Neither of us slept well last night. Lisa had difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep, and I kept waking up to check on her. Since she has no pain, she's stopped taking the Lortab, which did help her sleep. She had taken a Xanax, but though it helps alleviate any anxiety, its sleep effect is short lasting. Since Lisa really doesn't like taking any medicines she doesn't have to, tonight she might try a natural sleep aid, Melatonin, and though it's really intended for helping people who have jet lag or night shift work adjust their sleep pattern, our pulmonary doctor suggested it. If I'm sure she's all right, I don't mind getting some pharmaceutical assistance, and may use some Lunesta that I have left over from when I needed it to overcome the effect of some Prednisone I was taking for a respiratory irritation. The pulmonary doctor said Lisa could also take Lunesta if she needed it, but she really doesn't want to, even though it's not habit forming.
All that being said, other than being tired, as she had been for the last couple of weeks, she's feeling ok. It was interesting that last night, when the Ativan wore off, the steroids in the chemo cocktail kicked in (they're put in their to make the anti-nausea drugs work better and to provide a bit more energy after the infusion) and for a couple of hours she was feeling exceptionally good. As I write this, I wonder if after the "steroid high" wore off, it might have still been enough to keep her from sleeping well, like Prednisone did to me. In any case, we'll figure it out, and adapt.
update 6pm: It's been a good day for Lisa... it seems the steriods they gave as part of the pre-chemo are still providing her a nice boost, and it's the best overall day she's had energy-wise since this all started, despite not sleeping well last night, and despite her continuing cough. Some wonderful friends from our church put together quite a food spread and brought it over a little bit ago. Lisa is doing the heating up and other related kitchen stuff herself and enjoying being more active. It's really nice that she's feeling better today, and we're hopeful it continues!
