Any help with insomnia whenever I stay anywhere?

[Pantheon]

I'm going away soon and I don't tend to sleep well at all in new places. I often try sleeping pills but even they don't always work. I take magnesium glynciate every night anyway. Just wondered if anyone is in the same boat and what works for you?

I’m going away for the weekend and am already dreading the insomnia. I don’t have a remedy though. When I’m desperate I take a spoon of night nurse but it doesn’t always work

I take my own pillow any time it’s possible. Also the sleep spray I always use so that it smells the same. Eye mask. Long walk before bed to be tired.
Sorry if you’ve tried all these!

I get this too. Never found anything that helps, but you're not the only one!

Zopiclone.

Not really the answer though, is it 🤷‍♀️

It’s the only thing that works for me.

I'm on night 3 away, 1 more night to go. Every night I've been falling asleep about 8:30,'waling at 10 ish, for 15 mins, sleep until 12:30 ish (like now), falling aback to sleep about 1-3, waking at 3, falling snick to sleep about 5, and waking at 6:30am. I just want a full nights sleep! xXx

Thanks all for your replies. Sorry to hear others have this happen too, although it does make me feel less alone as my dh and family can sleep anywhere no problem! I will pack my pillow case, spray etc and sominex and hope for the best.

Boots own brand Nytol tablets and no alcohol at all. Plenty of fresh air and walking during the day. Ear plugs if you're a light sleeper.

Whenever I go anywhere I take lavender oil, sleep mask, wax earplugs, camomile tea, book to read before bed, origins peace of mind. That seems to work for me. Oh and hayfever tablets because even the non drowsy ones have a sleep affect.

Is this an age thing? If you’re Peri or menopausal HRT if you can take it helps a lot with sleep.

Hi can I ask what dose of zopiclone you take ?.I've been prescribed 3.75mg. And my sleep is better by a small degree but I still wake up at odd hours.

Just posted this on another insomnia thread, but ear pods have taken all the dread out of insomnia for me. It's comfy to sleep with one pod in, if you like sleeping on your side and there's enough variety of radio 4 shows on BBC sounds to enjoy. I actually find being less stressed about the insomnia helps me to sleep better, so it's a win win situation.

Earplugs or sleepbuds with a white noise app. Even if you don't think environmental noise is disturbing you it could be.

Quite often it's given as 7.5 mg but the doctors will start low as it's a medication which is very addictive and loses effect after a short period of use.

My insomnia was so severe my Dr prescribed me half a tablet of Mirtzipine a hour before bed. Its normally prescribed as a antidepressant but the side effect of such a small dose is it really helps you sleep. And I sleep ALL night without waking.

@ShetlandishMum many thanks. My GP called me five mins ago..We've agreed I'll take it for several nights and then alternate with antihistamines.. He's prescribed enough so I can take one and a half of the 3.75mgs on the nights when I take it.. Here's hoping it's going to work.. Feel so sorry for myself moping Around, even if I've got an audiobook on the go, at 4 am
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Best wishes :)

I find it a bit easier to go to sleep now I take magnesium and use a magnesium balm on my legs. I also listen to wind downs on the Headspace app. If I can't go to sleep after a few wind downs I put the sleep music on and set it for an hour, as usually I'm asleep before it ends.

Yes it's not a long term fix. Something short term to help with bereavement or sudden stress not as a sleep management plan.

Exercise, sleep apps, getting up before mid morning, avoiding anything that disrupts sleep obviously like coffee and screens at bedtime. All far more effective than meds in the long term.

i have been taking this for god knows how long. However I never use it when I’m away due to wherever I’m staying being completely unknown. It doesn’t always work with me, or I may wake up in a bit of a daze during the night, as it is obviously a powerful drug with a lot of horrible side effects and I genuinely worry about having accidents or falling when I’m somewhere unfamiliar, because it has happened even when I’m at home and somewhere familiar so I know, for me, it’s a bit of a risk to take when I’m somewhere else. I’ve been taking it for so long now, but still doesn’t stop the side effects completely - especially the worst one, the para-something or other, basically the one that makes you sleep walk or worse in your sleep.
I think for the op, or anyone who doesn’t take it normally, taking something so strong for the first time when away from home in unfamiliar surroundings, when the side effects are so strong, and also not even being aware of what side effects and how badly they may affect them would be really quite risky.

I'm surprised a gp is prescribing it long term, it should only ever be used short term as people get so reliant on it. They're being irresponsible imo.

Have you tried exercise, sleep apps, omitting alcohol and coffee? If you don't use it when away then surely it's worth trying to not take it at home? The side effects sound awful and dangerous.

@Itsasecretnow hi please can you tell.me about the para- thing side effect?.I've only been taking zopiclone for less than a week and not had any sleepwalking experience so far..is it meant to be a rare occurrence?. The only side effect I can sense so far is a horrible metallic taste the next day. It's not been hugely successful for me so far but I've only been taking the lowest dose.

Try a meditation to help you to get to sleep. It's best if you can use one on a device that's not your phone so you can leave your phone on silent and if you can download it or play it without adverts starting afterwards (like they do on YouTube).
I quite like the ones in the Fitbit app. But you can download specific apps for meditations too. Good luck

Yup. Tried literally everything. Disabled so the exercise thing can’t be done now. But I’ve had long term insomnia going back about 17 years by now and have tried everything. I take other supplements, melatonin etc and zopiclone isn’t used every night. But my gp knows me and knows my history, obviously including my medical history, as there are other health issues that affect my sleep as well.
so yeah, I’ve tried everything, believe me. My body clock has always been delayed anyway, since I was a kid, so it does add another dimension to insomnia when you have a delayed body clock. I have very regular check ins with my gp re my health issues and medication so it’s all good and safe. The side effects are far less than when I started but it doesn’t mean they’ve gone away. When I’m away (which hasn’t actually happened for years now anyway), I just literally have to deal with no, poor or little sleep, just as I do at home when I’m not taking it or when it’s just not working, such as when my physical health is extra bad. Tbh, asking an insomniac if they’ve tried this, that or the other is quite patronising, like I’ve just gone straight to a gp who has given me strong sleeping tablets 😂 like I said I’ve had very bad insomnia for about 17 years, which has at times gotten really bad, and at others isn’t so bad, so yes, I spent years trying and doing everything. Every single thing. And when I wasn’t so unwell of course it tried exercise - I was very active. Have spent months and months with the whole sleep hygiene routines etc, many times over, and still try to keep to the “rules” anyway, whether they’re working or not. . I agree, it’s a strong drug, but believe me, gps don’t just hand them out the first time you go to them and say you’ve had a few bad nights of sleep. As I say I have many health issues which also affect my sleep massively, (again, very involved gp who has known me for years) but when my insomnia is bad I can go literal days without sleep so it’s unfortunately past the not-sleeping-much stage.
But, if you’ve genuinely got something you think may work that perhaps isn’t something common that is advised I’d honestly be interested to hear. Absolutely no snark there at all, genuine question. Because I will try anything. Well, not anything but you know what I mean!

One of the most important tips I’d give you is to not take it until you are in bed and fully ready to go to sleep. That sounds obvious, but what I mean is don’t even take it and then go brush your teeth, have a wee etc. Don’t get up afterwards. This will help in reducing some of the side effects a little. The side effect I’m talking about can cause people to do activities that their body is used to doing - so it isn’t just the possibility of sleep walking, people have been known to get in their cars and drive, cook and eat, just stuff that you’d do as normal activities. And you’d likely not even remember any of it. So if course this is the most dangerously side effect. The others are obviously things like falling down the stairs etc. I recall being so worried about the side effects when I started, and had read about them that I’d even put something in front of my bedroom door etc.
This is why you literally don’t take it u til you are in bed, everything is done, it’s the last thing that you do. If you’re not ready to get into bed and (try) to stay there don’t take it. I got a bit blaze about that at times and I’d take it before I got into bed and sometimes I’d just wake up somewhere else in the house. Those serious side effects are rare, so don’t worry about that overly, just make sure you’re ready to try and sleep and you don’t need to get up to do something, or take it before then. If your gp feels you needed it then there must be a reason. Don’t take it every night if you can help it, but if you’ve not yet had any of the side effects you’ll likely be absolutely fine, it’s just something to be aware of, and if it’s helping you then honestly the benefits of it do outweigh the risk of the rarer side effects, but just remember to always take it when in bed and you’ll be ok. If it’s helping you sleep and is giving you the time and space to reset your sleeping and you’re not relying on it then those benefits do outweigh the risks and the gp wouldn’t have given it to you unless they really thought you needed it and had tried other things. For the vast majority of people it will be just a short term course, to get your sleeping routine back on track and you’re doing ok if you’re not getting the side effects so just be aware but don’t worry overly about them. I just think it’s important that people who do take it are aware of some of the worse side effects because gps often don’t go into detail about them, but that’s why it’s important to read the leaflet before you decide to take them. My first prescription I had for maybe a year before I finally decided to try them, as the side effects terrified me, but eventually I just had to try them as had done literally everything else I could. But I never went for a drive or anything, I might’ve got into a bit of a habit of nighttime baking for a while or stuff like that 😂 but this is why it’s important to be the last thing you don, when you’re all tucked up and ready to sleep.