Insomnia...

[brittzak]

I hav suffered for YEARS with insomnia. I typically can handle it as it will be 2 nights or so that are bad and then I get "good" sleep again. I have tried ALL the pm's you can buy over the counter, melatonin, etc....the problem is I will fall asleep but I won't stay asleep. Last night...went to bed and slept 2.5 hours and was then up until 4:30...back to sleep until 6 or so....my question is...if you suffer from insomnia, what remedies do you have? After about a week of this sleep pattern I am very irritable and anxious. I need a good nights rest. I would sleep hanging upside down at this point to get rest....if i thought it's help.

Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.

[Cinders]

Insomnia...

Luv,

I, too, suffer from that kind of sleep pattern. Go to bed, wake up at 2:30 and not be able to get back to sleep until too late to go back to sleep.

I use Trazadone (prescription) very occasionally. Very. It is okay for alcoholics to use it, while the others, Ambien, etc, are known to be somewhat addictive.

You are too young to be going through menopause, which is what my doctor thinks my problem is. So I am not sure what the cause is for you. In my case, it is hot flashes, etc, waking me up. But, I do not want to do HRT. So, I try to deal with it as best as possible.

BTW, the more AF time I get under my belt, the better my sleep has been. Hmmm.

Another thing that is different than you and me, you have been AF a long time.

You might want to talk to a doctor about it.

Hope others can help more than me. But know I totally sympathize. I can go days and days on 3 to 4 hours of sleep and then people wonder why I am foggy and cranky.

Love,
Cindi

[brittzak]

Insomnia...

I have been to the doctor, he gave me Ambien...I can not take that. Nor do I want to get another habit. He then put me on Elavil...it basically does like everything else...I sleep for awhile and then wide awake..I think i will ask abot the med Cinders is on. Perhaps that will help me. Cinders...do you STAY asleep on it?

[Accountable for Me]

Insomnia...

Trazadone works awesome. Within 20 minutes you are basically crawling for the bed and sleep right through. The only problem for me was that it left me in a haze until 3pm. So I stopped it after a couple of months.

I feel your pain. My problem is falling asleep - takes me forever. I have started with Melatonin 3mg's now. I have to take 2 of them. Insomnia sucks.

[Cinders]

Insomnia...

Luv,

I take 1/2 a Trazadone so I don't get that fogginess in the a.m.

It does take a pill cutter, though. They are so small a knife just pulverizes them.

Yes, I do sleep through the night when I take them.

AFM,

Bradford (rehab clinic) said 6 mg of Melatonin seems to be the magic number for most people. I love it when it works. No foggy head at all.

Love,
Cindi

[Accountable for Me]

Insomnia...

Oh good. I thought I might be taking too much. Good to know!

I tried the cutting the trazadone and everytime I took it I had an anxiety attack??? I don't know - it released to fast for me I think.

This is only my experience though. It would be worth trying, however.

[river0123]

Insomnia...

I know you said you tried melatonin. I also fall asleep but then wake up. So I take a melatonin before bed, then the second I wake up to pee or whatever, I take one or two calms forte before my mind has a chance to wake up/start thinking too much. It's helped me a lot!
Wishing you sweet dreams!:h

[brittzak]

Insomnia...

I will try that tonight river...I have both. Thanks!!!

[memarcie]

Insomnia...

Brit, when I was on treatment for Hep, my doc told me to take Benadryl. I still use it now on occasion and it works for me. Maybe give that a shot?

[Karl1981]

Insomnia...

hey there, yes i suffer from insomnia. i just cant get to sleep anymore. hence the reason im on here at 4:30 am in the morning. ive tried sleeping tablets and they dont do anything for me.. i just lie in bed and think about crap for hours and hours.. its not good hey..

ill have to go to dr's also and ask for some of these tablets your all talking about..

karl
(WIDE AWAKE)

[brittzak]

Insomnia...

karl, good luck let us know how it works for you. here's to SLEEP some day!

[Doggygirl]

Insomnia...

Luv, I'm not sure what "time of life" you are in hormonally - and sometimes this stuff is not ONLY related to perimenopause / menopause. For me - the last few years got HORRIBLE on the sleep front as you describe - sleep for a couple hours, then wake up and not be able to sleep for a couple hours, repeat. Horrid.

In my case it was being caused by low progesterone. (and when that gets fixed you have to also look at estrogen balance. I'm on bio-identical progesterone and bi-est now, and OH MY what a difference. I sleep great now. I'm really glad I found a good doc for thsi stuff (not always easy) and went for it. Suzanne Sommers book "The Sexy Years" talks about a lot of this. She's not as ditsy as her character on Three's Company was LOL. (Should I be so "ditzy" aka rich!!)

Best wishes - I sure know how frustrating it is to feel like crap every morning due to no good sleep. And to think how I topped it all off with a hangover.....no wonder I was such a b!#@h all the time.

DG

[Karl1981]

Insomnia...

Brittzak. good luck to you too.. aww how a good nights sleep would be good.

[brittzak]

Insomnia...

doogygirl...I am 36. It could be hormonal even though I am to young for menapause. I have received meds for it before, but no blood work was done. I probably could use a good physical...see how every thing is working......

[beatle]

Insomnia...

Well, I've said it many times, there is no reason to lose sleep when there are so many ways to get at least a few hours (that's all you need-- as long as it is GOOD sleep).

So, again, this is my advice: try these following and see what works for you...

--Valerian (the liquid tonic works best in my experience... faster and better than prescription sleeping pills)

-- Calms Forte

-- Lithium orotate (250mg) one hour before bedtime

-- Benadryl (yes, it's a drug, but not addictive, and very effective)

-- Melatonin (6mg)

-- Here's a new one: Mag Phos --very relaxing homeopathic remedy for muscle spasm and neurological pain... it melts in your mouth and you get a relaxation feeling within 10 minutes.

Get this now-- I take all of these, yes all at the same time, more or less. It works, mostly, but when it doesn't, I have a 5 mg of ambien handy. I don't think it is so bad. I never wake up with a hangover feeling from ambien if I take it 4 or 5 hours before wake-up time. But I do save it for emergencies.

Hope this helps.