Insomnia

I have been having insomnia for about a month and a half. I don't know why, but apparently i have two choices. I can either take pills or see a therapist. I think i'd rather not do either. Let's see how far i can last without it.

Christine
Fontana

Subject: Re: Insomnia

playforchrissy wrote: I have been having insomnia for about a month and a half. I don't know why, but apparently i have two choices. I can either take pills or see a therapist. I think i'd rather not do either. Let's see how far i can last without it.

Christine
Fontana

okay...

http://tinyurl.com/2lamlp

OP reads like a bot....

In the summer of 2005, I started having trouble sleeping. I've been an insomniac my whole life, as a kid I would lay awake for at least 2 hours after my mom put me to bed. But this time, the insomnia was different. I started waking up earlier and earlier and couldn't go back to sleep. At first I liked it since I could get more done in the morning. But this went on for a month or 2 until I started waking up after 2 or 3 hours of sleep. After another month or 2 of this I began waking up every 90 minutes. This lasted for about 6 months and no sleeping pills worked. My doctor gave me Ambien, Ambien CR, Lunesta, Rozerem, and Benadryl. Not one of them worked and the Benadryl actually made it harder for me to sleep.

In the end, it was a psychological problem not a physical one. My boyfriend and I were having problems which began that summer and ended when we split up in December. We were living together at the time so it was a difficult situation. This insomnia resolved itself over time and I'm now back to my familiar insomnia. For almost a year though, I felt like a zombie. Because I could rarely sleep longer than 90 minutes I never got that good REM sleep. As much as I hate to say it, there may be nothing you can do. You might have to just wait it out. Good luck.

I've had various versions of insomnia for years - and if you are not willing to see a therapist or take pills, there are ways to help get you in the mood for sleep. You can research them out, however a specialist really is the best way to go, as they can fully explain everything to you and maybe even find the reason for the insomnia.

A few things that I remember are:

1) only use your bed for 2 things, sleep and sex (and yes this was told to me from a dr.)
2) get in the mood for sleep. Take a bath, dim the lights, get in your pjs a hour or two before bed, etc. . .
3) go to sleep and wake up the same time every day. even on the weekend
4) don't read, watch the news, get in an argument, or anything that will stimulate your mind before bed - it's all you will think about and therefore not sleep.

And may I ask why you are so against seeing a therapist? The pills I can understand. There's nothing wrong with seeing a professional and not every doctor will go ahead and put you on meds.

Well, maybe she doesn't want to deal with the time and expense. It's often been a waste for me.

I've had periodic insomnia my whole adult life (though oddly enough, it's stopped being a problem since I moved to Brooklyn, Woo hoo!) and I basically think it's hereditary because both my mom and my grandma were problem sleepers.

I find that the less you worry about the sleep you're not getting, the better you are able to function the next day. So when I can't sleep, I get up and do something productive and then go to sleep when I'm tired. I wrote my screenplay during one four-month bout of insomnia and because I was doing something creative, I actually didn't miss the sleep that much. Once I was finished with it, I was able to sleep again.

quijibo wrote: OP reads like a bot....

I agree. The internets is haunted!

I suggest an orgasm. Truly.

Ha. Flexi's got a point.. I think we can chalk that up to the 'get into the mood' for sleep, hmm?

pyros44 wrote: Ha. Flexi's got a point.. I think we can chalk that up to the 'get into the mood' for sleep, hmm?

Even though the OP is a woman, most women can tell you what a man does almost immediately after an orgasm

OP is a marketing robot. meant to spam bulletin boards.
http://www.google.com/search?q=playforchrissy&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

quijibo wrote: OP is a marketing robot. meant to spam bulletin boards.
http://www.google.com/search?q=playforchrissy&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

:shock: Bitches!

I'm going to delete the spambot. Thanks for pointing this out!

rock on Q!

Iiiiinteresting. Before banning the user, I checked the IP and lo and behold, six different users, ALL similar spambots. They evidently work for a subsidiary of Universal called Fontana Distribution. So I banned the IP address.

NOT a way to endear yourself to the public, Fontana Distribution! Shitty, shitty!

Very cool bust! Way to go!

Ok, what was the point of it though?

caseopele wrote: Ok, what was the point of it though?

the point is viral marketing
evil people write a program that travels the web looking for bulletin board software
and delivers a marketing message automatically throughout the web.
you extend your marketing reach. it's evil in all ways.

it won't work on this board cuz i don't believe there's much of
a demand for christian rock in brooklyn
but if that link instead was an offer for a ball of organic manchego cheese
forget it...

Thanks, Q! Guess I'm an idiot for responding but insomnia is a sore spot for me. :oops:

If you weren't so busy and in need of rest, Cassie, I'd tell ya to write a book!

Here's wishing you some sweet z's.

caseopele wrote: Thanks, Q! Guess I'm an idiot for responding but insomnia is a sore spot for me. :oops:

Ahh caseopele, me too, don't feel too much like an idiot! I think we all get a little worked up when people start talking about insomnia, and in a way (at least I am) we are curious about how other people deal with it.

If only I wasn't such a horrible writer, lilb!

sjknoll, you have no idea how upset I was when I realized it was psychological, I wanted a magic pill to make it go away!

caseopele wrote: Thanks, Q! Guess I'm an idiot for responding but insomnia is a sore spot for me. :oops:

here's the insidious thing. it's viral. it influences behavior
so now this thread is going to become a de facto thread about insomnia
and people will start to actually discuss insomnia
based upon a piece of software's doing

Subject: *****zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz*****

Actually it put me to sleep :P

quijibo wrote: [quote=caseopele]Thanks, Q! Guess I'm an idiot for responding but insomnia is a sore spot for me. :oops:

here's the insidious thing. it's viral. it influences behavior
so now this thread is going to become a de facto thread about insomnia
and people will start to actually discuss insomnia
based upon a piece of software's doing

Yes, but we've foiled their evil plan to get us to listen to their crappy music!

caseopele wrote:
sjknoll, you have no idea how upset I was when I realized it was psychological,

I can imagine it was quite upsetting. I actually went through the whole sleep study thing, where they stick electrodes on your head and whatnot

Turns out besides having a difficult time falling asleep, I rarely go into stage 3 and 4 of sleep. I might dip down for a little bit, but not enough to feel rested. Toss that in with a bad back (and currently a torn rotator cuff) and my nights are pretty rough. I used to take prescription sleeping pills - now I stick to the OTC stuff, but I do take it every night.

caseopele wrote: I wanted a magic pill to make it go away!

So then despite it being psychological they still wouldn't give you anything? (because there are some good pills to make it all go away! lol)

sjknoll wrote: I can imagine it was quite upsetting. I actually went through the whole sleep study thing, where they stick electrodes on your head and whatnot

Turns out besides having a difficult time falling asleep, I rarely go into stage 3 and 4 of sleep. I might dip down for a little bit, but not enough to feel rested. Toss that in with a bad back (and currently a torn rotator cuff) and my nights are pretty rough. I used to take prescription sleeping pills - now I stick to the OTC stuff, but I do take it every night.

[quote=caseopele] I wanted a magic pill to make it go away!

So then despite it being psychological they still wouldn't give you anything? (because there are some good pills to make it all go away! lol)

Damn, that really sucks, how do you cope?

Oh, they gave me a bunch of sleeping pills, Rozerem, Lunesta, Ambien CR, and even Benadryl. Not one of them worked, the Benadryl actually woke me up more. That's what made me realize that it was psychological. The only thing I've found to help me sleep now is a small dose of Seroquel. Even then it takes 2 or 3 hours to kick in but I don't want to take anymore.

I can't even take meds, even OTC meds, because I can't predict how I'll react to them. I took Nyquil once and I ended up bouncing off the walls all night and hallucinating. One Benadryl will knock me out for 48 hours.

Oddly enough, a hot cup of coffee will work. Too much caffeine shorts out my nervous system and knocks me out. Plus I wake up REAL FAST in the morning. The side effect is weird dreams and a sore jaw from grinding my teeth all night, so I try not to do this very often.

lilbangladesh wrote: I can't even take meds, even OTC meds, because I can't predict how I'll react to them. I took Nyquil once and I ended up bouncing off the walls all night and hallucinating. One Benadryl will knock me out for 48 hours.

Oddly enough, a hot cup of coffee will work. Too much caffeine shorts out my nervous system and knocks me out. Plus I wake up REAL FAST in the morning. The side effect is weird dreams and a sore jaw from grinding my teeth all night, so I try not to do this very often.

Sounds like you need ritalin, that or lithium.

See that's funny because I have ADD (had it since I was a kid, not diagnosed until a few years ago). I take Adderal, which is basically speed and all it does is make it possible for me to focus. If someone without ADD took it, they'd be flying.