cant sleep

smeggle10
Occasional Contributor

cant sleep

does anyone else have trouble sleeping at night i just cant get my mind to switch off and i dont want to take anything as my young daughter needs me. i will go for days with little sleep and this is not including traveling an hour a day to see my husband in hospital where he has been for four weeks, due to complications with a bowel resection and now his stomach and bowel are not working and he has a peg tube and stomach drainage in his stomach. has anyone had this problem or has peg fed or drainage tube any ideas and what i am in for when he comes home would be really helpful and ways when you go out how you all deal with it
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Sharon55
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cant sleep

Smeggle, I do not know anything at all about the feeding tube and coping with that, what I do know about is not sleeping at night. There are many nights when I have been up all hours of the night, sometimes just sitting and trying not to think, other nights playing games on the computer or reading. I have always meditated but found that my mind was not in a good spot to do this to relax enough to go back to sleep. I think that your body calls on all reserves that it has to get you through this time. I found as time went on there were afternoons that both Colin and I would lay on the bed and sleep for 3 hours straight. Maybe you could try doing this if your little girl is still sleeping through the day. If she is not is there a friend or family member that could watch her for a couple of hours so you can take some time out, even if it is once a week or fortnight. I am not going to tell you to keep yourself doing things for yourself, because while I know that this makes sense it is near on impossible to think about. Take each day one at a time and sometimes I find it easier to even break it down to hour by hour or even moment by moment. Certainly enquire about what support systems are available from your local council to help you. I know that you are in country Vic, and sometimes there is more available to you than in the city. Take care Smeggle, I am thinking about you and wish you all the very best.
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smeggle10
Occasional Contributor

cant sleep

hi sharon thanks for the reply mick comes home from hospital tomorrow after a constant battle with the doctors, he just wnats to come home. so i think that when he does i will sleep. he has been in hospital 29 days today and what they tried to fix hasnt worked and there is nothing more they can do. treatment has stopped and doesnt look like restarting. we have both started to come to terms that things have changed and there wont be the time we hoped for that his life span has really shorten and i think thats why i can sleep that a thousand things are going through my mined and then i think of all the things that i have to do or things we wont get a chance to do now that all this has happened. people keep asking me how i am coping but i keep saying i will crash when it is over you just go into auto pilot and keep going maybe thats how i am coping now. well i properly wont get much sleep tonight as i will be glad just to have him home
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Sharon55
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cant sleep

Hi Smeggle, I am glad that your hubby is on his way home. it will be a relief to you both. Yesterday we had the Palliative Care people around to start this phase of our time with Cancer. I was dreading it in one sense due to reality setting in, but I tell you it has been such a relief. They have changed Colin's pain medication regime and last night was the first night that we have slept all night since I cannot remember. They were caring, compassionate and I now know that I have people that are available 24 hours a day that will know what to do. Speak to your doctors about what services are available to you. It certainly takes the weight of your shoulders. As a friend of mine said today to me, Sharon you cannot care for 24 hours a day, even nurses do not do that. She is one of the good old fashioned Oncologist nurses. She is right and any help needs to be investigated. It is a long winding road ahead with lots of bumps in it. Hang in there.
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smeggle10
Occasional Contributor

cant sleep

hi sharon he finally came home and have spoken to pal care yesterday and the nurses that will be looking after him and the same as you relief that their is someone aftrer hours and during the day if needed nearly had a good night sleep except his feeding machine was slightly noise but hey its nice to have him home and i have confidence that i cna do the job and if i need a break he can go to repite for a few night and be home during the day which is good. looks like we are both at the same stage
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gypsy
Occasional Contributor

cant sleep

hi smeggle, i know what you mean by not being able to sleep, i can lie in bed for hours totally exhausted but not be able to shut my mind down. the worst thing is its making me cranky and irritable and even though i dont mean to, me and my partner end up fighting. Tube feeding is easy, i worked in group homes for people with high care needs and disabilities. a community nurse can show you how t do it properly. It always helped the client i was with to just talk to them about anything else while you are doing it, it makes the process nicer for you and your husband. you are in my thoughts and i pray that you and your husband stay strong, happy, hopefuk and in love. we are all here for you, whenever you need anything. gypsy
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linda64
Occasional Contributor

Re: cant sleep

Hi There's not much sleep happening in our house at night. My husband has been told that his cancer is back after being in remission for about 14 months, but this time it's not operable & chemo is his only option, which will start late January. It's mainly due to the pain but as he may only get to sleep late he is then sleeping to maybe 11.00ish the next day so his bodyclock is all over the place. We are still trying to get his pain relief right. Palliative care visited for the first time last Friday. With help from pal care/gp his medication was altered so we are slowly getting on top of his pain, still a way to go though. take care Linda
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