To ask for your sleep remedies

[HerRoyalHappiness]

Had a very useless appointment with the GP today who was more interested In how I parent as a disabled mother than the issue at hand. Which is my lack of sleep.
I haven't slept more than 3 hours in a month. I go to he'd at 10, drift off after 11 and I'm awake by 2am without fail then I can't get back to sleep.
I don't have screens in my room. I use a smart alarm clock to play rain sounds and wake me up in a morning.
It's not too hot or too cold.
I have a weighted blanket
I do need a new mattress and it's on my list to buy but I can't get one until the end of August as I don't have £200 spare right now.
I've tried chamomile tea
I've tried meditation
I've tried sleep pillow sprays
I've tried crystals (I know but I'm desperate)
I've tried hypnosis
I've tried counting sheep
I've tried everything. I don't even read in bed any more in case it was over stimulating my brain. I just lie there and try to sleep.
Please give me tips, hacks, anything at all to help me to sleep. I'm so exhausted 😩

I feel your pain, @HerRoyalHappiness.
I’ve suffered from insomnia my entire life.
My GP gives me 50-100mg of Quetiapine every night. I adjust the dose, depending on how bad my insomnia is.
It works really well for sleep.
Ask your GP. It isn’t habit forming or anything. I think they give it to mental patients, but they also use it off-label for sleep here in the U.S.
I never ever take more than 100 and it’s always been safe and effective.
I hope you find some relief.❤️

You were right to start with a visit to your GP. The first thing to do is to rule out any physical reason for insomnia. Otherwise, are you experiencing any particular stress that's keeping you awake? If not, insomnia itself creates stress--it can be self-perpetuating. Your concern about sleep makes sleep an issue. Thus, seeking a "remedy" can exacerbate the problem. Doctors often recommend good "sleep hygiene" (restricting light, consistent bedtime etc.) but, as someone who has experienced bouts of serious insomnia, I've found that all those recommendations can make you hyper-focused on sleep. It's a kind of performance anxiety- it's time to sleep so the pressure is on! Letting go of sleep rituals or concerns/expectations about sleep (i.e. if I don't sleep x hours per night I won't be able to accomplish x,y, or z) has helped me. it's counterintuitive but the less you try to control sleep the more easily it will come. Ask anyone who sleeps well what they do to accomplish it. More often then not the answer will be "nothing", because it never occurred to them that sleep is an issue.

I learned this philosophy from "insomnia coach" Martin Reed who has a very helpfui website: insomniacoach.com/

Martin offers therapy, but is also very responsive via email and has a lot of helpful free content on his website. It sounds like you can easily fall asleep but can't stay asleep. I've had this problem too. Martin maintains that waking in the night is natural and normal- it's your level of awareness about it that keeps you wide awake, instead of just rolling over and getting back to sleep. I still wake up most nights, but I've learned to accept it. I find it helpful to turn on a podcast (not a sleep podcast, just anything that interests me) and shut my eyes. This redirects my focus away from "trying" to sleep. 9/10 times I'm back to sleep in no time.

i recommend you buy one of these. It is expensive but it has really helped with my sleep above other things I’ve tried

www.zlabsleep.com/products/night-visor

Thanks all. I'm in pain now after not sleeping.
Quetiapine is a no go for me. I'm already on antipsychotics as I suffer from psychotic depression, so I'm a "mental patient" as a PP so kindly put it
I'll try a sleep mask.
CBD will be arriving today so I'll try that tonight too, and I've ordered melatonin online but that will take 1-2 months to get here.
I love me a podcast and audiobooks but I find I get far too interested in what's going to happen that I can't drift off to sleep listening to them.

Okay...this is a scientifically tested method but it takes some work.

Start going to bed later...no screens but stay up until 2am.

See if you sleep until your desired time (let's say 6am).

No naps. No cheating. If you don't sleep until 6am after doing this for a few days in a row then stay up until 3am.

Once you've started going to sleep successfully at a later time and sleeping through to 6am, start going to bed one hour earlier.

If you still successfully sleep until 6am, then go to bed another hour earlier.

Keep repeating until you are going to bed at the time you'd like to and still sleeping until 6am.

If at any point you stop sleeping through until 6am, take a step backwards in the programme (I.e. bed an hour later again) for a few days before trying bedtime half an hour earlier.

Also you must try to get natural light first thing in the morning and around dusk if you can. This will help to reset your circadian rhythm/sleep hormone cycle. Try to do it outside everyday for at least 10-15 mins, even if you're just stood on your doorstep if it's raining.

Yoga nidra cured my insomnia and going to bed and waking up the same time every day. Also no screens two hours before sleep.

Restrictive sleeping mentioned above worked great the first time I had insomnia but less so the other times

The only thing that i ever had that worked completely was Zopiclone but its hard to get it from the doctor, Thankfully im ok now and can drop off easily. Good luck, We need to sleep.💪

They tend to prescribe Amyltripine now which is mich better as you can take it long term.

Melatonin
Occasionally phenergan with paracetamol
Temazepam if your able to convince the gp to prescribe it for you

i had it but it wears off.

I'm already on Amitryptiline for pain, and it was working until my GP decided to lower my dose without consulting the rheumatologist. on by 10mg from 60mg to 50mg but I notice a difference. GP said he can't prescribe melatonin it has to be a psychiatrist but my psych said she can't prescribe it either. So no idea who will prescribe it for me.
I have some antihistamines coming tomorrow that make you drowsy so hopefully they work.

Agree bad choice of words mental patient.

Ear plugs, glass of wine and 50mg of Sleep Aid

Ear plugs just tend to fall out! I don't drink wine (i dont drink much at all really) but I'll try sleep aid. Any recommendations for good earplugs that stay put? I've ordered a sleep mask as suggested so ear plugs are next on my list.

Wax or silicone earplugs are the best. Manta sleep mask is expensive but really good. It blocks out all light.

Pod casts - audio books - catch up tv
Through air buds and only if they have a soporific voice

I've worn earplugs for years, couldnt sleep without them as every little noise wakes me. It's just so peaceful and creates its own type of white noise.

The conical colourful (purple/pink/orange) ones stay in the best, about £5 for 3 pairs from Lloyd's pharmacy. Each pair lasts a month or so.

These type: lloydspharmacy.com/products/noise-x-foam-bullet-shape-ear-plugs-2-pairs?istCompanyId=203d462d-a278-42b2-b470-f22765919080&istFeedId=6087f665-3748-4780-a8df-71af7e6bf4df&istItemId=prxritlxq&istBid=t&gclid=Cj0KCQjw5ZSWBhCVARIsALERCvyU9aGzLOx1D_xFgXSZ3O3IDxBvDFWpAORjj-DNeoWoiEwgjXrrqtQaAvazEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Oh blimey that's a massive link!

For anyone that struggles to sleep use Rescue Remedy. It works every time. I use it whenever I can't sleep, in 10 minutes I am asleep.👌

Magnesium spray on feet
Silk pillowcase
Sleep spray (can't remember the name)
Eye mask and ear buds

My earplugs are cheap and cheerful. Last bought a few boxes containing 6 pairs from Primark. £1 per box. They are long but i cut a third off the end and they don’t stick out nor fall out. I cant sleep without them even on my own!

you might get them in home bargains and independent chemists

Thank you everyone for your suggestions.

I swear this always gets me to sleep

Also:

Padded Eye mask
Nortryptaline
Magnesium
Tensing and relaxing each muscle starting from feet until you work all the way up
20 mins light exposure within the first two hours of waking
Epsom salt bath

Appreciate some might not be appropriate but hope you get it sorted