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What do you do to get SLEEP???

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Posted 10/30/2010 9:01 AM (GMT 0)
Hi everyone! I've been up since 2:13 a.m. I'm in PAIN! Ugh. My back is killing me right now. I did take my breakthrough medication, but it didn't help as much as I thought it would. I probably wouldn't have taken it if I'd known that it wouldn't help. Anyway, I'm so tired right now. I just tried to go back to sleep, but it hurts too much.

So, my questions...

When you're up at night because of pain, is there anything you do that really helps you relax and get back to sleep?

I'm in bed on my heating pad now. Just looking for some tips I guess.

Thanks,

Flower
Posted 10/30/2010 10:32 AM (GMT 0)
I generally try listening to my sleep music. I have several CD's with nature sounds that help me to relax, focus on my breathing and move my brain from "pain" to "peace". Some of the CD's have tones to activate the deep alpha waves, etc. I just like listening to the sound of ocean waves crashing on the beach. It helps me relax and I generally fall asleep quite quickly.

You could try reading or journeling to see if it helps. I can appreciate what you're going thru - I've been up since around 3am this morning!

Hugs,
Pam
Posted 10/30/2010 1:35 PM (GMT 0)
hello flower123 try different things warm milk, bath, deep breathing there are more. hopefully you will find what works. my sleep has been messed for a while now unfortunatly i cant find just thing that helps me but i do all asleep. take care.
Posted 10/30/2010 2:37 PM (GMT 0)
 

    Hello Flower123!

    Not sure if it will help, but I use a white/noise machine that makes a roaring wind noise.

     I can't sleep without it, and take it with me when I travel.

       SE wink

Posted 10/30/2010 2:42 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Flower , have you told your doctor about this ? Ambien works well for some folks , Iused it for a time and you wake up clear headed not foggy like some sleep aids . Just a thought . Mikel
Posted 10/30/2010 4:47 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Flower

 

I found that listening to some soft music helps me, they make special CD's "music to promote sleep" there is one that I have that I have never heard it all the way through! So maybe you might consider something like that to try, I know I copied the CD onto my computer and then put it on my MP3 player, and use it at night with my ear buds, it realy does work for me anyway! Also I have found for me that some pain meds, vicodin and ones with hydrocodone keeps me away, if I take one at 9 or 10 I will be away till 3 or4 in the morning, Oxycodone does not affect me that way. So you might try and see if there is anything  your taking that might be affecting your sleep. Just some thing to consider.......Good Luck to You........

 

White Beard

Posted 10/30/2010 11:41 PM (GMT 0)
I put Raiders of the Lost Ark in the DVD player and set it on continuous play.

The reason is that when I was younger it played every week during the winter and not having anything else to do I went and seen it every week.....kind of miss those 50 cent matinees....Anyway I seen it so many times that I literally had the movie memorized and it became "boring" and I would fall asleep watching it and then wake up just before the end.

Now almost 30 years later it still has that effect on me. I still love the movie and maybe once or twice a year I can watch it without falling asleep but most of the time I am out within 15 minutes.
Posted 10/31/2010 12:20 AM (GMT 0)
Jim 1969 with with herniated lumbar disks and spinal stenoses are your legs even working? I have had both and in all cases it affected my legs so severely I had such severe pain in my back and legs I had no choice but surgery four times including fusion, they solved the leg problems but left me in chronic pain, a price to pay but I still walk fine
Posted 10/31/2010 12:32 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Flower,

I like burning lavender essential oils in an aromatherapy diffuser for a couple hours before bed. I find that it helps relax me. I also sometimes put a few drops of the oil on my pillow. You can find a wide variety of essential oils & aromatherapy diffusers at any health food store.

I hope you get some sleep tonight. I know about chronic insomnia all too well.

hugs,
Skeye
Posted 10/31/2010 12:35 AM (GMT 0)

Dear Flower,

    I am probably not the best person to give ideas. You should do the same routine every night. Stay away from stimulants. Hot bath before hand. "Wet heat" heating pad on low setting with auto/shut-off. Lavender plug-in freshener. Valerian root tea.....

     Of course I do all of that stuff out of vanity and I still don't sleep.  blush    I just enjoy my evening. Do my jewelry (I have a little bed tray with towels on it for beading). Read slow romance novels. Have an over abundance of pillows to support my uneven hip and torso problems. My "sunbeam" heating pad is 2ft long. The little one on neck. Need I say more? My much stronger night time "med cocktail" in all honestly helps me to finally breathe a deep *sigh* of relief for the first time all day. Of course my brain is out to la la land someplace... But it is nice to finally "feel okay". To be just "tender, sore, stiff, beat up". Sleeping hurts my hips, thoracic and shoulders terribly so I am just not in a rush to fall asleep. I normally average 3 - 4hrs with only 5-10 waking periods during that time frame. Lately, it has been a bit off... but, hopefully it will get back to normal soon.

     I did run across some good articles about sleep hygiene the other day. Give me a moment to see if I can find them....

Here it is

~~> http://www.medicinenet.com/insomnia/article.htm

*warm hugg*
        dani

Posted 10/31/2010 1:47 AM (GMT 0)
Yes, my legs still work. In a way I am pretty lucky in that I do not have much in the way of sciatic pain. I get it once in a while but it is pretty rare. I do have problems with walking more than 20-30 minutes on flat ground though as the muscles in my low back tighten up and I can also feel swelling around the bad discs which increase pain significantly and sometimes threaten to dump my legs out from under me.

Since I am still able to get around on my own two feet though it is one of the reasons I refuse to let the surgeons touch me. The other reasons (in no particular order) are that I am scared to death of back surgery as I have an uncle that came close to being paralyzed from having it, I am a very brittle diabetic and heal very slowly, and also am the primary care giver to a pre-schooler and don't have anyone to take of him during my recovery.

I have also been told by one surgeon and a couple of other doctors that they feel due to all of my health issues that there is only a 50/50 chance of surgery helping with my pain and that there is a 25% chance of it making things worse with a chance of it leading to being paralyzed.
Posted 10/31/2010 2:55 AM (GMT 0)
I'm sorry you are having trouble with sleeping. I have trouble too sometimes. I listen to relaxing sounds like meditation music, waterfalls, etc. on my ipod. If that doesn't work then I also have the option of taking valium. That I usually take when I get so anxious about not sleeping, I have some major anxiety.

I hope the relaxing music helps.
Posted 10/31/2010 2:55 AM (GMT 0)
I'm sorry you are having trouble with sleeping. I have trouble too sometimes. I listen to relaxing sounds like meditation music, waterfalls, etc. on my ipod. If that doesn't work then I also have the option of taking valium. That I usually take when I get so anxious about not sleeping, I have some major anxiety.

I hope the relaxing music helps.
Posted 10/31/2010 4:02 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Flower
I have not much trouble going to sleep but I often wake during the night with pain.
When that happens I get up and do several minutes of stretching...nothing too vigorous.
I then go back to bed and do what some might call meditiation.
I lay there concentrating on my breathing I try and breath deeply and slowly and then become aware of my pain.
I track down the exact area of pain in my mind and then as I exhale I relax that area, which each outward breath I relax my muscles (because that is where my pain is).
This works very well for me and mostly I fall off to sleep.
Posted 10/31/2010 8:44 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Flower

Just thought I'd put my 2 cents in for what it's worth.  I have chronic back pain from a failed back fusion and take a large amount of pain meds. Sometimes I find it's the pain meds that don't let me sleep or it's the pain. Tough situation sometimes. Anyway I find listening to anything of interest relaxes me.  Kinda like story time when you were a kid. I find something of interest on my laptop and watch and listen until I fall asleep. I find the focus it takes, takes my mind off my pain. Maybe even try a book on audio. Anyway good luck and take care. Hope you get some sleep.

                                    Stingray

Posted 10/31/2010 10:21 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you so much to everyone. Going to the stores today to buy some of the things you suggested:) That will be my trip out of the house for the day. You're all so supportive. I really appreciate all of the help!

Thank you!

Hugs,

Flower
Posted 11/1/2010 8:52 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Flower,

I don't sleep too well either so sometimes I have to take Ambien which works well for me... but honestly I don't recommend it- I do not sleep well without it now. It is something that is very hard to come off of. Some nights I suffer just because I don't take it, so then usually I give up and end of taking one. You might also try Sleepytime tea- It does kinda help calm me a little, which might help you- but everyone is different. I just wish I had stuck to the "natural" ways instead of ever getting on Ambien.
Posted 11/1/2010 10:02 PM (GMT 0)
I take 5mg of melentona (sp?). Usually I am asleep within the hour of taking it. Most the time I sleep very heavy with it.
Posted 11/1/2010 11:09 PM (GMT 0)
I went to a psychologist about my insomnia and she has helped me form a type of meditation to help me relax my body. There are 2 different relaxation exercises I go through, I find the more I use them the more conditoned I've become to relaxing with them. If it still doesn't work and you know you always have those nights where it doesn't, I get up and read for an hour and then try again.
I think I've watched so many episodes of classic TV shows, Bonanza, The Virginian, MASH... But the relaxation meditation techniques have helped me a lot.
Its not easy trying to sleep with pain, my heart is with you, golitho
Posted 11/2/2010 2:46 AM (GMT 0)
Hope your getting some rest...
I usually try reading a book, but my hubby uses melatonin...
((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Healing HUGZ))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
Hope you can get some rest soon if not go to your doctor..
Posted 11/2/2010 7:42 AM (GMT 0)
When I wake up and can't get back to sleep because of pain, I've found that instead of taking a whole sleeping pill, a half often will do the same thing for me.If I'm still awake 1/2 hour later Ill take the other half.I take 20mg. oxycodone for daytime break-thru pain and 20 mg.morphine suppositories when needed at night.They work very quickly and I sleep much better on morphine than oxy.I seldom sleep without my radio playing softly,some nights classical, sometimes Rock, always FM with no talk or news.
Posted 11/2/2010 10:19 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Flower, I tend to sometimes have problems falling back asleep, too. I usually get out of bed and sit down in the living room for a while and read a bit. I've found that going into a different room helps. At some point, I start to imagine how nice it would be to cuddle up in bed again and that usually helps when I go back to bed, even when I'm in serious pain.
Posted 11/2/2010 5:36 PM (GMT 0)
I hate to admit it, but I'm an Ambien girl. It takes twice the normal dose, though, and I'm certainly under a Dr's care for it.

I hope you are resting well now!
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