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As lupus has progressed over the yrs I'm increasingly experiencing more & more sleep issues. I go thru serious periods of lack of proper deep sleep & hence the rest of life suffers. A number of yrs back my family dr put me on a sleeping pill called Zopiclone due to concern abt lack of proper sleep. It worked so good for quite a while but now I'm wondering if my body is getting too used to it. Abt twice a month I might luck out & get 7 hrs but I'm in the middle of a stretch now with the ave of 4 - 5 a night.
Does anyone out there have any natural tricks they do that seems to help, even any how would you say old wives tricks or secret family remedies. It's 7 am here in my prov in Canada & I've been awake since abt 2 am.
I'm open to all suggestions!
Does anyone out there have any natural tricks they do that seems to help, even any how would you say old wives tricks or secret family remedies. It's 7 am here in my prov in Canada & I've been awake since abt 2 am.
I'm open to all suggestions!
I just want to say- be very careful if you decide to stop taking zopliclone. It has to be tapered down very slowly otherwise it can cause VERY serious UNREVERSIBLE withdrawal syndrome. Most doctors say its fine to just stop- It's not. Please research!
That being said, I have suffered insomnia for years. I have tried every natural remedy you can think of. I do find- when u have been using really strong sleep meds, things like valerian and melatonin dont make a dent.
Behavioural changes have the highest rate of success. Particularly sleep restriction. S et your sleep times- say 10pm-7am and these are the only times you are allowed to lie in bed- NO MATTER WHAT. Give it a try.
In your situation i would continue taking my current dose of Zopiclone- try sleep restriction and all of those other common sense things- no caffeine after 3 etc etc. Once you have it under better control then do a very very slow taper of the zopliclone. I am talking about reducing it over say 3 months! A long time!
The side effect of zopliclone withdrawal is sleeplessness.
I am writing from an awful experience I had with these meds and years of insomnia- pm me if you like.
Unnfortunately it takes work to be able to sleep well again!
Coralie
1. No caffeine after early afternoon.
2. No food consumption after supper.
3. Eat supper no later than 5 or 6 p.m.
4. No sugar after supper.
5. No artificial sweeteners (ever), because it causes joint & muscle pain that keeps me awake.
6. Drink a "tea" made from magnesium citrate powder dissolved in warm water, along with cinnamon and honey. I do this 2-3 times per week.
7. Soak my feet in hot epsom salts water before bedtime as often as possible.
8. Allow my brain to calm down before going to bed.
9. Sleep in a dark, cool room.
10. Pray when I go to bed.
I have been on those zombie pills for 3 years, I was using Ambien, then I went off them and tried time released Meletonin, that didn't help much, so my first Rheumy put me back on Ambien.she said if you stop taking it for a couple o weeks, then restart it resets the bodies resistance to it. I ended up take Zolpediem, from my second Rheumy, now I am building up a tolerance. I guess you are supposed to taper it slowly. Some switch back and forth between the two, to avoid building up a tolerance, but you would hav to check with your doctor.
Good Luck
Coralie
It is an antianxiety med- tranquilizer.
Mary Ann