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2 Tylenol PM's and I'm still not tired!!!

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Posted 7/13/2011 5:23 AM (GMT 0)
I can't fall asleep for the life of me. It's after midnight and I've been laying in bed for an hour and a half. I took two tylenol PM's a couple hours ago and am not feeling them yet.

This is how it always goes for me lately. If I don't take those tylenol pm I cannot fall asleep until around 4 am, and it's generally a restless night. I will fall asleep by 1-1:30pm because of the tylenol pm's... but it's so frustrating! Is there anything UC related that could be causing any of this? I haven't had a BM since about 5pm, and won't need to go again until 7 or 8 am. I don't have much pain. I just plain cannot sleep. I am not tired at all.

Just wondering I guess, if there is a reason my body is doing this. I read tonight that the digestive tract creates melatonin... but didn't read very in depth about it. Anything along those lines that could be contributing to this?

Thanks :-)
Posted 7/13/2011 12:13 PM (GMT 0)
Do you have anything particularly stressful on your mind at the moment? Does your mind race with thoughts - even mundane things?

I am a chronic insomniac and right now I take Unisom to help me sleep but in the past I have used Ambien. Have you been on pred lately? I also find that by using a fan in a cool bedroom helps lull me to sleep - the white noise is a distraction. If you like tea, Celestial Seasonings has a tea called Sleepy Time tea. Along with the tea to help sooth you at night, try to avoid watching action filled TV before bed as this can stimulate the mind - so basically you want to avoid things that cause stimulation at least 1-2 hours before bed time.

My insomnia began when I was having stress issues plus I have GAD (generalized anxiety disorder) so my mind is always racing and doing the what if's but by doing the above steps, I found that I can actually get a good nights rest now.
Posted 7/13/2011 1:15 PM (GMT 0)
What about your sleep hygiene?

-Don't eat 2 hours before bed
-No caffeine
-Meditate
-Sherry has it bang on with the fan. I have a fan in my room most of the time. :) White noise is a lifesaver.
-Even exercising more can help

UC medication can disrupt sleep. But insomnia doesn't cause UC. However, it can aggravate inflammation within the body though.

Ironically, I wrote a feature story about sleep disorders this year in j-school while I was having problems sleeping. lol. I was very informative.
Posted 7/13/2011 1:34 PM (GMT 0)
Am I stressed? Yes, although I am not necessarily trying to control things. I have a business that I run with my dad, and we have about 3-4 times the responsibilities that we have time for presently. Besides that, I am short on personal time for relaxation. I also am attempting to be open to dating type relationships, which I spend a significant amount of time mentally analyzing. ---As odd as it may be I have only had two days in the last 50 that I had more than 4 BM's, and both were when I was out on get-to-know-you dates with a woman that I intuitively felt wasn't right for me. I guess I respond in a physical way very easily to my subconscious mind.

Two evenings ago I did yoga for 20 minutes, then deep relaxation... and didn't eat anything before bed. I went to bed at 10:30 and still didn't get to sleep until 1 or so.

**I have not been on prednisone for almost a year.
**I don't really watch tv. I don't think I've watched a single tv show in over a month.
**I do use the internet before bed. I do read stimulating things before bed, as it seems to be the only time where I can have some me time. The thing is... I can skip the stimulation and lay there. But, after two hours it gets old. I get up, start reading and wait for the tylenol pm to kick in. Finally it does and then I drop.

Okay, I need to be getting to work. Thank you both for your replies... I appreciate them very much.
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