Have you seen a doctor? Hugs to you. I have lived through periods like this.

Hey, Molly! Thanks so much for reaching out to me. No, I haven't been to a doctor yet. I wanted to see if it resolves itself on its own. I remember yeeeeears ago, when my son was in the 3rd grade and was taking a standardized test in school for the first time, I was so nervous about it, I didn't sleep for I think 4 or 5 days. But once he took the test and got through it, I was okay. I remember going to the doctor, as it seems like whenever I go to the doctor for an issue, suddenly I"m feeling better. lol Wanted to wait and see on this one, especially since I am shopping for an affordable individual health insurance.

Molly, what was insomnia like to you? Can you describe it? How many nights were you not able to sleep?

Hi Pam!

I know that feeling of going to the Dr for an issue and suddenly that issue has resolved as soon as you get into the Dr's office :)

Insomnia can be very consuming, but there are things you can try on your own to help get back on a regular sleep schedule. For me, I had to work on re-setting my circadian rhythm and also work on my sleep hygiene before I started to be able to sleep better.

Here are a few things that helped me

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/sleep/art-20048379

I hope you get to feeling better soon!

HI, Sonnycamehome (I love that song, by the way). Well, I managed to get in (I think) about three hours of sleep. I went to bed (or, should I say, went to couch) after 4am. And I kept waking up, couldn't stay sleep for long. Now, I feel really, really exhausted, and my arms and legs are so tired. Today, my pharmacist recommended 10mg of melatonin, so I am going to try that today, and I am going to check out the link that you sent right now.

How long have you been dealing with sleep issues, sonnycamehome?

Hi Pam,

Just so you know FFI is strictly inherited, so if you don't have a blood relative that has had it (and you most certainly would know), you don't have it. It only affects about 100 people worldwide (out of 7+ billion) so you have a better chance of winning the powerball lottery.

There are many legitimate things to worry about in this world, but FFI certainly ain't one. Hope that helps you let it go.

Sonny has some good ideas there, and I can assure you pretty much everyone in this group knows what you're going through. Personally, I've been dealing with insomnia in varying forms for 30 years give or take. For me, trying making good sleep happen (the best I can, anyway) is a lifestyle.

You should see a doc to either treat or rule out an underlying medical basis. Chances are you don't have one, in which case you should look at nonmedical root causes. These typically are some combination of bad sleep habits and excessive worry about the idea of sleep. Both are treatable using CBT sleep training methods.

Keep us posted if you have more questions.

Hi Pam,

It's been about a year since I started having sleep problems, and it took me about 2 weeks to start seeing results from using good sleep hygiene, and about 4 months to start getting regular good night's sleep every night. Now, I don't even think about it too much...I just sleep well.

I took a CBT based online sleep hygiene course offered through my health insurance and that helped me the most. Another member posted a link to this online sleep health class that is also CBT based

http://www.getsleep.co/

For me, making small changes daily as I followed the online course was very easy and it didn't take long to start seeing results. It also felt really good to be doing something pro active about my sleep problem.

I'm glad you got a few hours of sleep...hoping tonight is restful!

Hi Hypnos, thanks so much for your reply! I guess I got a bit worried because I read in addition to the FFI, there is a version of it that can also develop without it being inherited. I can't think of the name of it, but saw it on Wikipedia and a few other sleep sites.

I definitely need to go to the doctor and see what is going on. But I first gotta find some affordable insurance ( I work part-time from home).

Thank-you so much for this info, Sonnycamehome. I will definitely take a look at the now. It's about 5:20am right now, and I don"t even think I got two hours this time. Hopefully later I will get tired and get another hour or two.