Insomnia

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Is anyone else here plagued with chronic insomnia? I've been suffering from it for well over seven years, and tried everything to mitigate the problem. Meditation, relaxation, mantras, physical exercise, music, dietary supplements including herbal tea, etc. all to no avail. It is a very rare night that I get to fall asleep without any medication. Worse yet, almost every night I wake up and have to take another dose then sleep till it's too embarrassing to relate. How do you guys cope with it?

btw when I hit the edit button, how come I cannot delete a post?

Been there, done that, got the stupid t-shirt.

My problem, lately, is I'm back to being depressed, for quite a few reasons. First, I'm stuck without a car, since the engine decided to throw a rod up through the block. The used car dealer where I bought this car supposedly found an engine, and is waiting for delivery. Second, I've had a nasty cold now for almost a month. Third, I've about had it with one of my roommates. He has been pissing me off lately, to no end, on several different fronts. Fourth, I have issues with Seasonal Affective Disorder. Fifth, I still have some residual pain and weakness after having Carpal Tunnel surgery on my right hand. Sixth, I've been having increasing problems trying to walk, no thanks to the giant corn on my big toe on my left foot. Finally, yesterday Mom's been gone 3 years. Do I dare talk to my brothers about it? Hell, No! The only thing I hear from them is either dry up, or f!ck you.

Yep, depression sucks big time.

dunno - it could be that either you need a certain number of posts to be able to delete or only a mod can do it. Tell me if you need some post be removed

Sure thing.
Oh, and I just found out that Plank's mom said that he had problems with sleeping too. Supposedly I couldn't sleep for the first seven months, then somehow I adjusted ... until 2007.

wow, seven months????? I didn't realise it is that bad.

Yep, I was heartbroken to find out what source of trouble I was since the very beginning! Poor parents. So it was bad, and have absolutely no idea why it recurred recently.

I go thru periods where I can't sleep, it's worse when I feel like I actually have to do something too so the pressure weighs on my mind while trying to sleep which makes it even tougher. It sucks, I try not to sleep with the TV on which I had a bad habit of when I was younger and that worked for me for a while but lately I've been just laying in bed staring at the ceiling. My mind is racing, I just don't feel like sleeping, I know I have to and sometimes I quite tired but I just feel unsatisfied and my brain doesn't want to shut off. Drinking and smoking helps I guess but you probably shouldn't depend on that to get to sleep obviously.

I was born with insomnia. Only thing that worked for me was getting a job that keeps me up late so I can sleep through the morning. Pills have too many scary side-effects to really be an option. Reading in bed also helps me.

I have the same problem. I don't smoke and I don't drink. Other then that I relate totally.

I can't sleep unless I take melatonin and mirtazapine. They make things pretty good, I get to sleep fine and just wake up a few times sometimes but get back to sleep quite easily.

I can sympathise with anyone suffering from insomnia. It can be hell, and makes other things worse.

I read somwhere that drinking and smoking don't help at all with sleep. If anything, they may have the opposite effect. I take melatonin and Valerian root every night, but they don't always work. I have been taking them for over a month now, but to no avail. And yes, I realise there are side-effects to taking medication, but there is no other option.

You mean you couldn't sleep ever since day one???

I've had periods of it due to anxiety, depression & OCD obsessing.

Alcohol works initially, but the effects decrease with chronic use, and actually it makes your insomnia worse in the long run. Try the following you haven't already: avoid exercise within 2-4 hours of bedtime, avoid daytime napping, avoid caffeine/alcohol/nicotine consumption at least 4-6 hours before bedtime, and avoid eating meals within 2 hours before bedtime. Also, use your bed for sleeping only, so avoid doing work/surfing the web/etc. on it.

If you don't mind me asking, what medications (prescription and non-prescription) are you currently taking? I know you mentioned melatonin and valerian root, but I'm guessing that your primary care physician must have given you something else? The thing that concerns me is that if you have any other medical conditions and are taking the meds, then there could be some drug-drug interactions with those meds or with the herbals. Just be careful and let your PCP know if you are taking any herbal supplements/vitamins on the side. BTW, like valerian, kava may help with insomnia, but the side effects include liver toxicity with chronic use.

It's probably best if you schedule an appointment with your PCP and discuss with him/her your current meds, what you're experiencing, what you've done so far to alleviate it, and figure out a better plan.