Prednisone & Sleeping Pills

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DebE13
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Prednisone & Sleeping Pills

Post by DebE13 »

Any suggestions on the use of Tylenol PM for sleep issues due to Predisone? I really DONT want to take another drug but I am at my wits end. I've been waiting for my GI to get back to me since last Friday for my taper on the hated Prednisone and for almost three weeks now I've been waking up at 3 AM every morning- the past two nights it's been 2 AM. I've had sleep issues since July but I thought I'd just stick it out since I wasn't anticipating being on it this long. In addition, I have a lot of added stress going on at my workplace right now and I'm wiped out before I even step foot in the office. This is absolutely crazy- how does a body heal if it doesn't get it's rest? The idea of taking a drug to help (?) counteract another drug seems almost comical.

I'm at 20mg of prednisone now - would it be best to hang in there or pick up some sleep-in-a-box? I'm worried that my body is being trained to have a new sleep/wake cycle. It doesn't matter how early/late I go to sleep- I wake up at the same time. Although my cats like having someone to play with in the wee morining hours. :cat:
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tex
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Post by tex »

Hi Deb,

I'm sorry that you're having these problems, and an unresponsive doctor, to boot. :sigh:

I can't attest to how well it works as a sleep aid, since I've never tried it, but Tylenol PM should be safe for most people with MC, based on the ingredient list. I rarely ever need an analgesic these days, but the only OTC painkiller that I've ever used since I adopted diet changes to treat MC, is Tylenol, and I know that it's well-tolerated by virtually all of us, (though some complain that it's not effective enough for their pain). As I recall, a few members sometimes use Benadryl as a sleep aid.

Of course, you can't safely just stop the prednisone treatment, cold turkey, but in the long run, you need to slowly get your body free of that stuff. I would hope that your doctor would eventually take care of his or her responsibilities. If you can't get a response from there, you might be able to get help from your GP.

Good luck with this,
Tex
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It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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Deb
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Post by Deb »

DebE
I've been having sleep issues for years and was diagnosed about a year ago with sleep apnea. The CPAP has helped somewhat but I also wake up at 2-3:00 more mornings than I don't. Sometimes I'm not sure if my lack of energy is from my MC or lack of sleep. The active sleeping ingredient in Tylenol PM is the same one that's in Benedryl. My feeling on that was, if I didn't need the additional pain reliever in the Tylenol why take it...so I have used Benedryl. The problem with it is if I take it more than a couple of times a week it seems to lose its effectiveness. My sleep doctor did give me a prescription for Ambien but I take one (or usually a half a one) minimally and usually only if I've had several days in a row without a decent night's sleep. I know so many women who are having sleep issues. I wonder why? I'd guess hormonal for some but I had an early hysterectomy over 25 years ago, so that's not the case for me. Deb
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