Insomnia..sleep medications anyone? Help NOTHING HELPS!

hiya' mom!

a fellow insomniac here...(((((((((((i feel your anguish)))))))))))))).  1st, is pain [joint pain/muscle pain] either keeping you from falling asleep or waking you up?  Or do you just "not feel sleepy"?  Or, once you are set to go to bed...ya' just lay there and nothin' happens?

finding the etiology of "why" you can't sleep is the major factor with insomnia.

 

sleeping pills in "normal people" work wonderfully when insomnia is caused by stress or anxiety or racing thoughts.  it helps people fall asleep faster & stay asleep once asleep.

but when a person has a disease? ick...a different story.

steroids will definitely screw up pretty much all of the hormones & chemicals needed for normal sleep/wake patterns.  are you on prednisone or any steroid?

 

narcotics can cause insomnia (go figure...they're suppose to make you drowsy but they actually make it harder to sleep properly).

 

and of course, if you're in pain...ya' can't fall asleep IN PAIN and the worst is WAKING UP from pain. ugh.

 

my hunny has a tempur-pedic mattress and that is the ONLY place i'm able to sleep! lol...so basically i only sleep on weekends, lol.  seriously, when i'm at my own home? i don't sleep, mattress is terrible (plus the environment i live in is not too great).

 

geesh, i took Ambien CR once, and NOTHING...then i even took a 2nd one...and was still up for 3 nights in a row.

Restaril is a sleep med that's a bit stronger, it's been around for a LONG time...but it stays in your system for like 12 hours.  maybe worth looking into?

 

no sleep aid ever helped me, and it is soooo frustrating.

 

sleep is vital for you mom.  lack of will make you feel worse & increase pain you have (and just make everything harder to deal with).

ya feel like a zombie and it's a terrible feeling. i'm so sorry mom.

 

is your bedroom set up OK?  no extra lights around, spacious, dark, free of clutter?  that seems to help.

 

oh, when i run my air conditioner...i seem to get to sleep. like white noise kinda i guess.

 

i hope you get relief soon. (((((((((hugs)))))))))))

peace/love

erin

I was actually given Trazadone once upon a time. Sometimes depression can keep you awake. I wasn't depressed or at least I didn't think so at the time but I had a lot of stress and did a lot of thinking once things got quiet and I could hear myself. This was before the dx of RA so don't know if this will help but it wasn't before the pain started. When I took that I was out like a light and usually slept about 6 hours before I woke.

I don't take anything for sleep now and don't get much of it. My environment and habit gets in the way with this. I sleep in the living room, turn on the tv when I wake up or go to the computer, big mistake. When you wake in the middle of the night no smokes, no drinks (except water), no TV and no Computer. You can turn on a dim light and get a book, journal, or turn over and go back to sleep. That is what you are supposed to do. Do I do that? Hell no.

I usually go to bed by 11, wake up at 2:34 (on the nose), then 4 something then I am usually out until 6am. Most of the time it is potty breaks but other times it's just cause that is what I have allowed my body to get used to and now it is a habit. To break the habit means to not get up when you wake up, turn over and go back to sleep.

Also, I was told to avoid taking the prednisone in the evenings. Last dose at 4pm the latest so that it doesn't effect sleep.

Good Luck,

Theresa

hey there,

I'm so sorry to read that you are having so much trouble!!  Just left you a nessage the other day on the other thread..did you get it?

Looks like you are getting lots of great advice here, hope it helps  you.  I had quite a bit of trouble sleeping, but mine turned out to be hormones.  Once I started on progesterone, it helped alot. I still wake up quite a bit more depending on where I am in my cycle, but I'm an old lady with all those wonderful issues! Sometimes it's really hard to shut off my thoughts, especially when there is a lot going on with the family. Makes for some long nights.  Seems like there was another thread about this a while back, maybe imarzz started it?  Not sure.

Hope you get some sweet dreams,

Jody

babyplace,

You mentioned hormones getting in the way. Half the time if not more when I wake I am hot and sweaty, my hands and feet feel swollen too.... What were your symptoms with the lack of progesterone?

Hi Bloo,

Nice to "meet" you. Don't meant to hijack your thread Mom, but will answer Bloo, if it's ok.  Warm and sweaty flushes were definetely something I was having. I would have them during the day, but also would also wake up that way at night.  Yes, fluid retention too, mostly in my feet and calves, and other parts of my body would get very sore and swollen...hurt to get a hug..if you know what I mean. My cycles started getting kind of irregular, felt like I had constant PMS. Anyway, when I went in for my annual exam, my doc put me on something called prometruim...said it's a bio-indentical hormone (whatever that means),  I take it about 2 weeks of the month, and it has helped ALOT.

Take care,

Jody

I used to take topamax. It knocked me out in the beginning and did a lot to help me relax but it also screwed with my vision bigtime. I would see trails. Noting tasted right either but I can't say it messed with my sleep at all.

So MOM ... what do you do when you wake up at all hours?
Is there something in particular that wakes you?

I am a bad insomniac..my brain re-wired itself without my permission about 4 years ago. I might get to sleep around 3-4 A.M. Then I have to be up for either of my therapies about 7 or earlier. My best sleep was on the couch in the afternoon,or in the recliner. I recently got Nortriptyline,and it drops me like a sucker punch. I love that. I actually get some sleep. Sunday,in between church..I slept 12 1/2 hours. A rarity.

Do you turn on a light, TV, or computer?

When you think do you just lay there in the dark or do you get up?

Can you or do you journal or read?

Theresa

Hi Bloo,

No I don't get up and turn on any lights or hop on the computer, sometimes ( here lately) hubby has been snoring and if I wake up to use the restroom and he is snoring..forget it I am up for the rest of the night, regardless of how many pills, I have taken the night before..The last couple of nights I have fallen asleep talking to him in bed, but if I wake up, thats it! The joint pain is so intense and I think it is from not sleeping. So to answer your question, yes I am just there in the dark. Although when he is snoring, there are times when I will go downstairs to the sofa and try to fall asleep. I do enjoy reading but I have not had time to read for pleasure since my classes have started up.

Hi Yalinda! I'm so happy to hear you are sleeping! I miss everyone on the Moanin thread, but can't seem to keep up, but I do read it!

Hey there Mom,

Just wanted to check in and see how things are going. Are you getting any rest?

Hugs,

Jody

hi toots! lol how did you make out at the new docs?????? i guess you will know better the next few nights maybe?????????? well just dropped in to let you know i care ((((((((((((((((((((((hugs))))))))))))))))))))))) yally

Oh Mom,

I so hope you are able to get some sleep!  How did you keep yourself from puching that doc?  Get rid of the stressors....just LOVE it when they tell you that, easy for them to say, right? LIFE  is the stressor.....don't know of anyway around that, unless we could move to Bear's deserted island lol! The docs just make me crazy with the "stress" diagnosis sometimes, seems  to be the answer to everything sometimes.  That or depression.

Seriously, we all have our issues and we're all doing the best we can, and you do amazing with all you have on your plate. Just the RA is stressful in itself, throw in everything else, and wow. Wish they understood that!

Take care, Keep me posted!

Jody