Has anyone had trouble sleeping after the treatments? My mother is not able to get more than 2 hours at one time. After a few more hours of sleeplessness, she may fall asleep again for another hour, maybe not.

She has used Temazapam (Restoril) and Halcion. Of the 2, she does better with Temazapam. But it's obvious the benzodiazepines don't work for her.

Any suggestions?

Cynthia

Hi Cynthia:

The benzodiazepenes are pretty short acting and patients can develop a tolerance over time so it is probably just as well your mom doesn't like them a whole lot.

Has she tried plain old Benadryl 25mg at bedtime with a repeat if needed a few hours later? Another good one for long time use is trazodone (it's an antidepressant technically but has drowsiness as a secondary effect). Alot of people who have trouble sleeping also feel depressed and like the dual benefit of the antidepresant feature.

Good luck and how is your mom doing otherwise these days?

Kim

kcdc's comment about using bendryl is a good idea for most people. Diazepam (Valium) and others like it can be less than effective for some (not me, it really knocks me out, and does wonders for my pre check up jitters, since it's primary design function is anti-anxiety) but people do develop a tolerance to it. Ambien has the shortest lifespan in the bloodstream of all of this class of drugs, and is better for those who wake up a little groggy with regular diazepam. With those of us with xerostomia I would use the benadryl with caution, as it will really dry you up further...its primary function.

Excellent point about the Benadryl...I need to keep remembering to adjust my mind set to think about the dry mouth issue which is so problematic. Thanks for keeping me on track.

Kim

Thanks Kim and Brian,

Yes, she has tried the Benydryl and it actually made her hyper so that's out.

I think we'll try the Ambien - it seems the most logical thing to try.

Thanks for asking about my mother Kim. Otherwise, she is doing much better than a few weeks ago. The electrolytes have returned to normal and she is doing well with the PEG. The weight gain is slow and the fatigue is still present and it frustrates her. I try to tell her how much better she is doing to keep her going. I know it's tough when you don't feel like you've improved.

Cynthia