Sleep Would Be Nice
When I had blood cancer, I had a whole bunch of symptoms. One of them happened to be insomnia. I was in so much pain, nauseous a lot of the time, trying to mentally cope with how my body looked, felt guilty about not contributing to the household, and many other things so, of COURSE, I had trouble sleeping!
The meds led to insomnia
I think another part of the problem was one or some of the medicines that I had been prescribed. I don’t remember all of them, but I do remember Omeprazole. It has a bunch of uses, but I had it because I developed GERD. It was supposed to help with the pain, but, unfortunately, it made it worse. For whatever reason, whenever my body is in immense pain I can’t sleep. I think it’s a defense mechanism, like, “Hey, you’re in pain; you must be in danger. DO something about that.” Thanks, body; sleep would actually help with that, but sure, we can just wait it out.
This or That
Do you struggle with insomnia?
The 3 hour rule
I don’t know why, but when I could finally fall asleep, I was only really able to stay asleep for three hours. Has anyone else had this happen? It was not enough, but it was at least something. There may have been times when I slept more or less, but I only really remember the three hours.
The guilt of being exhausted
I wasn’t working, but my roommates were. They all worked serving jobs at a restaurant that treated them horribly. So they would come home exhausted both mentally, emotionally, and physically. I felt really guilty, even though I shouldn’t have. I also wasn’t helping with the household chores, so that made it hard to want to sleep because it felt like I was being lazy. Crazy I know, but that’s what my brain kept telling me.
So what can be done about insomnia?
Now that I know more about sleep and being chronically ill, I actually have some suggestions!
- One thing I wished I would have asked for is a card that would have allowed me to purchase medical marijuana at a dispensary. Good old Mary Jane is great for relaxation, turning your overthinking off, giving you an appetite and sleep. All things that would have made my experience much better.
- Making your sleeping space comfortable is another big thing. Having clean sheets and pillow cases every week, keeping the temperature in your room cool, black out curtains to keep out any light and turning off your electronics are all great ways to help you feel relaxed enough to fall asleep.
- The blue light from your phone will signal to your brain to stay awake so keep those in another room or somewhere you won’t see them.
- Taking a warm bath or shower before bed can be calming as well. I also like having certain scents fill the room before bed. Incense is nice, but be careful because it’s technically still burning.
- Cuddling with a pet or loved one releases happy chemicals in your body which provides a calming affect.
What other things would you do, or do you find helpful to promote sleep? Warm wishes, Katelynn
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