Insomnia, and NOTHING works to fix it. I am looking for those who might be able to offer their exp

The alarm goin' off when it's time to wake up always cures my insomnia. I've been trying to get on a regular sleep schedule, but it's all whacked out. unemployment and bill concerns are what keeps my mind busy. I probably don't have it near as bad as you but I feel ya, my sympathies.

reply to post by TheArchaeologist


I've had trouble sleeping since I was a small child. Nowadays, I usually walk for an hour then have a cup of camomile tea before retiring. Marijuana helps sometimes, as does a couple of glasses of red wine. Not to be crude, but a good shag beats any chemical remedy

Get off the pills!! I used to take ambien. Stuff damn near sent me loopy.

Good luck.

Laze

I used to have sleep problems as well. Until I learned how to meditate. I know that the books say "don't fall asleep", but that level of calmness and peace just make for a great nights sleep. Took me a little while to learn how to calm that inner voice. The trick I used was a quote from a book (don't remember which one) that said "that voice is like a spoiled child, you just have to put it back on track when it starts to wander. It's not used to being the one under control and throws a bit of a tantrum when you take the wheel".
Also, when I'm having a particularly hard time getting that inner "quiet", I find that concentrating on a simple, short phrase repeatedly usually helps. Usually I find myself trying a phrase that will help with lucid dreams and I go out rather quickly.
Not sure if any of that will help ya, but since I need 20 posts and have a slight opinion I thought "why the hell not"

Good luck and hope to see you in the dream world !!!!

Originally posted by chooselove
reply to post by bacci0909

 

I stopped smoking green 8 weeks ago

sleep better now than i ever did on that. different strokes for different folks.
Plus, i now dream again

DREAMS ROCK!!!

absolutely. I haven't smoked in almost a year. I fall asleep within minutes of deciding to, which is nice. I'd love to echo the dreams claim.. can't remember if that was the case for me soon after stopping weed..

My point was more about the absurdity of essentially saying 'I've tried everything, I'm out of ideas, I've taken dangerous amounts of sleeping pills, yet.. not interested in pot'. I'm not saying it would definitely work for them, but to simply say it doesn't interest them just seemed odd. It implied an all-too-common misconception that because the FDA approves man-concocted chemical pills, they're somehow safer or more morally conscionable than an ILLICIT DRUG ooooohh nnoooooo

I have not read all of the replies , I hope I am not double posting.
I have have found using Melatonin has helped me immensely (as well as a few bourbons before bed)..
I have suffered Insomnia most of my life and the melatonin has been a great help
see
www.umm.edu...

Having now read through all the comments posted so far i've got to put another comment. It seems as if a lot of people are advocating some form of medication - however there's one particular post that stood out for me. That of the Mental Health worker in NZ. Having tried to understand someone with a Bipolar diagnosis and in turn understanding myself, from my perspective most forms of anxiety and depression are connected to your body telling you that there is something wrong with your "self". I totally agree with the statement made that you need to get to the core of your problems. These so called mental issues/ailments are your body telling you to change.
It's like you know there is something wrong but you don't know what it is. You can only change if you want to - it is a journey of discovery, knowledge, learning understanding. If you dont want to change then you will continuously suffer with the ailments you have. If you do want to change, you will search high and low for any information that will aid in your personal journey, whether that be learning, therapy, meditation or anything else - you will explore all sorts of therapies out there, ask for help and guidance. If you succeed in getting as far along your journey as I have you will discover that essentially the only person that can "cure" you is you! Everybody has the ability inside them, but we spend so much time looking for answers outside that we neglect the most important thing in the world - our SELF. And even when you discover that you are only halfway there - as I am - because we have been programmed since birth by our parents, teachers, society that you have to, ought to, should do, this that and the other. And when you discover this, it goes against everything you have ever been taught or have ever learnt, which makes your progress even more difficult. You will find your friends dont understand you, your parents dont understand you even some Dr's and Psychiatrists wont understand you and you then feel like your going mad, and you know that the majority of people you come across will perceive you as mad too - which again slows your progress down - I could keep adding more and more but it would be about my own personal journey, which may or may not have any relevance to anyone else. The most important thing is to be able to have at least one person who will stand by you no matter what and offer you unconditional love - allow you to be you and communicate. Being able to communicate with someone that will not judge, criticize or belittle you can help immensely, good luck on you journey if you decide to change. One last thing, when I say change I mean absolutely everything and anything that will help you progress.

Anxiety kept me from sleeping for years. I still have the occasional night where I don't sleep at all, but these are less frequent now.

To keep it down in general, absolutely NO caffeine, period. When I cut my caffeine to zero I found that I slept better, slept differently. Cutting it off at noon didn't work. Caffeine does something bad to your entire system & interferes with your circadian rhythm.

Work out hard every day, as early in the day as possible. If I'm not a little exhausted I don't sleep. There's nothing worse than being mentally/emotionally wiped out & your body still wired.

Get up at the same time every single day. If I do the weekend sleep-in, I'm messed up all week. I have to get up at the same time every single day. If you're tired, go to bed earlier the next night. No napping.

Eat healthy. Vitamin deficiencies can make anxiety worse.

And go tell your doctor what you're doing with the meds. He can't help you if he doesn't know. I wish you the best.

All the things I mentioned take a bit of time. But I sleep most nights now, and I used to have maybe 1-2 decent nights per week. The caffeine was HUGE for me. Even one cup per day would trash my sleep.

Try the following:

Eat a heavy meal before bed (potatoes and turkey are a must! they both contain tryptophan which helps knock you out)
Take melatonin suppliments (your body secrets it anyway)
finally, Medicinal Marijuana has been shown to help.

Try a combination of all of the above along with the following: turn of all electronic stimuli for an hour before you goto bed.
read a book and turn off the lights for at least 15 minutes before bed time.

try getting piss blind drunk that'll be sure to put your lights out

You would be hyper alert after PTSD. (1) One help for insomnia is to wear earplugs. Cram them in really tight and block all noise. If and when you fall asleep, at least no stupid noises wake you up. Warning, after many years of wearing earplugs, from time to time I would get a minor ear infection. Put a few drops of food grade hydrogen peroxide in your ears and it clears right up. (2) Try avoiding the computer for a couple hours before you want to sleep. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that it messes up our sleep brain waves somehow - sorry, I can't remember the details. I know it's true for me, I have a hard time sleeping after net-surfing. (3) Another big help for insomnia is this: read the Bible. I know that sounds stupid to some people, or that I'm trying to push religion, but seriously, I started reading these last few years when I'm staring at the ceiling and desperate to fall asleep. Something is very calming and after hours laying awake trying to empty my mind, sometimes after just a paragraph or two I drift right to sleep. Warning: for me this only works for the New Testament (anything after the book of Matthew). I find the Old Testament sometimes winds me up, and just doesn't have the same effect. I've advised a few other people to try this, even if they are strictly non-religious and they say it works. (4) I also read once that some study showed it takes 20 minutes longer to fall asleep if your feet are cold... I warm mine up in hot water before bed if they feel cold.

I think you're just thinking about it too much. Its all in your head as they say. "I need to get to sleep now or this this and this will happen". Just close your eyes and clear your mind. Its natural.

Originally posted by ShadowZion
try getting piss blind drunk that'll be sure to put your lights out

...or this. lol.

Try taking a long flight that changes time zones about 8 hrs or more.
This may reset your biological clock and may cure your insomnia

Just reading all these replies with the contradictory advice has probably sent the OP into mind-numbing deep sleep

Only joking there has been a lot of good advice. I have suffered from insomnia for the past 18 months (always used to sleep like a log before) but a combination of stress and anxiety after a number of traumatic events (which caused a bad outbreak of eczema) meant that no matter what I tried (particularly antihistamines for the itch - really strong ones as well) nothing would work. Alcohol was ok for getting me to sleep but I would always wake up after a couple of hours and then that would be me awake again. And of course drinking alcohol every night is not good for you, and does in fact contribute to disturbed sleep.

Eventually my eczema got so bad I had to be admitted into hospital in April this year and as I have a massive fear of hospitals this sent me into an anxiety meltdown...They gave me 5mg of Diazepam (vallium) I totally relaxed, then as a result of being relaxed, then fell asleep...in a hospital, the one place I really didn't want to be. Another benefit was that my eczema improved as well and when I was discharged my GP prescribed me some more valium as it was obvious that had worked for me in reducing the stress. I took far less of them than was prescribed (they will only prescribe them for a max of 14 days as they are very addictive) so that I have a few spare for when I need them. But the joy of feeling relaxed and as such being able to sleep has allowed me to change my mindset and put everything into perspective, with the result that I have now been able to fall asleep without them. I did get a bit upset, stresed and anxious a couple of days ago, bizarrely enough by posting on here (I hadn't been posting for months, due to the anxiety) But when I got out of hospital (and moved house as well, a very stressful event, that went smoothly as I knew I would be able to relax again) I started posting again, my daughter was really pleased that I was doing normal stuff again, until I had a couple of really unwarranted, vile posts directed at me...sent me into an anxiety meltdown, so I logged off, took a valium, and just relaxed. I decided I wasn't going to let people on the internet put me in that position and logged back on (and got an apology from one of the posters) and have decided that I will only participate in threads that are not controversial and will just walk away from pointless arguments. *Something to remember posters...you never know what another person is going through, so think before you reply - and of course read their post thouroughly to make sure you have not misunderstood them!

So my advice is to ask your doctor about valium (though I would recommend detoxing from all of the other meds firsts) avoid stressful situations where possible ( I know this can be difficult, but if you can avoid them, then do) Understand that the past is the past, you can do nothing to change it and you cannot let it be your future, for you and your family's sake and take the advice of many on here regarding caffiene (avoid) and diet, making sure you have a good balanced diet and of course exercise.

Another good site I found is a hypnotherapist which before I had the valium did help quite a bit in at least helping my mind feel better if not my body (the itch drove me mad at night) all of his stuff is free and he has a good selection of audio and video for pain relief, stress and insomnia here is the link to his site Jason Newland

All the best and I hope that a combination of the advice here will help you to relax and finally get some much needed rest.

reply to post by TheArchaeologist


You could try aroma therapy,
buy some fresh or dried lavender and put it in muslin tie bags.
Hang it over your headboard and put some in your pillow case.
Lavender is a traditional natural plant proven to aid sleeplessness.

PEACE,
RK

Buy Valerian ROOT large bag, not teabag dust, get a tea ball or French press, take it an hour before bed.

Keep taking that for a while.


Herbs are great, and natural.

I do the same with Comfrey root and make my own mouth wash, Heals gums and teeth better than anything a dentist can give you.

www.baldwins.co.uk... for the UK is a good supplier of herbs, can get 500g bags or more of herbs to stick into a glass jar.
www.hollandandbarrett.com... has a good rewards system and buy when offers are on mostly, again the UK.

Alternatively find a local gardner who grows the herbs, or grow them yourself.

My wife is a Reiki Master and often has people that she treats in a deep sleep in about 10 mins, even in work environments - it's quite amazing really..

I'll ask her to send you some Reiki and if you call it in just before you go to bed and let us know if this helps at all

She may need to know a little about you, where you are in the world etc.. I'll check .. so if you are happy to let me know (you can U2U) then I'm sure she'd be happy to help..

My best to you

bB

I was a workaholic and have had insomnia on and off all my life. After being very ill last year I was prescribed Zopiclone and now - its a 'zop and flop' as my sons put it. In Europe our herbal and aromatherapy oil industries have all been hijacked by business interests. Tony Blair himself killed our small oil producers through his manipulation of the committee examining the suggestion of licensing aromatherapy oil producers.

Like many, I sometimes have trouble 'switching off' at bedtime. But these days I tend to start off listening to an all night talk radio programme. The discussion topics are enough to divert my busy mind but not enough to keep me awake. I'm asleep well within the first hour.

Originally posted by TheArchaeologist

The pharmacist says ambien and lunesta ARE the two most potent out there.....I am half afraid to ask the doctor again because he really is trying.

Anyone else had this problem? Did you find a drug that worked?

Thank you in advance!

And I would prefer no herbal remedies etc, not that I dont believe in them, but I am well past the strongest stuff out there.

A natural aid for insomnia, sex & masturbation

Im serious.

I am a rotten sleeper, too. The only thing that puts me to a solid sleep is seroquel 200mg which is by prescription only. Be careful if you decide to take it...it can have some nasty "hangover" effect in the mornings where the only thing that gets rid of it, is a quick nap. Do NOT take more than the recommended dosage. Even if it takes you a while to fall sleep. I usually listen to a podcast for about an hour after taking it before I fall asleep.
Good Luck!