OT- how do you get to sleep???

I used to have a terrible time sleeping, specifically falling asleep. The supplements I have taken are valerian, chammomile, and hawthorn pills (not usually taken for sleep but it does calm you down and it helps me sleep as much as the other two I think). Also, isn't there something about melatonin that makes it bad for people with IBD to use?

I am someone who always has to be thinking about something and that always kept me from falling asleep. I started listening to podcasts on my iPod about two years ago when I would lay down and that would slow my mind down. If you are an overthinker I would definitely recommend that. I went on vacation last month and forgot it. It took ten times as long as it has been taking me to fall asleep.

 

Valerian Root or Ambien for me!

I take OTC diphenhydramine 50 mg (max strength) and have done so for years, it's a generic sleep aid available at every drugstore and Walmart. Knocks me out in 15-30 minutes.

TylenolPM has 25 mg. of diphenhydramine which is what makes it PM version (my colon doesn't like any pain relievers so no Tylenol for me). I've also taken Benadryl which has 25 mg of diphenhydramine and it works too but I prefer the 50mg. straight version.

When my flare was the worst no sleep aid could prevent waking up to dash to the toilet however. Since my colon healed the sleep aid gives me 7-8 hrs every night no exception.

Good luck.

I used ambien a few nights a weeks - as needed - for the last few years. At 1st only 1/2 pill would work well. Sometimes I could go for a couple weeks without. Got a better mattress, an adjustable bed, and took care of some other sleep-promoting things like not eating dinner too late, taking Lialda only in the morning .... But recently ambien seems like it does not work at all. Prednisone was making me edgy and bad sleep was making next day edginess worse. Bad cycle. Doc prescribed some low strength generic Xanx. I only take the dinner time dose because I want to be sharper at work. Most nights I am relaxed enough by bedtime to get to sleep w/o too many problems. I hope in the future ambien starts working again, because I still have occasional problems if I do not fall asleep pretty soon after taking retention enemas. I have actually taken them some nights 3-4 hours before bedtime when I could settle on the couch on my left side with Xanx and sleepy time tea. If they are bothering me an hour or two after trying to go to sleep, I can expel them and still know I got about 5-6 hours of benefit.

If I am in any pain, I take a quarter or half of a Tylenol III before bed. Trying to get my mind calm, and my aches to go away it the best way I found to get some decent sleep.

I get to sleep with a little help from the Golden Girls and Amitriptyline.

I don't have this problem at all. lol. But if you have anxiety and need something to make you sleep, xanax works really well for me. It can be addictive though so there is that to be cautious of. Might be better to try over the counter stuff first.

1/4 of a generic unisom knocks me out, but I can wake up easy. If I take a half, it takes forever to wake up.

Tomorrow my local hlth. food store has 10% off day- everything you purchase is 10% off. SO, I'm headed there to look into valerian. I'm not an especially anxious person, but I'm of the mindset that practically everyonecan benefit from an anti-anxiety supplement! I do meditation, & it helps me relax at night, but not fall asleep. Last night was good, fell right asleep & did not get up once. I don['t know of any contraindications with melatonin & UC, but will look into them. Thanks everyone!

I cant sleep throughout the night. I wake up 3 or 4 times a night as well. I noticed that I get terrible headaches and vision problems.

I had to get new winter gloves this year because my hands are big. I have a prominent jaw. I get skin little skin growths. My facial features have changed a lot over the last few years.
are these symptoms of anyone else?

I am usually so tired I just can switch off anywhere anytime. If I have too much caffeine in me and need to grab a few hours right away I use one of the following :

- Restoril ( script )
- Relaxall ( OTC and often )
- Lean Dreams ( OTC )
- 5-HTP ( OTC and nearly every night )

Sleep quality has not been this good since I was a young person. I woke up weeks ago so groggy that I had to steady myself and my hand went down on my glasses on nearby table and smashed them flat :)

Ugh I'm on pred. and haven't slept well in over a month. Ambien gets me about 4 hours.