Insomnia, and NOTHING works to fix it. I am looking for those who might be able to offer their exp

reply to post by TheArchaeologist

This works for me but might not work for everyone. I don't consume any caffeine or processed sugar for several hours before I want to go to bed. Then when it is near the time I want to go to sleep I put on a movie or try to start a book that I've really been looking forward to and try to MAKE myself stay awake. It's like using reverse psychology on your own body. After that it's like I can't keep from falling asleep no matter how hard I try.

This is a very simple technique that has worked for me. You need to first do everything else to induce a restful state that seems to have helped in the past. Then, as you are lying there just remember a recent dream. Remember every little thing about it that you can , to the point of trying to replay it in your mind . This seems to get the mind in a state where sleep should follow naturally.It is very simple but it works well. Since dreams are usually tricky to remember , it may be helpful to keep a notepad by your bed to jot down a dream that is pleasant and will work well for this . Hope that you will find this to work for you .

reply to post by TheArchaeologist


Well smoking ganja will definitely put you to sleep once you come down, like an hour or so after.

But intense exercise works too.

reply to post by TheArchaeologist

Boy do I have personal experience with this! For years I had horrible insomnia and NOTHING helped!

Interestingly enough I am also one of those people who, when having an outpatient medical procedure for instance, has to be given enough "relaxants" etc. to put an elephant to sleep. Odd considering I weigh 110 lbs soaking wet.The anesthesiologist always marveled at how much I was given and was still wide awake. I feel like the two problems are related. Do you have problems with this as well? I am also a total type A personality and find it quite difficult to "turn my brain off" when its time to go to sleep.

Anyhow, I tried all of the so called "most potent" sleeping aids ranging from Restoril to Ambien. None worked, so my physician suggested a cocktail of meds all at one time, adding things like Ativan and Klonopin to the mix. But still, there I sat, awake and confused

What finally helped me was getting off all meds. As soon as my body totally detoxed from all the poison I was ingesting (and it took months) I started to notice I was actually sleepy again! Now don't get me wrong, I still have a few times a month when I get insomnia (usually due to life's wonderful stresses) but now I can take a melatonin or some valerian and it usually relaxes me enough to sleep.

Good luck! It is absolutely miserable to have ongoing insomnia, and it certainly doesn't help your daily frame of mind or health to be constantly sleep deprived.

I also suffer from insomnia. and sleep apnea.
.
You need a sleep study.

You may have sleep apnea
Ether obstructive sleep apnea or central sleep apnea.
en.wikipedia.org...

One of the early symptoms of sleep apnea is insomnia.

Your subconscious mind will start to fear sleep because of the apnea. This will lead to insomnia.

Originally posted by TheArchaeologist
.

I am not passing judgement, but I do not smoke pot. I never have, not even as a kid, and I dont believe I ever will. I wouldn't even know where to get it. It just doesn't interest me.

Then getting a good nights sleep isn't as important to you as you think it is.
What will be a shame is 20 years from now when you FINALLY break down the barriers in your mind prison you call a functioning brain and give in and prescribe yourself some all natural medicinal herbs in smoking form.

It will be a shame because WHEN it knocks your ass out and you get the BEST nights sleep you've ever had, you will look back on all of that time you could have been sleeping great and you will be pissed off that you didn't do it sooner.

But hey, what do I know, Good luck, just remember I told ya!


Edit to add,
I neglected to mention, I have the same problem you do.
I can't fall asleep and stay asleep for #!
I have had a sleeping disorder ALL of my life and it has affected my family,jobs,kids,relationships,and mental health!
There is ONE thing that I KNOW will knock my ass out everytime without leaving me feeling groggy and spaced out the next day.I really is a miracle medicine!
But I got good and tired of not sleeping well!
You aren't quite there yet.
You may get frustrated at not being able to sleep but you haven't had enough just yet.
When you have had enough and can't take it anymore, you'll cave in and then,
it will be sleepytime!

Do you ever get tired enough from the lack of sleep to fall asleep in the daytime? If so, maybe you need to change your hours, and stay awake at night, and sleep in the day? It could be that you have odd circadian rhythms

en.wikipedia.org...

The more you worry about falling asleep at a particular time, or even just sleeping at night when most people are asleep, the more you'll stay awake. If your job will allow it, stay awake until you fall asleep somewhere (safe), and just let your body make its own cycle.

I used to have a boyfriend with a similar problem, and I found him sleeping behind his TV one day. He fell asleep hooking up the cable. Turned out he just couldn't sleep at night, he had to change his hours.


** I just read that you have a 4 year old, that makes the above hard to impossible unless you have someone there to look after him in case you do fall asleep in the day. Kind of a babysitter for both of you, just in case.

One word for everyone with insomnia. Hypnotherapy. By a board certified and recommended therapist who also knows NLP.

If you have a stigma attached to hypnosis, educate yourself about it.

It works, and it isn't mysterious mumbo jumbo.

reply to post by TheArchaeologist


I have tried everything.

Unfortunately pills is the only method that works, but the side effects suck. The sleep is more important than the side effects when I weigh my options. I hate insomnia and am ashamed that the only way to get a good night's sleep is to take a pill. I am a critic of big pharma so I guess this qualifies me as a hypocrite.

reply to post by TheArchaeologist


Herbs take time to work. You can't drink a cup of tea one night and claim it doesn't work. With most herbs, you have to take them for 2-4 weeks before they really start working well. It's a regimen to follow for some time.

ANY coffee or ANY caffeine in the way of soft drinks or other foods will mess up the internal clock. And it's something you have to do for a month before it really works.

Your clock is out of whack and needs to be realigned. Putting your body through a new regimen for some time will help to straighten in back out. I've done it. It works.

Also, get a memory foam bed. A good one. These are as good as Tempurpedic, but about half the price. Isoform Mattresses I LOVE mine and sleep like a stone.

Hypnosis is a WONDERFUL idea! Get something to listen to to help you drift off. A sleep-inducing self-hypnosis tape.

If all else fails, I think you should try polyphasic sleeping. Here's some info to get you started researching: www.suite101.com...

Originally posted by TheArchaeologist

I do not smoke pot. I never have,
I wouldn't even know where to get it.

I am not saying you should, but only that the part about "not knowing where to get it," is irrelevant. If you wanted, it would not be hard to find. Regardless of where you live, it is around.

Originally posted by Screwed

Then getting a good nights sleep isn't as important to you as you think it is.
What will be a shame is 20 years from now when you FINALLY break down the barriers in your mind prison you call a functioning brain and give in and prescribe yourself some all natural medicinal herbs in smoking form.

But hey, what do I know, Good luck, just remember I told ya!

but hey, what do you know?
You know what works for you.
Just because something works for you, does not mean it will work for everyone.


The following statement is made with no thoughts of being healthy or unhealthy.
The following is merely information that some may not be aware of.

Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride is the main(only active) ingredient in many over the counter sleep aids. This is also the main ingredient in Benedryl (and generic allergy medication). In many stores (such as Wal-Mart, Dollar Store, Phamarcies, etc.), if you go to the section that contains sleep aids and allergy medication, and begin looking at the ingredients in each of those many items that are all located near each other, you will realize that about 75% of all medications in that section, contain only 1 active ingredient, 25 Mg of Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride.

However, the actual price range varies ridiculously. It is more than just the simple name brand vs generic brand. The price depends on what the medication states it is for. It is usually cheaper to buy a box of 100-(25 Mg) pills of Diphenydramine to be used for allergies, as opposed to buying 40-(25 Mg) pills of Diphenydramine as a sleep aid. The pretty blue boxes cost more than white and pink boxes.

Ouch. I've been where you are. The insomnia that comes with PTSD is one of the worst symptoms. Can't sleep, just lay awake all night with the nightmare rerunning in your head over and over and over... I'm really sorry you're going through this.

I remember when I was going through it. It turned me from a heavy sleeper into not being able to sleep hardly at all, in the space of a day. I remember taking handfulls of benadryl to try to force myself into unconsciousness, only to wake up an hour later or less. And the nightmares, god the nightmares made even that little bit of sleep torturous. In the first two weeks I lost 25 pounds.

Even now years later, I still have to take heavy doses of trazodone now and then to get to sleep. And depending on my general level of stress I can go through periods where I wake up every morning in a cold sweat, shaking with the nightmare still so fresh in my brain. Sometimes I wake up crying.

So, I've gone through what you are going through. I can tell you what helped me the most is not the various things you can use (and should not abuse) to put youself to sleep. The thing that helped me most, was humor. I know that what got me through those first weeks was, when I went to bed, I would watch endless streaming episodes of The Office and Family Guy on Winamp tv. I'm serious. With all the treatment I've been through and all the various medications I've been on, the one thing that helped the most was humor. Laughter really is the best medicine. It probably won't help your insomnia immediately, but it will help you feel better and eventually you will sleep better. For me, it literally saved my life.

reply to post by TheArchaeologist


Sounds like insomnia secondary to PTSD? It can take years to recover from traumatic events, but keep working on it with someone who specializes in it. It will eventually lessen. Work on the PTSD, and the symptoms will eventually diminish. Maybe never go away, but the frequency will lessen. People don't always realize how severe the symptoms of this can be. Time. And please take your medications as prescribed.

Melatonin and valerian. Also, if you are sitting around most of the day or evening, restlessness can result. Try to be more active.

Take it or leave it.

I think your problem is stress not insomnia, what with a kid, husband and a job. That's why sleep aids don't work.

When I'm stressed or have the "blues" and can't sleep,[not a recommendation] I use heavy tranks like Valium, lorazapam or even Thorazine, prescribed by my GP. Couple shots of tequila, herb perhaps, you'll sleep!!

Warning....self medication is very tricky and best approached with Extreme caution.

Originally posted by Jezus
reply to post by TheArchaeologist

 

Well smoking ganja will definitely put you to sleep once you come down, like an hour or so after.

But intense exercise works too.

edit on 11-6-2011 by Jezus because: (no reason given)

Hash would work better, get a ball of some black hash. that stuff will put you to bed in like 45mins if you smoke a .4

OP, perhaps your insomnia cannot be overcome because your focus is on that and not on the underlying cause of the insomnia. Addressing the root cause may be (if not already) something you need to come to terms with. I'm also curious if you've ever done a sleep study? What do the professionals say? If not, would you consider it? I wish you well in finding your answers...

____________________
ETA: I do think sleep meds. will eventually make the situation worse (this is only my humble opinion) and that exercise, meditation and diet will be a better long term solution.

I have insomnia for as long as I can remember (can’t turn the brain off) and hate taking pill’s for anything.
I used to call it pretending to sleep, that’s what you do, lie there and pretend to sleep at least you will relax. You will eventually fall asleep and when you do you will be out like a light and only a couple of hours of dead sleep can keep me going all day.
Drugs don’t help. Live your life and the rest will fall into place, worrying about it won’t help either. It sucks and some days are better than others good luck.

I think meditation is the best thing to help you get to sleep. Get some guided meditation CDs, the Silva CDs, or some of Jon Kabat-Kinn's mindfulness meditation CDs. Something like this can really help and forget the meds.