Does anyone else feel like they can barely make it through the day because they can't sleep no matter what!
No matter when I go to sleep, I can't make it more than 2-4 hours before I am wide awake for the night. It is a living hell! I know Dr. B says you will never get better if you get behind on sleep. Well, I am about as far behind as one can be.
****es me off, because I try! I go to bed early, take sleep aid supplements, even try over the counter sleep aids, but nothing! I can tak 4-5 Sominex and it does nothing other than let me sleep 2-3 hours.
Rich
Posted by madge (Member # 13704) on :
Rich, my hubby is going through the same problem.. sleep...no matter when he goes up to bed...its never longer the 3 sometimes 4 hours...and we have tried everything...yet another side effect to this nasty disease...take care and hang in...Madge
Posted by catskillmamala (Member # 12536) on :
Not sleeping is torture. I went through it bad at times.
I was having the problem of waking up the same time every night: 2:00 am. In Chinese medicine each organ goes through a recharge state at certain times of the day and that if I was waking up at the same time every night, it was related to a particular organ. For me it was liver.
Here is a link to something on that theory, not by my chiropractor, by someone else:
richedie, I have suffered with insomnia the whole time I've been ill; almost 4 years. What a horrid experience!
3 maybe 4 hours a night of sleep. Tried every sleep aid. I now use Ambien and Xanax and I can sleep 5 or 6 hours. Even with Ambien, I wake up after 3 hours of sleep, but usually can go back to sleep with another few hours. Its still not nearly enough.
Its an awful problem! I so feel what you are going through.
I do notice that if I stay away from any and all caffeine and take magnesium a few hours before bedtime, it helps a little.
Its a catch 22.....you need to sleep to get well and you can't sleep because your sick. So frustrating!
Posted by TerryK (Member # 8552) on :
Sleep has been a major issue for me and other members of my family who are sick.
Over the years I've had some alternating problems such as waking up every few hours all night long or not being able to sleep more than a few hours and no dreaming which may indicate very little REM sleep. My brother and his son get their sleep hours turned around so that they are sleeping during the day and awake all night.
Turns out that 3 out of 5 of us have sleep apnea and another one has a problem with not getting enough oxygen during the night. Treatment for sleep apnea helped somewhat. I started dreaming again and was a little less likely to wake up constantly during the night.
I think anyone who can't sleep needs to have a sleep study to rule out any serious sleep disorders. Sleep apnea can be deadly if left untreated.
Another thing that has helped many in my family is dealing with methylation cycle issues. Just adding the active form of folate has helped every single person in my family sleep better. If you do have a problem with methylation and you start supplementing with the active form of folate (I use folapro by Metagenics) you must be careful because you can start to purge heavy metals and other toxins so you need to have things on board to mop up toxins.
I read in the KPU information that sleep and turning your hours around (sleeping during the day and awake at night) can be a symptom.
Not being able to sleep is miserable. Hope you get some answers soon.
Terry I'm not a doctor
[ 12-26-2009, 12:10 PM: Message edited by: TerryK ]
Posted by zil (Member # 12048) on :
I did the same thing for a few years. I didn't want to take sleeping pills because I was afraid I'd get addicted. I finally asked my Dr. for ambien. I take one at bedtime and when I wake 4 to 5 hrs later I take 1/2 tab. At this point I don't give a #%&* if I'm addicted or not. Could be worse. I sleep. When I feel better I'll deal with the ambien. Wish I would have asked for it a couple years earlier.
I did have a sleep study done and do have sleep apnea and use c-pap but made no difference. I still use the ambien.
Posted by Gahagan (Member # 21194) on :
I realize you've most likely tried this but sometimes a sleep mask, a couple tylenol PM (or anything with the sleep aid in it) AND "white noise."
There are several "white noise" machines on the market and many people find them helpful.
Posted by TerryK (Member # 8552) on :
nil - sorry the cpap hasn't helped. I don't know what kind of machine you are using but I didn't sleep well with a cpap. I needed an apap. It adjusts pressure to increase when you need it and decrease when you don't. I find it quieter and I sleep a lot better with it than with the cpap.
You are probably using a humidifier but if not, that helps a lot too.
Terry I'm not a doctor
Posted by TerryK (Member # 8552) on :
I just read in the Insights To Lyme Treatment book that making sure that inflammation is controlled will make a big difference in ability to sleep. I find that it does for me.
Terry
Posted by sixgoofykids (Member # 11141) on :
When I was at my sickest, I had to take Lunesta AND Lyrica. Lyrica will help you get deep sleep and stay asleep.
Once I got better, I took my time weaning off them .... it took six months.
Posted by richedie (Member # 14689) on :
I might ask my doc for Lyrica. We have a "white noise" machine, yes.
I have tried everything save prescription drugs. I am going to ask for Lyrica and hope it helps with nerve pain and sleep.
Why does a humidifier help? I will try it.
The worst part of not sleeping is the nausea. When I don't sleep, I am terible nauseous!
Posted by coltman (Member # 21272) on :
Have you tried sleep in those 2-4 hours intervals? Kinda similar thing sometimes happened to me, so I was coming from work - fall asleep for 2-4 hours (8-12pm), then awake for a few hours (12-4pm ,) then sleep again (4-8 pm)
Posted by WildCondor (Member # 434) on :
Richie
I would try something other than sominex. I am pretty sure that is the same thing as benedryl (diphendydramine) and it can be stimulating instead of sleep inducing. I would stay away from anti-histamines..and try melatonin or a serious sleep drug or maybe some xanax. Ask your LLMD for help sleeping!! Try ear plugs and an eye mask and a hot bath before bed with some milk..and some melatonin...if that fails get some self hypnosis tapes that guide you to sleep, works awesome. Posted by TerryK (Member # 8552) on :
Sorry I didn't make it clear Rich - the humidifier is for the cpap/apap machine because it tends to dry one out.
Rich - Do you use a cpap or did your sleep study show no sleep apnea?
Terry
Posted by David Miller (Member # 21583) on :
You can get melatonin over the counter, but it's not as powerful as prescription sleep aids.
It's a big help for me.
Posted by Leelee (Member # 19112) on :
I take Trazodone (a prescription med) plus several supplements and I still don't sleep very well.
A couple of weeks ago I started taking many of the supplements described in Dr. Singleton's book, "The Lyme Disease Soultion".
I think they might be helping a little.
Posted by Siciliano (Member # 15920) on :
I agree with Terry--you have to calm the inflammation down in order for sleep.
You have to go through the experimenting with sleeping presciption meds. Since everyone is different you have to find which one works best for you.
Have your Dr. give you one and give it not more than 5 days if it does not help then have your Dr. give you a different one and do that no more than 5 days......you will eventually find the one or combination of two that works for you.
I had this exact same thing happen to me and I slept one or two hours and up again. It was terrible and I really feel for you. So it took me months to find what worked for me and now I have no trouble at all--I found taking lunesta 3mg with one 10mg of flexeril was the magic combination for me.
Good luck and please talk with your Dr. about this because sleep is VITAL for us suffering with lyme. You both need to try the different sleep meds and I know you will find the magic combination that will work for you.
Posted by waterfam2 (Member # 14956) on :
Melatonin works somewhat for my daughter
Posted by lymeinhell (Member # 4622) on :
I used a series of essential oils to break the no sleep cycle. Got me off Ambien the very first night.
Another very powerful tool (that also helps with anxiety, pain, neuro issues) is Micro Current Therapy.
PM me if you want more info.
Posted by rmruss (Member # 11409) on :
Ambien CR works great!
Posted by DeniseNM (Member # 11182) on :
Lunesta does the trick for me. It helps if I take Magnesium, too, and avoid heavy meals later in the evening.
Posted by JOLA (Member # 23498) on :
i've tried them all never more than 2-3 hrs of sleep dr. put me on trazadone 3 wks ago most nights staying asleep now for 6 hours straight and i'm not so worried about the dependancy issue w/it.
Posted by street129 (Member # 23472) on :
i take restoril 30mg, now i started taken magnisium and i wake up to soon, i will stop the mag., i can sleep till 2 in the afternoon on restoril
Posted by richedie (Member # 14689) on :
Well, I ended up sleeping 12 hours that day and night to make up for it....and then 8 hours the following.
It helps to go to bed earlier.
Posted by BugBit (Member # 7829) on :
Sympathies... i too have suffered sleep issues - max, two-four hours a sleep cycle - for decades. It is awful no doubt, waking in a sweat burning up...
I have learned over the years, to just let my body do what it needs to do... if it needs to sleep, sleep no matter what time of day or night.
Forgive and accept that you are not "normal" and then much of the suffering is alleviated. Resistance is futile... For me anyway, just understanding that things are different for us Lymies is half the battle.
I used to beat myself up, struggle, fight and in general TRY to be like everyone else. Can't. My family would pressure me to 'Not be a victim, or grow up or just get over myself, work thru the pain, go to bed early', whatever. It doesn't work that way. Go with your body's rhythmns because the more you resist the worse it gets. Blessings, *BugBit*
Posted by Leelee (Member # 19112) on :
Dear Bugbit,
I think everything you said is perfect advice. I will try to follow it myself.
Thank you for sharing your wisdom.
Posted by richedie (Member # 14689) on :
I don't know how but after sleeping 12 hours on Saturday night, I have been sleeping a bit better, 7 hours last night. I have been taking two capsules of Dr. Weil's Sleep Support Formula and it helps!
Posted by Nemo (Member # 22783) on :
Thanks for the tip on the Magnesium.
I have been having sleep issues lately also.
Awake 3-4 times per night.
I take a diuretic which is mainly the cause of the problem along with the arm and leg restlessness that has surfaced lately.
The restlessness has abated since my Doxy got upped.
I think I'm going to switch the time of my diuretic so it is out of my system by bedtime.
My husband tries to make me laugh about it.
He tells everyone that since we have wood heat in our home and he's a sound sleeper, me not being a good sleeper means I'm stoking the fire during the night instead of him.
He finally took pity of the bags under my eyes and started stoking during the night.
I use tylenol pm and sometimes take an extra benedryl about two hours before I go to bed.
For the arm and leg discomfort I take half an Ultram.
Ultram + tylenol=Ultracet.
Last night I slept better than I have in a long time after my first doses of 200mg of Doxy bid.
In fact, I was exhausted at 10pm and went to bed.
I napped till 10:45 then woke up at 5:30 when the dogs needed to go out whether it was snowing or not.
I'm not a Doctor either, just a tired nurse of 33 years with bad feet and 56 years of life experience.
Posted by laceyj (Member # 13862) on :
what if you cant find a med combination or herbal to work?!!
i just tried Ambien again and it gives a hangover, nauseated sickness
restoril and ativan used to work but seemed like it wont work anymore
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