The past two nights have been horrendous. I could not fall asleep until around 5 AM. The major culprit was pain, beginning in my lower back and then moving higher and lower as the night progressed. I don’t know the cause of the pain except that I have been spending more time on my feet since I have been feeling more energetic. It could also be related to my many new meds: dexamethadrone (a cortico-steroid to reduce swelling and inflammation), Olanzapine (Zypreza) which has suppressed my queasiness, and Lorazapam (Ativan) to help me sleep (this pill has obviously failed miserably.

Last night was the worst (pardon me for whining). I went to bed a 10:30 and was up at 11 putting ice on my back. I tried going back to bed with the ice but there was no relief. I got up and set myself up in my recliner, with the ice pack and tried that until about 12:30. Still no sleep. I took the Ativan. No help. Next I went back to bed and managed to wake Lee. We had a cup of tea together and tried again to sleep in the living room. Nothing. The tea did help the middle back pain so we went back to our bed. I tossed and turned for another 3 hours, trying to fight off the pain that had now developed in my knees.

I must have drifted off to sleep sometime between 4:40 and 5 AM. I slept till 9. What a horrible experience. My cancer seems to have so many different aspects that I am becoming overwhelmed.