msventoux
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Post by msventoux on Oct 19, 2014 23:14:17 GMT -5
msventoux? I was told Ambien isn't habit-forming. At least I think that's what he said. At the time, I would have eaten battery acid if I thought it would get me to sleep so it's possible I might not have listened closely enough. I don't remember if it's habit-forming or not, but I had a relative on it and he would routinely get up during the night and do stuff and have no recollection of it. His wife ended up not sleeping well because she had to be aware of what he was doing. He finally went off of it. I was there one time when he came out sleepwalking and it was really weird. He heated something up on the stove and left it, then walked out of the house, left the door open and tried to walk down the street. He had no idea the next day he'd done any of it and had never had any problem with sleepwalking before. During it he was completely non-responsive. It's scary enough to do that and have someone there to keep you in line, but I'm generally alone so if it happened to me who knows what I might end up doing or where I might end up.
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Green Eyed Lady
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Look inna eye! Always look inna eye!
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Post by Green Eyed Lady on Oct 19, 2014 23:19:47 GMT -5
I live alone so I don't know if this happens to me or not! I haven't awakened in a strange place or anything, but I guess I can't be sure something doesn't happen. That COULD explain what happened to my container of chocolate chip cookies.
Medication affects everyone differently. I guess I've just been lucky.
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cronewitch
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Post by cronewitch on Oct 20, 2014 10:01:38 GMT -5
I forget to go to bed. I normally fall asleep in seconds but wake several times because I drink a lot late. I think waking several times keeps me from getting stiff and I fall right back to sleep. But nights like last night I am so tired I want a nap so went to be like at 7 to rest but didn't sleep then back to bed around 1AM but my alarm goes off at 6:30 so now tired again. I overslept my alarm so didn't actually wake all the way up until 7:15 when my handyman comes at 8:00 so had to rush. He will be here until 4 so no nap, but I will get all new blinds today and maybe a new door and some little things.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on Oct 20, 2014 10:16:02 GMT -5
Get a newborn or 2--that'll help you fall asleep! From my experience, there's nothing like extended sleep deprivation to help with falling asleep. But seriously, I've had this problem since I was a kid. It gets better and worse depending on what all's going on in my life and how much caffeine I drink. (and newborns in the house) Discussed this problem with my mom's Dr., as she tends to have sleep troubles when she doesn't take her Ativan. (Actually, the Ativan works great, but that's pretty extreme.) He said Kava Kava, Valerian Root and Melatonin - 5 mg. The melatonin is supposed to help with falling asleep and the other(s?) help with staying asleep. He's a really good Dr.., so it's worth a try. My mom still prefers to just take her Ativan, so whatever works. My DH has used those. He's kinda into the more natural remedies the last couple of years. Someone is selling these in tube containers similar in size to a chapstick. I'm about to put eggcrate foam on my not quite 5 year old's bed, in the hopes that will help him sleep in his bed all night instead of crawling in with me! He does have an old mattress but he still has accidents in his bed at night so no new mattress for now for him.
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Chocolate Lover
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Post by Chocolate Lover on Oct 20, 2014 10:49:42 GMT -5
When all else fails for me, I create some quiet calm place in my head that has absolutely nothing to do with my life. Soon as I shift my focus from whatever is running in circles in my head to hanging out with Puff the Magic Dragon or whatever, I'm out. I can't do visualization of simple stuff like the alphabet or clouds, the racing thoughts intrude. Telling myself a story makes me concentrate on it and BAM! I'm out.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Oct 20, 2014 11:36:00 GMT -5
I've got nothing, things that should make me sleep don't. Benadryl, OTC PM sleep aids, narcotic painkillers, and muscle relaxers don't put me out. And sleeping is even more fun since I was injured. I avoid narcotics at night most of the time because I will wake up every 90 minutes and the next day is just hell.
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ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ
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♡ ♡ BᏋՆᎥᏋᏉᏋ ♡ ♡
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Post by ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ on Oct 21, 2014 0:44:16 GMT -5
Try some OTC Unisom gel-caps if you can get them in your area.
I have prescrips, but the Unisom is far cheaper and more effective for a good night's sleep (when needed) I have them on hand to use in a pinch.
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siralynn
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Post by siralynn on Oct 21, 2014 1:23:35 GMT -5
I usually fall asleep ok, but I wake up a lot in the middle of the night. I mostly blame the cats who like to walk across my head purring at all hours and often decide it's time for food at 3am. And also my body has gotten used to having to pee in the middle of the night. Annoying! Toddler usually doesn't wake in the middle of the night anymore, but usually gets me up at least once a week. I usually don't resort to any sleep aids unless I'm sick.
In grad school, I often had trouble falling asleep because I couldn't shut my brain off and was so stressed. I went through a period of time where I needed the TV on at very low volumes in order to fall asleep. Somehow, listening to Sports Center would stop the circling thoughts long enough to fall asleep.
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Abby Normal
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Post by Abby Normal on Oct 21, 2014 10:45:16 GMT -5
When I get stressed, I can fall asleep but not stay asleep. When I get into that cycle, melatonin helps if it's mild. But when it's really bad, I just get up and watch tv. Contrary to all advice, it's what works for me. When my brain is spinning, tv will take my mind off it (and there isn't a whole lot on a 2 am). I don't watch good shows, just whatever crap happens to be on .
After about 30 minutes I can feel my brain starting to settle. I'll wait about 15 more minutes and go back to bed. Otherwise, I just toss and turn all night long.
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Spellbound454
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Post by Spellbound454 on Oct 21, 2014 11:11:55 GMT -5
I just need less sleep than I used to.... so seldom go to bed until the early hours.....then up at 6 I'll read until I'm tired... then doze off.
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Angel!
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Post by Angel! on Oct 21, 2014 11:25:57 GMT -5
I use to have horrible problems sleeping. Now it isn't so bad, but I think I've been sleep deprived for years due to kids.
I use benedryl at times. I also have certain shows that I have seen a million times that I call my "sleep shows". They are shows that either aren't that interesting or I have seen often enough that I won't try to stay awake to finish them. Basically have trained myself that when one of those shows is on, then fall asleep. That started by accident when I was pregnant with DS1 & couldn't sleep. Started watching futurama every single night when I had insomnia. At some point it became that if I put on futurama I would be out in just a few minutes & it has been like that ever since. Now I'm not sure if I could stay awake through an episode.
My neighbor went on one of those only meat, fruit, & veggie diets. No carbs or sugar for 30 days. She said the biggest thing she noticed is she had way more energy during the day & she can't remember having slept so good in years. So diet change might be worth trying.
I really like DQs alphabet, I will have to try that sometime. When I was younger, I use to do either math in my head or alphabetize stuff. I don't know if it really helped or just relieved the boredom of lying in bed when not sleepy.
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movingforward
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Post by movingforward on Oct 21, 2014 12:26:37 GMT -5
I don't sleep as well as I used to. I think it happens with age. Some nights I sleep well and other nights not so much. An exercise routine helps a lot. Like Angel said diet is a factor as well. I haven't cut out all carbs or sugar but I try not to eat those things past 3PM. I try and eat only protein for dinner and it does seem to help. I also try not to think about work once I leave the office. It is hard but I am getting better at it. I think one reason society has such a hard time sleeping is the fact that there is no separation between work and home these days. We are accessible 24 hrs a day and IMHO it does not support a healthy lifestyle.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2014 13:05:56 GMT -5
msventoux? I was told Ambien isn't habit-forming. At least I think that's what he said. At the time, I would have eaten battery acid if I thought it would get me to sleep so it's possible I might not have listened closely enough. I refused to try Ambien and the like, because of all the things I'd heard people do when they take it and I just don't like taking "unnecessary" medicine. Then I was up for 3 days straight and I didn't care if somebody knocked me out, if it meant I could get some rest. Ambien did absolutely nothing for me. When I first tried Lunesta, it was like a miracle to wake up feeling refreshed and ready for the day. It had been so many years since that had happened, I'd forgotten what it felt like. I was so happy I wanted to go hug my Doctor. But even Lunesta didn't always help me sleep through the night. I don't have a problem falling asleep, I sleep for about 3 hours, then I doze at best until it's time to get up. It's very frustrating. I haven't done anything really weird on Lunesta, the only thing is that DD learned that if she has to wake me up soon after I fall asleep, just because I talk like I have some sense and seem like I'm addressing whatever the issue is, it doesn't mean I'm actually awake. One night she woke me up because there was a man outside her bedroom window. By the time she got me up, we could see him walking down the street away from my house. I called her brother to see if he'd been to the house and it wasn't him. Then I went back to bed. She mentioned that night about a week later and I had no idea what she was talking about. When she told me what had happened, I had a very vague memory of seeing somebody walking down the street, but that was it. I went through my phone and I did make a short call to my son after midnight that night, but I didn't even remember talking to him. A man at one of my windows would freak me out under normal circumstances; I obviously was in some kind of twilight zone and DD thought I just wasn't all that concerned about it. I've followed all the usual advice about improving the quality of your sleep. I even went so far as to try the feng-shui idea about removing mirrors from your bedroom. None of it helped. Sometimes, if my mind is bouncing all over the place, I "meditate". I know the purpose of meditating is not to fall asleep, but if I lay there and try to focus on my breathing instead of all the random thoughts bouncing around in my head, I usually fall asleep. Then I wake up again soon.
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movingforward
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Post by movingforward on Oct 21, 2014 13:59:16 GMT -5
My aunt used to take Ambien until she found out she was raiding the fridge in the middle of the night without her knowledge. About 4 yrs ago I went to visit her and got up around 3AM to use the bathroom. She has a fairly small house and I heard some noise coming from the kitchen. I found her in the fridge eating peanut butter cups. It was around the holidays and everyone had decided we liked cold peanut butter cups so when we were cleaning up from dinner the night before we put them in the fridge. She was eating them and throwing the wrappers on the counter. I didn't say anything to her and just went back to bed. The next morning she was questioning everyone about who ate all the peanut butter cups and didn't even bother to throw away the wrappers. After telling her what happened her husband jumped in and said he woke up one night and found her eating yogurt from the fridge. She was mad because he never told her. He said he assumed she WANTED to eat yogurt in the middle of the night
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2014 14:28:16 GMT -5
Another thing I learned, when I was super stressed out, some nights I couldn't sleep because I'd be worrying and trying to figure out some of my problems, or going over things I needed to do to. I started keeping a pen and some paper on my nightstand. When I couldn't sleep because I was stressing, I'd write down short/quick "notes" so I could let it go and stop dwelling on it and worrying that I was missing something or would forget something. That would help ease some of the anxiety that was keeping me awake. The note would still be there the next day for me to think about it then or remind me of whatever I didn't want to forget.
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kittensaver
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Post by kittensaver on Oct 21, 2014 14:28:59 GMT -5
Okay, the weedy-tweedy granola-crunching hippie is weighing in here!
Just in case you'd like some alternatives, try:
from Aromatherapy - lavender, chamomile
from Flower Essences (Bach) -White Chestnut or Rescue Sleep
from homeopathy - coffea cruda
from herbal medicine - valerian (capsules or tea)
And of course, always remember that not every THING works for every PERSON - that's why there are so many alternatives out there. Wishing you luck in finding the "thing" that works for you.
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Angel!
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Post by Angel! on Oct 21, 2014 14:30:25 GMT -5
One more thought - if your mind keeps bouncing all over the place, you could try writing or making lists. It helps me turn off the non-stop chatter in my brain if I get it all out.
This is especially true if I know I have a million things to remember to do the next day. I will keep going over & over the list in my mind & won't be able to sleep. But, if I write it down, then it is like all the stress of knowing I couldn't forget anything is lifted & my brain is able to shut off. It helps me also if I am just stressed about something to just free-write about it & just get it off my chest. It is like writing makes my brain happy because it knows it has been heard or something IDK, but it totally works for me.
ETA - I see Pink said the same thing
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violagirl
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Post by violagirl on Oct 21, 2014 14:45:36 GMT -5
The issue in my house is that my husband and I have totally different sleep patterns. I wouldn't call him an "insomniac", but he definitely does not have a regular pattern for sleeping and I think that is part of his problem.
I go to bed at 9:30 most nights. I figure that way, if I do fall asleep early, then I'm already where I'm supposed to be. Sometimes it is closer to 11pm when I finish web surfing or reading. Once I put my sleep mask on, I'm generally out like a light. I also listen to podcasts in case I don't sleep right away. You have to have the right combination - something interesting, but not so interesting you want to stay away to listen. Usually, I'm asleep before they even get through the introduction to the podcasts. Music keeps me awake. So sleep mask is my recommendation. I call it the sensory deprivation chamber.
In my husband's case in addition to not having a general daily "bedtime", he uses the computer or watches TV before bed and he is definitely more of a night owl than the average person. He can stay awake and work all night, by 10pm you do not want me working on any of your stuff. My ability to be coherent deteriorates from there.
If you are one of those people that just naturally want to be awake later, maybe you just need to adjust your lifestyle to a job where you can go in for 10am. In my husbands case that is kind of what happened. Although his idea of a vacation - is sleeping all day.
Keeping pets out of the bedroom is unfortunately also helpful as they move around quite a bit and wake you up.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2014 14:54:30 GMT -5
I started sleeping better when I started walking everyday. Can't swear that this is the reason, but that's the only thing that changed
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