Insomnia

[Luludean]

Again on low dose steroids. I take them after breakfast but , I can not stay asleep . Sleep in short periods and have weirdest dreams.AF is definitely more noticeable. Any advice welcome.

[OSTEOARTHRITISRA]

Hi it will be hard on hear for for right advice and meds as probaly not a lot with these issiuesnot sure if you have

Sleep apnea as well

I got checked for that and Af

Ok with af

?with sleep apnea

Eventually got strong

Sleep med for the insomnia I am long term though I'd phone

Doc maybe quicker than later as the insomnia has to be treated and will have a big impact on you

With your

Af

Not sure if you would be allowed a sleep med or not

My medical gp etc discussed this and I had to wait until the Af got cleared then I got the sleep med

Hope you get the sleep sorted soon

[Luludean in reply to OSTEOARTHRITISRA]

Osteoarthritisra, My insomnia is due to Steroids . I know this .

Was just wondering if anyone had sensible advice.

[OSTEOARTHRITISRA in reply to Luludean]

Understand Luludean

Lost track there thinking af

There will be lots members if it's the steroids

Come Along to give sensible advice and their experience lots are on steroids

[Runrig01]

So I’m on steroids for life, as I produce no cortisol. My HPA axis has switched off and my adrenals atrophied. If I’m low in cortisol at bedtime, I cannot sleep, and sometimes have to take a small dose of steroid to get me to sleep. Many others with adrenal insufficiency say the same. It really just brings me up to a level healthy individuals run at overnight. Obviously if you’re taking higher dose steroids, then that would prevent sleep. Depending how long you’ve been on steroids, more than 3 weeks, shuts the HPA axis down, which is why you have to taper off slowly, to nudge the HPA axis to work again.

[Luludean in reply to Runrig01]

Thank you Runrig .

You are much better informed than I.

I am on a low dose for 2 weeks , I could not sleep the last time I took them , but they do reduce the joint pain even if the AF goes madder than usual.

[Runrig01 in reply to Luludean]

This may sound extreme. You may find setting your alarm for 4am, take your steroids, which on low doses can be taken on an empty stomach. Your body naturally starts producing cortisol around 4am, so you wake up ready to go. You can obviously go straight back to sleep. Mimicking how your body produces cortisol, met mean your at your normal levels by bedtime and can sleep better. Being on then only 2 weeks, it won’t be the HPA axis. 🤗

[Fluffontoast]

I had awful insomnia with steroids, but it was temporary so I just put up with it. I found Kalms helped a bit and the pharmacist said it was ok to take with my meds, but check. They take a few days to work. Also found trying to stay cooler in bed helped.

[Luludean]

hi fluffontoast, How long was temporary?

Does that mean insomnia stopped or steroids stopped. I do feel weird . L

[Fluffontoast in reply to Luludean]

Sorry, I meant the course was temporary, 8 weeks. As well as insomnia, I was quite hyper in the daytime, so got lots of work done, had to stay off the caffeine!! When I tapered off, I seemed to reclaim another hours sleep each time.

[HeadInASpin]

I have refused to take any more steroid tablets. They give me heart palpitations and I can't get any sleep at all.

[Luludean]

thank you headinaspin .

Did you have any heart problems before ?

[HeadInASpin in reply to Luludean]

No not at all. Never had any heart issues, blood pressure or anything else really until RA reared it's ugly head.