Insomnia

Hi I am nini53/Kathy, I have been a chronic pain sufferer for many years.  I am pretty sure I am not the only person who has trouble getting to sleep but staying asleep.  Sometimes I cant sleep due to the pain, sometimes I cannot sleep because my mind is going round in circles, did I pay this bill, what can I do about whatever problem that has come up on that day.  Sometimes it is a combination of both.

Some nights I can get to sleep only to be awakened by pain, in my back, legs and sometimes lately fingers.  I have taken otc sleep medicines, and although they sometimes work, they to dont keep me asleep.  Although I dont believe otc sleep aids are not physically habit forming, (I can only speak for myself) they can certainly become a habit taking night after night, until at some point they no longer work.

I have at some time taken prescription sleep medicine, I dont want to take them every night, as I certainly dont want an addiction to prescription sleep meds.  Also, I had a very bad experience with one of the prescription sleep meds and landed in the psyc. ward at the local hospital er.  It is something my daughters and I laugh at now, there is nothing funny about what happened.  I took 3 of these prescription meds and the next thing I remember was waking up in the er in full body restraints, I had no idea how I got there, I have no memory of the evening before.  I have been told by my daughters that I was walking around with a blanket, crooning and cooing to what I guess I thought was a baby.  The police came, they asked my how old I was, at that time I was 49, my girls said I told the police I was 28.   I was 28 when I had my oldest daughter.

Needless to say, I never took another prescription sleep medicine again.  And I never will.  I have tried different ways, listening to tapes, books sometimes, sometimes gentle water sounds, various tapes or I guess I should say cds, sometimes they work, sometimes they dont.  I guess you can tell tonight or I should say this morning, nothing is working.

Well as usual I have written a novel, so its time for me to go back to playing solitare, the only game in town, sometimes.  Take care all and thanks for being here always.

Omg jim1969, and I thought I had it bad.  I rarely have nightmares, but that could be due to rarely sleeping more than 2 hours at a time.  I have done everything I can think of, I have stopped drinking (I am recovering alcoholic 23-24 years and counting) so I mean sodas, even water, I thought for a while that was interfering with my sleep, getting up to go to the bathroom.  But no help, I dont drink anything after 6 pm. nothing works.

I had not been having as much trouble sleeping for awhile now.  I am not sure what brought on this latest bout of insomnia, but I dont like it.  I am sure you know, the more you think about it, the harder it is to go to sleep.  I am very fortunate, I do love to read, and go to the thrift store every 2-3 months to refill my books.  I read alot of suspense novels, and they can be quite well, suspense full, (I know thats not spelled right, but hey its like 3 am here, I am doin the best I can,)lol. 

I have been known to read an entire book 300-400 pages in one night because I cant wait to see how it ends.  Yes sometime I cheat and look at the end first.lol  That is why I buy from the thrift store, I can buy between 10-12 books for 10 dollars and under, they are like between 50cents to 1 dollar, most expensive 1.50.  I mean you cant beat it.

Well I will either try to sleep again or play some more solitare.

Take care all, hope you are having restful and pain free (as much as possible) days and nights.

A good nights sleep, lol, what is that. For nearly 3 yrs now I have been running on a 3 hour sleep schedule and I am running on empty all the time. Even when I take say a pain pill and a muscle relaxer just before crawling in bed because of neck and shoulder problems that have been stirred up, its the same 3 hours and then I am awake. I do not do sleeping pills well at all either so that is out.

I often wonder if its not the medications that we take that is the culprit because this is a problem with so many people on these meds. I think somewhere in the mix our brain just goes into an overload mode and the signal that says go to sleep for 8 hours has been short circuited. My other problem is I am not a day time sleeper so laying down for an afternoon nap does not work for me. The only time I have ever been able to sleep in the day light is if I was in bed with the flu or something like that. Its never ending I know.

I probably wake up close to 50 times per night (no exaggerating), and that is after 1-2 hours of trying to get to sleep due to pain. I often must get up to walk around and stretch in the middle of the night. I take Zopiclone which really helps BUT only allow myself to take it once a week. If it was not for Zopiclone I would have one good sleep for every ten horrible ones. The longest I have gone without sleep is 11 nights so the doctor at the hospital injected me with drugs to make me sleep for 24 hours. Sleep study? Didn't fall asleep. At all. Not even for one minute.

Unfortunately napping does not work for me, either, as I cannot fall asleep to nap. The last time I napped was when I had pneumonia last year.

When I do sleep well (i.e. only wake up about 5-10 times per night) I feel like I can take on the world! The difference is miraculous.

Hi Nini and everyone else having a hard time sleeping

I've heard that melatonin can help. Jerome took it a few months ago, and it didn't help him at all. I take Seroquel and I sleep well after waiting about 2-3 hours to get sleepy.

I hope you all can find a way to get a good night sleep.

love and hugs
Loretta

You know what I best think about this cp forum.  I sat around for days hours, and never think about how many others have the same difficulties.

Family members cant understand as well as one of us do.  I said more than once, I wonder if anyone else cant sleep at night.   And boom, helpful hints and much understanding.

Thank you all, please take care of yourselves.

Chantarelle, I sure hope your new med helps you. Let us know how that goes.

Kathy, when you have your sleepless nights, come and check in the chat room as i am quite often there as well as others. It helps the night go by when you can't sleep and can take your mind off of the pain.
This is a great place eh!! We all understand each and support each other.

Hoping everyone can get some sleep soon.

Suzane

Nini...I'm so sorry to hear about the insomnia...from the sounds of it...you are certainly not alone!

I started on Ambien back in 2006 after my last fusion surgery...That has been an absolute God send to me! I knew that I never got to stage 4 sleep before as I'd been diagnosed with CFS and Fibromyalgia back in the mid 90's....but hadn't found something to help before and other Dr. tried me on other medicines...

Just like my pain medicines...I know my body is dependent on them...which is completely different than addiction...Addiction is when a person takes more medicine than prescribed...'craves' a medicine to get high...or buys/sells medicine illegally....

It's absolutely natural for the body to become dependent on any medication...just like a diabetic is dependent on insulin...

For me...the benefits far outweigh the side effects...for me..the only side effects were eating late at night..as well as talking to ex boyfriends on FB without remembering LOL.....which I stopped after the first few months as I get off the computer and stay in bed watching TV or listen to a book on my phone after I take the medicine...I shut my bedroom door...So I am lucky I never had any dangerous side effects..

But I only take either 5 or 10mg at night and that has not had to change in almost 5 years....

I know it's different for everyone and we all need to make the choices best for us...I just am so amazed at the difference it's made for me...It's not just helped my energy level but my mood and my pain levels...I

I still wake for a few seconds every hour to change positions as it's too painful to sleep on one side or the other all night..

It sounds like you have tried pretty much everything...so I really feel for you and others who are having issues...

The other thing I learned was keeping my bedroom cool really helps..with these brutal summers I've kept a fan blowing on me all night long..as well as getting off the computer or doing something that involves my brain being active...That is where I LOVE audible and listening to my favorite books...Lights out...being read a bedtime story...helps me fall asleep peacefully...

I am sending you all some big hugs (( ))...I really pray that you and others can find things to help...

I absolutely agree...I truly wasn't saying for you to try the Ambien again...just showing others that as you said...what can work for someone..won't work for another...

I know Lunesta works on a different part of the brain...so maybe that would be one to try?

Believe me...I do understand as I was there for so many years!...It really is tough...I'll keep praying for you!

Supposedly, melatonin and Valerian work well together. I've also heard that 5-HTP can work well. In all cases, they probably work better if you take them continuously as opposed to just once in a while.

What seems to work best for me is a 3-prong approach. First, I drink Sleepy Time Tea an hour or so before bed. I think it's more of ritual that lets my mind and body know that it's time to chill. Second, I take a mild (prescribed) muscle relaxer just before bed. It doesn't help me GET to sleep, but it keeps my muscles from knotting up and waking me up. Third, and this might sound odd, but a couple of years ago, I bought a book called The Gabriel Method - it's a weight loss book. It came with a free download of a relaxation tape that you're supposed to listen to when you go to bed. I was suffering from insomnia at the time, so I laughed at the idea. I can honestly tell you that I have NEVER heard the end of the 30 minute mp3 file.

I'm currently not really dealing with insomnia. My problem right now is that, because of my odd thyroid issues, staying asleep for one reason or another is almost impossible. When I do find myself suffering from insomnia, I pull out the mp3 player, put in the memory card that has that file on it, and press play. And it works. Of course, YMMV.

           chanterelle....here is a link I would like you to view concerning the med you are taking. Please take a peek at it, and then call your Dr as soon as possible. I don't care what the Pharmacy has told you...call your DR.

  Here is just a little of what it says:

You should know that your mental health may change in unexpected ways when you take amitriptyline or other antidepressants even if you are an adult over age 24.  You, your family, or your caregiver should call your doctor right away if you experience any of the following symptoms: new or worsening depression;  extreme worry; agitation; panic attacks; difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep; aggressive behavior; irritability; acting without thinking; severe restlessness; and frenzied abnormal excitement. Be sure that your family or caregiver knows which symptoms may be serious so they can call the doctor when you are unable to seek treatment on your own.

      http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000666/

       Hope you can find an answer to your sleep problem...but do please call... to make sure you should continue this med. Everyone is different, and I have no experience with it....but after reading the warnings on it...I think I would be calling as well.

 Good luck!

     SE

Thanks for posting this information.  I did call my doctor but he is away until Monday (of course!).  So, I am not going to take the Amitriptyline starting today as I have all kinds of strange things happening such as extreme dizziness, shakiness, stumbling, bumping into things, heart palpitations, dry eyes, etc.  I have been on many meds for chronic pain but do not recall feeling this horrible.  Part of it is due to extreme insomnia but I know for a fact that the Ami definitely is making it a lot worse.  I was actually quite scared earlier today. 

Zopiclone works well for me but I do not allow myself to take it more than once a week.  Thankfully I have a few Ativan left so I will take one this evening as I absolutely must sleep.  I will try the Melatonin/Valerian combo again but have to find a gluten free brand as I have celiac disease so cannot have any gluten.

Does anyone ever fear drastic things happening such as organs shutting down due to sleep deprivation?  When does that begin to happen?  It is amazing that a person can actually go on after having so many consecutive sleepless nights. 

Mysti, Flexeril did the same thing with me - it kept me awake.  This Amitriptyline does the same only about 10 times worse for some reason!

SE, it is now several days since I stopped Amitriptylene and I am now reading what I typed in shock. It is like I had completely changed personalities! My husband was worried as well - he came home from work and stayed with me. The first day without Ami I began feeling better. I slept that night and was a new person the next day! Looking back on it sends shivers down my spine - it was very scary how dreadfully it affected me. My mind is now clear and sharp again and thankfully I feel my cheerful, positive self.

Anyway, I appreciate your words of wisdom and concern. Believe me - I will never, ever even for a second consider taking that medication again. It is interesting how it works for some but is so detrimental in others!