Sleep.....Does it ever really happen

Wow Minnie, I cant imagine waking up and staying up at 3:00 in the morning. I will have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night but I can fall right back to sleep. You would think with all of those meds you would be out like a light for the night. I dont even know what to tell you to do, Im sorry.
Maybe you could ask your doctor if it would be ok to take the Savella and Lyrica before you go to bed and then the flexeril you could take when you wake up at 3:00.
Gentle Hugs
Shirley

I also wake up early between 4:30 and 5:30 at the latest and of course i go to bed around 9-10/ I find that the clonex that i take for sleep gives me a finite number of hours and then the pain wakes me again and there i am up with the rest of the house sleeping. I am sorry you have this too,, i don't know what i would do without the tv or episodes of lost keeping me company. I have an ipod next to my bed with movies on it, and when i want to stay in bed but can't sleep i listen to them, like a story. maybe that can be of some help, it sometimes gives me a little extra time in bed. The getting out of bed is terrible like walking on shards of broken glass and everything else is so stiff until i start moving around, maybe that is why your body wakes you, it is telling you you need to move now before all you joints totally freeze up. just a thought. Hope tommorow brings a better nights sleep
OneDay

LOl... I use both the "walking on glass" and "walking on my legs like they are made of sticks" whatevery they hurt so bad. Oh....by the way... I'm up again at 3am .... gotta love it. Just want to sleep. Seems like a nightly event these days.

Minny, I'm sorry about the sleep. It is so tied to how we feel - that not getting it is really not helping your symptoms at all. Do you think it has anything to do with your move? I know you've had just so much going on - moving, your daughter, your job, your husband's job .. I mean, that would be enough to keep anyone waking up in the middle of the night. Can you work on your sleep routine? It often makes a difference for me.



Here - I stole these from Dr. Podell's web site:
source: http://www.drpodell.org/improving_sleep_quality.shtml

PRINCIPLES OF SLEEP HYGIENE

Discuss whether medicines might be disrupting sleep e.g. decongestants, diet pills, stimulating antidepressants. Also evening caffeine or alcohol.

Keep sleep schedule regular. Shifting sleep time disrupts sleep. Create a habit pattern of staging down activities throughout the evening. This helps condition your body to expect to be able to sleep. Consider turning the TV off early. Try music or dull reading.

Keep the bedroom dark and quiet and the mattress comfortable. Leave marital conflicts outside.

Bed should be used only for sleep or sex. Move to chair or couch when not engaged in either.

Clear your mind of the past day's events and the next day's worries e.g. write down your regrets and plans, then lock them in a drawer so you can go back to them tomorrow

Don't exercise just before bedtime. Even relaxing meditation might alert you too much for sleep.

Consider a hot bath in the early evening. Heat initially prompts alertness; drowsiness then follows as your body temperature drops.

Take a modest carbohydrate snack or warm milk before sleep. This promotes drowsiness for some

Use relaxation tapes, imagery, slow diaphragmatic breathing or meditation.

Use ear plugs if there's too much noise, eye shades if there's too much light.

Use white noise e.g. a fan or calm music to soothe out and block unwanted sounds.

BEHAVIORAL TECHNIQUES FOR SLEEP
Technique Comment
Sleep restriction/consolidation Restrict total time in bed to 4 hours or less, whether you actually sleep or not. Over a few days you should find yourself consolidating more sleep into the available time. As the proportion of time sleeping increases extend the time allowed in bed. .
Paradoxical Intention For some tying to stay up later may hasten sleep
Relaxation Skills Diaphragmatic breathing, visual imagery (e.g. counting sheep) muscle relaxation
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
(See also various books under the name of Feeling Good, by David Burns, M.D., a psychiatrist who has produced a workbook version of CBT one can do on one's own.) A form of brief psychotherapy that works to improve coping skills e.g. not turning molehills into mountains. Controlled studies show that persons with CFS/FMS who do several CBT sessions do better 6 months compared to comparably ill persons who do not. Also benefits rheumatoid arthritis and other non-controversially physical ailments.




Every night, I wear my sleep mask (sewed it myself) and put on my delta wave sleep CD. You might find a good sleep cd to help you get back into sleep. Or, deep breathing with your eyes closed. I find a tv screen or computer monitor excites my senses too much - probably due to the inherent (but not visible) flicker of the screen. I used to use ear plugs - and found them highly useful. The wind-down before bed time is really important for me, too.

Hang in hon. How are you doing today?