Anyone else has middle of the night cups of tea and biscuits ? It happens quite often over here... and TV news not very soothing at present I am going back to bed now. Thankfully, no sign of pains, yet .....So, may be back to Nodland....hopefully. :wink: Sometime, it is a WHITE night for the rest of the night ! ! As always...Granny Mossxxx PS, could be due to being so ancient !..... :roll:
Hope you did get back to sleep, Granny Moss,
I always get off to sleep very quickly, soon after 10 then can wake up about 2.30. Sometimes it's just a loo visit, but sometimes I just stay awake for the rest of the night - which can make you feel really bad next day.
Can you manage a nap in the day, or even several?
I know what you mean about the news 
I listen to the World Radio and it can be pretty depressing, so sometimes I try a sort of visualisation (if that's the right word) of taking myself to a place or a time when I was really happy, and re-living it. That can often get me back to sleep :D
Anyway I hope your day is a good one - I'm wondering what to give up for Lent. Looking at this site all sorts of food (sugar, convenience foods, carbs etc etc apart from various medications) suggest themselves!!!!! Maybe make it chocolate!
Take care , the other granny, Green Granny
Oh poor you GM These 'sleepless' episodes are unsettling aren't they and as you say news not good at that time of the morning!
Hope you manage to get some 'naps' in today to make up for the lack last night.
Have found my sleep patterns have def been disturbed since I have been on the steroids although cannot be sure they are the culprit! Think we girls suffer from sleep disrtuption for many years after the menopause ( and during it) and the night sweats which accompany PMR ( and there was me thinking they were all behind me!) don't help :lol:
Wishing you a better night tonight
Hope you slept eventually Granny Moss
I like Green granny always manage to go to sleep quite well after 11 but if im having a problem sleeping i also will wake up around 4ish which I hate !! My husband has the alarm about 6 as he likes to think about getting up for a while before he does !! So that means I cant even have a lie in I am useless the next day without a good nights sleep and do resort to Nytol if this goes on for a few days
Cant you listen to something more pleasant in the night Granny Moss than the news !! You could have some sleep music CDs I have seen them somewhere Or you could try and get a film of Richard Burtons that voice should send you to dreamland !! best voice I have ever heard !!
Fifties girl Since I started taking the same herb as my horse !! ( agnus Castus ) the night sweats have now gone so obviously the steroids had thrown my hormones out of balance so I am quite pleased
Off to Nordic walking this morning and the sun has just come out !!
Best wishes
Mrs G
I have been off pred for 2 ½ years but when I was using it, I got a pill called Imovane (now I use Zopiclone, which is also the active ingrtedient in Imovane). I only took ½ pill if I woke up around 4, and within 30 minutes, I usually fell asleep. I didn´t want to have drug dependence, so I tried ½ pill and onlu up to twice a week. I also tried reading a book for one hour and after that I usually fell asleep again.
I am male and 73, and I think I don´t need as much sleep as younger persons, so those two methods seem to fit me. If I have something important to do and want to have 2-3 more hours of sleep, I take the ½ pill, otherwise reading for one hour. I usually stay up until 11.30.
Sweden is just getting some snow to-day after havning had very nice spring weather with sunshine for two weeks or so.
Hoping for better sleep for those who need it
Ragnar
Commiserations to all you sleep deprived folk. :sadface: There is nothing worse than lying there hour after hour knowing that next day you will be fit for nothing. Happens to eveyone now and again ( what a funny expression that is) but Pred. seems to be the culprit for many; another of the 82 varieties.
Strangely, I have woken less and slept more since taking my Pred. at night which is not the received wisdom, I know, and it solved my most worrying side effects almost overnight, too.
My GP said it was a shot in the dark which worked for me and ( and this is the best bit for me ) said he would add it to his store of knowledge. I love that.
Richard Burton? No. James Mason for me in the best voice stakes, though Jeremy Irons is a close second.
Hello Ragnar, I've been quite a fan of yours for a couple of years now with the slow reduction which certainly works well for me.
Now I have to thank you for the tip about zopiclone. Doctor prescribed it for me with dire warnings about not getting addicted etc. I had always held back from taking it during the night - frightened of oversleeping. I had never thought of halving it for some reason so many thanks!
All the spring flowers are out here so hope we don't get any more winter
Green granny
Oh Richard Burton's voice for me anytime too...and not just 'cos I'm Welsh!
If I have difficulty getting off to sleep I try emptying my head (not difficult!!! :wink: ) and start concentrating on slowing my breathing and it seems to work every time. However, the frustrating thing for me is having to spend a penny a couple of times during the night. :roll: Have tried not having my cup of tea any later than 8.30 but still seem to get only 2-3 hours before having to 'go' - getting old, I suppose....and taking after my dear Mum who was up numerous times during the night!
Hi Rick - so good that you keep in touch with us and glad that things are continuing to go well for you AFTER steroids. :D
Granny Moss - do hope you managed to get to sleep eventually and don't feel too shattered today. :zzz:
MrsO
Hi there Margherita I am always up in the night with cups of tea and the odd biscuit ha ha :tea: :cupcake:
Hello everybody....Last night, the young lady next door which we hardly see, came in and burst into tears. Very distressed. Apparently, new young male (of course !.. MEN ! ! ?)kept her awake, playing electric guitar ? (spelling...) up to 4am ? ! She asked, could we have herI would like to know for the night ? Well, we are both pretty ancient....but I went to spare bedroom and got all clean bedlinen, pillows, duvet etc. ready...it nearly killed me....and she spent the night in there. There are two windows (large victorian ones from floor to almost ceiling, but double glazed, with roller blinds and very heavy fully lined velvet curtains. Next morning, she came down, holding the clock, which she took the battery out, because it kept her awake ? !....and she complained that she could not sleep much, because some one was running a kind of car engine somewhere down the road ! ?.....Well, I could not believe how much stress that caused me ! With all the work to get the bed ready, and that on top, I really had such a bad day, I thought I may have to go back to 7mg......Then I stressed all day wondering how to cope if she came back again !...Told her to got to the Council. Noise abatement etc etc. and go and ask the boys next door to put on HEADPHONES.......!...Could not believe an occurence like that could have such a painful effect on me !....Anyone experienced stress induced PMR pains ? I would like to know. :roll: As always, Granny Moss xxx
Granny Moss
Get a spyhole in front door and when she comes back - do not open it.
Goodness Woman, she sounds like a nut case and I bet she did not even say 'Thank You' just grumbled.
Or, invite her in, explain that neither you nor your husband can cope with these problems and send her off to the Citizens Advice Bureau. And yes STRESS is a no no - you will get a re-action everytime, that is why we urge everybody to avoid it like the plague, if possible and in this case it is avoidable.
Don't let your kind heart rule your head this time, pretty please.
Pop a couple of pairs of earplugs through her letterbox and follow Mrs K's advice :shock:
Lizzie
Granny Moss - did she offer to wash the bed linen? Stupid question - I think I know the answer!! I'm just so shocked and in disbelief that she could take such advantage of you. As you have unfortunately discovered that sort of stress can have a very adverse effect on PMR and I do hope you give her short shrift in future. :x :shock:
MrsO
If I have difficulty getting off to sleep I try emptying my head (not difficult!!! ) and start concentrating on slowing my breathing and it seems to work every time.
Mrs.O I was interested to read that.
Jan 19th 165/91 . Feb 2nd 152/92. March 9th 145/86 My BPs at last three visits.
Very unwilling to take tabs and assured nurse it WOULD be ok as the steroids reduced. I'm not sure she believed me but GP was informed and didn't send for me. He knows what happened last time round, also that I make a fuss about more pills!
Casting around I came across some guy selling a \"machine\" to reduce BP which I did not buy. Like Eileen, I'm a cynical sceptic.
This machine played two different tones for inhaling and exhaling and recorded ( or so it said ) the times. The aim was to control the breathing rate and encourage the slow and complete emptying of the lungs.
Well, I have no figures but I have been doing this regularly, concentrating during several daily sessions and it is certainly relaxing.
Did it help my BP? I don't know. Between the first and third reading I have reduced the Pred. by one mg. Might have been that. Anyway, pleased it's going in the right direction and slow breathing can't do any harm I imagine.
Apparently my \"nothing to worry about\" kidney cyst is called Stage Three CKD ( chronic kidney disease ) and that's why my BP is regularly monitored.
Best wishes to all for a good sleep. Don't open the door Granny Moss.
Dear All, thank you for your kind words. You are real Gems !
Offer to wash bedlinen ? Are you kidding !.....NAAH...... :roll: Granny Moss
Hello Betty
Snap with CKD3 - that was my diagnosis 4 years ago. Apparently you have to have a reading of 60+ on the eGFR blood test to be regarded as \"normal\", and the lower the reading the higher the CKD stage.
My eGFR has varied between 44 and 51. When this new test was introduced 4 years ago many Drs panicked but now my GP tells me that they have 1600 patients in their practice alone who have thrown up low readings and been diagnosed with CKD where the kidneys (or kidney in my case!) is not filtering out at the correct rate.
However, my friend's GP told her that this new test had opened up a can of worms as loads of people were now scurrying off to Renal Consultants unnecessarily and he considered GPs should be able to tell just by looking at their patients whether they have kidney disease or not!
I have been on several BP medications over recent years, and I reacted adversely to them all! The last one prescribed was a diuretic but I've never taken it! I hate taking pills of any description and I'm sure I'm the GP's worst nightmare, so I understand exactly how you feel. I know it's important to keep the BP under control to protect the kidneys but I also know a couple of people who have had their kidneys damaged by their BP drugs.
My last BP reading was 150/88 and that is better than usual for me.
As far as the breathing is concerned, like you I also try to practice the daily slow breathing every time I think about it and I think my Tai Chi class has been very helpful in this respect. I also try to walk as fast as I can on my daily walk (as far as PMR allows, of course!)
It does make me wonder now that you have brought this subject up whether the breathing exercise and/or the brisk walking has helped to lower my BP - however, you are obviously doing a better job with the breathing than me as you've got your reading even lower! Did you have low readings before PMR, Betty?
MrsO
Granny Moss...I really can't believe the cheek of your neighbour :shock:
I would not have the nerve to call on some-else for a bed no matter how sleep deprived I was, and then not to be even appreciative of the bother she caused you :oops: .
I'm with the others....a pair of ear plugs through her letter box :lol:
Love, Pauline
Thank you Mrs.O, for knowing just how I feel and enlightening me re the CKD Stage 3.. It was the BP nurse who used the term. GP never has and I'd never come across it. She said something about my getting nearer to my \"target\" of 140 over something. And I said \"What target?\" My target is to get back to my 117/78 that I achieved when I was off steroids for five years at the end of my first round of PMR.
I've never had specific blood tests for the kidneys but I am pretty sure that kidney function was included with the original tests three years ago. I have no pain, digestive, urinary problems. I think my diet is ok. Can't rememer the last steak I ate. If we have meat it's usually chicken and also lots of fish. I AM rather partial to some super organic sausages which are pork but only have them at most weekly and only one sausage. Hope I don't have to give them up!
The parents of a school friend of mine only had 2 kidneys between them (one each, of course ) and always seemed to live normal lives. Less fuss was made then, perhaps. Fine line, isn't it, between unnecessary fus and neglect.
I think my GP knows how I am just by looking at me, and I trust him
I don't know whether I have always been on the low side. Probably, as my sister both are; before PMR I never went to the doctor, didn't need to.
The kidney cyst was discovered by accident and I am sent for ultrasound twice a year.
Thans again and keep breathing slowly.
Hello again Betty
Wow I'm really envious of your original low BP reading and it sounds as though you will definitely get really low again as you come down on the steroids as raised BP is listed as being one of the side effects of Prednisolone as you probably already know.
Whereas your nurse mentioned your eGFR reading in passing, your GP has probably decided not to mention it - I know this was the experience of a friend of mine who discovered she had a low reading through some hospital paperwork she received! A lot of GPs, having now discovered that many people in their practices have this low filtration rate, have probably decided not to scare their patients but will be monitoring it at each blood test to ensure it doesn't continuously decrease (well that's what I hope is happening - I always ask the result just in case!).
Most people (for instance those having annual blood tests for kidney function when on BP and cholesterol drugs etc - not to mention us!) will be unaware that when they have routine blood tests, the eGFR is automatically being carried out. Prior to the eGFR tests they relied solely on the usual creatinine and urea tests. In introducing the test, the Government were trying to ascertain whether decreasing kidney function was a normal ageing process or a disease process - as we age our kidney function reduces by about 1% a year if I remember rightly.
Like you, we also eat a lot of chicken and fish - as for organic sausages I wonder if they're the same (royal?!) ones I love but have on a really rare occasions as I try to omit processed and preservative-added food from my diet. Too much protein is not good for low kidney function but complex carbs are beneficial - difficult for us at the moment on steroids as too many carbs will add to weight gain. Plus I never use salt.
That's unusual with both yourschoolfriend's parents having only one kidney but, as you say, people can live perfectly normal lives on a sole kidney and I really count my blessings that my kidney problem was finally discovered after a sickly childhood and was the makings of me as the saying goes. Plus as youngsters you take it all in your stride (my poor Mum was obviously worried to death) - I was 12 (13 two days after the op) and the only question I wanted to ask the surgeon was \"will I still be able to have a baby\"? I find that quite funny when I think about it now - what a different world we live in!
It's good to hear that you feel confident in your GP - he is obviously looking after you and that kidney cyst well through the regular ultrasounds.
Oh dear, I'm worried that I've written such a long post, Betty - I'm so sorry everyone!
If your young neighbour was my daughter she'd get a good clip round the ear - oh how un-PC! Selfish little brat! Tell her so next time.
I don't think I'd better try slow breathing - my normal rate is less than 8 per minute!
EileenH