RE: insomnia :(

RE: insomnia :( (Full Version)

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habibi -> RE: insomnia :( (7/15/2007 8:30:40 PM)
if anyone criticizes me for this, fine...you have your opinion, i have mine and i've gone so far as to break up with a fiance over my opinion on this particular substance and i know every negative aruguement about it, so let's not bother with posting protests about what i'm going to say...it will just save everyone time, energy and aggravation...if you really feel the need, PM me in the really bad times when all my meds (which allllll cause sleepiness, whether i want them to or not) which for my night time doses are as follows, (so you get the severity of my sleeplessness) 60mg MS Contin, 20mg hydrocodone, 12mg Zanaflex (tizanidine), 200 mg Desyrl (trazodone), 10mg Ambien (zolpidem), 50mg Benedryl (diphenhydramine hydrochloride), and 25mg Unisom (doxylamine succinate). There used to be more, too...but i got terribly tired of STILL not being able to sleep with all of that AND being tired all the next day. so, even with all of that, i STILL can't sleep about 30-40% of the time. but, you know what ALWAYS makes me sleep, leaves me with NO grogginess, no side effects to be felt at all really...and makes my MS symptoms feel MUCH better, leave me feeling less like i want to die after chemo, cures headaches that no amount of opioid or migraineprescription meds ever could, and in general makes me enjoy a few hours of the night much more than usual? ...take a guess....take a hard guess. here's a hint..it's an herb, used for centuries for hundreds of spiritual and medicinal purposes...can be made into a smoked or vaporized mist, an infusion, a tincture, an oil infusion that can be used to cook nearly anything, and even a compress....and here's the clincher...it's currently illegal in many states but VERY legal in Amsterdam (along with prostitutes, if that's your thing...?) yeah, you know what i'm talking about. NOW HOLD ON this is NOT something i do every day...or every week...or even every month. sometimes i don't do it for months at a time. but...when i feel like it would benefit me, i do it. i used to do it much more frequently...up to 4 times a week (monday, wednesday, friday, saturday) it was hardly different than going out to a bar except i NEVER drove afterwards, it's cheaper and it enhanced my mood, creativity, introspection and feeling of social ease, not to mention made me physically feel better. it leaves me with about 60-90 minutes of "happy time" then an ever increasing drowsiness, leading to a full on, snoring, drooling, "i can't believe i slept that well, i hardly MOVED", beautiful slumber. ....this is NOT for everyone...i had a bf that puked every time he smoked because he got so paranoid...not for highly addictive personalities (though i feel strongly that it's not PHYSICALLY addictive, but EMOTIONALLY addictive...as in too many use it too much to escape life...or simply that it's addictive in the way food or sex or gambling can be addictive..you do it all the time because it FEELS good and you do not restrain yourself from making it constant. my person belief is that it should be used to ENHANCE your life, not BE your life........and when i would start to feel like i NEEDED to do it, i would stop for a period of weeks until i couldn't care less about it, then would ease back into it) and not for use if you're going to irresponsible (as in doing it when you are alone with a UM, before driving or if you're using your rent money to purchase it...it's like any other "recreational" item, be it fine foods, alcohol, cars, boats, etc...if you're not going to be responsible and moderate, you just shouldn't do it.) AND THAT...IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THAT!! anyway...this is one of my solutions.....as you can see, i've tried nearly EVERY option to get some sleep, from medications, to sex, to a VERY expensive bed, massages, meditation, hypnosis, exercise and deliberate sleep dep. to force sleep.....some have worked sometimes, none have worked all the time. though i DO agree with bandit...if you're able to HAVE wild, crazy, rowdy sex....do it!! that sleepiness afterwards is SO satisfying.......second only to a good wank on my own....done properly that can be as good, or better than many sexual encounters!

Sinimint -> RE: insomnia :( (7/16/2007 4:16:57 AM)
A warm cup of chamomile tea, then 2 high potency valerian tablets. The coated ones don't smell or taste funny at all. Always take the valerian tablets 1 hour before you go to bed. I usually read for 1/2 hour before sleep too, that helps. Or to relax you - take St Johns Wart tablets, they're good too. Good luck.... :)

PAsextoy4u -> RE: insomnia :( (7/16/2007 4:51:56 PM)
Im not sure I am understanding your message correctly. Are you taking ALL of those meds at the same time? OR have you taken them at some time in the past? Many sleeping pills, as with anti-depressants, for SOME people have a reverse reaction. They can cause anxiety, restlessness, and insomnia. Most doctors dont know about the side effects, or dont believe many people get the side effects. Does your MS doctor know you are taking all of those meds? And does he know about your other way of relaxing? I know with MS you have to be careful of what you take, so you dont aggravate the MS. (I have a good friend with MS) I hope you find some peace and healing from your sleeplessness and MS.

adoracat -> RE: insomnia :( (7/16/2007 4:55:20 PM)
i've seen several references to chamomile... yes, its a good herb, and can safely relax you. however! if you have ragweed allergies, you're risking an allergic reaction. they're in the same family of plants, and CAN cause a reaction if ingested. kitten, who has seen it....

PAsextoy4u -> RE: insomnia :( (7/16/2007 4:59:32 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: canupleaseme Hi I'm just looking for some helpful suggestions regarding insomnia. Its something I have had on and off randomly for a while now. And I'm going through a really tough week of it at the minute [:'(] I am aware that stress can cause it and have just had a very stressful few weeks with my house getting flooded out in the recen bad weather and having to move house. But i'm now setteled in my new house which is lovely, I have my boy living here with me now too and my u.m and everything is good but I can't sleep at all. I was prescribed tamazepam by my dr 10 mg and I took one last night and still couldn't sleep and was up all night only get odd half hours of sleep. I'm soooo tired now. I cant have lie ins because of my u.m and sleeping in the day just isn't an option. I dont want to take medication if I can help it. I've tried hot mik, having a warm bath , having a massage etc. I don't drink tea or coffee so I'm nothaving caffiene at bed times or anything. I have lavender and all the things I can think of. Does anyone have any other suggestions that may be useful ? Bar knocking myself over the head with something I feel at a right loss and its starting to affect my moods in the day leaving me tearful and stressed over very silly things. I;'m quite sure my u.m and boy are getting a bit fed up with my snappyness too I know I am . Thankyou Have you had your thyroid or hormone levels checked recently? While you are young, if your hormones or thyroid is off, it could affect your body's ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. Have you tried meditation, guided imagery, creative visualization, REIKI? These are some things that helped me learn to relax enough so I could sleep better. Getting ready to sleep, sleeping, and staying asleep seems like it should be natural. For some of us though, we get out of a natural rhythm, and we have to re-train our minds and bodies to fall asleep and stay asleep on a schedule. Good luck with overcoming your insomnia.

habibi -> RE: insomnia :( (7/17/2007 11:23:17 AM)
PAsextoy4u.. yes, that was one night's worth of meds...which is severely cut from what it was. there used to be quite a few more drugs. they are all helpful in one way or the other, and since they all make me sleepy, that helps with the insomnia. the only ones specifically geared to help me sleep are the trazodone, ambien and the unisom. all the others have their own reasons. and as i said, they DO help...just not every night.(as in sunday night where i didn't sleep at all and never got to sleep until 9pm monday night) and yes, my dr. knows about EVERY thing i put in my body. i have done extensive research on all of these meds...and since i have a medical education myself (RN) i have spent ALOT of time on getting my meds to the most helpful dosages and combinations possible. the worry here is not bad side effects...i've been taking all of these meds in some dose or another for over 3 years....it's just the fact that even THEY don't always work. but, my insomnia wasn't my point...my point was meds can be very helpful...you just have to find the right one, and that may take a while....AND that there are MANY options out there, some that you may not even think of using.

pixelslave -> RE: insomnia :( (7/17/2007 1:33:22 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: canupleaseme Hi I'm just looking for some helpful suggestions regarding insomnia. Its something I have had on and off randomly for a while now. And I'm going through a really tough week of it at the minute [:'(] I am aware that stress can cause it and have just had a very stressful few weeks with my house getting flooded out in the recen bad weather and having to move house. But i'm now setteled in my new house which is lovely, I have my boy living here with me now too and my u.m and everything is good but I can't sleep at all. I was prescribed tamazepam by my dr 10 mg and I took one last night and still couldn't sleep and was up all night only get odd half hours of sleep. I'm soooo tired now. I cant have lie ins because of my u.m and sleeping in the day just isn't an option. I dont want to take medication if I can help it. I've tried hot mik, having a warm bath , having a massage etc. I don't drink tea or coffee so I'm nothaving caffiene at bed times or anything. I have lavender and all the things I can think of. Does anyone have any other suggestions that may be useful ? Bar knocking myself over the head with something I feel at a right loss and its starting to affect my moods in the day leaving me tearful and stressed over very silly things. I;'m quite sure my u.m and boy are getting a bit fed up with my snappyness too I know I am . Thankyou canupleaseme, I think many of the others are sending you down the wrong path. To sleep, you need to clear your mind, or take it to a very relaxing place. Obviously the meds are not doing that for you, or at least not yet or to the extent needed. I highly recommend relaxation exercises of various kinds to help clear your mind or take you to that place of relaxation where you can get the rest you need. There are many different kinds of relaxation exercises that you can do. Most involve slowing your breathing such that you take a deep breath in, hold it for a count of 10 (or up to 25 or 30, depending on age & lung capacity), then slowly releasing it to at least a count of 10, or as slowly as you can up to a count of to 25 or 30. Some visualize themselves in a meadow or someplace they find relaxing; perhaps a place you've been before where you had a great time and found it very relaxing (a stream, a mountain side, a beach, etc.). Others visualize all their tensions and worries flowing out their body through their fingers and toes as they breathe out. There are others who mentally check-in with each part of their body (usually starting with the top of their head), helping it relax with each breath out, then moving on to the next body part lower down (or to the side or toward the backside) until they've released all the tensions in their body and they're totally relaxed. There are many other variations. Find what works for you. There are also guided relaxation tapes that one can purchase which take them through visualizations as they do various breathing exercises. All of the types of breathing/relaxation techniques I'm speaking of are meant to clear the mind and slow the body's breathing down to help you relax so you can drift off to sleep. I should note that these techniques take time and repeated practice to learn for them to be fully effective. Repeating them several times during a restless evening may be needed when you start to use them in order to feel as though they're helping, but they do work! [sm=lol.gif] As for the meds you're on, I'm not familiar with that particular one, but a number of years ago I did take Ambien for a brief period of time of very high stress and found it somewhat helpful. I personally don't think meds are a very good solution to difficulties from stress and anxiety of the sort you're experiencing. Exercise is highly recommended, particularly anything aerobic such as walking, stairclimbing, elipticals or cycling, but do it earlier in the day if possible. Avoid late evening exercise as it could stimulate your body making the symptoms you're experiencing more difficult to deal with as your body gets worked-up and can have trouble slowing down to rest for the night. I sincerely hope you find this is helpful in some way. [&:] - pixel Collared to Majik

habibi -> RE: insomnia :( (7/17/2007 4:24:42 PM)
actually, pixel, if you look at the previous answers you'll see that exercise and meditation have been suggested, along with a whole host of other ideas. i rather resent the implication that i would steer someone the wrong way when it comes to a health concern. nursing school and the start of PA training leaves me a fairly reliable source. i also stated that meds don't work for everyone, but, if you try a number of other things and they don't work, medicine is not a terrible thing to try. some of them are better than others, but in general, there is a medicine that will work for nearly everyone with pretty good success. i also point out that the OP has only tried temazepam, which i addressed as not being an ideal sleep medicine and most dr's don't use it much anymore except when insurance companies insist on it...as many do...or if you're self pay for your meds, as it's dirt cheap. in this case, you get what you pay for. it's a old medicine that has very little practicle use in a world where the new sleep meds are safer and more effective.

asubmissiveheart -> RE: insomnia :( (7/17/2007 7:08:19 PM)
Canuplease me ma'am? Are you sleeping any better these days?

LadyHeart -> RE: insomnia :( (7/17/2007 7:15:01 PM)
Have you tried staying awake? I'm not being facetious, it's a reverse psychology trick that works for a lot on people. When you're worried about your insomnia, it keeps jerking you awake, as your mind plays tricks on you. If you focus on staying awake .... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz :)) LH

habibi -> RE: insomnia :( (7/17/2007 10:07:07 PM)
lol, LadyHeart, this OFTEN works for me. i'll find something i want to watch or read while laying awake at night and before i know it, it's 10 hours later and i'm waking up confused. works darn near every time!

pixelslave -> RE: insomnia :( (7/17/2007 10:42:48 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: habibi actually, pixel, if you look at the previous answers you'll see that exercise and meditation have been suggested, along with a whole host of other ideas. i rather resent the implication that i would steer someone the wrong way when it comes to a health concern. I'll readily agree that there were numerous different suggestions already on the board, *many* of them however were oriented towards meds or herbal treatments. Please note that I used the word *"many"* at the beginning of my response to the OP and was not directing my comments in reference to anyone else's post in particular, even noting that I myself had taken ambien for a period of time in the past. Nothing personal toward you (or anyone else) was ever intended, regardless of the extensive training or experience you have in your particular field. BTW, my post happened to follow yours, it was not in response to yours, but instead to the OP. I was simply sharing an alternate suggestion; one in which I have experience that is different than what I'd seen posted in the other messages on the board. I don't at all consider relaxation & breathing exercises to be nearly the same as the variety of traditional forms of meditation. The former are far simpler, easier to learn & master, especially for those with the OP's particular problem. - pixel Collared to Majik

Vendaval -> RE: insomnia :( (7/17/2007 11:35:58 PM)
I would also like to recommend regular exercise several times a week. Sometimes physical exhaustion rather than mental exhaustion is very beneficial.

Aswad -> RE: insomnia :( (7/18/2007 8:57:11 PM)
To the OP: You'll want to fix your Sleep Hygiene first. A good doctor can help instruct you in how to do that. If that doesn't cut it, try melatonin, rozarem or lunesta, in that order. Should none of those do the trick, you will want a referral to a sleep doctor. For a few nights of good sleep when you really need it, and without a hangover, flunitrazepam and xyrem (GHB) are excellent and safe alternatives, but legality varies a lot, and a lot of people seem to find them addictive for some reason. Writing a scrip for the smallest package and returning all but 2-5 doses to the pharmacy essentially solves that problem in all but a few, rare cases. The docs are more inclined to write scrips for zolpidem, diazepam or the like, though; I'd try one with a short half-life first. If a hangover is acceptable, phenobarbital or secobarbital will both do the trick, regardless of how bad your insomnia is (unless there's something seriously messed up in your head), but they will positively not work past 2 weeks, due to tolerance buildup, and you don't want to use them for more than 1-3 days at the doses that put you to sleep, although I have found that 0.3-0.5mg/kg phenobarbital is enough to overcome insomnia without tolerance buildup, going on 2 months now. I sleep like a baby, and finally understand why people find it so (relatively) easy to get up in the morning, and why people find sleep refreshing. Forget about driving the next day, in any case, except for melatonin and rozarem. Herbs work for some people. A lot of them have interactions. Side effects are generally in proportion to effectiveness.

canupleaseme -> RE: insomnia :( (7/19/2007 10:58:50 AM)
Hi everyone thanks so much for your replies. I havent been able to reply properly yet as for some reason everytime I type it out it crashes and my posts dont show [&:] Ive slept kinda ok for the last two nights but its still not great :( I will reply properly this evening :)

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