Severe Insomnia with Fibromyalgia - How to Cope

I use 100 mg pregabaline at night only

Lemon Balm to calm your mind. Passion Flower to help you sleep and can alternate with Valerian. These are herbal. I react to just about everything and have had no problem with these.

Does only taking Lyrica at night help relieve pain during the day?

My experience
At night it helps with sleep
Must have quality sleep to maintain good brain health which impacts sleep
Daytime
Calm the brain to manage the pain
Calm music u like
Exercise that is not challenging like walking and swim walking
Otherwise injury and more pain
Stress is our enemy keep stress physical and mental minimal
Avoid conflict if can
I am off fir gentle walk listening to calming music
I use othobionomy to calm my body
Have used for 4 years
Sometimes i am good and dont need
Keep moving so muscles gentle used stretches
I have our own spa pool
Heat helps pain, heatpacks

🥰

Thanks for sharing what helps you. So, it sounds like you do other things to control daytime pain. Assuming then that the Lyrica basically helps with sleep and not daytime pain reduction? Thanks.

Day time pregabalin gives me side effects i dont like
Doppy forgetful etc so it helps somewhat with pain but i have more success with other things
I use Panadol for pain only medication
You have to try things to see what works for you
My fibro changes too depends on stress

In my case, lack of sleep, made the fibromyalgia worse (My body was more sensitive to pain). You didn’t say how old you were, But after 20 years, I can suggest from experience that hormonal changes should be looked at. I lost my sleeping patterns when I was 37 because my son woke several times a night for six years. But guess what else happened? My hormones waned. I tried everything. For 30 years a periodically use Temezapam/Restoril as a sleep aid. It was especially helpful when I was pre-menstrual as I suffered from edema and that would keep me from sleeping as well. I never found it addictive it would just reset my sleep patterns and off I’d go. When I was menstruating, I’d probably use it for about four or five nights, And as soon as I get my period and sweat sleepless nights were over. after I went through menopause early at 47 I did bio identical hormone replacement therapy. When my hormones were balanced, I could sleep through the night. When I was off the hormones, I didn’t sleep as deeply or as well. I suggest talking to your doctor about the effects of your hormones on your sleep. At 67 I am back on hormone replacement therapy and sleeping solid at this age. I do sleep about an hour less a night. I also know I do not sleep well when the weather becomes very warm at night during a weather change. I wanted to mention , those couple of things in addition to all the other things people posted that can be contributory factors. Good luck there’s nothing worse than feeling sleepless during the day!

Hi, you seem to have similar things as me, and I have severe sleep issues. I also take Temazepam at night plus 2 to 3 Tylenol PM's. It is the only thing that will allow me to fall asleep. I have to do this every night though. I then wake up in about 2 2 1/2 hours and then every half hour to 45 minutes after that. That is if I managed to go back to sleep at all. I get up to go pee about 3 or 4 times a night. I make myself or else I will have anxiety about going that will keep me up as well. I can kind of drift back off but constantly wake up like I said. I never do get any more sleep really than that which is the 2 to 3 hours. I think it is because of many different reasons though. After a few years of this, my pain has worsened so much, my memory is so bad, depression, and just about everything. When I was in my 20's I was put on Testosterone, Progesterone, Estrogen, and Pregnenolone. My doctor said I was like a 90-year-old with a hysterectomy. I think he was trying to be funny. I had sleep issues then too. But all the hormone creams never helped. He said it would take a very long time but after a year and a half of putting all that on every night, I gave up. I used Seroquel back then and then trazodone to sleep. It put so much weight on me and for other reasons, I can no longer remember I was taken off it. According to my doctors, my hormones look normal now, well, as of almost a year ago, yet I stopped having a period in my 30's. I am now 48. I don't know how I managed to have my youngest son at 30. Anyway, I saw that you said you were put on bio-identical hormone replacement therapy. I was wondering what that was all about. What doctor gave that to you? My Fibro doctor who had me on hormones many years ago believed that Fibro was mostly about hormones. It seems to have a lot to do with many of my problems, I think. I am glad someone posted the same thing I was wanting to ask. And am sorry to hear others have sleep problems but also relieved that I am not completely alone with insomnia and bizarre sleeping patterns. Oh, and I also suffer from edema and am on hydrochlorothiazide which probably doesn't help with me peeing all the time. But I take it in the morning and am also Diabetic so I don't think there is anything I can do about the trips to the bathroom. But it isn't what wakes me up though.

@eascusa I am so sorry and I KNOW what you are going thru from your description! Let me ask. you if you drink ANY alcohol? (even if you aren't a big drinker). I promise you, even a little disturbs your sleep pattern and gets you up to pee at night! I really have enjoyed a little alcohol since I was 12 and at 67 I am finding that it interrupts sleep and increases PAIN! Do an experiment and stop for few nights and experience the difference. Then, I also want you to look up "Interstitial Cystitis" and even if you don't have it, I want you to adjust your eating habits as if you did (basically low acidic foods). Then drink water, and noncaffeinated beverages after 6 pm and stop by 9 pm. and do your last pee before stepping into bed with a bedtime "ritual." Computer monitor, phone, TV: DO NOT WATCH WITHIN A HOUR OF BEDTIME. This is a BIGGIE! No checking messages or social media! Stop watching TV and do your bedtime ritual.
Edema: STOP SALTING your food and use herbs and paprika/pepper (I have edema life long!) NO SALTED FOOD. Your body starts processing the water to excrete while you try to rest. ALSO the edema sits on your BRAIN when you are horizontal and that is interfering with your sleep.
Diabetes: Make sure you have had your vitamin D levels checked and if its easier -- just take a 2,000 IU vitamin D OTC every morning. (it will help with AIC too)
Drink water during the day and eat veggies in favor of fruit.
Exercise: take a 20 minute walk in the morning and another in the afternoon, if you do nothing else, do that every day.
Limit caffeine: Only 1 or 2 cups coffee in the morning, a cup of green tea in the PM, herbal the rest of the time. Even decaf will keep you awake!
No big meals after 6:30 pm. A light snack before bedtime. Popcorn or hard boiled egg or carrots and ranch dressing. NO SUGAR! No oranges, NO GRAPES! (OMG do they get me stimulated!)
Let's switch over to hormones. BIOIDENTICAL HRT! That mimics your own body. You don't gain weight, your breasts aren't tender and it HELPS EVERYTHING - especially SLEEP! You will need to research a doctor and there is a great section here in the forum where we've discussed it. (I think part of it is in the Tymlos section. It takes a while, if you get a good doctor because they test, test 6 months later and adjust, and then add the testosterone later and adjust. It should take about 9 months or so to get it right.
I cut out on hour of sleep and I don't miss it at 67!
You don't need all that crap you are on! That is making your memory bad, adding groggy and fatigued feeling. Things like the Trazalone are "hypnotics" and sounds like you are like me and hypnotics DONT WORK for sleep unless you have simple anxiety (which you don't). You need a sleep aid like the Temezapam.
I'd suggest picking a weekend or couple of days you can put these things into play all at once and RESET your body. Know that the anxiety will come up as you face your fears. Take a hot shower/batch, do exercise that day, get a good book to take to bed, have a hot cup of herbal tea, a dark room, SUPER COMFY bed - my luxury is plush pillows to sink into and warm room to fall asleep in (but drop the temperature for overnight sleeping your body needs that) and give the process two or three nights to see how you adjust. PMS was a killer for me. 10 days before menstruating I'd get edema and insomnia and walk around like a zombie. First day of menstruation I would sleep the best sleep ever! Effectively what I did was replace the anxiety and fears about insomnia with the feeling of deep relaxation and knowing what that feels like drifting off to a deep and peaceful slumber. Its impossible when you go into menopause early - no your doctor wasn't kidding! Report back if you make some of the changes and let me know if this worked for you! good luck!

Hi, thanks for your post. You might not believe this because you sound pretty sure, but I drink alcohol at all. I hate it! It makes me sick. At least it did the last few times I tried it which was several years ago. I did when I was a kid. In social situations but I am 48 now. I am scared to mix it with my meds, and I am a Diabetic. Plus, from what I remember it made my body flush and hotter. That is a big no, no for me. So, no I don't drink. I drink a lot of crystal light though and have been wondering about all the dye that is in the one I drink. It has that red 40 or whatever. I read that it gives allergies to kids and hyperactivity. But I don't know about adults.
I also don't put salt on any of my food. I never have. So, that can't be a problem. And swelling and bloating is huge for me. I know I have got to be allergic to something. Although, I had a food allergy test done a long time ago and it said I wasn't. I have wondered about salt before though because of all the salt that is put in prepackaged food, t.v. dinners, etc. anyway. Everything we buy like that has a lot of salt that automatically is put in it for flavor. But as far as adding it myself. No, never. Except when I make my chicken noodle soup.
I keep it really cold in my room or else I would never fall asleep or stay asleep at all. I have comfy stuff that I went all out doing for myself. And I have it completely dark because I am weird about that too.
Oh, I do vape though. It has nicotine in it but the lowest amount. I have been told I need to stop and that it would help but right now I really don't know if I want to. I have been smoking since I was 13 years old. As it is I went from almost a pack a day to vaping the lowest. No more cigarettes though.
As far as anxiety goes. I have tachycardia and this is a problem for me because that can feel like anxiety. It is sometimes hard to tell the difference. I am on a beta blocker for it. I have been for a long time. But lately, my heart rate has increased so I will be going back to the doctor to increase my dosage. I don't have so much generalized anxiety anyway. I have social anxiety. That is one of the reasons I don't go out. But I get bad anxiety if I know I have to go somewhere, even to the doctors, or do anything. Whatever date it is I will be worked up until that day and then have a full panic attack. This has gotten worse for me as well. I have no idea what to do about that. No anti-depressant has worked. It is hard enough to have my Resoril at night. Doctors don't want to prescribe anything that is addictive. As it is my last doctor brought down the milligrams. I have no money to go see someone. Not because of insurance but because I would have to drive at least an hour to get to anyone. Same problem with regular doctors. And I would have to get someone else to do the driving because my diabetes has affected my eyesight. It is kind of funny because in order to go get help from a psychiatrist or something you have to do the very thing that gives you the panic attack in the first place and this makes me not want to try. I feel like I am always going in circles.