4:00 am!?? What are you doing up at such a crazy time? I thought you told us that you were taking sleeping pills to help you fall asleep and stay asleep? Weren't you just telling us that the other day?
Oh, thank you for asking. For those of you wondering why I am not sleeping, allow me to explain. I am currently taking 20mg a day of a steroid called Prednisone. Prednisone is an immunosuppressant. It is also a synthetic corticosteroid drug. That means that it gives your body the signal to "wake up" after a good night's sleep. Unfortunately for me, it gives that signal all day long, including when I want to be sleeping. So, like many transplant patients, I needed something to help me sleep.
So, I am taking a medication that is supposed to help me sleep. When the doctors discharged me from the hospital, they gave me a 30-day supply of a medication called Temazepam (15mg). Temazepam is the generic version of Restoril, for those of you interested in medications. The medication warnings that I received with this medication said that it was not intended for use longer than 7 to 10 days. I took the Temazepam once we got home from the hospital, for about seven days, but I did not want to take much more of it. It did help me to sleep, and I was thankful for that. But, being a reasonable person, I asked the doctor what different medication I could take over the longer term.
At the clinic on Monday, the doctor gave me a prescription for Lunesta. That's the one you see all the commercials on TV for with the butterfly that helps you sleep. Lunesta is designed for long-term use with less chance of addiction. So, I started taking these 2mg capsules Monday evening. I slept fairly well Monday night, waking up only to go to the bathroom (which is still normal, given the new kidney and all). I went to sleep between 10:30pm and 11:00pm, and awoke a little before 7:30am. This is what I would classify as a good night's sleep.
Having enjoyed a good night of sleep on Monday, I took the Lunesta again on Tuesday night. I took it at 9:00pm with all of my other medications, just like on Monday night. We went to sleep around 10:00pm, which is about normal (for now). Again, I fell asleep fairly easily, and did not awaken until about 2:15am to go to the bathroom. Unfortunately, that was it. I laid back down, ready to fall asleep again. That didn't happen. By about 3:30, I gave up. I came out to the laptop to read my e-mail and to blog.
I find that blogging is a bit of a therapeutic kind of getting things off of my mind. I am hoping that tonight was a fluke, and that the Lunesta will work better for me Wednesday night. Maybe I did not do enough walking on Tuesday. We ran several errands, but I don't know if I got enough exercise. I will need to be better about that today and make sure that I get over to the fitness center to spend some time on the treadmill.
I don't know if I will stay on the Lunesta. It is $21.70 cheaper (every three months) than is the Restoril. And, it does not have the addictive side effects. However, if it does not provide me with any sleep, then it is still $118.86 too expensive (for a 90-day supply). I guess if I keep taking it all week, and it does not help, I will ask the doctor for something new. Ambien is only $95.49 for a 90-day supply, so maybe I will use it. Who knows?
Prayer Requests:
- Pray that the Lunesta will work for me so that I can get a good night's sleep again. Or, if Lunesta is not right for me, pray that the doctor will be able to choose something that will work for me (with my other medications and my aversion to addiction).
- Pray that I will continue to heal. The staples are scheduled to come out on Monday, and I don't want there to be any problems between now and then.
- Pray that my paperwork will move quickly at work so that I can be fully approved to work part-time from home while recovering and making weekly clinic visits. I want to get back to work not only because I have a need to be productive, but also because I am a useful member of the group and want to contribute.
- Continue to pray for the donor's family. It has been about three weeks since their loss, and they are probably still dealing heavily with the grief process.
14 comments:
I would love to respond to your blog! I am still up and it's 4:48am! I have terrible insomnia and at first I was prescribed Ambien which does work but does have major amnesia side effects. I know that you are supposed to take it and go straight to bed and I do but am woken through the night by various factors but don't remember any of it. My doctor then tried the temazepam. All I have to say about that is that it does absolutly nothing. My script is for 30mg but I can honestly say that I none of the side effects that are descibed on the internet. It has not put me to sleep once. I really wish the ambien didn't have the amnesia side effects because it really did help!
I also want to say that I have tried Lunesta too. I got the 7 day free trial that they advertise. All that did for me was leave a bad taste in my mouth and I also woke up in the middle of the night without the ability to fall back to sleep. I would have to say that ambien is the best one out there and it now comes in a generic form so it is alot cheaper then most other sleep medications. I am praying for you because I really know how terrible it is not to be able to sleep at night when you have so much to do the next day! I have 3 children to look after, I home school one and I am on my Junior year for my nursing degree! I wish you all the best!
You may even want to try the ambien CR. It is quite expensive but could work for you all night since it is time released.
If you want to talk more, email at jimorjo@yahoo.com
Thank you for your comments.
Luckily, once the doctor reduced my Prednisone dosage down to 10 mg a day, the sleeplessness was not as much of a problem. Since it was drug-induced, I was able to get off of the Lunesta after about two months or so. It's always nice to not have to take quite as many medications (especially considering everything else I am on).
Thank you for your comments. I always appreciate hearing what others have to say, and hopefully your comments can be helpful to others that read this post in the future!
- Nathan
Hi I just wanted to comment on your posts. It is somewhat comforting to know that others out there are going through what I've been. I started a new job in nov, and I love it, but I have no 'routine', there's a lot on my plate, and I feel like I have a lot to prove to earn my sleep. That said, I haven't slept through the night since Jan 6. It is putting a strain on work and relationships, and I'm actually terribly sick right now, so I'm sure the wear and tear has caught up with me. My doc gave me 7.5 Restoril, and suggested one to four pills at bed time. My insurance did not cover it, and since the pharmacy did not stock the generic version in 7.5 mg (only in 15 mg), she suggested I call my doc for a rx for 15 mg. She refused, and continued to tell me to take up to 4 pills per night. That makes no sense to me. Anyway, that helped me fall asleep, but I still don't stay asleep. She then called in Ambien CR, which is going to cost me $200, and I cannot afford it. I've tried Melatonin, over the counter sleep aids, this restoril, and now am at my wit's end. I"m about to just go spend the 200 on my credit card, as I'm desperate. Have any of you had luck with anything? I need to get myself back to normal here, fast. I don't know if any of that really will help any of you, but like Nathan said, there is something therapeutic about it.
I know it doesn't make sense, but I found that taking 2 Benadryl with the 30mg Temazapam (Restoril genaric)does help me. Temazapma stopped helping very much about a year ago.
I only have one adrenal gland and so I know that is part of the problem. I had to quit my job as I cannot sleep at night and sleep AM's - one of the primary side affects of Adrenal Fatigue.
God bless all of you!!!
Susan
WOW! This has to be the most popular post on my blog (and yet I know almost nothing about sleep-aid medication). Thankfully, I am now only taking 6mg of Prednisone per day, so the need for sleep-aids is gone.
From a prescription standpoint, you just have to have a doctor that will work with you on your meds. I had to get a specifically written prescription to get 90 sleeping pills for 90 days (as they pharmacy company we use at work wanted me to only get 45). Good luck!
I take Restoril 30 mg and it helps! I tried Ambien, Lunesta, and the rest. They kept me sleeping 3 hours and POW I was awake. Don't worry about addictive side effects. I get so tired of doctors talking about this. If you have sleep problems you will most likely be taking a prescription sleep medication for the rest of your life. What is the difference if it is Ambien, Lunesta or Restoril? If you take something to help you - you are not ADDICTED! If you take something you don't need to get high then you are addicted! Am I addicted to diabetic medication? Am I addicted to high cholesterol Medication? Am I addicted to high blood pressure medication? I take them daily? Am I addicted to Tagamet for my stomach ulcer? I take 4 a day? NO! Addiction has gotten a bad rap! I have Interstitial Cystitis and have taken Valium for over 24 years! Daily! Never any more! Never any less! The same amount every day! Am I addicted? No, it helps my bladder spasms. Now, if I was increasing dosage year after year, and taking it to feel pleasurable high - then I am addicted. It is the same thing with alcohol. You have a glass a day - fine are you and alcoholic? NO! If you have 5 glasses a day and keep increases to get a high - then yes you are addicted. Docs stop telling us we can become addicted. What the heck does addicted mean?
Ambien CR is the only sleep med out there that will give you the sleep duration you are looking for. It's that simple. I have tried them all over the years, but beware the underlying cause of your sleep problems, ie, pain, stress, anxiety, etc they all work for a short time but you need to address the basic problem or even ambien cr won't help and it's the best.
Good Wishes
PJ
Try 25 mg of Amitriptyline & 15 mg of Restoril (Temazepam). Start with Amitriptyline first...then combo if needed.I've tried them all for years and this is the best for me. 2 years now.
I am a poster child for Ambien and have been taking it for 2 months now and it has been a life saver. Without it I would average at the most 3 hours sleep and that was after fighting sleep for about 6 hours.
I am curious to know why everyone here thinks that taking sleep drugs are the answer to curing a sleep problem? Doesnt anyone realize that sleep problems can be caused by hormonal imbalances of the adrenals, thyroid, Growth hormone and sex hormones? With that said, why is noone interested in getting their hormones tested and balanced??
Doesnt it seem like the logical thing to do when one has chronic, long term insomnia??
@Kim - For me, the problem actually was a hormonal imbalance. I was on 20mg of prednisone, which was keeping me from sleeping. I used the sleeping pills for a couple of months until my prednisone levels were brought down to a better level. After that, I haven't needed sleeping pills.
If anyone in interested...I know full well why I have sleep problems (and I just wish I had a good temporary solution until I fix the root cause) which is mercury poisoning from my dental amalgams. Look into mercury issues if you've had even in the past amalgams.
So no consensus on what a 'good' sleep med is? I hate Ambien. I tried it one night and the next day I was depressed (which I've never been). I won't touch that drug again.
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