A discovery!!

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kerry_lamb
kerry_lamb Member Posts: 778
edited June 2014 in Life After Breast Cancer

Hey girls! I rarely get on the boards these days but I have made a chance discovery worth sharing. Since getting on the Cancer Carousel, I have, for the last two years, suffered from insomnia, 'electric' and painful legs when I am trying to sleep, and nuclear hot flashes. A month or so ago I took 400mg of ibuprofen for a stuffy, painful head and voila! I slept like a baby..no leg problems, and if I had a hot flash I certainly did not know it. My cousin, who is a pharmacist, has no explanation except that maybe we have a lot more inflammatory pain than we realize (ie we put up with without thinking) and the tablets addressed this issue. 

I have no idea if it will work for any of my sisters here but it has worked every time for me (even a 200mg tablet) and ANY help is welcome, right girls ??xx 

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  • otter
    otter Member Posts: 6,099
    edited December 2010

    Kerry, I really do think you're onto something. I discovered almost by accident that I sleep much more soundly if I take one ibuprofen (Advil) tablet or one Aleve right before I go to bed.

    I generally fall asleep fairly quickly in any case, but I often wake up a lot during the night. I think I'm feeling aches and pains, maybe from the Arimidex I've been taking for 2-1/2 years or maybe just because of age and osteoarthritis. Who knows? Whatever it is, it wakes me up and I have to roll over to take the pressure off my hips or knees or shoulder ... and then an hour or so later, I wake up and have to move again. It's not sleep apnea waking me up, and it's not hot flashes -- I usually have one big whopper of a hot flash just after I settle into bed but that's it nowdays.

    I tried taking an Advil or an Aleve a couple of times when I felt those aches and pains even before going to bed and, ... voila!  I slept much better, waking up only once or twice (probably when the Advil wore off).

    I'm not sure I want to take an NSAID every night just to sleep better, but it really does seem to make a difference.  Glad you found the same thing!

    otter

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  • kerry_lamb
    kerry_lamb Member Posts: 778
    edited December 2010
    Ahhh my girl OtterLaughinggreat minds think alike. I'm not a fan of the possibility of NSAID dependency, so I keep a close eye on it. My onc 'pfffft'd when I asked if 400 mg at night was a worry. I guess it's fine, and I guess if everyone reads the warnings..well, it could just be a little accidental miracle. It certainly was for me! I simply cannot function without 3 or 4 solid sleeps per week.
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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited December 2010

    Ive been taking tamoxifen for just over 4 yrs now and have toughed it out with aches and pains because I thought we weren't suppose to take NSAIDS with anti-cancer drugs...or at least I think thats what I read back then.

    I will have to ask my onco about this....there have been a few times over the years that I would have taken something if I thought it was ok.

    Thanks for the heads up

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  • kerry_lamb
    kerry_lamb Member Posts: 778
    edited December 2010

    My onc told me two years ago, when I started the Femara, to take ibuprofen if I experienced pain. I stupidly ignored this and put up with it for way too long!

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