Cirrhosis Support Group

lately my boyfriend has been sleepy more often, even sleeping in later than usual. He's having trouble going to sleep at a decent time at night so he's having to take something to sleep, then he's drowsy the next am and doesn't want to get up. Then he's irritable the whole day . Any tips on helping him get sleepy at a decent time at night?

Thanks!

The liver processes most medicines that enter the bloodstream and governs drug activity throughout the body, because of this, we tend to keep the medicines in our body a lot longer than "normal" people.

You might want to try having him taking his sleeping meds a lot earlier the night before, that way the next morning he might not have as much meds in his system.

Hope what I wrote makes sense. I'm having a little trouble concentrating tonight.

Good luck.

Sammy

Thanks! Yes that makes sense to me. I'll just inform him to take them earlier than he has been

God Bless!

Boy, does that sound so familiar! I'm having trouble at this moment trying to get my hubby to get his butt up and take his meds and do what I call his "weights and measures". We have to take his heart rate, bp and his weight every morning and we do his meds then. At first we made an agreed time of 9am now it's getting moved to 10. His big complaint - "I didn't get to sleep until 5 this morning" or it could be 6 or was up and down al night. Some days he naps most the day and I try and tell him if you don't nap you might sleep at night. Can't say that about yesterday because we were out most the day and he didn't nap.

Bless Your Heart - I feel for you!

Please also remember that the cirrhosis is what is causing the changes in a patient's sleep pattern--it is out of their control.

I don't use meds for sleep, I use essential oils for most things. Serenity, which has lavender in it, works wonderfully when massaged into the bottom of the feet. I sleep 7-8 hours, uninterrupted, and there are no issues with the liver processing it, no hangover effect in the morning. I stay away from meds for sleep or pain when at all possible.

For those of us who have or had cirrhosis, sleep comes when it does. Fighting it with medicines is counterproductive as they put additional stress on the liver. Yes we would like to sleep at night, like normal, but we are not normal. Forcing it with medicines is not going to improve the situation. I'd nap whenever, usually in two to three hour spurts. That is night and day. I was usually up from 11 pm to 3 am. Yeah, it is/was annoying, but there are worse things.

Yes, I agree with Mike and Dennis. I knew I was having trouble with normal sleep patterns but figured it was because I was so overwhelmed with trying to work and maintain a home that I was staying up too late working at it. Then when I became a member of MDJ, I kept reading that day/night reversal was part of it. Boy, did I get my eyes opened up!! However, I kept nodding off at the computer at work. Now I've been off my job since October and I can sleep when I feel like it. When your body says it's time, then you sleep. Just make sure you're not driving when it comes on!

I might want to add though that even on those rare occasions when I was able to sleep a regular night, I still nodded off at work!

Sweet dreams!

Thanks guy

I agree with Mike.

sleep reversal and other sleep issues are just part of the disease. I don't take any thing for sleep either.

I was up until 4am last night awake again at 6:30am. Now I'm a bit sleepy and ready for nap.

The one good thing about being up late for me is I often walk around 2am )It's guiet, No traffic , and cooler.