My Life As A Crohnie...: March 2015

Here's some info for us crohnies on insomnia....

How to Get a Good Night's Sleep With Crohn's DiseaseBy Karen Appold | Medically reviewed by Farrokh Sohrabi, MD

Poor sleep and Crohn's are a frustrating pair. Find out how to get the rest you need and prevent a flare-up from fatigue.

THURSDAY, April 11, 2013 — Getting a good night's sleep may be good for your health, but when you have Crohn's disease, uncomfortable symptoms like gas and bloating can disturb your slumber. And, according to a study done by researchers at Rush University in Chicago, the lack of restorative sleep can occur even when Crohn’s isn’t active and will have a ripple effect on your quality of life, your gastrointestinal symptoms, and the severity of your disease, even increasing your risk for flare-ups.

Others have found similar links between sleep issues and bowel problems. Research on 3,173 people with inflammatory bowel disease, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, found that people who had disrupted sleep had an increased risk of their disease reoccurring in six months," says Millie D. Long, MD, MPH, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a study co-author. "This could be due to their inflammatory bowel disease or to getting poor sleep. More studies are needed to understand the relationship between sleep and disease recurrence."

Poor Sleep and Crohn's: Breaking the Pattern

Here are ways to counter symptoms that could be standing between you and the sleep you need to achieve better control over Crohn's. Try these tips for better sleep:

If you have night sweats: Night sweats are common with active Crohn's disease. "Regardless of the temperature, if you have Crohn's disease, you may wake up one or more times a night sweating," says Maxwell Chait, MD, a gastroenterologist with Columbia Doctors Medical Group in Hartsdale, N.Y. For improving sleep, try wearing lightweight pajamas and consider taking a shower or bath before bedtime to help make you drowsy.

If you have pain: When your Crohn's is active, you may experience pain that wakes you up. Taking painkillers during a particularly tough episode may help with improving sleep. For joint pain, Dr. Chait suggests an over-the-counter drug, such as acetaminophen, that doesn’t cause digestive upsets. Also consider buying a body pillow, which may help you relax. In severe situations, talk to your doctor about whether taking a sleeping pill is a good idea.

If you take steroids: Although they can relieve symptoms, taking high doses of certain types of steroids -- such as 20 milligrams of prednisone a day -- can result in poor sleep. Splitting the daily dose between morning and evening may help. Make up your lost sleep with a 15-minute catnap during the day.

If you’re eating a lot at night: Poor sleep and Crohn's can be related to eating late in the evening. Your digestive tract works most efficiently in the morning, so try to eat larger meals earlier in the day to improve sleep at night and definitely avoid eating a large meal or even a large snack after 8 p.m. If you wake up with nausea during the night, a few bites of a cracker or a piece of bread may soothe you, Chait suggests.

If you have reflux: Gastric reflux is a common problem with Crohn's and a hindrance to getting good sleep. It worsens when you have a partial obstruction of the small intestine, which causes food to back up. Both prescription and over-the-counter medications can reduce symptoms and improve sleep.

If you get diarrhea: Diarrhea will deprive you of sleep if you have to repeatedly get up to go to the bathroom through the night. "Don't eat right before bedtime," Chait says. Instead, try taking an anti-diarrhea medicine such as Imodium and remember to make the bathroom your last stop before bed.

If you have anxiety: If you’re anxious or depressed about Crohn’s and its effects on your life, try developing some basic stress-management strategies, such as meditation skills, to restore a sense of calm.

If you continue to have difficulty sleeping, talk to your doctor about being tested for sinus problems, allergies, or obstructive sleep apnea, all of which can rob you of restful sleep.

QUALITY HEALTH SOURCE:

Crohn’s and Sleep: What’s the Connection?

Reviewed by QualityHealth's Medical Advisory Board

We all have the occasional sleepless night. However, when sleeplessness persists, it can have a detrimental effect on your physical well being, especially if you have Crohn’s disease. Sleep modulates the immune system, and a regular good night sleep is a key component of good health. Insomnia, or trouble sleeping, often goes hand in hand with other medical conditions.

Crohn’s patients often struggle with sleeplessness, even when their disease is not active. Although there is little scientific research on sleep disruption and Crohn’s, a study reported in the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology reports that sleep deprivation does affect quality of life and can cause gastrointestinal symptoms that affect the severity of the disease or increase the risk of flare-ups. Lack of sleep also limits your ability to cope with the disease. Ensuring that you get enough sleep should be part of your overall treatment for Crohn’s.

The low energy, inability to concentrate, and moodiness you experience when you don’t get enough sleep really is all in your head. According to the Academy of Sleep Medicine, insomnia is linked to low levels of a chemical in the brain called GABA, which is the brain’s “brake fluid.” GABA helps stop the transmission of nerve impulses. In adults with chronic insomnia, GABA is about 30 percent lower than in adults who get a good night’s sleep. Low levels of GABA means the brain can’t slow down and instead, races.

In addition to the negative effect on your general quality of life, chronic insomnia increases your risk for other health issues, such as depression, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes and obesity. Undetected and untreated, insomnia increases your use, and the cost, of healthcare spending.

Experts recommend you get at least seven hours of sleep every day. Here are some tips for getting a better night’s rest.

Maintain a schedule from day to day. This means going to bed and getting up at the same time each day. Avoid naps if possible. When you feel tired at night, go to bed.

Engage in rituals. Doing the same thing, such as brushing your teeth, every day before you go to bed trains your body to prepare for sleep. You may find a warm bath or a cup of herbal tea are rituals that work well for you.

Avoid alcohol, coffee, nicotine, and exercising too close to bedtime. Yes, exercise is important. Just do it earlier in the day.

Limit your activities in bed to sleep and romance. That includes no late TV—or any TV for that matter. And stay off the Internet. You may believe watching TV or surfing the Internet are relaxing activities, but in reality, they stimulate dopamine in your brain, which keeps you awake.

Create an environment that’s conducive to sleep. Make sure your bedroom is quiet, dark and not too warm. Melatonin, a hormone in your brain that regulates your body’s internal clock, is activated by darkness.

If your sleeplessness persists, talk to your doctor. Your investment in a good night’s sleep is one of the best investments you can make in your health.

So I ran out of my ambien because ive needed more of it to sleep lately. So I havent had it in a week and a half and I havent slept at night since I ran out. My doctor put me on something new called Belsomra but ive doubled the dosage and NOTHING. Im not falling asleep until 8am every day/night, whatever you want to call it. And then im sleeping off and on for a few hours, horribly, and then im wide awake again. So im incredibly sleep deprived. I have to wait until Monday to reach my doctor again. I dont know how much longer I can handle this. To top it off, my appetite has been nonexistent, my stomach is very upset, my head is killing me and im super stressed. I know if I got some rest, id be better. At least id be able to deal with the other issues. But for now, im just too exhausted. I give up

Its 5:01am...ive been trying to go to sleep for 4 hours now. I've really given up at this point. There's no point stressing over it when I know it wont happen for a few more hours anyway. Ugh!!! Sucks so bad