round 7 over the hump and now insomnia

[meighan]

Hi everyone my husband is in the middle of round 7 of folfox 6. The last two treatments he has been experiencing insomnia the nights while he is hooked up.........which seems so injust as he is so tired at the same time. Anyone else experiencing this??The vitamin B6 and B12 helped so much with the neuropathy i thought i would put it out there and see if any of you had some helpful hints.

Also i want to just say a thank you to all who post here. I go on this board every day and seek comfort that we are not alone. This sharing of trials, wars lost and won helps........it just does.I may not be the one in this family with cancer but i fight it with all i can muster and we have three small children together and it is truly a family battle!!!!! I think about all the children mentioned on this board and hope someday they have a colondar of their own......one without scars. Not because each of you aren't beautiful, you are. In fact I want my husband to pose someday but I want a cure more

[Lee]

Not sure if this would help, but I would bury the pump under a pillow. I hated the sound of that pump when I was trying to sleep.

[northern lights]

If the antiemetic he is taking is a steriod this could be giving him the jitters. I stopped taking it and just kept with the Zofran and Maxoran.

If he needs the antiemtic, ask the doctor to give him a sleeping pill.

I also take a hormone called melatonin. It is something that is naturally produced by your body and helps regulate the wake/sleep cylce.

I also try to limit my naps during the day, so that I can sleep better at night.

Hope this helps. (I just finshed round 7 too. 5 more Horray!!!)

Sharon

[Magnolia]

I'm not sleeping well at all. Some of it I'm attributing to hot flashes. I'm perimenopausal, and chemo seems to ramp up the symptoms. Probably not your husband's problem. Melatonin seems to help some folks, but I wouldn't try it myself because it has an anti-estrogenic effect. It may make my problem worse. In any case I'd check with my doc first. The steroids they give for nausea can certianly keep us awake. I'm getting Decadron and Zoferan. I've asked them to decrease my Zoferan because it was constipating me. Decadron is the steroid. It works really well, but can be a powerful stimulant, as well as increasing the appetite.

[Sleepyhead]

I have problems falling asleep the first night I am hooked up. I've only had 5 treatments but it took 3 hours to finally fall alseep the first day of my last treatment. I was going to ask my doctor about Ambien. However, I am so pooped by the second day that I don't have any problems falling asleep.

[Laurie]

Meighan, I also had trouble sleeping during my treatments. The first two nights were ok because I had phenergan for nausea which also helped me sleep. My doctor gave me Ambien which was a great help. I took it only if I wasn't falling asleep within 30 - 40 minutes after going to bed and I was able to figure out when I could get by with only half a tablet. I finished my 12 cycles three months ago. I started sleeping well again after only a week or two of finishing. Good luck to both you and your husband!

[Holly]

Meighan,

This a tough one. I say that because I do not know your husband's protocol. The first night I was rounded I, too, would have a difficult time sleeping but it was because I was ramped up on steroids. Day two I would crash. Whether the pump is causing your husband's insomnia? Again, could be a possibility but difficult to say for sure. For me I was accessed 24 hours a day for months. If I was not getting chemo, I was getting TPN or morphine. So that grinding pump was always cycling in my mind. After many months, I learned how to tune out the noise, muffle the sound with pillows or even ask the RN for longer tubing so that I could put the pump in my night table. You and your husband will find what works for you. Each of our journeys are unique. You are as you say over the hump and this will be a distant memory very soon!

Hugs!

Holly

[northern lights]

What kind of pump are you guys using that is noisy? I am on folfox and have the 48 hour infusion, but the little bottle doesn't make any noise.

Just curious.

[Magnolia]

I can hear my pump, but it's not loud enough to bother me. I only have it four nights out of every month. I'm getting fewer hot flashes now. I'm on something to help with that. (NOT estrogen! I don't need breast cancer. I have enough risk factors for that without taking estrogen.) I was having hot flashes every hour around the clock for a while. Now only one or two times a night, but I have at least one big drippy nosebleed a night. I've ruined some pillowshams. Then there are the nights I just think too much. Ambien helps a lot, but I don't want to take it all the time. Benedryl used to work wonders, but it dries me out and I don't want to do that with the nose issues. Only four more treatments to go, and then all I'll have to deal with will be the nose. Avastin continues until Spring.

Meghan, it sounds like your hubby can look forward to hibernating this winter as well.

[meighan]

Thanks everyone for all your thoughts. The pump is noisy making that sound every few minutes but we sleep through it when tired enough. The insomnia the past couple rounds has been that jittery type so I think the Decadron might be the cause Something to look into and it would make sense for why he crashes day 2 when it wears off. Wouldn't want to take him off it though and make him feel nauseous as he is doing so well over all.........don't want to rock the boat but we are going to talk to his MD and see what she thinks maybe just the zofran will do as he tolerates that fine. Anyway thanks again to all, i find it amazing that all of you can experience the same things and the nurses and MD's sometimes act like it is so unusual........is that just our experience??? Everytime he goes they talk to him about side effects but do they listen??it is like they have set answers...........he went in with red sore feet one time and the nurse said wow i never heard of that.........i went on line here and other sites and found the vit B6-B12 well documented!!!!they should know that no???? tires me but luckily we have found the answers we needed and love our actual oncologist but as a nurse myself i think the attention to each case is lacking.... the one blessing is it has made me such a better nurse to the patients i am caring for.....and my husband has such a good sense of humor he just plays with them now, saying what diarrhea never heard of that!!! Another question to put out there........... we got a call friday after he got unhooked that his protein was high so they had him do a 24hour urine i am going to call tomorrow but should i be worried??? he said the doctor just wanted to rule something out, kidney function??????can we do something to help clear it better??? Will know more tomorrow...