Sleep....help

[CBurnett]

Dad got out of the hospital last week. He's now on fentenol patch, and naproxen. We stopped naboline as it was making him really out of it. For past month he has struggled to sleep. He has so much brain chatter when he tries to sleep its scary. Scared to not wake up, mumbles, talking to people, laughing, all while asleep. Then wakes 20mins later and says I can't sleep. We have tried sleeping pills, melatonin and Ativan. Nothing is helping. He will get 5th round of chemo next week. Any suggestions.

[erjlg3]

Silenor....Charles Eric Winter said this helped him to sleep you may also ask about seraquel or ambien. I hope your dad is able to get something to help.

[Neal-Snyder]

Trazodone is what I've taken since shortly after learning I had micrometastases at the time of my RP. It's safe to take continuously, unlike the usual sleeping pills. In fact, people take it multiple times a day for anxiety or depression. My regular doctor prescribes it for me. After a while I cut back from 10 or rarely 20 mg at bedtime to 5 or rarely 10. My sleeping problem is also racing thoughts.

The other thing I do is listen to music I love on my iPod, with headphones or SleepPhones (so my wife can sleep). I need both things unless I'm exhausted.

[Lombardi24 in reply to Neal-Snyder]

Tramadol too. But oxy and Ativan shut my mind down so I can sleep

[Lombardi24]

Oxycodone along with the ativan. One oxy 2 Ativan right before bed.

[Hidden]

My PCP also prescribed Trazadone, and it did the job for me. I say did, because I no longer need them.

[DFZ4835]

Trade helped me or if it wasn't to bad I took a acetaminophen with 2-3 benadryl and a 10/325 norco.

Dennis

[DFZ4835 in reply to DFZ4835]

That is supposed to be Trezadone not trade.

[patandemma]

patandemma @ CBurnett

Consider theanine,a naturally occurring amino acid.

Said to cut down a lot on the racing thoughts,maybe what you are referring to as

"brain chatter".

Anecdotally,I'm told it's popular among tech workers in Silicon Valley who have to subsist on massive amounts of coffee. It seems to take the jitters out of the massive cofee w/o reducing alertness. Very safe.

Combining it with melatonin or your other sleep aids might help.

[AlanMeyer]

One thing that probably won't work but is easy to try is music. Maybe an "easy listening" radio station, or some other kind of music that he prefers, playing on radio on a night stand where he can easily reach it to turn it off or change the station if he wants.

I've known at least two people who sleep better when a TV is playing.

Music might work if it calms him. Music or TV might work if it distracts him from the mental "chatter" in his head.

Alan

[AlanMeyer]

I just thought of another idea for using sounds.

If you go to YouTube and search for "relaxation" you'll find large numbers of video and/or music recordings intended to help people relax and sleep. You might try putting a laptop computer in the bedroom with one of these.

I recommend removing the battery from the laptop and plugging it into the wall. Removing the battery may be unnecessary with modern laptops but I recall that older ones would wear

out their batteries if they were plugged in longer than they needed to be.

Alan

[CBurnett]

Thank you Alan.