Can't SLEEP!!

[jbeany]

I've never seen anyone at my clinic get Benadryl.   Were they prescribing it for something in particular, or just dosing you to make you sleep?

[George Jung]

I've never seen anyone at my clinic get Benadryl. Were they prescribing it for something in particular, or just dosing you to make you sleep?

Dosing me.

[goofynina]

They had it on my file that if i (or any other patient) requested it, then give it.  They may or may not tell you that you need to have Doctors orders, if they do, tell them to call your doc right then and there. 

[George Jung]

So Susie, basically I can have it no questions asked, some days I could really use it, ya know?  It all depends on what part of the rollercoaster I am on.  I used to take OTC sleepaids on days I needed to but I don't like the way I felt after four hours and having to get up and finish the day.

[angela515]

I'm with you Susie, thats the one thing I miss about hemo... IV Benadryl... woooohooo.... I loved that stuff... I used to hook up, tell the nrse I needed the Benadryl, and she would shoot it in.. and here comes the warm tingly feeling and nighty night me...

[jbeany]

Would you still wake up if your bp crashed?  I'm always afraid to take anything to help me sleep in case I sleep though a low blood sugar episode, anyhow.  The only time I've managed to sleep at the center was when I went there straight from surgery and was still groggy from the anesthetic.  I wasn't driving myself home then, either, and that might be a problem the rest of the time.

[George Jung]

I believe that I would be able to wake up, for whatever the reason, however I do not consider that to be a big factor since I have not had any issues with blood pressure or crashing.  There was a time when I would get cramps and feel completely wiped out toward the end of treatment but that was before I took control of my dry weight and corrected it.  Since then, I walk out of the center feeling fine, I have not gone in more than 2.8 kilos over and sometime after the weekend I am less that 1 kilo over.  Hooty whoooo!!! 

[angela515]

Hooty whoooo!!! 

Wow, ain't heard that song in forever.....

[goofynina]

So Susie, basically I can have it no questions asked, some days I could really use it, ya know?  It all depends on what part of the rollercoaster I am on.  I used to take OTC sleepaids on days I needed to but I don't like the way I felt after four hours and having to get up and finish the day.

You should George,  i (or any other patient in my center) had a problem when asked if they can have it.  I was on Hemo for 3 years and never had a problem waking up if i didnt feel right.  What's it going to hurt to ask if you can have it?  I think the nurses liked giving it to us cuz it would knock us out and they wouldnt have to deal with us for a good 3 hours   Please let me know what they say, and as far as how i felt when i got off, i had the normal washed out feeling but i did feel a little reste Good luck 

[kitkatz]

We sound like a bunch of Benadryl druggies on here! Hehehehe! 
I need the Benadryl just to sit in the damned chair for four hours. It takes the edge off of my day. Also it gets me to relax enough that I do not mind sitting for four hours in an ice cold room and I can sleep for about an hour and a half.  I break out my hot packs and put them under the blanket with me, get the benadryl and I am okay.

[thegrammalady]

i tried some stretching exercises last nite before bed and slept better than i have in a long time.

[Sluff]

30 mg Amitriptyline 6 sleeping pills turn the phone off. Maybe I could get 4 or 5 hours. I know that's not the best way but it's the only way.

[George Jung]

sluff, what makes that the only way?  Is it the only thing that works?  Can you not get a prescription sleep aide?  What am I missing here?

[G-Ma]

(Screaming into the night)..........has anyone come up with a sleep aid that works since this thread was started?  Ambien gives me 2 hours sleep, Rozarium (sp) does not work at all, Sonata does not work at all, Lunesta gave me 4 hours the first night and 2 hours since that.  Last night I took Lunesta at 11, woke at 12:30, cleaned etc until 4, took 1/2 Ambien and slept until 6:30.........I know the Dr would scream but I am so very tired, I just don't know what else to do. I do not nap during the day, sure wish I could.  Any suggestions?
Ann

[paddbear0000]

I have no suggestions for you as I'm having a horrible time with sleep myself.  I didn't sleep Tuesday or Wednesday night at all! I was awake for 63 1/2 hours straight!!! I finally slept Thursday night, but only for about 8 hours. I would have thought I would have slept longer then that. Now, once again, I'm wide awake. It is now 4:50am!!! I have Ambien, but it either doesn't work, or it works too well. I am groggy the next day, and wake up with a horrendous headache. I've tried Benadryl, which works well, but it gives me horrible restless legs lately.

I'm not even on dialysis yet. Probably soon, but not yet. Are sleep problems common as your kidney function percentage reaches the teens?

[G-Ma]

Oh Paddbear, I'm so sorry...now I feel like I should enjoy my 2 hours.  Boy I wish someone would come up with an answer for us.  This has been since I started dialysis.  Before that I slept all day every day.  I don't get groggy from Ambien and have to avoid Benadryl if possible due to my Glaucoma.  Good Luck to you and hope you get some sleep too.
Ann

[monrein]

Sleep problems are common.  I am up in the middle of the night quite regularly.

[nursewratchet]

Im not even in renal failure and I never sleep through the night.  I think insomnia is now chronic problem for most everyone.  None of the sleep aids work for me.  I am awake most of the night thinking about what has to be done, what I didn't do, the next day, think about everything.  My daughter calls it "Mental Maturbation" cause I can't leave my mind alone at night.  That and the restless legs.

[monrein]

You wouldn't happen to be peri-menopausal or menopausal would you nursewratchet?  That doesn't help at all with the insomnia.  I used to sleep like a baby even on dialysis, the last time around.

[kitkatz]

I apologize, but I sleep like a rock. Even at dialysis over night I am getting at least five hours, however some nights I m awake a lot due to noise in the center. They give me the Tylenol /Benadryl cocktail and out I go.

[nursewratchet]

Monrein,  I have been premenopausal for years, according to lab tests.  I just (October) had a total (ovaries and all) hysterectomy, due to "6 or 7" tumors in the uterus.    Dr. never mentioned the sleep problem... Where is my patient education???  Will this taper off, I'm m now on hormones, though I don't want to take them.  Sorry, I'm now officially off topic!

[Jess21]

In the hospital they used to give me Benedryl and I'd sleep thru plasmaferesis.  The nurse said other nurses take it to sleep..

[monrein]

I don't take hormones but I'm 5 years the other side of menopause and still get the hot flashes and the insomnia.  The thing that works best for me (and some of my non-renal friends) is to limit caffeine, and get regular exercise.   The hormones usually take care of both these symptoms but sometimes when you stop them, the symptoms return with a vengeance.

I don't take anything to sleep and I never sleep at D because then I really get messed up.

Good luck.  Sorry off-topic.

[RightSide]

Here are two tips that I don't think have been mentioned yet:

Protein-rich meals are stimulating for many hours, and make it harder to fall asleep.  Whereas the "lift" from carbohydrates runs out much quicker.  And large meals give you more calories, more energy, which you need when you want to stay awake.  So I have interchanged my breakfast and dinner:  My protein-rich, largest meal is breakfast--such as a nice portion of chicken with all the trimmings.  And my dinner consists of maybe a small rice dish and some fruit.   I find that such a little, relatively protein-poor dinner helps to slow down my metabolism and let me fall asleep.

Another psychological trick that I find works, is this:  If you try to force yourself to go to sleep, you just get upset even more and make it even harder to go to sleep.   Instead, try to force yourself to stay awake as long as you can.  I mean seriously.  When your eyelids start to droop, force them to open and try to keep them open.  Your contrarian body will try to do the opposite and you'll be sleeping.  Remember, it's often easier to doze off when you do NOT want to:  At work, driving a car, etc.  Try to do that at home too--pretend you do NOT want to fall asleep and see what happens.

[paddbear0000]

My problem is that my mind races when I lay and bed and can't sleep.