To ask what you’re doing awake post-midnight? Part 3: Return of the Insomnia

[5YearsLeft]

Hey all - We’ve made it to the third thread. Whether you’ve posted before or you’re brand new, if you’re stuck awake, then you’re welcome here. We’ve had people facing it all on the last few threads: grief (loss of DPs, DHs, parents, children, and pets), illness of every sort (cancer, COVID, post COVID, sciatica, antidepressant withdrawals, stomach bugs of every sort, cold/flu, autoimmune problems, and even more diagnoses), ill children and partners (vomiting, crying, unable to sleep… and that’s just the adult family members! Ok I’m kidding, that was mostly the kids), women in labor, women with surgery fears, fears of all other sizes, anxiety, work anxiety, and of course insomnia caused by myriad things (LOTS of peri and postmenopausal insomnia).

Whatever is keeping you awake, you’re always welcome to share it here.

If you’re following in from our last thread, it’s:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4473171-To-ask-what-you-re-doing-awake-post-midnight-Part-2-Insomnia-Strikes-Back

@5YearsLeft you are an amazing writer with such empathy. You deserve this job, and I hope you enjoy it as well as making some £££ from it. Perhaps getting into a different life rhythm will help you with your sleep? Be sure to provide us with daytime reports so we can share your journey.

@MrsGlum Yes, I would absolutely be lying if I said I wasn’t going to worry about you, so please, if it ever gets to be too much, do PM me. You’ve been through so much, and even though I know you’ve repeatedly said that you don’t think you can keep going, you haven’t realized that you’re still here! You HAVE kept going! You’ve made it this far. Even though I know you’re not “making it” in the shape you want to (secret: so many of us aren’t). I might not be able to respond during the nighttime hours, but I’ll be around!

@Tallisimo Yes, I’m definitely hoping it works out! I have a three-week probationary period (freelancing but not quite freelancing is always a strange thing) and if I make it through that, then I’ll be okay! I’ll probably keep my other MN thread updated as I definitely don’t want this thread to be my diary, ha, MNHQ have already been so kind to let me keep one thread updated as a kind of diary. And I’ll always be around through PMs. And… to be honest, if the three-week probationary doesn’t work out, we’ll all be here doing this again, har har. I do hope your sciatica works out, and if you don’t find relief soon, then maybe you can follow in @Coroico97’s footsteps.

@5YearsLeft thank you - I really appreciate your kind thoughts and offer of support. x

Oh wow @5YearsLeft the job news is great! I know I'm early tonight but I'm still sleeping a lot at the minute, so I thought I'd post whilst awake! It sounds right up your alley and should be great!

Until reading the updates I just came on to gloat because I'm under doctor's orders to eat biscuits! I knew there had to be a good side to this breast cancer thing! Well, ok, he might have mentioned eating other things besides biscuits, but biscuits were definitely there. And he might not have definitely ordered me to eat a couple of digestive biscuits in the morning to settle my tummy, but he suggested it and coming from a doctor, that's the same as ordering it, isn't it?

Welcome to the after-midnight thread, slightly belated edition. I fell asleep. Embarrassing.

If you’re struggling with all those things that seem so much worse at night - pain, worry, anxiety, illness, illness of your children or OH, work troubles, stress of all sorts - you’re welcome to come on this thread and share them.

(To be honest, I may fall asleep again. I just can’t believe how tired I am; truly embarrassed).

DH is snoring. As always. Might buy him one of them anti snore pillows I’ve seen in primark

I've found out today that my stbxh's girlfriend has got a job at the school my son starts at in September. They'll both be starting at the same time. She'll now be involved right at the centre of my son's education. I'm utterly devastated and can't sleep for thinking about it.

I’m here again after a few weeks’ absence because my sleeping tablets were allowing me to finally get some sleep.
I think they’ve now stopped working because my body is so used to them. I’m stuffed if that’s the case.
How can I lie here wide awake night after night with only my raging anxiety symptoms and horrible thoughts, worries and regrets for company..? I’ll go even more mad than I already am

Brain is well and truly over thinking tonight. Some serious catastrophising going on.

Hope everyone else is managing to get a few hours

Poorly dog woke me. Again 😭

@5YearsLeft- hello!

i just popped in and saw your news re the job - huge congratulations!!!! you will smash it.

I've been sleeping a bit better and trying not to use the screen so much at night.

good (or not good?) to see some of the old regulars.

keep well (or plodding on!) everyone.

It’s taken forever to find you!
is this the most recent thread?
hope you are all doing as well as you can

@Chichimcgee hello! How is baby Iris and your lovely boy? Are you all settled in yet?

Definitely feeling more settled, waiting on a few deliveries and done little bits to go but it’s feeling more like home. Still waiting for a school place for ds, special schools seem to take ages but he’s happy! Iris is 2 months old, can you believe it?! She’s wonderful, I’m absolutely besotted with her!
how are you?

So as always very late to the party. Today we fly back to France after a week in Spain. I've not worked for the first time in a couple of years. I've drunk too much delicious wine and eaten way to much food and way too few veg!

But the big news is I've been offered the job I really really want. I didn't really expect it and it's jumping several steps on the career ladder. So as long as I can stick it for at least 6 months things are looking pretty good. It's WFH so also better for lambing next year. The lambs are all doing well.

Sophie has been a great mum. Barbara and shrimpy are doing well. Shrimpy is no longer bow legged.

@5YearsLeft hope your new job is still on the cards.

Oh @Wallywobbles congratulations! I’m so happy. Anyone that can put up with that much from lambing obviously deserves all the career progression in any career they desire. And obviously, you needed a break. I mean, a lot of us were awake, but very few of us were awake having to stare at sheeps’ fannies for a whole season. You’re a trooper, and I hope the wine was truly delicious.

As it turns out, my job (thanks for the congrats @catwomando except…) has been THE most bizarre thing ever. It’s a small family business that’s been reorganizing and they’re really kind people but… They decided to reorganize after I was supposed to start, and I don’t know if they’ve just overloaded the man who’s supposed to be my line manager so much that he can’t possibly keep track of everything, which is unfair of the higher ups, and he can’t say no, because they haven’t hired enough new staff yet and the higher ups are family, OR if he just couldn’t organize a piss up in a brewery. He seems so nice, so I’m unsure. So now I start two weeks later than my initial start date and I’m not going to feel 100% stable about it until I sign this “new” paperwork that I’ve been waiting for.

As a result, I’m thinking about reviving this thread, especially since I just spent two entirely sleepless nights (just a terrible week all together) and I really could have used the bloody thread!!!

@Chichimcgee So glad to hear that you’re well. I’ve tried to sign post each thread in the next one, but I know once they fall out of the first few pages of AIBU, and if you don’t have any in your internet history, AND with the site design… it’s a mess. Iris sounds like an absolute dream and I’m so glad she’s doing well, and that your son is happy, and I hope he gets a place soon!

Well it's new jobs all round. How exciting! Well, once they get started it will be ! I got offered a new job but undecided as to whether to take it as I'm just not sure I have the energy to launch back into full on corporate life .

I've been sleeping really badly and am pooped. It stress I think. Work stress now replaced by feeling discombobulated and my dear dear DH is not well. He's never ill and we are waiting for an urgent referral and tests. I'm scared it's something quite serious. He looks pale and grey and has no energy. So unlike him. I'm trying not to think about it but it keeps popping into my head. Just when we should be looking forward to a carefree summer together.

Anyway, enough of feeling sorry for myself with imagined woes

Glad the sheep are doing well. And can't believe that baby Iris is 2 months old already! I feel like an honoury godparent to them all

Hope you all have a good Saturday night

I just wanted to check back in. My insomnia has settled, but I wanted to say hello really. @5YearsLeft I’m glad you hear about the writing and hope it inspires and drives you on.

to all others I’m sorry I don’t remember names. But 5years story and posting inspires this stressed occasional insomniac and reminds me how trivial some of my problems are.

@FlappyFish Honestly… I’ve been thinking about “resurrecting” the thread. I can’t tell you how many nights I’ve been up past midnight in the last two weeks. The job turned out to be a hugely elaborate scam (they’d stolen several people’s identities through Instagram where you can’t Google Reverse Image search those, and their entire identities and the business itself was a lie and now I’ve had to place what feels like thousands of phone calls to sort out protecting my identity now).

Which is to say, that I understand EXACTLY how you feel, and I’m so sorry you’re going through it because it’s pretty rough, and even now thought I was definitely tired enough and needed the sleep, my stomach has ideas of its own (I’m sure you’ve had the same, though if not your stomach, then SOMETHING, argh). I do hope you’ve gotten a tiny bit of rest; you deserve the rest!!!

I woke up about 1:20am & sleep wouldn't return. Because... it doesn't. So boring. I could do something useful but have dossed & dossed, listening to local election results & chatter. I will pick up the 'useful' paperwork in a moment (that boredom threshold is finally reached).

I wonder when political journos will stop talking about "Leave Voting Areas"

@lljkk Ah yes, it is a truth universally acknowledged that it’s almost impossible to do the useful stuff when you’re already stuck awake. I think most of us are stuck in that boat.

As for referring to them as “Leave Voting Areas,” sigh. Probably until something even more divisive comes along? Because I think that’s all journalists want: the most divisive thing or term possible. If another vote happened that was more divisive than Leave, they’d start referring to them as “X Voting Areas.”

I suppose it's fair that no one knows how to describe LVA otherwise.
Very working class, but sometimes very rural and in rural areas don't self-identify as working class. Wealth deprived. Non-elitist.
Journos falling over selves not to describe those areas as less educated, less worldly or less socially liberal
"Prone to resentments? " areas

LVA might be the most objective & neutral phrase, but it doesn't really help identify what their needs & priorities are today, does it? "Leveling up target zones" maybe?

2 cups of tea & I'm ready to go. I got maybe 5 hours total sleep last night out of 9 hrs of trying to be asleep. The sleep training programmes would consider me successful sleeper if I got 1 hours out of 1 hours of trying (the total time spent sleeping is irrelevant to their definition of "good quality sleep"). I won't try sleeping pills so thank goodness I manage ok on so little sleep.

@5YearsLeft that’s just appalling, I’m so sorry! Is there anything you can do report them or get them stopped?

i haven’t been back on the thread for a while, the messages saying the site was down for maintenance were a bit off putting, and then they launched the newfangled platform which seems to have got a lot of people’s knickers in the twist. It hasn’t been plain sailing for me as I keep having to log in, then the screen gets taken over by adverts all over the shop.

I got my MRI scan results last week -revealed nothing sinister or unexpected in someone of my age, some arthritis in the lower spine etc, but nothing to account for the sciatica. I’ve now been referred to the regional pain clinic, whatever that is. Might have to wait months to be seen, apparently. Meanwhile, I’m left to deal with the pain, numbness, tingling, sleepless nights etc . I know many people have far worse to deal with, but it’s still a right pain.

Hope my fellow unwilling night owls are hanging on in there xx

Can I join? Its my birthday tmrw (dont care much for birthdays) but I am terrified as having a biopsy in Wednesday. My youngest is only 3. I cant sleep,
I cant eat.
we have had such a hard time during covid (i know everyone has, we are nothing special) but I thought we'd got through the worst. And now this. I am terrified.

@Lndnmummy oh lovely, of course you’re worried, who wouldn’t be. The waiting and not knowing is horrid. I really hope it all goes smoothly and that everything is ok for you x Do try and enjoy your birthday with your family x