Monday, December 14, 2009

insomnia

for the past 10 days or so (maybe more, i can't remember), i haven't been able to sleep through the night. first of all i don't even get tired until maybe 11pm - when i essentially take a 1-2 hour nap, wake up for about 3 hours, and then get another 'nap' in before having to get up for work.

the sitting around, alone, at 3:00 am is probably my favorite part.

i have some sleepy pills that i've taken like 5 of in my entire life (so i'm certainly not used to them). the first time i took one i was completely useless until after lunch the next day; they knock me out. over the weekend i gave in and took one since i wouldn't have to worry about going to work the next morning. i still woke up in the middle of the night! what the heck! these were my last resort... i'm not sure what to do now.

at any rate, last night (sunday) was no exception. i got maybe 3-3.5 hrs of sleep. being hardheaded, i came home to change for a run. when i put my clothes on backwards i thought maybe i should take the day off and try to rest (/sleep!). this pounding headache isn't too inviting either. i'd be willing to continue on this crappy sleep cycle if it meant i could hang with tera moody in the marathon.

and so begins my derailment from the routine i was just settling into...

48 comments:

  1. Sleeping pills have always left me with a hangover in the morning (minus the partying the night before) .. so I know how you feel. I'm always up 2 or 3 times a night, myself, then finally fall asleep like a half an hour before the alarm goes off ... its brutal (and then i'm 10 times more tired then)..

    Hang in there, you'll catch up on your sleep ...

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  2. I've had some nights when I couldn't sleep through the night, too. It's no fun. Hope it passes soon!

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  3. Aw, sorry girl :( Hopefully its just a phase, and will pass...

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  4. Hey girl, so sorry about not sleeping. I thought about Tara Moody just as I read your first paragraph. You will not go to that place though, right? I sometimes have this problem but I think it's hormones and since you're such a young, spry thing I can only HOPE it passes quickly. Maybe you can just exhaust your body each evening so it just wants to fall into bed...I know, it doesn't sound too fun.

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  5. Jay has the same sleeping problem, it's not easy. Hope you finally reach exhaustion and get into a good sleeping pattern!

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  6. Oh, I'd stay away from sleeping pills. Best advice I can give is to not fight it. If there isn't anything in particular that keeps you up (stress, worries), than this phase will pass quickly. Just go with it, wake up and do something boring (as opposed to trying hard to fall asleep). If you wake up worries and stressed, try to solve the problem during the day. Try not to sweat it...except sweating in in a run, that's good:)

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  7. Oh no! I just hope this gets sorted out! Sleeplessness would make me no Tera Moody...it would make me plain moody (OK, that was lame!).

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  8. Ugh insomnia stinks! That article about Tara is RW blew my mind. Hope yours passes soon!

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  9. Oh no, I hope you able to sleep soon. Try a warm bath and herbal tea!!

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  10. Hopefully this will phase out :( not being able to sleep stinks!

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  11. Sorry, I have no advice for the insomnia, just hope it passes soon.

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  12. Hang in there, chica!! Hope it works it self out soon!

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  13. I had a period in my early 20s (about 2 yrs or so), when I was living in NYC and had awful, awful insomnia. I basically was sleeping about 10-15 hrs a week. So, I can empathize and only hope that you don't have long-term insomnia. It sucks!

    Try to stick to a sleep schedule, even if the sleeping isn't going well. Consistency is important and something I didn't realize back when I was struggling. GOOD LUCK!!!

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  14. Ugh. I was just thinking I needed to write a post about insomnia. I've had it bad for about a week (and the few bursts of sleep I do get each night I have the weirdest, sometimes scary dreams). I did get a prescription of Ambien and used it and finally got a good nights sleep. Not a fan of taking it a lot, but sometimes one good nights sleep is enough to destress you about getting a good nights sleep, and let you sleep after that. If that makes sense.

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  15. I have a hard time without sleep. I'm glad you can still function.

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  16. That does not sound fun. Hope it passes soon.

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  17. Half the time, I don't even remember laying down I fall asleep so fast! Jeff usually knocks himself out with a small glass of cognac or something!
    I've heard so many people lately having trouble sleeping-you lead a pretty decent healthy lifestyle, so that's frustrating. I hope it doesn't continue long.

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  18. Yuck, insomnia is really the worst, and I'm also not a fan of the being awake at odd hours of the morning all alone. Nothing on TV, etc. It's just depressing.

    When I've had insomnia in the past, I'm sorry to say I've never really found a magic pill for it. It's just sort of worn off after a while. I think it's important to make sure you're not spending too much time in bed doing things other than sleeping (reading, blogging, etc.) Apart from that, though, all I can really say is I hope it gets better!

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  19. oh no, sorry to hear that! I get SO frustrated when I can't sleep :(

    Brutal that even the 'magic pills' didn't help.

    I hope this passes SOON!

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  20. Hope you figure out what's causing your insomnia. That sucks.

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  21. Yuck, sorry to hear about your trouble sleeping. I've actually been having the same problem of basically "napping" throughout the night. But at least in my case I'm pretty sure it's a side effect of my medications. I've found that reading a boring book puts me to sleep the first time, but then once I wake up it doesn't seem to work again. Anyway, I hope you figure it out and get some rest soon!

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  22. Ugh sorry to hear you are having trouble sleeping. Are you extra stressed? Try meditating for a minute or two to unwind. If that doesn't work put CSpan on the tv. Knocks me out everytime. :)

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  23. OUCH!!! Insomnia is really a terrible affliction... I went through a real bad bought last spring while I was waiting to get laid-off... Laying in bed at 3:00 in the morning, wide-awake, full of a sense of helpless and loneliness and with nothing but infomercials on TV.

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  24. That sounds terrible! I hope you get to sleep soon. I can't even imagine not getting to sleep.

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  25. I don't have any advise to give you, but I hope that you figure it out soon. Do you think it is your schedule in the day time that has any effect? My sleeping habits are way out of whack too, but that is because of my job. I wouldnt rely on sleeping pills.

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  26. EEEK! That does not sound like fun at all! There are some really great teas you could try. Although... if sleeping pills aren't working, I dunno of some peace and love herbal therapies would do the trick either. Oooh wait, what about acupuncture...

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  27. Ugh, I have been having the same problem lately. It's so frustrating! I am willing to dedicate the time to sleep, why doesn't my body get it?

    You know what I recently discovered works well for me...but I rarely do it cuz I'm a little freaked out by the addiction idea haha, is benedyrl allergy. It's the only "drowsy" medicine I've ever found that doesn't make me dead in the AM. In fact i'm well rested. I occasionally wake up still but I fall immediately back to sleep. WIsh I could take it every night haha...but I don't

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  28. That totally SUCKS. I get the non-sleeping. It happens to me when the weather changes but never lasts more than a week. I hope you get to the bottom of it and get more rest.

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  29. uggg i hate hate hate that. i have had periods where i cant sleep but usually not that long. i am the complete opposite right now - maybe i am stealing all your sleep? i will send some over because i do NOT need this much :-/

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  30. Awwhhhhh – I know what you are going through! For me the transition from night shift to day shift is terrible. I’m like you – Hate sleeping pills. Knocks me out and can’t wake up. When I do, I feel bad and moody. There are a million and one suggestions out there, and the hard part is figuring out what works best for you (if such a thing). For me, I avoid the caffeine and stay away from sugar from the afternoon on, workout hard (exhaustion), and a relaxing hot shower before attempting to rest (doesn’t always work).

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  32. As a small busness owner I have these bouts of insomnia every now and then, especially when cash flow in is not going as planned....

    What I've done in the past is find some mindless radio program to listen to. There are several of them that play through the night (Coast to Coast AM comes to mind). Listening to the constant babble about the paranormal let's me take my mind off what is bothering me and slowly I will drift off.

    I think though that putting your clothes on backwards is a sign that it' time for some shuteye.

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  33. Herbal tea (Sleepy Time) 1 hour before bed, hoppy beers 1 hour before bed (not a long term fix) or a massage in the late afternoon could help. I've gotten up and run at 3:30 and felt energized most of the day and by that night you should be able to sleep longer. If not I think it shows you are in great shape. Relax read a book when you wake up, something not too exciting.

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  34. I honestly don't know what it is, but as I get older (i'm, ahem, just 25), I notice that I can't sleep as well. No caffeine allowed in the second part of the day, herbal teas only - otherwise I'm tossing and turning. And I hate that feeling. I so hope you find a way to deal with this because I feel your pain.

    Reading about Moody gave me goosebumps.

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  35. Wow that must be horrible.. I am so curious what is causing it. The only time I wake up is when my kiddos cry.. LOL!

    Hang in there. Maybe try half a pill, that is what my Mom does to help her to dreamland..

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  36. I feel your pain. I am an awful sleeper. Yesterday, I couldn't take waking up ever hour so once 4 am rolled around I got up and headed out for a run! Hope you are able to get some good sleep soon.

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  37. OMG, girl. I feel your pain. I'm STILL suffering from insomnia . . . although not quite as bad as I was a couple weeks ago. I wish I knew what to tell you to magically fix it--but clearly I haven't found anything that works yet! Being tired and not being able to sleep is ENFURIATING!

    Also, random known fact . . . Tera Moody is from the same town as me! I was so excited (and totally blown away) when the RW article was published about her. Good to know we're not alone!

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  38. I read that story on Moody. Wow. It was very interesting. You definitely need more sleep to heal properly from runs.

    Hopefully it won't last long for you. But, really, it's made me see that I need to be getting more sleep. I don't get up in the middle of the night, I just don't go to bed early enough.

    Maybe a hot bath before bedtime will help.

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  39. Ummm...I wonder if your problem is with falling asleep or waking up after you've fallen asleep. They are somewhat different problems and have different etiologies.

    My suggestion is that if the sleeping pills don't work, or work at different times than you intended, try taking a smaller dosage or try a different brand.

    If it becomes chronic, you might need to have it checked out...especially if you have daytime sleepiness as a result of it.

    Good luck!d

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  40. I really hope this is all just temporary and you figure out what is happening.

    Maybe a little "night cap" might help, if you know what I mean, or just find a really boring technical manual.

    Here's wishing you a good night's sleep, real soon.

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  41. In reference to your comment on my blog

    Oh Lindsay, don't be silly. I look forward to reading what you write all the time.


    Thank you for all of your support:)

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  42. welcome to the club. I haven't had more than a few good nite's sleep in the last couple of year.s

    Tonight for example.

    I can tell you that alcohol & pills are not the solution. (maybe I should say "and/or" since you shouldn't take them together.)

    Sex helps - if that's on the table.

    And examine when you run - after work amps me up too much. I'm now a morning or lunch hour runner. I think that helps... but not total sol'n.

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  43. I've had trouble sleeping in the past, but never had to take sleeping pills! Can't believe you're still waking up after taking them though. Hopefully, this imsomniac phase goes away and you can get back into your normal running routine..

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  44. I really don't have trouble sleeping so I have no advice for you unfortunately :( I hope it resolves itself, that has got to be so frustrating!

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  45. Sorry to hear that. I hope that it gets better soon!

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  46. That sounds miserable. I didn't sleep well last night, and I'm all shades of messed up. ANd that was only ONE night. Can't imagine 10 days. Good luck.

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  47. Maybe someone mentioned this already, but you should keep a written record of your sleeping pattern. If you end up visiting a dr., it might be helpful.

    Good night! I hope!

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  48. Just read your comment on my blog, and I definitely know how you feel. I was really just kidding when I said it was a feminist issue for me, I just really don't think is fair that girls are expected to change it and for guys it's just like- duh, you change it. I totally would've said the same thing as you- sweet so I can stop working then? haha.
    I don't think putting your names together is unreasonable! We'll have to chat next summer to see what we do :)

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