[DianneS]

Hi Ruth,

I know that eating a bag of cheesies and not remembering might not have been funny at the time, but reading what you said made me laugh! I have done so many things and then couldn't remember doing them since chemo.

Ask your doctor if he can give you something to help you sleep. I tried Atarax which didn't help, Benadryl, ditto. They used to put me to sleep but not anymore. So my doc has me on Zopliclone, 7.5 mg. If I take a .50 Ativan it will usually calm me down enough to sleep, most of the night. Last night I finally slept until 9 AM!! I would just take melatonin but they give me migraines.

Do you get enough exercise during the day? I can't see your signature now but I think you have kids, so you are probably going full steam all day? What do you do to relax? Have you tried listening to calming music before bed, or slow, measured breathing?

I would guess that the menstral cycle would cause some sleep disruptions, plus all that you have been through. Have you noticed that you sleep better/worse different times of the month?

My two cents on the progesterone: if you are PR negative then your progesterone is not receptive to drugs that help to destroy them; same thing with ER negative. I have ER and PR negative so I try to avoid soy products. Besides putting progesterone directly onto your skin or taking it by mouth - how else would you get it into your system? Your onc is right telling you to avoid it.

Maybe learning how to take naps is a good alternative to trying to get 8 hours of sleep.

Hope you get some help and some sleep!
Dianne