How can I conquer my insomnia?!


Question: I've had issues with insomnia off and on my whole life (but just for a night or two), but this entire week I haven't been able to sleep, AT ALL which is not normal for me. I wonder how to stop this pattern and why this is happening? I'm sort of stressed, and my mind thinks too much, but still I dont see why this is happening right now. When I hear my husband breathing deep it gives me a panic feeling that I'm the only one in the whole world still awake and I just freak out as I look at the clock. I try breathing deep and thinking random thoughts, I try reading, warm milk, none of it works. I tried taking a Tylenol Pm and I still was up. I even tried taking a few Lortabs which I have from an old surgery, and I still had insomnia.

Do you have any good advice? Please I'm going crazy, I am not myself, I can't function during the day!


Answers: I've had issues with insomnia off and on my whole life (but just for a night or two), but this entire week I haven't been able to sleep, AT ALL which is not normal for me. I wonder how to stop this pattern and why this is happening? I'm sort of stressed, and my mind thinks too much, but still I dont see why this is happening right now. When I hear my husband breathing deep it gives me a panic feeling that I'm the only one in the whole world still awake and I just freak out as I look at the clock. I try breathing deep and thinking random thoughts, I try reading, warm milk, none of it works. I tried taking a Tylenol Pm and I still was up. I even tried taking a few Lortabs which I have from an old surgery, and I still had insomnia.

Do you have any good advice? Please I'm going crazy, I am not myself, I can't function during the day!

Hey there, I have had severe bouts of insomnia myself over the years. I must agree with the guy who says to stay away from caffeine. Doctors will tell you to try not to spend too much excessive time in the bedroom except for bedtime. Try not to have caffeine after dinner time. Alchohol also can cause sleep problems, as odd as it may sound.
Anyways, it really sucks to absolutely not be able to sleep. I know its frustrating when the doc tells you dozens of little tips that dont sound too helpful. I had months of on and off insomnia. It effected me in every aspect of my life. It made me miserable and cranky. It was effecting my performance in school, in the "sack" if ya know what I mean..., my social life, I was always tired but couldnt sleep. I was grouchy. I was unpleasant t be near. I developed a bad overall attitude.
Long story short, I got a 7 day sample of a drug called Ambien. I beleive it is "zolpidem tartrate". It is vry powerful and kicks in in about 15-20 minutes. It only seems to last about an hour and a half. but it puts you right to sleep and you wont wake up groggy or high. You just need to make sure you go right to bed when you take it. Often a doctor will have free samples of similar products that he is allowed to hand out. I'm not saying to go out and seek drugs, but who has time to try weeks of schedule modification, when you just need a good nights sleep. Ask your doc, nip it in the butt, get some sleep.
Ambien is used as a short term fix of insomnia. Use this drug WHILE modifying your basic habits such as the caffeine intake, dont eat much late in the day, maybe take a walk after supper, Perhaps a good hard "roll in the hay" before the lights go off. Lots of things will help. Most are simply common sense. I would bet $$ that with 7-10 nights with sleepy meds and a few of the tips listed, your inner clock will heal itself quickly and you will soon forget all about your problem.
Other than that, I dont know what to tell you.

Oh, one more thing. I have been told that sleep studies show that the human body usually falls asleep best when your body temperature is dropping. Try a HOT cup of herbal tea or anything warm just before you lie down. This will raise your core temp a few degrees, Hit the lights. While the body temp slowly drops, this is optimal conditions for the miracle of sleep to occur! Best of luck, hope this may help just a tiny bit. Wish I knew more.

Avoid anything with caffeine such as coffee and pop. Also lay down about the same time each night even if you don't sleep right away. Get up about the same time each morning, even if you feel like you still need to sleep some more. It sounds like your body clock is messed up. Routine is best therapy.
Any warm liquid such as hot milk or even hot water causes the stomach to produce something that makes you sleepy.

I use a sleep aid called Calmes-Forte. It's at Rite-Aid in the vitamin/herb section. No side effects.

I agree with Randal that you should be careful of consuming caffeine products. I don't know if you are taking any prescribed medicines right now, so I would not advise any herbal remedies as they may not be compatible with your meds. However, Melatonin is a natural occuring substance found in the body. You could try taking that about an hour before you wish to sleep. If this does not work, consult your doctor and get his best advice. Good luck!

A couple months ago I got pretty much the way you describe. Especially the desperation you seem to be conveying. None of my regular "tricks" seemed to work. So I went to my new doctor and brought an old empty bottle of a med that another doctor had prescribed (years ago) which I remember as putting me out. It is called Trazodone and although initially it was used as an anti-depressant it has fallen off that list but continues to be used for insomnia.

Well I took two pills and went out like a light. That's all it took, got me back in the groove. The next night I slept good without it.

If you don't want to get a prescription you might want to try a Unisom. Now there are two kinds of Unisom, one is just benedryl and the other has a different anti-histamine. I don't remember the whole name but it starts with the letters doxy.

That one, to me is so effective that I rarely use more than a half or even a quarter.

Good luck, insomnia is no fun and when it gets bad it is torture.





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