I'm back in cycle again for a few weeks now. Started up the preventative meds (Sansert, lithium, melatonin at night). They're doing a great job keeping the pain at bay - averaging one or two shadows a day that are pretty easily killed with O2 and/or an energy drink.

But here's the weird thing - and this has never happened to me before. I am waking up 2-3 times per night like I was getting hit, but with no pain. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. Better this way than the other way around. But I'm wondering if being in cycle can still cause the sleep disruptions even though I'm not feeling the pain.

Has this ever happened to you?

Yup, but in my case that only happened with RC seeds.  Otherwise I'm an all or nothing guy.

Hoping it stays that way for you man.

Marc

It's been 3 years since my last bout.  I still wake up EVERY night, EXACTLY 1 1/2 hours after going to bed.  Just can't sleep through that REM.

I've had a couple cycles that were a collections of mild hits - hardly worth the bother.  I was dancing with an Imp instead of the beast.  But it was odd that many of the other symptoms were there, just very little pain.  I even thought I was cured for awhile, but then I got another full cycle.  My time is coming next month, so I'm apprehensive about what this year will bring.

I hope this keeps up for you!

Jon

Brew,

Are you experiencing any other symptoms besides just awakening.... watery eye, stuffed up nostril?  I experience this a lot when I wake during the night.  I keep expecting it to develop but , thankfully, so far it has not.

I hope you are back to sleeping soundly soon.

PF wishes,

Jeannie

Jeannie wrote on Mar 19^th, 2009 at 10:02am:

Brew, Are you experiencing any other symptoms besides just awakening.... watery eye, stuffed up nostril?  I experience this a lot when I wake during the night.  I keep expecting it to develop but , thankfully, so far it has not. I hope you are back to sleeping soundly soon. PF wishes, Jeannie

Boo - No other symptoms when awakening during the night. Just waking up. During the day is another matter - somewhat stuffy sinuses on the left side, and as I described, shadow-level pain once or twice a day. No eye stuff.

I'm sure the meds are suppressing a lot of this, but so far this cycle has been one of the easiest I've ever had. If this were the way most of us started out, I could easily see how it could be mistaken for sinus problems.

Not odd at all for me either.  Waking up in the night even without pain is a sure tell for me that the beast is trying to brew up trouble and it''s time to make  some seed sludge.   :)

No Brew haven't had that ride yet. Damned sorry to hear he's back, hope he's long gone by July, Christy can't wait to meet you guys.

Joe

Redd wrote on Mar 19^th, 2009 at 10:16am:

the beast is trying to brew up trouble...

I like that. ;)


Guiseppi wrote on Mar 19^th, 2009 at 10:19am:

No Brew haven't had that ride yet. Damned sorry to hear he's back, hope he's long gone by July, Christy can't wait to meet you guys. Joe

Joseph, Joseph, Joseph - Do you think for one minute that I'd let this fucked up animal prevent me from meeting your better half?

Joseph, Joseph, Joseph - Do you think for one minute that I'd let this fucked up animal prevent me from meeting your better half?

You da man!!!! ;D

Joe

Maybe more melatonin at night would help??  

I know what you mean about the sinus thing.  Mine feels sort of raw on that side.   I find myself pushing on my cheek all day long trying to relieve the pressure.  I sure wish a round of antibiotics would cure us!  

Jeannie

Jeannie wrote on Mar 19^th, 2009 at 10:43am:

Maybe more melatonin at night would help??

When I realized that this cycle was not a mirage, I stepped up my melatonin from 3mg to 6mg and now to 9mg. Been on 9 for about a week. Hmmm. I know E-Double said he's seen some studies that indicate up to 24mg. I'll have to chew on that one for awhile.

My immediate reaction is that when I wake up in the middle of the night after having taken 9mg, I feel drunk, and I stumble to the bathroom.

Melatonin and benadryl is a really effective cocktail for me.  I step mine up in 1.5mg increments, and I notice a big difference.  It could just be coincidence too.  Monday nite I took 6mg and got hit every hour for 6 hours.  Tuesday I upped it to 7.5mg and didn't get hit once.

When you wake up in the middle of the night with no pain, do you have the restlessness or anxiety associated with a hit?

Bill..........it has been 9 years since my last cycle but I wake up every 1 1/2 to 2 hours everynight. I am always awaken out of a dream so I know it is the REM. No ha's but I have not sleep thru a whole night for years.

BTW, my last 2 cycles were much milder than the previous 30 years.

BMoneeTheMoneeMan wrote on Mar 19^th, 2009 at 11:09am:

Melatonin and benadryl is a really effective cocktail for me.  I step mine up in 1.5mg increments, and I notice a big difference.  It could just be coincidence too.  Monday nite I took 6mg and got hit every hour for 6 hours.  Tuesday I upped it to 7.5mg and didn't get hit once. When you wake up in the middle of the night with no pain, do you have the restlessness or anxiety associated with a hit?

You reminded me, B$ - I also take 25mg of Benadryl with it at bedtime.

No anxiety, but restlessness - I guess you could call it that. Just the feeling of not being able to get back to sleep right away. The feeling of focusing on every little thing that's out to keep me awake (too hot, too cold, etc.).

This has me thinking - maybe increase the Benadryl to 50mg.

Brew wrote on Mar 19^th, 2009 at 10:28am:

Redd wrote on Mar 19th, 2009 at 10:16am: the beast is trying to brew up trouble... I like that. ;) Guiseppi wrote on Mar 19th, 2009 at 10:19am: No Brew haven't had that ride yet. Damned sorry to hear he's back, hope he's long gone by July, Christy can't wait to meet you guys. Joe Joseph, Joseph, Joseph - Do you think for one minute that I'd let this fucked up animal prevent me from meeting your better half?

Aw.... I feel honored! I'm looking forward to meeting you too!

Jimi wrote on Mar 19^th, 2009 at 11:09am:

BTW, my last 2 cycles were much milder than the previous 30 years.

This is causing optimism to course through my veins.

Count me in on the wake ups too and I've never been one with consistent night time hits.  I wake up even when Verapamil has the Genie firmly trapped in the bottle.

I hope your cycle continiues to be a light one and ends quikly.

-Dennis-

Brew wrote on Mar 19^th, 2009 at 8:23am:

I'm back in cycle again for a few weeks now. Started up the preventative meds (Sansert, lithium, melatonin at night). They're doing a great job keeping the pain at bay - averaging one or two shadows a day that are pretty easily killed with O2 and/or an energy drink. But here's the weird thing - and this has never happened to me before. I am waking up 2-3 times per night like I was getting hit, but with no pain. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. Better this way than the other way around. But I'm wondering if being in cycle can still cause the sleep disruptions even though I'm not feeling the pain. Has this ever happened to you?

Yes, I've had entire cycles where I didn't have headaches, but woke up like clockwork. I usually get some symptoms on the affected side - swelling, or twitching eye, but sometimes just suddenly wide awake.

Are you remembering your dreams more?

One of the signs that I'm approaching or passing through one of my "old" cycle windows is disrupted sleep.  I begin waking up during each REM cycle throughout the night, even though there is no pain.

This year, as I've been approaching my cycle window in May/June, I've begun taking melatonin early.  (I normally don't begin taking it until I go in cycle.)  Only 3 mg. right now, but it seems to have suppressed the tendency to wake up during REM.  

Although my cycles have gotten farther and farther apart over the years, I think whatever mechanism occurs with CH is still in play--it's just that the manifestation of it is more often subclinical, and doesn't rise above the threshold where pain begins.

Hope your cycle continues to be easier than normal, Bill, and that it is soon finished.

Best wishes,

George  

monty wrote on Mar 19^th, 2009 at 1:27pm:

Are you remembering your dreams more?

Not any more or less than usual. I'd say I remember about 25% of my dreams to one extent or another. That's assuming I actually dream the other 75% of the time.

It's amazing to me how many things are related to CH that I didn't realize before.   Sleeplessness, increased sense of smell, ect.  Since joining this site, I have become so much more aware of what my body is telling me regarding CH.

Jeannie

Just asking - I usually don't remember my dreams, but when in cycle, I often wake up in a dream with vivid recall. Being pain-free makes it easier to think about the dream and retain it.

Bob P wrote on Mar 19^th, 2009 at 9:52am:

It's been 3 years since my last bout.  I still wake up EVERY night, EXACTLY 1 1/2 hours after going to bed.  Just can't sleep through that REM.

That's just your prostate, Bob  ;)

I've had shadows I think with the autonomic symptoms but no headache or what I'd term a really mild one

I find that I am in the "pattern" of waking up in the night around the time that I would be hit.  I thought that it was just because I had a month of night hits and was now in the "habit."  I take 10mg of melatonin and it seems to knock me out enough to get back to sleep even though I still waken...  I am in a suppressed cycle since we increased the Verapamil.

So, Brew, you have me thinking that it is just the beast wanting to get out of the Verapamil and Melatonin cage.  May his lack of success continue!

Never thought about the benadryl...

Enjoy the PF time!

Hang in there, Brew.  You deserve the break.

This is the first thread that I recall with some folks reporting "off" years.  We may have had these mild cycles earlier and just chalked it up to bad sinus before getting a real cycle.  Gosh, I wish I could figure out how to control this....

Brew wrote on Mar 19^th, 2009 at 10:53am:

My immediate reaction is that when I wake up in the middle of the night after having taken 9mg, I feel drunk, and I stumble to the bathroom.

That's how I felt when I took 12mg.  I think my body was telling me I was taking too much, so I halved it to 6mg which worked great for awhile until I started having less sleep time inbetween attacks.  I then bumped up to 9mg and I was able to have 6 hour stretches.

Oh, and to answer the ?.  Yes, I have woken up at a certain time after falling asleep for several nights in a row (a week?).  I wasn't in cycle at the time though and I thought it had something to do with my internal clock.  So I turned my alarm clock to the wall so I couldn't see it and after I few nights I quit waking up at night.