INSOMNIA --need help desparate

[caoimhe]

Just wondering if any one had advice on insomnia, I am at the end of my tether.
Went to bed at 7pm as was shattered so took a sleeping tablet and a hour later another, between 7pm and 2am I have aken 5 of these bloody things an am still awake
Think the doctor was taking th pi** and palmed me off with those stupid placebo's
All I want is a good night sleep, I had to get up as was driving hubby mad---but no more mad, cranky and unbearable that I will be into the moring:realmad:

Any advice welcome:sad:

[Guzzler&Sas]

Just wondering if any one had advice on insomnia, I am at the end of my tether.
Went to bed at 7pm as was shattered so took a sleeping tablet and a hour later another, between 7pm and 2am I have aken 5 of these bloody things an am still awake
Think the doctor was taking th pi** and palmed me off with those stupid placebo's
All I want is a good night sleep, I had to get up as was driving hubby mad---but no more mad, cranky and unbearable that I will be into the moring:realmad:

Any advice welcome:sad:

You've got to watch these doctors, I went complaining about a stomach ache, he gave me some suppositories I took them for a week, no better, for what use they were, I might as well have shoved them up my a*se;),

Guzzler

[The Monaghans]

You've got to watch these doctors, I went complaining about a stomach ache, he gave me some suppositories I took them for a week, no better, for what use they were, I might as well have shoved them up my a*se;),

Guzzler

:biglaugh::biglaugh:

[caoimhe]

Well i'm still pissed off as have been up all night and its now 5.15 ---the kids will be up in 2 hours so no mission of gettig any sleep. If I sleep while they are at school I won't sleep tonight
AM really really f****** tired and still can't sleep:arghh:

I would gladly shove any suppositories up if I thougnt they wouls work, I' so tired now and can't even spell of type
(see that should be spell OR typ)

how I wish this was me:SLEEP::SLEEP::SLEEP:

[cazzie]

Jacqueline,
I have also suffered with insomnia on and off for a few years now, but since I have come to Australia, it has virtually ceased, thank God! I think that when I wake up, its as if I MUST get up as I start thinking about stuff and then I get bored, so I get up, have a cup of tea, watch a bit of tv, read etc - all which wakes me up further. It is a vicious circle but now I think I have broken it. How? When I moved from Kingston Park (up each night for a week) to Seacliff three weeks ago, we didn't have any furniture and I couldn't bear the thought of getting up onto cold floorboards and pacing the floor, so I stayed in bed, stayed still and plotted a nice dream. Hey presto I fell asleep! I couldn't believe I had slept right through and then it happened again - because I couldn't face getting up. Now we have furniture and a nice rug, but I still can't face getting up and I am staying in bed and virtually sleeping right through. I hope you do find a solution as I feel so much better about everything now that I am sleeping. I haven't considered taking any tablets which you have shown, clearly don't work. Good luck with whatever you try. Maybe it is worth running around the block before you go to bed, to really wear yourself out?
Take care,

[HALT]

Sleep clinics normally advise setting a bedtime and sticking to it as well as a waking up time i.e. setting an alarm clock. Don't use the meds they just give you a hangover effect if anything. Contrary to popular belief they don't make you sleep they just make you relax enough for you to fall asleep. It's a bit like getting the kids into a bedtime routine. it can take a while but works in most cases. Also avoid stimulants like coffee, alcohol etc.

[Carole Jolly]

It could also be that you have a lot on your mind. Have you tried writing things down that you need to do before you go to sleep. Some people adviwe having a notepad by the side of your bed too!
worth a try.
Also, I beleive excercise is good, if your not into this, a walk may do the trick.
best of luck
Carole x

[minkyme29]

Oh poor you! :arghh: I understand how you're feeling as have had it in the past and was worst when pregnant with both my babies...in that case I think hormones were to blame.
As HALT says, routine is good and another thing that's helped me is trying to keep me eyes open! Yeah I'm serious, read it somewhere although can't remember where now...that if you're lying in bed and feeling wakeful despite all the relaxation time(pre-bedtime) then just lie in bed with your eyes open and try to watch your thoughts rather than buy into them.
It works for me, I hope it might help...
Good luck

Dette

[Django]

Tracey was exactly the same. Its all the hassle of not knowing for certain of our futures. Lots of 'ifs' and 'whens'. As soon as the flights were booked I couldn't sleep coz of all her snoring.:biglaugh::biglaugh:

It will cure itself once you know you have certain dates to work to.

Pete

[FlyByNight]

My dad had a top tip for getting to sleep which involved a hat and a bottle of brandy (it was for when you had a cold but could work anyway). You hang the hat at the end of the bed and start to drink the brandy. When you see two hats close your eyes and you go to sleep. Never tried it meself but he said it worked :biglaugh:.

Seriously though - I work days / nights on a shift-roster and have developed my own system for switching between day / night mode. Sometimes I only have one day off between working a night and a day shift. I stay up as long as I can bear night time telly for the night before a night shift so that I sleep as long as possible the day after, before having to get up for work. I use a blindfold - coincidentally it's the complimentary one I got from Singapore airlines when we were on our recce last October - and we have blackout curtains which work well.

When I finish a stint of nights I sleep for a few hours then force myself to get up (that is sometimes very difficult) but it pays off because I am then ready for a decent sleep come the night time. As mentioned above it is all about getting into a routine. Takes practice but is possible. Also, if there are things going around in your head try and excercise control over them or you will never get any sleep - that still happens to me on nights but you have to just physically (mentally :GEEK: )say to yourself 'I'm not thinking about that now'. Try and divert your thoughts to something less volatile / thought provoking.

Or there is always counting sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee:SLEEP::SLEEP:

[Hansonhouse]

I really feel for you, insomnia is very cruel. I have been suffering from the 'stress' type, i.e. I go to sleep quickly and deeply but the slightest thing wakes me after 4 hours and then I spend hours trying to get back to sleep because my mind has woken up and has gone immediately into busy mode.

I have tried all of the following and genuinely sometimes they work and sometimes they don't but anything is worth a try:

Lavender and/or Rosemary - drops of essential oil in a bath before bed and on your pillow

Drink of milk (unless you have a weak bladder) warm or cold doesn't matter, just makes your body feel full and content

Read a few pages of an enjoyable book, whatever rocks your boat, until your eyes become sleepy, this really helps to put your busy thoughts to the back of your mind. Also helpful to have a book for reading a chapter in the night if you wake up.

Have a dual control electric blanket so that you can put your half on whatever the time of night, my toes have to be warm before I can nod off to sleep.

Use the relaxation techniques that they taught you when you had your babies a) lie flat on your back and starting from your toes, imagine that that part of your body has gone to sleep and is heavy as lead, gradually move up your body, bit at a time and in theory by the time you get to the head, you will feel totally relaxed and more likely to nod off b) get into your most comfortable position possible and then imagine yourself to be in a beautiful warm place, i.e. on a sunkissed beach, the sun shining on you, listening to the gentle lap of waves, feeling the soft sand underneath your body, imagine feeling sleepy and drift off

Don't know if any of these help but just wanted you to know that I feel for you and it will pass but the situation you are in, waiting for everything to be completed is responsible for most of it and it ill get better

Roz

[caoimhe]

I really feel for you, insomnia is very cruel. I have been suffering from the 'stress' type, i.e. I go to sleep quickly and deeply but the slightest thing wakes me after 4 hours and then I spend hours trying to get back to sleep because my mind has woken up and has gone immediately into busy mode.

I have tried all of the following and genuinely sometimes they work and sometimes they don't but anything is worth a try:

Lavender and/or Rosemary - drops of essential oil in a bath before bed and on your pillow

Drink of milk (unless you have a weak bladder) warm or cold doesn't matter, just makes your body feel full and content

Read a few pages of an enjoyable book, whatever rocks your boat, until your eyes become sleepy, this really helps to put your busy thoughts to the back of your mind. Also helpful to have a book for reading a chapter in the night if you wake up.

Have a dual control electric blanket so that you can put your half on whatever the time of night, my toes have to be warm before I can nod off to sleep.

Use the relaxation techniques that they taught you when you had your babies a) lie flat on your back and starting from your toes, imagine that that part of your body has gone to sleep and is heavy as lead, gradually move up your body, bit at a time and in theory by the time you get to the head, you will feel totally relaxed and more likely to nod off b) get into your most comfortable position possible and then imagine yourself to be in a beautiful warm place, i.e. on a sunkissed beach, the sun shining on you, listening to the gentle lap of waves, feeling the soft sand underneath your body, imagine feeling sleepy and drift off

Don't know if any of these help but just wanted you to know that I feel for you and it will pass but the situation you are in, waiting for everything to be completed is responsible for most of it and it ill get better

Roz
Thanks for the thoughts but unfortunately my insomnia has been a problem for 5 years and not just to do with the migration progress, some nights are really bad like a few nights ago.
I have done the lavender oil, book by the bed to write my thoughts in so they don't whirl around in my head, relaxation techniques, herbal and non herbal sleeping tablet, dose's of 'night nurse' and have even paid a 'hypnotherapist' £300 for sessions and all I came away with is another relaxation cd:skeptical:. I am now trying to exercise in the early evening to see if that helps. Funny thing is I used to be able to fall asleep anywhere and anytime:SLEEP:

[Alipally]

Only have the usual ideas that you've probably already tried before, but if you do them all consistently it may help over time....

1. Set a regular bedtime and waking up time... no matter what happens stick to them!
2. Wind down for 2 hours before hand
3. have a warm bath shower
4. Warm milk (I find a 1/2 tsp of vanilla and a spoon of sugar makes it more pleasant) and a slice of bread.... no cheese or butter. Apparently the combination has a relaxing effect.
5 regular exercise but not after 6pm
6. Cut out alcohol and caffeine (easier said than done, but at least try to reduce them)
7. Make sure you get enough water everyday
8. Take fish oil supplements and try to eat some pumpkin or sunflower seeds everyday.
9. Use the relaxation techniques EVERY NIGHT!
10. If you wake up try not to get up and 'do stuff' it will only waken you further. The suggestion is that you remain in bed and and enjoy the feeling of warmth and comfort, tell yourself that even if you're not asleep, you are at least relaxing.....
11. Contrary to popular belief you only need 5 hours of unbroken sleep every night, so long as it's of good quality ie deep sleep.... so don't stress about not getting 8 hours....

I hope that some of these strategies work, but for anything to be effective you have to practice it repeatedly.

Ali x:wubclub: