I've been on Rotigotine patches for a week now and have had seven nights' terrible sleep - I'm exhausted! I wake four or five times a night and sometimes don't get back to sleep for an hour and a half. I have to get up at 6:30am so this is not good.
Do sleep patterns eventually settle down, or is this it?
Any tips for sleeping better? I take melatonin, which is great for dropping off but not for staying asleep. Herbal remedies like valerian give me nightmares.
Hi Tabbycat
I'm afraid it can be a bit of a job too attain and retain Sleep.
Everyone is different but..
At the start of all this for me, I found myself sliding towards rubbish sleep, I would have and awake from vivid violent dreams I had no idea why i was getting these, I begun too think i had PTSD , Because every time i closed my eyes it was there let alone when i actually passed out sometime during the night, Not only that i was awaking with my muscles so tense it would actually wake me with pain as well, All of this 2 or 3 yrs even before i went too see the Gp for the first time.
He gave me amitrityline too help me sleep, neither i or the Gp knew where this was heading too or where it would end up, but the amitriptyline eased some of the tenseness of the muscle pain at night, but it didn't give me a Deep sleep, I Still had and have the vivid dreams, and i still bite my tongue in the night, but fast forwarding a little i was given Madopar CR at for overnight which was remarkable in that it gave me Deep sleep for the first time in Years if nothing else.
Then a little while ago, i was given entacapone, a combination of that or over doing things at home, instantly wrecked that deep sleep, I was dead tired but couldn't sleep, but i re arranged the times too find that balance again, instead of stayin up late too take a pill too sleep i took it earlier too get the best from it at a time when i'd naturally be tired, if that makes sense.
So it's been by no means easy or will be i bet in the future, who know's what else is thrown into the mix will and can alter it all again.
your not alone
take it easy that's one thing i have learnt.
I mentioned this to my neurologist some years ago.
He suggested removing the patches before going to bed. I had already stopped using them, so I could not try the idea. Give it a go and see what happens..
Good luck!
Hi Tabbycat,
That sounds rough, I'm sorry to hear you're having trouble with sleep. There's a section on the website about sleep problems, which you can find here: http://www.parkinsons.org.uk/content/sleep-problems-and-parkinsons
I would also suggest that you discuss this with your GP, they might be able to give you some helpful suggestions, as Sea Angler and Martini have mentioned.
Best wishes, and let us know if your sleep situation improves.
Min
Moderation Team.
Thanks everyone.
I will try removing the patch at bedtime and see what happens. I don't think the patches are helping my PD symptoms anyway!
Tabbycat, was patch removal any help?
Peter.
I don't think so. I combined removing the patch with taking melatonin at bedtime. I still woke up every two hours but the melatonin meant I got straight back to sleep. At least I think it was the melatonin - I'm not going to take any tonight to see what happens.
On the plus side, removing the patches had no effect on my symptoms.
Okay, so it's official: removing the patch doesn't improve sleep.
I'm worried that my GP will increase the dose (at the moment I'm on 4mg) next week as the current dose isn't helping me. I might never sleep again!
If 4 mg patches don't provide some glimmer of benefit, I cannot see the point of a larger dose, but that's just my opinion. You mention your GP, do you have a neurologist or Parkinson's nurse you can consult?
Peter.
No Parkinson's nurse, not seeing the neurologist again till next March. I have a GP appointment next week but I've no idea how much knowledge GPs have about this (I don't have a lot of faith in them at the moment!).
I would suggest you try making contact with a Parkinson's nurse via your GP. You would be able to seek advice more readily.
Good luck.
Peter.
I'll try, Peter, thanks.
Had a better night's sleep last night - might have been due to the acupuncture treatment I had yesterday.
