Anyone with chronic insomnia?

[slo]

Just curious, how many mgs is the pill of Trazadone you're taking?

I was talking to my GYN at my annual the other day about my sleep issues and she says she takes a combo of Melatonin, Magnesium and Benadryl every night. That would not work for me since Benadryl actually wires me instead of making me sleepy.

I take something most nights -- I usually alternate between half of a Unisom (the kind with doxylamine, not diphenhydramine) or Melatonin (4 mg). About 3 times a month I will take .5 mg of Klonopin.

The full pill is 100mg, but 50% of the time I take a 1/2 pill. I don’t want to have my brain get used to the full pill and have it not work anymore. So low key days is a 1/2 pill and days that make my mind race is a full pill.

 

[slo]

I just want to add to my past post from yesterday that getting exercise helps with sleeping better too.

I faithfully workout 3 times a week and I do believe that helps with my sleep issues. I don’t do intense workouts - I’m on my elliptical for 45-60 minutes depending on what I’m watching on Netflix, Hulu or Disney+. You can make the intensity of what you’re doing high or low - what matters is that you’re moving.

After my cardio I do 15 minutes of stretching and then I do strength training with bands or free weights that are 10lbs (the weight amount doesn’t matter just as long as you’re helping yourself with some strength training).

All the above helps with many things. I don’t workout for vanity reasons, I workout for health reasons

 

[Dakota731]

I’ve had insomnia since I was thirteen and never sleep more than 4-5 hours a night -many times less than that. I’m used to it so I don’t let it bother me, and I function fine during the day. My grandma who is 99 and my mom who is 79, both have it too, so I figure it’s hereditary. They are both in great health, so I don’t get worried by all the media alarmists who try to scare everyone into believing that anyone who doesn’t get eight hours of sleep a night is doomed!

 

[nw6675]

Yes, available in Vermont. I have friends who swear by it!

I love that this suggestion is from you and mrodgers!!

I am in VA so legal here now, too. I think I am the queen of side effects because paranoia was one for me, at least from what I recall from many moons ago. Lol

 

[ThistleMae]

I love that this suggestion is from you and mrodgers!!

I am in VA so legal here now, too. I think I am the queen of side effects because paranoia was one for me, at least from what I recall from many moons ago. Lol

If you get it from a dispensary, they can tell you what would work best for you to avoid that paranoia feeling. I'm very sensitive to any kinds of medications as well, so I have to get something that's very mild. And...I can tell you, you will sleep like a baby. Just saying.

 

[ThistleMae]

My sister is one of those that never sleeps more than 5/6 hours a night. She can't take most sleepy time meds and won't try anything that's a prescription. If she's desperate, on occasion, she takes a swig of Nyquil, which works for her. She gets all kinds of weird side effects from most things, even antibiotics and tylenol. The melatonin doesn't work for her. Nyquil gives me nightmares. It just goes to show you that we are all indeed different. If you can get a doctor to listen to you, save that one, they will be a keeper. And you have to be willing to try a few different things. They do say that when you get older you don't get as much exercise as you used to and this is a contributing factor as well, as someone mentioned above. I feel strongly that my sleep is a very important factor in how much energy I have the next day. And, I treasure each and every day!

 

[Sparkly]

Dealing with this at the moment. I go to bed at 10pm and I'll wake up at like 3-4am. Medication doesn't seem to work for me so I'm trying to do stuff like no screens, read for an hour before bed, pillow sprays etc etc. It's so frustrating.

 

[Lazymark]

Late to the party, but something that helped me was setting a fixed wake‑up time and sticking to it even after a rough night. I also stopped looking at the clock during wake‑ups, which weirdly made a big difference. Has anyone tried limiting reading or phone time in bed? I found keeping those out of the bedroom made falling back asleep easier.

 

[ronandannette]

I'm not an insomnia sufferer - my heart goes out to anybody that is. Still though, recent blood work turned up a pretty significant magnesium deficiency and I've started taking a high-quality supplement. I simply cannot believe how soundly I've been sleeping, right from the first night. Like a rock; 7+ hours, when for years and years I'd not managed to stay asleep for more than 6, like clockwork. The extra hour is huge in how alert I'm feeling upon waking and how much quicker I can get up-and-going. Although too much can reach toxicity, I'd urge anybody with sleep issues to try at least a little bit of magnesium about an hour before bed.

 

[Christine]

I'm not an insomnia sufferer - my heart goes out to anybody that is. Still though, recent blood work turned up a pretty significant magnesium deficiency and I've started taking a high-quality supplement. I simply cannot believe how soundly I've been sleeping, right from the first night. Like a rock; 7+ hours, when for years and years I'd not managed to stay asleep for more than 6, like clockwork. The extra hour is huge in how alert I'm feeling upon waking and how much quicker I can get up-and-going. Although too much can reach toxicity, I'd urge anybody with sleep issues to try at least a little bit of magnesium about an hour before bed.

That's great. A magnesium deficiency (documented with labwork) is pretty rare. I've tried the various magnesium formulations and nothing worked for me. On top of it all, they give me intestinal cramping after a few days because they work on the intestines too. But it's good to hear it works for you! Insomnia is the worst and I've been battling it for over 10 years now.

 

[ronandannette]

That's great. A magnesium deficiency (documented with labwork) is pretty rare. I've tried the various magnesium formulations and nothing worked for me. On top of it all, they give me intestinal cramping after a few days because they work on the intestines too. But it's good to hear it works for you! Insomnia is the worst and I've been battling it for over 10 years now.

I've got all kinds of nutrient and electrolyte deficiencies due to chronic, severe IBS. I get blood work every 3 months at a minimum; sometimes more often if I'm dragging so badly that I go to urgent care. The usual culprit is dehydration and potassium deficiency (one time as low as 1.4 - critical) but this most recent set of tests is the first one where magnesium has been prescribed.

 

[disneyseniors]

I have had insomnia for about 25+ years. I now accept it and just have to roll with it. Its not getting to sleep that's the problem, it's stayng asleep for the whole night.

I only need about 5-6 hours so if I manage to sleep for that length of time I just start my day, even if its 4am. If I wake at 1am after several hours, I have learned that lying in bed trying to sleep does not work for me. I read, listen to a podcast or a documentary in the dark, and sometimes I can managed another couple of hours sleep, but it may take 2-3 hours to get back to sleep. Its not a big deal now, it's just part of my life.

I'm the same way. I fall to sleep easily and sleep til 1 or 2 or 4 or 5 at the latest. I get up and go out into a dark, cool room and sit in a relaxing recliner and cover up with a quilt. About half the time I fall back to sleep but it's not a good "sleep" and toss and turn and wake up anyway. I have a chronic pain condition (actually a couple of them), and I have pain while sleeping. Nothing I take seems to help, so I have just learned to live with it. I do take a tylenol PM or an ibuprofen at night if it's real bad. This is all pretty new to me and I look like a disgrunteld raccoon with dark circles, lol. I will try some of these techniques to see if they help.
I take prescribed pain pills daily, but these don't seem to help at night (and not much during the day either, sadly)

 

[Christine]

I've got all kinds of nutrient and electrolyte deficiencies due to chronic, severe IBS. I get blood work every 3 months at a minimum; sometimes more often if I'm dragging so badly that I go to urgent care. The usual culprit is dehydration and potassium deficiency (one time as low as 1.4 - critical) but this most recent set of tests is the first one where magnesium has been prescribed.

Oh thanks for the explanation. That makes sense. I'm very glad you could find some help--a good night's sleep is a wonderful feeling, isn't it?