I too am the same way! I haven't started treatment yet as I just had my first appointment with the specialist on Wednesday, but this insomnia is killing me. I have a 2 year old little girl who is VERY VERY busy and I work. Being tired during the day is affecting my mood and my ability to effectively parent my daughter.

I finished tx in May, I guess I never knew about the sleeplessness but I sure did catch it.
On tx I would sleep 4 to 5 hours a night, really got po'd, Now I'm sleeping 8 hours again. I really didn't take anything for it cause I was plowing down so many pills already, I would check with your doctor because I think they will give you something to help.
I asked the hep c doctor about it and she said I would have to get it from the shrink. Just sleep when your body lets you,maybe take a nap if at all possible.

Yes ask your Dr. A good night's sleep is really important.
There are some Rx that are less addictive than others or you can try Melatonin
It's available without Rx in Canada.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/melatonin/NS_patient-melatonin

You have my sympathy. I also find it impossible to sleep so hepatologist prescribed trazadone which seems to work quite well.
Was also told that grapefruits, turkey and magnesium supplements work... I've added those to my diet so I'll let you know how it goes.

I'm off tx and still have terrible sleep.
Once in awhile, i take a benedryl. not as bad on the liver as tylenolpm & its not one of those other knock-out drops with an addictive tendency. sometimes one is too much - I wake up in a stupor, so I cut it in half.
Ask your dr about an OTC that is safe for you.

I don't sleep much at all,,, even have sleep pills and anti-d's, i used melatonin at times, warm milk in my cereal. It seems to come w/the territory, Talk w/your family dr, or which dr knows the most about your past addiction, i'm sure there is something out there.
Like Ptriss said, benedryl also helps and its OTC! In fact, I wish i had some now, as its hard to breathe today!
My body has taken the pattern that I fall asleep at dawn and sleep til about 10:30 am? Makes no sense, but I just roll w/it!
Sleep is very important, so I make sure I'm in my bed at least resting my body around midnight! Good luck, I hope u find something that helps!

I take nyquil, or a tylenol pm if it gets to tuff

Hep C and TX make for no sleep. I took lots of naps, (when I could and usually short ones) and I tried to "train" myself to sleep. I was so miserable physically that sleep would not come so I had to trick myself into forgetting how miserable I felt. I would focus really hard on something pleasant that I really liked.......birds singing, a comfortable pillow, focus really hard.....until I dropped off. Eventually, I could fall asleep when I went into that mode. Never for long though. Too miserable. See babyblade? hanging onto that blanket ...mmmmm.....if that doesn't work there is always drugs

It's one of the toughest side-effects. I've done tx twice. The first time with sleeping meds and the 2nd without. For me it was better without the meds... I'd rather toss and turn than go through life as a zombie. Here are a few things that worked for me:
- Camomile tea with honey about an hour before bed (hoping to pee it out before sleep)
- exercise, yes, but never within 2 hours of sleeping because you can't settle down
- when I just couldn't sleep, i stopped trying. better to get up for an hour and read... then try again
- if I had a crappy sleep the night before... then i'd nap during the day (while driving... not really)
But it's easier said than done. My heart goes out to you because sleep is so important. Good luck!

It's odd how we can be sooooo tired and not be able to sleep. Treatment is mean for that. I didn't use anti-depressants or sleeping pills but I did end up using benadryl to help me sleep and, in fact, I still take it a year post treatment. Just one pill seems to take the edge off and slow my mind down a bit when I was trying to sleep.

I also agree with everything mesadarlene said. You have to make sleep a concentrated effort. Someone else described it as this: Focus on the inside of your closed eyelids...sounds weird but if you focus on something like that you mind might give in and sleep. Good luck.

try melotonin...

I am oln 600 milagrams of sewriquil but usellly 50 will do also xanez. I dream od past bad things and of future bad things so hard for me. XDo you like rthis song?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtu5nBkPXCI

I had a 26 year history of addiction (21 years ago)...I took stilnox to sleep and I have now ceased them after a year on them without any problem... I do not seem to have awoken the many coloured beast... I worked with my doctor (psychiatrist), a sponsor and others in a similar predicament.
However I understand your reticence really well

haha darlene. to quote homer simpson " ya gotta have drugs"
all shittin aside lack of sleep can trash you in hours. just stay away from caffeine after 9 am. n chew any kind of pill that any sympathetic sap gives you. mania was so bad for me that i begged my nurse for elephant darts. she didnt take me seriously enough. 100 mg of trazadone was the best they would do for me. its some awfully dehydrating stuff..

I've been using trazadone combined with xanax for sleeping. Works for me, 50 mgs. traz & .25 xanax. I just stared taking melatonin as well as capn is right, the traz is really dehydrating so I drinks a lot of water.
I understand that there are ways of helping your body produce more melatonin through acupuncture. Check it out.