Sleeping: I have read of the many that... - Advanced Prostate...

Advanced Prostate Cancer

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Sleeping

Ron53 profile image
Ron53
β€’31 Replies

I have read of the many that have sleeping issues and I have similar. In an attempt to sleep 8 hours, I typically wake every 2 hours. The first time I awaken, it's to answer natures call and I take a leak. The next time, 2 hours later, is not necassarily for the need "to go"...however, since I am awake, I usually do. This repeats itself every 2 hours. The other night I had a mild headache and took 2 ibuprofen. I did awaken two hours later to go, but after that, I slept the remainder of the night. Given that result, I took the ibuprofen the next night and with the same results. The next night, same thing. I don't know how long this will last, but is there any harm to taking the Ibuprofen each night? I might have the need to take them in the day a couple of times each week. So it's not like I am a heavy user otherwise. I also take 5g of Melatonin and have been for 2 years. It just out of habit as I think it has become ineffective.

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Ron53
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LearnAll profile image
LearnAll

Ron....it is obvious that your sleep is poor. If this is due to physical pain, need to urinate or any other physical problem..the solution lies in correcting that physical reason.

Just because ibuprofen is over the counter and used by lot of people does not ,make it fully safe. Excessive, long term use of Ibuprofen causes kidney damage.

If cause of poor sleep is not physical problem..there are many solutions:

(1) Never sleep during the day and make your body tired by walking and physical exercise.

(2) Increasing dose of Melatonin to 10 mg each night is not a bad idea as it isalso a substance which helps slowing growth of cancer.

(3) Taking some non addicting sleep aid..such as benadryl or loratidine can help.

(4) CBD oil (without any THC) is not only anti inflammatory but also anti cancer ,,,and it can reduce anxiety leading to better sleep.

(5) If you have clinical depression symptoms, a small dose (50 mg) of trazodone at night can improve sleep. Other candidates for sleep improvement include Lunesta, Ambien, Temazepam etc, but all of these are habit forming. You have to discuss it with your Doctor and need get a prescription for any of these.

(6) Lastly...Relaxation and meditation in form of muscle relaxation by slow, deep breathing

is harmless but beneficial method of sleep improvement. Good Night !

Ron53 profile image
Ron53β€’ in reply toLearnAll

I don't have any underlying physcial conditions that I an aware of, but don't want any kidney issues down the road either. I don't have problems falling asleep, just staying asleep. Thanks for the recommendations will check them out.

Kaliber profile image
Kaliberβ€’ in reply toRon53

Hi Ron, your symptoms remind me and are reminiscent of when I had sleep apnea. Eventually it got so bad, my final AHI ( apnea hypoxia index ) was 87 which means I awoke over 560 times a night. That was before treatment, now it’s .8 ..sleeping like a baby. I still have to wake to pee a lot, but I keep a jug bedside that I can roll over on my side and utilize without even getting up and can even do it now in semi-sleep mode without fully waking. I start with a fresh empty bottle at night and find it near half full mornings without hardly / vaguely remembering I did it.

It wouldn’t hurt to get sleep tested, ... it’s easy, they show you how to use it and you take it home and use it a night or two. You take it back in and they analyze the smart card to see the results. Once I got used to my mask, ( took a bit ) I loved my machine for the full restful nights it gives me. I often lay down for a nap and look forward to using it then too. You can add a smidge of O2 into the fitting on your hose and enjoy the rejuvenating effects that affords as well.

Probably all us old PCa farts should know their AHI index because you might have apnea and not even realize it. The improvement eliminating apnea from your health scene cannot be overstated.

I’d take care eating very many nSAIDs because they will damage your kidneys and screw up some of your monthly blood tests.

πŸ’ͺπŸ’ͺπŸ’ͺπŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘β€οΈβ€οΈβ€οΈ

Ron53 profile image
Ron53β€’ in reply toKaliber

Probably Good advice. Thanks

β€’ in reply toKaliber

It turned out that I had sleep apnea which was diagnosed early in the year after my cardiac surgeon insisted I get sleep tested prior to atrial fibrillation ablation surgery. One interesting development is that now I very often am able to go the whole night without having to get up to pee. Deeper sleep = fewer nature's calls?

Kaliber profile image
Kaliberβ€’ in reply to

That CPAP will work miracles for you for your body and organs. The damage that lack of sleep causes is a lot, good quality rem sleep is especially important for guys like us.

Glad that worked out so well for you .

πŸ’ͺπŸ’ͺπŸ’ͺπŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘β€οΈβ€οΈβ€οΈ

E2-Guy profile image
E2-Guyβ€’ in reply toKaliber

Thank you for your detailed reply. Wishing you the best,

Ron

Bodysculpture profile image
Bodysculptureβ€’ in reply toRon53

Because I am off work at the moment I sleep during the day as well

I definately don't get 8 hours I get 5 night 3 day

It's not what I would reccomend but I just cant sleep that long at night and I haven't even before my diagnosis

I usually get sleepy around 12 mid day with this cycle

So I hit the sac 1 hour after lunch for about 3 hours

β€’ in reply toLearnAll

I was prescribed 50 mg Trazodone to help with sleep. As with any new med I took a half pill to start -- and had trouble sleeping due to the boner activity it triggered. It also gave me dry mouth. Ixnay on the trazodone. Some men have had dire priapism episodes with trazodone; I think I might have joined that cohort if I had taken the full 50 mg dose.

Ron53 profile image
Ron53β€’ in reply to

If it will give me a boner, I’ll get some tomorrow, to heck with the dry mouth and priapism episode!

LearnAll profile image
LearnAllβ€’ in reply to

Some people can have side effects like what you had. Most people tolerate it fine. As for the "boner thing" (priapism) it is exremely uncommon side effect and mostly happens in men below the age of 40.

Try to avoid Ambien as it has side effect of sleep walking and sleep shopping in older people ...can increase risk of fall and drain your wallet.

Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allen

Ask your doctor for a sleeping pill that will keep you asleep (like Lunesta or Ambien CR). After a week or two, it may help you break this annoying sleeping habit. If not, consider a sleep study - you may be suffering from sleep apnea that is waking you up every time you stop breathing. If you are going to be taking ibuprofen continually, take Prilosec in 2-week periods to avoid erosion of the stomach walls.

Kaliber profile image
Kaliberβ€’ in reply toTall_Allen

I want a pill that will make me young, strong and handsome again. One that will repair my trashed manly parts , remove my cancer and shrink my new boobs back to normal ... that same pill probably should be able to cure delusional thinking and delusional wanting , too ..... I suspect.

Just say’in πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚

Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allenβ€’ in reply toKaliber

I don't want to cure delusional thinking. I want the opposite. I call it Delusionol. IMHO we all need a dose once in a while just to get through life. ;-)

Kaliber profile image
Kaliberβ€’ in reply toTall_Allen

Yayahahahaya. Omg ... gimmie a gallon of new improved injectable Delusionol ... shipping addy and CC info to follow. Possibly a 50 gallon drum of the concentrate powder I can sprinkle in my jacuzzi or on my cereal, ... uh ...huh ...kewl .....

Just say’in

πŸ˜€πŸ˜€πŸ˜€πŸ˜€πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘

β€’ in reply toKaliber

You sound like Huey Lewis -- he wants a new drug too.

Kaliber profile image
Kaliberβ€’ in reply to

He stole that from me πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚

Gearhead profile image
Gearheadβ€’ in reply toTall_Allen

That works for me with no harm or addiction that I can detect.

Like many of you, I wake up about every 2 hours. Even though I don't usually have an urgent need, I typically get up and pee and then go back to bed, because that routine USUALLY helps me get back to sleep. But sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes I lay there with what I call "monkey brain"; I'm thinking all kinds of (usually unimportant) stuff, I can't seem to turn my brain off and go back to sleep, and I'm thinking, "Shit, I'm probably going to lay here awake for hours."

Here's what works: Many years ago I was prescribed zolpidem (generic Ambien). I never take more than 1/4 of a 10 mg pill. I think the effect is 20% medical and 80% psychosomatic (as in: "OK, I took a sleeping pill, so now I can relax and go to sleep"). Even knowing that I COULD take a 1/4 zolpidem sometimes helps me relax and go back to sleep. My last prescription of 30 pills lasted about 2.5 years. That's one pill per month average.

Don_1213 profile image
Don_1213

Might I suggest Tylenol-PM. Combines a pain killer that is fairly safe (acetaminophen) and 25 mg of diphenhydramine hydrochloride aka Benadryl. Benadryl is a decongestant that also induces sleep. As my doctor told me - it's the standard sleep aid in almost every hospital.

2 at bedtime should help. The acetaminophen gets rid of the aches and pains that keep you awake and wake you during the night, the Benadryl works to help you get to sleep.

Non-addicting. Used in this quantity is considered quite safe. goodrx.com/tylenol-pm/what-is

E2-Guy profile image
E2-Guy

An old doctor friend of mine at Johns Hopkins told me years ago that sleep deprivation was far worse than taking a sleeping aid. His recommendation was a small dose of Temazepam. He said it has been around for many years and was one of the safer meds. I had taken it for about 20 years and just decided to stop. Within a couple of days I was sleeping pretty well without it. Occasionally I will take a small dose if my mind refuses to relax.

β€’ in reply toE2-Guy

I used to have lorazepam for occasional insomnia. My new doctor refused to renew it. It required special controlled substance paperwork. He was afraid that the DEA / FDA narco complex would yank his medical license. That was when I was prescribed trazo-boner, as I described above.

2dee profile image
2dee

CBD in olive oil.

Control pain and work on sleeping positions.

Pee every 2 hrs and work on not thinking. Be calm. Go back to sleep.

Sleep is NOT overrated. Our bodies are fighting this and possibly many diseases or conditions.

Exercise all possible when awake but take sleep whenever you can.

2Dee

Boywonder56 profile image
Boywonder56

Just have liver ckd ...wich u probably allready do.....i have same problem 2hrs at a time...but have never been a big sleeper....fraid ill miss something....

JPnSD profile image
JPnSD

Since starting my ADT (Firmagon), now in the second week the hot flashes have started. Instead of my usual 6 hours sleep getting up twicee...I now awaken hourly. I usually get a hot flash after getting up to pee each time (not before...after). This is the worst part of the ADT so far.

rscic profile image
rscic

Ibuprofen and most NSAID's (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug's) are cleared by and stresses the kidneys. Tylenol is not an NSAID but is cleared by and stresses the liver and does relieve pain -- pain relief is the most popular use of NSAID's. The liver regenerates, the kidneys do not. Occasional NSAID use is not problematic. Regular use can be IF the doses are high enough and the use is long enough. People with chronic kidney disease are generally advised not to take NSAID's, with the exception of baby aspirin (for cardiovascular indications). NSAID's have been associated with acute kidney injury in the general population and with progression of disease in those with chronic kidney disease.

I agree with Tall_Allen and you should probably discuss this with your Physician. A sleeping medication (for example; Lunesta or Ambien CR) might be better.

Graham49 profile image
Graham49

Ashwagandha. Check with your MO if you want to give it a try.

Efficacy and Safety of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) Root Extract in Insomnia and Anxiety: A Double-blind, Randomized, Placebo-controlled Study

Deepak Langade, Subodh Kanchi, [...], and Dhruv Ambegaokar

Additional article information

Abstract

Introduction

Insomnia is a prevalent sleep disorder that can profoundly impact a person’s physical health and mental wellbeing. Most of the currently available drugs for insomnia exert adverse effects. Hence, alternative herbal therapies could be effective in treating insomnia. Ashwagandha, a proven β€œRasayana” from ancient Ayurveda is having the required potential to treat insomnia.

Objective

To determine the efficacy and safety of Ashwagandha root extract in patients with insomnia and anxiety.

Methods

This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study conducted at Prakruti Hospital, Kalwa, Maharashtra, India. A total of 60 patients were randomly divided into two groups: test (n = 40) and placebo (n = 20) in a randomization ratio of 2:1. Test product was a capsule containing highest concentration full-spectrum Ashwagandha root extract 300 mg, and the placebo was an identical capsule containing starch. Both treatments were given twice daily with milk or water for 10 weeks. Sleep actigraphy (Respironics Philips) was used for assessment of sleep onset latency (SOL), total sleep time (TST), sleep efficiency (SE) and wake after sleep onset (WASO). Other assessments were total time in bed (sleep log), mental alertness on rising, sleep quality, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) scales.

Results

Two patients, one from each group, did not complete study and the per-protocol dataset (n = 58) included 29 and 19 patients from test and placebo, respectively. The baseline parameters were similar in the two groups at baseline. The sleep onset latency was improved in both test and placebo at five and 10 weeks. However, the SOL was significantly shorter (p, 0.019) after 10 weeks with test [29.00 (7.14)] compared to placebo [33.94 (7.65)]. Also, significant improvement in SE scores was observed with Ashwagandha which was 75.63 (2.70) for test at the baseline and increased to 83.48 (2.83) after 10 weeks, whereas for placebo the SE scores changed from 75.14 (3.73) at baseline to 79.68 (3.59) after 10 weeks. Similarly, significant improvement in sleep quality was observed with test compared to placebo (p, 0.002). Significant improvement was observed in all other sleep parameters, i.e., SOL, SE, PSQI and anxiety (HAM-A scores) with Ashwagandha root extract treatment for 10 weeks.

Conclusion

Ashwagandha root extract is a natural compound with sleep-inducing potential, well tolerated and improves sleep quality and sleep onset latency in patients with insomnia at a dose of 300 mg extract twice daily. It could be of potential use to improve sleep parameters in patients with insomnia and anxiety, but need further large-scal

j-o-h-n profile image
j-o-h-n

Ron you never want to take a leak.... you wanna leave it....

BTW build a log cabin with your imagination...it will tire you out and you'll sleep the whole night through... The mind can do wonders (just know how to use it).......

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Tuesday 11/03/2020 2:58 PM EST

Ron53 profile image
Ron53β€’ in reply toj-o-h-n

So true...and yet, sometimes I do take it with me

j-o-h-n profile image
j-o-h-nβ€’ in reply toRon53

Hopefully you don't also take a s... with you.... (leave it or lose friends)...

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Tuesday 11/03/2020 5:34 PM EST

ck722 profile image
ck722

For sleeping THC oil works for me. CBD makes me groggy. No like. Yukk.

cigafred profile image
cigafred

For answers to all your sleep questions, read the great, astounding "Why We Sleep" by Mathew Walker, professor of neuroscience and psychology and the director of the Center for Human Sleep Science at the University of California, Berkeley

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