Not sleeping

ShazS

Hi All, just wondering if anyone else has problem sleeping and any advice appreciate Shaz

onemargie

Hi there shaz. Warm baths with body shop Egyptian bath milk helped me heaps. Helped with the aches and pains and just totally bliss slept awesome after that. Not sure what stage your at with your bc but give it a go. I also got myself a spa bath mat that you put in your bath and turns it into a spa. It's heavenly and well worth it. Margie

Zoffiel

We don't sleep, but somehow survive. I really don't know how. Bit like being a new parent; it would be sooo much bloody easier if we could just get some sleep. Apparently not.

ShazS

Hi Ladies , thanks and will try 

socoda

Hi @ShazS , I have an app on my mobile called rain sounds. If I'm having difficulty getting to sleep I can turn it on and set it on a timer so it automatically turns off after X amount of time. Doesn't help me stay asleep but its a good start! Hope you find something that works for you. Xx Cath

nonkyboy

I average 4 hours on a really really good night. If I can't sleep after 1/2 an hour now I just get back up or browse the internet in bed. Most nights I wake around 3am and that's the end of sleep for me. I think I'm getting used to it. If I'm really lucky I might get a nana nap of 15 to 30 minutes mid afternoon a couple of times a week. A lot of people use music to lull them to sleep. There are lots of CD's out there with ocean noises, animals etc. They don't work for me but may work for you. Worth giving it a try. I'm sure your local library would have some. Good luck xx Lesley 

Brenda5

1. Pillow top for your mattress.
2. Sleep alone so you can take up all of the bed.
3. Do some leg stretches in bed. I end up falling asleep like the running man sometimes.
4. Sleep with a fan going on you even in winter.
5. Somehow during hot sweats in winter with the fan on and nothing but a singlet on you don't actually freeze to death and you will wake up to drag the covers back on.
6. Unless its a toilet stop do not go and watch tv, play the internet, have a cuppa. Your body gets used to the break from bed and will demand it of you every night. I lay there for an hour sometimes but I will not get up because I know I will eventually nod off to sleep.
Forgot one, 7. Keep a water drinker next to your bed and use it as required.

Marianne_BCNA

Hi @ShazS, here is a link to the BCNA fact sheet on cancer and sleep.
https://www.bcna.org.au/resource/fact-sheet-sleepless-nights-breast-cancer-and-sleep/
Hope it is of help
Cheers
Marianne

Romla

Hi @ShazS might be worth trying Celestial Seasonings " Sleepy Time " tea available in supermarkets and contains camomile which has been used for many years by Italians as a relaxant . This product actually tastes nicebetter than straight camomile.

iserbrown

I am probably the odd one out here as I don't have trouble sleeping! 
When I was first diagnosed I had a couple of nights of waking around 3.30am but soon got over that and back to my normal routine.  A habit I've had for a long time is an Ovaltine Light break, chocolate drink about half hour before bed - mind over matter, who knows, but it signals the brain that it is nigh nigh time! 
We all carry worries and stress but it's being able to compartmentalize them so that body can have some rejuvenation through normal sleep patterns!
Hope you find your sleeping mojo soon!
Take care x

Afraser

I have been a bad sleeper for decades so can't blame bc for that.  Can fall asleep fine but tend to wake in the cycles of light sleep, and sometimes find it hard to get back to sleep. My stand bys are: milk (doesn't have to be hot, but preferably not freezing cold); valerian; doing something that stops me thinking about yesterday or tomorrow but doesn't engage me too much, Sudoku works for me, stop immediately you start to drift!  Agree with Brenda5, don't get up. While standard advice is to use bed only for sleep or sex, and get up if you can't sleep, this may result in you not going back to sleep at all, creating a new (bad) habit of nighttime activity and if your daytime commitments don't allow dropping off at 6.30am for several hours, all you will do is get sleep deprived!! You will fall asleep, and do so faster, if you can stop thinking about how much you want to get back to sleep (hence the Sudoku!). Even if you are not asleep, quiet restful time in the middle of the night can be soothing, as long as you are not fretting, or planning tomorrow.

June1952

Hi @ShazS
You are not alone !!!!
I make a quick note of anything that I want to remember in the morning (pad and pen by the bed - do not even turn the light on - sometimes I cannot read the scribble in the morning !).
I do try counting sheep - sometimes the whole paddock !
I mentally go around the supermarket naming things according to the alphabet ...... and if none of these work I close one eye and concentrate on a tiny bit of light or something and that mostly does the trick.
Good luck !
Summer  :-)

Hankster

If you are really desperate and do not react badly to antihistamines try an over the counter drug called restavit.  It will knock you out for about 12 hours.  Should not be used for extended periods.  I used it during chemo.  It helped me get some much needed sleep. 

ShazS

Hi Hankster, yeah the nurse at the clinic suggested the restavit it sure works had a good decent sleep thanks. Hope all is well your way Shaz 

ShazS

Thanks all for your remedies and yeah those who can sleep your lucky , I try not to think about anything but it creeps in to the mind from time to time. As much as you try to soldier like nothing has changed it has have surgery Thursday getting a little toey.

LMK74

@ShazS, good luck with surgery, hope all goes well.