Is There Anybody Out There? I Need To TalkH

[Fig]

Hello fellow insomniacs. Are you there? I can't sleep tonight and it's more than mildly frustrating. It's sad and lonely. This isn't a one time thing, but a chronic problem. Anyone want to share their story? What do you do on these nights? What's the cause? etc. etc. Want to talk sometimes? (I hope!) Marion:)

[Leslie Joe]

As much as I would like to "be there" for you during the late night hours, I hate to say that most times I am unable to be (am quite limited on the hours that I can get on the computer). But I do "GET IT".

You are definately talking to a fellow insomniac! Been this way most of my life, am 45 now. I still say that the very best "rest" that I have ever had is the 3 weeks that I was in a semi-coma after a ruptured brain anyeurysm (Dec 05 / Jan 06). Doesn't say much for my sleep habits huh.

Now I actually "sleep" (more like pass out) sometimes for 7-8 hours at a time. For me this is excellent. For the better part of my life it was more like 2-3 hours. Have gone as long as 72 hours with no sleep at all, actually "fell apart" walking across the room. Became the Queen of Power Naps I'll tell ya! Lean against a wall and crash for 15 min or so, and right back at things.

I wish that I had wonderful things to tell you, but sadly, I don't. I have tried absolutely everything, and nothing really worked that well.

One thing, that "got me by" was to write, and if I was near a computer I did it there. BT is a great place to be in the middle of the night! Have used it several times, I just sit there and read, and absorb, and share... Hopefully you will find solace here as well.

LJ

[jacinta]

I am trying to isolate just what foods and other things control my sleep patterns because they have changed dramatically over the years. It has caused problems with work. I have been given various medications over the years. Just recently I was diagnosed with ADD. I went on dexs for a while. They were ok in that I spent a lot of time on the net, focused on looking up neurostranmitters and hormones, the pineal gland etc. I'm off the dex and working on my diet but my sleep patterns and quality and quantity of sleep change rapidly and I'm not sure what's doing it. For example I got up yesterday about 10 am and did not get to sleep until about 6 am this morning. I write a lot when I can't sleep, stories, poems, thoughts etc and of course I go on the net a bit. I want to have my brainwaves tested to measure my theta waves. I'm going to get on top of all this. I'm not going to take meds just so I can work 'normal' hours. I want to know what is going on with my brain and what it needs.

[Mott]

Hello fellow insomniacs. Are you there? I can't sleep tonight and it's more than mildly frustrating. It's sad and lonely. This isn't a one time thing, but a chronic problem. Anyone want to share their story? What do you do on these nights? What's the cause? etc. etc. Want to talk sometimes? (I hope!) Marion:)

Hi, Marion.

I usually don't even try to go to bed till after 2am. It was after 5am when I finally went to sleep this morning, then of course the phone started ringing about 8am...

BT has a chat room where some of us Night Owls congregate late nights. There is always room for more and we'd love to have you all.

http://brain.hastypastry.net/forums/chat/flashchat.php

You need Flash Player for it to work:

http://www.macromedia.com/software/flash/about/

Mott

[Jaycee]

Hello Fellow Insomniacs

Fear my sleep deprivation is chronic.
Not sure how I keep going.
Just fed up, totally fed up. TV is keeping me sane.
Have cerebellar ataxia but don't hear about others with this disorder complain about sleep problems well not constant.
Don't like drugs but would try anything. Tried several sleeping meds but nothing seems to help. Been averaging about 2 hours sleep each day, I do doze but not getting healthy sleep.

Thanks Mott for the chat site, just on there (alone) so decided to chat to myself. Lol.

Cheers

[weas]

i still dont sleep....and no end in sight...hey leslie jo, good to see you
weas

[Mott]

TV is keeping me sane...

Thanks Mott for the chat site, just on there (alone) so decided to chat to myself.

Hi Jaycee,

I slept 8 hours Tuesday night, felt great Wednesday morning, and have been awake since. I must have missed you in chat by only minutes.

I did sleep for a couple very brief periods with the TV on but it didn't help much. I dreampt I was in court with Judge Judy. :p 24 hours news is worse, as you can imagine. The History Channel or National Geographic is usually what I leave on when trying to drop off.

Rest well,
Mott

[weas]

the tv on doesnt work for me...i usually have to resort to music, and then i click on the hairdryer(the rhytmic humming seems to help occasionally) anything for sleep i spose....
-weas

[Mott]

the tv on doesnt work for me...i usually have to resort to music, and then i click on the hairdryer(the rhytmic humming seems to help occasionally) anything for sleep i spose....
-weas

Hi weas,

I know a guy who is a paraplegic that would go to sleep with the hairdryer on under the covers to keep himself warm and burned his legs on more than 1 occasion.


Music will keep me awake, it has to be something my mind won't follow for me to drop off. I used to leave the TV on all the time but think I sleep better with it off. Then I have to deal with my mind racing so what to do...

I was able to sleep from about 2:30 pm - 10:30 pm Saturday so I'm doing good now. I'll be awake all night but it doesn't make any difference, at least my mind is mine again. :)

Hope you can sleep tonight.

Mott

[weas]

hey mott

i cheated. a friend of mine brought over some 'certain substancies', which not only take away the pain for a few hours, but allow me to sleep a little longer....still in one hour shifts or so, but a couple extra ones...i havent partaked in about six months or so ....about three times a year i indulge.....i am careful with the hairdryer, it is nowhere near me....five years no incidents...:)....glad you got some solid rack
-weas

[Mott]

Hi weas,

I'm glad you got some sleep. :)

I slept again from early this morning till afternoon so I feel "normal" for a change.

Mott

[weas]

hey mott

good to hear, feels nice for a change......

-weas

[weas]

how many sheeps does it take to jump over a fence???? how many more can there be????

[weas]

nobodys been on here in a week.....i hope you are all getting some solid rack..... ill watch guard tonight

[Lil E]

I used to have insomnia so bad that I rarely slept for more than three hous a night. I now have made some changes that have helped immensely.

1. Better pain meds and a better way to take them. I went thru most long acting but my pain didn't work that way, goes up and down. Now that I'm allowed to take what I need when I need it, the pain is under control.

2. BUY A SLEEP NUMBER BED !!! I got the $1500.00 one and it is great to be able to make your bed softer or firmer as needed. And it always contours to your body, no pressure pains.

3. Get an electric blanket. I don't have enough body heat even with lots of blankets. (also hurts pressing on my toes). I didn't realize I was cold. Keep the air temp warm, not hot in winter. I wear those little tennis socks, fuzzy side in and that helps.

4. Try lavender tea, ( costs less in mexican stores, look for alhucema), lotions with lavender, camomile tea.

5. If you can get someone to gently rub the lotion in on your neck, shoulders and upper back and I mean GENTLY, it will help relax you.

6. I sleep whenever I need to. Morning is best for me. Some people just don't sleep at nightand trying to change that causes problems.
Good luck and good sleep!

[elke]

I'm a night owl too. I consider my self to be "a.m.-challenged". I've found that a lot of people get snooty if you are not a morning person, bright-eyed and bushy tailed or whatever. I'm not sure, but I think my circadian rhythm may have been flipped by my illness, Hashimoto's Encephalopathy. I went on steroids for my illness after I was diagnosed in May, and for the first time in years had slept well at night and was more alert in the day (and steroids are supposed to give you insomnia). Gradually, over the past few months as all the other symptoms of my disease came back (fatigue, balance problems, headaches), so too did the insomnia. So that means it must be related I think.

[CanRelate]

..........oops

[Ponygirl]

Anyone have any suggestions for not being able to GET to sleep, but,
once you're there, you can sleep, an, entire day?? Please, someone???
Anyone???

Phyllis

[mariah]

I am not an a.m. person either. I keep a fan running, if I'm sitting in my recliner, or if I'm lying in bed, I always have a fan running. The noise is soothing to me and blocks out outside noise too. I can't listen to music and fall asleep, it wil bring back memories or I will be listening to the words and can't fall asleep. I usually seem to do my best thinking while lying down and have a very hard time turning my mind off, usually I just stay awake until I can't anymore. I probably need to keep a voice recorder handy so I can remember my thoughts too. Sometimes though I'll be sitting back in my recliner watching tv, or reading and will start to fall asleep, I find the best thing to do is just surrender to the sleep and stay put in the chair. If I get up to go to bed, it seems to shake the sleep off. I took ambien for about a month, it worked and if I would take it and lie right down, I would go to sleep and wake up the next morning not feeling all grogged out like you do with some sleeping medication. Unfortunately I was injured at work and then fired, so I lost my insurance and could not afford the ambien, even when I had the insurance, my co-pay was still thirty dollars. I sometimes take the generic version of ambien, but it does not work as well, and I almost always have nightmares. I can sleep all night though sometimes, get up, sit in my recliner and doze all day, then about 7 p.m. I'm ready to start my day, when everyone else seems to be winding down. I don't know what it is, maybe I have an aversion to sleep, or think I may miss something, but sleeping for me is weird. Good luck to you all and Happy New Year!

[skirby]

just curious...since I'm Very brand new to group"how long"or late" do the nite owls
stay up? haha I have a horrible spine ddd,bone spurs,pinched nerves,osteoporosis
and so on but my point is all this has messed up my sleep cycle bad, and a lot of nights
I don't get to bed till 8:am ....sorry I mean morning.Thanks Shirley

[Ponygirl]

Anyone else???:D

Phyllis