My sleep is broken, erratic, unpredictable as far as when and how long...
My Doctors have tried so many different things, natural and prescription, if they work at all, then there are hangover type symptoms of fatigue that seem to last through out the day...
How well do you sleep?
Yep, same here, sums it up perfectly, broken, erratic and unpredictable, I am also getting horrible night terrors too (but that's probably just me as I've had them all my life)
I tried tramadol to help, it worked for about a week but stopped working
Alcohol doesn't really help, but it (for some unknown reason contrary to expectations) stop me needing a wee in the night
I am now reading an excellent book, Night School by Robert Wiseman which make some excellent suggestions regarding sleep and how to improve it, its worth reading. One thing is to try at least 3 times a week to take a 20 minute nap
Sorry about the night terrors, that has to be hell. My husband still has the Vietnam nightmares, not as much, but still there!
There could be meds that contribute to this too, Suze! Some meds are notorious for this!
Im so sorry about your husband having nightmares from Vietnam, how utterly awful for him, Im sure he saw things a person should never see.
As for the meds, well weirdly, when I was on prednisolone I never got a single night terror. I think im just getting them badly now as I have some anxiety stuff going on at the minute coupled with bad asthma.
Hope you get some sleep SK xx
Sorry about the mares and flashback no suggestions for that. I have had trouble sleeping most of my life and tried the different otc meds and prescriptions from the primary dr. and many had side effects especially ambien. I ended up with a scicoligest and he put me on
Trazodone and ambien which helped least I slept most of the night but still had the morning hangover. I switched to Trazodone and Clonazepam 1mg and it works much better along with a c-pap for the last 2 yrs.
Yes, his flashbacks, nightmares, terrors have gotten better, he hasn't yelled "incoming" jumped on top of me to shield me lately anyway! I always wake him up and tell him he's okay, home with me and safe. The are finally working with these guys, for decades the VA told them to go home and not come back, more or less!
If I ever get this sleep thing figured out, I'll be sure to let you all know the trick!
Wishing you all sweet dreams and restful sleep,
SK
My sleep tends to be okay as long as my fibro isn't also flared up. I usually wake up a few times, and that's a heck of a lot better than when I'm not doing do hot, so I'll take it!
We got a new bed about a year ago and that has helped me tremendously. I find that I generally wake up because I am uncomfortable of having pain in my hips or shoulders - I'm an avid side sleeper!
I have learned that making sure that I am getting enough physical activity is very important, even if that means just a little 5-10 minute walk up the block (which more often than not is plenty!) also that I don't drink too much water or tea within about a hour of going to bed.
When it comes to drinking, if I have more than one drink within a couple hours of going to bed, I can pretty much count on having to get up every couple of hours to pee. LOL Darn it!
I know, Maren! I have Sjogren's Syndrome, so I'm always dry and thirsty! When I get up to go to the bathroom, I always need water and eye drops!
My sleep pattern is terrible, the only good sleep I get is with percoset and flexeril, takes them bout 2.0 hrs to kick in, or longer, then I sleep, otherwise I pace the floors because I can’t get comfortable. I hate going to bed at night, hate it hate it hate it. And when I do go to sleep I don’t want to wake up in the am. I have been doing the deepok and oprah 21 day meditations at night which have had an extremely calming effect on me. Hopefully that’s an answer to my bedtime woes.
Hi wendy,
It must be a pain thing then, mine is. I know if I have to push myself to stay awake past the time when my switch flips then I'm up all night! I agree the calming effect, that takes your mind of f the pain allowing you to relax can only help. Hope it's a total success! BTW, I write this at 1:27 am!
I don't sleep unless I take my triazolam 2 hrs before I'm ready for bed. I'll stay up for 36+ hours and then my neck will start hurting so bad it'll lead into a migraine and I'll suffer with that for another 24+ hours. It's a living nightmare. I do not rest well at all. When I do take my meds for sleep I get about 6 hrs of rest and then I'm up and aching. I take my medication for the pain and wait for it to start working. That is my daily life for the most part.
Hey DetraMental,
Sounds like you fit right in with us! I know all about the hyper exhaustion rounds of days with no sleep! I could be an extra on the Walking Dead, and not need the make up! ha!
It's terrible! Hyper exhaustion is the perfect term for it. I've had surgery on my neck and they want to do more so the extra stress on it kills me when I'm up too long but lying down hurts to. It's a catch 22, sigh. What to do!? Beg for sleep is about it.
Have you guys tried meditation? It helps me!
I have been working with this CD...
Jon Kabat-Zinn also has another book:
The Mindfulness Solution for Pain: Step-by-Step Techniques for Chronic Pain Management.