Fucking bastard insommnia

[Intohellbutstayingstrong]

There is just no hope. I guess this is it for me now. Acceptance that I will never sleep more than 3 hours at a time (and I am VERY lucky if I even get those 3 hours)

I have it, too, even though I’m my own worse enemy with it. Tried wine last night and just woken up in a panicky mess.

Typical pattern: 11pm-12.30, worry until 2am, sleep until 4am, wake/sleep until 6. The weeks I have DCs and school runs are terrible, every other week I stay with partner who snores and works from home: no routine!

ARGHHHHHHH I am so tired!

Well done, Zoflorabore sounds like a few later nights are on the cards for you!

Zopiclone was mentioned by a couple of pp's.
I was prescribed this about 6 years ago - horrific- I did sleep but the next day I felt awful- worse than before .

I have been up all night, couldn't sleep. Done the washing, got everything ready for the day, little ones will be up in half an hour. I do not suffer with insomnia, I'm just stressed because my dad is ill but if this is what you guys go through every night as sufferers I don't know how you cope? I know I'll be shattered by lunch time and on my nose by dinner later tonight. I couldn't function on a daily basis regularly going through this.

@scaryteacher, same here. Perimenopause totally messed up my sleep. It's, now been almost 3 years. I believe in my case, the issue is the surge Od oestrogen that makes ne feel like I've swallowed an electric pill I can't switch off.

What I've learnt too is that is not as much about quantity of sleep but quality. My friend gets by 5 hours a night but almost half of this is deep sleep. I get about 8h but I'll be lucky to get 1h of deep sleep.

Sleeping pills help falling asleep but not so much quality. Diazepam can help short term, but it is addictive and benefit will wear off with time.

Mindfulness with melatonin have almost sorted the falling asleep part, but little helps the increase of deep sleep and reduction of that horrible light sleep which brings not real benefit. All that helps for me is when the hormone surges reduce. Also a nice long massage but csnt do this too often!

My mother said that she suffered more during the peri stage than the actual meno and she slept much better once she was fully in it.

I get to sleep no problem - can't stay awake in fact but suffer with waking and not getting back to sleep. Some nights only get a couple of hours some I doze off again but dream / not fully asleep.

Has anyone tried a gravity blanket? I'm getting desperate but don't want meds'

I bought some Sleepeaze today and took one about an hour ago just to see if they'd work - I've tried everything else and nothing has .

I actually feel sleepy! I can't believe it.

PrimeExample I'm shattered ;)

I've had a really busy day though and think my body is not used to me having that much sleep. I've taken my nortryptyline which is a painkiller and sedative so will have no problems getting asleep, it's staying asleep that is the issue.
I am going to bed at 8, same time as dd

I feel your pain.
Up until a year ago I never had a problem with sleeping.
I woke at 2 and lay there with all my worries about work, my Dds school and her health condition, whether my oh is having an affair (because he's bought me sexy lingerie for Valentines. We've been together 23 years), how lonely I am and how rejected I feel by my Mum and how I'm dreading summer as it means the louts will be on land adjacent to my house until the wee hours daily.
I'm 45 and I honestly think I'm going mad and I don't know how to feel better.

I have suffered from insomnia since I was 7 (trauma related). You would think after 40 years I would have got used to it. Currently 2 weeks of waking up between 3.30 and 4, I am seriously at the end of my tether. Yes, I function but I'm very glad I don't have to drive.

I find Nytol/Sleepeaze makes me have ridiculously restless legs and, if possible, I get even less sleep than my usual 3 hours.

I remember sobbing to my dsis a few years ago after 72 hours without a minute of sleep. Dsis said ‘what I find works bests is just closing my eyes and waiting, it works every night for me.’ I’d have punched her if I wasn’t so tired .

GP has prescribed a week's worth of Zopi-whatnot. It will last me a fortnight as I will take only 1/2 a pill a night. We shall see. The one I took last year, as well as inducing 16hrs of sleep (not all in one go) re-set things and that's what I'm hoping for.

I hope you all get some rest.

My routine is sleep by 12am wake at 3am to think about every problem possible, sleep again by 7/8am up at 9am. It's a killer I'm going on meds so should sleep but just can't.

I went to bed at 8 o'clock last night after taking the sleepeaze and I've just woken up ! I don't feel groggy either . I actually can't believe it .

My fitbit says I’m not sleeping enough because Im not exercising enough. No time to bloody exercise! Vicious circle!

Have suffered with it too since I was a kid and tried every drug, tablet, etc under the sun - none of which worked for me.

Doesn't help that DH and the dog both snore like bloody foghorns 🙄

I've found meditation to be brilliant for helping me switch off and relax. Easier said than done I know but if my brain is having a bit of a meltdown I can at least chill out a bit.

I am in total despair about sleep. Insomnia is completely ruining my life.

@OddCat Yay! Sleep!

One thing I discovered - lots of people recommend setting a routine, don't nap in the day etc. I found this worse, because insomnia is a vicious circle- you don't sleep one night, so you're stressing about it before you even go to bed, which means you're overriding the 'switch' that turns your brain off ready for sleep.

Obviously it's not always possible, because of work/kids/other commitments, but I actually found sleeping when my body demanded it (ie napping in the day) made it easier to fall asleep at night. Not massive, hours-long naps, but just an hour tops to reset the switch. I think you have to break the cycle, so for me that meant sleeping on the sofa watching tv, or sleeping the other way up in bed, or lying propped up with many pillows- anything to force a disconnect from the misery of another night of no sleep.

My XH used to tap my forehead patronisingly and say "The trouble is Shodan your brain just doesn't switch off." How he wasn't slain by the force of my evil thoughts towards him I don't know, but he was right about the brain thing.

I call that 'performance sleep' where you're expected to stick to strict routines, jump out of bed if don't fall asleep within 10 minutes of head hitting pillow, not allowed back to bed until you're absolutely dying, in bed & get up at same time every day no matter if you only slept 20 minutes all night before the annointed get-up time. Just ... why make it so much worse?

I can cope with insomnia. My insomnia is merely annoying. Don't make it into torture.

I take mirtazapine, as previous pp have suggested. It works for me. It also helps my depression too. I watch my diet and go down the gym a lot, so weight gain isn't a problem. I think it's a case of finding what works for you.

I was up last night at 1.30 changing sheets on the bed in the spare room. I have a list of things I can’t get done through the day so do some when I can’t sleep - which is every other night. Mostly it’s due to restless leg syndrome but some nights it’s just a feeling of agitation. Makes me hate my husband who never loses sleep.

This one of my better nights of sleep. I'm really struggling :( I'm cutting out tea even though I only drink decaf to see if this will help me