Insomnia 💀

[RCJH8610]

Anyone else have trouble sleeping? Even before I started taking medication for ADHD I have always had disrupted sleep. I was prescribed trazadone for sleep but even that doesn’t help some nights. 😴

[michael682]

Hey again,

I am going through the same problem!

I’ve recently tried trazadone but like you said it doesn’t always work or I wake up in such a fog I wish I had just not slept!

So my DR has me on

50-100mg of Quetiapine generic for seroquel.

I set a few rules for myself also

1) I put my phone on a wireless charger on my desk across my room by 11pm.

2) When I put my phone down to charge I put on a music playlist off Spotify called “floating through space” with a phone timer set to 45min. The timer turns the music off and keeps it from playing all night.

This normally gets my brain to chill out and I can focus on one specific thing. I just pick the first thing that pops in my mind and go with it until I fall asleep.

My girlfriend knows I have this routine and is 100% supportive of it. She even reminds me at times to turn my music on or take my medication since she can tell if my mind is still going 10000mph. I honestly am so happy that she understands and supports my attempts to control adhd.

3) If I catch myself feeling overstimulated, restless, brain going but body not... (the typical adhd shenanigans) I take 1-2 of the pills after turning on my music and switch the timer to 1 1/2hr To allow time for the meds to kick in, me to get tired, and my body to relax without the music turning off.

I have Spotify premium so I don’t have adds that pop on. The playlist I use does not have any words in it or super creepy noises because it can give me nightmares or lucid dreams which can occur when taking a sleeping medication.

I set my phone to automatically turn onto night time mode at 11pm with exception to my girlfriend, parents, and sisters phone calls.

I always wake up at 8am but don’t require myself to get out of bed until about 9am. This is because I need literally an hr just to get in 1st gear and if I get going too quickly it will mess my whole day up.

I used to workout at night but would end up staying up till 4am because I was so stimulated after the workout.

All of this simplified,

1) set boundaries

2) creating a routine that will work 90% of the time is important

3) minimizing stimulation is important but you need to find something that will soothe you at night in place of those stimulating objects.

Maybe for you it’s not so much putting your phone down as it is writing all the things flashing through your mind that you have to do tomorrow on a piece of paper and telling yourself it is written down and you don’t need to worry about it until tomorrow at 8am or whatever time.

4) take a deep breath and realize sometimes you just won’t get a lot of sleep. But never give up on that routine!

Hope all this helps!

[RCJH8610 in reply to michael682]

Thank you Michael! This is very helpful. I can relate to the needing a good amount of time to get into gear in the AMs. 💀 Unfortunately I have to be at work by 7:30am and I live about 25mins (sometimes longer depending on traffic) away from my work 😭. Mornings are always tough for me especially when my alarms goes off and I feel like I haven’t slept 😖.

[quietlylost]

I've had occasional bouts of insomnia. In fact, I just got through one that ended about a week ago but had been going on for two weeks. I too sometimes take trazodone and it seems like it's not as effective as it was at first. I try other good sleep practices and that doesn't always help.

I find that my medication doesn't impact my sleep. I can actually take naps on it just fine. But, I do find that when the medicine wears off in the evening my mind starts to get active again and that is one of the challenges for me since I can't just shut it off or organize my thoughts as well.

[havok in reply to quietlylost]

I can relate to your mind getting active again. I usually don't have too much trouble sleeping (though actually getting myself into bed can be a struggle), but when I do, my brain is usually unwilling to slow down and let me relax.

I usually try to focus on mindful breathing, which doesn't always work, but seems to be more effective than other things I have tried, and I end up feeling at least a little rested if I fail to get much/any sleep.

I've also found listening to white/pink noise to be helpful.

[Jezzibird]

Hey,

Writing down things that come across my mind in the evening helps me a lot, but only on the evenings where I am going through to do lists. If my brain has decided I should think of every fact about a platypus I have ever learned...then I am just out of luck for the evening. I have found when my mind is really racing putting a reminder in my phone, or writing thoughts down, will often ease the sense of urgency to handle that subject right now. Sometimes it seems to help, other nights it does not seem to matter what I do.

With the holidays, home stress, and staying up for new years my schedule had reached an all time low. I was laying in bed till 3 a.m. desperate for sleep and becoming more exhausted as each day passed. This only seemed to make falling asleep harder. I finally broke down and have recently started taking melatonin. It has been a game changer for me. Normally, mild supplements do nothing for me. So far, if I take it 30 minutes before bed I am out shortly after laying down (20 minutes-ish but who knows with Time Blindness). I am concerned about becoming reliant on it but for now, short term, I don't even care and am just happy to sleep a little.

[Hidden]

You are not alone! This has been one of the biggest burdens of my day.

I like Michael's advice but as I'm a musician, I cannot really listen to music to help me fall asleep; it sets me off on a path of analysis.

My replacement for music is to have either a guided meditation (20 mins - you can fall asleep), or to have a guided breathing session running. As long as they have automatic timers, it'll help me fall asleep. The key is to not have it be so stimulating that it energised me but not under-stimulating enough to encourage thoughts.

Waking up at the same time with a SAD clock can help too. As Michael suggested, don't stress about getting out of bed but waking up at the same time each day is helpful for the routine

[Bobwwatts81]

Hi yep I've had trouble sleeping for as long as I have known parents have even said as a baby I slept very little. In the last year my physical health has taken a nose dive and I have been Trying few different pain killers still struggling. One thing I have noticed though and don't know if anyone else has painkillers don't seem to be as affective on me to the point I am currently taking tapentadol sr plus others meant to give 12hrs relief No try 9ish always been the same. I'm no dr but could we be metabolising the tablets differently and my Methylphenidate doesn't want to work with quite a few pain killers.

[RCJH8610 in reply to Bobwwatts81]

I definitely think people can metabolize tablets more quickly than others so maybe if you take a smaller dose twice a day for pain that will help you get through the day? It’s worth a try so discuss it with your doc and see if you can get a chance in dosage. Good luck 🍀

[Bobwwatts81]

I've started looking at that got the calm app

[poodlesncats]

I do not have much trouble sleeping, BUT... I take meds at night (not for sleep issues) that help. If I forget them I toss and turn until I feel like getting up to take them! HOWEVER, I often have strange dreams. I do not often remember but my husband hears me talking in my sleep and/or thrashing around. One night I fell out of bed and continued dreaming until my husband came around to my side of the bed to help me off the floor. I do not think I would have remembered the dream had he not woke me. My son has also heard me yelling in my sleep. I wonder if the strange dreams and thrashing has to do with ADD (which I have), or with one or more of the meds I take.

[RCJH8610 in reply to poodlesncats]

If you don’t mind me asking, which medication do you take at night that makes you drowsy?

[Birdwatcher19]

I had been struggling with insomnia for a while, too, but have been sleeping better overall the last couple of months. I tried lots and lots of things; here’s what helped the most: Going to bed and getting up at roughly the same time every day, and getting to sleep earlier (between 9-10 instead of 11-12); no screens (phone, computer, TV) after 8 p.m.; exercise regularly (but not in the evenings); reading before bed (audiobooks are good, too); listening to Yoga Nidra meditations; magnesium (I take in the morning and before bed); and journaling. I’ve tried Melatonin and Tryptophan, as well; the Tryptophan helped more, but not consistently, and it made me groggy, so I tried not to take it unless I was desperate. The Yoga Nidra is really great and was recommended by my doctor (my favorite is called Melatonin Magic on Insight Timer); when I wake up in the middle of the night and can’t fall back asleep easily, I will listen to one (or more), and it usually does the trick. Good luck, hope you’re able to get more sleep soon.

[RCJH8610 in reply to Birdwatcher19]

Thank you for the tips. I need to try something because last night I got an hour of sleep, if even and I took a trazodone and melatonin 😔 I’m exhausted so I’m hoping tonight will be better

[StoneJeweler]

I use trazodone 200mg, and have for over 15 years. Any pill doesn't work all the time. I find that at those times I need to have a routine that is conducive to sleep. I make some chamomile tea, maybe take a warm bath, use lavender essential oil on my pillow and in my bath. Make sure all blue lights are off in bedroom. Keep electronics away from my bed etc.

[JW621]

Try wining down before you go to bed. No social media nothing