Insomnia: Who has it and what do you do for it?

[Cancer_Researcher]

[Shane]

Don't have it, don't know what to do. I shouldn't respond to this.

[MsPPH]

Lunesta. It's expensive, and if you take it long enough you will have rebound insomnia if you stop. But it works - most of the time.

Note: Getting rid of most of the stress in my life (in the form of my loser ex-husband) has probably done more for reducing insomnia than anything else I've done.

[SHAUNE55]

I do.
I either drink lots of beer in the pub followed by a meal and bed and then I can sleep, or I watch films or read things on here or other places 'till 4 or 5 am.

[EightPM]

For routine:

Exercise during the day
No tea after 3:00
Meditate in the evening.
Read at night rather then TV.


Lunesta and ambian work but have crazy side effects and are addictive.
Benedryl and doxylamine succinate (OTC meds) work too but you will have insomnia the next night and don't work two nights in a row.

Trazadone 100mg and mirtazapine 20mg also work but have side effects, but less then the other meds above.

Right before I get into bed I take care of everything that I would think about that night (walk the dog, adjust the heat, get my stuff ready for the morning, pay any bill due that day, etc etc.)

Right before I lay down I make a whey protein drink with cream. The fat and protein keep you full and sleepy.

Insomnia sucks, I even saw a shrink for it. The best thing you can do is the regular sleep wake pattern, and lots of exercise, then try to have a clear/empty mind..

[DP]

fap away the worries. Typically insomnia is due to anxiety; you just need to figure what you're anxious about and ask yourself if it's worth the obsession.

[Disley]

What about melatonin?

[Zeitgeist]

[Teutone]

30 years or so ago, popping 4 - 6 Librium 25 mg ea a night combined with lots of alcohol (1-2 bottles), got me what friends mistakenly thought was a tan. To wean myself off the stuff and the booze was really tough. Try 2 weeks with perhaps 10 hours of total sleep.

In the last 5 years I tried most medications. Halcion is pretty nasty, I don't tolerate Lunestra (bad nightmares), but might give Rozerem (non habit forming) another shot even though it induces weird dreams.
Ambien CR I don't like, but the regular Ambien 10 mg works for a while, but the side effects...
At least I don't take drives or do other crazy stuff potentially harmful to others.
But like an older Sesame Street cookie monster, Ambien makes me get up and eat at night without remembering (no kidding).
Right now, my ambien tolerance is way up (only works for 2-3 hours), and I am trying 1 mg Xanax for a few nights. I have learned to alternate between Benzodiazepines
and non-benzodiazepines when tolerance is up / effectiveness down.
As far as hang over / after effect go, they all leave you with more or less, except for old fallback Valium. It may be the only one where one feels no after effects
(contains muscle relaxant?)

People who never experienced sleep problems may have little idea how great a night of good non medicated sleep can feel.

Perhaps I should take my sons advice. A joint before bed time should be far healthier.
Is there medicated hash?

[Disley]

I haven't slept for more than three hours at a stretch for 15 years, usually 1 or 2 hours.
A side effect of being a shift worker for years.
You can get 7 or 8 hours sleep a night, in 2 or 3 stages.