# Insomnia Tactics



## Susan Purry (Nov 6, 2001)

Insomnia has become the new bane of my existence. So far I'm tryingassiflora tablets (herbal sedative)Sleepytime Tea Lavendar sachet on the pillow Yoga physical and breathing exercisesTranscendential Meditation during the daySetting aside a time of day to think over things that are preying on my mindPainkillersI'm going to get my 10 hours a night without medication if it kills me!














Post your insomnia (or should I say 'sleep'!) tactics here!


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## weener (Aug 15, 2000)

Hi Susan, I haven't been on the board much of late, but I do manage to get into browse a bit. All of the your ideas are great. I'll have to try some of them. I also am weaning myself off of a med and it hasn't been easy. It's been a slow process, but I am almost there. I'm not sleeping as restful of a sleep, but I'm not as groggy when I get up either. I try to get into a routine every night before bedtime. I take my warm bath and read. Some times for 2 hours before I nod off. Then there are the nights when my mind is going 100 miles an hour and I'm praying that I will fall asleep. I guess we have to experiment and find what works best for us. Good luck and let us know how you are doing.


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## M&M (Jan 20, 2002)

Let's see, I've tried the glass of milk thing. I also bought a body pillow to make things more comfy, also the proper temperature and number of blankets is important. Honestly though, none of this stuff helps LOL Sorry! lol


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## Clair (Sep 16, 2000)

Whatabout:* Going to bed later than usual (so you feel more tired)* listen to some relaxation music (e.g. whalesong) or hypnotherapy tapes to stop you worrying about the sleep thing* a warm bath just before bedtime* getting a massage (if you can find someone willing to help)* aromatherapy oils to create a relaxing and soothing atmosphere in the bedroomI'll try and think of some more....Clair


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## weener (Aug 15, 2000)

A friend mentioned this to me the other day and I thought I would bring this to your attention. I've used a styrofoam eggcrate pad on my bed for about 5 years and I find it really helps. Especially in the winter when the bed is so cold and it takes forever for me to warm up. With the eggcrate pad I tend to stay warm. You can get them starting from $10.00 and up. When they lose their cushioning you just throw it out and get another one. (My last old one I ended up making into a huge dog pillow).


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## M&M (Jan 20, 2002)

Good ideas!! I did have a cup of Herbal Tea last night called Moonlight Mint, and I did fall asleep earlier than normal!







Egg crate - Yes, good idea!


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## DonnaDB (Jan 13, 2001)

10 hours!!!! I haven't had 10 hours of sleep in 5 years!!


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## Feisty (Aug 14, 2000)

Me either!!And when I do sleep it's restless. I'm in the process of switching to a different G.P. and I'm hoping he will be willing to try Ambien for me. I was using it about 3 years ago and it did help me get at least 5 to 6 hours of good sound sleep. At least that's better than tossing and turning all night.I do try to take a warm bath---it does help with relaxation some. I have to start using the Lavender scent again. That seemed to help some, too.What would help more than anything would be to NOT have these horribly achey muscles from the FM---but that would be expecting too much, right??!!!







The egg crate idea is a great one. I've done that already. Right now, our mattress isn't too bad, so I don't need it, but when I was in the hospital this spring---whoa! My back was hurting me so that I finally told the nurse I needed something to help make the bed more comfortable or I was checking myself out and going home.







She ordered up an egg crate. It was nice. I brought it home with me and it is now on the spare bed downstairs.


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## Mio (Dec 19, 1999)

Hi,I think Iï¿½ve tried almost everything over the years:Herbal teasValeriana RootWarm MilkLavendar sachetWarm bathsRelaxation tapesAromatherapy oils(and probably more that I have forgotten now)But the only thing that really help me is Ambien. Itï¿½s a mild sleeping pill and I never feel tired or groggy the next day. I hope you will find something that helps you./Mio


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## Mio (Dec 19, 1999)

Forgot one thing,Iï¿½m sleeping much better if I have my window open. If itï¿½s too warm in my bedroom, I donï¿½t get any sleep at all.We have had almost tropical weather here this summer and itï¿½s been awful. At the same time we having a spider invasion and we canï¿½t have the window open.







I hate spiders!/Mio


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## Ian (Apr 18, 1999)

Susan,Luckily I've always found sleep reasonably easy to come by. However, I've worked out two methods that help me when I do have a problem. They both help me to get into that 'free association' state of mind that stops me obsessing and helps me to fall asleep. First one - a distraction method (slightly like counting sheep), I think back to what I was doing 6 days/months/years ago and go through in my mind re-enacting each day or week in detail. (This can be quite pleasant if it was an enjoyable time!). I never seem to get very far before sleep takes over!Second one - if your mind is too occupied whilst trying to fall asleep - play this game with it: tell your mind to stop thinking and to just go blank. Then allow it to just accept any thought that comes along, which can include those obsessive thoughts, it doesn't matter. You will not try to stop anything but will allow thoughts to come and go as they please. I usually find this works wonders!Worth a try?Ian


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## *Luna* (Nov 19, 2001)

My IBS hypno tapes also happen to be a good sleep aid







Sometimes I try the same relaxation methods without the tapes, but that calming Michael Mahoney voice helps put me out, if I'm tired when I start listening. When I was doing the full hypno program, a really bad sleep night was when I got all the way through the session and was still awake! Then I was really in for it.The thing that really gets me is when I'm apparently not getting quality sleep. It's hard enough for me to get to sleep many times...but then when I wake up and feel like I slept 1/3 to 1/2 the amount of time I did sleep, that's really not cool!I had been doing so well re: fibro symptoms that I had been wondering if I might have been misdiagnosed. But more recently I do feel like I'm in a fibro flare. I've got the sore muscles, fatigue, headaches... ugh!


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## Susan Purry (Nov 6, 2001)

Seems like a lot of people have done the antidepressant withdrawal thing!The insomnia isn't as bad this week. Today is the first day of not taking any Remeron at all, so we'll see how the next few days pan out. I know 10 hours may seem like a lot to people who haven't had that amount of sleep in years. It does sound like a lot, but it's what I need to function without feeling really ill. I can survive on 8, feel ok on 9, and with 10 I'm doing well. This is when I'm in remission as well as a relapse of the M.E/CFSSome people just need more sleep than others I think and then there must be plenty of people who need a lot of sleep but never get it  One of my friends has 4 hours a night, and seems perfectly happy with this. He's high-functioning, physically active etc and never feels like he's not getting enough sleep. His girlfriend is like me, she needs 10 hours to function, so I don't know how they get along! lol. Mio, I'm the same with windows open at night, and with spiders. I get so much wildlife coming through my windows I HATE to open them at night. I look forward to the day when I can afford double-glazing and can just have the windows open a teensy bit on the secure latch (i.e. locked) - just enough to get some fresh air into the room, ont enough for creepy crawlies or burglars to get through.







Mio, the Ambien sounds great if it doesn't make you groggy the next dayIan, the second method you describe sounds very much like what I do with Transcendential Meditation - same process, different names myabe? It's a great way of clearing the mind isn't it. Luna, I hadn't thought of using my hypnotherapy tapes. On the nights when I can bear the sound (you know what it's like with Fibro or CFS when sound just hurts you!) of them, I might try them out again. Weener, good luck with your withdrawal.  I feel the same thing - my sleep is not as restful or deep, but I feel much less groggy in the mornings. I swear I have more energy from this withdrawal - the nights I don't sleep too well and am tired from that, but I don't feel as hungover and groggy. .Clair, I went and bought some aromatherapy oil today so I'll try your suggestion. Fesity, Let us know if your new GP lets you take it again? Mrs Mason, LOL. I have tons of suggestions for things people can try, but I'm never convinced of how useful they are!







Thanks for sharing all your suggestions and experiences here. I'm sure it will help me and maybe others too?


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## Guest (Sep 24, 2002)

i take zoplocane and get about six hours but still wake tired


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