breezy Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 I have been waking up at 2am everyday and I can't fall asleep. I've done all I can do and I understand it's probably my meds making my insomnia worse, but I just can't do this anymore. I've tried drinking sleepytime extra tea, no stimulation before bed, deep breathing and muscle relaxation, but I go to bed around 10 and wake up sometime around 2am. I just made a call to my pdoc's nurse and she's talking to him now. Hoping to get this problem solved, hoping it will go away soon--I can't do this for 6-8 weeks or whatever. I'm just so tired, partly lack of sleep, partly the perphenazine and Xanax I'm supposed to take during the day with my morning Cymbalta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notfred Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 When do you take Lamictal ? It is known for insomnia and some take it in the morning to avoid this side effect. nf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breezy Posted October 27, 2011 Author Share Posted October 27, 2011 I take it at night and have never had a problem with insomnia from it in 11 months. It makes me sick/tired if I take it in the day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallowedink Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 I feel for you. Could you ask your pdoc for sleeping meds? Something like zaleplon (sonata) which has a short half-life, so you could take it when you wake up and not be groggy from it in the morning. N Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breezy Posted October 27, 2011 Author Share Posted October 27, 2011 I'm waiting for a call from my pdoc's nursing staff about what I should do. I can't eat, I can't sleep. I feel sick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallowedink Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 Try and eat something at least. And do things that relax you. Don't let yourself get too anxious. Remember, there are always ways around this. Your Pdoc will be able to prescribe you something that will help. In the meantime, are there things you can do that would wear you out a bit? Maybe go for a cycle or go to the gym in the evening. That way, you'll be more tired, and what sleep you do get will hopefulle be more restful. I do really empathise. I have horrible insomnia, and that includes periods of not being able to sleep through the night. All I can advise is make sure to maintain good sleep hygiene, don't panic, and speak to your Pdoc. It'll be sorted soon. N Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breezy Posted October 27, 2011 Author Share Posted October 27, 2011 I tried to eat an apple and couldn't finish it. My pdoc's nurse got back to me and I picked up some 10mg melatonin (I was taking 3-6mg) from the store today and she told me to try that and also take an extra perphenazine before bed, and if this isn't better by Monday, I should call back and we'll look at more options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallowedink Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 Eat something that actually has calories in it. You're just going to feel worse if you're hungry. It will effect your mood. I hope the melatonin and perphenazine works for you. N Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breezy Posted October 27, 2011 Author Share Posted October 27, 2011 I'm working on a small bowl of honey graham crackers and pretzels with some Sierra Mist. So far it seems good. Everything tastes a little dry but I'm doing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 When I have insomnia, I always smoke (A lot). Now that I have quit smoking (at least so far), I don't know what i'll do during my next bout of insomnia. I also have diabetes, so I can't munch out or anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallowedink Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 Well done for eating. Have you spoken to your Pdoc yet? Did the upped dose of melatonin work? I hope things are getting sorted out for you. N Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breezy Posted October 28, 2011 Author Share Posted October 28, 2011 I couldn't finish my oatmeal this morning but I did have a PB&J sandwich. My pdoc basically said that the 10mg melatonin should help and I should take an extra perphenazine. I slept better last night but not good enough to feel rested and not enough for what I consider a large dose of melatonin, but I'll take waking up and falling asleep several times over waking up once at 2am and not falling asleep for the rest of the night any day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 I'm glad your sleep was a bit better. It's so interesting the different dosages of melatonin docs say you can try. 10 mg seems huge, but if it works, it works. Anna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breezy Posted October 28, 2011 Author Share Posted October 28, 2011 There is a store brand of melatonin that is 4mg and the serving size is 4 tablets! 16mg of melatonin, see you in a week, no thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saveyoursanity Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 Sometimes I've heard if you take less it actually works better. You're only supposed to have something crazy small like .1 of a gram anyway. (Google Books link) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breezy Posted October 29, 2011 Author Share Posted October 29, 2011 Really? I'm going to have to try that out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallowedink Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 Yeah, I've heard the same thing as saveyoursanity. I'm surprised you Pdoc has told you to have such a high dose, but hey, if it works... If you continue to have problems not feeling rested then it is worth insisting to you Pdoc that s/he prescribes you something, at least in the short term, because if you're tired that will negatively affect your mood. Well, I hope things work out for you! N Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breezy Posted October 29, 2011 Author Share Posted October 29, 2011 Definitely. I will try a low dose of the melatonin (lower than 3mg) tonight and see what happens. I can't wait to see what my pdoc says on Monday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breezy Posted October 30, 2011 Author Share Posted October 30, 2011 lalalala 6am, been up since 3. This needs to stop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallowedink Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 I'm really sorry for you. Have you tried Zopiclone (I think in the US only eszopiclone (Lunesta) is available) or Zaleplon (Sonata). I know that Z-drugs work better for some people, and I see you haven't tried those two. It might be worth asking about them. Sonata especially has quite a short half life, so you could take it when you wake up in the middle of the night, and it'll put you back to sleep without you waking up groggy in the morning. On the other hand, seeing as this seems to be quite a persistant problem, you may want to ask your Pdoc for a referral to do a sleep study, as that might reveal something. All the best. N Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breezy Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 Ooh, good idea. I've actually been thinking about asking for a sleep study. I'll see what I can do. I have a physical coming up, maybe they can do something for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saveyoursanity Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Yeah, I took ambien short term and it really helped. Sometimes all you need to do is break the cycle and then your body remembers WTF it's supposed to do normally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cetkat Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Careful with ambien. A common reaction is doing things in your sleep - including driving. Not everyone gets that, and otherwise it's an excellent sleep med. I ended up with a DUI from it however. Just something to be aware of if you consider it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breezy Posted November 1, 2011 Author Share Posted November 1, 2011 Careful with ambien. A common reaction is doing things in your sleep - including driving. Not everyone gets that, and otherwise it's an excellent sleep med. I ended up with a DUI from it however. Just something to be aware of if you consider it. I shoveled my whole driveway, knee deep snow, with tennis shoes on and no coat--only pajamas-- at 11pm and it was freezing. And we have a long driveway and I live in Wisconsin so you know it was COLD. I was outside maybe an hour before my roommates found me (they thought I was asleep) and brought me in. I'm sooo lucky I didn't get hypothermia. Now that I think about it, no Ambien. But I slept last night and only woke up a few times and was able to fall asleep again each time! Yay! I didn't take any melatonin either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallowedink Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 But I slept last night and only woke up a few times and was able to fall asleep again each time! Yay! I didn't take any melatonin either. That's good. I hope things work out for you. Also, judging by your description... no ambien. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 My Father-in-law punched his wife in the face while on Ambien during the night of his first use. He didn't even remember it in the morning but his wife does. They flushed the ambien. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breezy Posted November 1, 2011 Author Share Posted November 1, 2011 My Father-in-law punched his wife in the face while on Ambien during the night of his first use. He didn't even remember it in the morning but his wife does. They flushed the ambien. Oh my gosh, how awful! I can't even imagine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallowedink Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 There are lots of horror stories about Ambien out there. On the other hand, it does work for some people. I think the horror stories get more attention though. My Father-in-law punched his wife in the face while on Ambien during the night of his first use. He didn't even remember it in the morning but his wife does. They flushed the ambien. That's horrible. At least they got rid of it, and he didn't carry on taking it, though, and I hope he found a replacement. N Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breezy Posted November 1, 2011 Author Share Posted November 1, 2011 I'm thinking maybe the melatonin no longer works for me. Last night I listened to a relaxation soundtrack on my iPod and even when I woke up it was easy to fall asleep again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallowedink Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 I have a playlist on my iPod titled "sleeping". I hook it up to my speakers and play that all night. Wastes electricity, but it soothes me and helps me sleep better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breezy Posted November 1, 2011 Author Share Posted November 1, 2011 I absolutely have to have either a heater or fan depending on weather conditions running all night or I can't fall asleep. It's been that way for years. What songs are on your playlist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Father-in-law's GP got him something else that caused no problems. He hit his wife on the very first night of Ambien and quit it the first thing in the morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saveyoursanity Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 You have an iPod? Have you tried any of these apps? I've heard enough good things about pzizz sleep that if I had an iPod/iPhone I'd be ALLLLLL over that shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breezy Posted November 2, 2011 Author Share Posted November 2, 2011 Oooh, I'll have to try that out! My iPod is kind of stupid, and dying, and I just got a new computer after my other one decided to die one day, so my iTunes won't transfer. But I'll figure it out. My computer savvy-ness includes "control, P, print" and basic use of Microsoft office. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallowedink Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I absolutely have to have either a heater or fan depending on weather conditions running all night or I can't fall asleep. It's been that way for years. What songs are on your playlist? (I went on iTunes to check this, and my computer arbitrarily decided to spend a half an hour updating my library. Stupid thing.) Lots of relaxing stuff... Some classical music, some milder Pink Floyd songs (In The Flesh, Wish You Were Here, Comfortably Numb, Brain Damage), Led Zep songs (Stairway to Heaven, Tangerine, Ten Years Gone), stuff by people like Mark Knopfler (great feel-good stuff), John Lennon (Imagine -- love that song!), Manic Street Preachers (well, I TRY to avoid triggery stuff; This Is Yesterday, Your Love Alone is not Enough, and Indian Summer aren't too bad), Radiohead (Creep), Simon and Garfunkel (plenty of their stuff), The Fray (basically all of their stuff), Coldplay (ditto). Especially those last two have pretty relaxing stuff. ...Anyway, via means of my boyfriend, I have over 17,000 songs (which he collected from everyone he knows), so I have a lot to choose from. I try to avoid anything triggering. I must shamefully admit that I do have a playlist full of songs that I play when I'm feeling down, and most of them a sliiiiightly triggering for me. I try not to listen to that play list too much, but it never really works that way, does it? And I wouldn't totally trust my taste - I often have a quite weird definition of what constitutes relaxing. E.g. Lostprophets, Muse. Um, if you've heard of Dreamtheater, they have some good stuff, but it's prog metal so you may not like it. N Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breezy Posted November 3, 2011 Author Share Posted November 3, 2011 17,000 songs?! Wow. See I have this calming music but I am wide wide wide awake. Again. And it's 2am. Again. And I tend to listen to triggery type music more than I care to admit also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallowedink Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 17,000 songs?! Wow. See I have this calming music but I am wide wide wide awake. Again. And it's 2am. Again. And I tend to listen to triggery type music more than I care to admit also. I listen to triggery music A LOT. To the point where I'm desensitised to some of it, unless it comes up on the radio or something and catches me by surprise. Anyway, I think music is going to be fairly useless if you can't sleep... I've got to the point where I just like it as background noise so when I wake up during the night there's music and I don't freak out and think all the shadows are demons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breezy Posted November 3, 2011 Author Share Posted November 3, 2011 It's gotten to the point where my background "white noise" like a fan or heater are no longer helping me. I've been doing this for years. I'm so tired. I'm going to cry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallowedink Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 I'm really sorry you're feeling this way. I wish I could do something to help you... Well, just remember that we on CB are here to support you when you need it, and you can always hop into chat and talk if you think it'll help. I know that the chat has helped me before, even just talking about insignificant things. Just the feeling that there are people out there, and being able to chatter normally, can sometimes be quite calming. I do hope that things improve for you. Keep holding on! N Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breezy Posted November 3, 2011 Author Share Posted November 3, 2011 I just got a call back and it seems I'm going to be started on trazadone, which should help with both depression and insomnia. Yay. Hopefully it will work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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