Serious trouble sleeping...any advice?

[zmdh39]

I have trouble too without some sort of sleep aid. I use ambien (which knocks me out) or unisom (doxylamine succinate), which is definitely stronger than benedryl, which is what simply sleep is made of. Being able to turn your mind off and relax definitely helps in the process of falling asleep and is the main issue I have. I can preach to relax and shut everything out at night when you are laying down, but I am not very good at actually doing it. As far as melatonin, it had no effect on me or anyone else I know that has tried it. And my dad is just as unfeeling when it comes to falling asleep. Has the same attitude your family has. But he has never had trouble falling asleep ever. Must be nice.

I tried Meletonin for a while, it worked for a bit, but soon stopped working for me, I have also used unisom, ambien, and all that jazz...over time they stopped working...I too am one that just can't turn stress off like a magic light...I don't have the a-typical stress factors most people have...I get those call from my tech company saying "The accountant moved money to the wrong account, that account is now froze n BTW, so even though it is 4 am on Monday, you have until midnight on Wednesday to figure out how to the the 50k needed to cover payroll to the appropriate account...good luck!" I deeplu even those that can just do some deep breathing and turn it off...I guess God skipped me when he was handing that out!

[zmdh39]

Tylenol is not an NSAID, but I don't know about the other ingredients.
Is 8 tablets below the maximum recommended daily dosage?
Speak to your PCP.

I don't know what to say about those stresses you can not avoid. Those definitely will affect your sleep amongst other things.
Can you try to relax a little while before bed time, try to avoid the people or situations that cause you this stress as it approaches bed time and do something relaxing leading up to it?

I am sorry you are going through this and hope you resolve it soon.
You don't deserve this.

Avoid old habits if you stress eat (my old nemesis). Also, I found that when I am tired, I use to gravitate towards food.

If all else fails, watch CSPAN.

When I say that in my current situations there is no avoiding the people or the stress, I am talking about this kind of stuff. My FIL, we live with my inlaws at the moment getting ready to move across the country at the beginning of the year, we didn't want to get locked in to a year lease in this town.

Anyway, my FIL is bi-polar and a night owl, who will talk constantly despite you explaining to him that you are trying to work, your blatantly obvious avoidance of every word that comes out of his mouth, and any other avoidance technique you can come up with. Trust me, I have tried them all.

I tried working in the downstairs office, I even installed 3 separate locks on that door all at the same time...during the times he wasn't constantly knocking on it or trying to talk through it...the first night I went to bed, he took off all the locks...decided to put them in one of his MANY paintings he does at 4 am in the in morning as he sings to himself...and then told me in the morning the locks had magically broke...ALL of them...the chain lock, dead bolt and push lock...ALL of them...magically broke, so his creative imagination told him to not waste the brand new magically broken locks...that he broke...so he put them in a painting...sigh...

Then there was the time he decided to draw a mustache, complete beard, AND a tramp stamp on my son while he was sleeping...as if my son was one of these guys who did too many keg stands, and was the first to pass out at a college kegger party!

There is not enough ambien and CSPAN in the world that will drift you off into dream land once you FIL has decided that God specifically told him that 3:34 AM is the precise time EVERY NIGHT that he needs to start working on his on personal rendition of Thor's Hammer.

[zmdh39]

This might be as fruitless but what about herbal remedies, like tea? Several brands make herbal "Sleepy time" teas and chamomile is another that might help you wind down enough to try sleep. Personally I don't trust the sleeping pills, it's too easy to build up an immunity and what sleep you do get isn't wholesome.

That aside I'm very sorry you're experiencing this and the stress that's causing it. I can relate. Not that many years ago I would get so stressed out about life issues that I would stay up until dawn or even the next afternoon, sleep 4-6 hours, and be up again. It wasn't until I got some medication adjustments and worked on what was causing these nights that I started to sleep better. I hope you can find the relief you need and get that sleep!

Thank you, I have not tried any herbal teas, I will give those a go for sure. I appreciate the suggestion!

[zmdh39]

I constantly have problems sleeping. My doctor told me to take Melatonin. It is a hormone that your body makes naturally at night to make you sleep. I have been bumped to 10 mg because my body does not produce it. You can get it any health store or Walmart. I would start with trying 5 mg or less to start with. It is not the same as taking sleeping pills. This is something that your body produces or should produce. Good luck!

I used to use Melatonin at one point, it stopped wroking for me, but maybe it has been long enough that it will work again, thank you, I will give it a shot.

[zmdh39]

I can relate, we can have a pity party together! I have been working with my doctor for at least 5 years, tried numerous medications, nothing helps. I had a sleep study, no sleep apnea, but I woke up 49 times. I now take ambian (not sure how to spell that!) timed release, and it gives me three solid hours of sleep. That's it, but it's much better than nothing. It is depressing, and I'm always tired at work.

On the plus side, I am regular weight, so I am a tired regular-sized person. That's better than a tired fat person.

I can totally relate to your post...I don't have sleep apnea, thankfully, but I do know I wake up a lot during the times that I do sleep...its a long story!

[mem222]

Zmdh, my heart goes out to you and your family. That is stress! Hopefully the end of the year will pass quickly!

[Beth Pets]

Be careful of the Ambien. For some people it's just perfect but others (like me) are completely bedeviled by side effects. After about 2 week my short term memory was shortened to about 2 minutes and I even experienced an incident of sleep walking. I woke up sitting in my car in the driveway. That was the end of sleeping pills for me.
If I am having trouble sleeping I take 1/2 a Xanax about an hour before I go to sleep. I usually only need them for a day or two and it seems to readjust my sleep patterns.

[zmdh39]

Zmdh, my heart goes out to you and your family. That is stress! Hopefully the end of the year will pass quickly!

Thanks mem222, I am praying hardcore for it to pass quickly!

[Lee6Lee]

A children's liquid Benedryl every night lately does the trick for me. My GP said it's fine and non habit forming. I add 1 Melatonin along with it. I need my sleep.

[Joe Poppa]

When I say that in my current situations there is no avoiding the people or the stress, I am talking about this kind of stuff. My FIL, we live with my inlaws at the moment getting ready to move across the country at the beginning of the year, we didn't want to get locked in to a year lease in this town.

Anyway, my FIL is bi-polar and a night owl, who will talk constantly despite you explaining to him that you are trying to work, your blatantly obvious avoidance of every word that comes out of his mouth, and any other avoidance technique you can come up with. Trust me, I have tried them all.

I tried working in the downstairs office, I even installed 3 separate locks on that door all at the same time...during the times he wasn't constantly knocking on it or trying to talk through it...the first night I went to bed, he took off all the locks...decided to put them in one of his MANY paintings he does at 4 am in the in morning as he sings to himself...and then told me in the morning the locks had magically broke...ALL of them...the chain lock, dead bolt and push lock...ALL of them...magically broke, so his creative imagination told him to not waste the brand new magically broken locks...that he broke...so he put them in a painting...sigh...

Then there was the time he decided to draw a mustache, complete beard, AND a tramp stamp on my son while he was sleeping...as if my son was one of these guys who did too many keg stands, and was the first to pass out at a college kegger party!

There is not enough ambien and CSPAN in the world that will drift you off into dream land once you FIL has decided that God specifically told him that 3:34 AM is the precise time EVERY NIGHT that he needs to start working on his on personal rendition of Thor's Hammer.

I'm sorry. At least the new year is almost upon us and a new beginning for the three of you.

Is there any chance he may like a Nyquil smoothie? Tell him it's made with Jagermeister (JUST KIDDING, DON'T DO THAT!)

[Ann2]

Jeez, you are living in an asylum!

Get out now!

[zmdh39]

Jeez, you are living in an asylum!

Get out now!

Lol, trust me, not news to me...still just not possible until the beginning of the year

[LisaZBee]

You have received some really good advice already but wanted to add my 2 cents. I've used melatonin for myself and for my son who has ADHD. It really helps but what has made it more effective for me is a lower dose of melatonin taken with calcium and magnesium 30 minutes or so before bed. I don't use this every night just when I am having trouble and it seems to get me back on track. The calcium and magnesium have a muscle relaxing effect which really seems to work well combined with the melatonin. I've also taken 5-HTP (over the counter) which helps to raise Seratonin levels. If you are taking anti-depressants or other prescriptions you may want to check with your doctor first but it really helped me to just clear my head. The one thing you may have if you take it is super vivid dreams - I don't mind them but my husband didn't like it. I was happy to be sleeping so the dreams are no big deal to me.

[LisaZBee]

p.s Given your stressful situation I also would recommend meditation, yoga or exercise to give you a peaceful feeling when you finally lay down. If you have an iPhone there are some free meditation apps that are great for this.. If not, even listening to peaceful music may help. Not sure any of this sounds good to you but it would be worth a try.

[Marvinator]

For Joe, Tylenol Simply Sleep doesn't have any acetaminophen in it. If she were taking 8 pills with acetaminophen a day, her liver would be fried pretty quickly. Hopefully, no one on here takes tylenol at that rate. That stuff is pretty rough on the liver.