SLEEP ISSUES

[woodsman]

Hi all, I am having such a problem sleeping more than 2 hrs continuously. can this be attributed to my IGA and being at 10% kidney function??. I  am getting little to no sleep and now it is affecting my daily life.  SAny ideas on how to get just 5 hrs would be nice..

Thanks Jim

[Ang]

check out sleep apnea as a likely cause i been putting up with about 4-5 hours broken sleep for the last decade or 2.

did'nt help that i did shift work for 15 years and that was probably near 13 years ago
good luck

[Deanne]

I used to sleep great until my kidney function started to decrease. I think I started having similar problems at around 25%. I saw on "Food Detectives" that chamomile tea is really supposed to help, so I tried it, and I think it does make a difference. I drink a cup about a half hour before bed every night now. Maybe it's just psychological, but whatever works is fine with me.

[Stoday]

My sleep became disrupted about a year pre-dialysis. Still is.

I'm typing this at 3.55 a.m. here in the UK. 

[Gandalf]

Wow, had to smile when I read this because nights have passed recently as I have tossed and turned and stared fixedly at that clock...  Since my kidneys began their slow decline, my ability to sleep has receded!  I wish there was an answer, because I agree, it is no fun existing on just a few hours sleep a night, and trying to sustain a hectic work and other life!  Any suggestions indeed would be welcome.  BTW Stoday - I have huge empathy - I was up at 03:00 here in South Africa! 

[Stoday]

Sorry, Gandalf, I've no suggestions.

I've learnt to live with it, so I sleep when I need to and do something when I don't. But I have the advantage of being 70 and (almost) retired, so I don't have work that is affected.

I have noticed an inverse correlation with the quality of dialysis. When I started dialysis, I stayed awake all night afterwards (I'm on the twilight slot). That post dialysis sleeplessness waned over some months but last week my treatment duration was increased by half an hour. That resulted in post dialysis wakefulness just like I had when I first started.

[Brightsky69]

I totally feel your pain. When i was on dialysis (PD) I couldn't sleep at all......made gettying up for work hard.
I use to listen to relaxtion tapes in bed. Also my doc perscribed all kinds of sleep medications for me. Nothing really helped out 100%
I know it totally sucks. Hang in there and try to find something that works for you.

[paul.karen]

Oh yes it is no fun not being able to sleep, especially when one has to work.
I have tried alot of things.  Lastly my Neph perscribed me Atavin.  It isnt really for sleeping more of a stress drug.  But one of the side effects is tiredness (finally a side effect i dont mind)  I have been using it nightly for the last several months and it works for me.  Sadly i still wake up at least twice a night for the restroom but unlike in the past i can go right back to sleep, although i toss and turn all night so it isnt a solid sleep but better then it has been for a long time.

That or i can get a good nights sleep if im drinking enough to passout.   But i rarely drink..

[tyefly]

glad to hear that others have sleeping problems.....  thought it was just me ..... 

[nog]

Hi all, I am having such a problem sleeping more than 2 hrs continuously. can this be attributed to my IGA and being at 10% kidney function??. I  am getting little to no sleep and now it is affecting my daily life.  SAny ideas on how to get just 5 hrs would be nice..

Thanks Jim

There are plenty of natural ways to help sleep, like getting low amounts of light in the evening, listening to soft music, eating well during the day, etc. I'm sure many lists like these can be found thru Google.

other ways that help would be OTC medications, like a melatonin supplement or benadryl, or even an Rx antihistamine like hydroxyzine, but check with your neph first!!!!

and of course there is always the LAST RESORT method of using an Rx like a benzo/z-drug (valium, xanax, ambien, etc.) but I could notttt recommend it with a right mind, and it would definitely be lent to discussing with your neph.

[Cordelia]

Hi Jim,

Are you currently on dialysis? Sleep improved for me once I got on dialysis, esp onto the day shift for dialysis. I used to be on the evening shift from 6-10 pm and had to drive over a half hour to get home. By the time I'd get home it would pretty well be 11 pm and then I'd be so hungry I'd eat a full meal and then try to go to bed by midnight and I was wired til 2/3 am in the morning. It was awful. I had NO life for the first 3 months on dialysis! 

I'd see my kids off to school by 8:30 am and then go back to bed til almost lunch time. Family lliving with me would get on my case about it and I felt guilty. Even ativan wouldn't help me sleep really plus I had so much shoulder pain i was taking percusset and a lot of times, it didn't help the pain.

I guess is what I'm trying to say is, in a nutshell, once I changed shifts for dialysis, I slept like a baby after switching to days. Perhaps its all you need too as that helped me tremendously!

[Stoday]

I used to be on the evening shift from 6-10 pm and had to drive over a half hour to get home. By the time I'd get home it would pretty well be 11 pm and then I'd be so hungry I'd eat a full meal and then try to go to bed by midnight and I was wired til 2/3 am in the morning. It was awful. I had NO life for the first 3 months on dialysis! 

I'm on the same shift (we call it the twilight shift) and my experience of needing a meal and sleeplessness are exactly the same.

However I never thought it "awful". I'm happy to live with it and I prefer the twilight shift to morning or afternoon shifts.

I think this shows that the ability to choose the shift that fits in with your lifestyle is very important and can make a big difference to your perception of the impact of dialysis.

[galvo]

I've just spent a night hooked up in the Sleep Disorders Unit of Big Hospital, and, yep, I have sleep apnea. I apparently stopped breathing 80 times during the night. When all the results are in, the SDO will begin treatment.

A very interesting fact - over 130 dialysis patients have been tested and 100% have been found to have sleep apnea. Research continues as to why.

[Brightsky69]

I can take Benedryl all day long and it won't make me the least bit sleepy. That includes night time cold medicines.

[Cordelia]

That's an interesting fact about dialysis patients, I did not know that.

[woodsman]

Hi all, I work 2nd shift and i am not on dialysis yet and hope not to be for some time. I work from 3;30pm until midnight monday - friday. I drive 57 miles each way so i am driving for 2= hrs a day also. I do like my 2nd shift and don't want to trade it for anything. I just want somedam sleep!!!   

[kristina]

I took two actions to help myself get a good nights sleep,
but please take into account I am pre-Dialysis, my kidneys function 10-12%.

Firstly, I found that Lime (half a freshly squeezed Lime in a glass of water)
has a beneficial effect on calming my body particularly my kidney-region.
Secondly, I make sure I have had all my daily liquid-intake by about 6pm.

These two things have helped me get through the night much better
than when I didn’t have the Lime-juice
and when I was still finishing my liquid-intake late in the evening.

Good luck from Kristina.

[paris]

Woodsman, I understand exactly where you are coming from.  Nothing helped me to sleep.  I tried every trick in the book -- music, low lights, hot baths, teas, lavender -- any and every thing.  Used Ambien - still no sleep.  Okarol told me after my transplant that she knew I was finally sleeping because I wasn't posting at 2 or 3 am anymore!    I wish I had a magic answer for you.   It is miserable to not beable to sleep.   

[Sax-O-Trix]

I am functioning somewhere between 10 and 15% pre-dialysis and don't sleep for more than two hours at a time at night.   I work full-time from 7:30am to 3:30pm and would really like to get more than a couple hours of sleep at a time.  I wake up every two hours or so to pee.  It drives me nuts.  I don't dare take a sleeping pill because I am sure I would wet the bed if I couldn't wake up to go!  Sorry I don't have any remedies for you to try...   

[Stoday]

I've just spent a night hooked up in the Sleep Disorders Unit of Big Hospital, and, yep, I have sleep apnea.

That's 'cos you're so 'kin fat Galvo. 

I apparently stopped breathing 80 times during the night.

Nothing to worry about. Time to get worried is when you only restart breathing 79 times...

A very interesting fact - over 130 dialysis patients have been tested and 100% have been found to have sleep apnea. Research continues as to why.

Research? My guess is that only those dialysis patients who had a sleep apnea problem were tested.

[galvo]

Stoday, you old coot,

1. Am now 77kgs, having reduced from 113.5kgs.

2. Ha!

3. Research into sleep apnea and dialysis is at present also being undertaken in the UK and USA. Watch this space!

[sammiejo23]

I had no idea not sleeping was so common, I thought my sleeping pattern was just incredibly screwed up! I haven't slept well for a long time, especially nights before D; thinking maybe it was just nerves or something, but maybe I was wrong. How interesting...

[cattlekid]

I am happy to hear that I am not alone with the sleeping problems!  I sleep fine from 11 PM to 4 AM, then toss and turn from 4 AM on.  I also have sleep apnea and use a CPAP machine.  I've found that I toss and turn for about an hour to an hour and a half, then I can get back to sleep.  I figure I probably get about six good hours a night, which is okay right now.