How can I kick this freaking insomnia?

depending on where you live i would reccommend smoking some cannabis. I dont want to encourage people to do anything illegal though but a spliff and a lavender bath always sends me off to sleep no matter how awake I feel before hand.

@bongo: The two times I’ve smoked pot, it had the opposite effect one me; I got jittery and very shaky and felt like crawling out of my skin. And I don’t have a bathtub… just a shower.

ok then, I have heard that this also helps, although I have never tried it properly. http://www.insomniacs.co.uk/PreSleepStretches.html
its kind of like a type of meditation where you streach out every muscle in your body in a systematic order and when you relax again it makes you feel even more relaxed.

Read The Slap, that should do it!

@Sophief: Ooh are you going to write something on my other thread? lol

@poofandmook I clicked on this question to answer with ambien, but you’ve tried it. I can’t believe how much you take and can’t sleep. I take a 10mg and cut it 4 ways and just take a fourth and it puts me out. Over the counter Benedryl puts me out also. Have you tried it? Perhaps a glass or two of wine or beer?

The only thing that worked in my case (very erratic sleeping patterns, insomnia) was enforcing a tight sleeping schedule and exercise.

Try to exhaust yourself during the day physically (get on your bike, ride a few miles uphill, throw out old stuff from your basement, meet lots of friends, walk, run, carry stuff around a lot). Then during the evening you will feel sleepiness and exhaustion setting in at some point, immediately go to bed (no TV, no internet, no eating), just go with the sleepiness and turn off the lights. If you’re lucky you’ll catch that break and get a good night’s sleep.

The next tricky thing is to extend that pattern and not to fall back into old habits. Try to go to bed at the same time every day, wake up at the same time. Imo physical exhaustion and going to bed at a certain time helps tremendously. You’ll be too weary to constantly bug yourself about sleeping and even if you can’t sleep immediately the rhythm gives you a certain sense of calm. Worrying about insomnia and sleep keeps you awake as well, so keeping calm is a major point imo.

Take a look through a catalogue of Toyotas – their cars will put anyone to sleep.

Single-malt scotch, 20 ml. Repeat as necessary.

I’m not sure how you’re wired but coffee actually calms me down, just a little bit of though like a half a cup. Other than that, I’ve suffered insomnia for the last three years with nothing else helping accept to wait it out. Sorry this is happening to you, it sucks.

Try a half cup of warm rice before going to bed. I’ve read it helps.

@chyna: Not supposed to drink alcohol while on SSRIs… though I did buy alcohol with that in mind, and after some research, I was more worried about projectile vomiting for a day than being exhausted. But I haven’t ruled it out yet; I am just waiting until I’m desperate enough to risk being violently ill. Also, you mentioned Benadryl. Doxycycline hydrochloride is the stuff that’s in Benadryl, Tylenol PM, Excedrin PM, Simply Sleep, and Unisom, to name a few.

give me half a cup of coffee less than 5 hours before I go to bed and im awake until 5am easy. i have to restrict myself to 2 coffees a day, even if i drink them both when i get up in the morning it still kinda affects my sleep at night. i definately would say to stay away from the coffee personally.
also try putting lavender under your pillow, or changing your room round if you can. having had insomnia for a while when you are lying in that room awake just looking at the same walls from the same viewpoint can make your mind feel desperate and frustrated at times which keeps me awake longer.

@Neizvestnaya: Coffee relaxes me as well, or so I thought. The last time I drank coffee, it was a cup my roommate brought home from Starbucks. I’m kind of immune to caffeine, but this particular cup of coffee sent me into the stratosphere, so to speak. I was as high-strung as a squirrel being chased by a herd of cats. Granted, it was most likely the Starbucks, since they’re known for strong coffee, but because that happened, I’m hesitant to go anywhere near coffee now.

Ambien did nothing for me. I now take Amitriptiline 10 mg one at bedtime and it helps. It was formerly known as Elavil, one of the earliest antidepressants.

The last time I had a real cup of coffee was in 1982. I drank it at 4:00 in the afternoon and was up all night. Now I have one cup of tea in the morning and no more caffeine for the rest of the day.

@Poofandmook: Do you exercise? Have you tried listening to guided relaxation or meditation tapes in the dark, in bed? Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn has a wonderful 45 minute guided-body scan meditation (CD 1) here.

CD 2 is a series of mild, relaxing Yoga stretching. I found that also very useful.

CDs 3 and 4 are for meditation and are mostly silence and a few jingles of Buddhist finger chimes.

I did take the course and found the diaphragmatic breathing also very helpful.

What time of day are you taking your medications? Perhaps you should try adjusting the timing, or talk to the doctor about lowering the dosage.

After I started having panic attacks my psych prescribed xanax in addition to my SSRI. It was very helpful in managing the panic attacks and anxiety. It also had the lovely side effect of improving my sleep dramatically. Unfortunately it can be addictive and is a tightly controlled medication.

@PandoraBoxx: I take them when I get up in the morning, and while it’s been suggested that I take an anti-depressant that makes you tired, I need that during the day, not while I’m sleeping. And, the dose I’m on… well, let’s just say that I would not benefit from it being lowered.

@gailcalled: truthfully these days I’m too exhausted to exercise in the form of a workout, but maybe something Yoga-ish would help.

@escapedone7: Yep, I have them too. Except I was so unhinged when this started 2 months ago, I had to take more than I should have, and now, much like vicodin, its soporific effects don’t exist for me anymore.

Take some of those painrelief pm tablets and a couple shots of canadian club,that ought to do it.

I find i cant sleep on vicodin either, it keeps me awake. How about a valuim

I have insomnia too. Sometimes it gets pretty bad. Like…going to sleep well into the next day, or not sleeping at all. But those are major disruptions, like when my insomniac ball of energy friend visited from the circus and stayed in my bedroom for a month lol. I overcame it during finals week (after my friend went back to the circus lol). I had to be up early every morning so I could finish all the work I had to do. Maybe that’s the secret. A matter of having the energy to do what you know you have to do. If I know I don’t have anything to do the next day I think I’m more likely to be allow my insomnia to come through. Or if I was affected too much by the stress of the day, staying up late is the place you escape to, to cope and recover. In reality, there’s no better relief than a good night’s sleep, and that’s coming from a long time insomniac. It’s a relief because it refreshes you, because you don’t wake up late – having to stress and catch up with the day, and because you feel good about yourself having done something you know feels good and healthy. No drug can give you that. You need a reason to wake up early, another way to cope with stress. Sleep is the best way. And the reason to wake up early is because it feels so much better. Easier said than done, you need an actual stimulus, like an 8 or 9 o’clock class lol

Girl, it’s going to take a bit of time to adjust to your meds. Insomnia is one of my biggest problems and some antidepressants will make it worse.

Lunesta works well for me. Also ask your doc about seroquel. And let your psych know what’s going on frequently. It might take a good while to find the combo that works for you.

Why did you take Doxycycline? Either you did that out of desperation not knowing what it was, or your doctor is an idiot. That is an antibiotic, it wouldn’t affect sleep any more than any other random substance.

And in your calculations, you are sometimes assuming that More is more powerful than Less.

That is not always the case. I see you sometimes taper-up your usage, which is logical and intelligent.

But take Melatonin for example. That is a brain hormone. Too much Melatonin can have the opposite effect of its intent. Totally opposite. And that is true of some other things, too.

From now on, Take 3 mg Melatonin at night. And keep doing that whether or not it works, but train your brain that this 3mg melatonin flood will occur once a night. Never EVER go beyond 3 mg. The proper dosage is 1 to 3 mg.

Now of course, 3 mg probably won’t work on you, and you probably already tried it. But my point is more than that is definitely going to keep you awake. It would keep anyone awake.

And the marijuana you smoked was probably a sativa. Try it again, but this time, choose an Indica with a high CBD level. Try Afghan Kush. And 3 mg Melatonin. And 1 single beer. And 1/8 cup of normal coffee (no more than that).

Cover up every single light in your room at night. Make sure your sheets are flat and somewhat neat. Make sure not a single LED is showing. Not your computer. Not your alarm clock. Not your cellphone. Set your alarm during the day, if need be, but keep that thing faced against the wall so you don’t see it. You do not need the tick tock of roman time mocking you in the face while you lay awake. Stop paying attention to the time after dinner. Take the melatonin, the beer, the coffee, the weed, etc., (hell, even throw in benedryl on top of that, but NO MORE THAN 50 MG!) about one hour before you feel like it’s bedtime. But remember, you are to guess… and not watch the clock.

When your eyelids are heavy, get in bed and read until you are so tired you know you miight be able to doze off. If you don’t fall asleep within what seems to be 20 minutes, get back up and read more. Never lay down prior to knowing your eyelids are heavy enough to sleep.

If light is coming through the windowshades, cover all that up, too. No light!

@Kraigmo: Then maybe I got the name wrong on the doxy… it was a bottle of OTC sleep aid. I probably got the name of the stuff wrong, so I will clarify: I took an OTC sleep aid that was the same stuff as in Unisom and Simply Sleep and Benadryl, etc.

And the no light thing… I haven’t been able to sleep without the TV on in years. That was when I could almost sleep on command… if you turned it off, I woke up.

hi @poofandmook .

Okay you probably took doxylamine or something like that, which is logical.

Any chance you could substitute your TV with an old time radio show from the computer? http://www.archive.org/details/otr_guidinglight

Same sounds, but no light.

@Kraigmo: I’ve tried that… unfortunately it’s apparently the sound and light together. I got shot when I was 8 years old, and was scared to death to sleep. The radio worked for a little while, but for some reason I kept going downhill, so my dad got me a little TV for my bedroom. 17-ish years later and here I am. And actually, at the moment, it really helps keep the panic attacks at bay. that’s why I’m on the SSRIs I’m actually scared to turn the TV off because then my brain has nothing to focus on, it’ll turn to The Really Bad Thing That Is Happening and meds or not, I will panic.

Incidentally, for the people that suggested 1 alcoholic beverage: I had one tonight and now I’m really really sad. I didn’t believe it would really worsen the depression as much as one stupid drink did.

So sorry @poofandmook. I wish I hadn’t recommended a drink. I didn’t realize what you were going through and what a drink might do to you.

@chyna: I visited the liquor store before I even posted this question; the thought had already entered my mind. I just had the drink at dinner because it was a special and it sounded really good, not because I thought it would make me sleepy. I know now though that if I tried it to sleep, I would most likely just increase my anxiety and not be able to sleep anyway.

Yoga, Meditation and Melotoin.

So far 1 alcoholic beverage an hour or two before bed has done the trick. Blah.

First thing keep an open mind and believe that what ever you are going to do will work. Remember insomnia or sleeplessness can be caused by anxiety, worry, stress and anger.
Also be informed that medicines can help temporarily and will not give you quality sleep.
Excessive tea/coffee and smoking and alcohol, irritate the nervous system causing insomnia.
Natural Remedies for sleeplessness include:Follow a regular schedule for going to bed and relax for some time before going to sleep.Drink a cup of warm milk with honey, half an hour before sleeping.Eat healthy food with whole cereals, pulses, fruits, vegetables, nuts and avoid canned, and junk foods. Controlled breathing helps induce sleep. Some regular exercises like walking, jogging, swimming and skipping help in good sleep. It may take some time to cure insomnia but you should give it a try for at least two weeks. For more details and remedies you may find this site useful. http://www.tandurust.com/natural-home-remedies/insomnia.html

OH!! This is what has worked for me for many issues: chiropractic care. Good chiropractors (do your research) are almost magical. They run about $40 per appointment, but you will notice a huge difference after two visits. From pain that didn’t go away with pain killers to foggy mental state to anxiety, chiropractors have been able to help me.

I have heard that acupuncture also works.

Also, maybe the occasional massage?

@funnynerd: I’m very wary of chiropractors. My dad and I used to go to a good one that my grandmother found, and when he passed away, his son-in-law took over the business. He was too rough and he screwed up my dad’s neck and was in therapy for years. We trusted him because he worked under our chiropractor… that was a mistake.

For some reason most therapists are not taught sleep hygiene and therefore can’t relate the procedures for it to their clients. Very few have done any kind of credit bearing workshops on sleep. Most just throw pills at the problem.
Sleep is a habit. Insomnia is a consequence of medications, illness, distress and poor sleep hygiene or any combination of those.
There is a set of environmental conditions that contribute to good sleep and these need to be implemented first.
Your sleep space should not be used for anything other than sleep, rest, mediation and sex.
You should not sleep in any of the main rooms of the house. And you should not engage in activities such as watching tv, playing on the computer, working, reading, or doing chores such as paying bills or folding laundry in your bedroom. The reasons for this have to do with habituation. We come to associate certain rooms with certain activities and our brains turn on or off for these activities. When we walk in the kitchen we salivate….when we walk into the living room we excite mentally….the same two things occur in the dining room if we engage with family there. We want the brain to slip automatically into calm relaxed mode when entering the bedroom. We want to facilitate a change in brain state and physiological response.
The bedroom should be able to be darkened, cooler, devoid of Digital lights including that of alarm clocks which you should turn away from you. You should turn off the cell phone and unplug the phone. There should be no night lights as even these can produce enough of an alteration in brain state as to keep you semi alert throughout the night. White noise from an overhead fan or a fan across the room may be beneficial.
The next thing you want to examine is the amount of sleep you need and the times when you can schedule that sleep amount. It needs to be the same time nightly with the same wake time daily. People who eat the same time find their stomachs alert them….people who sleep the same time automatically begin to get drowsy at their scheduled sleep times. The body remembers…it knows and signals you for what it needs.
You need a minimum of 7.5 hours of sleep nightly. Some people DO find that they need 9 hours of sleep nightly in order to feel refreshed. Do not ignore what your body is telling you about your needs because some idiot brags that they get by on 6 hours or that they have never needed more than 7. If you find you are better with 9…than schedule 9. And stick to it.
Short changing your personal needs of sleep sets the stage for insomnia.
Not attending to sleep as a habit and creating an environment ripe for sleep invites insomnia too.
Next
Stop eating in the early evening and don’t make your evening meal a heavy meal. The body has great difficulty sleeping soundly when it is attempting to digest a meal. It can’t go into full restorative sleep mode. And it invites GERD which also disrupts sleep. Some people find that a light snack does help them sleep….by light we mean a small bowl of cereal…it’s the milk which contains tryptophan that probably produces the effect. A half of turkey sandwich has the same effect…tryptophan again.
Stay hydrated during the day…but taper off during the evening. Keep a water bottle near your bed however in case you rouse during the night thirsty…take a few gulps and go back to sleep. Doing this will decrease the need for getting up during the night to urinate. If you need to get up avoid turning on lights or find a low wattage lamp you can turn on for the bathroom trip. Being exposed to light during the night can make you come fully awake. It can also create a habit of being awake at a certain time of the night thus inviting insomnia.
Next
Daily habits can impact sleep quality. People who exercise daily find they sleep better and that it’s easier for them to fall asleep. Muscles being taxed tires the body. Being outdoors also helps for two reasons: activity taxes muscles and natural light resets the circadian clock in most people.
Next
Diet. If you are someone who struggles with insomnia then you want to eliminate all sources of caffeine from your diet….no pop, no coffee, no tea, no hot chocolate and no chocolate candy. You don’t want to take so much as an extra strength excedrin which also has caffeine in it. You want to limit your ingestion of spicey foods also. And you want to focus on creating a diet free of junk food, fast food and processed foods. You may find that eating 6 smaller meals that are composed in such a way as to reduce glucose spikes also help you sleep better. And eat breakfast as one of those small meals. Don’t set yourself up for overeating at any of the meals later in the day. You do this by eating nutritious smaller meals earlier in the day.
Next. Avoid drugs and alcohol to induce sleep. Alcohol may help you become drowsy but it impedes restorative sleep. It creates a restless state. Drugs and alcohol create brain hangover. Drugs including those prescribed for sleep are addictive. Marijuana produces a seondary effect of anxiety and so i is not a good med for inducing sleep.
Next
Valerian is the only supplement that has been shown to increase not only sleep but restorative sleep. No other sleep remedy produces restorative sleep. It is available in capsules or to make a tea from. It must be taken daily and it builds up in the body across a very short period of time. It has been used for thousands of years as a sleep remedy.

Lastly
There is a specific procedure for breaking a chain of insomnia. It involves exhausting the body to the sleep schedule you have devised along with breaking an established pattern of being awake in your bed. Many people train themselves to be awake in bed when insomnia first begins.
You need to leave your bedroom as you don’t intend to train for an awake state there. you should not turn on lights or pick up anything engaging. You simply move to another room. Many people recommend reading. I recommend you invest in some form of mediative music or guided meditation tapes, chanting tapes are helpful to some people. hypnosis and hypnosis tapes also are helpful. You can make your own by talking quietly in a monotone and doing a guide walk back towards a brain state conduscive to sleep. Turning the mind towards some construction problem like building an imaginary safe space in your minds eye or your perfect house can be helpful. See yourself walking through it and building or creating in it. Make a place to sleep in it.
When you feel drowsy or even just calmer…return to your bedroom. Don’t lay in your bed more than 15 minutes awake. Get up and leave if sleep does not come. You can continue your minds eye building in bed during this time. Many people find they will drift off doing this process.
If you still cannot sleep than exhausting is what you resort to. You just stay up and don’t nap. Napping is a companion of insomnia. Avoid it if you get insomnia. To exhaust you stay up and you get involved in activities that will keep you up and then you don’t nap and you attempt to sleep at the appropriate time the next night….if it doesn’t happen then you move towards exhausting again and stay up all night and the next day. It is the rare person who will not fall asleep that night at the correct time. And THEN you must get up at the prescribed time for your waking. Don’t nap that day and then attempt to sleep at the scheduled night time. Most people find that this breaks the cycle of their insomnia. It IS brutal however.

All the suggestions thus far are good ones. There is more here than just insomnia. The post-traumatic stress is affecting your sleep and so are the SSRIs (which obviously are there to treat the post-traumatic stress, so you are in a pickle far as that goes).

Some SSRIs are known “uppers” and some are “downers”. I imagine you and your doctor already discussed this, though. But as you know, your problem is not really insomnia; it’s deeper than that. I’m pretty sure the human mind always is able to solve/heal things like this, because I’ve seen it in others. But it sure is mysterious, layered, and difficult to undo.

Ohh, I am so feelin’ ya. Have had chronic insomnia for several years now, and like you have experienced mainly disappointment with many treatments.

One thing I haven’t seen yet on this thread: magnesium, taken at night. If you’re not getting enough currently, this might help. I still have to take OTC meds to get unconscious, but sleep through the night now. No more wicked leg/ foot cramps, either!

Maybe this isn’t the most ‘kosher’ way, but there are many online pharmacies which supply Ambien, and ship it to you. If it is helping you I see no reason to not have them, at the dose that works for you. It isn’t a narcotic, so I can’t see the harm in it.