Not Sleeping by Kath

[Colleen-NC]

Not Sleeping
« Thread Started on Mar 8, 2008, 9:19am »

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I have not been able to sleep for several weeks now. I am still on a big dose of pred but don't think that is the problem. Been on the pred for several years now so I'm adjusted to that I think.
The doc did put me on Reglan 10mg 4 times day for this vomiting in my sleep. Was wondering if any of you have taken it or had a problem with it. Thanks ....Kath
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sue
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #1 on Mar 8, 2008, 9:35am »

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Kath, I cant help with the med question, but with my crazy sleep schedule sometimes I will get that bedtime lotion for babies and rub some under my nose and on my chest before bed then throw the blankets over my head so that is all I smell. It helps me sleep.
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Colleen-Pa
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #2 on Mar 8, 2008, 9:56am »

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Sorry Kath, never have had to take it. Maybe call the pharmacy and see what they say and call the doc on Monday to let him know, maybe a decrease in dose would help.
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debbieky
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #3 on Mar 8, 2008, 10:05am »

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Hi Kath, I have never had to take this med either. I did google it and insomia is one of the side effects. Like Colleen said, call your doctor Monday and see if he can adjust the dosage a little. My doctor put me on Ambien for my sleep problem. I can now sleep through the night. Good luck.
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charles
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #4 on Mar 8, 2008, 11:25am »

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Prednisone can be the problem. Everytime I go back on a larger dose; one or two of the nights I won't be able to sleep. Even tho I agree with everyone else ; you should ck on the other med too.
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joann
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #5 on Mar 8, 2008, 11:39am »

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Hi Kath, like the rest, I've never been prescribed this, but ditto to the advice given. I have Ambien as well, works every time.
Hope you get an answer from the Dr. or Pharmacist soon.
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sweetpea
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #6 on Mar 8, 2008, 3:40pm »

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Kath, sure hope you get your sleep problem resolved. Nothing is worse than trying to get to sleep and you can't. I had that problem from May - Sept last year from a blood pressure med I was on. It was horrible. 3-4 hours a night and when I became exhausted, I'ed sleep 6. I hope the doc can get it squared away for you. Good luck, Pat
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canyon711
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #7 on Mar 8, 2008, 7:20pm »

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I wonder if you might ask your Doctor about Phergan instead of the Reglan. Phenergan will make you drowsy. You would only have to take it at night. It is for vomiting also. Why are you vomiting at night? or did i miss that somewhere? That is a lot of Reglan when maybe Phenergan might work as well. You might also just try Ginger capsules which certainly won't hurt you adn they settle the stomach. But then I don't know why you are vomiting.
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sweetpea
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #8 on Mar 8, 2008, 8:15pm »

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Speaking of phenergan, I have some on hand and some refills. I got really nauseated about a hour ago and took one. Took 1/2 hour for it to work, but it settled my stomach. My kidney doc said my creatinine level (for kidneys) was a level right now where I might experience vomiting. I don't know if a seed was planted or what, but I sure felt nauseated as stated above. Not a good feeling..Pat p.s. Canyon is right, it does make you drowsy..
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wendyco
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #9 on Mar 8, 2008, 9:49pm »

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Kath I too am wondering why you are vomiting in your sleep? do you have untreated GERD? that will do it.... I am so sorry you are having such troubles (((HUGS)))
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canyon711
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #10 on Mar 8, 2008, 10:50pm »

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Sweetpea, have you tried Ginger capsules for nausea. They work really well and don't make you sleepy and are really safer for you than Phenergan. I have very severe GERD but have never had the vomiting. I do get the nausea expecially toward morning and pop a Ginger capsule and it goes away. Vomiting in your sleep sounds very dangerous.
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maryaz
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #11 on Mar 9, 2008, 12:09am »

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Kath, maybe sometimes we may get a reaction to a drug that we never reacted to before. It sounds like you need to treat this very seriously. Take care,

I am surprised at the Ambien some of you take. My husband is taking it and if he takes one or he takes two, he wakes up at 3 AM and cannot go back to sleep. That is the nights he can take it.

Kath, You really need to keep up with your dr if you think it might be the med for vomiting. I think their are lots of those kinds of meds. With Joe's treatment we are urged to let them know if it doesn't work and they will prescribe something else because there are so many to pick from.

Canyon; What is the deal with Ginger capsules and where do you get them. Could Joe try them. He is having an awful time.
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virginia22
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #12 on Mar 9, 2008, 5:51pm »

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Kath I remember a while back when you had the gerd I'm thinking real bad, like my sister,she says sometimes it comes out her nose..She has ambien, but doesn't help much..
When Canyon mentioned phenergen, I thought that might calm your stomach.Right now I'm using carafate...a slurry you take 30 minutes before eating and at bed time.When i'm just nauseated, I do believe in the ginger , I keep the root and just chew it .. Kath me and my 2 sisters talk about this all the time One of them says this carafate is the best for her.....but really haven't got any real good results for it...Bless your heart, I pray that you will find an answer...keep us posted..((((hugs))))
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kath
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #13 on Mar 9, 2008, 9:10pm »

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I thought the vomiting was due to the reflux , have been on meds for it for several years. Still take the Nexium. This another started this past year and is different. It's like has soon has I relax and start to drift off something opens up and out it comes. I'm choking and can't breath and try to stay calm which we all know isn't easy when you can't breath . The doc seems to think I'm not digesting my food and it's not moving, the reglan is suppose to move it from one spot to another. The Ambien doesn't help me sleep over an hour or two and I worry about not waking and chocking. Doc has mentioned some swallow tests. Phengran does make me sleep better so I may mention to him. I do think the reglan is part of the sleep problem and emotions going haywire.
« Last Edit: Mar 9, 2008, 9:22pm by kath » Link to Post - Back to Top Logged

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canyon711
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #14 on Mar 9, 2008, 9:23pm »

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Did you mean the vomiting was due to acid? Do you mean get up and vomit in the john sort of vomiting or just food backing up. If it is the first I don't think it is from acid, if it is the second it may be. I couldn't quite make out your message. I think you left out some words.

AT one time I was put on Carafate tablets and they helped heal my gastritis. This time I asked the Dr. and he said No but I don't know why. I know it is constipating as all get out. I have gastritis, esophagitis and duodentitis. That is a lot of itis's.
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #15 on Mar 9, 2008, 9:38pm »

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Carol when I wake up it's to late for the bathroom. Thats what wakes me choking on this junk in my mouth and nose, don't know why it comes out my nose too. It has acid in it because it burns like fire but also has food in it, I know this is a nice subject LOL. When I went in in DEC he opened up the area where my stomach and esophagus meet, didn't help much. His final answer last week was he thinks it's due to the COPD, told him it was a little strange none of you do this. PCP seems more concerned than the stomach doc.
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maryaz
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #16 on Mar 9, 2008, 9:57pm »

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Mar 9, 2008, 9:38pm, kath wrote:His final answer last week was he thinks it's due to the COPD, told him it was a little strange none of you do this. PCP seems more concerned than the stomach doc.


I think the really BIG QUESTIONS are who do you believe, when do you know you were told right, were you given all the necessary information.

In Kath's case, if it is not the COPD, then what are you to do to get the proper treatment.

That is my personal 'rant' for the day because I am not sure we were done right with my husband's treatments. As with Kath's situation, what do you do and where do you go next?

In Kath's case if he doesn't know, then say so and don't blame the COPD if you cannot back it up.

Best of luck figuring it out Kath and hope you find something before it gets worse. Maybe these specialists are not so special.
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kath
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #17 on Mar 9, 2008, 10:03pm »

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Mary that is just how I feel !!!!! Wonder what he would have told me if I hadn't had COPD ?
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canyon711
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #18 on Mar 9, 2008, 11:13pm »

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I would be very concerned about this and maybe seek out another gastro Dr. It seems the Doctors like to tell you that everything you have is from COPD when in fact out of all the people that have COPD on this forum and others no one has this. There is a valve in the upper esophagous that is supposed to prevent this. I assume you have had the endoscopy since you said they stretched the esophagous. I don't think they stretched the area you said or it would make it worse, I think. Not sure but you want a closed, tight area where the two meet as that is supposed to be a one way valve. You do not take Theophyline, do you? If you have undigested food hours after you eat and that is what it sounds like then you need to have a study done about how the food moves thru your stomach to the small intestine. I assume you are not eating before bed. They can do this by you swallowing a camera pill or a manometry study. You should not have any food in your stomach that long after you eat. I can understand now why they are trying the Reglan as that is supposed to move the food thru faster but apparantly it is not working. I think this could be very dangerous happenind at night like this. My Dad got this at the dinner table as he got older but he was years older and obviously a weak UES valve. He didn't have COPD. You do need to follow thru on this. Sorry can't be more help. I would ask why he thinks it is the COPD as I see no relationship to it but you need to aggressively ask questions.
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joann
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #19 on Mar 10, 2008, 5:52pm »

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Kath, like Canyon, I was wondering if you had been sent for an Endoscope. If not, sounds like a request is in order!
This sounds like a frightening experience, I'd be worried as well. Good luck, thinking of you and hope you get an answer soon.
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wendyco
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #20 on Mar 10, 2008, 7:24pm »

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Kath I agree with the others....go see your pcp or someone that you can talk to and make sure they LISTEN and then DO something.........((HUGS))
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John O.
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #21 on Mar 10, 2008, 9:07pm »

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Not to be alarmist, but my first thought would be the possibility of aspiration pneumonia

www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000121.htm

Not to be taken lightly at all...needs to be solved quickly.
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canyon711
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #22 on Mar 10, 2008, 9:52pm »

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Absolutely, that was my concern. Thanks for the link. This is not normal for anyone to have to this extent and does really need solving. I can't imagine that this is not correctible. I wonder if raising the head of the bed by 6 inches which is what they normally recommend for gastric reflux would help. There really should be no food to aspirate afater a few hours. I think I would definetly cut down on food at night. Maybe make my big meal at noon. If the food isn't in the stomach it cannot come back up. The Reglan is supposed to make it leave the stomach faster.
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kath
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #23 on Mar 11, 2008, 2:05pm »

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John thank you for the link, that is what my pcp is concerned about. Carol that is where the gastr. opened it up at, he gave me a a pic with it circled, maybe thats why it didn't help . My pcp did mention he thought I needed to have some swallow test done, I go back to see him the end of this month. Thank all of you for your replies.
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canyon711
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #24 on Mar 11, 2008, 2:47pm »

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I was in Rite Aid today and read in a magazine about Gastroparesis and thought of you. So here is a link. See if any of this sounds like you.

digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/gastroparesis/

I still don't see why he would have made that sphincter larger. I can understand the one at the end of the stomach that goes in to the small intestine but not sure they can increase that. They do surgery all the time to tighten the valve from the esophagous to the stomach so widening would make the acid and anything in there come up faster. The question is why do you have food in the stomach so long after you have eaten. You need a motility study though the REglan is supposed to help with that.
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merryfl
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #25 on Mar 11, 2008, 6:23pm »

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Canyon, I may be wrong, but I think what was probably done was stretching that sphincter. When you have reflux it can get scarred which keeps it from opening and closing properly. The stretching is to break down the scar tissue and allow it to work right. My mother had to have that done a couple of times.
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canyon711
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #26 on Mar 12, 2008, 12:00am »

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I am really confused on this as they say my LES valve is too floppy and allows acid to come back up and it is supposed to be a one way valve to allow food down not back up so to me it seems like I certainly wouldn't want it stretched and stitching it tighter is done for acid problems and then I read something else like this and none of it makes sense to me. In any case Kay has to get this resolved before it becomes serious.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achalasia
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toby
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #27 on Mar 12, 2008, 4:46pm »

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MaryAz, has your husband tried the Ambien CR? This one is time-released to help you fall asleep and stay asleep.
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MarthaK
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #28 on Mar 12, 2008, 5:24pm »

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Canyon, do you think maybe they stretched that to increase the motility of her esophagus in moving food from the esophagus into the stomach? It sounds like Kath's problem is a problem ABOVE the valve and yours is BELOW the valve. Does that make any sense? LOL, I hope I'm not confusing the issue more! Is there a doctor in the house?
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maryaz
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #29 on Mar 12, 2008, 11:41pm »

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Mar 12, 2008, 4:46pm, toby wrote:MaryAz, has your husband tried the Ambien CR? This one is time-released to help you fall asleep and stay asleep.


First off, I hope the stomach problems are soon figured out. I cannot help in that area.

Linda; Strange you should ask. We are in the process of TRYING to get a script filled. The script was written for Joe when he left the hospital yesterday. Sounded like a great idea when my son told me it was a time release one. However, he recently got the regular Ambien (generic one) and think that is why they won't fill this one.

My son used to work in the area where approvals were made for medicines in speciality cases. He thinks it is just the case of the concern within a very short period of getting more of this type of drug. Should be okay when they contact the doctor.

Glad you posted. Maybe it will work. That is my hope. Joe did sleep good last night but after so many nights in hospital your own bed is good.

Kath, I think of you everyday even when I am not in here posting. I hope you get some things solved soon.
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[Colleen-NC]

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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #30 on Mar 12, 2008, 11:41pm »

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I don't know. I know it is a one way valve for the food to move thru and it is not supposed to not let food come back up or acid. Seems to me that if it were stretched it would let food back up but then it would let food down easier but hey, I don't know. It does sound like Achalasia is her problem and that does mention stretching it. No ,no Doctor in the house! LOL.
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maryaz
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #31 on Mar 12, 2008, 11:43pm »

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OK Canyon, We finally did it!!!! We both posted at exactly the same time.
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canyon711
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #32 on Mar 13, 2008, 5:08pm »

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Ambien CR is not generic but the regular Ambien is. Ambien CR is probably very expensive even with Plan D. Is he taking 5 or 10mg. I have to take 10mg for it to work. 5 does nothing for me.
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maryaz
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #33 on Mar 15, 2008, 11:53pm »

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Canyon; I just checked and his is 5mg. I do know he takes one or two. Think recent he is taking two. So do you mean you take one pill of 10 mg.

He needed the sleep so bad that we were going to pay for it. He has slept somewhat better. Something new every few days it seems.

Thanks,
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canyon711
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #34 on Mar 15, 2008, 11:59pm »

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Yes, one 10mg pill though I am not taking Ambien at the present time because it bothered my stomach. I take Lunesta 3mg but I think the Ambien works better. I started with the 5's but had to go to 10mg before it worked for me. Lunesta only comes up to 3. Lunesta doesn't always work for me, like last night I had to take a Xanax at 4AM cause I was still awake. I am not even sure that the generic Ambien comes in a 10mg as I haven't gotten it since it went generic. They came out with the Ambien CR a while ago I am sure in part because their patent was expiring soon. Drugs companies often do that.
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joann
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #35 on Mar 19, 2008, 10:16am »

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Canyon, I can't remember how long ago Ambien was available as generic, but I take it when needed, the generic name is Zolpidem Tartrate 10mg. Works great.
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canyon711
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Re: Not Sleeping
« Reply #36 on Mar 19, 2008, 3:59pm »

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Ambien has been available a while but wasn't sure about the 10mg. I don't think the AMBIEN CR is generic yet. I have only gotten the 5mg in generic but since it bothers my stomach I don't take it that much. Yes, it does work good.
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[Canyon711]

Only posting to let someone know that I cannot sign in. It will not take my password and name. Apparantly some work needs to be done as I don't see any posts except Colleen's