insomnia anyone?

michelle j · 02-12-2004, 07:56 PM

have you ever suffered with insomnia? if so, how did you deal with it or overcome it? i am at my witts end.

i have 2 young daughters, i work 3rd shift and i have been sick with one bug or another for 3 months straight. plus my husband and i are in the slow process of splitting up. ( the split is a friendly one for lack of a better term, and i have come to terms with it for now. it wasn't my choice but it will be for the best)

anyway, i know my plate is full and maybe insomnia just goes with the current territory but i just can't take it anymore. i have a dr appointment tomorrow, so i am taking steps to fix things. i would love to hear from anyone with advice.

thanks for listening

shelle

Calla_Lily1975 · 02-12-2004, 08:43 PM

I have problems with insomnia. I usually take a benadryl before bed every night so that I can at least get a few hours of continuous sleep. It doesn't always work, though.

michelle j · 02-13-2004, 12:05 PM

thanks for your input nichole

i've tried benadryl too. it has always worked like a charm in the past but now it isn't.

usually, 2 tylenol pm would put me out like a light for 12 hours or so but lately, 3 of them don't even make a dent.

i've tried warm baths, hot showers, back rubs and various over the counter meds. i haven't tried alcohol yet for fear it WOULD work and i'd start a vicious cycle.

so i'm going to the dr. wish me luck.

thanks again

shelle

LillyD · 02-13-2004, 01:58 PM

I too have been struggling with insomnia for the past 3 months. I started taking Tylenol PM just so I could get to sleep. It worked great the first several nights and then wasn't working so well after a while. I started looking around on www.sleepnet.com for some info. and found that 2 books were a big help to people with insomnia. I ordered one of the books called Say Good Night To Insomnia and it has really helped. I began applying some of their suggestions and I am in just the first stages of regaining my sleep. It may be hard work but it at least gave me hope that I could start sleeping again on my own. It sounds like you have a lot of things going on and a lot of stress which contributes to insomnia. If you don't have the chance to read the book it is very helpful to read the forums on insomnia at www.sleepnet.com.

Lilly

Julius · 02-13-2004, 02:44 PM

first, good luck, shelle.

I don't know if I suffer from 'insomnia' or just can never get to sleep. I'll lie in bed for about three hours before I get to sleep.

Sounds like you have a lot of stresses in your life right now. My mom always told me to write down what was bothering me before I went to bed, as getting them out would clear your brain and let you drift off. (doesn't work for me, as I have little stress going on right now.)

What helps me is reading a lot before bed. Nothing heavy - even a magazine helps to turn my brain off from functioning mode to relaxation.

My boyfriend works crazy shifts and uses nytol...though that doesn't work for me, so I'm always up way later than he is.

Sucks, but good luck!

hopeless · 02-13-2004, 06:38 PM

Well, I don't know if I'd say I have insomnia....but I used to have a lot of trouble falling asleep. My problem was that my mind was always racing. I was always thinking about something, making up stories in my head and getting upset about stuff. So my thing was that I needed to find a way to make that stop. I'm reading "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle. That's helped me....it's helped me realize when my mind is making noise, and how to make it go away! Now, I'm more able to lay down, turn off my mind, and not focus on anything but rest.

michelle j · 02-16-2004, 03:44 PM

i just wanted to thank you all again for your kind words and advise. i tried posting a few days ago but soul cysters was having difficulties. i lost a nice detailed post too, darn it!!

my sleep meds are working and i have had 2 sorta ok nights of sleep and i am feeling somewhat better.

thanks again!!

shelle

Tangie · 02-17-2004, 07:26 AM

Hi. I hope the advice I give here will be of some assistance to you. I am speaking from experience.

A few years ago I moved to England, got married and started a new life. During this time I went through some drastic life changes and obviously quite a bit of stress. I eventually realised that after everything I had been through, I was depressed. I personally believe that there are different levels of stress, I wasn't suicidal or in a situation where I needed a psychologist but just very stressed, ironically at this stage I hadn't been dx pcos and was having horrific pms with regular periods. During this time I experienced MAD insomnia, absolutely NO SLEEP during the night, I would read, watch television, surf the internet, you name it and nothing worked.

Eventually with the pms getting more severe and maybe experiencing one good quality of life week a month, I decided I needed to go to the docs. She put me on prozac. I was reluctant as I was always brought up to believe that you were less of a person or there was some sort of stigma attached to Anti-depressants. Well first off, I have never looked back since getting the prozac, it has saved my marriage and my sanity and you know most of all it has given me a normal sleep pattern. I cannot explain why, but I know prozac as alot to do with serotonin and that is directly associated with sleep.

For your peace of mind, I am not a zombie on anti depressants, I am not numbed to feelings, or anything. If anything, I am a much more reasonable person who is able to pick her battles and let the unimportant things rest.

I know you mentioned you were splitting up with your husband. Although you sound like you have accepted this, I am certain that as it is a life changing event that you perhaps do have some stress about this and even maybe a mild touch of depression. I would suggest going to the docs and using the splitting up card to be put on prozac. I am a normal person for it now and it has saved my marriage. I hope my advice helps. If you want to talk further about this, feel free to message me and I will respond. In the meantime, best of luck.