Insomnia = Hell

[CHEWIE]

I can't believe what happened to me yesterday.

I got very little sleep Monday night, and did not even fall asleep either Tuesday or Wednesday night.  Before falling asleep last night, I had gone almost 60 straight hours without falling asleep. 

So they made me leave work yesterday to get checked out.  After going to the doctor, they gave me some prescription sleep medicine to use for two weeks.  I may have to go see a specialist.

I have plans to go out of town with my friends this weekend... I really shouldn't go on a float trip/camping though; I shouldn't drink, be in the heat, etc.  It sounds really stupid, I know.  But I had a major anxiety attack and am really stressed out.  Just going one single night without sleep can take 2-3 weeks for your body to get back to normal.  I hope nobody makes fun of me for this because it isn't funny.  I took 6 sleeping pills and half a bottle of Nyquil on Wednesday night and I still couldn't relax.

I've always had trouble sleeping, but with stress at work and a lot of things on my mind I guess it hit me like a brick wall.

Physically and mentally I'm drained.  I am still going to go this weekend though, but probably won't be myself.

Anyone else have problems with insomnia?

 

[DoctorPadawan]

Chewie, first of all, anyone who makes fun of you or makes jokes about what you're dealing with doesn't even deserve to be listened to.  Okay, now that that is out of the way, I went into a bit more detail in the PM I just sent you, but the most important thing is that you have seen a doctor about it, and that you are taking steps to try and combat it.

And as I said in the PM, the best prescription you can have is uninterrupted rest.  Dark room, drawn blinds, no phones, no computers, no television, no radios...just plenty of rest. 

[CHEWIE]

Thanks DP, and for the PM.

 

[Scott]

I've had trouble sleeping since Erik was born last Spring.  I am doing alright but usually only get 4-6 hours a night.  I've tried cutting back on caffiene and reading more but it hasn't done any good.  I am not too worried about it yet because I usually have no trouble waking up in the morning

[hansolo_506]

I have suffered from insomnia and migraines for most of my adult life (18+).  The years before that were marked by a lot of sleepwalking.

I feel your pain.

[JediMAC]

I have some serious sleep problems as well.  Once I'm actually asleep, I can easily sleep for 10-12 hours, if I don't have to get up for anything (which is rarely the case).  It's actually falling asleep where I have huge problems.  I've always been a total nightowl, ever since I was a little kid, so that's part of the problem, especially when I have to wake up early for work each day.  But the older I've gotten, with the added stresses and responsibilities of real world stuff (post-college), I've had an absolute bitch of a time ever falling asleep.

As soon as I hit the bed, my mind starts racing with a bajillion thoughts.  Usually makes it damned near impossible to ever fall asleep many nights.  I'll often wind up wandering back out to the living room after an hour of trying, and just plop down on the couch and eventually fall asleep watching some cable TV flicks.  I usually don't get to bed 'til about 2am at the earliest, and often much later than that.  I probably average about 5 hours of sleep a night, which I know is way less than my body wants.  Back when I slept when I wanted to and for as long as I wanted to (college), I probably slept about 9-10 hours a night.  Actually, I'd usually wake up around noon/1pm, so "night" probably isn't the right term to use there.

I am not too worried about it yet because I usually have no trouble waking up in the morning

I'm just the opposite.  I usually feel like I've been run over by a mack truck every morning when I try to get up and become functional after only having slept about half as long as my body probably wanted to.

Anyway, I know at least several other guys on this board who have some serious sleep problems too, so you're not alone Justin!  Good luck with things.  60 straight hours up is pretty crazy though, so hopefully those sleeping pills help out a bit...

[Gregorbian]

Jeez CHEWIE, I hope that doctor can help you out!  There's nothing wrong with going to a doctor about something like this, and as DP has mentioned, making fun of you for that would be far lower than the quality of JDers that I have interacted with thus far. 
Take things easy and make some hi-quality CHEWIE customs 

[Darby]

I hope you get better, man, I know how it goes.  I'm a night owl, too, like right now.     I haven't gotten much sleep in the last week, but more than you it sounds like, so take it easy.

[Ryan]

Sorry to hear that man. My mom has insomnia and I think I do too, to some extent. I know how no sleep can be rough, I have a really bad ear infection in my right ear and I always sleep it on my right side it sucks so bad I can't fall asleep. I guess it is a good thing I'm a vampire or I would be worse off. Sometines I wonder what's wrong with me, like now it is 4:53 am, what the hell am I still doing up?

[Jim]

As a former insomniac let me warn you to not get in the habit of sleeping aids.  Especially Ambien.  I became dependent on this crap and when I finally stopped taking it I could not get into a regular sleep pattern for what seemed like months.  From a family with many in the Medical practice, dont let a doctor tell you it is not addictive.  It is. The people I know who use this find they have to continue using this or some other sleep aid.  Its very unhealthy.  Not so much physically but mentally.  My problem is like a ton of other people.  Once I lay down I begin analyzing the next day and the hundreds of things I need to do.  You need to be at peace with yourself. 

[CHEWIE]

Guys, thanks for all of the tips, advice and personal stories.  I'm sorry to see that some other people suffer through this too.
 
For the past few months, I've had a weekend planned with some friends to go on a camping trip about 2-1/2 hours south of St. Louis for this weekend.  We still went even though the doctor advised me not too... actually, I thought it was just what I needed.  Drink a few beers (way less than normal though), hang out on a canoe, relax at a camp site with my pals, etc.  It was about 100 degrees though yesterday, and pretty miserable... but the weather was just the tip of the iceberg. 
 
Unfortunately, when we were asleep last night, someone broke into our camp site and stole a friend's wallet with a lot of cash, credit cards, his license, etc.  And my best friend just got engaged last week - his fiance had the ring in their truck in a backpack - the ******* thief stole it. 
 
Around 2am, when we were asleep, one of my other buddies (the one whose wallet was stolen) woke up because someone was trying to get into my parents' Ford Explorer that I had borrowed (he was sleeping in it).  He thought it was me trying to get in.  So my friend got out and starting walking around, and then realized that I was in my tent sleeping.  He walked around some more and saw some guy hiding in the woods.  He confronted the guy, and the guy said he was just drunk and going back to his campsite.  Then he got in a car and drove off.
 
This morning after finding out, I was going to go up to the camp office to report what happened.  I couldn't find my damn keys... then we found them in the dirt, with the Explorer key missing.  We found it on the other side of the Explorer.  The ******* had tried to get in the SUV with it.  The remote entry device was gone from the keychain though and we couldn't find it.
 
If my friend hadn't gotten in the Explorer, the thief would have gotten in and taken my wallet, my wife's purse, and other people's wallets/purses too.  And even a gun as one of my other best buddies is a US Marshall who was down with us, and his glock pistol was in the glove box.
 
Really sucks.... poor girl loses her engagement ring (the diamond was handed down to her from her mother 11 years ago for when she got married), a wallet is stolen, etc.  And I'm still pretty damn stressed out!
 
Guess we need to be more careful and not so naive that there are people out there that are like that.  I've camped there twice a year since 1995 and never heard of anything like this happening there.

Anyways, I didn't sleep very well the last few nights either... last night doesn't really count though.  I probably shouldn't have gone camping.

 
 
 

[JesseVader08]

What a crappy experience CHEWIE.  There's always gotta be some jerk out there to ruin what should have been a fun time.  Don't let this slow down your efforts to return to regular sleep.

[Gregorbian]

Jeez CHEWIE, that's horrible!   
It seems like all of your recent vacations keep getting ruined! 
I don't really have any helpful advice that hasn't already been given, but I hope you feel better!

[Mister Skeezler]

****! I'm sorry to hear about all the troubles you've been having, CHEWIE.

I don't have any advice on the theft stuff, but as far as the insomnia goes, I've had a little experience with that. As someone who's had a few anxiety attacks (you mentioned anxiety, but your case might be different), I can tell you that falling asleep can be difficult. One of the reasons that you'll have trouble is that falling asleep involves losing control, and if you have high anxiety, you're fighting the loss of control.

What I did was to visualize an object. Concentrating very hard on something took my mind off the anxiety as well as whatever else was swimming around in my head. Then, very slowly, imagine the object receding into the distance and visualize nothing around it...just darkness. Its almost as if you're slowly backing up away from it. The better you can visualize something, the better this is. Doing that, I was able to fall into a very restful sleep. Its similar to meditation, and it worked great for me.

Also, alcohol won't help you sleep, because as your body breaks it down, you actually become more awake.

Hope that helps! 

[Famine]

Sorry to hear about your bummer camping trip. I know how that is to have ******** ruin a camping trip.

I also have trouble getting to sleep at night. I work two jobs, and when I come home I just want to relax and have fun. I'll get super tired of sitting at the PC. or watching TV, or even reading a book, and go to my room, lay down, and wind up thinking about 100 different things, and usualy I worry myself into an awake panic over somthing silly, and get little to no sleep only to have to wake up at 5:50 am to go to work.

The only advice I can offer is listening to some classical music very quietly on a headset when trying to sleep. Or even nature sounds. They help me sometimes.

Kevin

P.S. Your money arive yet?