[Blkned]

I am sitting here at 12:36 am writing this because I can't sleep. I have to be up in four hours. I know this is a fairly common thing nowadays. So who else here suffers from insomnia and what are some things you do that help. Any OTC meds I have taken to help make it difficult to wake up. I'd love to hear whats worked for some of you.

 

[jlh820]

If I knew what worked, I wouldn't be responding to this at 12:40am.

 

[Blkned]

If I knew what worked, I wouldn't be responding to this at 12:40am.

LOL! Very good point. Hopefully we will get some good info from someone tomorrow.

 

[James6591]

Insomnia..... that is me in eight letters.....
I did an overnighter in a sleep disorder clinic quite a few years ago.
The following morning the doctor gave me this little gem.
"Your body doesn't know when it's supposed to be asleep and when it's supposed to be awake."
Heck..... I already knew that.....
That's what 37 years of shift work will do to you.

 

[WheelyGuy]

I have been taking a 50mg tablet of trazadone each evening for a number of years. It is supposed to be an anti depressent, but at such a low dosage all it does is help make you drowsy. Makes it much easier for me to get to sleep at night and I don't feel groggy in the morning.

Its not available OTC unfortunately, so give your doc a call and see if he'll let you try it out.

 

[terry_p]

I find if I exercise during the day and read before I go to sleep I'm usually good. When I can't sleep it's because something is on my mind that I need to sort out.

 

[James6591]

Well, it's my turn now.
0050 (12.50 am) and I'm up checking the forum.
Been out on call for work and just trying to get tired again.
At least it is cool and it is raining.

 

[jlh820]

My problem is a bladder that goes in cycles and my 4 dachshunds. When my bladder would get me up, the dogs all got up. Now they're used to it and want to get up so they wake me up. They're pesky little brats, but I wouldn't want to imagine what it would be like without them.

My doc did give me some hydroxyzine, which is an anti-histimine that makes you drowsey. It does help, but I'm at the max dose of 100mg a night. It's also an anti-itch medication, which helps with mosquito bites!

 

[kttemplar]

Some things that work for insomnia

- Glass of warm milk

- chamomile tea - has a calming effect

- melatonin - 5mg (melatonin levels are highest in the body just before sleep, so take a pill 30-45 minutes before you want to go to sleep) wally world has them for about $5 for 120 pills...

- meditation - this helps you practice putting your body into a state which will help you go to sleep. Many times (in my case at least) I cant sleep because my mind is thinking about 1000 things (kinda like mental hyperventilation). meditation helps you practice putting your mind and body into a different state, which can help you get out of the mental state of (racetracking, looping, or hyperventilating)

 

[rdp357]

I suffered from insomnia for 35 years, could fall asleep but wake up 2 hours later, brain never would shut down long enough to sleep, Now I take a perscription Xanax and sleep like a baby for about 6 hours. I hate insomnia.

 

[NexxusOne]

Don't eat late.
Exercise, but not within a few hours of bedtime.
Melatonin helps, but man it gives me some funky dreams.
Sleepy Time tea.
Valerian root (it is a legal and herbal form of valium).

 

[gonefishin]

only sleep 3 hours at a time. currently on 3rd shift after years of woking 2 full time jobs has messed up my cleep cycle. will sleep 8 or more only if exhausted from a lot of exercise or staying awake more than 24hrs. Reading also helps me fall asleep. Meds? not happening, don't trust them. I would give an exercise routine a try before resorting to meds.

 

[bearcatter]

I can relate to being tired all the time, but my problem is never getting enough sleep.

My bus driver job is a split shift. My day is over at 7 PM, and my AM alarms go off at 4:30. That gives me 9.5 hours to get home, shower, eat and sleep. I average about 6 hours sleep for five nights straight. Seems some important task gets me up early at least one weekend day, the other I sleep 10-12 hours. One day a week I get to wake myself up, no alarms.

Plus I have a diabetic dog that often wakes us up a couple times a night, needing out.

I have five free hours in the middle of the day, like right now, but that is my "evening". That's my chores, appointments, and any needed shopping. I can't win.

 

[OcalaCCW]

I suffered from insomnia for 35 years, could fall asleep but wake up 2 hours later, brain never would shut down long enough to sleep, Now I take a perscription Xanax and sleep like a baby for about 6 hours. I hate insomnia.

Xanax for sleep seems a bit much. I would recommend Trazadone, Ambien, Lunesta or something of the sort. Xanax is not indicated for sleep, it IS one of the most potent anti-anxiety medications out there.

 

[Troubador222]

I realte folks. I have been fighting insomnia since I was a teenager. Bottom line is...... I am a night person. I even sleep better in the day than I do at night. I come by it honestly, my Mom is the same way, and has been for decades. The problem is of course, all the work I get happens during the day. So when I am busy, I dont get a lot of sleep. I am more or less used to it, but as I get older, the sleep lack sometimes drags me down. I have never dealt with a doc about it directly, but back in 2007 I lost a job when everything crashed, and ended up having some severe anxiety attacks. My doc gave me generic Valium. Lowest dose two times a day. I took that for a while, and oddly enough, fell into a normal sleeping pattern. But after a while, I really did not like the idea of taking the stuff and stopped. And my sleep pattern went back to backwards.

 

[Troubador222]

My work can be spotty. I usually have work Saturdays, and often Mondays are slow or no jobs. Today there are no jobs. yesterday I took a nap in the afternoon and ended up sleeping for 4 hours. Then I was up all night. About to go crash now. I am going to set my alarm for about 3 to 4 hours, because usually I get work on Tuesdays, and sometimes 8 to 9 appointments.

 

[dV8r]

I don't need it and never tried it but...

my boss says this works well and is not addictive or inhibiting him in any way.
Zzzquil

 

[elrondo]

Two 20 year old girl friends. Make sure your wired for 220 first.

 

[jake888]

stop drinking coffee or coke or energy drinks,take exercise,try to wind down before going to bed

 

[computerdynamics]

There were bad comments before but doctor has me on Xanax .5 before bed. It seems to get me to sleep but if I've got a ton going on I'm still awake in the middle of the night, tossing and turning and fall asleep about 25 Min. before I have to get up and get really rolling for most of the day. It's tough! I feel for anybody that has it? Even my back will be hurting if I don't get five or six....
Tony