Having trouble sleeping
I am stage 4 w/ creatinin 26. I can’t sleep... - Kidney Disease
I am stage 4 w/ creatinin 26. I can’t sleep more than 2-3 hrs a night. I meditate/good sleep habits. Does anyone else have this problem?
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music61
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Many folks with CKD have sleep issues. How is your sleep set-up? Is your room dark? Do you fall asleep with the television on? Do you have night lights on, windows open or any form of ambient light in your room? What are you doing in the hour before bedtime? (Sorry, I'm not asking about private stuff, just as it relates to getting a sound night sleep).
Your sleeping room should be dark, with no natural or man-made lights coming in. If you fall asleep with soft music on it shouldn't last long and never have the TV on with or without a timer. Asleep or not the words and background music/commercials do invade your thoughts even or especially as you fall into a deep sleep. Any light music or sounds you listen to as you fall asleep should be soft and go off soon and go off quietly.
Try to change your mental thought processes as you lay down and prepare for a night's rest. Don't think about what happened that day or what you have planned for the next day. Keep your thoughts neutral and avoid problems or conflicts that you deal with during your waking day. If you take any medications at bedtime be sure that you take them early enough prior to bedtime so that you can pass the water taken with the meds to leave your system prior to going to bed. No kind of stimulant should be taken within a couple of hours of bedtime. No tea or coffee. Even if it's decaffeinated. Water should be a big part of your fluids but not near bedtime. Folks with CKD have to be careful of fluid intake at certain stages but remember that you kidneys process waste, especially urine and drinking too much water will cause your bladder to wake you up in a few hours if you take in too much. Drink plenty during the day but as you draw closer to bedtime slow down the water to allow for a good nights sleep.
If you think the lack of sleep is beyond the few things I have mentioned you might ask your physician about it and see if they will suggest a sleep study? I had one done many years ago but didn't find it particularly helpful. I was overweight at the time and pretty much knew I had to lose weight. I did and while I slept better I still had more changes to make.
Make your room as peaceful as you can. One external problem is where you live? If in a big city and you live where traffic noises can be heard inside do what you can to quiet your room. If you have noisy neighbors speak to them. Do you live near the flight path of an airport? I did ask my physicians about a supplement and take a melatonin pill about 30 minutes prior to bedtime. It helps greatly and by preparing my room for quiet and no light and minding water intake before bedtime I find I'm doing much better. Hope that helps.
music61 in reply to
Thank you. I do listen to soft music but don’t have it go off. I do drink water right up to bedtime so wake up around 3:30. Room is cool and dark. I did have a sleep study and used a cpap for 2-3 years then was homeless for a time and couldn’t use it. Then I lost 120 lbs and it didn’t seem to be a problem but I just asked my PC last week about getting another study done since that’s been over 6 years. I take 10mg melatonin 30 mins before bed and it helps me get to sleep but not stay asleep. Mostly though I am really restless which keeps me from getting any real rest. I will try your suggestions about setting music to go off and limit water and see if that helps. Thanks again
It sounds like you have at least two health issues which can interfere with your sleep:
1) Sleep apnea - although weight loss can make your sleep apnea less severe it doesn't necessarily eliminate it. If possible, make an appointment with the doctor who did the original sleep study to see if you should have a new one done or if you can use your existing prescription. I have sleep apnea too and I get a higher quality (deeper) of sleep if I use the CPAP device. If you can't get a hold of your previous sleep doctor, your nephrologist should be able to order a new sleep study.
2) Stage 4 CKD (I think you meant your GFR was 26) - that can cause a person to get up several times during the night to pee. My only advice is to not drink a lot of water before going to bed and certainly don't drink anything with alcohol or caffeine before going to bed. People with reduced kidney function can't produce much concentrated urine because the kidneys don't respond as well to the anti-diuretic hormone's chemical message. yourhormones.info/hormones/...
3) Also, if you're taking a diuretic drug for high blood pressure, you should take it early in the day.
BassetmommerNKF Ambassador
Hi Music,
I too have issues on some nights. I am CKD stage 4 also. You did not say if you awake because of having to go to the bathroom or why.
My issues are resolved most often by making sure I do not have water or food after 8pm. Also, if my sugar is running high, that will cause me to get up more often. I also have uric acid issues which was a HUGE problem for me. Because my urine was so acidic, it literally burned. I won't go into all the gory details, but suffice to say it kept me from sleeping more than 2 to 3 hours at a time. During the day when I am drinking water a lot, it was every hour or LESS! I now take a prescription for it to make things more alkaline and it made all the difference.
Even now, a good night has at least one mid- night trip between 1 and 3am. I sometimes struggle to fall back asleep. I also meditate so when my mind gets going and nothing is calming down, I talk myself through a body scan meditation. Are you familiar with that?
Do you take a medications that might cause insomnia? You would be surprised what does. You can google most drugs for side effects.
When all else fails, a small, tiny dose of melatonin helps a lot. But check with your doctor about that first.
I will check meds. Didn’t think about that one. I am learning about body scan meditation. Think I am going to be able to use that too. Thank you
I also use a CPAP mask now for 11 years and it helps with my oxygen levels as well. I used to worry all the time until I found out that faith and meditation erases fear. I fall asleep in meditation. I was a pharmacist and I need to explain that most prescription sleep medications keep you from getting to a deep REM sleep. They only help you get to sleep, but in the long run it is better not to rely on them. I had to stop taking naps in the afternoon. Did you know that erythropoetin is a hormone released by the kidney that tells your body to release Red Blood Cells. When the kidneys are diseased this hormone may not be released causing you to feel tired all the time. I go to an anemia clinic and get a shot of Procrit. Now I am able to do more during the day and sleep better at night. I also checked my CBC levels of Vit B-12 and Vit D3 which increase energy. The kidney is a storage unit for Vit D3. I am taking a prescription of Vit D3 50,000U once a week for 13 weeks to build up my storage of Vit D3. I find that the better I feel the better I sleep. I hope you do the same.
I can relate to your frustration with sleep issues. I struggle with getting up many times at night for multiple reasons, I.e. to go to the bathroom (every 2-3 hours most nights, restless legs, pain/discomfort from being off of arthritis med, and I am on a sleep machine for sleep apnea. Some nights I can be up an hour or two in the middle of the night because I just cannot sleep. I walk the treadmill (1 mile 5-6 days a week) HOURS before bedtime, and get into the hot tub multiple times a day to help with the pain. There are times that I get into the hot tub in the middle of the night for restless legs and aching. Thank God that I am retired. I’m not sure how one functions at work having sleep issues. I certainly hope things improve for you!
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