Got Insomnia?

PlanetVelma

For those of you who have insomnia issues, I'd like to start a thread to discuss. I tend to start having issues with insomnia around the holidays, mainly because I used to dread them as a kid. Things would be great up until the day after Christmas, than all hell would break loose.

About 3 years ago I had some insomnia issues, was only sleeping about 2 - 4 hours a night. I started seeing my physician and have been prescribed every sleeping aid you can imagine (ambien, lunesta, lorzepam, etc...). I had some bad side effects with Ambien and Lunesta and my dr prescribed me lorzapam (?? spelling) which worked OK.

Anyhow, in conjunction with the medication, I made sure I wasn't drinking caffeinated drinks in the afternoon, going to bed @ the same time EVERY night and waking @ the same time EVERY day (even the weekends), made sure I only used my bed for sleep, removed the TV from my room, cleaned my entire bedroom of clutter, blah, blah, blah

Well guess what, yea, insomnia is back again. I've been to my doctor because I know sometimes insomnia is your body telling you that something is going on. So everything is good healthwise. It's not EVERY night, and sometimes it's just trouble falling asleep, other times I'll fall asleep okay but wake up a few hours later WIDE freakin' awake. And there are other times I wake up 2-3 hours before my normal "wake up" time. (WTF?!)

I have been told to try melatonin, but have been warned it makes you have weird dreams. Honestly, I'm kinda scared to try it because I don't need any more nightmares. I have enough as it is! LOL I have plans to reorganize my bedroom this weekend, maybe that will help. (?)

Any ideas/suggestions on how to conquer the insomnia beast? I mean, besides just flat giving up sleep? LOL

Qarol

I've always had insomnia. Since high school. It would take literally hours to fall asleep. It's much better now. Only takes about an hour to fall asleep. Yes, that's an improvement.

What has helped me is when I was actually taking an anti-depressant (I'm not taking anything currently), my doctor prescribed Trazodone. It's a mild anti-depressant with a nasty side effect...it makes you very sleepy. But if just taken before bed, it works great. For me, anyway.

It's unusual for me to wake up after falling asleep. When that happens, I know there's something wrong. But usually what keeps me awake is my mind stressing about things. I don't often allow myself any time during the day to really digest things that happen. I have a lot of stress in my life that I prefer to just ignore. I want to start carving out time during the day to sit quietly and reflect. I haven't started that yet...

Writing stuff down has helped my stress levels, too. I have a private blog that I write in.

alecta337

My bf has generalized anxiety disorder and has trouble going to sleep. I recently got us a bottle of melatonin, I still haven't taken any myself, I generally get to sleep easily. But he says it is great, he doesn't have any problems with nightmares or anything. But he rarely dreams anyway.

It is non-addictive and doesn't knock you out like ambien or those other harsh drugs. But he says it really does work. He usually takes one if he wakes up before he wants to. He just takes one and lays down and relaxes and goes back to sleep.

I really suggest it, it works well for him

PlanetVelma

I do dream quite vividly, so that's why the nightmare aspect of the melatonin concerns me. I'll buy a bottle and see if it helps at all. Hopefully I won't have any crazy dreams, because that can be really unnerving!

I have been journaling, but probably not as much as I should. I have a pretty decent amount of stress in my life and I use exercise to blow off steam.

I think my problem is if I wake up super crazy early (like I did last Fri AM), I get really pissed off because I can't go back to sleep. LOL At that point I'm rolling out of bed and starting my day @ 3am, so by 10am I'm freakin' exhausted. And trust me I'm sure my neighbors think I'm a dam tweeker when I'm out in the backyard drinking coffee and feeding the dogs....at 3am!!! LMAO!! I'm sure it is a sight to see.

I'm not taking anything right now, because the exercise had been helping, but since I pared down my workouts there are some nights I'm either not tired or I wake up sooner than I'd like.

Qarol

I find if I wake in the middle of the night, I cannot look at the clock. Once I know what time it is, I'll start doing math, adding up how much sleep I'll get if I fall asleep RIGHT NOW. Then I stress that I'm still awake. Then I want to know what time it is again. It's a vicious circle that leaves me both physically and mentally exhausted.

PlanetVelma

I find if I wake in the middle of the night, I cannot look at the clock. Once I know what time it is, I'll start doing math, adding up how much sleep I'll get if I fall asleep RIGHT NOW. Then I stress that I'm still awake. Then I want to know what time it is again. It's a vicious circle that leaves me both physically and mentally exhausted.

That is funny (in a twisted kinda way) because I do the same thing. lololol

Funny store....once upon a time....long before I met my fiance, when my insomnia was REALLY bad I was over-tired and self-medicated so I would go to sleep. I was woken up by my dumb *kitten* neighbor who let her dog outside @ 2am. That stupid mop dog would yap incessantly.

So when I was awaken by that dam little dog I was beyond pissed. I couldn't go back to sleep and got tired of looking at the clock. So....after I ripped the alarm clock out of the wall, got up, made a REALLY thick peanut butter sandwich and threw that sucker over the fence at that dam little dog. LMAO!!!

I didn't go back to sleep that particular early morning but I felt vindicated.

After that I made sure to throw a nice thick peanut butter sandwich over the fence every night before I went to bed so I didn't have to hear that dam dog bark all night long.

I did get some melatonin yesterday @ Rite Aid, but didn't need it last night. I was pooped by 8pm! I fell asleep and stayed asleep until 3:45am. I did lay back down but I get up @ 4am during the week anways, so no biggie. Once I try the melatonin I'll post if it works for me.

My issue is I don't want to have to literally burn the candle at both ends just to get to sleep at night. That *kitten* is exhausting!

PlanetVelma

So I tried the melatonin last night and I was pleasantly surprised! I had some dreams, but no nightmares. The dreams were like weird, flowers & empty highways - dancing in the flowers in a sundress type of dreams. Keep in mind I am not a "sun dress" kinda girl, I'm a bit of a tomboy. lol If that's the worse thing I have to contend with, I'm down with the melatonin!

I didn't wake up feeling drugged up or weird. My fiance also suffers from insomnia, so he's gonna give it a shot the next time he has trouble going to or getting back to sleep!

Thanks for all the feedback guys!

_Khaleesi_

I find if I wake in the middle of the night, I cannot look at the clock. Once I know what time it is, I'll start doing math, adding up how much sleep I'll get if I fall asleep RIGHT NOW. Then I stress that I'm still awake. Then I want to know what time it is again. It's a vicious circle that leaves me both physically and mentally exhausted.

This is me. People say to hide the clock but it only gives me more anxiety. I haven't slept well since my brother's accident in October (he was hit by a car). I toss and turn, I have rampant anxiety attacks, my brain doesn't stop thinking of awful things... My situational anti-anxiety meds no longer work. The natural sleep-aid I used to take when needed doesn't make a dent. Some nights I wake up after sleeping for only 45 minutes and I just know that that's all that I will get that night. I frequently feel like someone is sitting on my chest. The moment I lie in bed to sleep, the moment it starts. And to make matters worse, I am a ridiculously light sleeper. If the wind gusts, I wake up. We've been using a sound machine (thunderstorm setting of course) to help with that.

When you're tired all the time, how do you ever do anything? I feel lazy and unproductive. I don't have the energy to cook let alone work out. I just want to curl up and sleep for a month.

PlanetVelma

When I have those days, I try to get in at least a half way decent workout (even if it's just a nice walk), drink lots of water, and eat as healthy as possible, because I know I have to wear myself out. Plus if I eat cruddy I'll feel terrible and won't be able to sleep.

I think it's a matter of finding what works for you.

Start with your bedroom, clear out the clutter, change the sheets, make it as inviting as possible. Sometimes I'll even spray lavendar (essential oil) on my pillows or just spritz my bed a teeny bit with it.

Make yourself a "bedtime" routine, whether it's journaling, yoga, meditating, whatever works for you.

sia12345

I have had bad insomnia since 2000. I started meds in 2002 and I have been taking different kinds since then. I have tried just about everything. Now I am on melatonin and seroquel. Seroquel is an anti psychotic but I find that it helps getting me tired and that it stops my mind from racing. Problem is weight gain but I think that I have that under control now.

RAFValentina

Heya!

I've been in your situation...at the time I was initially not sleeping because of wisdom teeth and back pain... the more tired I got and the more problems I got in my life the worse and worse the insomnia got ... up to the point I was mediclaly downgraded at work.

I tried Zopicolne which made me feel AWFUL and then Temazepam... I then started Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and seeing a constultant psychiatrist medical doctor. A lot of the things he suggested helped...however, I didn't get rid of my TV from my room... I used it to sort of self hypnotise myself at night by putting something meaningless on the telly and falling asleep with boredom. My telly also had a feature which turned it off at a set time!

It was also recommended that I try eating a high carbohydrate snack like horlicks before bed (about an hour or so) to avoid chocolate and caffeine after about 1400 in the day and use all the typical stuff lavendar etc.

I also went to the gym lots... In the end the problem resolved itself but nowadays if I'm having trouble, the best trick is the TV and carbohydrate snack...

The reason for the snack is that it makes the blood sugar levels rise and make your body release melotonin which as you know helps you sleep. It's based around the theory that hubgry animals want to hunt but fed animals want to sleep and conserve energy. animals including humans were meant to hunt for food to survive and use short amounts of explosive energy, then rest.

Hope these ideas help... most of all...don;t worry about getting a set amount of hours, just take it as it comes... don't worry about not sleeping as it'll make it worse...easier said than done I know... try and get to the root of what's bugging you and deal with that.

CanuckLove

I'm an insomniac - I work out and try to exhaust myself (I definitely sleep better the more I work out) but for the most part I get 3-4 hours (and not all at once) a night... sometimes I literally sleep for 15 minutes at a time. I've tried pills but they actually do the opposite. Melatonin gives me the worst nightmares and it doesn't keep me asleep.......I'm losing my mind.......

Pookylou

I've had insomnia for as long as I can remember! I wake up most hours during the night, and yeah I also work out how long I have left to sleep! How odd so many of us do that.
I've had limited success with valerian tablets, be warned though they smell horrible. My doctor recommended the usual things, hot bath, lavender pillows, one glass of wine, reading in bed.... Nothing has worked consistently for me. I think I'll be tired forever!!