Anyone else here have insomnia?

[steveH]

I tried my girlfriend's Lunesta (no effect whatsoever) and Ambien (wide awake until I wasn't awake, then 12 hours of "dead to the world" slumber). I didn't like the groggy feeling that Ambien gave me in the a.m.

I tried 6mg of melatonin last night. It was marginally better, but about an hour ago, I tried 9mg. Now I'm feeling like I'm about to droop out of this chair. I appreciate this thread...it has put me to sleep. G'night all.

 

[Brock]

For me ambien (usually 10mg, sometimes 20) works only if I haven't eaten in 3-4 hours, probably not a good idea before bed anyway. On an empty stomach it works quite well. I tend to fall asleep 30 minutes after taking it and wake up 7.5 hours after taking it. I am told the new CR version lets you sleep a bit longer but haven't tried it.

I have never felt odd in the am with ambien as a matter of fact I tend to be more awake.

I usually take ambien about once a week and only take it if I have 8 hours free.

 

[monkeyboy]

You could try that thing where you go round the clock i.e. don't go to bed until you feel really tired. You'll start going to bed later and later every night and waking up later every morning. Eventually you'll go through an entire day and end up going to bed early and waking up early.

Oh yeah, this is not a good idea if you have a job. (or if you plan on keeping your girlfriend). Some even claim that this makes you adjust to the longer day length making your insomnia even worse.

I tried it once and failed miserably.

OK It's a s~#t idea!

"When you have insomnia you're never really awake and you're never really asleep."

 

[steveH]

I had to quit taking the melatonin. It took forever to work (if it worked at all), and I woke up feeling like I drank a case of beer. Luckily, I don't have to get up early, but I seriously felt like I had drank heavily the night before. One caveat: I was taking two or three 3 mg. tabs. I don't know if taking one would make a difference or not. My strategy now is to stay up so long that I fall into bed.

 

[Rayne]

Just saw this thread, that sucks Diesel. Getting very little sleep and being tired the whole time sucks. I wouldn't say that I have insomnia (except like random nights and a 1 month period last year where I could only get like 2-3 hours of sleep per day) but it does take like a few hours of lying in bed to fall asleep. I'm a night owl too so that doesn't help and I hate the sun...not sure that's relavent though. Dumb question, but have you tried OTC sleeping pills? Those work pretty well, but the effects last like 10-12 hours. Nyquil also helps me sleep pretty quick when sick. You can also try to release any frustration or anger before you get to sleep. It's very hard to sleep when pissed at someone or something. If you take long naps during the day, like 2+ hours, that could be interfering with your sleep too. Oh, have you ever seen that Adult ADD commercial with the lady and her mind jumping all over the place even during business meetings and stuff? If you think about stuff like that all day and when trying to sleep (that stupid thinking is what keeps me up for a while), I wonder if those ADD meds would help. I'm not a doctor or anything and haven't tried it, just an idea. Hmm, I wonder if switching windows and getting up and leaving the computer like 20+ times while typing this response are symptoms of ADD...lol. Anyways, I hope you and all the others having insomnia for years can find something that works soon!

 

[Diesel_Bomber]

Well, the insomnia continues.

Rayne- Thanks for your help. I have tried OTC sleeping pills, no effect whatsoever. I had a sleep study done a couple days ago, no sleep apnea or anything. I haven't seen that adult ADD commercial(I don't watch tv, just the occasional movie), but I can imagine, having seen enough kids with it! I'm generally a pretty laid-back guy, no point in getting upset over >95% of the things that people seem to go into hysterics about. My girlfriend is very(VERY) good at distracting me from the rare times that something is bothering me, and keeping my mind focused on one thing. Her. So usually that's not a problem. I don't take naps, but when I do manage to fall asleep during the day my g/f just lets me sleep as long as I can. It doesn't seem to make any difference. I'll keep at it. Thanks again.

TTL- Fiorinal works great. Thanks again for recommending it.

Everyone else- Thank you for your help!


:buddies:

 

[steveH]

I find that I take more naps than I used to, too. Don't know why that is. My sleep cycle is definitely is a flux due to the absence of alcohol. I can get by with about 4-5 hours of sleep at night, but have to have a 1.5-2 hour nap during the afternoon. I used to never nap unless I was ill, but now it is the norm...

 

[Trashman]

I find that I take more naps than I used to, too. Don't know why that is. My sleep cycle is definitely is a flux due to the absence of alcohol. I can get by with about 4-5 hours of sleep at night, but have to have a 1.5-2 hour nap during the afternoon. I used to never nap unless I was ill, but now it is the norm...

Afternoon naps are the best thing ever! Sleep feels so much better then, than it does at night.

 

[Martin]

It's not related to the presence of your g/f ? I sleep better if my wife isn't there to steal my blanket. And vice versa.

What I feel helps a lot is a monotonuous background noise like a stream, a w/f, a generator, an aircon. On Indonesia night busses they are now often playing trance music. Helps most passengers sleep in spite of the driving style.

 

[TedTheLed]

TTL- Fiorinal works great. Thanks again for recommending it
:buddies:

you're welcome that'll be $85..

--DR.TTL


:lolsign:

..have you tried it as a 'sleeeping pill' ?
..sometimes the tension headache starts as a feeling of uncomfortable 'fullness' in your head -- that's tension -- that's a good time to take a fiorinal.

 

[Rayne]

I'm glad you found something that works for you with the Fiornal.

My girlfriend is very(VERY) good at distracting me from the rare times that something is bothering me, and keeping my mind focused on one thing. Her.

I'll bet being that focused makes it impossible to fall asleep! :twothumbs

 

[Diesel_Bomber]

Martin-

Nope, it's not cuz of my g/f. Sometimes she'll spend the night with her parents or I'll spend the night out of town on business and it doesn't seem to make any difference.

Dr. TTL-

I've taken them for a migraine, but not as a sleeping pill. But the time I DID, I woke up clear headed and refreshed the next morning, where as normally I wake up and it's just like I hit the pause button on life until it got light outside again; no actual rest, just unconcious for awhile.

Rayne-

Lol, some times there are more important things to do than sleep. :thumbsup: I sleep rather well afterward. I truly must have done something incredible in a past life to have someone like her in this life. I wouldn't be alive now without her.


Thanks all! Cheers. :buddies:

 

[Diesel_Bomber]

Update - Think we got it licked!

My wife and I were watching one of our LP daughters last weekend and had put on a movie for the baby. I sat down to watch the movie and and keep tabs on the baby while my wife went to take a shower. When she came back both the baby and I were asleep. When I woke up, my wife commented that 99% of the time I try to watch a movie, I fall asleep.

DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!!

Oh, what a blessing my wife is! How I survived so long without her is beyond my comprehension. That night I hauled our tiny little tv/dvd combo into the bedroom, cleared a space on top of a conveniently placed dresser, snuggled up to my wife, and attempted to watch Pretty Woman. Half and hour and I was gone. :sleepy:

This has worked for the past five days. I've actually gotten sleep every night for nearly a week! I feel more alive, more energetic, and less lethargic than I can ever remember. I feel healthier all over. A huge weight lifted off my entire existence.

Thank you, everybody, for your help. Wonderful community we have here on CPF!

:buddies:

 

[Icebreak]

Congratulations. That's a viable and successful method. Sometimes I run a movie I almost word for word like Shawshank Redemption. Whe my eyes close I can still enjoy the movie I hear and the visual video part is in my head. Sometimes I change the story.

Really it makes sense. Personal stuff here but I didn't like standard stories for bed time stories when I was a kid. My dad was a pilot. I would ask him to tell me about different airplanes. One of my favorites was the B-36. How can it be so big? Why did they put the motors on backwards? How can it fly? It relaxed my mind and I fell asleep with thoughts of flying.

Nighty night all.