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Posted 11/5/2015 3:39 AM (GMT -5)
Hi everyone,

Lately, my symptoms have seemed to improve across the board, except in regards to my sleep. I developed severe insomnia two weeks ago and it is not improving. I cannot fall asleep until 8AM, even though I am very tired all day. Additionally, I don't feel as though I am sleeping. It's a very strange feeling, but I don't feel like I ever fall asleep. Clearly, I must be sleeping or I would be delirious at this point! It is just VERY unrefreshing, light sleep. I have never experienced this kind of unrefreshing sleep before. I don't feel depressed or very anxious and nothing has happened that would explain the sudden episodes of insomnia. My doctor prescribed Trazodone, but I do not want to take it (I am taking melatonin, but without improvement). She also did not say much regarding the insomnia. I might be getting one or two hours of sleep per night. Has anyone experienced anything like this? Thanks in advance for your feedback.
Posted 11/5/2015 4:49 AM (GMT -5)
Hi slee,

Glad you're feeling better, I hope you can improve your sleep. I've been taking melatonin for years but due to sinus issues I have to add a Benedryl and Advil and L-Theanine.

L-Theanine supposedly relaxes the mind. L-theanine seems to help (somewhat) relax my muscles. I had to up my dosage of melatonin recently. I imagine a person builds up a tolerance to it and needs a bit more as the years go on.

When my sleep was severely impaired, I would put on a relaxing DVD with captions and watch that. It would help get my mind off of the pain. Perhaps it helped me to relax a bit.

I believe my cranial fascia massage therapist has been helping my pain and sleep issues too.

Good luck to you.

Post Edited (almost medfree) : 11/5/2015 3:12:34 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 11/5/2015 7:42 AM (GMT -5)
Hi slee17: I sometimes deal with insomnia. I really have to keep on a set sleep pattern, going to bed the same time every night. Rarely do I sleep during the day, unless I'm dealing with a cold, flu, etc.. Sometimes I'll lie down briefly (about 10 minutes max) just to get a little 'second wind.' Otherwise, I'll take a short time for reading, prayer, or a little craft break.

It seems a lot of us here have this issue (just do a search on 'insomnia' on this forum, and you'll see what I mean!).

Things like chamomile tea, valarian (Puritan has something called "Calm Tabs" which you and your doctor might want to check out), melatonin (as almost medfree mentioned), relaxing music, doing something extremely boring and monotonous, etc. have been mentioned. But, what works for one may not work for another. Also, there can be health effects if even natural remedies are used for long periods of time. It seems all about balance.

Light reading can relax me, as can mental prayer. I also try to not eat anything close to bedtime or do anything too strenuous.

And stress is often a factor; even hidden stress or just plain being overly busy. It pays to slow down whenever we can.

Don't know if any of this helps. I surely know what you mean by 'light sleep'--just dealt with that last night, in fact.

Hope you find something that helps. Best wishes. :)
Posted 11/5/2015 7:19 PM (GMT -5)
I was like this and found out that my mind would just not shut down. After 3 years of fighting it and taking every supplements I could I gave in to medication. I asked my doctor to give me a very low dose sleeping pill. I take 5 mg of ambian. My mind shuts down now and I'm not groggy in the daytime.

I wish I did these 3 years ago.
Posted 11/6/2015 3:43 PM (GMT -5)
Since I started taking the cymbalta, in the morning (not evening or I'd have severe insomnia), along with the gabapentin, I have been sleeping like a log! I'm even able to sleep on my back lately. Usually that causes pain, but I seem to find comfortable positions more easily.

I like valerian, and sleepytome tea from celestial seasonings.
Posted 11/7/2015 8:27 AM (GMT -5)
My doctor gave me a muscle relaxer. It doesn't really make me sleepy to fall asleep, but it really helps me STAY asleep and get into a deeper sleep. My toddler still wakes up a couple of times a night, and I used to not be able to fall back asleep for an hour or so each time. Now I can fall back asleep pretty quickly, and I don't have any of the side effects of a sleeping pill.
Posted 11/9/2015 6:56 PM (GMT -5)
My rheumy told me that for people with fibro, sleep is the last thing to improve. For a while, I took 6 mg of sublingual melatonin, but I had horrible nightmares. Now I take trazadone. I'm not thrilled to take it, but for me, sleep is of critical importance. Without it, I have no hope of managing flares. Recently I've started listening to yoga nidra sessions on YouTube & I am finding them very helpful.
Posted 11/9/2015 11:58 PM (GMT -5)
Slee, I tried melatonin several times over many years. I had bad nightmares each time and this feeling of not sleeping. Almost like my brain kept telling me to wake up. It was a very strange feeling. It's hard to explain but like someone kept yelling at me to wake up!

Never again. We are all so different. I hope you find something that works for you.
Posted 11/12/2015 12:14 AM (GMT -5)
Trazodone is helping me with no side effects that I can tell. I've only been using it for a few weeks. I tried it in April and it didn't help at all. Like others have said, we're all different. Apparently, I can be different from myself. What once didn't work for me, sometimes does at a later time. This sleep talk down YouTube video helps me sometimes. http://youtu.be/2Se32n1haEc
Posted 11/17/2015 12:23 AM (GMT -5)
Hi everyone,

Thank you all for your responses and suggestions.

almost medfree: I will look into massage, L-Theanine, and relaxing DVD's. Thank you!

Luvzminis: Thank you for all of your suggestions. I have tried to do some of that, but most of it doesn't work for me unfortunately. However, I am sure that reading or finding something relaxing before bedtime would be beneficial even if I'm not sleeping. :)

couchtater: I'm glad you were able to find something that works for you. I was just prescribed Trazodone, so I'll see if that helps. Thanks for your response!

tangodancer101: I have heard good things about gabapentin; in fact, my PCP brought it up today and said it can be helpful for sleep. Do you have any side effects from it? Thanks!

scifigal2k: Thank you for your response! I will consider asking about a muscle relaxer if nothing else works for me.

rholmes27: Do you notice any side effects from the Trazodone? My doctor prescribed it, so I might take it tonight. Also, I tried some Yoga Nidra before bedtime and it was very relaxing but I still couldn't fall asleep. Maybe if I continue to do them they will start to help :) Thanks for you response!

puppylover: Other people have said that they've had bad nightmares on melatonin. I seemed to have very vivid, weird dreams on it and it never really helped anyway. Thank you for your response!

woinarow: That's good to know that the Trazodone is helping you without any side effects. I might take it tonight to see if it helps. Also, thank you for the link to the sleep talk down!
Posted 11/17/2015 8:17 PM (GMT -5)
Just want to throw out about gabapentin: it is an anti-seizure medication. I was on it for several months and went off because we started trying to have a baby. You can't quit it cold-turkey because it will cause you to have seizures. It definitely made my brain fog worse during the day, but it did help with sleep. It helped with pain as well, so I liked it, but it just made it difficult to think during the day. I was on an extremely high dose, however (3600 mg/day, which is the max). It dulled my reactions, so I didn't drive while on it.
Posted 11/17/2015 9:01 PM (GMT -5)
Slee,
Side effects from gabapentin... I can get a bit drowsy or foggy mid day sometimes.

I weaned off of it over a few weeks once just because I was so paranoid about being on regular prescription medicine for the first time in my life. It was uncomfortable, but not tremendous problem. It made me realize how much it was helping. Insomnia came back, the severe burning all over especially in my feet, restless leg returned, and I was in the pain I had beore going on it. Yes, it is advised not to cut cold turkey.

T
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