Waking up in the night

[Labinma]

Curious to understand the meaning if any behind my husband waking up around 2-3 or 4 in the night? He was diagnosed in 2914 still fully functioning with all typical progression attributes occurring. From the forum I am thinking to myself it could be his breathing. But when asked if he wondered if that was it I am answered with a curt no. Possibly it's mental at this point but could he being awaken by irregular breathing? If it was irregular breathing would he be aware of it?

 

[KimT]

It could be just about anything including stress and worry. If I take a nap in the day, I'm up all night. I fall asleep easily (because I take Remeron) but I'm back up after about 4 hours. If I don't take a nap, I can usually sleep 6 hours straight. Most of my sleeplessness is from issues other than ALS, except maybe for the pain. That sometimes wakes me up.

 

[Nuts]

My husband has many nights when he's awake every hour. On better night, not as often. He's open about the fact that his brain is racing and he's thinking about the future during those dark hours. Anything that will relax him might help. I've used Frankensense in an atomizer and it seems to calm him.
Becky

 

[frankb]

Waking up at 4:00 am is a fairly regular thing for me. Doc scripted Zaleplon but I really don't want to depend on it. Also, A dvil PM does a much better job for me, but again, don't want to make it a regular diet. I do take two tabs at bedtime when I feel sleep deprived. Hope we get additional input..

 

[ShiftKicker]

Even mild discomfort can wake someone up or disturb sleep. My own experience with even mild spasticity is that it can cause me to wake up because of difficulty in moving my limbs or creating an urge to flex/extend my legs and arms to relieve strain. It's all subconscious, so by the time I'm awake, there's no real obvious cause. Alternately, lying in the same position for a really long time (if muscles don't work as well) can cause discomfort and wakefulness. I know my ears, of all things, have now got pressure sores and hurt sometimes at night because I'm lying in the same position for too long. MND sucks.

Once I started using more anti spasmodic meds at bedtime, I've woken less. I know it's time to kick it up a little when I start to wake regularly again. On particularly wakeful nights, I also use an extra small dose that helps relax me enough to go back to sleep. I use Tizanidine to pretty satisfactory effect. It's helped my intercostal muscles to relax as well, which allows for easier breathing at night (along with a CPap- they refused to give me a BiPap).

Best wishes- I hope your PALS finds the root cause of his sleep issues soon.

 

[vw-fl]

My husband too wakes up every night around 3:00 am when he tries with difficulty to turn from one side to the other.

 

[affected]

When was his breathing checked last, and where was it at?
Does he use bipap at night?

There can be lots of causes, but breathing can be one.

Fear and anxiety, as well as being uncomfortable if they can't reposition well can certainly impact on sleeping well.

Does he have a hospital bed?

Does he take any medications to help with pain, sleeping or anxiety?

My Chris finally started sleeping much better, even though by this point he could not move at all in bed, when he started taking endep. I think it helped him sleep, but also maybe relieved his anxiety just a little bit. It certainly too the edge of his daytime rages!

 

[Manda]

My father also wakes up 2-4 times a night, depending on which meds he takes. I think it must be a combination of discomfort, racing thoughts, breathing issues, and dependance on sleeping pills/pain pills. My dad also had an issue with always having to use the bathroom around 3-4 times through out the night, so he was prescribed some kind of medication to help with that. So at least now that is no longer one of the factors waking him up at night. It's probably best to talk to your doctor asap because sleeping issues have become a very difficult problem in my house. Not sure if this was helpful but hope you can sort things out now because it will help for the future. Wishing u the best.

 

[chally]

Well before dx w/ ALS I never slept soundly as I am hyper vigalent ( PTSD) . So now waking often is nothing new.
Along come trilogy and all a sudden I am like sleeping like a baby 6-8 hrs at a streach. Never done that in 45 yrs!
As mentioned frankensense helps calm me as does magnesium in a mix called Calm.
My breathing sucks so the trilogy is the big help however I am going for another pulmonary test tomorrow and I am sure the numbers will change and I 'll have to get used to another setting. So I guess I'am saying anything and all things can effect my sleep. Keep searching for what works, we're all different and so different things work. Love ya chally