Insomnia Support Group
Insomnia is a symptom, rather than a disease, and is characterized by inadequate quantity or quality of sleep. People with insomnia complain of difficulty falling or staying asleep, which results in significant impairment of daytime functioning. Insomnia is categorized as transient (shorter than one week), short-term (one to three weeks) or chronic (longer than three...
Hi. I am 44 years old and been having sleep issues most of my adult life. I can not remember sleeping an entire night since I was in college.
I have bad insomnia, mainly middle of the night insomnia where i wake up at 3am and can not get back to sleep. Literally 3am right on the hour lol
I have identified some of my issues.
The biggest problem is body aches and pains. I wake up sore. I am a side sleeper and that whole side of my body becomes sore and I can not sleep in any other position. ALSO I think I thrash in my sleep for I often wake up with a pulled muscle in my back. I am also aware that I talk in my sleep. Then once I am up from that I start worrying about my job then i am full blown awake and can not fall back asleep.
I take aleve at bedtime and it seems to help a little.
I just ordered a feather-bed in hopes it will help with my discomfort. i can not afford a new bed or mattress. but my main question is are there any supplements, over the counter, that will aid in middle of the night anxiety/insomnia? Also does Sleep restriction really work? At first i tried going to bed very early and watching tv in bed seemed to help me relax and sleep but that soon stopped working. I want to try forcing myself to go to bed at a later hour but not confident that it will be effective.
It seems like I toss and turn alot but always full blown awake at 3am.
I have bad insomnia, mainly middle of the night insomnia where i wake up at 3am and can not get back to sleep. Literally 3am right on the hour lol
I have identified some of my issues.
The biggest problem is body aches and pains. I wake up sore. I am a side sleeper and that whole side of my body becomes sore and I can not sleep in any other position. ALSO I think I thrash in my sleep for I often wake up with a pulled muscle in my back. I am also aware that I talk in my sleep. Then once I am up from that I start worrying about my job then i am full blown awake and can not fall back asleep.
I take aleve at bedtime and it seems to help a little.
I just ordered a feather-bed in hopes it will help with my discomfort. i can not afford a new bed or mattress. but my main question is are there any supplements, over the counter, that will aid in middle of the night anxiety/insomnia? Also does Sleep restriction really work? At first i tried going to bed very early and watching tv in bed seemed to help me relax and sleep but that soon stopped working. I want to try forcing myself to go to bed at a later hour but not confident that it will be effective.
It seems like I toss and turn alot but always full blown awake at 3am.
Late at night I do not see how it would effect me. I even tried sleep sounds. Sleep sounds(rain) helped me fall asleep but woke up all night. I would guess I woke up every 30 minutes.
First, it's important to identify and treat any medical issues with a doctor. This will help you determine if there are any underlying medical issues that you're not aware of, and then you can treat them effectively for better sleep.
I think you're doing the right thing with the feather bed. Hope that helps.
Regarding anxiety-caused insomnia, beware of any supplement or otc product, because according to the AASM none have been proven safe or effective and none are recommended.
Some anxiety is normal. We all have it to some degree. If you have normal anxiety, a better approach is to address the underlying negative thought patterns that cause and contribute to anxiety in the first place. That way you are treating the root of the problem, not just the symptom.
Sleep restriction is very effective when it is part of a comprehensive CBT based approach. It is one key component of CBT, and I can attest personally that CBT is very effective at treating nonmedical root causes for insomnia. It is a drug-free and permanent solution. Can't directly help with the pain though, see your doc for that.
CBT has an anxiety management component, as well as addresses control of sttess, two common culprits underlying insomnia.
With insomnia, sleep (or the lack thereof) is only the symptom. That's why sleeping pills are so problematic. They only treat the symptom.
By understanding the root causes for your insomnia, and by addressing those, be confident you help yourself sleep better. Keep us posted if you have more questions.
Out of all the doctors and nurse practicioners I've gone to (a lot) over the years, NONE of them were willing to determine if I had/have any underlying medical issues causing my insomnia.
If you go to a doctor complaining about insomnia, the first course of action seems to be drugs. If that doesn't help, they suggest a sleep study (which only helps if you have sleep apnea or restless leg syndrome).
After that, you're pretty much on your own. For the amount of people who suffer from insomnia, I'm stunned that there aren't sleep clinics that actually focus on sleep hygiene, behavior modification, relaxation techniques and undoing the "bad habit" of learned insomnia etc.
I finally went to a counselor to see if she could help with relaxation techniques or a stress reduction plan so I could stop fearing bed time. HER suggestion? Drugs.
I realized that was a good idea, and that's when I learned about CBT specifically designed for insomnia.
So if you are not happy with your doc, or think your doc is maybe overlooking the true root cause(s) for your insomnia, ask for a referral to a doctor or other healthcare professional who specializes in sleep. They're out there.
I've even asked for referrals to specialists and even looked in the phone book (online). They're all "sleep clinics" who only specialize in pulmonary issues.
:(
But i been trying something different. Since my main issue is staying asleep, not getting asleep instead of taking sleep meds at time of bed I been waiting till after I wake up after my first sleep cycle to take something (zquil) and that actually helped a lot in extending my sleep and quality of sleep. I actually had about 4 days in a row where i felt rested at work and not struggling. yay
I'll post details in a separate thread.