~ The " I Can't Sleep!! " Thread ~

[Wii]

Well, hey, it's a little past 4 A.M. and I am struggling. I can't get to sleep because I'm sick and everytime I lay down I start to cough. I sit up, choke and cough a while then lay down and it starts all over again. I guess in time I will exhaust myself and just pass out. I've been sick for almost 3 months now with a lung infection. Been to the Doc already and antibiotics did nothing so I have another appt next week. I hope I don't die between now and then, sometimes this coughing makes me see stars.

Normally I don't have too much trouble getting to sleep but this is just one of those terrible nights.

[ccgirl]

Do you have a lazy boy type of recliner. When I had pneumonia, I slept sitting half upright. It wasn't perfect, but it helped.

[Wii]

No, I wish I did right now though. I can find a position sort of half on my left sit sort of semi sitting up with alot of pillows in my bed up against the headboard that I can get comfortable and stop wheezing in for a while but then it starts up again. I wonder if I could got to ER and get a breathing treatment. All tolled I may have got 2 or 3 hours sleep last night and I am so tired. If I am going to go to ER I need to rest some before I attempt a drive. It's about a 10 minute drive but the walk from the parking lot to the ER front door is a HIKE. And with me having breathing problems. AW Sh*T!!!

[reader]

I had an antibiotic resistant pneumonia once which it sounds like u do too. I have asthma on top of it. I would steam my head and make a tent which a towel and vicks. Do u have someone who can take care of u. A home nebulizer would help too. It is so scarey when u can't breathe. I wish I was there to help u, I have passed out before. Maybe u should take an ambulance. I will pray for u to get better!!

[Wii]

Yes, I too have asthma. I didn't think of a resistant pneumonia. That'd work. Wish I did have a nebulizer but I do have Vicks and an Albuterol inhaler and a Walgreen's inhaler which actully works Better than the Albuterol at stopping the bronchospasms. I am always steaming myself one way or another LOL. ::Wink::

Originally Posted by reader

I had an antibiotic resistant pneumonia once which it sounds like u do too. I have asthma on top of it. I would steam my head and make a tent which a towel and vicks. Do u have someone who can take care of u. A home nebulizer would help too. It is so scarey when u can't breathe. I wish I was there to help u, I have passed out before. Maybe u should take an ambulance. I will pray for u to get better!!

Thank you for your concern. No, I am alone. I do the best I can here, most days bare minimal. I have to get dressed at least once and go move my car or I get a ticket for $50. which totally sucks when your sick to have to get out of bed and go out. I take care of the animals then they have free roam of the house til bedtime. The male and 2 females are in heat so there is lots of chasing going on but I think the females are almost about ready to lay their eggs. I hope we have some babies this time. That'd totally make my year.

[reader]

Do you raise lizards or something?? How are u feeling today? A old mustard rub might set u straight, i love old time remedies they really work.

[mikiglen]

have you tried advair? i have been intubated so many times for asthma....i am on this and singulair now and have not had to use my neb in about six months, which is good for me.
also, if you have something you can kind of pull over your bed....like those tables in the hospital? then you can put your pillows on that, and sleep that way. worked for me, anyway
keep us posted
mis

[reader]

Advair & Singular work good for me too- The old time Theophline use to make me nervous and my hands would shake. Thank God better meds have come along. I prefer the flovent inhaher but now I guess they companies are getting away from propellants. Pressure from the do gooders concerned with the ozone layer. Thats all well and good with hair spray and such but when your lungs are too weak to get good inhales it can be a lost cause. I am so greatful I am doing better especially thanks to the flu and pneumonia shots and better meds. The last infection I had lasted almost 2 months and the xray showed I had so much scar tissue from so many pneumonias that they thought I might of had lung cancer, luckily the MRI was ok. Well anyway, Wii I hope u are feeling some better!!!!!

[Wii]

Well reader, I do have 3 full grown iguanas. One died last week, he caught whatever I have here, they are suseptable to any kind of respiratory illness.

No mikiglen, I don't usually have an inhaler from the doctor. I just use a Walgreens. I had a situation a few years ago where I was almost blackmailed into a bunch of unnecessary tests in order to get any refills on my Albuterol. I told the place, Clinic, I'm not jumping through hoops to get refills. So, that's what happened.

I am sort of getting better or so I think then I have a very bad day or night. By the time I get into see a Doctor again I may be all better or almost dead, this thing is a Real B*tch.

[mikiglen]

what about an er? they can give you inhalers and stuff, too
if you need them......
i hope you continue to do better, and i am sorry for your loss, i know pets are so much like family
misti

[ayla zaire]

i hope you got some sleep last night...and i hope you feel better...something terrible seems to be going around everywhere...i'm not sick, but i just can't sleep...this morning i'm going on about an hour and a half...wow...i have three kids and i hope i make it through the day...yawn...i should be used to this...i never sleep...but yesterday i got to sleep in...so i shouldn't complain..

[reader]

Yes they are Miki, I have a zoo, 2 types of birds, dogs, Fish, one of my Koi's recently died, cats, now a horse. They are like family, I am sorry Wii that u lost one of your lizards. I have to watch my birds when I get sick, he is a kisser, and a coffee stealer. I know that nights often get worse and just when u think ur getting better the fatigue and symptoms return. If u want to give me your address I will send you a nebulizer, Even warm water in it will help. I think my girlfriend has a spare. Well, take care, Kerry

[Wii]

The past 48 or so hours have been pure hell. I didn't sleep at all last night so I slept all day yesterday. The wheezing and crackling in my lungs wouldn't allow me to lay down, recline or even sit up and sleep, it was torture. I started taking an expectorant around 2 a.m. and started to cough up some of it about 8 yesterday morning. Tonight I slept until about 5, am awake now, I mean WIDE awake and coughing up stuff. So I decided to get up, make some tea and toast, take some NyQuil and Bendryl and cough syrup and wait til I feel sleepy enough to go back to bed for a few more hours.

I remember when I was drinking how these early morning awakenings were. They were more like a TerrorRide from Hell. I'd wake up in a sweat, thinking all sorts of Morbid stuff and be just terrified. And thoughts of Death, OH, how I remember them. I'd have them during the daytime, and they were called then "The Fears". But in the early morning, just before dawn the pure terror I would have, man, that WAS a trip. So glad I don't have to deal with those anymore.

[mikiglen]

go figure, i have been having asthma problems since last nite also. i can't drag four babies to the er, am out of neb meds and am actually thinking of calling the medics out herejust to give me a treatment.
it's the weather around here for me, i'm sure.
hope you get better, wii

[Wii]

I don't think they'd do that here. They want to drag you out in the cold and disrupt your life to get a breathing treatment. I think they want you to beg. I was denied one once and I so needed one. I started crying. I'm an adult, I think I know when I need one. I think I have had the worst health care workers in existence. Both doctors and nurses.

[reader]

Thats awful, as a nurse shame on them. If u have never had breathing problems u have no clue the fear and frustration involved. Your last post was a few days ago how are u doing now. I am hoping it is breaking up some or it is getting worse. Keep track of your temps. to see if it going into a severe pneumonia. Take care of ur self when u get that address straighten out ur nebulizer will be on its way. I can send in ups if that would help. Prayers out to u!! Kerry

[Wii]

I'm here Kerry, still alive and struggling. I feel sort of wierd today like I'm not really here. Sort of dissociative. I wish I was asleep. I have no appetite and no energy at all. My breathing seems to be a little better with the new inhaler Doc at ER gave me. He yelled at me and told me to get rid of the Walgreens inhaler BUT it does work very fast getting rid of that bronchospasm in my throat, you know when you lock up and can't get a breath IN. The new inhaler is making my lungs feels a little better. I'm not gurggling as much right now as usual. Had a rough night last night again. Got sick all over my bed, just what I needed in the middle of the night to have to get up and change my bed. No energy today to do much of anything, I just want to lay down.

Still not smoking too, what is this DAY 27? Yea, it'll be a month on the 15th. I can't believe I quit. Well, if I survive this illness at least THAT is one good thing to come from it.

[mikiglen]

can you just lay down and rest when you need to?
reader, you are a nurse? i like finding other nurses here, lol
i ended up calling the medics out that morning...they told me "sorry, can't dispense meds unless we're transporting", i said ok and shut the door....the next thing i know, they are banging on it...came in gave me a shot of epi and a treatment....worked wonders for a few hours
still using this new xopenex inhaler and nebs....don't like it near as much as albuterol
keep us posted, wii, hope you sleep tonite
and congrats on the smoking

[Wii]

They got a pang of concience?? Came back?? Wow, you were lucky.

Medicine doesn't seem to take the person's situation into account much at all, as if they ever did. I guess in the old days when you had ONE family doc who took care of everything you'd be in better hands than now when they just say it doesn't go by procedure and leave you laying on the floor struggling to breathe. It's just terrible. Everyone is one breath away from Death. You'd think they'd understand that's why you were so lucky this time. I was in ER for about 4 hours before I actually got the treatment. I could have died in the waiting room. People in there were asking me if I was ok. I just layed down on the couch and watched tv.

[Wii]

Meh. Here I sit. Been awake for a couple hours, it's now 6:20 a.m. I will be going back to bed in a bit to TRY to get a little more sleep, I hope.

I am improving, I mean this illness I have, I seem to be getting better, FINALLY, it is taking it's own sweet time though. 13 weeks I've been down with this monster. Right now I am up because I am wheezing and it's worse when I lay down. I didn't drink enough liquids yesterday so it's very thick and sticky in my lungs and it won't come out when I cough. Just made a big mug of tea and drank a big glass of warm water after I gargled for a bit. That always loosens whatever is stuck in my throat. Drinking liquids is the only way to get the dry, sticky stuff up out of my lungs. It's Very aggravating. I am getting a headache now from coughing. I guess some Tylenol wouldn't hurt right now and another big glass of water.

[Wii]

It's right now about two hours before dawn........................

Well, almost a month since I was in this thread complaining about how I can't sleep. I DO believe I am on the last lap of this illness but each week it changes into something else depending on where it is. Now it's up in my ears, sinuses and throat and esophagus. I am almost positive it has developed into Thrush. I typed in the symptoms and came up with that. My mouth feels very uncomfortable and swallowing sometimes is difficult. And if I lay down it feels like something is stuck in my chest that won't go down. It gets worse as the day goes on. It said that it's a fungus infection and if I can rinse my mouth a few times a day with vinegar it will kill it. I have been doing it but I just can't swallow it. My mouth gets better when I do that. There is no way I can get vinegar up into my sinuses or into my eustation tubes.

It said it developes after use of an antibiotic or after a long illness.

So anyway, woke up about an hour ago, very uncomfortable. Had to get up and have some tea, water and juice and stand over the steam in the kitchen sink for a few minutes. I will do that again before I go back to bed. Took some Tylenol and a Benedryl, that always helps. It's better to get up for a while than to lay in bed and watch t.v. anyway. Thank GOD for the Internet!!!

[historyteach]

Hope this can help!
http://www.webmd.com/diseases_and_co..._disorders.htm

Shalom!

[Wii]

Thank you ht but that's not my problem. If I didn't have all these crappy things happening to me KEEPING me awake OR waking me up, I'd be fine. I have been Trying to find a natural cure for this Thrush thing, looks like THIS just might be it.

:s to the bathroom to rinse::

[roadrunner]

Hi, I just joined this forum since I saw the I can't sleep thread.

I don't have any problems with drugs or alcohol since I'm not a user - with the exception of a drink now and then...

My problem is that I am sick with something I've not had before.

It is a little after 2:00 a.m. my time and I have already tried to sleep tonight, but I cannot. About a week and a half ago I caught some sort of bronchitis that is pretty nasty. The only symptoms are generally overall physical and mental weakness combined with a cough that is mostly unproductive (dry) and a wheeze in my lungs. This seems to be confined to the upper part of the lungs or lower part of my throat.

I am now taking antibiotics, and I have seen an improvement with them over the last two days, but it has not stopped my problem and I am still up without an ability to sleep.

I try to lay down to bed and cannot sleep. I am tired, but the wheezing in my lungs prevents me from getting to sleep. Instead, I lie down and cough my ass off until I get back up again. This has gone on for the last 3 nights and I've only been able to get 3-4 hours of ****** quality sleep per night.

THIS SUCKS! I don't know what this is, but whatever it is, I wish it didn't exist!

A warm bath seems to work well. Sitting upright is much less problematic than lying down for some reason. I just wish I could sleep.

[Wii]

Gee rr, you sound like me EXACTLY!! It was a horrible thing which has left me NOW with THRUSH in my mouth , esophagus, sinuses and eustachion tubes. This is one NASTY bug. I even wondered if it was engineered by Terrorists. Someone else said they had this for 3 months and were on their 3rd round of antibiotics. When I first got it my mouth was sore like a sore throat for about 2 weeks before it actually attacked my throat and lungs. I couldn't talk at all for about 3 weeks. Many days I wished I was dead. The final antibiotic seems to have done the most good or else I was getting better anyway by that time anyway, who really knows?? It was Clindamycin. They give it for acne, which I do have and it also cleared that up.

I haven't slept well lately either eventhough I am better. I got myself some OTC sleep aids, Nytol or Sominex ?? But they work ok, I still wake up after only sleeping a few hours.

One bit of advice I can give you that helped. Take an Expectorate All day so at night when you can't lay down for the noisy wheezing, when you cough, what is in there will come up and OUT. That helped me tremendously but you must take it every 4 hours, starting in the morning because it takes about 6 or 8 hours for it to start to work AND drink lots of water.