What works for sleep?

[wtotten]

Hi all,

I am a 54-year old man who has had IC for about 5 years or so. The last two years have been progressively worse. My pain is being controlled better with pain meds, but I am having a big problem with sleep which in turn runs leaves me fatigued a lot.

I am taking .5 to .75mg of Xanax at bedtime along with 1/2 of a Norco 10/325 pill. Note that I just started yesterday on the Fetanyl patch (a low does of only 12.5 micrograms that will increase to 25 micrograms in a week or two).

With that combination of Xanax and Norco I am still only getting about 1.5 -2.0 hours of sleep at a time before I have to get up and urinate. This leaves me mostly just wiped out. The Uro and the pain doc don't seem to really have an answers.

If you have had the urgency at night problem and found something that now allows you to sleep for extended periods of time, please share with me what you have used. Also let me know if the sleep you are getting is "refreshing", or do you wake up feeling like you are still tired.

Thanks,
Bill

[123456]

I found that Valium and other meds from the benzo family work best for me. I sleep through the whole night without peeing most of the time. I wake up feeling great!

[wtotten]

"Benzos"

Which one of these have you used successfully? Is Xanax a benzo?

[123456]

Yes, Xanax is in the benzo family but it's a quick acting, quick ending drug. It doesn't last long. One that will last longer is Ativan (Lorazepam) or Valium (Diazepam). Both of these two drugs have a much longer half life than Xanax and won't wear off so fast.

[wtotten]

I have the 1 mg pill of Xanax. I have some Ativan as well (from an ER vist when a flare went through the roof). Do you know how a .5 mg Ativan compares in strength to a 1 mg of Xanax? I could try the Ativan tonight.. if I'm using 1/2 of a 1mg Xanax, do I use the full .5mg pill of Ativan or should I break that in half?

[Zygala87]

It is what is mixed with your pain pill that might be keeping you awake. I take percocet and whtever is in it keeps me from sleeping. If I do not take a pain pill I take a Alprazolam .5 mg and I sleep well. I'm so sorry you are having this problem. I hope you get relief soon. Please ask your Doctor for help. Hug, Ziggy

[phoenixgirl]

Is it mostly the pain or the need to pee that keeps getting you up at night, wtotten? Or both? I am on amitriptyline (25 mg) and it has helped me immensely with being able to sleep at night. It's an antidepressant but the dosage for depression is usually much higher than the one given to IC patients. It's a mild tranquilizer but also helps with pain and frequency. I've been on it for about 5 weeks and within 2 nights I was sleeping better. I've gone from having to get up 5-6 times per night to MAYBE once. Sometimes I sleep for 7 straight hours and feel good in the morning. It's been really helpful for me in that regard. Lack of sleep can mess with us in SO many different ways. I hope you find something that helps you, too.

[wtotten]

Phoenixgirl,

Thanks for the advice.
It's the urge to urinate that wakes me up. It's a stinging sensation. I wake up and I gotta GO! About 4-6 times a night.

I tried Amytripaline (Elavil), but it didn't help.

Bill

[phoenixgirl]

Sorry to hear that. I haven't tried hydroxyzine (Atarax) yet but I may ask my doctor about switching to that from the elavil due to side effects. I've heard many people say that the hydroxyzine is helpful for the symptoms you describe. It's also another one with "drowsiness" as a side effect so there's that, too.

[Tuckersmom]

Atarax (hydroxyzine) is used a lot of times to help a patient relax and get drowsy before a surgical procedure. I take 50 mgs. at bedtime. I also take Tofranil (similar to Elavil, but it doesn't seem to cause the weight gain that some people experience with Elavil). I take 25 mgs. at bedtime and another 25 mgs. a.m. dose. I used to take 50 mgs. at bedtime, but have cut back the dose so as to be using the least amount of drugs necessary to control the IC symptoms.

Are you taking any OAB medications? I take a 15 mg. dose of Enablex at bedtime to help with the frequency issue.

[wtotten]

I don't take any OAB drugs.

As for Hydroxyzine, it is something I'll ask my doc about. Do any of you use it? If so, what are the side effects?

The antidepressants like Elavil and Tofranil don't help me. The side effects are too bad.

Thanks.