20 replies to this topic

[dexter]

What are your experiences to making it through the night time? I find I have a hard time and have to listen to music throughout the night. I also have to take a sleeping medication (ambien) to help fall asleep at the beginning of the night.

Any thoughts and ideas on what you do to stay asleep and or fall asleep.

Dexter

Edited by dexter, 24 November 2008 - 07:04 PM.

[longhaul]

It all depends on you, your age and mental state have a lot to do with sleep. You could check out a sleep center see what they say. I do a good roll to get tired and don't go to bed until I'm ready to sleep. It's hard to sleep good if there are things bugging you especially personal stuff I try to work through them before bed. Good luck.............

[Manda]

1 Diazapam
1 Paxil
1 Trazadone
And a partridge in a pear tree

[Quad65]

Without being too rigid, I find a regular routine helps me. I like to get up and retire at roughly the same times each day. I also limit caffeine in the evening, just a cup or cup-and-a-half after dinner.

I tend to go in cycles where I fall asleep easily and sleep well and then go through a period where I don't fall asleep or stay asleep easily. If I really want to get to sleep and stay asleep, I take a couple Tylenol PMs. They work pretty well for me. I don't take any prescription meds and will never again do so unless forced. It's a long boring story for another time.

[MDK]

Melatonin 3 tabs of 3 mg every night.
Homeopathic.

Edited by MDK, 24 November 2008 - 04:50 PM.

[Izziwhizzi]

Whooaaa!!!

Don't go down the drugs route straight away. Think about why you are not sleeping, try and work out a good sleep pattern. Worrying about somehing, falling in love, all sorts of stuff affects the way we sleep.

Caffeine - cut it out completely - and that means coke, tea & chocolate too - not just in coffee. If you really must have a caff coffee it must be before mid day. I always have a disturbed sleep if I have caffeine after mid day.

Think about your sleep requirement. If you only need 8 hours then going to sleep at 9pm will mean you wake at 5am.

I too like listening to the radio (I opt for the world service not music) but find that podcasts get me off to sleep really easily. I have one show I've listened to over 50 times, I should know it off by heart, yet sometimes I wake in the morning knowing that I've only heard the first few seconds of intro! That repition really helps. Also does relaxing and sending different parts of your body off to sleep, starting with your toes, your feet, your ankles ... right they way to your eyes, ears and mind.

Hope those ideas help

I xx

[E-DOG]

I don't know why, but lately I've been able to sleep any time I want to. And way more than I need to.

If I go to bed at 12:00 I'll wake up at 9 or 10:00. If I don't get out of bed I'll put another 2-3 hours in.

I can do this all day long. Maybe I'll get up at 2:00 or 4:00. Stay up till 10 or 12:00. Then, boom, another 8 - 10 hours of sleep.
I wont do this too often cuz it makes me feel guilty as hell.
Oh shit, I'm sleeping my life away! Stuff to do! Calls to make! This, that, the other!

Sleep has always come easy to me.
Got an ex who once said," That guy could sleep on the edge of a picket fence!"

But it's even easier now.
Good thing my legs don't work or I'd have somnambulated to Mexico by now. I could use an authentic taco and a ten dollar hooker right about now!

Try inducing some Medicenal Marijuana before bedtime, see what happens.
Exercize, hot cocoa, deep breathing etc.
Stay away from the pills if you can. That crap can't be any good for you.

E-dog

[nomis]

'Spose I'm lucky cos I never have troubles with sleeping. Since I stopped working fulltime I no longer have pressures to be somewhere first thing in the morning so it doesn't matter if I don't get a good night's sleep - I can sleep in or struggle through the day without much worry or consequence.

I reckon my body will ensure I get the right amount of sleep. If I can't get to sleep or wake in the night I go along with that, usually very happily cos it's a good time for a bit of thinking or day dreaming or maybe watch some BBC tv or read a book - reading usually puts me to sleep. If I'm not getting enough sleep that'll make me really tired and so I will sleep. No problems.

But obviously it's very different for some others.

[dexter]

All good stuff to know. Keep it coming.

[sincere]

Quad65, on Nov 22 2008, 09:34 PM, said:

Without being too rigid, I find a regular routine helps me. I like to get up and retire at roughly the same times each day. I also limit caffeine in the evening, just a cup or cup-and-a-half after dinner.

I tend to go in cycles where I fall asleep easily and sleep well and then go through a period where I don't fall asleep or stay asleep easily. If I really want to get to sleep and stay asleep, I take a couple Tylenol PMs. They work pretty well for me. I don't take any prescription meds and will never again do so unless forced. It's a long boring story for another time.

THE MEDS ALONE PUTZ ME TO SLEEP 10 MINUTES AFTER LAYIN IN BED...

[qbounce]

Turn the TV off and get a book out. That get's my brain waves working more and I start dozing off before long.

The TV alone will keep me awake half the night if I don't turn the damn thing off!

[Texas Angel Ang]

Did you have a hard time falling asleep before your injury?? It really depends on what going on in your life... I take Diazapam (once in the morning and once at night) along with Lou Nesta, Ambien caused too many headaches in the mornings. BUT I also had sleep apnea before my injury but never knew until afterwards. I have tried melatonin as well, that was right after my injury, it works also. Just at the time I was taking it I was going through soooo much no drug would put me to sleep, not even morphine!
So try to figure out what's keeping you awake to begin with. Stress, worry, "bad kissers LOL" keep me awake even with medication. Good luck!

[Nickleblue]

surised nobody has mentioned hypnosis....meditations...

[Scribbler]

I always had trouble sleeping, even before my injury. It had some benifits then, as I could do more.

Its true what you all say, if somethings on your mind; even the slightest thing, it will keep you awake.

I like my coffee, but after midday I only drink De-Caf Coffee.

Most nights I go to bed at 10.30 and like to start getting up around 7 am.

The main reason I dont sleep is due to me having full feeling. Even if I get off to sleep fast, I'll soon wake up with my leg, hip or shoulder aching.

If its really bad then I get my PA to turn me over, but other times I'll switch on my TV very low, so all I hear is a low mumbling; that soon sends me back to sleep.

Since my SCI Consultant prescribed Gabapentin for nerve pain I've slept better.

I have spells of sleeping well and find they're usually when I'm happy and contented.

My best nights sleep are when my PA gives me a kiss on my cheek goodnight; and you've all seen pics of my PA's....... Come to think of it; that bit may have been a dream......

[aggzy]

hey

try having a nap during the day

it seems the more i sleep the more i want to sleep
\
Ag's

[eujei]

well, being a quad you dont to the exercise necessary to feel tired in the end of the day.. N sxchool time i wake up at 6:30 am and i go to bed at 23:00. i if i go early i find myself awaking at 6:00 am or so.. All this to say that quads dont need to sleep much!

But the best way to fall asleep is to feel warm and cozy. When quads get warm, our blood pressure drops.. this helps a lot. But of course being clear minded is also essential..

[Slowlegs]

Hi,
this you may find really odd. I found a while ago I was staying awake for up to four hours after bed. Hard when you are aiming for six hours of sleep before getting up for work. I had pain at the time so that could have been partly to do with it. I also had a jerk of a boss. What I used to do was imagine I was hiding from someone under a pile of leaves. My breathing would become a lot more regular and it would take my mind off things. I found it really helped me. Drugs can tend to make me pee uncontrollably which means I have to get up a lot during the night. Kind of contradicts the reason I was taking them in the first place. I also find a shot of alcohol can help as well.

[dexter]

All good things to hear.

Here's the tough part. I usually go to bed around 10:30 PM because my nurse comes over and does the bowel program. It takes about an hour and a half give or take so I go to bed around midnight. I have no problems falling asleep but the only thing I have troubles with is I wake up usually our two hours later and have troubles falling back asleep. Sometimes I can fall asleep and sometimes I can't. When I can fall asleep I usually wake up about an hour or so later after that. This happens multiple times throughout the night. A lot of the times I can't fall back asleep for a good half an hour. My caregivers come at 8:00 AM so I'm in bed for about eight hours a day. If I only get a few hours of sleep at night time then I'm tired throughout the day. I don't really like taking naps because my days are so short. Getting in and out of bed, taking a shower, getting dressed and undressed, running errands, making phone calls and sending e-mails I feel like I lack time doing.

The biggest thing that I want is to be able to sleep throughout the entire night so I don't have to hire somebody to come tend to me every few hours that I wake up. I want to be able to go to sleep at night and wake up in the morning when my other caregiver comes. I don't mind taking sleeping medications but I just don't think that they're working. I would like to get off of them if possible because... I don't think they're working.

I don't watch TV but I do listen to music. It helps sidetrack my mind so my head doesn't spin constantly. Not being able to move around makes it tough. I wish I could sit up and read a book but, well... I can't turn pages. I've really missed reading since I've been paralyzed.

I guess the one thing that I'm wondering is do you sleep on your back or do you sleep on your side? I would love to sleep on my back all night but I'm so used to sleeping side to side.

Please... tell me more of your thoughts, advice, or anything else you would suggest.

Dexter

[Snakeye]

I take a baclofen around 10 and asleep by 11. baclofen wears off by 5 am and wide awake, muscles stiff as a board. Time for a hot bath then more baclofen, followed by a midmorning nap. After lunch it's time for another bath and more baclofen, then a another nap. Before ya know it, it's 10 pm and time to take my final baclofen of the day and go to sleep..... The moral of this story being: If your looking for an exciting life, don't take friggin' baclofen........."Routine is a ground to stand on and a wall to retreat to"..Thoreau...

[mellowgator]

E-DOG, on Nov 24 2008, 09:10 PM, said:

I don't know why, but lately I've been able to sleep any time I want to. And way more than I need to.

If I go to bed at 12:00 I'll wake up at 9 or 10:00. If I don't get out of bed I'll put another 2-3 hours in.

I can do this all day long. Maybe I'll get up at 2:00 or 4:00. Stay up till 10 or 12:00. Then, boom, another 8 - 10 hours of sleep.
I wont do this too often cuz it makes me feel guilty as hell.
Oh shit, I'm sleeping my life away! Stuff to do! Calls to make! This, that, the other!

Sleep has always come easy to me.
Got an ex who once said," That guy could sleep on the edge of a picket fence!"

But it's even easier now.
Good thing my legs don't work or I'd have somnambulated to Mexico by now. I could use an authentic taco and a ten dollar hooker right about now!

Try inducing some Medicenal Marijuana before bedtime, see what happens.
Exercize, hot cocoa, deep breathing etc.
Stay away from the pills if you can. That crap can't be any good for you.

E-dog

i sleep like that when i'm depressed. e-dog are these bouts of sleeping followed with days of wakefulness. i have a theory about you. polar bear!

mellowgator

[Boggs52]

I dunno the answer. If I did I would not be sitting here at 4:36 a.m. mulling the issue in my mind. LoL.

I have determined that my own inability to sleep more than 3 hours on average may have something to do with the fact that I do not toss, turn, or roll over in my sleep.

I am well past the point of having "walking dreams", which REALLY used to mess with my sleep patterns

All I can tell you Dex is to maybe try a sleeping pill once or twice a week. I use Larazapam that I get from the VA. I figure I should get a good solid 8 hours every now and then. But my personality is such that I avoid using them any more than I really must.

Bottom line. With everything our heads have to deal with, I consider myself lucky that I am able to get as much sleep as i do.