Medications

Sleeping Problems

So I haven’t ever written about my problems with sleeping on this blog but I feel I need to write about it because there may be other people out there struggling with the same things. I also hope that someone out there may have some suggestions for things I have tried yet to try to help me sleep. I have always had problems sleeping but in the last few years it has gotten 100 times worse.

I first really started to notice my sleeping problems when I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis when I was 15 or 16. I have always had problems sleeping but I really started to notice them in high school and college. From the age of about 16 I was given prescriptions for Ambien and Sonata which are both sleeping pills. So at this point those two no longer work for me. When I was in my mid twenties they prescribed me Lunesta which for me was a wonder drug because for the first time I was able to sleep and I didn’t seem to get used to them.

I took those on and off for years. The insurance I know have through work refuses to pay for them and there is no way I can afford to pay over $200 a month for them so I haven’t been able to get them. Since I haven’t been able to get them I have had to start trying all the over the counter sleeping medications and I haven’t had much luck with them.

I have tried taking Melatonin and I will still take it sometimes but I have found that I have to take so much of it to get me to sleep that I end up with a huge headache the next morning. The only thing I have found that works is taking a combination if Tylenol PM & Ibuprofen PM along with a time released Melatonin pill to help me stay asleep longer because lately I manage to take enough stuff to fall asleep but I can’t stay asleep to save me life.

I have also stopped watching TV after work and I try not to use my cell phone once I am home so that I can try to wind down from the day but no matter what I try nothing seems to be working for me.

Does anyone know of anything else I can try to use for sleep? I will take any and all suggestions at this point!

I am not sure if anyone would be interested in the medications I currently on for my MS but I am sure there is someone who would be interested to know what is working for me right now and all the things I have tried that hasn’t work for me over the 11 years I have be treating the MS. For this post I am going to talk about the medications I am currently on and what I am taking them for.

Tysabri-I am currently using this to treat the MS. I have been on it for over 3 years now and even though it is dangerous I won’t stop taking it because it is the only MS drug that is out there right now that is controlling the MS.

Baclofen- I take this three times a day. There are some days that I may only take it once but depending on pain & how I am feeling I may take it all 3 times. I use this for the spasms I have and I also use this because of my back injury. If I don’t take this at night I wake up stiff in the morning and in tons of pain.

Zoloft(sertraline)-I take this once a day and it is my antidepressant. Depression runs in my family but I also think that the MS has made mine worse and also made me super anxious.

Loritab- I use this as needed for pain. I get 20 pills a month and I usually use them all but most of them are use the weekend and week after my infusion because that is when I tend to have the most pain.

Fiorinal- I use this for my migraines. I have had migraines since I was in 5th grade. Most of the time if I can catch it at the beginning I can stop it from getting super bad but on days that I don’t catch it or it doesn’t respond to the usual things I have to take 2 of these. The thing I love about this medication is I can still function at work while I am taking it.

I also use things such as Benadryl, Tylenol, and Ibuprofen almost daily. If you have any questions about any of the medications please let me know. Next time I am going to write about what MS treatments I have used and why I stopped using them.

The World As I See It

My Sleeping Problems

My MS Meds