insomnia

Have any of you experienced really severe insomnia? I've slept through the night, unmedicated, maybe 30 times in the last seven years. The past six months it's been particularly horrific, and what's worse is that my doc and I have tried 7 different sleep aids, and nothing gives me relief. Anybody been here? If so, have you found anything that helps? I'm losing my mind.

Wow! I have only been having trouble sleeping for almost three months. But, I am managing to get enough hours as not to but myself at risk at work. Although, my moods are still getting goofed up.
I hope you find something that works. It is hard to function without sleep. I know I was afraid that I might accidently hurt myself at work for awhile.
Do you have any mental health issues? My sleeping problem is more of a overreaction to stress (Adjustment Disorder). In college and childhood, I had trouble getting up in the morning and it was a symptom of Dysthymic Disorder. So, the mood disorders and anxiety disorders may affect sleep patterns.
I hope you find a solution to your problem.

Yeah, I have dysthymia with major depression. It's my third diagnosis, so who knows if it's really what I've got.

yea I can go for up to a week with no sleep just by slipping into my mental safe place.

How I get sleep now is that I take benedryl - Dyphenhydromine is a sleep chemicle found in most sleeping pills. And I use relaxation tapes. My therapist just made one with two of Bellruth Naparstaks relaxation exercises found in her new paperback book called Invisible Heros. Belleruth Naparstak has a website called healing jouneys. You can listen to sample recording there. The link is posted in the thread called - resources - in the dissociative Disorders message boards. It is pinned to the top there.

Other things that help me sleep is taking a long bath before bed, reading uninteresting textbooks..

Argh! I feel your frustration. I was on Ambien for about a week and slept great, then it stopped working. I was on Wellbutrin at the same time, which gave me even worse insomnia, so I was a total wreck. I refuse to use anything that's going to leave me hungover the next day or make me gain weight. Doc suggested antipsychotics. No way. I'd rather sleep poorly and rely on coffee the next day.

I still don't sleep straight through the night, but I find comfy, soft bedding, pillows, and mattress pads help. I always sleep better when I'm kind of nestled in (but I can't stand having arms and legs tossed over me by another person). I found a clock at a thrift shop for $1 with all kinds of nature sounds that helps too. It has a sleep timer, so you don't wake up to waterfalls or chirping birds in the middle of the night. I stole an idea from the my daughter and have some stuffed animals too. (I even bought a pretty big floppy lion to use like a body pillow, but my 12-y/o son used it one night and now he's unofficially adopted it. I can't blame him. It's so squishy and soft. LOL).

I've tried Benadryl, but the active ingredient in Unisom works better for me. Pdoc said not to use them because he says they cause rebound sleepiness.

I've been using Valerian root lately. Pdoc says he doesn't know how it works, so he's leery of me taking it. He said DON'T take melatonin because it makes depression worse, especially SAD (which I don't have, thankfully. I just hate the cold of winter).

Good luck in the sleep quest.

Thanks for those suggestions. Maybe I'll go buy myself an expensive matress pad and big squishy lion .

Yea benedryl leaves me hung over the next day so I try to only use it one day a week.

Tylenol PM is good for a restful night sleep, take it about 1 hour before your desired bedtime and then allow for 8-9 hours of sleep....

Good Luck....

LoVe,
Rhapsody -

P.S.
calcium and magnesium at night helps to induce sleep and relax the body & mind.

great idea. I was going to give tylenol pm a shot so tonight I looked at it in my local store. The sleep aid in tylenol pm is 25mg of dyphenhydromine. The same medication and dosage that is in benedryl. So for me it will have the same hang over effect since it is the same medication and dosage. So I am going by price. Here I can get benedryl for $1.99 for 24 capsules and with tylenol pm 24 capsules cost $10.99. For me I will be sticking to benedryl. Thanks anyway for a great idea in this thread.