Can't sleep ...what am I doing wrong ?

[Carmen11]

It's almost 4am and I'm still awake , this has been going on now for months ...what am I doing wrong ? I was diagnosed June 17th 2013 and I'm down to 7.5mg of prednisone and transitioning to Cell cept. I am also on Synthroid , Metropolo , and another blood pressure med , Lexapro and fosomax ..I wonder if I'm taking my meds at the wrong time , I sleep in late and do end up napping later because I'm always so tired . Can anyone give me some advice ?

[Velma]

My daughter is a nursing student who read this with me and said that you can take an herbal sleep aid to help you rest and sleep at night but getting up earlier and avoiding naps would also help the longer sleep hours at the right times. Of course I would advise you to contact your doctor before changing any medication times or even adding the sleep aid. I have found that when I want to nap in the afternoon it is usually after a meal and when I am bored. I have found that getting outside or doing some physical activity wakes me up and gets my metabolism moving again. You might think about changing the times of the prednisone to earlier in the day or early afternoon which could give you that burst of energy to avoid the afternoon nap but be out of your system by bed time. She said the other meds should not effect your sleep patterns. Good luck

[Bing505z]

It's the prednisone. Before getting of the pred' I had to take Ambien to sleep. Go to Wikipedia and type in Prednisone and you will see what this drug can do to you. This stuff can mask a fever....cause insomnia...leg cramps (as I just read in another thread) and a lot more .... the list is long.

[drz]

It's almost 4am and I'm still awake , this has been going on now for months ...what am I doing wrong ? I was diagnosed June 17th 2013 and I'm down to 7.5mg of prednisone and transitioning to Cell cept. I am also on Synthroid , Metropolo , and another blood pressure med , Lexapro and fosomax ..I wonder if I'm taking my meds at the wrong time , I sleep in late and do end up napping later because I'm always so tired . Can anyone give me some advice ?

Are you taking the pred in the AM so it wears off by night? Your pattern sounds pretty typical for me but I can sleep in and often nap since I am retired so it isn't much of a problem. Ask your pharmacist to review your meds and when you take them to find out if they have any suggestions for change.

[mrtmeo]

I agree with drz and bing that it maybe the prednisone.
Take it the moment u get up in the morning.

My mom uses doxylamine (OTC Unisom 2) only one half tablet, but make sure you check with your dr for any interactions with the drugs you are taking before taking something else.
Melatonin is a supplement that some find works to get the sleep rhythm back, but be sure to check with your dr on that too.

[cjhnsn29]

Carmen, I have the same problems. I have like you do insomnia as of right now the Internal medicine Dr gave me something for my sleeping problems. I also agree with the girls there is a herbal tea called sleepy time that also works.

[annekat]

Melatonin works for me, and I take a pretty small dose. I buy it OTC in 3mg. tabs and split those in quarters, so I'm taking .75mg. But others may need more. I take it about half an hour before I want to sleep, and then feel myself getting sleepy before I hit the pillow. Prednisone doesn't affect my sleep the way it does for others, but I do take it in the AM. For me, it's more a matter of getting my mind to stop focusing on issues that may be bothering me. If I get very sleepy first and then lie down, I'll have better success at forgetting about these things than if I lie down before I'm really sleepy and then they will persist in bugging me as I lie there. Also, watching TV in bed is not so good, as it stimulates the mind. Reading can be OK, or doing crossword puzzles. Something low key.

[annekat]

Carmen, I have the same problems. I have like you do insomnia as of right now the Internal medicine Dr gave me something for my sleeping problems. I also agree with the girls there is a herbal tea called sleepy time that also works. Yes, Sleepy Time contains chamomile, which is a great relaxant and sleep promoter. You can also buy just plain chamomile in several brands of tea or loose in bulk at many stores.

[sunnykmr123]

I have found that getting outside or doing some physical activity wakes me up and gets my metabolism moving again. You might think about changing the times of the prednisone to earlier in the day or early afternoon which could give you that burst of energy to avoid the afternoon nap but be out of your system by bed time. She said the other meds should not effect your sleep patterns. Good luck

[BookNut]

I find that melatonin works well for me when I am on prednisone. Except the times in the hospital when I have been as much as 400 mg (yes....400 is not a typo). I know this will seem weird. Keep in mind that I do NOT have Wegeners. Just a weird case of intractable asthma. I often have a lot of sinus drainage. When that happens while I am on prednisone, I find that the benadryl I take at night for the sinus issues really helps me sleep. So...if you have sinus issues you might be able to kill two birds with one stone. Again...as said already by many....talk to your doctor. But I definitely wanted to second the idea of melatonin. It helped me sleep in the hospital once they dropped me from 400 mg to 200 mg. Hopefully they never put me on that ridiculously high dose again. I think the hopital doctors just did not believe me when i told them that my wheezing never goes away, it just gets more livable. They were determined to knock it out of me.

Good luck!! You have my sympathy. Insomnia is the pits. One other thing I would add. If you can't sleep, try reading something interesting but not too intense. And make sure it is from the printed page, not a computer, or other electronic device. electronic reading has been proven to disturb sleep. I love my ebooks...but not at bedtime!

[daystarr8]

Have you tried a nice walk to help. Relax you. Sometimes it will make you tired.

[miracleshappen08]

When I have been on the high dose of pred, I actually would split the dose and take them 12 hours apart but I had to actually take them at 3 pm and 3 am. My body reacts differently then other peoples. My pred doesn't affect me until about 10-12 hours after I take it. But if it would hit at 3 in the afternoon then I would be tired from the afternoon evening activities that I would sleep until 3am and lot of times would go back to sleep after taking it at 3 am for about an hour and half. So it worked out for me. As long as you take the amount you are supposed to, find out when the best time is to take it.