Up until the last year or two, I have not had much of a problem with sleep.  Right after my husband died, I was having trouble sleeping and the doctor gave me these magic pills that after I took them, I needed to head straight to the bedroom.  If I made a detour, I became so dizzy that I literally had to crawl down the hall to the bedroom.

I am now experiencing weekly sleep problems.  These problems follow the fatigue pattern.  Wow!! Do you suppose that there is a connection?  Well, yes, I think that there must be.  I have just come off one of my sleep for 2 days to shake off the fatigue scenarios.

When I go to the COPD Foundation website and type sleep in the search box, I find several references to sleep. Search Results (copdfoundation.org)  You might want to check these out yourself and see that I have given advice on how to sleep like a baby.  The soothing relaxing bath that I speak of no longer guarantees me a good night’s sleep.

I read again the proven steps to a good night’s sleep and check off that I am doing all these things, so what has gone wrong.  I look at life events and yes, my dog recently died, but I do not think this is enough trauma to cause my sleeplessness, and besides this sleep problem has been going on much longer.

So let us look at medications.  I have recently begun taking Meloxicam, but I was having trouble sleeping prior to that.  The sleep issue may have begun about the time that I switched inhalers.  In a search for the side-effects of Trelegy, I find that Vilanterol which is a component of Trelegy can cause sleeplessness.  I also added Enalapril to my medications at about the same time.  Enalapril can cause insomnia.

I do not wish to take a habit-forming drug to improve my sleep, because many nights I do sleep well.  I have started taking Vicks Zzzquil Pure Zzs with melatonin, chamomile, valerian, and lavender.  I do believe that it works, but I will keep a record and see what my smartwatch says about my sleep.  Most importantly, I will keep a record of my fatigue or exhaustion.