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| What would you do??? Insomnia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted: 9/8/2009 9:21:00 AM | I have struggled with insomnia for about 10 years now and it just seems to be getting worse. It worries me because it has seemed to run in my family, my grandfather didn't hardly sleep the last 30 years of his life and he was miserable, I'm scared that's my fate.
The first 3 years or so, I just laid awake night after night. My ex-husband finally told my doctor, he was sick of me keeping him awake from my tossing and turning. He prescribed me sleeping medication.
That was great for the first few years, until I found myself starting to fall into the trap of sleeping meds. I was developing a tolerance for them and it was taking higher and higher doses to go to sleep. For several years, I let myself get sucked into that never-ending cycle.
About 2 and 1/2 yrs ago I finally realized I was really spiralling headlong into a fulforce addiction to sleeping pills. So, I began a long, long, long journey to get free of them. It took me over a year and a 1/2. It was a nightmare. I tried first talking to my doctor and telling him what was going on. Rather than helping me, he dropped me as a patient. Being that I am a single parent and was in a custody battle at the time with my ex, I knew that re-hab or anything that could be documented could be used against me in court and I was determined to not lose my child to these pills. So, I had to detox off of this stuff alone.
I did it. It took a long time and was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I am really proud of myself.
However, here's my big problem, I'm back to the original MAJOR PROBLEM. I am lucky to sleep 3 hours a night. Sometimes I don't sleep at night at all.
I've tried everything. From relaxation, to hynosis, to herbal remedies, to over-the-counter products, to drinking a glass of wine, nothing works. As I'm writing this, I haven't had 8 hours of sleep in the past 3 nights combined. It's miserable. I dread nighttime. It's almost a fearful feeling.
I've talked to my doctor about this and he keeps telling me that from a health standpoint, I really need to be taking something for sleep because it's not healthy to be living perpetually on so little sleep. What would you do?? | |
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| What would you do??? Insomnia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted: 9/8/2009 9:30:10 AM | | This might sound crazy but do you need those extra hours of sleep. I know a couple people who state that they get along fine with 3 or 4 hours of sleep a night. Otherwise I would suggest vigorus exercise and a low protein high carb evening meal. | |
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| What would you do??? Insomnia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted: 9/8/2009 10:24:45 AM | You could invite me over; listening to me talk for just 3 MINUTES would be enough to induce a coma from boredom!
But seriously....
Turkey has Triptophan, which I'm sure you know is a natural sedative. Bananas have it as well. Try eating a few bananas before hitting the sack...or you could listen to ME ramble on and on and on and on...... (<--Don't eat THAT banana! ) | |
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| What would you do??? Insomnia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted: 9/8/2009 12:59:20 PM | Their have been studies about only going to sleep at appointed time. If you take naps during the day and such, it may not be a good idea. If you lay in bed for 10 hours and only sleep 2, that may not be a good idea either.
The idea is to go to bed for a limited amount of time and only for such limited amount of time; say 6 or 8 hours for example. Always go to bed at the same time. Your system stands a better chance of learning to shut down that way...
You really should find a better source than me about this and it is out there... Google it maybe... | |
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| What would you do??? Insomnia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted: 9/8/2009 1:07:37 PM | | No bright lights one hr before sleep time, tv, puter, hall lights-put a nitelite in the bathroom and don't flick reg. lights on. You know already @ tryptophane, milk, mag, calcium, melatonin, skullcap, valerian, passionflower-a really good one BTW. make sure bedroom windows are totally blacked out-if street lights come thru shades, put a blanket over them-light messes w/ your circadian rhythm. Also, try meditating at least 15 min before bedtime, or fall asleep meditating. Could also take a warm bath before bedtime. Good luck, hope this helps! | |
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| What would you do??? Insomnia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted: 9/8/2009 1:37:53 PM | OP, there have been some good suggestions posted already.
Have you tried a using a couple or more ideas concurrently?
I typically don't eat too many carbs like potatoes or pasta during the day because I find it makes the after lunch period quite a snoozy time.
Further, I don't drink much at all...and wine in particular always makes me sleepy.
Therefore, the combo..of a physically demanding day lots of cardio exercise or weight training or both, plus..a hearty pasta meal and wine....would mean I'd be virtually out at the table...or by the latest an hour or 2 max after dinner.
Three more things...
If you're distracted by noises trying to sleep...find something like a fan or an air purifier that can act as white noise.
Marriott Hotels has a sleep kit which includes a variety of non-pharma aids...one of which is a soothing sleep cd with extremely relaxing sleep tracks.
I find taking something like power yoga in the evening extremely helpful for sleep. | |
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| What would you do??? Insomnia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted: 9/8/2009 2:45:52 PM |
I have struggled with insomnia for about 10 years now and it just seems to be getting worse. It worries me because it has seemed to run in my family, my grandfather didn't hardly sleep the last 30 years of his life and he was miserable, I'm scared that's my fate.
The first 3 years or so, I just laid awake night after night. My ex-husband finally told my doctor, he was sick of me keeping him awake from my tossing and turning. He prescribed me sleeping medication.
Like others have suggested you must learn to clear your mind.
Never leave any dishes in the sink, literally and figuratively. | |
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| What would you do??? Insomnia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted: 9/8/2009 3:13:43 PM | I read an article that exercise can help with this. Not before bed time at least 4 hours before you planning to sleep. Another way is to get sunlight exposure, you can safely gaze at the sun when it starts rising. No longer than 1 hour is safe. Sungazing is safe as long you do it within 1 hour of sun rise, otherwise the UV is much too high.
Or you can get a wake up box.
www.FullSpectrumSolutions.com | |
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| What would you do??? Insomnia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted: 9/8/2009 3:16:49 PM | What would you do??
I had a problem with insomnia. I took Lunesta every night for 3 months and once I re-set my circadian rhythm, I have not needed any sleep aid.
Insomnia can be caused by a number of problems.
I can't offer much advice without knowing your diet and lifestyle | |
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| What would you do??? Insomnia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted: 9/8/2009 3:20:34 PM | I would suggest taking a vacation and trying to stay out of bed for as long as you don't feel sleepy. People often confuse sleeping time with bed time. Just because it's dark out or you think it is time to go to bed, doesn't mean your body is ready for sleep. I found that for me, some of the best sleeping hours are between 3am and 12pm, but if you have to be at work by a certain time, you don't get to experiment like that.
See if you can sleep better at more odd hours and if it helps, picking up a different shift or getting a new job may be the way to go to bring you out of the misery.
Another trick may be to keep yourself distracted by doing something like reading a book. Worst case scenario is that you've read a book and didn't get any sleep, but chances are that it will lull you to sleep after a while. | |
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| What would you do??? Insomnia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted: 9/8/2009 7:00:37 PM | Congratulations on getting free of the prescription medications. That can be extremely difficult. Prescription sleeping medications were never meant to be a permanent solution. They don't produce normal sleep on their own.
<div class="quote">"I've tried everything. From relaxation, to hynosis, to herbal remedies, to over-the-counter products, to drinking a glass of wine, nothing works. . . . I dread nighttime. It's almost a fearful feeling. "
I'm sorry to hear that so many things you have tried haven't worked for you.
It might be helpful to list the things you have already tried, and for how long. Sometimes it take doing something regularly for a long enough time to give it a chance to work, particularly if your body is used to having prescription sleeping pills to fall asleep. It might take many months to a year for your body to adjust to the change.
I've had insomnia on and off for many years. I'm a light sleeper. I did a lot of things and over time I have re-trained myself to sleep better.
It has lots of causes, so you might be battling several things at once and you will have to be persistent to solve all of them.
Try Googling "sleep hygiene." I strongly recommend that you ask your Doctor for a prescription for a complete sleep study and blood work.
My son has some sleep problems, so we took him for a sleep study. One thing I was surprised to find out was that low iron in your blood can cause insomnia. We supplemented him with iron and that did help. An easy way to get more iron is to switch to cooking with cast iron pots and pans (uncoated.)
Melatonin really works. You take one 3mg tablet about 20 minutes before you go to bed. It is a natural hormone that your body makes at night and you make less of it as you get older. It also acts as an antioxidant (like vit. C.) It is one component in a drug used for jet lag.
Another thing to try is taking a warm bath about an hour before bedtime and add 2-3 cups of Epsom Salts. Epsom salts are very inexpensive and available at any drug store (OTC) and some grocery stores. The change in body temperature from warm to cooler makes you sleepy. So warm up with the bath, then sleep in a cooler room (not cold, just cool.)
If you have restless legs, a home remedy is to take a bar of soap and put it under the covers at the foot of your bed. (Nobody knows how this works, though.)
Lavender essential oil, and hops are two scents that are calming and sometimes people put them into a satin pillow that you put on your bed. Hops are a grain used to make beer, so you can understand how that might be. You can fill a small satin pillowcase with hops and sew up the end. Put a drop or two of real lavender oil (not artificial/chemical) on it and put it on your bed.
Getting enough sunlight is important, but please don't look directly into the sun! Get out in the morning and get real direct sunlight. The light enters the eyes and affects a gland in the center of your brain right behind the eyes called the pineal gland. This gland helps to set your circidan rythm, and it uses sunlight to do this. Artificial light doesn't work as well for this. But you can buy very strong lights for SAD syndrome (Seasonal Affective Disorder) that your Doctor can prescribe, but you can make one by getting six very bright full-spectrum flourescent lights and mounting them on one panel and put this by where you work or sit at home. You will need to sit by them for at least an hour each day.
Sunlight on your skin also helps your body to produce its own melatonin.
At night, make sure your bedroom is free of clutter. Get the kind of window shades that completely block out all sunlight. Make sure your bedroom has no electronics in it, don't watch TV in bed. Don't do your paper work in bed. Don't use your bedroom for anything stressful or anything that requires a lot of concentration and focus. Don't keep exercise equipment in your bedroom.
Make sure there are no annoying sounds in your bedroom while you are sleeping. If you have sounds you can't get rid of, buy a "noise conditioner" or get something that makes "white noise." (White noise sounds like static on the radio between stations.) You can get an air purifier or a fan to do that. You can close your eyes, but you can't turn off your ears.
Feng Shui experts recommend going even further. Don't store anything under your bed. Make sure it is clean and dust-free, even under the bed. Cover any mirrors at night with a pretty tablecloth or curtain. Put the head of your bed facing north.
Here's some good sleep hygiene tips:
Don't take naps. Tough it out for a few days so you are really sleepy at night time.
Don't stay in bed wide awake, then. Get up and do something quiet for a while, then try again when you are sleepier. If you stay in bed worrying, you will learn to associate being in bed with being stressed-out.
Don't drink alcohol at all. Alcohol interferes with the sleep cycle in your brain. One glass can keep you awake, even though it is a sedative at higher amounts.
Don't drink until the sedative effect starts, because the sleep you get from being drunk isn't normal sleep because you don't dream the same, and it won't be refreshing sleep.
Exercise an hour or two in the morning. Burn off the excess energy early in the day. Don't exercise right before bed (except sex.)
Go to bed at the same time every night, and get up at the same time every morning, even on the weekends, until your body is used to the routine. Let routines help you.
Don't eat right before sleeping. Give your body 3 to 4 hours to digest your food before going to bed. Digestion interferes with sleep. I don't eat after 7pm.
Write down everything you are worried about. Put it away, and then don't think about it again until morning. Worrying doesn't do anything to help you. It only causes you one more thing to worry about!
Read positive things, think positive thoughts before bed. Imagine, dream, even if you don't sleep, this is what sleep is for. Imagine yourself sleeping!
If you snore, are overweight, have allergies or have certain kinds of seizures, you might have sleep apnea, where you partially wake up many times per night. Many people aren't aware of this and don't know unless someone tells them they do this. If you get a sleep study done and find out you have apnea, there are several fixes that work. There is a surgery, and there is a machine called a C-Pap that you wear at night to help keep you breathing. The machines are very quiet now, and you can have very good sleep with them.
Meditation helps with stress. If stress is your problem. Since you mention divorce proceedings, this might be part of it. But lack of sleep can cause stress, too. Try learning trancendental meditation (TM) and try to meditate every day, starting for about 5 minutes and work up to 20-30 minutes per day. It can work better than hypnosis for stress.
Valerian is a natural anti-anxiety herb you can take in the evening, but it shouldn't be something you do long-term.
If you take vitamins and minerals, take the vitamins in the daytime, and take the minerals at night. Minerals like calcium and magnesium will help you to sleep. Make sure you are getting enough vitamin D.
I would seriously look into your diet. Try doing an elimination diet to determine if you have some food intolerances that you aren't aware of. This would entail completely eliminating all the major food allergens for two weeks and then adding them back one at a time to your diet and seeing if you get a reaction. Food intolerances can cause insomnia, among many other symptoms. I would be curious as to what other symptoms you have besides insomnia. Keep a journal and please see a sleep specialist and tell them all of your symptoms. | |
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| What would you do??? Insomnia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted: 9/8/2009 8:13:14 PM | That's a lot of good info. Many of these things I have tried, some I haven't. I have had extensive testing done. I don't nap during the day, definately can't sleep then. I don't have sleep apnea, I'm fairly thin. I eat an extremely healthy diet, almost to the point of being obsessive, so I doubt it's a diet issue. If anything, it could be a lack of something in my diet rather than too much of something, although I wouldn't know where to begin to look? One thing I haven't done is talk to a nutritionist... could that be a possible place to go? I don't have the restless leg syndrome either. They really have no explanation for why I don't sleep, and I have a sleep specialist and my regular doctor and they keep telling me that I should go back onto some kind of prescription medication because it is equally unhealthy for me to be living on so little sleep. That is a big part of my quandry? Is that something I should even remotely consider when I feel like I have a perpensity towards dependancy? I have been totally honest with them both. They have suggested that they would prescribe a rotation of meds that would change from month to month, thus lowering the likelihood of becoming dependant on them. I don't know what to do. I hate the idea of being on anything, especially when I have worked so hard to get off of everything. I go back and forth between what the first poster said, as frustrating as it is, should I just accept living on 3 to 4 hrs of sleep per night and live with that? I can't ever spend the night with anyone I am ever dating because I don't sleep, so that's a real issue too.
I do take Melatonin and Valerian Root, doesn't really seem to help. I do keep my house and life as uncluttered and simple as possible, although I haven't taken it quite to the extent of the Fung Shei theories, I guess those are things I could explore. I also rarely ever drink alcohol. even when I go out, I'm just not a drinker. But I've even tried that. It will put me to sleep but I wont stay asleep.
I am really grateful for all the input here. I hope I don't frustrate you all by having already tried so many things... I really do desperately want your thoughts and suggestions! Really! THNX! | |
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| What would you do??? Insomnia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted: 9/8/2009 9:07:38 PM | | hi OP, congratulations on getting off of those meds... I would be interested to know what you eat and drink in one full day or two... I would stay off of the meds and I would go to a Naturopath, I would do yoga 2 times a day doing proper yoga breathing, google 5 Tibetan Rites... is your blood work good and are you a person who has to deal with a lot of stress in your life, either self imposed or not in your control and not stemming from the lack of sleep??... so sorry OP that you are struggling with this, many blessings for healing | |
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| What would you do??? Insomnia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted: 9/8/2009 9:48:06 PM | Just one piece of advice, be careful of the advice you take. Often those with a confirmation bias based agenda will suggest "alternative medicine" as an avenue without any regard to the fact that there is no empirical or scientific basis to them. While there may be some relief due to placebo effect, there is the risk of damage to your health in putting your health concerns in the hands of "woo woo" belief systems, not to mention the utter waste of money involved.
Caveat Emptor | |
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| What would you do??? Insomnia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted: 9/9/2009 9:20:10 AM | I agree with being very careful not to do anything that people suggest here without doing a bit of research on your own. I suggest telling your doctor about anything you are trying or considering trying so that he/she has a complete picture of your lifestyle and what you are taking. Some herbal medications can affect other medications you are taking, and others can have side-effects you don't want, just like prescription medications do. For instance, many people take chamomile tea to relax because it is known to have a calming effect. But pregnant women shouldn't take chamomile because it is bad for the baby. For this reason, I seldom recommend chamomile to anyone.
I also think that going to the doctor is expensive in itself. And doctors don't know everything. They are trained to deal with health problems that have been researched. They are not fully trained in healthy living or health maintenance. That is supposed to be up to us.
So they really only know a minimal amount of these kinds of things. And why should they? We shouldn't be spending our health care dollars on things to keep us healthy....the health care money is for real illness and accidents and help with critical concerns.
We all need to learn what works to keep us healthy, and sometimes there is good research about this we can use, and some doctors do take a special interest in that, but many don't. We all need to take responsibility for our own health and wellness, and not just live in ways that are careless with regard to health and then expect to be able to just drop it in the doctor's lap and say "I was bad, now fix me." Its like driving your car without ever changing the oil. Just not responsible. There are some things you just can't fix that easily, and some doors that you go through you can't return through.
Also, every individual is different. We each have a different genetic makeup, different individual lifestyles, different environments we survive in, different access to healthy foods and activities, and different personalities. We have been exposed to different stressors, both physical and mental that accumulate and cause either greater health and resilience, or illness.
I really encourage you to try the "free" things first. Sometimes the free things are the woo woo things, like Feng Shui, and meditation.
But I know first hand what it is to deal with illness and disability that are considered too small a census for researchers to study, and so there is little known about it. So you learn to try different things to find out what might work and what doesn't.
I am not suggesting anything I haven't tried personally myself and seen to work. That some of them don't work for you does not surprise me.
There is a "one size fits all" mentality that pervades our country, as if one thing will always work for every body and in every situation, or it is deemed "worthless." Well, if everybody is unique; uniquely well, and uniquely ill, everybody will need different things sometimes to get well.
Sometimes it is a matter of dosage, as in the elderly often need much less of a medication than a younger adult. And sometimes it is a matter of searching for the true cause and not just dealing with the symptoms and using medications to cover up the symptoms. Because even though treating the symptoms works temporarily, it is seldom the final answer that works long term.
I suggest you treat your insomnia as a symptom, not the illness itself. It is most likely a symptom of some other problem. And so, the solution will never be to just "treat" the insomnia, like it is diabetes. With many diseases, like diabetes, the illness is a result of a lack of something, like insulin. So getting the insulin "cures" the illness (except you have to keep taking it unless you "cure" the original reason you lost the insulin--researchers are working on that one.) But the "disease" of insomnia is NOT a lack of sleeping pills!!
As for the placebo effect, most doctors use this treatment at some time or other! It is considered a standard treatment that actually works, and has empirical scientific evidence for its effectiveness.
I forgot to mention before, to avoid all caffeine for a while. Caffeine is in soda, chocolate, tea, coffee and many other things. Some people's livers have a harder time metabolizing caffeine than others, and it takes longer for them to completely remove it from their systems. There is a liver enzyme necessary for this to happen and some people are genetically deficient in it.
I assumed you had already done this, but you never know.
You might want to get tested for various liver enzymes. There are so many tests available that you can look at, it is sometimes like looking for a needle in a haystack.
But if you are just being offered a rotation of chemical medications, without any further testing and research into your individual makeup, you aren't getting the best value from your doctor. A big clue is that your father had the same thing, so it might be something genetic, a deficiency of some metabolic process, or some kind of seizure pattern (some seizures only happen during sleep.) You can ask to have a PET scan to see how your brain is functioning. This is the latest brain technology and also very expensive.
If you go to a naturopath or osteopath, you might get different suggestions to try than a regular allopathic medical specialist would give you. This doesn't mean you have to drop allopathic medicine entirely and "switch over" to "woo woo." You can do both. This is Dr. Andrew Weil's approach. It is called "complementary medicine."
I could also suggest going to a good chiropractor. They can give you some help, and also have a lot of information about things. I learned a lot going to one with one of my sons. He gave me leads to try that ended up helping us that I would never have heard about otherwise. I don't see a chiropractor on a regular basis, but they are a good resource you could check out, and most insurance companies now cover their services. They also charge less than allopathic doctors.
You mentioned being thin and perhaps obsessive about eating healthy. These traits can lead to a feeling of always needing to be in control of everything. Falling asleep is the opposite of being in control. You have to relax enough to allow yourself to be completely vulnerable, unconscious, and unprotected for a longish period of time. If this idea scares you, then no matter what you take, it will never work. Because your "fight or flight" system is in overdrive, your body is producing a lot of andrenaline, and you will override all the subtle things that help most people fall asleep.
If you aren't getting enough calories or certain nutrients your body might be urging you to get up and eat something, and then you are "fighting" urges like this all night. You might want to eat something before bed, then, so that your body can relax and stop telling you to nourish it better.
If you are used to dealing with stress by staying busy, then when things are quiet, you might be feeling guilty about resting when there is so much left to do. This is where meditation can help. It gets you used to just "being" and not always having to be "doing." This is the same thing that happens when you sleep.
Sleep is necessary to your well-being, and not just for physical reasons. Your dreams help you to learn about yourself better. You need this down time to re-evaluate your goals and priorities, and to live a creative, as well as a productive life.
It is very hard to be quiet when you aren't right with yourself. Get right with yourself. Live a life you respect and that has meaning for YOU. Then being alone and not doing anything will feel restful, rather than create anxiety for you.
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| What would you do??? Insomnia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted: 9/9/2009 3:37:47 PM | There is nothing wrong with trying other avenues of medicine. I've been to every possible specialist, alternative practitioner etc. under the sun and the most damaging "therapy" I've ever had came from western medicine (btw not for insomnia). Try another doctor at the very least - second and third opinions are never a bad thing. Also, if you see someone else - I personally know the most and have known many people to try traditional chinese medicine - which could include herbs or acupuncture - to be very safe. It's been practiced for thousands of years, just be sure to check their credentials.
This was a very interesting piece of advice from S.N. Goenka who teaches Vipassana meditation. He was explaining that insomnia itself is not particularly damaging, but the resulting anxiety, frustration that comes with it. Instead of trying to get to sleep and worrying about it, learn to relax and meditate instead. Prevent yourself from tossing and turning by remaining in the same position and trying whatever form of meditation you know of. It is better to get "rest" this way, while not "deep sleep" will at least allow your body to recuperate - after all this is one of the main purposes of sleep. Some monks are known to sleep very little and instead go into a state of meditation. | |
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| What would you do??? Insomnia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted: 9/9/2009 5:13:39 PM | Just remember that the alternative medicine has no less side effects than conventional western medicine. The possibility of liver damage, for example, is actually quite a bit higher with herbal therapy and alternative therapies than it is for some traditional medications. Also, not all alternative medicines are as strictly tested over numerous years as western medicine. We do not just create a drug and immediately give it to people; it takes years upon years of clinical trials starting with rats and mice and moving up before it gets to humans. Herbal medications that were used 1,000 years ago may have been great then, but many have shown to cause severe liver, kidney, pancreas and stomach problems not to mention a host of other side effects ranging from neurological to cancer.
Not all of them are bad, I am not saying that either, just be careful and make sure you do your own research before you put your hands in the life of anyone. Physicians go through at least 8 years of schooling (4 premed, 4 med) and then more if the specialize. Make sure that if you go through an alternative doctor that they have just as much if not more schooling in their area of expertise.
I, myself, am VERY leery of alternative therapies and prefer western medicine over them due to the numerous safe guards in place with the medication and therapy programs we have. I have known people who went through herbalists for many things and the results were mixed; some worked, some didn't. Some ended up extremely ill and one ended up on dialysis because of it.
Try every avenue, but don't go into anything without doing your research. If you do go a herbalist, research the drugs they are giving you, sometimes they will not tell you everything that is in them or what's not in them but should be. Also check for any safety issues regarding the drug, any side effects that could come from prolonged use (which could be as little as 4 weeks).
Tell your physician that you are seeking alternative medical therapy and request that you have monthly blood work done which include liver enzymes, electrolytes, hemoglobin, etc. so that you know nothing is being damaged by the medication.
As for insomnia itself, I found zopiclone worked wonders for me a few years ago. I took it for a week and managed to kick the insomnia that had plagued me for 8 months. Haven't had to use it since. | |
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| What would you do??? Insomnia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted: 9/9/2009 5:17:08 PM | | Melatonin stopped working for me as well until a friend suggested combining it with 2.5-5g of GABA. I've been taking 2.5g GABA and 3mg/ melatonin and I'm sleeping well again. | |
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| What would you do??? Insomnia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted: 9/9/2009 5:24:56 PM | I've done vipassana retreats a few times. 
It is true that it would reduce sleep anxiety because you could just put yourself into a deep meditative state (lying in your bed) knowing that you really don't need to sleep that much anyways. Meditation is hard work however.
I can garantee that if you do decide to go to a vipassana retreat and you ardently practice the technique you will comeback home ten days later feeling completely refreshed with a powerful tool to bring yourself into a very calm state of acceptance.
At the retreat I was very comfortable with 3 or 4 hours of sleep a night and those hours were spent dreaming the most vivid dreams, lucid dreams and other even stranger events, so I can't really say that I was sleeping at all. Mind you your days are spent ardently working, patiently working, compassionately working, forging your will and awareness through 10 days of complete silence and 11 hours a day of meditation. | |
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| What would you do??? Insomnia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted: 9/9/2009 8:33:36 PM |
I, myself, am VERY leery of alternative therapies and prefer western medicine over them due to the numerous safe guards in place with the medication and therapy programs we have. I have known people who went through herbalists for many things and the results were mixed; some worked, some didn't. Some ended up extremely ill and one ended up on dialysis because of it.
I agree that one should be cautious when taking anything. However western medicine has a much greater array of toxic chemicals at their disposal. The drugs they use are known to get rushed through trials in a way that is not really as safe as it seems. Drugs that have been on the market for years, if not decades, and at least have stood the test of time I'd trust more. Research ANY drug and ANY herb (though really, some are as simple as spices used in food). I can't help but get a weary feeling every time (and it's got to be at least 3 times a year if not more) I hear of another doctor overprescribing a drug, misdiagnosing and wrongly prescribing. Unfortunately the majority of experience with western medicine has been dismal. But I agree - herbs are not automatically safe because they're plants. I tried St John's wort as a teenager and had wicked withdrawal that I totally didn't expect (I guess it really was doing something!)
Meditation is totally safe and so good for many things, especially emotional and mental - and if this is what is pushing the insomnia at least it will give you some rest. I agree Vipassana is hard work, and unless you're up to speed on Buddhist practice the 10 day retreat could be extreme. But yeah - incredible, it is such a useful tool. I imagine even trying another kind of meditation class would at least provide a solace during sleepless nights to focus. You may even find the sleeplessness to be a very productive time of insight. Especially if there's nothing physically wrong with you! | |
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| What would you do??? Insomnia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted: 9/9/2009 9:22:49 PM | I second the vipassana retreat suggestion ... the nice thing about SN Goenka retreats is that they are on a donation basis, meaning you could go and not pay anything at all if you wanted, and no one would pressure or badger you.
10 days seems like a long time and the schedule may appear to be intimidating but you're actually meditating with everyone else only about 3 hours a day, the rest of the meditation on the schedule allows for the option of meditating in your room (the place I went to we all had single rooms) during which time many people just napped or did whatever behind closed doors.
But Goenka's method is pretty good, a combination of breath awareness and then body awareness/scanning. The second is actually very demanding but you can always fall back on the first technique if it's too hard for you, and the first technique is enough to calm your mind and hopefully lessen your insomnia. | |
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| What would you do??? Insomnia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted: 9/10/2009 11:28:30 AM | OP - I read about this relaxation exercise, and it has sometimes worked for me. It should take about 5 minutes...go slow! Start by just feeling your toes...feel them relax, the muscles just let go...then move up your foot, an inch at a time...I know it may sound silly, but by the time you get to your nose, you really do feel every bit of you just relax, and maybe then you can sleep.
It stinks I know - good luck. | |
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| What would you do??? Insomnia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted: 9/11/2009 11:02:56 PM | I don't have any advice for you but I know exactly what you're talking about. I have the same problem. I have had it all my life. I can remember being in high school and not being able to fall asleep.
It's the biggest problem in my life. I can lay awake all night. They tell you to get up if you can't sleep. What are you supposed to do in the middle of the night when you can't sleep and you aren't supposed to get on the computer or turn on the tv. Okay, so they say read something boring. All that does is make me mad that I am up in the middle of the night reading something I don't want to read.
I hope you find an answer and then you can share it with me! | |
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| What would you do??? Insomnia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted: 9/12/2009 8:57:13 AM | I feel your pain OP.
I dread the nighttime as well..
For me I also have RLS (restless leg syndrome), so I would literally toss and turn for 5-6 hrs before exhaustion set in. Now i have a medicine for that so it's much better but sleep still is the pitts.
I try to go go bed as late as possible, and reading with a dim light definately makes your eyes sleepy.
Also make sure you have a good mattress, because if your not comfy the problem is compounded.
JJ
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| What would you do??? Insomnia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted: 9/12/2009 3:03:44 PM | Sassy Scorpio, I am sorry to hear that you struggle with this "nightmare" as well. I don't know what you have tried. I sometimes feel I've tried everything.
Just to recap the obvious...
don't nap during the day
Valerian Root is a great herb that does seem to help some people, worth trying.
I used to lay awake and worry about how I would possible make it through the next day, I quit that, I finally just figured out out it would be what it will be and amazingly enough I am never tired the next day??? Just bored out of my mind all night.
You should go to a sleep specialist and do a sleep study. They didn't find many answers for me but I don't think that is the norm.
If you do have the Restless Leg Syndrome that could be your entire problem. There are solutions to that problem and once under control, you may be sleeping fine again!
Good Luck!!! | |
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