Insomnia, it sucks

[Daradon]

I tried melatonin, it gave me weird/bad dreams. Panic dreams, anxious sleeps. Always waking up, just on the edge of sleep. I mentioned that to my doctor the next visit and he replied that that was actually a common complaint/side effect.

This is not to say it won't work for some. Everyones situation is so different.

Edit: heh, now that I think about it I think I may have posted that here a few years ago.

[AcGold]

Yeah it can give some people weird dreams, but that's usually just at the start because the person is so sleep deprived. It's getting deep rem sleep while being in an agitated and stressed mood, after a while logically it should go away. It's not really dangerous, cancer patients are given huge doses to ease them out of fight or flight mode.

[Daradon]

Yeah I'm not saying it's dangerous, just that it didn't work for me. When I do sleep I dream lots and vividly, so I don't think it's me not being used to REM states or being agitated while sleeping. I can usually pinpoint stress dreams or dreans where my worries are manifesting.

[Jbo]

Originally Posted by Daradon

Thank you. No harm in asking, I dont mind. Well, that's where find it a bit funny. The tox screen said she had about 4 times the dose. I wouldn't think that would do it. To be honest, I've abused counter treatments more than that. (Makes one pause and think). I wouldnt have thought that would be anywhere near enough. But that was the conclusion to doctor performing the autopsy came to. We paid for the advanced/thourough tox screen too.

Thanks for the response. It really does make you pause, as I have also abused some in the past. It really does make you stop and take pause.

To add a bit to my story, I got hooked on NyQuil in Uni. Would take it to make myself pass out after a night of studying and drinking coffee.

When I got into the working world, I took melatonin, but like other's experiences, it seems to have the ability to work great, or not work at all.

I now seem to go through periods of non needing anything, to rotating through melatonin/cold meds/Gravol.

I can relate to others stories here about how people just say to deal with it. The struggle is real and nothing is worse then being dead tired but tossing and turning in bed and literally getting anxiety at the fact you have to get up in 3 hours.

Final bit, I do exercise almost every day, but that has not seemed to have the impact I hoped it would.

[taco.vidal]

Originally Posted by Dion

Not yet but will give it a try

There are proper ways to reset your circadian rhythym. Id suggest going to your doctor and getting a referral to a sleep specialist or going to sleep clinic on your own. I wouldnt go into trying to do it yourself without at least spending some time doing research.

Originally Posted by Daradon

Thank you. No harm in asking, I dont mind. Well, that's where find it a bit funny. The tox screen said she had about 4 times the dose. I wouldn't think that would do it. To be honest, I've abused counter treatments more than that. (Makes one pause and think). I wouldnt have thought that would be anywhere near enough. But that was the conclusion to doctor performing the autopsy came to. We paid for the advanced/thourough tox screen too.

I believe that some people cant metabolize Dextromethorphan. Maybe the pharma dude on here can chime in.
Sorry for your loss. Thanks for reminding us here that it is possible to abuse over the counter medication.

[Daradon]

Originally Posted by Jbo

Thanks for the response. It really does make you pause, as I have also abused some in the past. It really does make you stop and take pause.

To add a bit to my story, I got hooked on NyQuil in Uni. Would take it to make myself pass out after a night of studying and drinking coffee.

When I got into the working world, I took melatonin, but like other's experiences, it seems to have the ability to work great, or not work at all.

I now seem to go through periods of non needing anything, to rotating through melatonin/cold meds/Gravol.

I can relate to others stories here about how people just say to deal with it. The struggle is real and nothing is worse then being dead tired but tossing and turning in bed and literally getting anxiety at the fact you have to get up in 3 hours.

Final bit, I do exercise almost every day, but that has not seemed to have the impact I hoped it would.

I hear you bud. I did the Gravol - cold pill thing for a while. And hard. I'd start with more than the dose, and sometimes take more. Going back and forth when my body would gain temporary tolerance.

And, mixing with alcohol to enhance the effect when I could and my schedule allowed. It's a nasty cycle.

You mentioned coffee. Makes sense during college. But if your still drinking it now, that might be the best thing to help your problem. I heard a quote about a year ago that was so true. We've become such a medicated society and haven't even noticed. We drink caffeine to wake up then alcohol at night to take the edge off cause we're too wired. It's self medicating.

For me caffeine was never an issue. Never drank coffee regularly and drink non caffeinated pops and juices if I drink any sugar at all. I generally just drink water, if not beer, haha. Caffeine is bad for my heary condition, so luckily I never developed a dependance on it. But people who are, often don't realise how much they are.

Anyway, just food for thought, if you haven't already. You probably have. Just comiserating a little. I totally get that first part. But after what happened to my sister, what I was doing to myself looked a lot different.

[rubecube]

I take zopiclone every now and then and the one thing I will say about it is go to bed right away. I've stayed up and had experiences with hallucinations and amnesia. One night I had a friend staying in town and I left the hotel he was staying at, walked home and took a zopiclone, but I guess I didn't go to bed because he said I showed up again three hours later, just babbling completely incoherently and then I walked home again. I don't remember any of this.

[redforever]

The blanket that hugs insomniacs to sleep

http://www.macleans.ca/society/healt...iacs-to-sleep/

Glad I don't have sleep problems as I hate heavy blankets when sleeping, especially on my feet. Also, I sleep much better when it is quite cold in the room.

[Daradon]

Originally Posted by rubecube

I take zopiclone every now and then and the one thing I will say about it is go to bed right away. I've stayed up and had experiences with hallucinations and amnesia. One night I had a friend staying in town and I left the hotel he was staying at, walked home and took a zopiclone, but I guess I didn't go to bed because he said I showed up again three hours later, just babbling completely incoherently and then I walked home again. I don't remember any of this.

Zopiclone worked for me for the first 2 days then I had a tolerance to it. I know it (like all sleep meds really) is only supposed to be used sparingly as needed, but you'd think when first using it most would use it for a week or two before balancing out. Two to three days, that's all it did for me.

I stopped for a bit. Restarted. It always worked good for a day if I took some significant time off. But it was never a solution. Course I started doing double doses or more after that. Self medicating. Eventually I got put on something stronger. I forget the name. But that's where I started having my sleepwalking issues as you mentioned.

Scary stuff, and that's why I stopped. One time I decided to make something to eat. I opened a can of tuna with a potato peeler. Punctured it and ripped it open. I can't believe I still have all my fingers. Another time I put on all my clothes, like you'd do while awake, and went for a midnight walk by the ridge. Only I fell down the ridge. Broke a rib (the floating rib I think, took near a year to heal) and cut my face up pretty bad. Stopped the pills after that. Eerily similar to the stories in the States where people woke up and decided to go for a drive.

[peter12]

Well, I guess I am in the same boat with many of you guys now. 4 days, and about 10 hours. Two nights under two hours. I can fall asleep just fine, but I always have a tinge of foreboding, that it is almost too good to actually last, then BOOM, eyes snap open around 1:30 or 2:00 AM. From there on until sunset, it is a grind of pleading my body to get tired, searching for distractions, monitoring my heart-beat.

[Fuzz]

I've found the 10 deep breaths technique works fairly well for situations like that. Doesn't always work, but it's easy and you don't get out of bed.

[Itse]

I've had huge trouble sleeping lately. I tried wrapping myself in two blankets today, and for what ever reason it clearly helped me relax. Can't really explain it, my apartment is quite warm as it is and I'm generally not fuzzy about the temperature. Could just be the extra weight of the blanket or something.

Just throwing it out there as something that people can try.

[troutman]

Podcasts are helpful. Stops your mind from racing. If it does not put you to sleep, you are being entertained while you lie there.

[peter12]

I find that as soon as I plug into any electronic device, I am up for good.

[stampsx2]

Originally Posted by peter12

I find that as soon as I plug into any electronic device, I am up for good.

Something about the light from screens stops melatonin production.

[habernac]

How dark are the rooms you sleep in? I have to have pitch black or I have real problems sleeping.

[peter12]

The relief that comes from a night unbroken. Whew.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by peter12

The relief that comes from a night unbroken. Whew.

Lucky, I wish I had not bragged the other day.

[JiriHrdina]

I've made a few changes to my night-time routine lately that seem to be helping
- No snacking after 7 PM
- Hot shower about 1 hour before bed-time
- Sleepy time tea after my shower
- No screen time, but I did also install an app that dials down the bad light in the evening
- Softer lighting throughout the house

My sleeping has been improving, though I still require the pill some nights.

[peter12]

What is it with insomnia? Is it a brain thing? Behavourial?

Big plus on the no screens, Jiri. Anything visually stimulating before bed will keep me up.

Does anyone else here suffer from OCD or other anxiety-related issues?