Lupus Support - sleep- was: any help for the fatigue out there?

Author

sleep- was: any help for the fatigue out there?

herbwormwood

2005-04-19, 10:50 am

On Tue, 19 Apr 2005 01:20:33 +0100, Nicole H wrote
(in article <l9Y8e.268$JB.56@tornado.socal.rr.com> ):

> Fatigue is the most difficult for me to deal with. I'm taking Provigil
> twice a day... one in the morning and another at lunch.
>
> Of course, trying to fix the sleep problem is the first approach but for
> most of us, it doesn't work.

Why do you say for most of us it doesn't work Nicole?
Getting enough rest and sleep are really important and usually helpful, Its
true it needs to be handled carefully but done properly it will really
benefit. We could even start a new thread on sleep and rest!
Personally I had a big revelation on sleep a few years back. I found that
smoking cigarettes kept me awake! It really did, and the more I smoked, the
more I had insomnia! I did try after that to stop smoking in the evening, but
it was very hard to do. Eventually I gave up smoking and my sleep improved. I
also found any caffienated drinks kept me awake, so now I don't drink them
after mid afternoon. I also found that if my brain was stimulated too near
bedtime, I would be awake worrying about whatever. So I banned anything
stimulating to my brain after 7 pm. Conversations with people needing help
were particularly banned so I had to screen my phone calls and so on.
I also found an optimal time for falling asleep. If I went to bed too early
or too late, too late in particular, I wouldn't be able to sleep. I also had
to have a proper meal a few hours before bedtime. If I had low blood sugar at
bedtime I wouldn't be able to sleep. If I was too hot or cold I wouldn't be
able to sleep. If I had indigestion I wouldn't be able to sleep.
I need about 9 hours each night to function properly.
We all have our triggers for insomnia and the trick is to find them, this can
be quite difficult as they are often not obvious or we may resist the idea of
them being triggers (like me and the cigarettes).
Best wishes and good sleep to all,
Lynne

"JQ" <jpotvin77@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1113507112.884037.122950@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
>
>

2005-04-19, 10:50 am

Hi Lynne, I think what Nicole was referring to was the fact that we are
all fatigued so often through out the day from Lupus not insomnia.
Therefore it's merely impossible to find a job that will allow for naps
in the day etc. Often people with Lupus need 10 hours of sleep a night
and we're still in need of a nap in the day which is nearly impossible
when we have careers lives etc. And at the same time it's almost
impossible to function without all the extra sleep.
Nicole mentioned provigil which is often used for narcolepsy, helps
keep people awake throughout the day. Not sure what the side effects on
it are but I'm gonna look into it. This may be something to help me out
- Exhaustion is painful and I'm so sick of being tired and having no
life. Only 24 hours in the day and I don't want to spend my whole life
sleeping or in pain trying to stay awake like normal people.
Thanks, Jacquie

Nicole H

2005-04-20, 10:52 pm

For many of us, we don't cycle thru the sleep stages properly, thus we don't
get "refreshed". So for me, I can sleep 20 hrs and still wake up tired
because I never got stage 4, don't cycle thru REM right, etc- a mess.
Then like JQ said, the lupus affects us and wears us out daily.

Nicole
"herbwormwood" <herbwormwood@lycos.co.uk> wrote in message
news:0001HW.BE8A8C2300027974F04885B0@www.x-privat.org...
> On Tue, 19 Apr 2005 01:20:33 +0100, Nicole H wrote
> (in article <l9Y8e.268$JB.56@tornado.socal.rr.com> ):
>
>
> Why do you say for most of us it doesn't work Nicole?
> Getting enough rest and sleep are really important and usually helpful,
Its
> true it needs to be handled carefully but done properly it will really
> benefit. We could even start a new thread on sleep and rest!
> Personally I had a big revelation on sleep a few years back. I found that
> smoking cigarettes kept me awake! It really did, and the more I smoked,
the
> more I had insomnia! I did try after that to stop smoking in the evening,
but
> it was very hard to do. Eventually I gave up smoking and my sleep
improved. I
> also found any caffienated drinks kept me awake, so now I don't drink them
> after mid afternoon. I also found that if my brain was stimulated too near
> bedtime, I would be awake worrying about whatever. So I banned anything
> stimulating to my brain after 7 pm. Conversations with people needing help
> were particularly banned so I had to screen my phone calls and so on.
> I also found an optimal time for falling asleep. If I went to bed too
early
> or too late, too late in particular, I wouldn't be able to sleep. I also
had
> to have a proper meal a few hours before bedtime. If I had low blood sugar
at
> bedtime I wouldn't be able to sleep. If I was too hot or cold I wouldn't
be
> able to sleep. If I had indigestion I wouldn't be able to sleep.
> I need about 9 hours each night to function properly.
> We all have our triggers for insomnia and the trick is to find them, this
can
> be quite difficult as they are often not obvious or we may resist the idea
of
> them being triggers (like me and the cigarettes).
> Best wishes and good sleep to all,
> Lynne
>
>
> "JQ" <jpotvin77@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>
>