Not often I am awake at this time of night. Until last week I was sleeping for Britain - at least 12hrs a day. Oncologist has prescribed Gabapentin for mega joint pains and boy is it messing up my sleep.
I’ve tried mixing it with alcohol which the leaflet said would make me drowsy. Eh no! Two glasses of wine feels like I’ve had 6 and I’m ready to party!! If you happen to see a bald(ish) single breasted, middle aged woman looking for a party down your way please say hi. Wouldn’t advise inviting her in though!!!
Any advice on how to get back to earth would be much appreciated. And girls - note to self - mixing wine with Gabapentin is a no no.
i dont have IBC nor am i on gabapentin… just had my last chemo but do def have drug induced insomnia due to the steriods i presume.
my last CMF was on thurs fell asleep at 9.30am on fri morning up at 12.30 felt sleepy about 11pm but didnt fall asleep until 7am on sat am and up at 12md and as you can see im still awake and its 6.30am on sun morning.
starting to get a bit tired now mind you… and i know it will get improve over the next few days.
but i do hope you dont have any long term insomnia problems… but if things dont improve its prob best to speak to your doc.
I hope you did eventually manage to get some sleep. I finally dropped off about 2.30 and didn’t wake until 10.00. At least I don’t have anywhere I need to be this morning. Next week I have to be up early to get to hosp for my daily rads. That’ll be a challenge if I can’t sleep!
I’ve been there as the steroids bunny too. My GP prescribed low dose Temazepam while I was on steroids and it worked well. Can’t take it with Gabapentin unfortunately. The joint pain is a hangover from the chemo so I’m hoping it will improve enough to come off the pills soon.
I am wondering if I shall ever sleep again the way I used to - all night without waking.
Since diagnosis and then coming off HRT (both in August), I sleep in bouts of about 2 hours. It is really getting me down. I am so tired and I know it depresses my mood. Now I am on Femara and about to start rads in December.
I asked my GP for help with sleep because the night sweats were waking me up every 2hrs. Temazepam really helped at the time. You might only need to take them for a few nights to restore your sleep pattern.
Towards the end of my treatment my body was so tired I slept for 12hrs a day. Some people find the rads make them sleepy too. I hope you get your sleep back soon. It can really get you down if you’re overtired.
Yep. First blast today. Need to have 20 so will finish on 21st December. Hoping to get dressed up for a grand ball on Hogmanay so I’m praying that my skin isn’t too bad by then.
Hello to all you reluctant night-owls,Im on Gabapentin(Lyrico),Letrozole(Femara),and most days at least 3 Co-Codamol and for the past year since dx,have taken Zopiclone sleeping tablets. My G.P. was slightly reluctant to give me my 13th script for the abovementioned sleeping pills ,which are sent from God incidentally, so I get myself off to sleep with the aid of a tesco herbal sleeping pill. The effect wears off between 1.30am and 3am,I then take just half a zopiclone,result is quite a good nights sleep. I agree with everyone who says rads make you tired but,in my case,not “sleepy” tired,needed s.pills as much as ever during that time.
Theresa;mustnt have read anything from you for a long while,sorry to read a few days ago that youve lost your other boob,was it IBC in that one also or shall I mind my own business?
Best wishes to all,maybe Wee Willy Winky was wtitten with us lot in mind! Mags xx
Thanks for the tip. I stopped taking Gabapentin because I couldn’t live without my sleep. Now I sleep ok but then struggle to get up because my joints have siezed. I’ll ask about Zopiclone.
Hiya Jan, just in case youve missed the posts about it,theres a lot to be said for cod liver oil and glucosamine,my onc approved of it but wouldnt actually recommend it. Have you started your rads now?
Good luck,love Mags xx
Thanks for the post re tamazepam. My night sweats are really bad, I am hoping they are chemo induced, but haven’t had a full nights sleep for ages and its getting me down. Did your sweats settle post chemo and how long did it take. I think a visit to the GP for me!
x
Hi Jan, I have been on Gabapentin for almost 2 years and in April I doubled the dose as instucted by my Pain Specialist. I found that my body got used to the tablets and I do not think it has been the cause of my restless nights as I can sleep for Scotland…and I also am on Diclofenac, Amatryptilene, MST ( morphine) and have just completed an 8 month spell of chemo. It does take a wee while for any tablet to work and for your body gets used to it. This drug has made a huge different to the quality of my life. When I first started MST I didn’t like the effect one bit as it made me feel dizzy but my OH (A nurse) persuaded me to give it a go and bear with it. I was doubled up with pain at one point and now I am living painfree which is a super place to be. Love Val XX
Hope the rads are going ok. Are you using any cream, yet?
I am glad you will be finished in time for your ball. I shall be having rads from 8th Dec and so won’t be finished until 6th Jan. I don’t think I will be up to much, so nothing planned - just a quiet time at home with family.
Rads keeping me busy, well, the 70 mile round trip is.
Ann; yes, I’m using the aqueous cream the hospital gave me. One of the other ladies who posted said it works best if used from day 1. Skin ok so far but a bit itchy. Best of luck with yours. I hope the family will be doing most of the cooking over the holiday.
Val; wow! you have been through the mill with the meds. Thanks for the advice and I probably didn’t give the Gabapentin long enough to work properly. My BCN has suggested trying to carry on without it for a while to see if the pain has eased but it hasn’t and I’m struggling. I have another appointment on Tuesday so I’ll give it another go. Painfree would be nice.
Jayney; the night sweats have gotten a bit easier but are still there 3 months on. One of the biggest contributing factors was alcohol. I realised that when they always seem to be worse at the weekend. Since I couldn’t drink while taking temazepam or gabapentin that might be why they now seem less frequent.
Mags; Thanks for the tip. Yes, I did see the posts about Cod liver oil and glucosamine. I am taking glucosamine now but it takes a few weeks to make a difference. (Hubby and dog are both on it too)