I am a vampire.

[checkerboards]

Okay, I'm not a vampire in the blood-drinking-evening-dress-wearing way, but quite definitely in the staying awake all night way. It's almost impossible for me to pry myself out of bed in the early morning, even if I somehow managed to get a decent amount of sleep. There are even times when I turn both my alarms off in my sleep. (Considering that one of them is located halfway across the room, that's quite a feat.)

I'm so frustrated with this. I've pursued about every non-medical avenue that I can, and I'm out of Ambien until I somehow manage to be awake in the morning to call my doctor up. (Even then, I may not get any more of my precious sleep-in-pill-form.) I've totally lost track of the days, as well, because every time I look outside it's dark. Rrrrraaaargh!

Any other vampires out there?

[psemipsycho]

By your definition, I am a vampire queen! Even if I go to bed at 9pm, getting up at 7am is torture. My gp wrote me an rx for ambien, but my insurance company has yet to approve it...grrrrr....

I went through a phase of going to bed around 6am and waking at 4 or 5. It was pure hell; ended up losing my job.

So, does the ambien work for you? Do you build up a toleracne to it? Does it provide "refreshing sleep"? I'm eager to know, cuz I will be doing an internship next month, and I need my brain to be in tip-top condition (well, okay, it won't be that good, but sleep would help!).

[berelain326]

Ahaha, vampires...I swear I'm the original Dracula (minus the man parts)...no sleep, 'til Brooklyn!

Right...anyways, no sleeping is sucking balls (I can totally relate).

My doctor has prescribed me Geodon, Seroquel, Lunesta, and I'm now on Ambien.

My experiences have not proved successful. I think that my body thinks it's funny to keep me awake at all hours of the night, but at one point in time everything did work for me (except Geodon), but the side effects weren't worth it in the long run (scarey, huh?).

But that so doesn't mean it won't work for you! Eating right and exercising also helps (typically, against my body resists sleep with those approaches).

Devilla suggested in my post to try using melatonin. Looks like I'll be making a run to the store later and giving that a whirl.

As far as jobs, if worse comes to worse, they have second and third shift jobs, which sometimes pay better because of the crappy hours. I know that doesn't necessarily help for an internship, but maybe if the sleep (or lack thereof) persists, you can try that.

Good luck!

[Pastafarian]

dark therapy is something i read about once.  This means having no light (at all) after 6pm.  you can stay up, but no light allowed.  Listen to music, but no tv, no computer, no lights.  seemed interesting but drastic to me.  if you're desperate though...

[checkerboards]

psemipsycho-The Ambien works well...kinda. See, it'll get me to sleep, but then it wears off...and some nights this means I wake back up. There are also a few mornings where it seems to make me sleep way more than I should need to (13 hrs. is my current record). Still, it's better than nothing, and the sleep I get while on it is definitely restful.

That dark therapy thing sounds incredibly difficult to do, particularly for a bookworm like myself. But if it meant getting to sleep earlier...hmm. Maybe I'll just see if last night's incredible good luck holds out. (Eating, a warm bath, and forcing myself to think about absolutely nothing, and it only took me four hours to get to sleep. A definite step in the right direction!)

[psemipsycho]

Have you gotten your ambien yet, checkerboards? Maybe you've built up a tolerance to it if it wears off early; I hope you haven't! I'm still waiting for mine...my insurance has not authorized it yet. It's been two-and-a-half-freaking-weeks! In the meantime, my gp gave me a script for trazodone. What an appropiate name for it, it has "doze" right in the name. I really hate grogginess and morning headaches, but I need sleep!

Dark therapy sounds good, but I'm a night time reader, too! I always read a book that I have read a thousand times over, because it's predictable and calms me down a bit. Plus, I have a preschooler who would probably have a fit if I turned out the lights at six.

[HaloGirl66]

psemipsycho-The Ambien works well...kinda. See, it'll get me to sleep, but then it wears off...and some nights this means I wake back up. There are also a few mornings where it seems to make me sleep way more than I should need to (13 hrs. is my current record). Still, it's better than nothing, and the sleep I get while on it is definitely restful.

That dark therapy thing sounds incredibly difficult to do, particularly for a bookworm like myself. But if it meant getting to sleep earlier...hmm. Maybe I'll just see if last night's incredible good luck holds out. (Eating, a warm bath, and forcing myself to think about absolutely nothing, and it only took me four hours to get to sleep. A definite step in the right direction!)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Check out Ambien CR http://www.ambiencr.com/ it is an longer release version of Ambien. it is supposed to help people that Ambien only helps for a few hours.

[checkerboards]

I haven't gotten my Ambien yet, due to complications of location and finance. Hopefully, in a couple weeks it'll be resolved, and then I can be sleeping instead of reading all night long.

In happier news, I managed to make it to my 9:00 AM class today! *happydance* I looked like an extra from a zombie movie, but hey...I was there, and that's what they care about.