How Asthma Has Affected My Insomnia

Insomnia – a disorder. A symptom. A challenge. A conflict.

I have struggled with sleep for my entire life. I've written insomnia articles for about 3 decades, including how some of my other health conditions affect my ability to get good rest/sleep, increase or decrease my insomnia, and change the landscape of a sleepless (or sleepy) lifetime for me.

Managing meds and multiple health conditions

For context, I manage several comorbid health conditions, many stemming from my body's autoimmune response – Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, adrenal insufficiency, migraines, and mental health – anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). I have shared how many of these things can and have affected my insomnia. Also, I share how treatment for some of them has increased or decreased my ability to fall asleep or stay asleep more or less successfully than normal.

Of note, I've found that some of the different medications I've used to manage my anxiety have helped me to fall asleep faster. However, many times the meds do not allow me to stay asleep well throughout the duration of the night.

I've also written about how being on steroids for inflammation has dramatically increased my struggles with insomnia – and this is something unfortunately I experience more often than I'd like to admit.

New diagnosis: asthma

This past fall, I was diagnosed with asthma after having a particularly severe case of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) triggering consistent wheezing and bronchial spasms. Through trial and error, I found a daily preventative inhaler in the winter that kept my symptoms mostly under control, but that control ended in early spring.

Asthma medications interfere with insomnia

Over the last 2 months, I've struggled immensely with my asthma symptoms. Currently, I'm taking oral allergy medications coupled with a routine daily inhaler. Also, I alternate a rescue inhaler and nebulizing treatments every few hours of the day.

Most days, I still experience regular wheezing, shortness of breath, chest pain, and tightness – and it's been really scary and frustrating to adjust my life to. It also means carrying around and having on hand so much extra medication and medical equipment.

Adjusting to asthma medications

Taking asthma medications has affected my insomnia. The biggest adjustments have been twofold:

1. Poorer sleep quality

I sleep much poorer at night, especially when I can't get my wheezing under control and/or can't catch my breath. And, I'm constantly exhausted from the work my body is doing both in forcing air into my lungs as well as using all of my muscles to forcefully cough so hard.

2. Decreases ability to fall asleep

During the day, I find myself so tired that I've had to add caffeine, fresh air, extra movement, and additional accommodations to stay awake, focused, and concentrated at work, when driving, or when parenting my daughter.

Then, some of those things (namely caffeine) decrease my ability to fall asleep in a timely fashion at night, increase my restlessness during the night, and cause me to wake up in more of a distressed, groggy state in the morning.

Increased frustration and stress

How asthma meds affect my insomnia fills me with frustration. Already, I know that living with insomnia is stressful and disruptive, and unpredictable enough without any additional factors. Now, I have added several additional pieces that are unfortunately mostly out of my control.

Managing asthma medications with apps

Recently, I've been trying to use 2 different apps on my phone in order to better support my mental health in relation to struggling to fall asleep or waking up without feeling rested. At night, I've been reading short snippets – like poems, or articles through the Kindle app. In the morning, I've been listening to short meditations through the Calm app.

I hope that by continuing to bookend my nights, at least mentally I can resist the depression and anger that can come as side effects of insomnia.

Are you managing insomnia and an additional chronic condition? Share your experience managing both in this forum.