This Insomnia is gonna kill me!!

Okay...that might be a little melodramatic of a title. But I feel terrible. It's now been about 55 hours since I last slept. Things have been stressful lately and after the break-up with the B/F last weekend I've been struggling to sleep.

Anyone have some remedies/advice to get me through this (or over this!)?? I hate to resort to sleeping pills, but I'm going a bit crazy.

Originally Posted by Renny

Okay...that might be a little melodramatic of a title. But I feel terrible. It's now been about 55 hours since I last slept. Things have been stressful lately and after the break-up with the B/F last weekend I've been struggling to sleep.

Anyone have some remedies/advice to get me through this (or over this!)?? I hate to resort to sleeping pills, but I'm going a bit crazy.

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I'm soo sorry to hear this.. HOW HORRIBLE...


I went through an insomnia period after my divorce about 7 years ago.. and I ended up doing a few Tylenol Pm's.. It helped to get me back into the routine,, because I was overly thinking and just couldn't sleep.. My mind wouldn't stop for me to sleep... The tylenol Pm worked.. Alot.. And I never got addicted to it,, because I'm telling you sleeping pills will do that to you..

Lots of luck... I hope that helps.. I wish you lots of sleep tonight...

what about 1-2 glasses of wine? alot of times, that relaxes the muscles & your brain enough that you can get a solid nights sleep. I have similar problems with sleeping, the dr's say I can't "turn off" or "shut down" my brain keeps going at 100mph.....I am so high strung... And I'm a light sleeper, and I toss & turn all night with poor circulation.... So even if I lay down for 8 hrs, I really only get 4. But wine does the trick, or take a 1/2 of a tylenol pm....that way your not so medicated.

There is a homeopathic sleep aid called calmsforte. You can get it at the health food store. I use those with a cup a chamomille tea and it totally relaxes me. The other thing you need to do is shut down your brain which is all stressed out right now, so after you take those and drink your tea, read a magazine or book to take you mind off your problems and you will drift off.

guaranteed to work good luck

Make sure you're not drinking caffeine before bed... I've used Tylenol PM and Unisom in the past with great results and haven't gotten addicted to them - when I have trouble sleeping because my mind won't stop I just make myself thinking of nothing or slowly start counting. Good luck!

OMG! I would go crazy! Heck, last week I woke up a few night in a row around 3 and couldn't get back to sleep. The 3rd night I had a break down.

My suggestion aside from maybe a non-legal means would be tylenol PM to start. Also, if you drink a glass of wine before bed might help. If you don't drink and really want to avoid drugs you could try a nice hot bath w/ some lavender or vanilla or both in it.

I am so sorry. I know how I feel after a rough nights sleep. I can't imagine 55 hours of no sleep! Sending some sleepy vibes for you!

Thank you all so much for your advice and even more so for your kind words. The problem is that my mind won't stop - The first week after the break up I was at my sister's so she was giving me a sleeping pill every night. I got tired of feeling drugged so I was trying to go without. But no sleep and I feel like an emotional basket case. Last night I went to the gym to try and exhaust myself, came home and had a bath, then a glass of wine....everything I could think of. I might have to try the tylenol. Right now I can't even think straight to do work.....

My doctor told me to take melatonin when I can't sleep. It is better than stuff like tylenol PM. You can find it at most grocery stores and its a diet supplement. It woked good for me for a while but I havn't taken it in a while. I hope you can get some good sleep soon.

I go throught the same thing when I'm very upset, I can't sleep. I second the Tylenol PM, just to sleep, but other than that I'd try to set aside some quiet time to meditate about everything and cry even to get it all out. You are a strong, wonderful woman, anyone that can deal with Rambo's problems and make it out on top, can deal with anything. you'll be in my thought

Thank you katie so much. That brought tears to my eyes. I don't feel very strong at the moment...though I know I am. It's just that the healing powers of sleep don't become apparent, I guess, until you aren't getting any. I tried the melatonin last night, and though i felt relaxed....the brain wouldn't shut off. I'm going to have to try the tylenol tonight....I don't want to have to resort to anything more powerful. Would it be wrong to go home sick for insomnia? I just don't feel like I can cope with work today.

Big glass of milk - the triptophan (sp) in it will naturally help you to drift off to sleep. Better than any drug.

Originally Posted by Renny

Thank you katie so much. That brought tears to my eyes. I don't feel very strong at the moment...though I know I am. It's just that the healing powers of sleep don't become apparent, I guess, until you aren't getting any. I tried the melatonin last night, and though i felt relaxed....the brain wouldn't shut off. I'm going to have to try the tylenol tonight....I don't want to have to resort to anything more powerful. Would it be wrong to go home sick for insomnia? I just don't feel like I can cope with work today.

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I would definitely go home if you can, it might not be physical health, but mental health I know exactly how you're feeling, kinda like everything is out of control? I'm sure you don't want to break down at work, go home, get some Tylenol and sleep, you'll feel more able to deal with stuff. if you ever need someone to talk to I am here! shoot me a PM

Try a pm med, and then, when you lay down, start naming off everything good (your blessings ) in your life- it will give you something to focus on (to help your brain unwind-don't let it get sidetracked- that's part of the exercise ), and will help you remember all the good things that are in your life, and that will hopefully help with your stress over this, and help you get to sleep . I wish you sweet dreams really soon .

That's a good idea....I feel I've lost perspective about my life when i'm this tired. I will definitely try that tonight....

I'm on my way home. I'm useless at work today and I have to be alert for a huge meeting tomorrow morning. Fingers crossed....and thank you so much for your support.

The problem is that my mind won't stop

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I have dealt with insomina for most of my adult life.I've tried the Melatonin,Tylenol PM, you name it and nothing worked.
My Dr. finally had to prescribe Ambien for me.But, I was on it for almost a year and we were affraid of the possible addiction to it.So now, I just deal with no sleep.LITERALLY!!! If I get 2 hours a night, I'm in Heaven.

Originally Posted by crittermom

I have dealt with insomina for most of my adult life.I've tried the Melatonin,Tylenol PM, you name it and nothing worked.
My Dr. finally had to prescribe Ambien for me.But, I was on it for almost a year and we were affraid of the possible addiction to it.So now, I just deal with no sleep.LITERALLY!!! If I get 2 hours a night, I'm in Heaven.

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Wow...I can't even imagine that! How do you handle it...or do you get used to it? I couldn't find the tylenol PM so I'm going to try another pharmacy later. I need a bit of sleep or all my stress and feelings might explode out of me...and at an important meeting tomorrow...only a few weeks into my new job...could be a real catastrophe!!!

I can't sleep through the night w/o Tylenol PM, maybe you should see a doctor.

Have you tried the ol' counting sheep thing? OK, not really sheep... Here's an exercize that I have done when I couldn't get to sleep.

My digital clock's : pulses with the seconds. I have stared at that and gotten the rhythm of it, then closed my eyes and pulsed with my fingers to that same rhythm (or what I thought was the same rhythm). Then I checked with the first few times I got to 60 - I was usually WAY fast (just like my mind was going), so I would concentrate on the pulsing : again for another minute (until the time changed), then closed my eyes and tried again, concentrating on pulsing and slowing down. Sometimes it took a while (like 20-30 minutes to really fall asleep, but concentrating on counting and the repetitive pulse of my fingers relaxed me enough to finally fall asleep.

You have to FORCE your mind to stop, and the only way to do that is to concentrate on something else. Still have your college textbooks? Start reading one of those! Those always put me to sleep.

Whatever you do, don't get frustrated because you can't fall asleep - that just tenses everything up again.

Gary is plagued by Cluster Headaches and insomnia to begin with. The insomnia causes problems falling asleep. If he manages it, the CH wakes him up. He's lucky to get 2 hours a night.

He's tried everything - prescription, non-prescription.

Here's my recommendation based on Gary's experience. Go to a health food store and purchase Melatonin and 5-HTP (or L-5-HTP). Some health food stores have a "sleep aid" that combines both.

Melatonin is an amino acid that our bodies produce. In addition to being a powerful antioxidant with a lot of health benefits, Melatonin is critical in regulating the body clock and sleep cycles. The body produces melatonin in darkness - light prohibits its production. Normally, the secretion of melatonin peaks in the middle of the night. If you start with a 3mg or 5mg dose (people with cluster headaches often need to take more of everything than everyone else - when Gary uses it, he takes 15mg), and combine that with Heidi's suggestion (or for Gary, he reads a book he's read a million times so wanting to know what happens doesn't keep him up, but reading distracts his mind from all the thoughts that normally assault his ADD mind, providing a calm mental state in which he can fall asleep), I think you'll find it helps.

Here's an article from the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism: http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/con...tract/89/1/128

The melatonin helps him fall asleep. The 5-HTP helps him stay asleep.

5-HTP is another amino acid the body produces. It is a precursor to seratonin, and in conjunction with vitamin B-6 it is metabolized, causing the brain's seratonin-producing neurons to increase production. Seratonin has been shown to play in important role in mood, sleep and appetite, among other things. It is sold as a sleep aid, an anti-depressant and an appetite suppressant. Like melatonin, there is research supporting its role as a natural sleep aid. There is inconclusive research in its role as an antidepressant. It is sold generally in 100mg supplements. A normal person should take 100mg - 250mg. Gary takes 2 250mg pills. Here's a link to Medquest on 5-HTP: http://www.5-htp.net/insomnia.asp

The melatonin and 5-HTP should be taken together about 20 minutes to 1/2 an hour before you normally go to bed to fall asleep.

There is a caution though - do not take either supplement if you are already on anti-depressants or on any kind of opiate-type pain killer (vicodin, hydrocodone, etc.) These things affect the seratonin receptors, and the extra production of seratonin while using opiates or anti-depressants is something that shouldn't be risked. Neither one is habit forming.

If this doesn't help, you can try valerian (also obtained at a health food store). Valerian is sold as a sedative, and there a fair amount of research out there supporting those claims. It has been shown to decrease the amount of time it takes to fall asleep and increase the length of time spent in deep sleep. If you have liver disease, do not use valerian. They don't know exactly how the valerian works, but apparently it works on the GABA(A) receptors. Here's a link you may find helpful: http://www.sleepandhealth.com/Newspa...October/08.htm

I sooooooooo sympathize with anyone with sleep problems!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please, give either the 5-HTP and Melatonin combo or valerian a try. They are far more beneficial than any prescription medication!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Laurie