More weary than usual !

[KICKSTART]

I know all these things go with kidney failure , but for the past few days i have been constantly sick and not sleeping well at all , leaving me feeling more rundown than usual. I have been given some sleeping tablets from my gp , but they dont really work and if i increase the dose they leave me feeling like a zombie the next day! I dont really want medication suggestions, just some pick-me-up suggestions till it passes. Because im being sick , i dont feel like eating or cooking much , what will tempt me ? The sleep thing seems to go on a cycle ..several days of not sleeping , then it kicks in and i can sleep for a few days. I'm just fed up with feeling weary right now! What helps you ?

[paris]

Kickstart, I wish I had an answer for you. I am in the same cycle. I get about 3 nights sleep in a row and then a few days of complete misery.  Last night, I went to bed at 11 got back up at 1, still hadn't fallen asleep, laid on the couch with the tv on and finally went back to bed at 5:30. Slept for 3 hours and then the day started. I had taken an Ambien, tried relaxation breathing before going to bed----and still couldn't sleep.  Everyone keeps saying how important sleep is.  So someone tell me HOW to get to sleep and stay asleep!  Let me know if you find anything that helps. This cycle is ridiculous!  Sending good sleep vibes your way

[MyssAnne]

If you find out what works, let us know! Presently I take tylenol pm/benadryl to help me fall asleep. It takes about 2 hours for it to kick in. I don't have any problem sleeping ONCE I get there. It's the getting there that's hard to do!

[stauffenberg]

Toxification of the nervous system by incomplete clearing of substances that should be removed in the urine damages the nervous system of renal patients, which is what keeps them from being able to sleep normally.  Taking sleeping pills can make things worse, since the presence of renal disease means that the chemicals in the sleeping pills are not cleared from the body as quickly as they should be, so daytime sleepiness is the consequence.  I found I was getting constantly more somnolent as the years on dialysis went by, until after about eight years, I realized I was never fully alert.  Only when I got my transplant did I realize within seconds of waking up in the recovery room that I was truly awake for the first time since renal failure set in.

[Sunny]

I know how you're feeling. I seem to be feeling pretty much the same way right now. I think it could be because my body is trying to fend off getting my teenage daughter's cold. Sometimes I take Ambien for sleep, but it only lasts about for hours for me. Also, like you say, any meds I  take seem to remain in my body for a while so if I take Ambien, I feel queezy the next day.Hopefully this tired feeling you have is very temporary and in a few days you'll be back on track.

[kitkatz]

Chamomile tea helps me to relax.  Chicken soup and crackers. 

[Sluff]

I think we are all in the same boat when it comes to sleeplessness. I hope you find something that works. I get so wore down sometimes I get sore throats from tiredness. I love it when people just tell me to get some rest. 

[thegrammalady]

i've just given up. i haven't slept all night in 2 years. if i have something that has to be done during the day i can manage to stay awake, otherwise it's a nap for a couple of hours every afternoon. and when i wake up at night, if i have trouble going back to sleep i just get up. i read or get on the computer. most nights i go to bed around midnight, am up at 2 or 3, back to bed around 5:30, up by 7 or 8. interesting life....... not. occasional when i manage to sleep most of the night, i feel like i hit the lottery.

[KICKSTART]

Im sorry you guys are going through the same thing , but like me , im sure none of you want to spend your days drugged up to the eyeballs, especially when the sleeping tablets dont work that well in the first place! How many of you are sick alot as well? What tempts you to eat ? When im like this , i just cant be bothered , which combined with lack of sleep doesnt really help.

[karen547]

I am a light sleeper but it seems that since dialysis I wake up more in the middle of the night. I won't take ambien since the side effects list is ridiculous, but occasionally I do take a percocet- i know that is not good to do but it helps me relax and when I sleep from that I am out like a light!

[George Jung]

Since starting at the YMCA about six weeks ago my sleep pattern has significantly improved.  It has been far better than any of the meds I have tried.  In many way my new routine has brought "normalcy" back into my life, appetite, sleep, mood, mental strength have all improved several times over.

[KT0930]

I was having a lot of problems with nausea/vomiting & no appetite for a couple of months, and every time I mentioned it to my dietician, she would say, "well, let's wait and see if it passes". I finally got tired of it (because I LOVE food), and mentioned it to my neph. He said that Sensipar can cause these side effects, so he told me to stop taking it (my PTH had gotten down to below normal levels anyway). That was two weeks ago, and I haven't had any nausea/vomiting since about three days after stopping the med. I don't know if you're on Sensipar, or if there are other alternatives if you really need to be on it, but it's worked for me.

[KICKSTART]

No sorry not on Sensipar. Its always a temporary thing being sick , like the sleeping , it goes on a cycle. Its just while i am being sick i dont eat or feel like eating , which doesnt help matters much . Im not tempted to eat when i feel like this .

[paris]

Well, here it is 1:45 am, and I am up again. Went to bed at 11. Took ambien, did my deep breathing exercises and by 1 still wasn't asleep.  So, now I will just do quiet things and hopefully will finally collapse.   I had a good day and got several things accomplished, including painting the bathroom.  Did not nap, ate fairly well---nothing makes a difference.  It is just the roll of the dice---some nights I sleep; and then there are nights like tonight.  Does it every end?

[zekewolfy]

Hi  KickStart, I am so sorry to hear you can't sleep. Nothing in my opinion is worse than having this damn curse of a disease and not being able to rest.
I have been sleeping better now that I do home dialysis on NXSTAGE, but it was a short lived victory as I seem to have to Colon Infection that never goes away, no matter hoe many antibiotics I get. I belieive I am in the re-infection stage now,and can't sleep either. Probbly have to get that part of the colon taken out as this is killing my life. I just went back to work on Tuesday and it was enjoyable. Sorry i have not been here for the you folks for support..fought off Gullian Barre, Diabetes, Diverticulitis,, and Kidney Failure all at once.

[Ken Shelmerdine]

I can't figure out if my sleep problems are physical or all in my mind, or both. For the 5 nights I do cyler dialysis I sleep in the spare bedroom because my wife Rita is a light sleeper and cannot sleep with  the sound of the machine going. It usually takes me about 2 hours to get to sleep. If I wake up I can get straight back off again no problem, it's just the initial getting off to sleep which is the problem. But on Friday and Saturday nights when I don't do any dialysis and sleep in our double bed together I get to sleep in about half an hour.

All this by the way is only if my restless leggs don't start which they havn't for about 3 months now (touch wood) in which case I'd be up half the night irrespective of which bed I was in. 

Also on this post I like to ask the question, Is there anyone on this forum on dialysis who doesn't have any sleep problems?

[Laurie]

Also on this post I like to ask the question, Is there anyone on this forum on dialysis who doesn't have any sleep problems?

I guess I am one of the lucky ones. I don't have any sleep problems. When I go to bed at night, I usually fall asleep within 10 minutes and don't wake up until my alarm goes off. I am currently on CAPD. I tried the cycler for about a week and had problems sleeping. I would lay in bed for hours before finally falling asleep.

[George Jung]

Also on this post I like to ask the question, Is there anyone on this forum on dialysis who doesn't have any sleep problems?

I have been turning off the computer and t.v. around 12 or 1am (sometimes a bit later) and fall asleep pretty easily.  The room is totally dark, quiet and comfortable, I snuggle with a pillow and blanket, thinking of the days happenings (if any) and off to sleep I go.  If I wake up it is to use the bathroom and I hardly open my eyes to do that then I go right back to sleep until my first alarm goes off at 7:30.  Once I get that alarm off I don't have to worry about hearing another one for an hour @8:30, which is when I realize it is time to get out of bed and get going.  I don't have to be at dialysis until 11am and when I work I don't need to be there until 9:30 (it takes me 5 min to get there).  I was having some disturbing dreams for a while but they have subsided and are now quite pleasent (I won't get into any details  ).  Goodnight.

[Ken Shelmerdine]

Also on this post I like to ask the question, Is there anyone on this forum on dialysis who doesn't have any sleep problems?

I guess the fact that only two people on the forum say they sleep OK answers the question.

[donnia]

I take ambien and it does the trick for me... ticks hubby off tho cause it makes me snore 

[charee]

Also on this post I like to ask the question, Is there anyone on this forum on dialysis who doesn't have any sleep problems?

I guess the fact that only two people on the forum say they sleep OK answers the question.

me i sleep like a baby

[okarol]

I am not on dialysis but I was having lots of restlessness - I would wake after about 4 hours of sleep and couldn't go back to sleep. My experience may not pertain but I figured I would mention it anyway. Turns out it was my hormones - they have me on a very low estrogen patch - and I sleep great now.

Jenna still has weird sleep patterns even 10 months after her transplant, but it doesn't seem quite so erratic.
Not sure if you saw this thread a few months ago so here it is again http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=4015.0

[Ken Shelmerdine]

Dare I say it, I've been sleeping like a baby for the last two weeks. Maybe it's the colder nights. I dunno. Damn! I'm tempting providence here!

[KR Cincy]

I'm not sleeping well either...
wonder if it's my estrogen...

[kitkatz]

Let it load and play. This is hysterical.

http://www.bluemountain.com/display.pd?prodnum=3089968&path=34983