Topic : Struggling with Sleep Issues?

Hi every1...My name is Liz.I have "MAJOR" sleep issues.Since I was 12yrs.old I have had sleep issues.The problem is I very sledom sleep.Don't get me wrong,I try real hard,sometimes (well most nights) I lay in bed 5,6,7 hours before I can get to sleep.I'd give anything to be normal.Or am I normal??? Do I just NOT require alot of sleep? I mean I know all the docs say every1 is different,but is 2-3 hours a night  normal,and or healthy?Becuz I don't  feel rested when I get up.And the slightest noise will wake me most of the time.I have been on Ambien,Halcion,etc...Now my  doc tells me it's ok to take benedryl,to help get to sleep.But since I have been taking benedryl so long now....It barely works anymore.

So.....I am at my witts end....Any1 out there with any suggestions,I would greatly appreciate them.........

                          Thx a Bunch...

                                                                    Sleepless In Ohio

     I have had sleep issues for at least two years. The doctor has prescribed all kinds of meds to try to help me fall asleep, because that is my issue. No matter how tired I am, and I feel like I am ready to sleep, as soon as my head hits the pillow, I am wide awake and my mind is racing. I have kept a sleep journal, and had an overnight sleep test done. The doctor said I am a "true insomniac". I have tried taking sleep medications, and the one that can get me to sleep is AMBIEN, however, it has not been good! At first, I would get up, without knowing and eat, prepare foods, make a mess in the kitchen and even get lost in my own bathroom, where my husband found me trying to get out through the wall. I gave the Ambien up at that time, as I was packing the weight on, and not getting the chance to enjoy the food I was partaking in, and I felt such guilt from waking my husband with my adventures. One night, I got up and painted the kitchen and fell off the ladder. I only remembered that I fell off the ladder, when I got up in the morning, and was very sore. Well, no Ambien, no getting to sleep. I have finally swore off of it, and am now going through my first week of withdrawal and getting very little sleep. My body actually hurts from not sleeping, and I am sooooooo tempted to go get a refill of the Ambien so I am not walking around in a fog, but, the experience I was told I had three weeks ago is preventing that! I actually fell again, and this time told my husband I broke both of my ankles in the fall. He took me to the ER, not because he thought my ankles were broken (I was walking on both legs!) but because he knew I had the Ambien in my system and was afraid that if he were to fall back to sleep, I would get in the car and drive myself to the hospital "under the influence". He falls asleep very easily, so I understand why he took me. I fully believe that my insurance is not going to find a reason to pay my $3000+ hospital visit that night, and I feel so terrible that I put my husband through this, and then he had to get up for work!!! He also told me that I was talking to people that were not here, so hallucinating. My opinion is, Ambien IS addictive, and I have a friend who is hooked on it, and my sister told me her friend just tried it and she also had hallucinations. You just don't know what this drug will do to you, or what it has already done to my brain, since it makes you forget. Right now, my sleep doctor has me getting out of bed, early (for me!) at a regular time each day, no matter how much sleep I got the night before. This morning, I am here typing and have not yet gotten to sleep in 23 hours. I went to bed several times, and couldn't sleep, so I gave up and got back out of bed. I don't know what to do, or what could help. I just know that I do not want to put anyone through my behavior on Ambien! I am wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience???

THANKS!

Susie

Wow, I really identify with Simbah317.  No matter how many hours I sleep, I always have a terrible time trying to wake up in the morning.  My whole life I've required lots of sleep.  I remember as a child that my favorite Saturday morning cartoon was Super Friends (I'm also 34), but it came on at 7:00 am and that was just too early for me to get up.

I've also had a problem with chronic lateness.  I remember in high school trying all kinds of things to make me wake up in the morning, including setting up my alarm (set 15 minutes ahead of course) across the room so that I would have to actually get out of bed to turn it off.  Well, it took me a couple of mornings to be able to sleep right through it and a couple more days before I didn't even hear it anymore.

I've been fired from jobs for lateness and one year I took my child to school late almost every day.  Even letters from the teacher and the principal didn't work.  This is very embarrassing, but I don't know why I can't get up early like everyone else.

To this day I have 2 alarms and I hit the snooze buttons several times.  My alarms are set about an hour before I actually get up.  I know I am losing more sleep this way, but I need all that time with all the alarms going off in order to semi-wake up and get out of bed.  When I do wake up I look like a zombie walking to the bathroom with my eyes closed.  I've actually fallen asleep on the toilet and dozed off in the shower.

I can fall asleep any time, any place, given the opportunity, even when I shouldn't be sleeping.  This does improve some when I have gotten plenty of sleep. 

Waking up in the morning is the hardest thing for me to do all day.  The only difference between me and Simbah 317 is that I don't have a problem falling asleep.  I knock out almost immediately after I get in bed.

Does anyone know if there is an actual reason for this or am I really just lazy?

Wow, I really identify with Simbah317.  No matter how many hours I sleep, I always have a terrible time trying to wake up in the morning.  My whole life I've required lots of sleep.  I remember as a child that my favorite Saturday morning cartoon was Super Friends (I'm also 34), but it came on at 7:00 am and that was just too early for me to get up.

I've also had a problem with chronic lateness.  I remember in high school trying all kinds of things to make me wake up in the morning, including setting up my alarm (set 15 minutes ahead of course) across the room so that I would have to actually get out of bed to turn it off.  Well, it took me a couple of mornings to be able to sleep right through it and a couple more days before I didn't even hear it anymore.

I've been fired from jobs for lateness and one year I took my child to school late almost every day.  Even letters from the teacher and the principal didn't work.  This is very embarrassing, but I don't know why I can't get up early like everyone else.

To this day I have 2 alarms and I hit the snooze buttons several times.  My alarms are set about an hour before I actually get up.  I know I am losing more sleep this way, but I need all that time with all the alarms going off in order to semi-wake up and get out of bed.  When I do wake up I look like a zombie walking to the bathroom with my eyes closed.  I've actually fallen asleep on the toilet and dozed off in the shower.

I can fall asleep any time, any place, given the opportunity, even when I shouldn't be sleeping.  This does improve some when I have gotten plenty of sleep. 

Waking up in the morning is the hardest thing for me to do all day.  The only difference between me and Simbah 317 is that I don't have a problem falling asleep.  I knock out almost immediately after I get in bed.

Does anyone know if there is an actual reason for this or am I really just lazy?

I guess I'm the odd one out these days. I can't seem to fall or stay asleep. For the last 5 years its been hell, and I had hopes that now that we've completed our final move, and staying put would at least help me to fall asleep much easier. Instead, I can't get to sleep earlier than 1:30 am , and I gotta get up for work at 5:00 am.

But to top it all off, if I do get into a good restful sleep earlier than normal I get the most terrible charlie horses in both legs! It's a struggle not to fall out of the bed to get up and walk around to try walk the cramp out. But, nine times out of ten I have to get into the tub to take a hot shower and just pray that the cramp will leave me in blessed peace.

I have tried everything under the sun to prevent the charlie horses, exercise, stretching, and until month before last, Quinine. Now they aren't making Quinine which was cheaper, but some synthetic stuff that now I won't be able to afford for any length of time.....

Anyone have any ideas? I would sure appreciate it.  I thank you so much in advance....*S*

Namaste

I guess I'm the odd one out these days. I can't seem to fall or stay asleep. For the last 5 years its been hell, and I had hopes that now that we've completed our final move, and staying put would at least help me to fall asleep much easier. Instead, I can't get to sleep earlier than 1:30 am , and I gotta get up for work at 5:00 am.

But to top it all off, if I do get into a good restful sleep earlier than normal I get the most terrible charlie horses in both legs! It's a struggle not to fall out of the bed to get up and walk around to try walk the cramp out. But, nine times out of ten I have to get into the tub to take a hot shower and just pray that the cramp will leave me in blessed peace.

I have tried everything under the sun to prevent the charlie horses, exercise, stretching, and until month before last, Quinine. Now they aren't making Quinine which was cheaper, but some synthetic stuff that now I won't be able to afford for any length of time.....

Anyone have any ideas? I would sure appreciate it.  I thank you so much in advance....*S*

Namaste