Insomnia and night sweats... oh my!

Sleep has not been my friend for a long time. Even before my cancer diagnosis, I didn't sleep that well... but I had no idea that it could actually get worse! Lawd... I want to sleep. I want to go to sleep like normal folks and not sweat all night (or cough all night thanks to my summer cold).

As it turns out (surprise, surprise) insomnia is a common side effect of breast cancer treatment and often continues well after treatment ends. I've been taking Ambien off and on since my diagnosis... but since I've been sucking down cold medicine for two weeks, I've been wary about taking Ambien on top of the Nyquil. Doesn't sound like a good recipe to me.

Nyquil doesn't make me sleepy.  But it contains my cough and clears my sinuses... so for that I'm thrilled. Basically, I've traded sleep for being able to breath easily and not cough all night. I can't seem to do much about the night sweats. (shrug) I just keep the fan blowing on me constantly and hope for the best.

I've tried tea, silence, soothing music... sigh. Nothing's working. So, I guess until this cold is gone, sleep will escape me. Here's a funny... "younger pre-menopausal women who are thrown into menopaus because of their breast cancer treatment are more likely to experience insomnia..."

Sigh. Is there ANYTHING associated with breast cancer that I'm not likely to experience thanks to my youth (relative though it may be). Geez... If you see me on the street (or more likely on-line) and I'm nonresponsive... ignore that. I'm just sleepy.