Very informative, thanks, and on your recommendation sometime ago, I bought a weighted blanket. Does it help? I'm not sure, but it certainly doesn't hurt!
My issue, as with others, is waking up around 3am or so. Most of the time I fall asleep okay. Around 7.30-8 every night I get really tired and can barely stay awake. But if I go to sleep then, I wake up an hour later, groggily, and then can't fall asleep again until 4 or 5 and then I have to be up at 6.30am to get my daughter ready school (tip #1 - don't have kids!).
If I force myself to stay awake, by 10 or so I'm not tired anymore. So I got to bed when I start getting tired, usually around 12.
My biggest problem is a weird one, definitely psychological - I always have to pee, that's what wakes me up. If I could get up immediately and go, then there's a chance I can fall back asleep right away. But something blocks me from getting up, like some paralysis. I lie there in discomfort, unable to move. If one more person tells me 'you just need to get up and go' I'm going to clobber them.
I'm pretty dysfunctional and groggy most days.
Anyway, that's my story. I'll keep trying- appreciate this post ☺️
Best of luck. Terminal insomnia seems to be common (at least in the responses) and I wish I were able to offer advice on that, but I haven’t solved it for myself.
I love my weighted blanket so much. Weed helps, too. I also still usually wake up somewhere between 3-4am every day, though. Sometimes I can get back to sleep, other times I can't. But I avoid naps unless I'm particularly stressed or exhausted because then it becomes very hard to get to sleep at any kind of reasonable time.
Yeah you can’t take naps; that makes everything worse.
I was on Klonopin and it did absolutely nothing. When I had the GeneSight test run, it said that I process the drug 4x faster than the average woman my weight/height. It was like taking super addictive TicTacs. Worthless— and the withdrawals were just as bad as Xanax so I don’t know why people think it’s a less addictive drug.
Yeah, it's wild that anyone would think it isn't addictive. I keep my usage low for that reason and usually only take half a pill at a time. It's the only thing that works so well for my anxiety attacks, but I'm terrified of the withdrawals.
Yeah, it can be hard. Luckily mine was okay with it, although the shrink before him literally ghosted me after requesting a refill after being back on it a few months. He's damn lucky I wasn't physically dependent on them. What an insanely dangerous thing to do to someone after you prescribe them one of the strongest benzos.
Klonopin will also knock me out if I lie down after taking one, but I'll still wake up around the same time, and the side effects make me not want to do that too often. I like my memory!
Thanks for this! I'm recovering from a severe period of insomnia and still have the problem of routinely waking up at 4AM, including this very morning. It's a coin flip whether I can get back to sleep after, and if I do, it's very on-and-off. I'll have vivid dreams that feel like they last an hour even if I was out for verifiably less time than that.
Also, insomnia has radicalized me against noisy people. If you live in a city and you're blasting music past midnight or your car is modified to be louder than it naturally is, then I hope you get castrated.
Thanks for the link. And I’m lucky to live in a very quiet neighborhood. My insomnia has radicalized me against the birds that start screaming with the sunrise.
Simply answer for waking up at 3 AM - milk thistle and acupuncture (for your liver). Your liver is waking you up without a doubt. It will take a while before your poor liver is cleansed, but I expect you'd get at least an early positive response from a simple acupuncture session. If you do - cleanse your liver (milk thistle really helps) and only use acupuncture sparingly.
There’s no doubt in my mind that roofies would do the trick, but drugs interact with my meds and are not really an option. Or only an option insofar as Ambien is an option. Thanks for the link.
Also, you've probably tried this, but magnesium bath salts??? I just got onto these and omg 😫 it's heaven, it has helped me a lot. I've also seen these "sleep stickers" - very weird concept, also energy stickers are a thing now too - and sent them to my mother to try who couldn't sleep for a decade after her historectamy until getting prescribed estrogen (just a warning about menopause and hormonal changes for anyone seeing this as this correlation as I had no idea about it) 👀 ... the sleep stickers sounded like a mild success.
I've also put my Mum onto Melatonin. It's prescribed in my country but when I went to the Philippines I could buy over the counter and found it more effective than the stuff here and have a supply that I guard with my life now because it's too painful to fall asleep without it (going from falling asleep in 10 minutes to 45min - 3 hours?!? 😢!! Even though I've spent many nights since childhood lying awake the whole night... I find that having had a taste of normal luxuriously wonderful sleep means going back to my former pattern is rage inducing in a way that I literally have no patience for).
I’ve heard of them but never tried them because I have lots of skin allergies. I can only use plain yellow Dial soap and hypoallergenic shampoo so bath balms and soaks and that stuff are no-gos for me. Although I do appreciate a good shower steamer, I find bathing very stimulating and generally avoid it when I can’t sleep.
I’m glad melatonin works for you. It works for my husband. It does absolutely nothing for me. The nighttime tea helps him too.
It doesn’t matter what brand, just look for “breathable” and “glass bead”. There will be a chart for you to choose the appropriate weight for your size. I’ve ordered from several companies and my friends’ response is that bamboo or silk fabric is best for temperature regulation. Mine is synthetic silk.
Thanks for the recommendation but I tried that. I tried all of the substitutes before the real thing in a recreational state. Doesn't work for me. 92% Indica cartridges didn't work much less a Delta 9 gummy. Also for some reason THC edibles barely affect me in doses under 100mg even though I don't smoke weed so there's that. But the blanket? The blanket works.
Very informative, thanks, and on your recommendation sometime ago, I bought a weighted blanket. Does it help? I'm not sure, but it certainly doesn't hurt!
My issue, as with others, is waking up around 3am or so. Most of the time I fall asleep okay. Around 7.30-8 every night I get really tired and can barely stay awake. But if I go to sleep then, I wake up an hour later, groggily, and then can't fall asleep again until 4 or 5 and then I have to be up at 6.30am to get my daughter ready school (tip #1 - don't have kids!).
If I force myself to stay awake, by 10 or so I'm not tired anymore. So I got to bed when I start getting tired, usually around 12.
My biggest problem is a weird one, definitely psychological - I always have to pee, that's what wakes me up. If I could get up immediately and go, then there's a chance I can fall back asleep right away. But something blocks me from getting up, like some paralysis. I lie there in discomfort, unable to move. If one more person tells me 'you just need to get up and go' I'm going to clobber them.
I'm pretty dysfunctional and groggy most days.
Anyway, that's my story. I'll keep trying- appreciate this post ☺️
Best of luck. Terminal insomnia seems to be common (at least in the responses) and I wish I were able to offer advice on that, but I haven’t solved it for myself.
I love my weighted blanket so much. Weed helps, too. I also still usually wake up somewhere between 3-4am every day, though. Sometimes I can get back to sleep, other times I can't. But I avoid naps unless I'm particularly stressed or exhausted because then it becomes very hard to get to sleep at any kind of reasonable time.
Yeah you can’t take naps; that makes everything worse.
I was on Klonopin and it did absolutely nothing. When I had the GeneSight test run, it said that I process the drug 4x faster than the average woman my weight/height. It was like taking super addictive TicTacs. Worthless— and the withdrawals were just as bad as Xanax so I don’t know why people think it’s a less addictive drug.
Yeah, it's wild that anyone would think it isn't addictive. I keep my usage low for that reason and usually only take half a pill at a time. It's the only thing that works so well for my anxiety attacks, but I'm terrified of the withdrawals.
Well it’s good that you’ve found something effective for your anxiety, whatever it is. Some pdocs won’t even prescribe anxiolytics.
Yeah, it can be hard. Luckily mine was okay with it, although the shrink before him literally ghosted me after requesting a refill after being back on it a few months. He's damn lucky I wasn't physically dependent on them. What an insanely dangerous thing to do to someone after you prescribe them one of the strongest benzos.
That can cause seizures! So many irresponsible doctors out there…
Klonopin will also knock me out if I lie down after taking one, but I'll still wake up around the same time, and the side effects make me not want to do that too often. I like my memory!
Thanks for this! I'm recovering from a severe period of insomnia and still have the problem of routinely waking up at 4AM, including this very morning. It's a coin flip whether I can get back to sleep after, and if I do, it's very on-and-off. I'll have vivid dreams that feel like they last an hour even if I was out for verifiably less time than that.
For anyone else with these struggles, CNN will often publish articles testing and recommending products for sleep issues. There was one on pillows for side sleepers recently, and here's one on weighted blankets (which I'll be sure to try): https://www.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/home/best-weighted-blanket?cid=external-feeds_iluminar_msn
Also, insomnia has radicalized me against noisy people. If you live in a city and you're blasting music past midnight or your car is modified to be louder than it naturally is, then I hope you get castrated.
Thanks for the link. And I’m lucky to live in a very quiet neighborhood. My insomnia has radicalized me against the birds that start screaming with the sunrise.
Simply answer for waking up at 3 AM - milk thistle and acupuncture (for your liver). Your liver is waking you up without a doubt. It will take a while before your poor liver is cleansed, but I expect you'd get at least an early positive response from a simple acupuncture session. If you do - cleanse your liver (milk thistle really helps) and only use acupuncture sparingly.
I've read good things about GHB.
https://www.midwesterndoctor.com/p/why-isnt-there-a-cure-for-insomnia
There’s no doubt in my mind that roofies would do the trick, but drugs interact with my meds and are not really an option. Or only an option insofar as Ambien is an option. Thanks for the link.
I've bargained with insomnia for a long time. When night falls sleep evades me. But that's OK.
I'll try some of these ideas you shared. Thanks, Amelia.
Best of luck.
Also, you've probably tried this, but magnesium bath salts??? I just got onto these and omg 😫 it's heaven, it has helped me a lot. I've also seen these "sleep stickers" - very weird concept, also energy stickers are a thing now too - and sent them to my mother to try who couldn't sleep for a decade after her historectamy until getting prescribed estrogen (just a warning about menopause and hormonal changes for anyone seeing this as this correlation as I had no idea about it) 👀 ... the sleep stickers sounded like a mild success.
I've also put my Mum onto Melatonin. It's prescribed in my country but when I went to the Philippines I could buy over the counter and found it more effective than the stuff here and have a supply that I guard with my life now because it's too painful to fall asleep without it (going from falling asleep in 10 minutes to 45min - 3 hours?!? 😢!! Even though I've spent many nights since childhood lying awake the whole night... I find that having had a taste of normal luxuriously wonderful sleep means going back to my former pattern is rage inducing in a way that I literally have no patience for).
I’ve heard of them but never tried them because I have lots of skin allergies. I can only use plain yellow Dial soap and hypoallergenic shampoo so bath balms and soaks and that stuff are no-gos for me. Although I do appreciate a good shower steamer, I find bathing very stimulating and generally avoid it when I can’t sleep.
I’m glad melatonin works for you. It works for my husband. It does absolutely nothing for me. The nighttime tea helps him too.
Lifetime sleep onset insomniac here (learned thanks to this article 🥰) what weight of weighed blanket do you recommend? And brand?
I've been curious about them, but don't want to pick anything too heavy/warm although the idea sounds very soothing...
It doesn’t matter what brand, just look for “breathable” and “glass bead”. There will be a chart for you to choose the appropriate weight for your size. I’ve ordered from several companies and my friends’ response is that bamboo or silk fabric is best for temperature regulation. Mine is synthetic silk.
DELTA 9 GUMMY
Thanks for the recommendation but I tried that. I tried all of the substitutes before the real thing in a recreational state. Doesn't work for me. 92% Indica cartridges didn't work much less a Delta 9 gummy. Also for some reason THC edibles barely affect me in doses under 100mg even though I don't smoke weed so there's that. But the blanket? The blanket works.