I’m struggling with a pattern of sleeplessness on the days that I apply new fentanyl patches used for extreme pain secondary to spinal cord injuries. I apply new patches every 3 days, so this pattern is quite frequent. I have tried different sleep medications under the guidance of my psychiatrist. I also suffer from major depression, PTSD, along with a diagnosis of CSA and OSA with the use of a bi-pap machine. I never seem to be able to catch up on my sleep before I start the cycle over. This leads to sleepiness during the day, poor energy and this feeds into the depression.
Is there a connection between fentanyl patches and sleep? Any suggestions on how to cope with this? I have inquired about splitting my patch application date between the 2 patches (I appt a 50 and 12), but was told not to do this by my pain mgt team, however they did not provide any advice.