The Counting Sheep
1, baa.
2, baa.
3, baa.
I could go on and on. And on all night. I am having a little trouble sleeping. I have a couple of theories about my new friend, insomnia, though. You wanna hear 'em? Cool.
1. I stopped taking my thyroid medication. I was sweating all the time. Like All.The.Time. Just ask any of my sibs, and they can attest that I was, in fact, exuding hotness profusely. I think this has thrown my circadian rhythms out of whack.
2. I have stress. Not major, life and death stress, anymore, but more like a just -beneath -the- surface, itch- you -can't- scratch kind of stress. It's annoying. And with this kind of stress, if I do in fact fall asleep, as soon as any kind of sound is made, I am wide awake. Not cool.
3. My husband snores like a rockstar. And not like the Jonas Brothers kind of rockstar. More like an 80's hair band has-been kind of rockstar. Good heavens, it drives me up the wall! I swear some nights he is suffocating. And sometimes, I don't really care if he is. At least he would be quiet for a moment. Seriously, though. I love him, I do. But after this Removula surgery, it was supposed to be better. It really isn't. Bummer.
4. As soon as I get comfy, not too hot, not too cold, pillow just right, my brain swarms with words. Just random sentences. No plot or even correct grammar at times. It's very frustrating, what with the voices in there and all. Did I mention I hear voices? I know, you're not surprised. It's okay, neither am I. Or I. Or I.
Okay, so maybe tonight will be different. Maybe it won't. I don't really care anymore. One thing I do know, is if it isn't, I'm not taking it lying down anymore. Get it? Ha, I crack me up! I'm seriously doing something productive in the middle of the night. I can't take another 4 hours of watching the clock, drifting in and out, wondering if I'm awake or asleep. No more, I say.
What do you do with your insomnia?
17 Response(s):
I am so sorry, insomnia sucks! How can you be so funny on such little sleep?
Two posts in one day? wow! Is that because of the insomnia...
I haven't had insomnia in like forever. Knock on wood. SO SO SORRY it has happened to you.
I do however have this freind who has it terrible from about 3:00 a.m. to 5:30-6:00 a.m. every night! Anyhow, she said she got sick and damn tired of watching the clock, reading scriptures, (can be a usefull insomnia tool), scrapbooking, etc. So she started shopping!! Yes you heard it my friend. Apparantly some Walmarts are open 24 hours a day. So off to Wally world she goes. She swears it is the best time, dead empty and you can roam uninterrupted till your hearts content. The bargains she has found.
So I say get out the checkbook/debitcard and shop.
Keli,
Insomnia sucks! I have had it for a very long time, well until recently. I started taking melatonin! It is a miracle drug, well herb I guess. It is awesome, also Tylenol P.M. is also great. I also have the good ol' thyroid problem. I have been on medication for 11 years, and I hate the sweaty stinky hot flashes. They are awful! But when I went off my medication I really had a harder time sleeping, so it is kind of a Da**** if you do, Da**** if you don't. Anyways, good luck! Love ya,
Michelle Muhlestein
Oh man, I totally feel for you. It takes me forever to get to sleep too and I'm always thinking about random things. I totally get mad at people too if they start singing any particularly annoying catchy songs after 9 pm (because I'll be singing it ALL NIGHT). Good luck Keli! =)
My solution is always NyQuil. It totally relaxes me and I go right to sleep. We always keep some on hand even when it's not cold/flu season. Just a once-in-a-while solution of course. I wouldn't recommend it for every night. I've used Tylenol PM before but you don't get the buzz NyQuil gives...(I could totally get into having a glass of wine every night if it wasn't for that dang WofW) My husband falls asleep five minute after hitting the pillow...I need at least a half hour of more. I hate him for that. Good luck...and thanks for the freecycle advice...I joined and really hope something comes up.
I'm sorry, I hate insomnia too! I was going to suggest Melatonin as well, but Michelle beat me to it. Also, I make a list before i go to bed of my "to do" crap. Then, the next day I usually end up throwing it away undone, but at least I didn't have to try and remember it during my sleep cuz that is what tends to keep me up all night. Just trying to remember everything!
The nice thing about being a few hours ahead of everyone else is that there are people awake to call when you can't sleep. I liked that part about living in the midwest. Maybe we could start an insomnia chat in the middle of the night. We'd all be tired and beyotchy to each other! Okay, maybe not! Good luck.
I haven't had that problem in a few years, but when I did..... reading the scriptures totally put me to sleep. Funny, I can read a novel for HOURS and not get tired, and I crack open 2nd Nephi and my vision starts to blur and the yawns happen. Good luck..... I'll expect a report on Friday
Hmmm, I would suggest medication as well. And I have found that if I have a pen and paper by my bed and I just write down what I keep thinking about, I fall asleep more quickly.
Oh yeah, and giving up caffeine has helped. Bummer.
I think I know what will cure your insomnia Keli! Just come over and spend the day with my 2 rugrats. They will wear you right out. Promise.
Nothing like those voices in your head huh? You get that from Big Dan. The insomnia part from Mom. I think she passed it on to us. I have the 4:00 in the morning curse. Do you just keep thinking, "One night I am just going to crash." It never happens. When I was PP I would be up all night trying to decide on a calling or worrying about a child. Mom would always tell me to keep a notebook by my bed and write down all my thoughts so I could get them off my mind. In the morning they were so stupid. Thoughts that weren't worth thinking about.
Ah insomnia. I've struggled with that ever since I started working nights 9 years ago. Even though I only work twice a month now, it still screws up my sleep schedule. Some nights I'm dead dog tired at 8:30, other nights I can't fall asleep until midnight. Same goes for waking up - somewhere between 4 and 7 a.m. and I never know which.
If you can stand it, get up early to exercise. Then you'll be so dang tired by bed time that you won't be able to fight it. That's actually helped me a lot. 5:15 is awfully early, but worth it. When I exercised at night, it messed my sleep up.
I also do a brain dump to get rid of all the floating thoughts (sounds better than voices in my head) roaming around. Most of the time I can't even find the piece of paper I wrote it down on, but just the process of doing it helps me immensely because I'm such a worrier.
the insomnia is like my worst enemy. try the melatonin, try the unisom, then go to your doc and beg for the real stuff (ambien).
or just come stay with my kid for a few nights, you'll be snoozing in no time from lack of sleep!
I've had insomnia forever (at least the last 4 years.) I've tried every over the counter med I could and none worked. Although my son Toby takes melatonin and it works for him. I just hit up my doctor or dentist and ask for sleep meds. I've tried ambien, ambien cr, and some other muscle relaxer (can't remember the meds name - I don't get enough sleep). The regular ambien works best. Even on the ambien CR I wake up after 3 or 4 hours so why pay more for the CR. At least with regular ambien you can take a half or another whole one if you wake up at 4 am. With CR there isn't enough nightime left. Quitting caffeine and chocolate helps too. I've noticed that the darker and better quality chocolates keep me up at night. (So sad for me - I'm a chocoholic.) I have friends who clean. Why would you do that when the kids are asleep? I do a lot of surfing, tv/movie watching, and reading.
I hope you find something that works. Insomnia sucks!
Has Sean tried those nose strips? They work pretty well for Harry.
My insomnia is random and sporadic - so I usually just embrace it for the night - and then I'm so tired the next day that I sleep fine!
Herb tea is restful for me.
it's called a fifth of
VODKA!!!
that'll do it for ya.
or else ask Heath Ledger
You should look into some Ambien. I have heard it does wonders.
Tylenol PM is my friend when I can't sleep and it doesn't take long for the zzzz's.
My hubby snores too...drives me CRAZY!!
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