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Cant sleep lately. Anyone have same problem?

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 2/4/2010 2:41 AM (GMT -8)
I have had Crohns for 5 years but was only diagnosed last month. Not on any drugs for Crohns until after a Barium xray in a weeks time. I am on Sulfasalazine for my painful joints and also on Omeprazole for Reflux. Since taking these 2 drugs I have been waking up in the middle of the night and feel really depressed and worried about anything and everything. I cant get comfy and tend to toss and turn for hours before falling back to sleep. Is there anyone else on these drugs that have the same problem? Thanks all
Posted 2/4/2010 6:28 AM (GMT -8)
I have taken Sulfasalazine in the past and currently take Omeprazole. Neither has ever caused me sleeplessness. You should probably talk to your family doc about this and maybe they can prescribe something to help you sleep. Have you tried taking Benedryl or Unisom? They are both over the counter and might help. Also melatonin might help too. Good luck!
Posted 2/4/2010 7:13 AM (GMT -8)

hey sheep,I have a terrible sleep issue, from anxiety, I take the same reflux drugs as you, but that doesn't cause my sleep issue, it's from anxiety, I go to a sleep specialist for my sleepmed's not mu dr. or my gi. my drugs are called serax for anxiety and restoril for sleep. they are in the benizoid diazapam family. there are various type of drugs in this family, adavan being one of them. if you have ins. get tell your dr. you want to see a specialist. they know so much more about sleep drugs than your dr. i tried ambien but did not like them at all. I've been using serax or oxazapam since 1985, but I built up tolerance and now i use serax an restoril. you more than likely will not need restoril.

cd since 1970 4 surgeries, imuran and pred.

Posted 2/4/2010 8:31 AM (GMT -8)
thanks artist guy thats really helpful. Least im not alone!
Posted 2/4/2010 9:31 AM (GMT -8)

I toss and turn for hours. In the past I think it is from anxiety. Lately I have had a lot of stress from my Dad having bone cancer and family conflicts. As well my legs have been sore and can't get comfortable. Sometimes though I just don't feel tired until I go too many nights without much sleep. My age may be a factor too as sleep habits change?

I have sleeping pills (Zopiclone) but don't like to take them very often. Don't like how my head feels the next day. I used to take half a pill and now even take just a quarter to get me to sleep. Have tried melatonin and valerian, no help.

I have discussed this with my GI but I think he thought there were more important issues at the time. Just found out I had Crohn's two years ago. .

Will research some of the ther drugs mentioned here but I would like to know if people take these on a regular basis or just occasionally as needed?

Posted 2/4/2010 9:39 AM (GMT -8)
yes I do take these drugs on a nightly basis, and I will be the first to tell you I am dependant on them as well my sleep dr will tell you, but I don't care my sleep is more important to me than my co dependancy on these drugs. I wake up feeling great i sleep around 7hr's a night which is huge for me. don't forget we heal the best in our sleep. I work in the casino industry and I own a art business so sleep is super important. I don't have time to toss a turn. when I get in bed i want it to be lights out

Posted 2/4/2010 10:15 AM (GMT -8)
Thanks, artist guy.

Posted 2/4/2010 10:32 AM (GMT -8)
I am the rare person who will have the odd side effect from drugs. So just because no one else has trouble sleeping from something doesn't mean it doesn't effect you that way. I am on a drug that makes most people drowsy, it wires me like no other. And I have the same reaction to lots of other medications. So if this is a new symptom that started when you began taking these medication, it very well may be the medications. Talk to your doctor and ask about alternatives.
Posted 2/4/2010 2:51 PM (GMT -8)
Havent slept well in a year...dont know who to talk to about it.
Posted 2/4/2010 3:23 PM (GMT -8)
there are sleep specialist in your area,if you have ins. referal from dr. for instance my ins. is cigna, my group is scripps coastal, there is sleep specialist in my group, but you need to tell your dr. who you want to be referred to. I did the homework and found my guy,  man he is wonderful to talk to, understand about sleeping issues and know's the best sleep drug for you, I already had mine so I knew all about them, I also told him I didn't think family type of dr's knew enough about sleep med's to evan dispence them, he agreed %100. and his office is in a super upscale community in La Joll,Ca. so he's not some fly by  your pants type of dr. other than pain there is not much worse than not sleeping

Posted 2/4/2010 6:22 PM (GMT -8)
Bammer be very careful of the Zopiclone it's a benzo-diazapine and is very addictive. Ask you Dr. to prescribe an old anti-depressant called trazadone it's a lousy anti-depresant but is good for sleep.
Posted 2/4/2010 6:55 PM (GMT -8)
Yet another suggestion on the table...Drugs taken to relieve reflux "may" interfere with the absorption of other medications. Try taking the reflux drugs on a different schedule than the rest of your meds. I've been a walking zombie this week myself...dang monkeys won't leave me alone! My sleep deprivation is due to my Fibromyalgia. I NEVER get restorative sleep! I use one of the lower doses of Melatonin about an hour before bed. Your body naturally produces it to induce sleep. It is OTC and comes in several dosages. Should you try it, start with the lowest dosage and build up if you need to. It's always worth trying something natural vs. any habit forming drugs! Should you find yourself needing it every night it may be worth talking to your doctor about your sleep problems. I suspect anxiety may be your problem especially since you were sorta recently diagnosed. Good Luck! ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Posted 2/4/2010 8:00 PM (GMT -8)
just to let readers know, benzo diazapame drugs are and can be addictive, so please make sure you are aware of that, I was so sleep deprived that there wasn't any other alternative, for me. If you can get  away with melatonin I wish i could, but know for me. I went thru the mild ones first, but I had no luck, when i have a gas blockage my anti-anxities I will take rather than vicodon-opiate, the constipation can make it worse, the anxiety drugs relax my stomach, it helps in having the gas get thru, if you know what i mean
Posted 2/4/2010 8:34 PM (GMT -8)
I've used zopiclone about once a week for 10 years with no problems.
Posted 2/5/2010 3:04 AM (GMT -8)
There are drugs for restless legs like requip and mirapex. I've had to take mirapex for RLS. Also, something like trazdone, which isn't addicting may help you relax and sleep. It's awful when you can't sleep! I've taken some antidepressants that gave me insomnia.
Posted 2/5/2010 10:40 AM (GMT -8)
it happens alot of us i could stay awake for hrs its very annoying i take a sleeper not
all the time a dalmain and it helps so hope u get on ok with sleeping
Posted 2/5/2010 1:41 PM (GMT -8)
Artist Guy- It probably wouldn't help you sleep, but there is a drug called Nulev that is an anti-spasmotic. When I get terrible gas/cramping or what I fondly refer to as dry heaves of the butt..it's the only thing that gives me relief. Have to be careful with it too however...especially if you are prone to bouts of Constipation. It slows the contractions of the intestines as food passes through.
Posted 2/5/2010 1:50 PM (GMT -8)
Hey artist guy i live in SD as well. Have a house in North Park with my partner of 3.5 years
Posted 2/5/2010 2:39 PM (GMT -8)
Another non-sleeper here. My doc's given me sleeping pills from Trazadone to Lunesta (which I refuse as it puts that terrible taste in my mouth). I use over the counter antihistamine - doxylamine succunate - it's in Unisom... It works great. But I always check the active ingredients so I don't end up with Benadryl, which is diphenhydramine. That doesn't work for me...
Posted 2/5/2010 2:52 PM (GMT -8)
hey doc2007 nice place to live, go to whole foods in hillcrest all the time not to mention the museums, my dr's are in hillcrest at scripps coastal. north park is so convient to everywhere in S.D. what do you do there is s.d. for a living if i'm not asking to much 

Posted 2/5/2010 7:58 PM (GMT -8)
I am in cosmetogy school, and will finish in June. Hoping to convert our studio apartment into a salon when i am finished! Working next door would be Heaven dealing with this disease. The best part is just walking home to rest in between clients.
Posted 2/5/2010 8:39 PM (GMT -8)

sr5599 said...
Another non-sleeper here. My doc's given me sleeping pills from Trazadone to Lunesta (which I refuse as it puts that terrible taste in my mouth). I use over the counter antihistamine - doxylamine succunate - it's in Unisom... It works great. But I always check the active ingredients so I don't end up with Benadryl, which is diphenhydramine. That doesn't work for me...

It's really strange but here in Canada Unisom is only sold as diphenhydramine. I never could find doxylamine succunate.
Posted 2/5/2010 10:53 PM (GMT -8)
Hmmm, sheep87....maybe you could try counting sheep...87 of em LOL!

Sorry, I couldn't resist and no one else said it so I had to make reference to your member name and post about not being able to sleep...he he!


:)
Posted 2/6/2010 3:39 AM (GMT -8)

Rider Fan said...

It's really strange but here in Canada Unisom is only sold as diphenhydramine. I never could find doxylamine succinate.

Wikipedia says:

In Canada doxylamine succinate is the active ingredient in the over-the-counter sleep-aid tablets branded as Unisom 2; while Unisom contains diphenhydramine hydrochloride as the active ingredient.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doxylamine

I cannot find doxylamine succinate here in Taiwan. The best alternative sleep-inducing antihistamine I've found here so far is meclizine:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meclizine

Somewhat less effective is chlorpheniramine:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorpheniramine_maleate

All of the above are "first generation" antihistamines. The "second generation" ones like loratadine don't induce sleep.

All of these are sold across the counter in most countries, and are not addictive. But do note the warnings printed on the box about how it can increase male prostate problems and acute-angle glaucoma. Overall though, pretty safe.

There are a couple of other things I do to help my sleep. Magnesium supplements make you more relaxed, but be sure to buy magnesium glycinate rather than other magnesium compounds because they can easily cause diarrhea. Magnesium has a number of other benefits besides improved sleep (reduced pain and cramping, etc). To read more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnesium_in_biology

Melatonin (already mentioned by another poster) helps a little.

No problem to mix melatonin, magnesium and an antihistamine, which is what I do. I am plagued by sleep problems, but try to avoid taking benzodiazepines and Z-drugs (I do have them, though, just in case) because it's so easy to build up tolerance to those.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzodiazepines
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z-drugs

cheers,
Robert
Posted 2/6/2010 8:40 AM (GMT -8)
Great post Robert. Will keep an eye out for Unisom 2.

Another first generation anti-histamine that I've used is Hydroxyzine (Atarax). Not sure if that's available in Taiwan. I get it by prescription in Canada. It's probably very similar to Meclizine.

I've also found a low dose (10 to 20mg) of Amitriptyline to be helpful at times.
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