I am so sorry - I hope all goes well today. I know it does not help much but I know all too well about those sleepless nights. I remember one time after my son was adjudicated I woke up in the middle of the night and jumped out of bed and just started to scream "Why???" Needless to say I did not sleep that night at all.

We are here, pls know most of us have walked the road before you . . .

I had to take sleeping pills when I was going through this long process, I couldn't sleep any other way. Let us know how it goes :-(

We do this again next month.. Ughh. The van was running late so this time we didn't even get to c him

I'm taking something to help me sleep, but I still have trouble some nights.

trouble sleeping? well, in a stressful situation, that is mimicking mother nature's response to a crisis, for example a dangerous animal or other natural threat, in which case you would not want to fall asleep before the crisis is solved, but it wouldn't take months or years like in the modern world. Anyways, if you recognize that your stressful response is preventing your sleep, perhaps you can relax. I never really understood it, if you can't sleep then don't. It's not like you can actually go without sleeping, the body will fall asleep eventually. If you are "trying" to fall asleep, that is a recipe for disaster. I don't get it, if you are not actually tired, then why are you trying to sleep? And if you are actually tired, then stop thinking and relax and sleep should happen automatically.

oh, well if it's only for one night then who cares?

Mom,

If you are having problems sleeping, there are two fairly effective drugs you can by at any pharmacy without a RX that should help.

The first is diphenhydramine, which is the generic name for Bendaryl. This drug is safe, it has been on the market for over 50 years and it is the active ingredient in most OTC sleeping meds. You can buy 100 of the 25mg tablets for four dollars at Wal Mart. Start out with 25mg at bedtime and if you need to, increase it to 50mg at bedtime.

The other is melatonin. It is a naturally occurring hormone which will regulate you sleep cycles. Follow the directions on the bottle and start out at a lower dose. You may have to increase the dosage.

Both of these drugs are safe and fairly effective. Try these before you do to the doctor and have him prescribe you something stronger.

Also, if you are really depressed to the point that your emotions are crippling you or preventing you from doing your day to day activities, you might go to the physician and see if he will prescribe you a mild antidepressant. The newer ones are SSRIs and are usually very effective with very few side effects. Some of the more popular ones are Celexa, Lexapro, or Prozac. One of my friends on the board started taking Zoloft and it worked wonders for her. She was able to sleep and felt much better.

Hope this helps,

rewdiazepam

Hugs. I know this is hard. You will get through this. It will take time and your heart will be broken for a very long time. But you can find support here.

We are trying to go to sleep at a normal time so we can function the next day at jobs and other things

Thanx guys.. I do actually take melatonin.. It makes a difference.. Just seems the night before court is hardest and doesn't always help those nights..