Since this is a never ending thing for me I am becoming a pro at this...Lol not really. Most of the time I snuggle on the couch with our four dogs watching tv and or come on here as well. I try to keep quite so I don't wake my hubby or son. I used to read but don't do much of that anymore because I forget what I read. One thing for sure is this really does stink, my body is screaming I'm so tired please sleep, yet when I try within an hour or two I am wide awake. I guess I just need to learn to live with it... I do hope most of you are sleeping. Hugs to all, Robin
Awwwww… It does stink when you can sleep… I’m a nightshifter so along with sleep disturbances when I’m not working and the fibro insomnia go figure… My body gets so with out sometimes… I have been taking OTC generic tynenol PM it helps some … So sorry you going thru this ! Hugs!
I meant when you can’t sleep… Typos!
Oh no LaDonna, My husband worked midnights for a couple of years and boy did it ever mess up his sleeping. My oldest son still works midnights and is run down or sick all the time As for me I'll be akay.. Hugs, Robin
Hey you, I know just how awful not being able to sleep is, especially when its because of a fibro attack. For sleep i now take Nortriptyline and ive been taking it for quite awhile now and unless the attack is unbearable i sleep through the night with only one side effect which is dry mouth in the morning which to me is worth it for finally a good nights sleep. My fibro worst attacks my knees, lower back, hips etc. so i also can sit in a hot bath which sometimes help and adding my favorite scent bubble bath believe it or not helps to calm me down as well. Have you talked to your dr. about your insomnia yet? You dont need to learn to live with it, i thought so too the first few years of my fibro but please dont give into that, with fibro you need sleep so much! I also have a sound machine, which took me awhile to find one that had good sounds but i sleep with rainstorms and when i lay there i close my eyes and try to picture myself taking a nap on a screened in porch with a nice rainstorm to fall asleep too. It may seem silly but for me it works and thats what you need to find what works for you. I wish you the best of luck and hope you start to find some comfy sleep. Sleepy hugs, Whisper.
Hi Robin,
My guess is that most of us are pros and are also on prescription meds! I’ve been on generic Ambien for a decade, going from about 3 mg to 10 mg nightly as it has diminished in effectiveness for me. I really need to take it since developing severe tinnitus just last year. As an older male I also get up to use the BR so the pattern I’ve had is to take 2.5 mg at 11:15, 2, 4, and 6 AM , skipping the last dose if I need to be somewhere at 9. For me, the med takes nearly an hour to work only keeps me out about an hour or so for each 2.5 mg. I like a snack before bed, further reducing the initial dose effectiveness. If I took 10 mg at 11, I might sleep four hours but get up in the early AM feeling drugged and awful. The Feds are making it tougher to get Ambien so now I have to go pick up a ship every two months, a two hour RT of wasted time for a mediocre drug. Lunesta did not work for me, though. The best time of my life, physically, is the few minutes before I get out of bed, und six wool blankets and wearing two pairs of wool socks because I freeze with fibro. During that time, All of my muscles have relaxed over the night and the pain has lessened in most areas. getting out of bed is difficult and, after a small breakfast, I force myself to exercise with weights to an old video every day, despite nasty fibro pain. At 64 and working only very part time, it is not the way I had envisioned my retirement and is pretty difficult. Nevertheless, some of my peers are no longer with us so it could be worse. I also volunteer a few hours weekly at a local food kitchen. For me, the last twenty years has been trying to live with pain, fatigue, insomnia, and intermittent fibro-induced depression or anxiety that come from nowhere. You just get used to being tired as the sleep is often “non-restorative” also. Hmm, not too positive sounding but I’m always hopefull I’ll feel better tomorrow, LOL.
I understand how you feel completely! I have battled insomnia almost my whole life and i'm almost 37. To make matters worse, I have an 11month old that I stay home and take care. My husband wants to have another baby. I am in tears some days because all I want to do is sleep. I've tried everything from Ambien to melatonin.
When I saw that there is fibro-insomnia.iit was relieving to see i'm not just losing my mind with not being able to understand why I can't sleep. But, still depressed because nothing helps me :(
You are not alone and I understand your frustrations completely!
I do the same thing. I get up and watch TV or read something light. I have books as heavy in topics as the rise of the Third Reich and as ditzy as romance novels. I also seem to fall asleep better with the TV on. This may sounds silly, but I put on from On Demand on Comcast one of the Twilight Saga movies. Since I watch them regularly I don't have to watch them, just listen. Maybe you could try audiobooks???
I haven’t been sleeping well lately, I had asked all of you for suggestions a few weeks ago about a bedtime routine and I have to sat they the thing that has helped the most is the electrics blanket. Our house is quite cold so we had a lot of blankets that I would pile on and kick off ano on pretty much ll night. Now I set the electric blanket and it is almost like a heating pad. Now if I can find a solution for my arms and shoulders!
I have an electric blanket I haven’t tried. As things got worse, I just kept adding wool blankets!
I haven’t found anything for neck and shoulders either. my shoulder pain is, I think, a muscle that runs vertically in the crease between arm and torso, each side. I can’t lift things unless I crook my arm inward and use a different muscle.
But I don’t want to hijack the thread with my symptoms, LOL.
I too have had insomnia most of my life and have had a hard time fallin asleep and staying asleep. I take amitriptyline 70 mg and 10 mg of Tramadol about 3-4 hours before I go to sleep. I am newly diagnosed and my doctor wants me to try Lyrica instead of amitriptyline. When I was trying to wean myself off of it I could not sleep at all and had to take the last 2 days off of work. I also take bubble baths and read before sleeping and that seems to relax me as well as a heating pad on my pillow that automatically turns off after 1 hour to help with the pain in my neck and shoulders.
My doctor has also mentioned tryptophan (sp?) to help with sleep which I have not yet tried but am going to pick up this weekend so I can use while I am trying to wean off one medication to take the other.
Additionally, valarium root and melatonin I have heard work but make sure to check with your doctor to make sure these do not have drug interactions with your current medication.
I hope you find sleep soon. Sleep is the only thing that makes me feel the best where I do not have to take as much pain medication throughout the day so I understand the feat ahead of you and good luck.
I meant 50 mg of Tramadol in the post above. Good luck on your journey to great sleep.
I use a sleep mask, and turn on something I dont need to watch because I've seen it before, or is boring, and turn the sound down low, So, I have to make an effort to listen, My mind get tried of listening fall asleep pretty quick..I take trazadone, the least side effects, for me. and someone gave me a product called lights off. which works wonders and then it wil stop working, have to wait a week or two, before I can take it again. Adderall, taken durning the day will shut my mind off at night. I live up north so I like a cold room with a heating blanket. and with all this, i sleep most nights.Mirkat
Robin, I wish you rest and peace. I went about seven years on what seemed to be no sleep. I finally sought psychological help and with medical management, I could finally sleep for at least 4 hours. I thought that was great. Now, I get 5-6.
I still see my drs and am really pleased. My sleep is really needed. I even sleep during the day if I do anything.
Hugs Robin.
Robin, I am reading a book called "From Fatigued to Fantastic" by Jacob Teitelbaum, M.D. and it is all about FMS/CFS. One chapter is on getting good restful sleep. He recommends some OTC herbal products that I may try. First I am going to see a herbalist next week when I have an acupuncture visit. The few items he mentions is Jamaican Dogwood, Passion Flower, L-theanine, Valerian, Hops extract. All these things, and of course prescription can help you sleep. Are you taking anything at all to help you sleep? He thinks and many others do to get off of prescription meds and just use natural supplements. But you have choices. I am also taking trazodone 50 mg. 1 at night for sleep. They used to work completely, but lately I have been waking up at 3 or so in the morning. My rheumy told me to take the Flexeril he had prescribed for me, but I keep forgetting so I will restart that at night too and maybe wean off of them after I start the OTC products (2 of them at a time maybe). Again, you have options and I do hope you find sleep soon.
Karen
I hear you! It like you are living my life. I dream of the day that I can sleep threw the night or just get a really good rest! Its 4:13am here and I haven't been sleep yet give a couple of hours and rest of the house will be up. I play stupid games on facebook. watch tv. I 've tried to read to but I start to snooze so think oh great all just curl up, the i'm awake again in 20 min or so. I've always wondered if it the med doing this. well anyway good luck and happy dreams
Berni
You posted this discussion at the exact time that I was waking up... I watch tv, play facebook games, and if I am focused enough I do some school work. I also try to be as quiet as possible as to not wake my husband. I am trying to fix my sleep schedule now, and am so tired that when I spoke with my husband on his break, I started to cry because of how tired I am. However, I am following the recommendation from someone in the chat room and will be trying out melatonin tonight (if I can keep myself awake long enough to go to bed at night).
Hi Robin,
I sleep when I can! It is usually broken with several hours awake, several asleep. There are no kids or pets to care for so I can do this without having to care for anyone, unless the grandkids are here.
I can no longer read anything but a short article and retain, if there is a TV show I am interested in retaining facts, I have to take notes! The Rheum said it's all a product of chronic pain, and lack of proper sleep from chronic pain.
I usually take Valium at night, and can take Opana within 2 hours of it, but that's off after overdoing it on Friday and falling with no memory of it. After 7 hours in ER, nothing broken, but a concussion, so they advise not taking anything to cause drowsiness. I had not taken anything that night, just over did it, was exhausted. Got sprayed and numbed at the Rheum and went marathon shopping and dining with Mom and granddaughter. So I have several new x-rays he can look at and orders for new MRIs of upper and lower spine. Wants a new look at things, and he thinks the Enbrel is working, said it was the first time he had seen me 'animated'! ha! little does he know me! I know it's working. Like my buddy lamb on the psoriatic arthritis site says, "better, not best"!
The weather is freezing had snow again this morning, and there are windows open upstairs, they just sanded and put some type of urethane on the floors, so it's cold and drafty in here, but better than fumes. Room one of three almost complete in my home improvement hell! The room looks great, new insulation, new drywall, paint. The floors are beautiful, the yellow 'heart' pine. Can't buy them anymore!
This is what's up with me. Hope you can find a way to sleep. The Rheum gives me Valium after I have had no help with muscle relaxants, it helps sometimes.
Love and hugs,
SK
Insomnia sucks my doctor said the lack of good deep restorative sleep makes all the other symptoms worse. Ive been taking ambien. More often than id like to really. And trying to go to sleep and get up at the times. I try to relax for an hour before trying to sleep if I can. I don’t watch Tv in the bedroom much but if sleep is hopeless I sometimes go to the living room to watch Tv. I do believe that trying to get proper sleep should be a priority. Good luck and sweet dreams!
Dawn, 200 mg of Trazadone really helps me.