O Sleep, where art thou?
A few symptoms of insomnia (according to Mayo Clinic):
- Difficulty falling asleep at night (takes me two hours, on average)
- Awakening during the night (anywhere from 3 to 8 times, often taking another two hours to go back to sleep)
- Irritability, depression or anxiety (growl, hiss, leave me alone)
- Difficulty paying attention or focusing on tasks (how long has it been since I’ve done any writing?)
- Increased errors or accidents (like driving in circles around a tiny town because I keep missing the turn for a road I’ve been on a hundred times)
- Tension headaches (every day)
Somebody tell me you’ve had insomnia and beat it. I’ve already given up coffee (temporarily, I hope)–that alone doesn’t work. Tylenol PM works sometimes but takes at least an hour to make me sleepy, and I don’t want to take the stuff every night. I’m *this* close to asking a doctor for a prescription sleep aid–a decision made yesterday after I stared at the ceiling from one a.m. to six a.m., and then I had to get up and take care of the kids, and my eyes burned so badly I could hardly wear contacts or look at my computer screen.
I really (really) want to sleep, but the side effects of the prescription pills are keeping me from the doc’s office at the moment. Have you ever read about this stuff? “Warning: you may get up, make a phone call, cook a meal, pack your bags, drive to Mexico and bring home that flu thing, all while being completely unaware of what you are doing.” I read an article in an advice column yesterday about a guy who went out and slept with someone while he was asleep due to prescription sleeping pills. I think he’s making that up to get away with cheating on his wife, but it would make an interesting book premise…
Help?
Tags: insomnia
April 29th, 2009 at 4:12 am
I had that exact problem while I was at home! Now that I’m working again, I don’t have that problem anymore. I think because I have an extremely busy day at work, I come home exhausted, and therefore sleep 8-10 hours per night. When I was at home I didn’t like taking Tylenol PM or anything to help me sleep unless it was *absolutely* necessary, which meant a lot of sleepless nights. I think over the course of the time I was at home, I was becoming restless and anxious about the progress of my life (not just trying to start a family, but my work life), that I found it *so* difficult to sleep. I found myself having completely different sleep patterns than Brian. I would take naps in the day and go to bed a couple of hours later than Brian because sleeping 8-10 hours just wasn’t necessary at the time. You have three choices, a) go to the doctor and get something to help you sleep, b) do something to get out of the house, which will make you a little more tired at the end of the day, c) see how things continue and don’t make any changes unless absolutely necessary.
April 29th, 2009 at 8:08 am
That’s the thing, though–I am tired. Exhausted. Just can’t sleep. Got about two hours last night. Ugh.
April 29th, 2009 at 8:32 am
Well darn, I just don’t know! I do know that when I was at home I couldn’t get my brain to slow down for the evening to even allow me to sleep! I would think about everything…from a conversation I had with someone and wondering if I hurt so and so’s feelings because they didn’t call back or respond to an email in a timely manner or my relationship with Brian or the neighbors or the grass or the fly that’s flyin’ around bugging me or the fungus that grows on the mold that grows on the pond scum. You get my drift. I’d definitely talk to the doctor!
May 2nd, 2009 at 10:28 am
I had insomnia for a few months around the time I turned 40. NOTHING worked, until I discovered Valerian Root. I took a Valerian Root/other herbal combo called Sleep Relax for two weeks straight before it started working. But I’d had insomnia for at least 4 months.
Later, I discovered 800 mg. of Advil knocks me out cold (I’ve never been able to take Advil during the day).
Since then, I only get insomnia when I have PMS. Rarely any other time. My PMS didn’t start kicking in with physical symptoms until my late 30s. Maybe you’re starting early.
May 2nd, 2009 at 10:30 am
P.S. I only take the Advil or Sleep Relax now when I have insomnia, never every night. I prefer the Advil, because two nights in a row of Sleep Relax can make me feel drowsy the next day, and I usually need to take something two nights in a row.
I don’t drink ANY caffeine after 3 p.m., either.
Hope you resolve this soon. It’s not fun.