# Insomniacs anyone?



## Claire (Dec 12, 2010)

What do you do in the middle of the night to soothe yourself to sleep?  I, personally, try to avoid the TV or computer, because, well face it, I'm unlikely to fall asleep with those.  To me it is a glass of water and a book, but still, it might be hours before I fall back asleep again.  It is, at this point in my life, not a big deal.  I don't have to get up in the morning and go to sleep.  I pretty much gave up on my insomnia decade ago; or I guess I should say came to terms with it.  Most of my friends who only  learned about insomnia during menopause are driving me nuts telling me how horrible it is.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Dec 12, 2010)

Claire said:


> What do you do in the middle of the night to soothe yourself to sleep? I, personally, try to avoid the TV or computer, because, well face it, I'm unlikely to fall asleep with those. To me it is a glass of water and a book, but still, it might be hours before I fall back asleep again. It is, at this point in my life, not a big deal. I don't have to get up in the morning and go to sleep. I pretty much gave up on my insomnia decade ago; or I guess, I should say came to terms with it. Most of my friends who only learned about insomnia during menopause are driving me nuts telling me how horrible it is.


 
I've been an insomniac as long as I can remember, the only time I got a good night's sleep was after not sleeping for 2 nights.  I'm in the middle of peri-menopause, my insomnia has gotten worse.  Even more now that I've switched to a semi-dayshift schedule off of nights for 11 years.  

About 9 years ago, I started taking melatonin and it has been effective in making me drowsy, but I still wake up 2-3 times a night.  Even more now that the heat has been turned up. 

So, my ritual is...an hour before bed take my melatonin and read until it's time for bed.  Then I slep for about 6 hours, off and on.


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## taxlady (Dec 12, 2010)

Not much of a problem for me, now that I'm not having the "personal tropical vacations" any more  If I do wake up and can't fall asleep, I read some more.


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## Zhizara (Dec 12, 2010)

I wake most nights, when my back gets uncomfortable so I just get up and check in on DC, then read.  I watch Animal Planet's Orangutan Island at 5am and Escape to Chimp Edem at 5:30, then usually go back to sleep for a couple of hours.

This morning my back was feeling okay, but the neighbors decided to have a talk-a-thon next door, so I knew I wouldn't get back to sleep anyway.  No biggie, I've got coffee and the last 75 pages of Scarpetta Factor to read.


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## Claire (Dec 12, 2010)

When I was a kid, my mother insisted I stay in bed all night, no matter what.  I realized what a good policy that was when I was up at 3 a.m. and found my 3 year old niece wandering the house .... in Florida, and I had a swimming pool!  Scared me silly, made me glad for once that I was an insomniac (it wouldn't be beyond this child to take a moonlight swim).  Instituted the rule that no one under age 10 could stay overnight.  

But ... it took until I was almost 30 to realize, hey, if I can't sleep, I don't have to lie there watching the ceiling and the clock.  I find I get a "nap" in just before sunrise if I get up and do something boring (this time of year, laundry fits the bill), then cuddle up in my lazy boy with my verilux lamp and a book.  My librarians wonder how I can possibly read 3-4 books a week!  Ha-ha, give up sleeping!


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## Uncle Bob (Dec 12, 2010)

A Glass of Red Wine.......


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## babetoo (Dec 12, 2010)

i have had problems sleeping all my life. well , except in teen years. reading doesn't do it or t.v. mostly now i wake up in the wee hours to go to the bathroom. i smoke a cig. and go back to bed. usually fall back to sleep. if i stay up til after 11 i have a better chance of falling asleep right away. i hate it but have just learned to live with it. especially since i don't have to get up til i feel like it, now that i no longer work outside the home.


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## Frenchys (Dec 12, 2010)

I'm insomniacs.... but i'm french, so i can go to sleep at 5PM (US time :p)


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## babetoo (Dec 12, 2010)

i googled melatonin. mayo clinic says should not be taken if you take diabetic meds. or meds for depression. that is me on both counts. though the psych. drugs are for pstd. so guess that leaves me out.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Dec 12, 2010)

babetoo said:


> i googled melatonin. mayo clinic says should not be taken if you take diabetic meds. or meds for depression. that is me on both counts. though the psych. drugs are for pstd. so guess that leaves me out.


 
Hmm, thanks for that info, Babe!  I better Google drug interactions with melatonin.


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## Claire (Dec 12, 2010)

Hmmm.... it is now 10:30 p.m.  My husband went to bed a little bit ago ... and asked me if I'd sleep downstairs.  No one knows, after 30 years of sleeping together, better than he, that I seldom sleep more than 3 hours straight.  The temperature tonight is supposed to reach -10 (no, I'm not talking wind chill), and he knows I wake every few hours and am often up and down all night.  If I sleep on the couch or my lazy-boy, when I get up to pee, I'll flush the toilet or start a load of laundry.  _In other words, my nocturnal wanderings will keep the water pipes from freezing._  Of course I don't mind, and was actually planning to go to bed for an hour or two and come back downstairs for that very reason.  We're talking major cold here.  Big goblet of red wine, my Christmas tree lit.  All I need is a new puppy.  I'm really, really suffering from puppy lust right now.


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## Chef Munky (Dec 13, 2010)

Clair.
Where were you the other night when I found a cutie!? He would have loved you. Fred loved to cuddle.

I'm an insomniac. Melatonin has to be gradually be taken. It takes a while for it to fully build up in your system. It helps some people. I'm not one of them. It caused me to have nightmares. With all the meds I have to take now. I can't just take anything over the counter for pain or anything else. I have to take a prescription, of the smallest dosage available. Kiddy dose.. But it helps. To some degree. At least it's 4 hours sleep instead of 2. Talk with your doctors before you take anything. 

Munky.


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## buckytom (Dec 13, 2010)

claire, why not just let the faucets drip a bit and set the toilet float to slightly overrun so you can get some rest? what do you have to do to keep the pipes from freezing? are they insulated?

i hear you about getting things done in between short sleeps. that's become my life.

for 16 years, i've worked a midnight shift on my 2nd day off for overtime, so i'd kinda gotten used to staying up all night once a week. 

but now i'm the permanent midnight guy, 6 days a week. sleep has become a cruel mistress. i'm lucky to get 4 hours a day now, from 10a to 2p. i've come to love dark, rainy days so i can sleep better. some nights, i get another quick nap after i put my son to sleep before i head into work. and if i'm lucky, i'll catch a nap on my dinner hour.

munky, i've never heard that about melatonin having to build up in your system. i've found the exact opposite to be true. i take 10mg on my one night off a week, and it works pretty well. if i take it on consecutive nights, it's effect fades.

btw, anyone who is prescribed ambien heed the warnings. it works too well, and if you've had any alcohol it'll knock you out like a prizefighter, but you may not get back up. my legs always felt like rubber and my head was filled with mush the next day after taking it, so i dumped the rest of the prescription.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Dec 13, 2010)

Tom,
I found some black contact paper and put it on the bedroom windows.  Blocks a lot of the daylight and the windows are still functional.  Now it blocks the courtyard light at night.


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## buckytom (Dec 13, 2010)

fee, i have room darkening shades and drapes but there's just something about gloomy days that make me want to sleep more. it's a weird but good feeling.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Dec 13, 2010)

buckytom said:


> fee, i have room darkening shades and drapes but there's just something about gloomy days that make me want to sleep more. it's a weird but good feeling.


 
Cool, was just thinking maybe the light was keeping you up.  I know I had horrible insomnia trying to sleep during the day...now I can't sleep at night.


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## CasperImproved (Dec 13, 2010)

Claire - You are entirely too cool. I can count on my two hands the number of hours I have slept in the last 30 days. 

You seem to have the same issue I do. And yet you are able to deal with it.

I've tried 5 different scripts. Two did not work at all, and the other three? They made me even more dull than the lack of sleep.

I wish you well on your path to a happy sleep.

I am still looking for my sleep on a regular basis.


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## Claire (Dec 13, 2010)

Casper, as I said, I do not have to get up and go to work in the morning, and haven't for a number of years.  It makes insomnia so much more easy to deal with.  No pressure.  Bucky; leaving things on and running backfired on me one year when the sewer pipes froze.  So I paid for all that extra water that was in the sinks, toilets, not to mention floors.  It is no biggie for me to just get up when I'm awake anyway and run the water and flush the toilet.  Since our freeze-prone back rooms (kitchen and downstairs bath/laundry room) are all together, if I sleep downstairs, when I "naturally" wake at 3 a.m. (as I already did), I simply start a load of laundry, go to the bathroom.  It gets the water in the house moving and offsets a lot of problems. You don't want to hear about the mess when the sewer pipe froze, it was truly ugly and had my friends laughing for hours.


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## CasperImproved (Dec 13, 2010)

Claire said:


> Casper, as I said, I do not have to get up and go to work in the morning, and haven't for a number of years.  It makes insomnia so much more easy to deal with.  No pressure.  Bucky; leaving things on and running backfired on me one year when the sewer pipes froze.  So I paid for all that extra water that was in the sinks, toilets, not to mention floors.  It is no biggie for me to just get up when I'm awake anyway and run the water and flush the toilet.  Since our freeze-prone back rooms (kitchen and downstairs bath/laundry room) are all together, if I sleep downstairs, when I "naturally" wake at 3 a.m. (as I already did), I simply start a load of laundry, go to the bathroom.  It gets the water in the house moving and offsets a lot of problems. You don't want to hear about the mess when the sewer pipe froze, it was truly ugly and had my friends laughing for hours.




I think I know well the issue we share. I've yet to sleep since last I posted.

I have not used an alarm clock in the last four years. No need. I sleep for only one or two hours before being fully awake again. I consider it a treat when I have a dream. I've even been reading up on lucid dreaming in the hopes I can participate in them once in a while.

Sweet dreams my friend. I will keep you in my prayers. Even something as small as the lack of sleep is an issue I wouldn't wish on anyone.

Casper


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## Zhizara (Dec 13, 2010)

I too love to dream.  Some are so vivid I'm sure it is reality.  To prove reality/non reality, I ask myself (in my dream) how did I arrive here?  did I drive, take a bus, ride with someone.  If I can't answer, it's a dream.  Kinda fun.  Once I realize it's a dream, then I can choose to stay in the dream, or wake up.


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## taxlady (Dec 13, 2010)

Zhizara said:


> I too love to dream.  Some are so vivid I'm sure it is reality.  To prove reality/non reality, I ask myself (in my dream) how did I arrive here?  did I drive, take a bus, ride with someone.  If I can't answer, it's a dream.  Kinda fun.  Once I realize it's a dream, then I can choose to stay in the dream, or wake up.



I once had a dream that was weird enough that I asked myself if I was dreaming. So, I pinched myself and couldn't feel it. I was surprised that it worked and woke up *in the dream.* I had to wake up a second time to be really awake.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Dec 13, 2010)

Has anyone ever been woke up by a distressing dream and when you go back to sleep you are back in the same dream? 

This happened to me 4 times one night and each time I would sit up for at least 30 minutes before going back to sleep.  The proof I was awake each time was in the ashtray and the empty glasses the next morning.


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## Claire (Dec 13, 2010)

Oh, yes; been there, done that.  Sometimes a source of the insomnia.  If it is a nightmare, and I keep falling back into it, I just get up and do some boring tedious house chore or read a book, which will re-set my mind.  My poor husband actually has pulled me out of more screaming nightmares than I'm sure he'd like.  It's only every year or so, but when they happen they're so real that I shake for hours after.

One ENT specialist took one look at my ears (it was when I was about 30 and had to fly from Virginia to Hawaii and needed to get rid of an ear-ache).  He looked and laughed.  This is funny?  "Did you have bad nightmares as a child, and do you have problems with balance?"  Yup.  "No wonder.  Your eardrums are so scarred that I'm surprised your hearing is good."  He told me that bad nightmares are associated with childhood ear infections.  Huh.  Never heard that before, and don't think I have since.  But when I mention it to friends with youngsters, they blink and then say, hey, that makes sense.  One kid has bad nightmares, the other not, and the one who does is the earache prone one.  Anyone else hear about this?  (Don't have kids myself).


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## PrincessFiona60 (Dec 13, 2010)

I have at least one ear infection a year.  I used to have screamers, but now they are just distressing or so realistic that I am mad at Shrek when I wake up...takes me a while to realize it was a dream and he had nothing to do with it.


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## Zhizara (Dec 13, 2010)

When waking up after returning to the same dream, I turn over so more blood gets to the other side of my head.  It sounds strange, but it works for me.


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## fricassee (Dec 24, 2010)

Another insomniac here.  Have had it for about 20 years but it has become worse the past 3 as I have intense chronic back pain that is disabling.  I can never escape the pain, even at night, so take Zopiclone every few nights.  That, however, is not a guarantee.  There are many nights I literally do not fall asleep - the worst was 12 nights in a row and I was so jittery and scared I went to the hospital just to be given something and to sleep.  I was afraid my organs would start shutting down.

Funny thing is, when I sleep well (rare) I awake feeling refreshed and have all kinds of energy.  Those are fabulous days!  Of course I need sleep so badly so my back can rejuvenate overnight as well.  What a crazy cycle!  It doesn't help that we have incredibly inconsiderate neighbours who play music on a huge sound system in their (open) garage a few nights per week for several hours (our house is literally 12 feet from theirs).  The police have fined them over and over.  Long story.  It makes me perpetually tense.  We are looking into moving.  Sigh...

Maybe tonight will be one of the good nights!


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## Zhizara (Dec 24, 2010)

I feel your pain, Friccassee.  It's nice to be able to spend some time here at DC in the middle of the night.  It helps with the back pain and is pleasantly distracting.  It also helps if you like to read.


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## fricassee (Dec 24, 2010)

Thankfully I am blessed with a vast culinary library and I LOVE to read!  That really helps.  

BTW, I have asked that "fricasse" be changed to "fricassee" as it should be - I inadvertently left off the second "e"!!  That little detail bugs me...


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## Claire (Dec 25, 2010)

I know some of you will probably not believe that I try to stay off the computer when I'm up at o'dark-thirty.  Much as I love it, I'm not going to fall asleep sitting in the chair in front of my desk, in front of my computer.  On the other hand, with a book, I can drop off.  I don't turn TV on because of the volumes. I mean I can watch something that might be soothing, then a commercial or a part of the movie with "great" sound effects will come up, and blast me our of my sleep.  

Soothing, soothing, is what you're looking for.  Computer games, even this, is just not exactly going to get you an hour of sleep.


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## Zhizara (Dec 25, 2010)

Claire said:


> I know some of you will probably not believe that I try to stay off the computer when I'm up at o'dark-thirty.  Much as I love it, I'm not going to fall asleep sitting in the chair in front of my desk, in front of my computer.  On the other hand, with a book, I can drop off.  I don't turn TV on because of the volumes. I mean I can watch something that might be soothing, then a commercial or a part of the movie with "great" sound effects will come up, and blast me our of my sleep.
> 
> Soothing, soothing, is what you're looking for.  Computer games, even this, is just not exactly going to get you an hour of sleep.



Oh, Claire I do relate.  Sometimes, especially lately, I get little bed sleep and that is so sporadic. 

Ever since I got this little cold, I have not slept in bed much at all.  I toss, turn, dream, but no more than a few minutes at a time.  Get up, go to the bathroom, sit up, look for something on TV, check DC.  If late enough, like 2:30, make some coffee.  

Surprisingly, a cup of coffee can let me sleep for a couple of hours in the early AM.  Go figure.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Dec 25, 2010)

We finally got our CD player (25 CD magazine) set up with a tuner and speakers.  All of our soothing music is on it...I'm going to set it on "shuffle" and hopefully sleep.


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## Zhizara (Dec 25, 2010)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> We finally got our CD player (25 CD magazine) set up with a tuner and speakers.  All of our soothing music is on it...I'm going to set it on "shuffle" and hopefully sleep.



Nighty Night, Sweet Princess:

Good Night, Sleep Tight.  DON'T let the bedbugs bite.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Dec 25, 2010)

Zhizara said:


> Nighty Night, Sweet Princess:
> 
> Good Night, Sleep Tight. DON'T let the bedbugs bite.


 
It was quite nice, we like to listen to Celtic music going to sleep.  I don't remember any dream and I woke up feelings very rested.  Now if I could figure out how to wake up without every joint in my body aching...


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## Zhizara (Dec 25, 2010)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> It was quite nice, we like to listen to Celtic music going to sleep.  I don't remember any dream and I woke up feelings very rested.  Now if I could figure out how to wake up without every joint in my body aching...



You'll need to practice that one Princess.  It gets worse and worse.

Can you imagine my surprise one day when my middle knuckle just brushed the cabinet, as I was opening it, and the pain was just heart stoppingly painful for a good 20 seconds.  Yet I can crochet, easily?

My back has been behaving mostly, lately, but the cold is not being nice.  My cheekbones HURT.  I tried getting a washcloth as hot as possible to loosen up the mucus, not to mention the tightness in my upper chest.  Not having much fun physically.

I am enjoying the dinners you are all having, the joy of being with family reaches me here.

Back to the weather:  One big angry thunderbolt and then nothing.  The sky is white.  Not even a smidgeon of blue, but it's early yet.  The weather can change here in the blink of an eye.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Dec 25, 2010)

Zhizara said:


> You'll need to practice that one Princess. It gets worse and worse.
> 
> Can you imagine my surprise one day when my middle knuckle just brushed the cabinet, as I was opening it, and the pain was just heart stoppingly painful for a good 20 seconds. Yet I can crochet, easily?
> 
> ...


 
One of my avenues for pain relief is verboten...I can't take Ibuprofen(Advil) anymore as it interacts with a prescription med.  I guess I'm going to resort to menthol based rubs. The med my doc gave me to replace to ibuprofen has been pulled from the market...

We have a saying here...if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes.


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## taxlady (Dec 25, 2010)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> One of my avenues for pain relief is verboten...I can't take Ibuprofen(Advil) anymore as it interacts with a prescription med.  I guess I'm going to resort to menthol based rubs. The med my doc gave me to replace to ibuprofen has been pulled from the market...
> 
> We have a saying here...if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes.



Can't you take aspirin? That's what I use, since ibuprofen and acetaminophen don't work on me.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Dec 25, 2010)

taxlady said:


> Can't you take aspirin? That's what I use, since ibuprofen and acetaminophen don't work on me.


 
Aspirin is an NSAID, the same as Ibuprofen (with the same interaction) and a blood thinner...I have problems with bloody noses that won't stop when I take aspirin.  I do take acetaminophen, Arthritis strength, but it doesn't help with all of the joint pain.  I'm trying to stay away from prescription meds, but it looks like mild narcotics are my only choice at this point...Darvocet was the one taken off the market and it was working well for me.


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## Rocklobster (Dec 25, 2010)

I like to practice Raja Yoga a bit.  I try to clear my mind of all thought by focusing on a small black hole, which I create in my mind. It takes practice. It works for me most of the time, but sometimes it doesn't. Its the thinking, or stressing, that keeps me awake.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Dec 25, 2010)

Rocklobster said:


> I like to practice Raja Yoga a bit. I try to clear my mind of all thought by focusing on a small black hole, which I create in my mind. It takes practice. It works for me most of the time, but sometimes it doesn't. Its the thinking, or stressing, that keeps me awake.


 
When my thoughts won't stop, I imagine I am in an elevator and watching the numbers light up from 1-100, one at a time...if I don't make it by the time I hit 100, I go back down...I rarely make it to 40 going up...along with this is paying attention to your breathing...inhale (1) exhale, inhale (2) exhale, etc.


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## Zhizara (Dec 25, 2010)

taxlady said:


> Can't you take aspirin? That's what I use, since ibuprofen and acetaminophen don't work on me.



Yes, I did and I feel a lot better now.  With all the pains I have, I keep antihistamine, aspirin, ibuprophen, naproxen sodium and acetamenaphen on hand.  Some work for some pains, some are useless at times.  I try not to over do it with any of them, because more is not better.

The back had been being so good that I went a couple of days lately without anything.

Of course, I completely forgot to get some TheraFlu for the cold, but shopping on the 23rd of December at Walmart was a trip.

Honestly, I'll be glad when the holidays are over.  I just want my life back to boring, dependable, normal.


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## msmofet (Dec 25, 2010)

I have been suffered from insomnia since I was a teen. I have gone 2 days with only 2 or 3 hours sleep. What REALLY (yes I am screaming LIVID) is when people say insomnia is a caused but mental illness such as manic/depressive bi-ploar blah blah blah!! I hate people that don't have a problem don't want to or refuse to accept that this is a ailment on it's own!!

I have learned that if I can't sleep it is better for me to just get up and do something rather than just lie there trying to go to sleep. This just causes me frustration which doesn't help me get sleepy. I sometimes feel sleepy but can't fall asleep or I just don't feel sleepy at all. This is a plus when on vacation I can drive for hours without being sleepy. Plus everyone else sleeps and allows me to listen to my music!! LOL One time while driving to AZ I drove 23 hours straight with just food and potty breaks. Then I took a 24 hour rest stop and got about 8 hours sleep.

BTW I have found that going on the computer helps me sleep. I have gotten naps at my laptop and woke up with my mouse in my hand!! LOL


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## Zhizara (Dec 25, 2010)

msmofet said:


> I have been suffered from insomnia since I was a teen. I have gone 2 days with only 2 or 3 hours sleep. What REALLY (yes I am screaming LIVID) is when people say insomnia is a caused but mental illness such as manic/depressive bi-ploar blah blah blah!! I hate people that don't have a problem don't want to or refuse to accept that this is a ailment on it's own!!
> 
> I have learned that if I can't sleep it is better for me to just get up and do something rather than just lie there trying to go to sleep. This just causes me frustration which doesn't help me get sleepy. I sometimes feel sleepy but can't fall asleep or I just don't feel sleepy at all. This is a plus when on vacation I can drive for hours without being sleepy. Plus everyone else sleeps and allows me to listen to my music!! LOL One time while driving to AZ I drove 23 hours straight with just food and potty breaks. Then I took a 24 hour rest stop and got about 8 hours sleep.
> 
> BTW I have found that going on the computer helps me sleep. I have gotten naps at my laptop and woke up with my mouse in my hand!! LOL



Thank you for your post.  I too am learning that it is better just to get up.  I'm so glad to have DC.  I can catch up with people I've learned to love here.

I may stay up from 11pm to 6am, then I can usually catch a nap.  Coffee usually sends me to sleep.  I know it sounds crazy, but coffee is like a comfort food.  When I take that nap, I'm ready to start my day.

I try to let my body decide what it wants me to do.  

I love being retired and living alone.  I'm no longer at the mercy of anyone's schedule.  I can stay up all night visiting with my friends here on DC and take a two hour nap in this comfortable recliner.

MsMofet, don't let it get to you.  You are suffering from sleep deprivation.  It will make you crazy.  The more you want and need to sleep will stress you so that you can't sleep.

Also, my friend, the emotions of the holiday are affecting you and everyone else.  

Have a peaceful Christmas.  TBC


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## PrincessFiona60 (Dec 25, 2010)

Many of my Insomnia problems stopped when I went to nightshifts...seems I am a night owl!  I have a hard time going to bed early now I'm on dayshifts, everyone says I'll get used to it, but it's not happening.  To get back on my sleep schedule for work I have to knock myself out the first night.  Staying on the sleep schedule doesn't work!


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## Claire (Dec 26, 2010)

My husband has been rather puzzled (we're now retired, ages 55 (me) and 63 (him)) to actually realize the toll that insomnia takes.  He, like almost everyone in my life, thinks that if they wake up a couple of times in the night and take a pee, then take more than 10 minutes to go back to sleep, they haven't slept a wink.  Huh?  He was also used to, without really knowing it (at this point we've been sharing a bed for almost 30 years) that I could, in days of yore, get by quite easily on three hours of sleep a night.  I'd get up and move on, and household chores would magically be done when he woke up, and I'd still work a 40+ hour week.  At 55 I can function with those 3 hour nights, but they do catch up with me after a few days.  _But I do NOT have to go to work in the morning._  He'll wake up and wonder why I don't want to drive a few miles through snow and ice to run a simple errand or go to my exercise class.  He's continually puzzled that what _used to be_ my "down time" (about 3 p.m., give or take), used to be when I was sluggish, now has turned into a nap if I don't get up and move (i.e., if I'm doing my favorite thing, reading a book in my recliner).  In my teens, 20s, 30s, 40s, I could go several days on 3 hours a night (and at that rate, not even consistently.  In other words 3 hours might be an hour after I fall asleep at night, and two more just after midnight).  This all worked to my advantage when young.  But now, thank heaven, I don't _have_ to do anything.  So when I can't sleep I pick up a book.  I used to do boring house cleaning chores, but I did get a little tired of a husband who seemed to believe that the good house fairy was at work when he was asleep!


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## licia (Dec 26, 2010)

I've had a bit of a sleeping problem for years and even had a sleep study done, which only resulted in the advice to sew a tennis ball in the back of my gown or pj's so I wouldn't sleep on my back. I never sleep on my back anyway - on one side or the other.
My problem is that sometimes I wake up and can't go back to sleep for quite a while - then feel a bit sluggish the next day. Many times I can go for several weeks without the problem, but then a few nights in a row - I stay awake again. No reason that I can determine.
I've developed another strange thing lately: in the evening right about now (around 5pm) I start feeling stuffy and allergic. To what, I don't know, but it doesn't seem to matter where I am - it starts. Another sign of aging, I suppose.


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## joesfolk (Dec 26, 2010)

I went through a bad time a couple of years ago.  Just couldn't sleep.  Then a friend told me that her doctor recommended that she take one dose of Benedryl at night, just the cheapest stuff she could find.  I tried it and I'll be darned the stuff actually worked.  Now it's not going to do anything for pain but you might try it for a few nights to see if it makes a difference for you.  It's cheap and might help.


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## fricassee (Dec 26, 2010)

Benadryl does help many people; unfortunately I am not one of them.  However, as I am at home due to chronic back pain (I just teach cooking classes the odd time when I am able) and cannot work, I do not panic as I do not have to be "on" or "alert" at a workplace.  However, as I have physiotherapy, massage, acupuncture, etc. so often I must be alert to drive to my appointments.

My Mom has told me that I needed far less sleep than others as a child.  Now I am extremely fortunate to get from 2-4 hours a night.  Sometimes 0 hours.  Sometimes 6.  I function very well with about 4-6 excellent hours as opposed to 8 icky hours.  As my chronic insomnia is partially pain related I have been referred to a chronic pain specialist but the waiting list is 6-12 months (like most other specialists in Alberta).  Sigh...

Still praying for that miracle!


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## msmofet (Dec 26, 2010)

Claire said:


> My husband has been rather puzzled (we're now retired, ages 55 (me) and 63 (him)) to actually realize the toll that insomnia takes. He, like almost everyone in my life, thinks that if they wake up a couple of times in the night and take a pee, then take more than 10 minutes to go back to sleep, they haven't slept a wink. Huh? He was also used to, without really knowing it (at this point we've been sharing a bed for almost 30 years) that I could, in days of yore, get by quite easily on three hours of sleep a night. I'd get up and move on, and household chores would magically be done when he woke up, and I'd still work a 40+ hour week. At 55 I can function with those 3 hour nights, but they do catch up with me after a few days. _But I do NOT have to go to work in the morning._ He'll wake up and wonder why I don't want to drive a few miles through snow and ice to run a simple errand or go to my exercise class. He's continually puzzled that what _used to be_ my "down time" (about 3 p.m., give or take), used to be when I was sluggish, now has turned into a nap if I don't get up and move (i.e., if I'm doing my favorite thing, reading a book in my recliner). In my teens, 20s, 30s, 40s, I could go several days on 3 hours a night (and at that rate, not even consistently. In other words 3 hours might be an hour after I fall asleep at night, and two more just after midnight). This all worked to my advantage when young. But now, thank heaven, I don't _have_ to do anything. So when I can't sleep I pick up a book. I used to do boring house cleaning chores, but I did get a little tired of a husband who seemed to believe that the good house fairy was at work when he was asleep!


 OMG!! You just described by life to a tee!! Up till I was 46 I could go with maybe 3 hours sleep in a 24 hour day and function - 40+ a week job, 2 kids cooking etc. Now I don't work so it is easier not having to work but hub complains blah blah blah he works nights so he just thinks that when he walks in the door at 8 AM and I am awake that I got a nights sleep and just woke up!! I get you were home why didn't you sleep?


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## PrincessFiona60 (Dec 26, 2010)

msmofet said:


> OMG!! You just described by life to a tee!! Up till I was 46 I could go with maybe 3 hours sleep in a 24 hour day and function - 40+ a week job, 2 kids cooking etc. Now I don't work so it is easier not having to work but hub complains blah blah blah he works nights so he just thinks that when he walks in the door at 8 AM and I am awake that I got a nights sleep and just woke up!! I get you were home why didn't you sleep?


 
It's 6 pm my time and I am just now feeling perky enough to start running around and cleaning, cooking, etc.  Shrek is beginning his wind-down for sleep.  I know my neighbors do not enjoy the vacuum at 2 am...  I think I will do some cleaning and maybe come up with something to eat!


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## Claire (Dec 26, 2010)

Oh, another goodie?  Some nights I'll be reading, and fall asleep.  Jerk myself awake, just to nod off again.  So I'll take my sorry butt up to bed and .... wide awake.  I read myself back to sleepiness, and when I drop my book, it wakes me.  Take of my glasses, put the book away, maybe get up to pee, and wide awake for the rest of the night, after a whopping hour of sleep, taken in 15 minute increments.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Dec 26, 2010)

Claire said:


> Oh, another goodie? Some nights I'll be reading, and fall asleep. Jerk myself awake, just to nod off again. So I'll take my sorry butt up to bed and .... wide awake. I read myself back to sleepiness, and when I drop my book, it wakes me. Take of my glasses, put the book away, maybe get up to pee, and wide awake for the rest of the night, after a whopping hour of sleep, taken in 15 minute increments.


 
That's the very reason I finally quite reading in bed.  What I want to know, is why I can drop off sitting here upright at the computer, but lay awake forever.


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## msmofet (Dec 26, 2010)

Claire said:


> Oh, another goodie? Some nights I'll be reading, and fall asleep. Jerk myself awake, just to nod off again. So I'll take my sorry butt up to bed and .... wide awake. I read myself back to sleepiness, and when I drop my book, it wakes me. Take of my glasses, put the book away, maybe get up to pee, and wide awake for the rest of the night, after a whopping hour of sleep, taken in 15 minute increments.


 You are scaring me!! The only difference is that I usually sleep in the recliner due to a damaged foot that needs to be elevated and back and joint pains that make lying flat painful and pinch the sciatic (SP) nerve.


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## Claire (Dec 26, 2010)

Oh, now we're really getting creepy; or perhaps an insomniac is an insomniac, wherever they may be.  I often sleep in my lazy-boy, and I broke my foot last spring, so it really worked better.  Tonight hubby has a cold, so I'm not even thinking of going up to bed.  The recliner will work better.  But I often get up at 3 a.m. and come downstairs and sit with a book in the wee hours, then sleep for an hour or two just as the sun rises.


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## msmofet (Dec 26, 2010)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> That's the very reason I finally quite reading in bed. What I want to know, is why I can drop off sitting here upright at the computer, but lay awake forever.


 I often fall asleep in my recliner with my laptop in my lap on a tray and a cool mat and I wake up with my mouse in my hand!!


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## PrincessFiona60 (Dec 27, 2010)

msmofet said:


> I often fall asleep in my recliner with my laptop in my lap on a tray and a cool mat and I wake up with my mouse in my hand!!


 
I've fallen asleep writing, with a pen in my hand, and my writing gets smaller and smaller until~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


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## msmofet (Dec 27, 2010)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I've fallen asleep writing, with a pen in my hand, and my writing gets smaller and smaller until~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


 LOL


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