[sleeplessinky]

I feel that there's nothing else I can do for my insomnia. I started out by trying most of the sleeping pills on the market inluding prescription, OTC and the natural stuff. As soon as I hear that something may work for insomnia, I try it. I've tried magnesium and the B vitamins. I've read many books on insomnia and tried everything suggested. I exercise and do the deep breathing exercises and meditation. I even took a cortisol test to see if I had adrenal fatigue and that wasn't the case. I went to a sleep specialist which was a waste of time. His advice to me was to take Ambien every night. I then tried congnitive behavior therapy with a sleep therapist. I went to him for months and did everything I was supposed to. I went through the torture of sleep restriction therapy and found that no matter what time I go to bed, I may fall asleep fairly quickly but can only sleep for one hour at a time. This goes on all night and my final awakening is 4:00 a.m. unless, on rare occasions I take an Ativan and go back to sleep for a couple of hours. I know how quickly you can develop a tolerance to Ativan so I don't do this often.

I think the only thing I've missed taking is antidepressants and the reason for that is that most of them list insomnia as a side effect. I have friends who say they have a sleeping problem but what they consider a sleeping problem is having problems falling asleep and then sleep till 10:00 the next day. I wish I had that problem.

If I sound negative and discouraged, it's because I am.

Does anyone else have this type of insomnia that they can only sleep an hour or two at a time? Does anything help you?

[Martin Reed]

Have you investigated cognitive behavioral therapy? Together, we will help you on your journey to improving your sleep. At the very least, you won't be suffering alone.

—

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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.

[sleeplessinky]

Hi Martin

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I did try Cognitive Behavior Therapy, and stayed with it for months. It just didn't work for me.

[Roseleb]

I am trying an anti-depressant Trazedone because it also helps w sleep. I'll let you know. I tried an audio thing through Blue heron healthcare, it is suppose to help 9/10 people but it didn't help me.plan on getting my $ back. And yea, don't u hate people who don't understand insomnia and give you all types of bad advice?!

[sleeplessinky]

Hi Breaking the Ice…..I will be very interested in hearing about your experience with Trazadone. I've been reading a little about it. Most people say it helps them to sleep without side effects. I've been thinking of asking my doctor for a script. The only thing that is holding me back is that one of the possible side effects listed is urinary frequency. I'm already plagued with an overactive bladder so I don't know. I don't want that problem to be worse than it already is.

Please post again after you start taking it. Good luck.

[SittingStill]

Geeze – sounds alot like me. I think that CBT only works when you are truly conditioned to not sleep in your bed. It does not work at all when there are physiological/biochemical impediments to sleep. I'm leery of medication as well – have restoril, but only try to take it occasionally.

SSRI's actually helped me sleep for a few years (zoloft), but the effect wore off, so I no longer take it – besides, some suspect that SSRIs permenantly damage your serotonin receptors – these drugs are last resort in my opinion.

While exercise/meditation may not help your sleep, it may help you function better when you are sleep deprived – at least that is my expereince with both, so you might want to keep them up despite the frustration. They make it more likely that I will fall asleep, but for me are not panaceas.

Good luck!

[jjmahern]

I have been taking trazodone for almost a week and if I take more than half a pill 25 mg, I am groggy through to the next day. Not sure how it might affect you. So are you on antidepressants? have you looked into things that might cause purely physiological insomnia? Are you a woman? Could possibly be hormonal or menopausal if you are. I will try to do some research on it. I am currently taking wellbutrin and have for 10 years and think it might be contributing to my insomnia and so am going to talk to my dr about going off.

I am so very sorry you are going through this. I feel for you. If you need someone to talk to, let me know.

Jen

[brayan]

Omg, yes there's some weeks where I'll only sleep several minutes a day, not even an hr, its ridiculous haha, I mean I havr the times where I'm up for a couple of days before being able to sleep, then there's the times where I'll sleep an hour if even that a day at a time, think that might feel worse that nust being up for a couple of days not being able to sleep, because here I am thinking like, ok, I. Slept for a little bit, I should be able to sleep for a little more, then end up not being able to, all false hope haha, I have tried trazadone before, I didn't help me get to sleep any better but when I did eventually fall asleep I did not feel like getting up at all the next day

[jjmahern]

Yeah I feel you on the trazadone. More than 25mg would make me luggy the whole next day, not to mention eye twitches, increased bathroom trips and constipation. I am going off it myself. Actually last night was my first night using nothing in 7 days. I woke up several times like when I don't take pills but for me the CBT things I have been doing helped me go immediately back to sleep after each awakening. I do feel more tired today but better than before. If nothing is working I say go to your doctor and tell him how hard you worked at CBT and it didn't work and you want to investigate other possible physiological causes for it. Also I would go and get a sleep study, If you are sleeping that little, they should be able to at least give you some insight as to what is happening in your brain. Go to a different sleep dr who will listen to you and give you a sleep study. Going for days on end without sleeping is really dangerous.

I hope very much you can get some help. I can't even imagine how hard this must be.

[jjmahern]

Also talk to your dr about your possible OCD. That going untreated could be having a tremendous effect on your sleep.

[Author]

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