Insomnia. What seems to help?

Posted by terryb1 @128128terry11t, Jan 7, 2017

@josephene I am having terrible insomnia as well. Nothing seems to help. Any specific suggestions? Many thanks.

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lioness | @lioness | Mar 11, 2019

@tolepma I have had a lot of sleepless nights till I tried to tune out the day which is hard to do . Melatonon has helped me along with a glass of milk with cinnamon in it about 1 hr before bedtime, but took awhile before I could get 6-8 hrs a night I still get up to go to bathroom but can finally fall back to sleep . Any of the prescribed sleeping pills where hard to get of so I don't do these anymore There are a lot of naturel sleep products to check out at you drug store. A website https://WebMD/insomnia there is a lot of information on there that might help

tolepma | @tolepma | Mar 11, 2019

In reply to @lioness "@tolepma I have had a lot of sleepless nights till I tried to tune out the..." + (show)

Thanks for the suggestion. I will look at the website.

gettingbetter75 | @gettingbetter75 | Aug 21, 2019

In reply to @ladybirder "Try a sleep hypnosis CD or download app by Paul McKenna. Cured my insomnia. I bought..." + (show)

Just purchased this app. How long did you use it for? Any tips on using the app?

gettingbetter75 | @gettingbetter75 | Aug 21, 2019

In reply to @num1boxer1919 "Thanks so much! Means so much.. I've been to 2 different psychiatrist, 4 different therapist, a..." + (show)

@num1boxer1919

Thanks so much! Means so much.. I've been to 2 different psychiatrist, 4 different therapist, a neurologist, & have had like 5 different PCP's.. None of them could or can figure out what's going on with me there just guessing.. I don't know if our doctors in our state are just not very good at figuring out things or I just have somthing that's unknown??.. 1 time I go up there, they think I just have extremely bad stress & anxiety that's why I can't sleep then the next time they think I have bipolar.. really? Nah believe me I've educated myself pretty well on mental health conditions & if I had bipolar wouldnt you think I would have ups & downs yeah that's defiantly not the case.. I'm not depressed I'm frustrated because no one can figure out how to help me sleep right & wake up feeling rested.. & I hardly ever have a good day without a headache all day long if I had bipolar I would be feeling unstoppable sometimes in a state of euphoria which I never have lol.. My sleep is literally agitated all night long it's like trying to sleep in a hot desert with thorns in my brain while sleeping on hay, I'm being dead serious its like the most uncomfortable sleep imagineable, if anyone can tell me what the heck that is please tell me so I can fix it so I don't have to live like this anymore.. Please! Has anyone went through tolerance withdrawal before???? thats literally all I can figure out that it could be from all of my signs & symptoms, but the bad thing about it I can't get off my dang medications cause it just makes my sleep a million times worse.. What the heck? I literally had the best life anyone could ever imagine about 8 or 9yrs ago absolutely nothing wrong with me I was a gym rat stayed in the gym worked out almost everyday, played sports, worked my butt off at work hung out with all my friends loved everyday of my life I was living my best life ever with literally just minor anxiety here & there just like normal people then i had a panic attack so they put me on benzodiazepines I felt amazing for the first maybe 6 months then I needed more because I was having anxiety/agitation/ like literally sweating when leaving work? over absolutely nothing?? Feeling physical symptoms, things I never felt before I ever took the medication then I started having trouble sleeping & it's gotten worse from there then they put me on a low dose of seroquel for sleep about 2 years ago & it help quite a bit then it's lost its effectiveness.. Now what??? I've had things work for my own brain for so long & now I can't relax I can't sleep what does a person do? Its not like I can just put in relaxing music & I sleep good it doesn't work like that my mind never stops & those 2 medications are the only meds I've been on long-term.. I've tried almost every prescribe med out there those are the only 2 classes of medications that work for me.. Everything else makes me wired or has some type of stimulant effect.. So what happens now?? Do I just live with this?? Does anyone out there have what I have? & is it treatable?.. I've had lab-testings done sleep studies everything & nothing has been accomplished.. If I had 1 wish it would be to go back & never take a medication because that's when everything got bad I dont understand?? I thought there suppose to help you? Not hurt you? Sorry again for the long story it's just been a tough tough 8 years & I'm only 29yrs old so most of my 20's have been taken away from me.. Anyone would be upset & frustrated in my shoes.. It sucks not knowing how to get better..

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Can I ask what was the anti-anxiety medication you were taking?

Lisa Lucier, Moderator | @lisalucier | Aug 22, 2019

In reply to @gettingbetter75 "Can I ask what was the anti-anxiety medication you were taking?" + (show)

Hi, @gettingbetter - Hoping that @num1boxer1919 will rejoin the conversation when he gets the chance and share more about what anti-anxiety medication he was taking. I know you talked about coming off of clonazepam. Are you taking another prescription medication now for anxiety? If so, is it helpful?

How is the gabapentin working for your insomnia?

gettingbetter75 | @gettingbetter75 | Aug 23, 2019

Hi @lisalucier, I'm not taking anything else for anxiety except CBD sometimes. The gabapentin helps sometimes but now always. I sometimes take Unisom with gabapentin along with melatonin as well as Valerian Root extract. I find if I take too many things, I end up with a pharmaceutical hang-over. Not fun.

asegura | @asegura | Oct 13, 2019

In reply to @jimhd "@128128terry11t I was looking back at the discussions and saw you were having problems with insomnia...." + (show)

I’m also interested in any updates. Has anyone tried the Honest Guys guided sleep meditation on YouTube?

rosy33 | @rosy33 | Oct 28, 2019

I have no problem falling right to sleep but then wake up within the hour and if I can get back to sleep I'm waking up every couple of hours. If I'm lucky I can get about 4 hours sleep in all. I have tried prescriptions, melatonin, herbal teas, meditation, pm's, etc. The only thing that gets me at least 4 hrs. of sleep without waking up is the ingredients in Benadryl. Taking that every night causes dry mouth, urine retention, and worst of all "Dementia" which is something I don't need at my age because it just comes naturally now! The thing that helps the most is Yogi Bedtime herbal tea and an occasional afternoon cat nap! 😴

Lisa Lucier, Moderator | @lisalucier | Oct 29, 2019

In reply to @rosy33 "I have no problem falling right to sleep but then wake up within the hour and..." + (show)

Hi, @rosy33 - that sounds frustrating to try so many things to get a good night's sleep and not having success beyond 4 hours of sleep straight.

What prescriptions did you try? Did any of them work at all?

JK | @contentandwell | Oct 29, 2019

In reply to @rosy33 "I have no problem falling right to sleep but then wake up within the hour and..." + (show)

@rosy33 @lisalucier I go through good spells and bad. Right now I am in a bad one, last week was pretty good. I usually fall asleep in a reasonable amount of time but wake up at around 5:00 and can't get back to sleep, despite not having gone to bed until at least 11:00. This morning I got up and showered, etc., hoping to go to my water aerobics class that begins at 9:00 but I was exhausted by 8:00 that there was no way I could do it.
I do take diphenhydramine occasionally (Benadryl) but I don't want to make a habit of it, and although it does get me to sleep, it ws what I used last night hoping to get a full night of sleep and still did not. I do not want to use it all of the time because it does have long-term effects, plus I think it can be habit forming. I tried sleeping pills a long time ago but when I used them I felt like a slug in the morning.
I have to be careful of herbal products because many are contraindicated with my immunosuppressants.
JK

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