Insomnia anyone?

Thread Starter  

I have been suffering from horrid insomnia. Now that I am off work on summer break I am waking up by AT LEAST 5:30, if I am lucky enough to sleep in that late, lol. We BBQued yesterday and had company....so I cleaned house beforehand for about 3 hours. Swept, mopped, vacuumed, cleaned and bleached all 3 bathrooms, etc...then played in the pool for 2 hours. I should have slept like a baby, but I was awake at 3:30, wide awake!! Does anyone else have this problem? I have suffered from insomnia all my life and have yet to find something that doesnt leave me with a "sleeping pill hangover". What can I take for this? Something has gotta give.

I am right here with ya, but unfortunately it is work induced insomnia. I have been up since 10 this morning (partied late the night before) and have been working almost non stop. Last week I put in over 100 working hours. going to be the same this week too. I am going to take a break and try to sleep for about 2 or 3 hours, then get up and do it all again.

Thread Starter  

Hey Amy!!! Have you found anything that works without leaving you feeling like crap the next day? I am getting a little frustrated with the sleep deprivation, lol.

I've been takling melatonin, and it works wonders. It lets me go to sleep quickly and stay asleep all night, with absolutely NO hangover the next day. And it comes in chewable tablets! Valerian root is another great product, but the capsules I've seen are a bit large for bandsters.

Good luck!

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~~ Alexandra
banded 8/20/03 -- Dr. Abkin, Morristown NJ
band removed 4/9/07 due to slippage REbanded 8/13/07

340 highest / 210-ish lowest / 255-ish now / 200? maybe?
5'10" -- size 28/30 then, 16/18 now, heading downward once again

yeah! REALLY GOOD SEX!! LOL I know it sounds cheeky, but DH is always ready to help. And I pass out like a baby and don't wake up for 6 hours! :D

My insomnia happens before I go to sleep... just lay there with my eyes closed for the longest. Every now and then I take just plain tylenol and it relaxes me enough to make me doze off.

Ive heard that melatonin works well.

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July 5, 2004
248/172/150 -76

I went through a period of time post-banding where I was having trouble falling and staying asleep. This really bothered me because I have always been a heavy sleeper as well as one that could sleep for a very long time.

Like Alexandra, I started taking melatonin and it worked wonders. It didn't take long before the bout of insomnia was over. I'm now sleeping like I was pre-banding.

Good luck!

Is there a specific dosage of melatonin you take and has melatonin changed over the years? I took it several years ago and it left me tired for 2 days. I also have bouts of insomnia and spend alot of time on the road for my job.
PJ

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Another good natural sleep product is tryptophan. It's an amino acid (building block of protein) and found in milk and turkey among other things. So the old "hot milk before bed" thing and falling asleep after Christmas dinner has some basis. The tryptophan itself doesn't make you sleep, your body uses it to make serotonin. I use it for jet lag and it's amazing. My husband has sleep problems and alternates between melatonin, tryptophan and liquid coral calcium. We buy it here under it's chemical name 5HTP in healthfood stores and pharmacies. People with chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia usually have quite low tryptophan levels and often get some symptom relief as well as better sleep with supplementation.

I used to take melatonin but read an article once that said it isn't good to mess around with. So I quit it. I've been having terrible insomnia and the doctor gave me a prescription for ambien, but it doesn't seem to help. My boss was telling me that you can get cammomile (sp) in a tablet and that I should try that. I have started a routine of taking a warm shower with lavender an hour before bedtime, reading for awhile and then trying to sleep. Sometimes it works sometimes not. I will go to bed at 10 and still be awake at 4. I have to get up at 6 for work. Wish I could find something that really worked.

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"I Believe There Are Angels Among Us"

Iv'e taken Ambien before and could get addicted to it. It put me out like a light but I was tired in the morning. I guess I want the perfect fix, help me sleep and no morning side effects. I know, exercise......

PJ

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No body likes my sex idea. LOL it really does work people!! ;)

I took Ambien CR b4 the band, but it kicks my butt now. I don't want to wake up for some reason. I guess my body is going through some changes and regrouping after surgery. My surgeon recommended plain Benedryal. I have never had any symptoms of withdrawal from the Ambien CR, so perhaps I can go back on it someday. For now, it's the Benedryal.

Melatonin is good to try! I love it! It is sold in 1mg 3mg and 5mg strengths I would reccomend trying 1mg and go up from there you may not need a ton to make it work. DO NOT go over 5mg unless you are being medically supervised. Also...start with a lower dose if you regularly take B12.

Ambien...at times a necessary evil but be very very careful, you would be amazed at what people are doing while completely asleep on this drug! There are people that are claiming that they eat entire meals at night and have no recolection the next day....I too said "whatever" THEN...my husband started to take Ambien...last week when we got in bed we were being intimate and it was amazingly soft, romantic and loving, the bad part is...he has ZERO memory of it! NONE...NADA! EEEKKK!!!

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Dr. Helmuth Billy, Truckee CA
February 10, 2006
HW218/SW208/CW162/GW size healthy (125'ish I will know when I get there)







The future is so bright I have to wear shades

Thread Starter  

I have had another horrible week with insomnia. I have not had more than 4-6 hours of sleep on any given night. I took some liquid Benadryl and was out by 11:00 pm.....but here I am up since 3:30. I am going to give the Melatonin a try. My DH always suggest taking a nap, but hell...I cant sleep at night and it is twice as impossible to sleep during the day.