Hoosiers51
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15759
posted
Have you tried Ambien? That is what I turn to when I am desperate. It doesn't always knock me out at first, but then if I get up for a couple hours, I knock out when I get in bed for try #2.
Posts: 4590 | From Midwest | Registered: Jun 2008
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Before during rigorous treatment for Babs, Bart and lyme I rotated Ambien every 3 nights, followed by Elavil for 3 nights, and then a muscle relaxer for 3 nights. That was the only thing that worked......ROTATING MEDS....which was recommended by 2 of my lyme docs.
I hope you sleep soon.......I feel for you!!! Gail
-------------------- Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will ~ Gandhi Posts: 562 | From Wellsville, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2004
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bettyg
Unregistered
posted
best wishes!!
no meds help me; my suggestions which i do are these:
get on pc and help others reading galore tiring my eyes to shut down my body;
watching a favorite tv show, and then going to bed;
sit in my fav recliner reading and i fall asleep in it!
warm bath....
try a massage; perhaps your wife can help you on that one!
i haven't slept in 30-35 years!! you folks are blessed to wake up feeling refreshed and your body heels injuries .... mine does not since i can't reach delta 4 !!
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djf2005
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11449
posted
thanks for the suggestions.
like i said, i have tried all rx meds. right now i take ambien and have been for the last 6 months.
rotating meds sounds like a good idea. i need another one that is semi effective that i can rotate with it. ill try that.
thanks for the info.
betty, if you can find anyway to sleep, i strongly urge you to do so. you will never heal properly w/o sleep. so sorry you suffer this way.
cheers
derek
-------------------- "Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you."
posted
Hey -- Is any sort of exercise an option? I fall asleep better after exercise.
Suppose you've tried clonazepam (clonapin) or ativan.
How about earplugs? And wrap your head/eyes in a soft blanket. This keeps my hair from tickling my overly sensitive bod.
These are my "tricks". Other than that, a book that is not too boring (so that it keeps my attention) but boring enough so that I don't get all absorbed (no mysteries for me). Stupid romantic novels work best for me! I wait until my eyes droop and then I turn off the light without moving!
I really hope you can find some answers.
Allie
Allie
Posts: 300 | From Northeast | Registered: Dec 2006
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djf2005
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11449
posted
yeah ive tried all the benzos, no luck, they dont work anymore.
exercise is not really an option that late in the day, i am physcially exhausted but just cant sleep.
i am going to get one of those things to cover the eyes and go from there. also rotating meds might help, well see.
thanks guys
cheers
derek
-------------------- "Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you."
posted
I've had problems for years and tried everything herbal and pharmaceutical without much help. Recently I tried Seroquel and it works better than anything else so far. It is a prescription med for bi-polar, anxiety, nausea, insomnia (I only have the insomnia).
Marla
-------------------- "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain." Anonymous Posts: 450 | From California | Registered: Feb 2008
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posted
Absolutely nothing helped me for years, until xyrem. Now I get the deep wave sleep necessary for healing.
Posts: 552 | From New Mexico, USA | Registered: May 2007
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-------------------- "We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us" - e.m. forster Posts: 921 | From PA | Registered: Jan 2004
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lymednva
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9098
posted
Xyrem did nothing for me! What works for me is a combo of neurontin, trazodone, clonazepam, and cyclobenzaprine.
-------------------- Lymednva Posts: 2407 | From over the river and through the woods | Registered: Apr 2006
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
-
Do you use magnesium? Taurine, too.
I also really like skullcap (scullcap), zizyphus or corydalis.
posted
I use camomile tea and melatonin supplements. If I do sleep meds it knocks me out for a day.
-------------------- I was diagnosed with and treated for late stage Lyme in 1991 with 6 weeks of doxycycline. Initially felt better, but then developed health problems that last until today. Posts: 83 | From New Jersey | Registered: May 2008
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Hoosiers51
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15759
posted
Try making sure there is NOTHING you can see when you are in bed....no little cracks of light, etc. It should just look like total blackness, nothing else. Put aluminum foil over window panes if you have to....it is the best to let no cracks of light in from street lamps, etc.
I even cover my cell phone when it's charging by turning it over.
I find if my eyes have nothing to focus on, it helps.
Posts: 4590 | From Midwest | Registered: Jun 2008
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posted
Flexeril + Neurontin taken at night. Neither are indicated for sleep, but they have seditive side effects. Plus, there's the relief from pain, which can interrupt sleep.
Posts: 168 | From Delaware | Registered: Aug 2005
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CD57
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11749
posted
GABA, Seriphos, glycine, melatonin, and a little Lyrica (50 mg). derek, I have the name of a wonderful LL-psychiatrist who is totally familiar with all the sleep and psych problems. She is a master. She's in Seattle, so you'd have to fly to see her to establish patienthood, or get Dr H's office to work with her (they know her too) and Rx what she tells them.
Posts: 3528 | From US | Registered: Apr 2007
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tailz
Unregistered
posted
quote:Originally posted by Hoosiers51: I even cover my cell phone when it's charging by turning it over.
Cell phones and masts are the reason why I can't sleep.
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Hoosiers51
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15759
posted
Yes, tailz.....I keep it as far away from me, yet still in the room, as possible. Can't quite get rid of the thing, but I try to keep it away from my body! Posts: 4590 | From Midwest | Registered: Jun 2008
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Tracy9
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7521
posted
I take 150 mg of Seroquel with 30 mg of Temazepam. Last night was tough and I added 10 mg of Ambien to the mix.
I also sleep with a sleep mask on (blocks all light) and earplugs in (blocks all sound.)
With a tempurpedic bed, and pillows on both sides to support my back and under my knees, I'm good to go.
13 years Lyme & Co.; Small Fiber Neuropathy; Myasthenia Gravis, Adrenal Insufficiency. On chemo for 2 1/2 years as experimental treatment for MG. Posts: 4480 | From Northeastern Connecticut | Registered: Jun 2005
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Its not terribly strong but it will certainly relax you, maybe to the point where something else can work.
It is also very good for digestion.
-------------------- I was diagnosed with and treated for late stage Lyme in 1991 with 6 weeks of doxycycline. Initially felt better, but then developed health problems that last until today. Posts: 83 | From New Jersey | Registered: May 2008
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posted
Are you being treated for any coinfections?
Treatment for bartonella was the answer for us.
I hope that you are able to find some relief, sleeplessness is torture!
-------------------- This is NOT medical advice - and should NOT be used to replace your MD's advice. Info is only the opinion of those who publish the site.
The shortest way to do many things is to do only one thing at a time.
cb Posts: 669 | From somewherebetweentherocks | Registered: Mar 2008
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posted
I love FibroSleep by Prohealth.com. I cannot live/sleep without it!
Posts: 418 | From NJ | Registered: Sep 2007
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randibear
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11290
posted
i'm on 10 mg of elavil and it seems to have stopped working.
the doc did give me ambien and i might have to try that but i'll definitely cut it in half first.
a good hot bath with epsom salts and peroxide really helps me too....
melatonin made me bounce off the wall....
hot milk is supposed to be good but i hate without chocolate in it...rats.
i agree, betty you really need something. you're going to eventually just crash.
-------------------- do not look back when the only course is forward Posts: 12262 | From texas | Registered: Mar 2007
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Cass A
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11134
posted
Dear Friends,
All these psychoactive drugs with terrible side effects, including suicidal thoughts and psychosis. This doesn't seem to be a useful way to get some sleep!
First of all, ANY drug eats up the B vitamins in your body, leaving you figuring or thinking or whatever and often unable to sleep due to this. Adding another drug is not likely to help this situation at all.
You can go with B Complex or Brewer's Yeast. Add in additional B 1 near bedtime.
Calcium and Magnesium also help with relaxing the body.
If you're lying awake thinking about things, take more B1.
If this doesn't work, ask you Dr. for a prescription for the type of sleeping pill that they used to give people in the 1950s before the explosion in mind-altering drugs. These still exist, and are cheap.
Best,
Cass A
Posts: 1245 | From Thousand Oaks, CA | Registered: Feb 2007
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