I came across Asphalia on the Janey Lee Grace website, recommended as a sleep aid. I wondered if anyone has tried it and does it work? It looks quite expensive but if it works, I would give it a go. Apparently, it contains wheat, barley and grasses. I am so fed up with not ever having an undisturbed night, but don’t want to resort to sleeping tablets.
Ann x
Sorry can’t help with Asphalia, but I find Nytol works for me - half a tablet is enough, and doesn’t seem to leave me feeling hungover in the morning, as I gather some sleeping tablets do.
Sorry -I haven’t heard of this either- but would welcome anything that might help!
I do not find Nytol or similar substances any good at all.
My sleep is disturbed by the dreaded flushes and also by pain in my arms and shoulders caused by arthritis- which has become considerably worse over the past 14 months … ‘co-incidentially’ since I started on Arimindex!
I have always slept very well and seemed to need a lot of sleep; even now I sometimes sleep 8+hours
but my sleep is SO disturbed. I regularly wake 4-5 times (sometimes more) and I never feel that I have had “proper” sleep’
I have finally persuaded my GP to prescribe sleeping pills- something I have never taken in my life. So now I take one of these ( Zopiclone) about very seven to ten days & treat myself to a better night…though I still have never slept all night undisturbed since I had chemo …and Arimidex, despite being very active and walking and swimming regularly .
topsymo
Nytol doesn’t seem to work for me, either. I have tried Kalms and Boots homeopathic insomnia tablets but, whilst they don’t really work during the night, I find I feel sleepy the next day, which I don’t like. Like you, I haven’t had a full night’s sleep since diagnosis, when I came off HRT last August. I wake several times each night and the warmer the night, the more times I wake. I have a painful neck, which is probably wear and tear and that troubles me at night, too.
The Asphalia site has the option to try a free sample, which I will do, if I can get it to work. I’ll let you know if they help!
Ann x
I have had problems sleeping for years which got worse once I was diagnosed with BC. I have tried nytol which does work but makes me feel grotty the following morning. I was given sleeping tablets by the doctor at the start of the BC but that too makes me feel like I’m walking through treacle the following day. None of the herbal tablets work either so I’ve e mailed for a sample of the asphalia and will see how it goes, to be honest when you don’t sleep you’ll try anything!
x
mandeville - Yes, so have I. We can compare notes. I mentioned in the e-mail that I knew of lots of ladies in the same position and that, if it works, I shall recommend it.
Ann x
Oh dear! I have just found a website which sells Asphalia and it gives details of the ingredients which were not on the actual manufacturer’s website. It says it contains red and white clover, which I understand should not be taken if bc is hormone receptive. I am going to e-mail the company for clarification before I take any. What a let down!!!
Ann x
I am using Sleep Aid from Tesco which contains valerian, I take it at about eight in the evening and dont go to bed until about 10 - 10.30 pm and find that it does make me drop off and I dont feel grotty next morning.
I stopped sleeping properly when diagnosed 6 years ago, and have tried everything! For me this is the first thing that has worked, I still wake up a couple of times in the night with the dreaded hot flushes, but do go back off to sleep again.
Hope this helps!
wisps
Hi everyone
I did not find Nytol helpful just the opposite, it gave me really weird hallucinations. I have tried pillow mist, Bach night remedy and camomile tea all calming but not particularly sleep inducing. Oh for a nights sleep used to sleep like a log but not since Dx last Nov.I would be interested in what the ingredients of Asphalia do as I too have a strongly ER receptor tumour.hugs to all Libby
Libby - I have e-mailed the man who came up with Asphalia to ask him directly what the ingredients are and to put our reservations to him. If I get a reply, I shall report back. Like you, I have not had a decent sleep since Dx, last August.
Thanks wisps, that’s another one to try. I have actually got some Valerian tablets but I seem to remember they made me feel hungover the next day. None of them stop me waking during the night.
Ann x
I am watching this thread with interest, hoping someone will come up with the ‘answer’. I am falling asleep in front of the telly about 10.30, but then, although I go straight to bed, I can easily lie awake for an hour or two (or more) & sleep just won’t come. Doesn’t seem to make any difference whether I’ve slept during the day or not.Also I’m always awake just after 6.00 a.m. No wonder they all tell us we’ll be tired - they just forget to tell us we won’t be sleeping ! Does anyone know why we don’t sleep ? If we could find that out, maybe we’d be nearer the answer.
Hi All
I don’t come on the forum very often now but have noticed this thread this morning. I shall watch it with interest. But I’m sorry to say that I don’t have any remedy to recommend.
I haven’t slept properly since dx in 2007. Like you Divvy1 I’m falling asleep on the sofa in the evening but when I go to bed about 10.30pm I just can’t drop off. The sleep I do have is very disturbed and I’m usually awake for the day by 5.30am!!
At first I thought it might be that I wasn’t as active as I was before dx but now I would say that I’m equally if nor more active and I still don’t sleep.
I’ve tried Nytol but that doesn’t work very well although it’s better than nothing.
I think that you’re right Divvy1, we need to find out what’s causing the insomnia.
Ann - I hope you are OK apart from your sleeping problem. I shall be interested to hear what the Asphalia man has to say.
Love and hugs to you all
Jan xx
I believe that apart from the obvious stress of the whole thing, the cause is low oestrogen, in my case anyway. Now, I don’t know why that causes poor sleep, but I am certain that it does. Mine started upon diagnosis when I stopped HRT, which I had been taking for many years(!). I wonder whether things will improve when I stop taking Letrozole, but then I shall be five years older. I remember my Mum being a really poor sleeper but I don’t remember whether it started after her menopause or whether she had always been like it. Sadly, she is no longer here to ask.
Like I say, I shall let you know when/if I get any more info. Reading about Asphalia, it appears that its success is because the plants contain melatonin, which has only been discovered fairly recently. Melatonin supplements are freely available to buy in the US, but not over here. I think it can be prescribed, though. Apparently, in many countries it is banned from importation, but a lot of that is due to it coming from animal sources.
If the only cause of our poor sleep is low oestrogen, it probably wouldn’t help, but the article I read said that many people with breast cancer have low melatonin levels. I don’t know if that is true or not. Maybe we can find out own plant source. I shall do some more research.
Hope you are all enjoying your Easter weekend.
Jan - I am ok, thanks. Hope you are, too.
Ann x
Hi Ann sorry that sleep is proving to be such a problem. I don’t seem to be too troubled by this problem myself, but do find on occasions I don’t get to sleep very easily and can lay awake for hours on end. When this happens I do have a little nightcap in the form of a very small port, whether or not it is physcological I don’t know but within 10 mins I’m usually fast asleep. This is obviously not something I would recommend on a nightly basis, but for the occasional bout of insomina it seems to work for me!
Chris
Hi Ann
The low oestrogen sounds plausible to me. I remember an elderly aunt once telling me that as we age we need less sleep. To her that was a good thing, as she could read more books. However, we seem to be artificially aged, so lots of us are still working, while ‘normally’ aged women probably are not.
That’s all very interesting isn’t it ? Doesn’t help at all though. May as well post it now I’ve written it.
Chris - I think the port would make me too hot. It doesn’t take much these days - just an anxious thought, even!
Well, I haven’t had a reply from the man from Asphalia. I shall chase again. I received the sample of three capsules in the little box, with an information leaflet which still didn’t give the ingredients. I am beginning to wonder whether there is some reason why they won’t tell me in writing what the ingredients are. Odd! I gave them to my son to take home with him, as he has trouble sleeping sometimes, but I don’t think he has tried them yet. It would be so lovely if we could find something like that which has no drawbacks. Dream on!!!
Ann x
Today I received a reply from the man who developed Asphalia. He said they have now taken out the white clover since it has a history of medical use. Asphalia only contains rye, wheat and barley grasses. I am not sure quite what he meant by that but it seems good news.
Apparently, Asphalia was developed to counter the effects of living near power frequency electric fields and suggests we check the level where we live. I am not sure how, but it probably explains on the lab website:-
He then went on to give a complicated explaination about a homeopathic “cure” for breast cancer. I don’t know what to think about this but you can judge for yourselves. If you are interested. I can PM you what he says. I don’t think it fair to put the contents of his e-mail on a website without his permission.
So, having given my sample of Asphalia to my son, I shall have to go and buy some - when I have checked out the other ingredients. Paranoid, me? You bet!
Ann x
I decided to try Nytol & have been taking it for 1 week. 1 tab an hour before bedtime. I’m getting to sleep much more quickly & can get back to sleep more easily when I wake in the night. So hopefully that’s me sorted, hope you all find something that works for you.
Divvy - Is that the anti-histamine Nytol or the herbal one?
Ann x
Hi Ann
It’s the herbal one.