Advice on insomnia

I know you are not doctors but you have a wealth of knowledge and I have learned more from all of you ladies than any medical staff. I am hoping you can help me.
My doctor put me on Gabapentin for pain and insomnia. It worked great for a few weeks. He increased the dosage to 600 mg. then 900 mg. Now it has stopped working again. I hate to keep increasing the dosage. I got NO sleep night before last and last night I didnt fall asleep until after 2 am.
Has anyone experienced this problem?

I forgot about the Benadryl. Does ut work better than other prescription meds?

Benadryl helps make me tired, but it reslly dries out my head and gives me dry head headaches.

I use the following and get better sleep than I used to. I am having a rough time with it lately but I know the issue is being onan inhaler for allergy season.

Melatonin - helps relax you and get you to sleep. I use the 10 mg cheable they well on Amazon.

Valerian Root - this helps me stay asleep once I get there. Also over the counter.

Lyrica - I take 2 per day.at night. They make mesleepy and within an hour of taking, my nerves settle down which allows me. To get ton sleep. Combined with the next one, it sometimes makes me feel a little drunk.

Ambien - 1 per night. Sorry, I dont have my dosages. It eorks well with the Lyrica to knock me out.

I was also told to avoid all caffeine after noon and take a bath before bed if possible. They tell you to be very ritualistic about bedtime and your actions will trigger your body to go to sleep. I dont know that it works perfectly, but it does help.

I hope you find what works for you.

Hi Grammy G I've tried pretty much everything for sleep. Benadryl worked great for me but what has worked best is trazadone. I take a half a pill which is 25 mgs and usually within a half hour to 45 minutes I'm sleepy enough to fall asleep without being hungover the next day. Honestly though if I didn't have to be on a set schedle because of work I would try more natural solutions to relax me because I hate to have take anything for sleep. I hope you find your relaxation cd works well. That's sounds much more enjoyable.

You've gotten some good advice. Quite a few use melatonin and some use Benedryl. Guess I'm repeating things, huh?

I don't take anything for sleep but instead I have put myself on a sleep schedule. I found it very important to have a "ritual". I shower a couple of hours before bedtime and then watch fun programming. I go to bed around the same time every night and I do have a TV on. I usually fall asleep in ten minutes or less.

I also set my alarm so I get up at the same time in the morning. The longer I stay in bed, the more pain I have. Plus, I'm a morning person. I usually wake up before my alarm goes off. (7 AM)

I avoid caffeine also after early afternoon. I love hot tea and iced tea but I stop drinking it by early afternoon.

By doing these things daily, it has trained my body that when I lay down in bed, it's time to go to sleep. I never lay down in my bed except at bedtime. If I'm really tired and need a quick power nap, I will lay down on the sofa. I don't nap very often because then I can't get to sleep at nighttime.

Also, on the rare times I'm not falling asleep, I will turn the TV off and lay in bed and pray for family and friends. That is so peaceful and sleep comes easily this way for me plus I have the added benefit of spending the end of the day with God.

Sherrine

Thank you for the great ideas!

Last night I had my personal CD player laying on the night stand with an audio book CD placed inside. By 1pm I knew I wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon so I started listening to the CD (Hinds Feet on High Places). The narrators' voice was soothing and I found myself relaxing as I listened to the story. I fell asleep in about an hour or so.

I think what bothers me most about insomnia are my expectations! I expect to sleep like I used to before Fibro. I expect to fall asleep quickly. I think those days are gone... short of a miracle from God! I'm finding that if I change my expectations, and just accept the present situation, then the frustration is lessened. Last night I was actually looking forward to hearing 'Flo' read the book so I wasn't frustrated when I couldn't sleep.

Next month I may sign up for Amazon's Audible for free books to listen to.

I take muscle relaxers for sleep, and I also have Ambien for nights when the muscle relaxers don't work. I've also found a great tea (Fibrocane serenitea) that seems to help me calm and fall asleep much faster/ easier than I was without it.

I don't know I've never built up a resistance.

I've taken it off and on throughout my life due to allergies.
Doctor told me it was safe to help me sleep when I was desperate for sleep.

I take it as needed. Sometimes for several days, other times not so much.

I took benadryl every single night for about 9 years before I noticed any change in how well it worked for me. I started with two 25 mg tabs them moved to two 38 mg tabs. After that I began seeing a dr and was prescribed elavil and ambien.

No I wasn't taking any other medications at all back then. I hope you find the right mix that gives you better sleep, it makes life so much better. I don't get anywhere near 8 hours a night, but I sure do better than the few hours of "napping" off and on that I used to get without any medication.