You are not alone Elaine, had the same problem for years, every once in a while I have a short period where I can sleep well and it's wonderful when it happens.
4 or 5 hrs would have been wonderful tonight.
Wished I could figure it out. OTC sleeping aids, even with the dosage cut in half, seem to leave me groggy. When I was on 75 mg zoloft I slept all the time (to much).
I'm on 25 mg zoloft now, I think I'll go up to 50mg, maybe that will help. I bet there are lot's of night owls out there in RA land.
hugs ;)

Your not alone in that one. I get about the same as you 4 - 5, 5 being a good nights sleep for me at this point. Most of my friends laugh because thats when I return emails and such, so it's normal to get msgs from me at 3:45 AM. Today I have been up since 3:30.
I have tried over the counter, melatonin, and under the counter, ambien. There are ups and downs to all of them. I will take either one after sever days of only a few hours of sleep. I have learned the more tired I am the more I ache. So after a few days I HAVE TO get a "good nights sleep". Thats the only time I take anything. I try to use the time I get from not sleeping for learning. Just because I can't run around anymore doesnt mean my brain isn't working! ; ) Good luck. And remember there are people out here that know exactly what you mean. Your not alone and the good folks on here will co sign that one - Im sure.

I tried many OTC and prescription pain meds and supplements before finding a sleep aid that works very well for me (flurazepam). I take it 1-2 times a week, and it has a residual effect that can carry over several days. I've been taking it for about 15 years, and it hasn't affected my liver. It is an opiod, so there is that downside, but I do get deep sleep.

Sleep is a big deal, so bring it up with your doc.

Good luck,
doug

ya, im dragin ass this morning. those trigger point injection had me up all night with pain haha
most time an anbien an muscle relaxer will zonk me out

I have been having trouble sleeping over the past few weeks as well. I finally tried the Walmart brand sleep aid for a couple of days and that seemed to help. I was just recently diagnosed with RA so I am learning as well.

i have the same problem...i use advil pm...it helps enough for now..if i dont take it..im up all night long..never had sleeping problems before R.A



Kim

Not me- I could fall asleep these days at the drop of a hat. I can't recline in my chair and watch TV without nodding out. The only time I couldn't sleep was when I was on high doses of prednisone- and it was torture. I would pop up in bed at 3 AM and be like "Time to make the donuts!" Are you on prednisone by any chance?

Hmm! I thought it was the bipolar that was keeping me up at nights. I do remember when the pain was bad, waking up all night - even when I had my surgery, and the flares were happening. I take some Canadian sleep meds, and I do well.

I started with Ambien, but it is an amnesiac and I felt like I was losing some memory. I am now on Nortriptiline which is usually for Fibromyalgia....which I may have as well as the RA. It has been wonderful...in relaxing the muscles. I usually only wake up once...and that is because I have to go to the bathroom.

I have been having the same "not sleeping" problem. I'm fatigued and tired, yet when it comes time to sleep, I can't. Then when I can, I'm always popping up in the middle of the night. Lately seems to be around 3-3:30a.m, then never really getting back to sleep again. Not sure if it's the pain, discomfort, or the tossing and turning. My doctor offered a sleeping aid, I declined. I don't want to take any more medication. I feel like a pharmacy as it is. Ive been trying a hot bath, that seems to help some, but it is temporary. Wish you many sweet dreams...

I had problems sleeping especially when on prednisone - dont think you are on this. Note you have had this disease quite a while so I expect have had a few different drugs. One thing that did help me was a homeopathic remedy for sleep. Interestingly when one lot ran out and I bought some others the second kind werent quite so effective as had slightly different composition. The ones that helped me most have:
chamomila 24x, Humulus Lupulus 6x, Ignatia 60x, Kali Brom 12x, Nux vomica 30c, Zinc Val 24x. As homeopathics arent protected by drug company patents you might be able to get this concoction made up to try if you have access to homeopathic remedy place (we have one in my town luckily) although company that makes these is only an hour away anyway. NZ very enlightened in terms of alternatives. I know that ignatia is a useful ingredient for my temperament type and was missing from the less effective drops.
Good luck. I am getting up to 12 hours sleep (well that was on one night after feeling yukky grotty and methotrexated) but now always 8 hours without the drops. With prednisone and drops around 7 - some nights if had to get up a lot a little less and then 8 plus nights. By way if you arent familiar with homeopathics keep away from strong smells and take at least half an hour after cleaning your teeth because of pepperminty toothpaste. I can get mine in a spray formula. There are herbs such as valerian too. Good luck.

Oh the dreaded five letter word... s l e e p ! We have a very rocky relationship, sleep and I, and it sounds like so many others do too! Over the years I have struggled in several different ways with sleep - lack of sleep because of chronic pain - lack of sleep because of muscle cramps/nutritional imbalances - true insomnia - and on and on.
However, nothing has been even close to as challenging as the sleep problems associated with Addison's Disease and RA. Specifically with Addison's because the cortisol rhythms are all jacked up I began to wake up at the exact same time every single night and stay awake for the same length of time each and every night. It was like I could temporarily had the energy to conquer the whole world but couldn't get any thoughts or ideas organized as to how to do it so I was still worthless! I had so much energy but then would crash, usually about an hour or two before I was supp. to get up for work. Once my Addison's disease was finally discovered and I read up on the science behind what was really going on inside with the hormones (cortisol)/ levels of it all it really made sense(didn't make it any less annoying - but made more sense :).

Back to the topic... I think and have done some research in it because it really interests me, that there is definitely a connection between RA and the cortisol levels in the body. Especially when you factor in the medications most of us take to try and keep the flares and damage under control. The hormone cortisol is the main hormone in our body that helps our body stay in rhythm (it's highest in the morning and lowest in the evening/night), however when we are on steroids for example we are getting a boost of cortisol and the rhythm gets all jacked up. That's why (at least I have guestimated for myself) when I am on prednisone that I am on that nighttime high...I've "recharged" my cortisol with a dose of a little predisone pill.

Well, I have sufficiently blabbered on and on and on. Sorry about that guys. For some reason, for me sometimes if I make some kind of sense out of some of it, I am able to make sense out of getting myself back on track of figuring out how to get back.

I don't know if I've even offered anything good or helpful, however I know lots of people are often worried about their livers and adding more medications - as I am too! So that is why I looked into my natural rhythms and what can I do to "reset" myself or getting myself back on track?

So, in the end, I try and keep my body in the right cortisol swing. Highest in the morning and lowest in the evening and most importantly not overload it with caffeine, chocolate, sugar, and artificial "Highs" because that's what makes it bonkers.

Happy sleeping everyone! Night night, sleep tight.

I forgot to mention- when I was having that problem with waking up at 3 am every morning I stopped fighting it. I got up and read or watched an old movie on tv. I stopped worrying about and started treated it as some quiet time for me.
However I had the "luxury" of being on medical leave- so I wasn't under pressure that I was going to have to leave for work at 7:30 am with lack of sleep. Eventually I would get sleepy again and go back to bed. Or if I didn't if I wanted to nap during the day I could.

My RA doc put me on Trazodone 150mg and I am sleeping like a baby! It took about a week to start working but now it is great! I was against the idea to begin with, thinking "Oh, well, I can take naps during the day." But it just wasn't the same. But when I am having a flare up of my RA, then regardless of how much sleep I get, I am still bone-weary. That is just part of the disease.

I love the herb Valerian Root for sleep, it doesn't have any side effects, the capsule really smell awful. It has other health benefits as well.