Insomnia

~ King Ben's Grandma

Beckie at Beckie’s Mental Mess is on week 13 of her Working On Us series and the topic this week is sleeping disorders. With my chronic insomnia, I had to join.

Prompt #1 Questions:

Have you, or do you suffer from sleep disorders?

Yes, I have chronic insomnia. It’s part of my Fibromyalgia. People with fibromyalgia often are not able to reach the deep, healing level in their sleep cycle. The lack of restorative sleep is part of the pain, fatigue and memory problems.

  • Have you sought treatment for your sleep disorders?

I’ve talked to every pain management doctor I’ve seen. A few of them referred me to a therapist to try different behavioral exercises to improve my sleep but it never helped. I have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep.

 

  • Have you ever had a sleep study on you, and if so, what was recommended?

I’ve never been to sleep clinic or had a study done. I’ve asked my daughters about sleep apnea and they tell me I snore but dont stop breathing. It appears to be the Fibromyalgia related sleep problem.

 

  • Has your doctor prescribed medication for your sleep disorder, if so, what has worked for you?

One doctor gave me Lunesta. I worked up to taking two of the 3mg pills every night. (It comes in 2mg and 3mg) Then I had an occurrence where I was taking the medication in my sleep. Like sleepwalking but sleep-medicating. I was completely unaware that I was doing it. I took almost the entire bottle. Almost sixty pills during a six-eighteen hour period. It’s a miracle that I didn’t die. I just slept for thirty-six hours. I moved my pills into my daughter’s room after that. I also requested a medication change.

I now take 30mg (max dose) of Restoril every night. Plus I have a bolus (extra dose) programmed into my intrathecal pain pump for 3:00am to help.

 

  • Have you ever tried home remedies to alleviate your sleep disorders? 

I’ve tried every home remedy suggested and read about. None of them helped.

 

  • What’s the longest amount of time you went without sleep?

I have gone three days without sleep. My eyes get buggy and my head feels spacey and I have auditory hallucinations. It’s not fun at all.

I still, even with medication and no outside interruptions (Ben) only get maybe 5-6 hours of sleep on a good night. Even that is broken. I wake up after 90 minutes or so. Most nights I sleep about four hours. I do take naps when I can. The naps aren’t the reason I can’t sleep at night, neither is the coffee I drink. I’ve tried so many things to improve my sleep and the medication is the only thing that helps even a little.

Sleeping problems can trigger my depression if I don’t watch out for it. Sleep is so important to our overall wellbeing, both physically and mentally.

 

Thank you Beckie for shining a light on this subject.

( featured image Pixabay)

13 thoughts on “Insomnia”

  1. Angie! I’m so delighted that you were able to share with us the issues regarding your sleeping issues. It’s so unfortunate that the Fibromyalgia seems to be the main culprit stealing sleep away from you. Out of curiosity, how long have you had Fibromyalgia? Were you able to sleep easily before you developed it?
    I was once prescribed Lunesta for my insomnia, but I read so many articles that had me convinced it wasn’t the right thing for me to take, especially if I was in my early years of recovery from alcohol.
    Also, dealing with my chronic pain issues in my back and knees, this wakes me up quite often throughout the evening. Like last evening, for instance, I take all my medications to help me sleep, along with anti-anxiety crap and for depression… I take it between 9:30-10pm every night, I was wide awake until 2-2:30am and up by 7am. My back and knees are in so much pain today, I can’t barely make it down the stairs. – And, yes… I foresee a nap in my future due to this.
    I am so happy that you join us today on week #13 of “Working on Us” but, that being said… I am truly sorry that you have all these elements against you to obtain a good nights sleep, pain-free.
    Hopefully, now that Ben is back in school, you can get more rest. Lord knows you deserve it!!! 😴💚

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    1. First, it’s my honor to join you all. While I have chronic physical problems, my mental health issues (PTSD, depression) have been more sporadic. It is not something I have to deal with daily.

      I honestly dont know how long I’ve had fibro. My dx was about 15 years ago. I dont remember exactly when. I’ve had sleep problems when I had episodes of depression requiring medication, that was two different times in my 20s. The PTSD 11 years ago made the insomnia worse.

      I think mostly I haven’t slept well my whole life. I was a bed wetter as a child (probably from the sexual abuse), I slept okay as a teen but I was exhausted or on drugs, then I had my first daughter six weeks before I turned 21.

      I had never really thought about it, but yeah, I’ve always had sleep issues.

      I’m sorry your knees and back are giving you grief. Pain is such a giant black hole, sucking all the light and joy out of life.

      🤫2 more days after today, which is practically over, right😘

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      1. I’m so terribly sorry for asking additional questions. I hope and pray I didn’t trigger horrendous memories.
        Meh, the knees and back are always going to be an issue, it’s just a real pain in the arse, when you shift your body weight in the middle of the night, or stretch incorrectly.
        I honestly have no idea what is really taking place this weekend. Still no word from her sister. Hell, I’m about to call her sister soon. LOL! 😂 🤣

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        1. Ah dang, I thought it was a done deal. Well that just sucks!!😤
          No worries about the questions. Seriously, I had a LOT of therapy for all that stuff. I have no problems talking or writing about it. The only thing that ever bothers me is when I put myself back in the time when I was bedridden and that’s mostly guilt over not being there for my girls while their father was raging. I can talk/write about it, but if I immerse myself in it, I feel the feelings again. Then I need to bring myself back to the present.

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          1. That’s pretty much how I handle my PTSD. I’m great at compartmentalizing each segment of my life. Some memoires are foggy, but I think it’s best that I don’t remember certain things at times.
            Yeah, if we’re lucky we might hear something from her sister last minute. 🙄 Plus, I think JK is now debating if she would go now too.
            I seriously can’t wait until the 4th already. I must annoy her, because I keep confirming the date with her, LOL! 😂 🤣

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  3. That sounds so not fun. I have bouts of sleeping difficulty but it’s not a daily thing. When I have my bouts I am one sad, cranky person. I can’t imagine not sleeping daily! My goodness!

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    1. I used to think a nice vacation would be a medically induced coma for a few days sleep and to get all my vitamins and mineral levels up. Sounds twisted, but when I’m only getting two hours a night I feel twisted.
      Mostly I just keep on keeping on. I’ve had the insomnia so long it’s just another part of my life.
      So happy school is back so when I need to let my body shut down, I can.
      All hail the glorious little yellow school bus 🙌

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