I just can't sleep anymore. I am frazzled and frayed. Does anyone have any tricks? Or know of anything safe to take? I need help.
Ali
Posted by AnnaL (Member # 18464) on :
I'm taking 0.75 mg clonazapam each night before bed. Doesn't always do the trick, but it helps.
Any more than 0.75 mg and I'm too sedated in the morning. Any less and it doesn't help.
Posted by Topper (Member # 18568) on :
I take Ambien-25mg-but I break it in half. I think I am dependent on it now though-can't tell if it's psychological or physical dependency.
Posted by minoucat (Member # 5175) on :
Temazepam is cheap and effective, but can be addictive.
Lunesta and melatonin helped, but Lunesta is very expensive.
There's a generic Ambien now, so if it works for you it's affordable (doesn't work for me)
Seroquel in very low doses (75mg- I broke up larger tablets) worked for me also.
A tincture of passionflower, valarian, and hops along with melatonin also helped until my insomnia got really vicious. None of the other naturopathic stuff worked for me (can't remember everything I tried, but it was a LOT)
Tylenol PM helps sometimes, but I'm wary of both the Tylenol and the benedryl.
You MUST sleep if you are to heal. And not sleeping will make you crazy, literally. So talk to your doc about this and make him take you seriously. Sometimes if you can start to sleep again with a little chemical help, you can start to sleep naturally.
There are some sleep hygiene tricks -- you can google sleep hygiene, but basically, -don't watch TV for 30 min before going to bed (or if you do, watch happy-movies with the lights low--old B&W movies work best for me) -don't do anything exciting before going to bed (I listen to/read unexciting-but-much-loved books--audio are particularly helpful); -keep the lights low for 30 min before bed, and don't turn on bright lights to brush your teeth just before bed time; - -block light and sound from your bedroom.
Me -- I have to take sleeping aids, but I've cut it down to about 3 times a week. The non-sleeping aid nights I just live with 4 hours of sleep if I'm lucky, and that dreadful feeling of lying awake in the wee hours fantasizing about sleep.
At certain stages of LD/Co you might find yourself having really horrible dreams when you do manage to sleep. And sometimes you have no dreams, which is also kind of awful. Oh, and there's non-restorative sleep, too (sleeping aids can help with all this). I never knew how sweet sleep was until I got LD/Co.
Adrenals also play a role in sleep, so it's worth getting them checked out.
Best of luck.
Posted by hcconn22 (Member # 5263) on :
Melatonin is a good natural sleep aid.
Then after that I go web surfing till I cant stay awake any more. lymenet, lymefriends, ebay, amazon, google news, craigslist and in that order.
Posted by Hoosiers51 (Member # 15759) on :
Believe it or not, when I started working my way up on my minocycline (I currently take 100mg X 2 per day), my sleep schedule flipped around, and my sleep issues got a TON better.
I now don't take sleeping pills. (I had tried all the lifestyle changes before but none of them worked and I still needed sleeping pills. Turns out all I needed to do was try minocycline.)
I think it is because minocycline is an anti-inflammatory, and can help reduce inflammation of the brain? I dunno. My psychiatrist said they can use it for other conditions now (even schizophrenia) just because of it's anti-inflammatory effects.
I'm not saying this would work for everyone, in fact, it might not work for most, but for me, it was almost like a mini-miracle.
Posted by HaplyCarlessdave (Member # 413) on :
quote:Originally posted by atticus: I just can't sleep anymore. I am frazzled and frayed. Does anyone have any tricks? Or know of anything safe to take? I need help.
Ali
I guess it looks like I'm not the one to offer advice on sleeping, but then again I wasn't trying...
Brahms intermezzos are a good prescription for sleeping, for the most part. Opus 117, 118, and 119.
"Sleepytime" (celestial seasoning), or "Bedtime" ("yogi") teas are good, especially the latter. Above all, relax. You may be resting alot during the day, having Lyme, and then "trying to sleep", getting your shorts in a bundle when you fail to slip easily into sleep-- then of course it is even harder to fall asleep. Abx and other meds sometimes make it harder for me to sleep, too. I wish for you to fall, to fall, into a wonderful, relaxed, refreshing, sleep! DaveS
Posted by Tracy9 (Member # 7521) on :
Okay, here I am offering my two cents at four am. I take 150 mg of Seroquel and 30 mg of Temazepam together. So far, that is the only thing that has consistently worked for me.
I happened to have run out of my scripts today, so I tried a new one my LLD gave me; 30 mg of Dalmane. It made me tired for a bit but then it passed; without knocking me out like my other meds did. So I just took 7.5 mg of Valium hoping that will do the trick along with it......
Sleep is a MAJOR issue for myself and my 13 year old son. I have seen him stay up all night a few months ago and NEVER sleep, just totally missed the entire nights sleep and still did not seem even tired the next day.
Posted by joysie (Member # 11063) on :
I take 3g of lunesta. One year ago it didn't work for me-but then nothing did! Some nights all I need is 3g of melatonin, but it's often the lunesta which works very well. Good luck Kris
Posted by Tracy9 (Member # 7521) on :
I have to give my 13 year old son 9 mgs of Melatonin to even hope he will fall asleep.
Posted by sutherngrl (Member # 16270) on :
I have tried all kinds of combinations. What works for me is 1 mg xanax and melatonin. I still don't sleep like a normal person, but it beats no sleep at all.
Posted by Faith6 (Member # 14072) on :
15 years ago my doc started me on Amitriptyline for fibro pain/sleep. Over the years I had to up the amount many times and then I added melatonin.
This last fall my LLMD had had me gradually switch to 1-2 .5mg Clonazepam, 1/4th-1 50mg Trazodone, 1/2-1 10mg Zolpidem(Ambien), and 2 Tran-Q.
At times I feel like I could sleep with out all of it so I play with the amounts and plan on reducing as I am able.
I started dreaming again! There were some scary ones at first but now just regular ones.
[ 09. January 2009, 11:29 AM: Message edited by: Faith6 ]
Posted by map1131 (Member # 2022) on :
I'm a slow learner and I think it took me about 4 yrs to realize....if you don't get some restful sleep, you'll never get well.
I tried many different things. Supplements, meds and finally found Ambien CR. CR does it for me, except during those periods when pain levels keep waking me up.
Pam
Posted by Lymeorsomething (Member # 16359) on :
I just stay up all night. (Kidding)
Wish I knew. Try to avoid stimulating activities before bedtime.
Posted by atticus (Member # 17773) on :
Thank you all so much for replying. Hopefully I will start getting some sleep soon. You all are lifesavers. Thank God for this site.
Ali
Posted by Nebula2005 (Member # 8244) on :
Lyrica and l/2 of a 10mg/325mg hydrocodone
I am taking Lyrica 150mg 2x a day. It's expensive and causes dependence, but it helps me sleep. I wake up feeling almost normal, except for the pain and tinnitis, which has, most days, become almost tolerable.
People have different body chemistries when it comes to medications. You don't know until you try if something is going to help.
I don't have any success with herbal/homeopathic things, unfortuately. Posted by WildCondor (Member # 434) on :
melatonin, magnesium, benedryl, xanax, or phenegran all work well.
Posted by pab (Member # 904) on :
My son has horrible insomnia. His LLMD says a lot of people need a combination of meds to sleep.
My son took Phenergan (promethazine) one night because he had nausea at bedtime. He said it was the best night of sleep he's had in a long time. Now he takes it every night and it's really helping.
Posted by Robin123 (Member # 9197) on :
I take 25mg benadryl. I used to add a .5 ativan sublingual tab if needed.
Posted by HaplyCarlessdave (Member # 413) on :
I take something called Fibrosleep from Prohealth that works pretty well.
I don't like buying products from this company (which makes products for individuas with fibromyalgia) because I have heard they kick lyme patients off their forum.
However, it does work quite well for me when nothing else would.
Posted by lizajane (Member # 16931) on :
I have been taking .5mg klonopin, 300mg of seroquel it used to work but is not working any more. I go to sleep fine but awake around 3 or 4 am. and cannot go back to sleep..... Then at 7 or 8 am when I need to get up I start to feel sleepy again My LLMD suggested soma? It is a muscle relaxer I believe. I know that my old cocktail is no longer working so I have to figure out something new. I am taking doxy right now also started 3 weeks ago. sleepless in illinois and yes I do all the "right" bedtime routines warm bath dark dark room cool temp blah blah blah ;|
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
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Magnesium to bowel tolerance.
Calcium and Zinc
B-6
Andrographis is wonderful to help me sleep.
A very low dose of melatonin helps many
5-HTP (a form of tryptophan) can be helpful
Valerian root
Skullcap tincture
Putting on gentle music and not watching TV for at least one hour before bed and dimming the lights at that time, too, enough to read. And, as I see the clock, it's time to turn off my computer, too, I guess.
Light into the eyes keeps the brain awake for a long time.
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(Kidding)![[Frown]](frown.gif)