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I typically meditate anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes. Sometimes it makes me so relaxed that sleep comes shortly after that. Other times, sleep doesn’t come until a long time after that. I guess when that happens, I should be getting up out of bed. I do like to lay there awhile after I finish meditating just to let my mind wander and sometimes put me to sleep.
I have seen that on the web Penny but never explored it much. There are articles out there on how certain foods can keep you awake. Try Googling that and see what comes up. Sorry I can’t be of more help to you.
Hi Daf. I was on Mirtazapine for about two weeks. I agree with the 7.5mg for sleep but they also say 15mg will work also. Anything above that is more to treat anxiety. They worked for about a week for me and then they stopped working. The problem with Mirtazapine is, even though they say they are not addictive, a person can develop a severe dependence on them. I got off of them before that happened to me since they stopped working anyway.
Thanks Martin. I am going to try that taper schedule. I am thinking this is more of a psychological dependence as well but I had one other thought. When I get up in the morning and go to work, I am very fatigued and a couple times have fallen asleep for a short time in my chair. This usually lasts until noon or one and then as the afternoon and evening wear on, I start losing that fatigue and am not really sleepy. I was wondering if the melatonin was playing havoc with my circadian rhythm and putting me to sleep in the morning hours and keeping me awake at night. But as I said, I’ll try that taper schedule. Thanks!
I know it’s supposed to be harmless Edgar but I want to be off all pills if I possibly can before I start CBT-i. Then I know that anything that happens is due to the CBT-i and not any pills. Besides, I really don’t know if it works that good. It just might be a crutch I use subconsciously. Once I take the pill, my brain and body might relax even if the melatonin does nothing for me.
This is the second night in a row I tried going cold turkey off melatonin and both times gave up after going an hour and a half without falling asleep. Both times I ended up taking it and went to sleep within minutes. I must be hooked on it somehow.
This is usually what happens with drugs like these as your body gets used to the dosage you are prescribed so they quit working. You have two options. Have your doctor increase your dosage or taper off of the pills since the same thing will happen again in the future. If you have your doctor increase your dosage, you are essentially going to be hooked on these pills the rest of your life. If you decide to stop taking them, you cannot do it “cold turkey”. You need to be weaned off of them or else you can have severe withdrawal symptoms. Talk to your doctor about weaning off of them.
My problem is that my alarm goes off at 5:00 in the morning. That would make my sleep window 11:30 to 5:00. What am I supposed to do at 5 in the morning to 11:30 at night on a weekend? It’s too early to do anything. Sometimes I stay in bed until 7:00 and I do pick up another hour of sleep that way. And that does help me throughout the day.
Edgar,
Just a warning to you. YOU CANNOT JUST STOP TAKING A BENZO THAT YOU ARE DEPENDENT ON. Bad medical things can happen such as a seizures, convulsions and even death! Slimon is correct. You need to do a slow taper. Talk this over with your doctor.
I did find a tablet form of melatonin at a pharmacy that can be cut in half. That would make it a 1.5mg pill instead of a 3mg pill. I tried taking the whole pill (3mg) last night and it didn’t really put me to sleep. I ended up taking the melatonin I was used to and within 30 minutes, I was asleep. I woke up again later as usual but I did get to sleep. So, I ended up taking 6mg instead of the 3 I was used to. I am going back to 3mg of my usual tonight then try to cut down again this weekend.
Thanks for the suggestions Deb. I will keep them in mind for after the first couple of appointments with my counselor.
I sometimes wonder if you aren’t right Edgar in that all of this insomnia talk actually promotes it a little. But it also is good to talk to others that have it to realize I am not alone. I have a question for you. Do you practice Sleep Restriction? It sounds like you are getting less than 5 hours of sleep a night and if you go to bed at 11:30, you should be waking up at 5:00 with a 5.5 hour sleep restriction regimen. Your waking up at 4:00 is only an hour from your window of 5:00. I am not sure how I feel about sleep restriction yet as even if I just lie in bed, it gives me a chance to practice my meditation exercises and they seem to help.
Martin – Can you jump in here for a quick question? You said the bed should only be for sleep and sex. What about meditation exercises? Sometimes I fall asleep while I am doing them and at the least, it really relaxes me. Can’t I do that in bed?
Hi Edgar. I have to agree with Slimon that you are now dependent on the Valium and have reached the point where your current dosage no longer works for you. That’s one of the reasons I didn’t want to start taking benzos is because I would have to increase my dosage after awhile. While it is tough to get off of Valium if you want to, it also is one of the easier benzos to get off of.
I had several stress issues starting back in October of last year. The wonder of it is, I never felt any stress. Not the shaking, panic attack kind anyway. I just woke up after only getting 4 hours sleep one night and it started to get worse as time went on until late January when I went four days on one hour’s sleep. I was really stressing about the insomnia at that point and my doctor tried to put me on anxiety medication. However, I had reactions to the drugs and couldn’t stay on them. Then they tried sleeping pills and benzos and they weren’t really effective either. I finally got off them and now only take the melatonin and magnesium. I am now back up to getting 4.5 to 5.5 hours of sleep a night, and I have kind of plateaued there. I am starting CBT-i with a counselor this Tuesday and I also ordered the ACT book written by Dr. Meadows as I was curious as to how it compared to CBT-i. That should be coming Wednesday. I am really not sure how good this counselor is but I will give him a try. If it isn’t working, I am considering Martin’s course.
I know I will have to start SRT soon but not looking forward to it as a lot of times, I can practice meditation in bed if I don’t fall asleep right away so I don’t see a need to get out of bed after 20 minutes if I can’t fall asleep. My problem right now is even if I do get to sleep in 15 to 60 minutes, I usually wake up several times during the night. I try not to watch the clock but when I do wake up, I tend to look at it because I am trying to accurately gauge how much sleep I am getting. My other problem is I will wake up an hour before the alarm goes off and then I become the clock watcher as I continually try to see how much time remains before I get up. I can’t remember the last time the alarm actually got me up.
