Can't sleep!! HELP!!! Update pg2

[experiment626mom]

This has been going on for a few weeks and it really has to stop!! I go to bed between 10 -11. Fall asleep quickly and sleep well until about 4:00 am. I wake up and head to the bathroom (oh the joys of middle age) and head back to bed. The minute my head hits that pillow, I am wide awake and I stay awake until usually 5:45 when I finally doze off. Well, the alarm then goes off at 6:30 and I spend the day walking around like a zombie.

I'm not laying there worrying about stuff or thinking about work. Once I realize that I'm not going back to sleep, I lay there thinking about stuff we want to do at Disney, or something else pleasant.

So is there anything I can do about this? I have tried over the counter sleep medications and the same thing happens. I need to sleep!!!

 

[SDFgirl]

I read somewhere a trick for sleeping and it has always worked for me.

I pick a category...movies, towns, food products, animals, etc. and then I go through the alphabet naming something from that category. For example:

A - Annie
B - Bad News Bears
C - Crash
D - Deep Impact

I always drift off about half-way through the alphabet. Don't know why this works, I think I remember the article saying it had something to do with using both sides of your brain?!

Good luck!

 

[C.Ann]

Hmmm.. I wonder if cutting out beverages after a certain time (maybe 6 or 7 pm - depending on when you go to bed) would eliminate the need to wake up at 4 to use the bathroom and maybe you could sleep right through the night then?

There's nothing worse than waking up - FINALLY dozing off again - and then the alarm goes off.. To me it feels like I haven't slept at all!

 

[Christine]

You could ask for a prescription for Sonata. That is what my doctor gave me when I had the 2:00 a.m. wakings. It is like Ambien but only lasts for 4 hours versus 8 hours. It is specifically made for middle-of-the-night insomnia.

If you don't want to go the drug route, I don't know what to tell you. I occasionally go through these weird sleep disturbances. Didn't happen until my late 30's so I think it might be hormonal. I will do fine for weeks and then I will get into a pattern that seems to last forever where I don't sleep well.

 

[smilie]

Have you tried Melatonin. One of the drivers at work had trouble sleeping at night and his doctor suggested trying this. (I think it's herbal) He said it works wonders.

 

[Parkhopper]

I count backwards from 100 by 3's. This is made more complicated by my terrible addition/subtraction skills. I almost always drop back off to sleep before I get into the 40's.

Suzi

 

[horseshowmom]

Have you tried Melatonin. One of the drivers at work had trouble sleeping at night and his doctor suggested trying this. (I think it's herbal) He said it works wonders.

My DH had the exact same problem that you're having. Someone posted on these boards about the melatonin, and he tried it. It was amazing the difference it made (literally, the first night). You can get it in the vitamin section at Wal-Mart.

 

[experiment626mom]

Oh you guys are great!! I'm heading off at lunch hour to get some Melatonin.
I like the ideas about counting backwards by threes and the alphabet. Now if I can just remember them!!

Something's gotta work this is just nuts. I guess if none of these work I'm off to the doctor to ask about prescription medication.

 

[Marseeya]

I read somewhere to tell yourself that it's five minutes before you have to get up. That actually works for me sometimes! I have a horrible time with insomnia, but it's depression related.

 

[nativetxn]

I do that too. I hate it. Sometimes I'll just give up and get out of bed because I can only lay there awake so long. My problem is that I can't turn off my brain. I keep thinking about everything I have to do, or what's going on in my life that is upsetting and worrisome. Right now, the biggest culprit is my husband's illness and upcoming surgery. I can't seem to be able to stop my brain from doing this so I lay awake.

I hope you can find a solution. When you do, will you share it with me?

{{{HUGS}}} sweetie.

Katholyn

 

[mickeysgal]

Just a few possibilities. Could it be that you're one of those folks that have had enough rest after 6 hours of sleep and that you're just not tired anymore? Maybe try staying up a bit later in the evening? I wouldn't jump to any medication yet. Are you keeping very very busy? I know when I haven't been very busy, I tend not to be so tired and therefore need less sleep. Are you exercising? When you exercise regularly, you sleep tremendously better. Good luck!

 

[jennyl772003]

Could you maybe set a timer or something so you wake up earlier to go to the bathroom? It is usually easier for me to fall back asleep earlier in the night. I would think if it works, after a while your body will just pick that new time to go.

 

[KarenAylwood]

Oh you guys are great!! I'm heading off at lunch hour to get some Melatonin.
I like the ideas about counting backwards by threes and the alphabet. Now if I can just remember them!!

Something's gotta work this is just nuts. I guess if none of these work I'm off to the doctor to ask about prescription medication.

I SWEAR by Melatonin. It's the only thing that I've gotten to work for me.

It's not "herbal" it's actually the hormone that makes you tired. It's the hormone that comes out when it gets dark out- causing you to get tired. Babies don't produce it at all, and secretion gradually increases over the years (hence, why babies can't sleep at night!). Then at puberty there is a big drop (late night teens out there?) and once you get older, you slowly produce less and less- they have even been able to determine age from melatonin secretions!

The best kind I've found is at GNC. Some kinds have added stuff that can give you headaches. There are also a few different kinds- 3mg, 1mg (stay away from MICROgram levels and stick with milligram levels). And there are two kinds of 3mg ones- timed release and non-timed released. I would suggest time release for you since you seem to have trouble falling back to sleep. I take a non-timed release of 3mg at night 15-20 min before I go to bed and if I wake up and just can't fall asleep, I pop in a 1mg just to make me feel better and calm me (esp if I wake up from a nightmare).

The 1mg are cherry flavored and dissolve under your tongue (gets into the blood stream faster than swallowing). The 3mg ones are meant to be swallowed. It's also incredibly cheap (a 1mg bottle might run you $3).

I did a report on melatonin in grad school after my DBF urged me to take it. I had to do a paper anyway and wanted to know what I was getting myself into! Since it's a hormone naturally secreted by your body, and so it is broken down naturally too!

 

[horseshowmom]

I SWEAR by Melatonin. It's the only thing that I've gotten to work for me.

It's not "herbal" it's actually the hormone that makes you tired. It's the hormone that comes out when it gets dark out- causing you to get tired. Babies don't produce it at all, and secretion gradually increases over the years (hence, why babies can't sleep at night!). Then at puberty there is a big drop (late night teens out there?) and once you get older, you slowly produce less and less- they have even been able to determine age from melatonin secretions!

The best kind I've found is at GNC. Some kinds have added stuff that can give you headaches. There are also a few different kinds- 3mg, 1mg (stay away from MICROgram levels and stick with milligram levels). And there are two kinds of 3mg ones- timed release and non-timed released. I would suggest time release for you since you seem to have trouble falling back to sleep. I take a non-timed release of 3mg at night 15-20 min before I go to bed and if I wake up and just can't fall asleep, I pop in a 1mg just to make me feel better and calm me (esp if I wake up from a nightmare).

The 1mg are cherry flavored and dissolve under your tongue (gets into the blood stream faster than swallowing). The 3mg ones are meant to be swallowed. It's also incredibly cheap (a 1mg bottle might run you $3).

I did a report on melatonin in grad school after my DBF urged me to take it. I had to do a paper anyway and wanted to know what I was getting myself into! Since it's a hormone naturally secreted by your body, and so it is broken down naturally too!

Thanks for posting this. I had actually been planning on doing some research to find out whether there was a problem with DH taking this long term. DD's been using it the last few days (due to the matter in other thread), and it works for her too.

 

[experiment626mom]

I do that too. I hate it. Sometimes I'll just give up and get out of bed because I can only lay there awake so long. My problem is that I can't turn off my brain. I keep thinking about everything I have to do, or what's going on in my life that is upsetting and worrisome. Right now, the biggest culprit is my husband's illness and upcoming surgery. I can't seem to be able to stop my brain from doing this so I lay awake.

I hope you can find a solution. When you do, will you share it with me?

{{{HUGS}}} sweetie.

Katholyn

Thanks for the hugs!! If I find a solution, you'll be at the top of my list to let know!! Good luck with all that's going on with you and your dh. I follow your threads and keep you in my thoughts.

Karen - Wow what great info!! I can't tell you how much that helps. There is a GNC and a Vitamin Shoppe right down the street from work so I will go to one or the other. You are a fountain of melatonin information!

 

[sharbear]

I always find that when I exercise during the day, I sleep better at night. When it's cold or I'm being lazy or busy and can't exercise, I don't sleep as well. I also try not to drink too much at night and that helps also.

I think that everyone has these problems at one point or another. Another thing that I do is turn on the TV really low. It helps to drown out that voice in my head and fall asleep! LOL!

 

[KarenAylwood]

You're welcome guys!

My DBF encouraged me to take it because I've always had sleep problems. I had even been prescribed something for it which made me feel incredibly hungover in the morning. I finally stopped taking it, then read somewhere that it was an antidepressant! Bugger!

DBF learned about it from his advisor in undergrad who was a biology professor and had a PhD.. so I figured hey- this guy has got to know something! Although he used to take the lab-grade kind that they used on rats

It was fun to read about- they use it as therapy for elderly people with insomnia, because by your 70s or 80s you hardly produce any melatonin if any at all (why elderly people can get up so early and sleep so little). They have also found it to be unharmful in doses of up to 100mg so there is no problem of overdosing - 3mg should work fine for the average adult.

Darn. There goes that melatonin fountain again

 

[Christine]

I've been wanting to try melatonin and have even bought some but I have read a few things here and there that say not to "mess" with it as it is a very powerful hormone. I take other medications and this kind of freaks me out.

Anyone know where I can get some really good info on this?

 

[KarenAylwood]

I've been wanting to try melatonin and have even bought some but I have read a few things here and there that say not to "mess" with it as it is a very powerful hormone. I take other medications and this kind of freaks me out.

Anyone know where I can get some really good info on this?

The info I got for my paper was from PubMed and various scientific journals I found through a school search engine (SciFinder). It's actually recommended to take as a supplement for people over 40 because it is an antioxidant. It has been found to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer in a few studies.

I couldn't find one study where anyone had any bad side effects from it when taking the recommended amount (approx 3 mg or less). The minor side effects that some people find are with almost triple that amount. I've mentioned it to my doctor and she said it was a good thing to take.

Some people in the population produce too much of the hormone and shouldn't take melatonin supplements... but those people wouldn't have problems sleeping so there would be no reason for them to want to take the hormone to begin with

Oh and if you're trying to conceive- some countries use it in large doses as a contraceptive. And you shouldn't take it if you're on a depressant. But if you have health problems to begin with and are taking medications you should talk to your doctor about taking it anyway.

I just looked up some stuff on it and it says not to take it if you are taking: a sedative, depressant, sedating antihistamines, muscle relaxants and narcotic pain relievers. But these are all meds that have similar effects to melatonin.

You could also just ask your pharmacist if you don't want to talk to your doctor. They would know any drug interactions.

 

[Skylarr29]

You could also try a white noise machine. I am a very light sleeper most of the time so I use one if I am in a hotel etc... and if at home I use the fan on the highest speed. It drowns out the backround noise. If I wake up no matter what time it is then I have to use the rest room. Even if it is an hour after I fell asleep.