[Snookie]

Hello,

I have suffered from insomnia rather badly in the past, usually during times of stress. During these times I couldn't get off to sleep at all. Nothing all night. I would start to drift off and then my muscles would jerk and I would be awake again. All the doctor would suggest was sleeping tablets, but would only give me one course because they were addictive. Herbal remedies did nothing either. The thing that did work for me was hypnosis. I found a lady hypnoptherapist who saw me for a few sessions and also gave me a cassette tape to listen to at home. Gradually my sleep got back to normal. Until now that is.

Three weeks ago I picked up a nasty flu type virus, which lead to a chest infection. I spent two weeks coughing and couldn't get to sleep at night. The cough is going now, but I am still finding it very difficult to sleep. I am listening to my tape again. I have one sort of reasonable night followed by a night with no sleep. I am getting very fed up as I tried to go back to work this week, but am off sick again today following a sleepless night. I feel I need to sleep so I can recover from the virus, but I am so tired. Hmph!

Any suggestions?

[BobbyP]

Hi, Snookie, and welcome. Believe me, we ALL feel your pain!!

Your comment about the hypnosis has convinced me to share a little something I recently discovered that “sort of” helps sometimes. Here in the U.S. we have a popular tv show called “The Mentalist.” It's a mystery-type of thing. The main character (Patrick) is able to solve all sorts of crimes because he's good at reading people's emotions and reactions and body-language, all that kind of stuff. He can also very quietly hypnotize people, though he doesn't use it much.

Well, in a recent episode, one of the other characters on the show was having trouble sleeping. Patrick said, “Try to calmly and totally focus on your breathing. In and out, in and out. Stay totally focused on it. It often works!” I couldn't resist giving it a try myself — and in the past few weeks, it has actually worked most of the time I've done it. Not always, mind you, but often. And I do think this is somewhat of a form of self-hypnosis.

So what the heck — try it.

[Snookie]

Hello Bobby. Thanks for that suggestion. I will try the focused breathing tonight and see how it works.

We have several hypnosis type people on tv here too. Paul McKenna and Derren Brown are very popular.

I'll let you know how I get on.

[MarinaFournier]

'Snookie' wrote on '03:

I spent two weeks coughing and couldn't get to sleep at night. The cough is going now, but I am still finding it very difficult to sleep.

Is that ever familiar! I haven't found anything yet that really unplugs my nostrils, or stops the drips that can lead to a truly pheonmenal cough (probably like yours). Head does have to be elevated more than usual at those times. The coughing I can't control short of 8 oz of inexpensive whisky, because I'm allergic to codeine/vicodin, and no one seems to put any other drug in cough medicine. I am waiting for a form of theobromine to be added to them, especially since it stopped coughs better than codiene!

Quote:

I feel I need to sleep so I can recover from the virus, but I am so tired. Hmph!

That's my situation, too–the symptoms keep me awake, and no OTC or prescription remedy yet has solved the problem at the source or of the symptoms, but that's me. I wish I did have suggestions for you, since I know too well what you're dealing with.

[MarinaFournier]

'Snookie' wrote on '03:

I would start to drift off and then my muscles would jerk and I would be awake again.

Forgot to respond to this. I could do the complete relaxation of muscles meditation exercise, supposed to help you get to sleep. The part I could never relax were the muscles of my scalp. Like you, I could get just so far, and then my muscles would jerk and undo all the relaxation. Trying again was futile.

I know the jerking awake is an adrenaline release–the thing that makes you feel as if you're falling off a cliff just as you fall to sleep. Don't know how to cut that out. Wish I did.

[Martin Reed]

Welcome to Insomnia Land, Snookie! Let us know how the focussed breathing goes – it's a shame that your original doctor didn't offer you anything but sleeping pills.

Since hypnosis has seemed to work well for you, it would be great if you could contribute your experience to this thread on the subject: http://www.insomnialand.com/topic/222-hypnosis/

Thank you for introducing yourself, and I hope to get to know you better as I read more of your posts.

Take care!

—

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The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.

[BobbyP]

I should have KNOWN I was going to jinx myself with my advice to you yesterday, Snookie. Sure enough, I had a bad night last night, tried the method I wrote you about, but did it work? Of course not!! 🙁

Oh well. I shall try to function as best I can today. It's a Saturday, so maybe I can catch a nap somewhere along the line. I pity my boyfriend; he will have to see me at my worst throughout our day today. But I will hope to have a better night tonight and at least salvage some of our week-end with a cheerier mood from me tomorrow.

[Snookie]

Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions.

Marina, Here in the Uk you can buy Vicks Sinex nasal spray or spray mist that you squirt up your nose when you have a blocked nose through a cold. It works brilliantly at night, when you are lying down. It's not so good during the day, as because you are upright your nose tends to keep running. Can you buy Vicks cold remedies in USA or is there something similar? Now the productive part of my cough is almost past, at nighttime I am taking Phocodeine Linctus, which stops the tickly cough. If you can't take codeine medicines, isn't there a non-codeine cough medicine to help tickly cough? What I have found helpful with tickly cough is sucking boiled sweets. Not necessarily a medicated sweet for a cough or sore throat, but just a hard sweet/candy. Here we have something called Worther's original which is a sort of butter sweet tasting old fashioned sweet, which for a tickly cough is very helpful as the buttery sweetness goes down your throat and helps a lot. Do you have similar sweets/candy in USA?

Poor Bobby. Sorry you had a bad night again. Better luck tonight.

Thanks for the welcome Martin. Yes I will tell my experiences with hypnosis on that section.

Actually I had a better night last night. I'm not sure the breathing helped, but I listened to a bedtime story read by my favourite actor, on audo cd and that helped settle me down and I drifted off to sleep. I didn't get chunks of sleep, but slept for about and hour and a half, woke up, then went off again for about an hour and a half, and so on until just before 8.00 this morning. I am more than happy with that and was alert enough to go to see my friend and her horse this morning, which I usually do on a sAturday morning. I haven't been for three weeks because of this awful flu that I have had.

More bedtime stories tonight and I will report tomorrow how I get on. I will write more about this on the relevant topic.

Thanks again for your comments. It is surprising how many people suffer from insomnia.

[MarinaFournier]

'Snookie' wrote on '04:

Marina, Here in the Uk you can buy Vicks Sinex nasal spray or spray mist that you squirt up your nose when you have a blocked nose through a cold.

Thanks so much–but I've never been able to tolerate nose sprays. There are a host of nasal sprays on the market, but they aren't for me. I tried, against my best judgement, some Imitrex spray for a migraine. It worked far shorter a time than I dealt with the ghastly acrid drips down my throat, allowing me to taste the blasted stuff far longer than I wanted. My husband has had Imitrex pills, which didn't work on him, so not only did that form not work for me, the drug itself won't work for either of us. I use generic fiorinal for most migraines these days–useless for a sinus headache, though, for me. Ain't I the lucky one?

Quote:

Can you buy Vicks cold remedies in USA or is there something similar?

Would you believe relieving my cough has been nearly as bad as relieving my insomnia? No OTC formula works for me, but yes, I get the sugar-free (type 2 diabetic) Lemon Ricolas, which are a boiled sweet in essence, and keep that in my mouth to help prevent the dryness which can often trigger a non-productive (most of mine) cough.

Quote:

Here we have something called Worther's original which is a sort of butter sweet tasting old fashioned sweet, which for a tickly cough is very helpful as the buttery sweetness goes down your throat and helps a lot. Do you have similar sweets/candy in USA?

Unfortunately we do! Werther's is so accomodating as to produce a sugar-free variety or two, and I have always looooved butterscotch and caramel. Grether's pastilles (Red- and Blackcurrant) are softer, and less obtrusive if you have to be speaking while carrying it in your mouth. Then there are the horehound drops, another boiled sweet, which can help with coughs–but it seems it's the molasses flavor that I liked the best.

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