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Difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep
Sleep Health | Last Active: 6 days ago | Replies (13)Comment receiving replies
I talked with my doctor about the night awakening. He made suggestions about me trying to do it myself and said to let him know if we need to try something else. I will try what he said. He said to try getting out of bed if I can’t resume sleep after 15 minutes. Go to another room. Don’t watch tv or anything electronic. (This will be difficult for me.) Return after 30 minutes or if I get sleepy again. Also, he said that caffeine, even if it’s only in the morning can affect sleep. He said that when we are young, caffeine metabolizes quicker than when we get older. I doubt that 1 cup of coffee would be the culprit, but I’m going to do an experiment and see. He said melatonin normally helps with getting to sleep, but not staying asleep. I got the impression that he will prescribe me something if it continues.
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Hopefully my experience can help you. I have had insomnia most of my life. I just dealt with it until my 40's, when I was prescribed ambien. It helped me fall and stay asleep, but I began to have terrible night sweats and daytime anxiety so it was switched to klonopin. - oh my, but that was a miracle sleep drug and I took 1mg every night at bedtime and slept long and hard. It thought I would take it forever, until I moved to Georgia in my 60's. There was a hard push to get me off it and one by one, doctors would not prescribe it. A young pyschiatrist convinced me it was dangerous for "seniors" so I did a 10 month taper, followed by 9 months of terrible insomnia - some nights I never slept at all. I tried all the behavioral interventions. Getting out of bed after 20 minutes just made me anxious and more wired up, so ended up walking the halls all night. Tried antihistamines and Remeron - no help. Got some help with gummies, but it was not consistent. I finally got a referral to a sleep specialist (neurologist) and that was the game changer. She listened to my history and was ready to give me klonopin again. Looking back, I could see that my balance and mental clarity were better off that drug so I asked that we try something else. Lunesta is a sedative/hypnotic similar to ambien, but does not cause anxiety the next day. I have no noticeable side effects. It has not helped me stay asleep all night, but we came up with a strategy to take 2mg at bedtime and then when I wake between 2-3am, I will take 1/2 pill and drift back to sleep. For me, for now, this works well and I'm well rested the next day. The thing about a sleep specialist is, they will work with you to find out the best strategy. If you don't need something to fall asleep, there is a short acting drug called Sonata that might be good. Bottom line, get a sleep specialist. She assured me that taking something to sleep was preferable to mind and body health over not sleeping. Insomnia is no joke. Good luck.