Good grief, I wish I could

crittermom

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SLEEP!!!
This insomina is kicking my butt right now.I've dealt with a migrane all day and now this

Something has got to give.
Anyone else suffer from insominia? What do you do to help yourself sleep?
Nita told me about some Valarine (sp) and OMG
the smell alone will make you hurl.It did nothing for me though.
I have tried Melatonin and nothing either.
The only thing that worked was Ambien.But, after 8 months on it, my Dr. said no more.
 

adymarie

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I have had bouts of insomnia and I can't take anything for it currently due to breastfeeding. I have done some meditation and even hypnotherapy for it. Suprisingly the hypnotherapy did help. Maybe go to a holistic health food store and see what they can recommend there.

Good luck!
 

babyharley

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Oh thats awful Tammy
I've never suffered of that, I've always been a sleeper!

I hope you can get some sleep quickly!
 

pookie-poo

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I was taking Ambien for about 6 months for insomnia, when my doctor said "no more" too! I've been off it since about Christmas, and I still have insomnia issues. I've been taking Melatonin regularly at night, hoping that it would help, but I'm not sure that it does. When it gets too bad, I'll take a 25 mg Benedryl tablet, but Benedryl often makes me feel groggy in the morning. I limit myself to one cup of coffee in the morning, no chocolate after about 1 pm, and no other caffeine during the day. Sometimes I have a glass of wine in the evening to help me relax after a particularly hectic day at work. I also suffer from migraines. I find that my insomnia is often worse after a migraine because I usually need Imitrex and sleep to make them go away. I think the extra sleep needed to banish the migraine causes me to not sleep when night comes. Sorry that I don't really have any answers....but I sure do feel for you!
 

crazyforinfo

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It's funny cause when I take migraine meds, I can't go to sleep after the migraine wears off.

I was suffering a few months ago but I forced myself to get up earlier in the morning (no naps) and now I get to bed at a normal time.

The Valerian Root gave me heartburn but it did make me tired. I would take it 45 before bedtime and I couldn't lay down.

I dunno what to suggest since nothing worked on me either.
Maybe it's from stress & the heat.
 

liza24

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i have migraines, and have sleepless nights ALOT!!!

what i have found is called Melatonin. Its the enzyme in your brain that tells you to sleep. so its totally natural. you can get it at msot grocery/pharmicies and stores like Wal-Mart. Its like $5 for a bottle of 100. I take one about 30 minutes before i want to fall asleep. it works like a charm. and i wake up fine, no groggy feelin!!
 

katachtig

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Originally Posted by babyharley

Oh thats awful Tammy
I've never suffered of that, I've always been a sleeper!

I hope you can get some sleep quickly!
Sorry Kenz but


Tammy, all I can do is sympathize. I have always been a bad sleeper. I'm usually awake from 3-5 am and seem to get the best sleep at about 6 am when the alarm goes off. I've tried the Valerian, Melatonin, etc but they never make a difference. I have heard that totally stopping all caffeine will eventually help after several weeks but I'm weak-willed. The only thing I can say good about it is that I get to spend time with the cats because they now expect me to be awake then.
 

pookie-poo

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I bought a bottle of Valerian root tablets for insomnia. First, the smell alone is enough to puke a snipe, and second, I burped the darn stuff all night long, so I didn't sleep anyway!!! One night of that and the bottle graced my wastebasket the next day!
 

rubsluts'mommy

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Tylenol PM only lasts a few hours with me... and doesn't do a whole lot. Valerian Root is, as you've all said, wretched stuff... it also never worked well on me. regular old Melatonin never worked either... I woke up in no time... however...

If you have a GNC in your area, go there... get the GNC brand Melatonin that is 3mgs, TIMED RELEASE. It WILL say on the bottle that it's a timed release formula.

Now, i'm not much of a GNC fan, but it's the ONLY TR formula I've seen... and it works fine for me... and I've been an insomniac since before high school.

As for limiting caffiene intake: I drink my coffee or other caffienated drinks before Noon. the rest of the day is water or juice... it helps a little...

Amanda
 

tierre0

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Don't know if you might find this helpful but I started taking a herbal supplement a few weeks ago that contains, Black Cohosh, Lemon Balm, Passion Flower, and B6. It is suppose to regulate sleeping patterns. At first I didn't think it was actually working but keep taking it anyway, after about 1 week I noticed that I was falling asleep faster and staying asleep longer. I still have some sleep issues but they have improved. Where I use to have 4-5nights a week when I didn't sleep well now I only have 1-2 so I think it is working.
Maybe it would be worth a try for you.
 
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crittermom

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I have taken the 3mg Melatonin and it did nothing for me.You are suppose to take 1 tablet, I took 4 of them.
Tylenol PM actually does nothing for me.If anything it keeps me more awake.
Benedryl, I take 2 of them at night and nothing.I started out with taking just one.
The Valerine root is OMG
. I took it for 2 weeks to give it a chance.I belched it up, had really bad heartburn, and that smell makes your breath stink to high Heaven too.
I have tried all of the over the counter sleep meds that there are.Nothing works for me.
I can handle it for the most part.But, when I go to bed at 2 and toss and turn until the alarm clock goes off at 4 for Shawn, that becomes a hassle for him.
When I can't sleep, I read a book, take a hot bath..............anything to waste some time and nothing helps.
I am weak too when it comes to no pop.NO way, gotta have that for my headaches.I get caffeine headaches that turn into migranes if I don't have any pop.
 

fostermomm

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I have a problem with going to sleep at night. I didnt used to but ever since Ari was born and the first month and a half with no sleep I got used to staying up all night. So now I get tired around 4 pm. But by the time I get home Im not tired anymore. I end up getting at most 5 hours of sleep a night. Usually about 2 hours.
 

adymarie

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Have you thought about going to a sleep disorder clinic? Maybe they can help.
 

trouts mom

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Awww Tammy, I'm sorry you can't sleep
I can't imagine what that must be like


I assume you've talked to your doctor about something other than ambien that he could give you?
 

pookie-poo

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Ambien has it's own set of issues...

If I took Ambien and didn't go to bed...OMG!!!

I did things I didn't remember doing. Like making phone calls. Talking to my sister in California and not remembering it. E-Baying. Oh yeah, not good! On-line shopping. Didn't realize what I'd done till the packages started showing up. I think it's a good idea that I'm off the Ambien and not sleeping. At least it's cheaper for me....
 

laureen227

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i use a combination of 3mg melatonin & 100 mg 5-L-HTP. makes me drowsy enough i can usually fall asleep.
 

carolpetunia

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I'm in a period of insomnia right now, too -- maybe the solstice is affecting us?

Things I've tried:

1. Plain Tylenol (the PM version makes me feel awful). This has sometimes helped a bit, because sometimes the sleeplessness seems to be due to little aches and pains I'm not really aware of until they're eased.

2. Avoiding food for at least four hours before bedtime, so I'll have no heartburn or digestive distress. This helps a lot.

3. Making sure it's nice and cool in my bedroom -- too much heat makes sleep impossible for me. That may just be a personal preference, though.

4. Taking my calcium supplements at night, because they tend to have a slight soporific effect.

5. Not taking my ginkgo and ginseng any later than noon -- because they tend to energize me.

6. Not eating a lot of sugar late in the day -- and this helped even before I became diabetic.

7. I don't drink milk, but I'll sometimes have a spoonful or two of Splenda-sweetened vanilla ice cream before bed, for the slight soporific effect of milk products. This helps a little at times.

8. Keeping a fan or a white-noise machine going in my room, to "smooth out" the nighttime sounds. This is a big help.

9. I always keep paperbacks around that have small type and boring stories -- I'll read in bed until my eyes wear out, and if I'm lucky, I don't wake up when the book falls!


10. It can also help just to focus your eyes downward, toward your chin, and hold that for a couple of minutes (you can do it with eyes closed). When you relax, your eyes will naturally roll back, which is the position they're in when you're falling asleep... it can help sometimes.

11. The one thing that really works consistently is something I can't do very often, because it's bad for my glaucoma -- but when I'm truly desperate, I take two Percogesics. It's an over-the-counter painkiller that contains acetaminophen (Tylenol) and an antihistamine that causes drowsiness... and it calms my nerves and lets me fall asleep within an hour almost every time. HOWEVER -- I've learned not to take it more than two nights in a row, because I become dependent on it very quickly. I end up paying for the good sleep by having a harder time sleeping the first night I don't take it.
Can't win.

I sure hope you find something that works for you. Good luck!
 
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crittermom

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I sleep with 2 box fans going on me.A ceiling fan also.I keep our air on 68, so it is cool in there.
I have talked to my Dr. about something else for help in sleeping.He says that unless I go to the sleep clinic, he won't help me.You all know that Seth was just in the Hospital, and I can not leave him or the other kids.I have no one to watch them, and to be honest, no money for the clinic fees.So, I just deal with it the best I can.
It gets to a point though, that you can't handle any more loss of sleep and you get desperate.
I have tried even drinking wine coolers, and that only ads in keeping me wide awake.
Shawn works swing shift. So, that doesn't help with the sleeping issue either.I get use to him being in the bed next to me, and then he isn't for the next 2 weeks or so.
I thought about buying the Sleep MD that Wal-Mart is now selling.But, after looking at the ingrediants, it's the same thing basically as an over the counter sleep aid that I have tried.
I have even taken 3 Nytols,Unisoms.....anything to see if it would work.It basically does nothing but makes me have the runs the next day.
Thank you all for the suggestions.I am just going to have to tough it out I guess.....or get to the sleep clinic and have a sleep study done.But, who wants to be dependant on sleeping pills for the rest of their life?
 

laureen227

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besides the 5-L-HTP, you might try kava-kava - it also tends to make me sleepy, altho my friend says it just relaxes her.
 
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