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Posted 1/14/2015 4:07 AM (GMT 0)
Just curious what some of you use to help you sleep. I have had fibro for several years. Currently I take 600 mg of nuerontin at bedtime but it does not help me sleep only helps with the pain. I usually take 50 mg of diphenhydramine aka benadryl but I can't sleep thrugh the night on it. I do have ambien but don't really care for it for several reasons so I'm wondering what others have had luck with. I do work 40 hrs a week and I'm in bed by 8:00 pm every night and losing sleep is not an option for me because I'm at work til 6:00 pm so no time for a nap.
Posted 1/14/2015 6:24 AM (GMT 0)
Ambien is the only thing that works well for me.. Having said that i slept so much with the flu.. That my sleep is off right now ...even on it....

Most of us with fibro have recurrent sleep issues.

Ambien keeps getting more expensive , but when the generics first came out, i could not take it...

Now there are more generics, anyone use a good one?
Posted 1/14/2015 8:09 AM (GMT 0)
If you don't have any autoimmune diseases you could try melatone (?). It's a good sleep aid.

I use a hypnosis video to get to sleep. It's on youtube by David Fairweather. I perfer his relaxation fall asleep version. I turn off all the lights and just listen to him. Before it's over I'm cutting zzzzz's.
Posted 1/14/2015 1:03 PM (GMT 0)
Melatonin works for getting to sleep. They recently had me add Valerian for my daughter (also an OTC herbal supplement) for staying asleep. That seemed to help her a lot. I will warn that the pills have a strong smell though.

I have b een seeing a sleep doc for months. They put me on CPAP and then begin working on my insomnia issues. They added Ambien because I cant turn off my brain at night and then Modafinil to help me be alert and combat the daily fog. The rheumy put me on Lyrica. When I crash for the night, I am out solid for a minimum of four hours. Some nights I sleep up to seven or eight total, and sometimes it ends at four. Is the however, a huge improvement over where I was, which was a questionable couple of hours per night.
Posted 1/14/2015 1:20 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, Pasadena, and welcome! It sounds like you are o. A sleep schedule and that's good. Another this is to avoid caffeine...including chocolate....after around 3 PM. This helps. Lastly, I was put on a muscle relaxer and it helps me sleep because it has made a significant difference in my pain. It's called Robaxin. I take half or even less than was prescribed to me and it helps me greatly and I don't have the side effects like sleepiness, groggy, etc. I do hope you find what works for you. If you sleep better your pain should lessen some.

Be sure to read Fibro 101...the first thread on the forum. There are links to good info about fibro and you will learn a lot there.

Oh, by the way, many with fibro are deficient in vitamin D and also magnesium and this can cause more pain and more pain means less sleep. I use magnesium malate and vitamin D3. There are links in Fibro 101 about these and how they work in the body. There also are a couple of threads on the first page of this forum about magnesium supplements that you might be interested in.

I'm looking forward to getting to know you better. Don't hesitate to ask questions because we are here to help you. Hope to hear more from you soon.

Sherrine
Posted 1/14/2015 7:10 PM (GMT 0)
I have had sleep problems for a long time. I have to say that menopause likely came into play with some of my problems. When I worked I often had whole nights of insomnia but still got up and got through the day. Things progressed. I would go to bed and not be able to shut down my thoughts. My mind kept going and going.

It was my Headache and Pain Relief Doctor who suggested that I try melatonin and 5-HTP. The one thing about melatonin is that you can stop it anytime and there was no withdrawal symptom. I thought 5-HTP was helping some for pain. I have stopped them both because I am now back on Nortriptyline (an anti-depressant).

I was prescribed Nortriptyline by a Dentist for my jaw pain which she said is Neuralgia. My Headache Doctor had me come off of it and then put me on Lyrica. I was taken off Lyrica due to weight gain. I went back to the same Dentist as my jaw pain is still horrible. The first time she gave me the impression that my pain was not real. This second time she explained that the pain is from Neuralgia, much the same as Fibromyalgia. An added feature that helps is that Nortriptyline gives me a deeper sleep. When I am sick with a virus it does not work as well as it should. If I have moved enough during the day I can sleep through the night. I do sometimes get up once to go to the washroom and can go back to sleep.

I am just suspecting that the problems I had with not shutting my mind down may be a menopausal issue. I have been taking HRT Premarin and another prior. I seem to have a clear mind now that will go to sleep. Stress of course is not good. I do need darkness to go to sleep. I remember one house when I was about 10 that had a street light shinning in the room. I had to fix the curtains to have no light. I now let my Husband go to sleep with the TV and I will watch it for 1/2 hour and get up to turn off the TV. He thinks he needs the TV on but I need it off. I also slip his glasses off. We are finally accepting of this arrangement.

There is a reason for waking up at say 2:00 and 4:00. It is hormonal. One part of your brain wants to sleep but there is a hormone that wants to be awake.

I did go to a sleep lab. It is beneficial to see if you have sleep APNEA. The lab did not go that well for me. An A/C was blowing in my head and kept me from sleeping, not to mention all those wires.

Loring

Osteoarthritis in Multiple Joints, Fibromyalgia, Neuralgia, Chronic Daily Headaches, I.B., Hard of Hearing...

Post Edited (Loring) : 1/14/2015 12:14:39 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/15/2015 4:44 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you everyone for your replies I do have a bottle of flexeril that I haven't reallytaken before I guess I need to try it ona weekend and see if it works for helping me sleep. I'm real leary of trying new things on worknight because I'm so scared of havinga bad day from not enough sleep or being too sleepy. I'm on a fairly new job so I can't take any days off and learning a new industry so I need to be very alert and have enough problems with fog alread . Imay trythe melatonin again its been years since I tried it thebest sleep I've ever heard was when iwas on elavil but stopped taking itbecause of the weight gain. Now that I'm on something else for the pain and have it pretty well managed I maytalk to my rhuemy aboutaddinga very low dose of the elavil back for sleep. Againthanks for all the replies. I've been lurkinghere for quite some time and reallyenjoy reading everyones posts.. sorry for all the typos I'm on a tablet and not too great with a touch screen.
Posted 1/15/2015 4:46 AM (GMT 0)
Definitely will look into trying the magnesium too Sherrine and I do take vitamin d for my deficiency but have been out for a few weeks.
Posted 1/16/2015 5:15 PM (GMT 0)
Pasadena,

Don't worry about the typos, I'm having to dictate a lot of my messages these days because my fingers are swollen. So the quality of my messages strictly dependent on how many of my errors I catch. I think my iPad swap some of my words on purpose, LOL.

Just a quick question, have you tried looking into a good sleep doctor? A really good sleep doctor doesn't just find CPAP solutions, they actually look at your sleep and what would help you.

I needed a mild sleep CPAP solution, but they didn't stop there. My sleep doctor actually helped me figure out my insomnia and how to wake up as well. I am not sure if that will help you, But I thought it was worth bringing up.I am really frustrated with the rest of my doctors, but I have had very good luck with my sleep doctor.
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