and they said they would write to them. Since then the dog has stopped howling but the chorus of jack hammers followed by michael flattley has got worse.

Why do people think that they have the right to disturb others to that extent? I dont want to complain again to the landlord as I am concerned that if I complain anymore things are going to get worse.

Is it just me or do others feel more likely to snap at someone because of this lack of sleep/ arthur combo

Lisaa

Hi everyone

Lunch was great thanks. Hopefully the doctor will be able to sort my sleeping problems with amitritylline or something else

I definatly do snap more at people when ive not had enough sleep, especially my little sister.

Sorry to hear about your noisey neighbours, and i can definatly empathize with you there. Might be worth a polite note through their door explaining that you arent sleeping very well, as they might not be aware that they are being so noisey. Dont write it in the heat of the moment tho, and preferably after a good sleep otherwise you run the risk of snapping and making things worse :P
Im pretty sure my upstairs neighbours wear led boots, either that or they have a pet elephant up there however by far the worst thing is being able to hear them having sex :shock:

Hope your consultant sorts something out for you
Lisa xxx

traluvie

Hi Lisa, i used to have real trouble sleeping constantly waking in the night, was so tired , drained and moody lol..
I take 20mg Amtriptyline.. although i still get to sleep between 12-2 i do manage to sleep undisturbed till about 7, which is alot better than i was..
Hopefully your doc will sort something out for you, xx
In the meantime have you tried things like hot milk, warm bubble bath and soft music while you are drifting off?? those some of the things i have done before.. some people may have some other ideas to help you till you see the doc..

Lisaa

Hi Tracy,
Thanks for the tips, i'll give the bubble bath a try tonight. I acctually managed to get an hours sleep earlier on by turning on bbc news channel, once id herd the headlines once i managed to tune out and just had the continious noise in the background and i drifted off.
Lisa xx

hileena111

Hi...I think most of us suffer from that and like Toni says it is vile.....you cant cope the next day.....I had a THR and for months was being wakened with pain in the middle of the night {about 4 times} I cant take amitrip so eventually diclofenic slow release seemed to help...still not great but a lot better

Love
Hileena