Help at 330am

[Willzd]

Hey guys,Hope you all good & still smiling 🙂 It’s currently 330am and this is my 2nd night I’ve not slept.2nd night in a “flare”.Couldn't physically or Mentally leave my bed yesterday.Pain at high mentally exhausted just absolutely lost maybe…?? Feeling exactly the same today 😥😔The reason for writing right now is I have a couple questions during this 😏I am trying to get my head around having this “flare”Is it normal to have such sleep insomnia?As I said this is my 2nd night feeling this way everything about me is either thinking about my pain or about the fact my body & mind isn’t letting me sleep.I really help & advice please 😭😭Another question is does anyone experience a different breathing pattern when in a “flare”? When I “can” get in a comfortable position I find myself taking deeper breaths,sometimes as if I’m catching my breath 🤷🏼‍♀️Right now I have no idea who I am 😭

Thank you all for your continued support and advice ❤️

[Tjoceans]

So sorry for you. I think everyone has different symptoms in a flare up. When I'm at my worst, I pace and I can't stop. It's embarrassing when it happens in front of people. I've had people tell me I'm lying and that I am addicted to crack. I've noticed I get those flare-ups when I've gotten the flu. I've maybe had that kind of flare-up 3 times in the last 15 years. In those times, I have to take Ultram, nothing else works. On other days, I take magnesium powder. Very affective. One time, a friend came and sat next to me outside and brought me music on a speaker. He started searching for music and I realized that certain vibrations in the concrete from the speaker was treating the muscle spasms, not like a pillow vibration. I mean like a beta or theta sound. Ones with heavy bass. I thought it was interesting that the vibrations did enough to stop the spasms. He was a kid, doing kid things with music and trying to be nice to someone for a change. I'll never forget him though. He saved me that day!!😊

[Flowerinbloom]

I don’t ever get a full nights sleep unfortunately.It is pretty exhausting between the pain and sleep deprivation and I am not sure if it will ever change for me as I haven’t had a full nights sleep in forever.

I can’t say it’s easy but on the other hand I think I am used to it now.

Hopefully you will work your way through it as for your mental health it’s not good if you are struggling. X

[Gigimama]

I’m sorry to hear you’re struggling to sleep. I know what that’s like! I have bouts of insomnia where I can’t get to sleep until 3:30/4/00 am or I go to sleep but wake up after 3-4 hours. I take two/three magnesium malate capsules and a 100mg 5HTP capsule every night. That helps me get to sleep most nights. Perhaps try the magnesium? As we all know, there are a few well known tips to use before bed….no cell phone use two hours before sleep, go to bed at the same time every night (or at least try to), use low lights in the evening to calm your environment, try deep, slow breathing from the belly, not the chest. Just a few things that might help? Hope you find something that helps you. I know it’s frustrating!!

[PenelopeClearwater]

Oh, poppet. I feel awful for you. I see this was from 2 days ago and I really hope you’ve managed to get through it.

I can relate to the exhaustion and insomnia in one - it is just so so horrible.

Do you have an audio device? Even just your phone would suffice. I listen to Audible every night to help me sleep - just having something other than my thoughts to focus on helps me drift off, but it has to be something I know inside out, so it’s either Juliet Stevenson reciting Jane Austen novels, or Stephen Fry reciting the Harry Potter books - that way it’s not so distracting that it keeps me awake.

I also use the Calm app (just the free version) and play a calming sound while I try and sleep.

Additionally, I think I could own shares in lavender oil with the amount I use - a couple of drops on my pillow each night and some rubbed into my temples.

Deep breathing is very good too - breathe in deeply for 4 seconds, hold for 7, breathe out for 8. Just thinking about the timing is a good distraction and deep breathing is excellent for relaxing the body.

I hope you get some rest and that the pain eases off asap 💙

[JayCeon]

It was normal for me in my first year of fibro to be up many hours a night. Now I've worked out my triggers and found that passiflora and GABA work for me, but I still have to get up 4-6 times and do a few things to get my system back (pee, nostrils, move), which takes about 5' and then I can usually get back to sleep, so I'm then down to 30-50'. It still occasionally happens that I can be wide awake, probably due to too much cortisol running around my brain. In that case I get up and do something for an hour or two or more till I'm tired enough again. If I'm not that awake but can't doze either I put on Ally Boothroyd's "Yoga Nidra" sessions, downloaded from youtube, very calm voice and the body scan doing me good and distracting me from thoughts. This is a very effective sleep substitute, often more restorative than sleep itself.

The most important thing for me is not to worry about it. Firstly, we sleep more than we think, that's proven - we even dream that we are awake altho we aren't. And secondly worrying about not sleeping isn't going to help. If I can't sleep, there's lots of lovely things I can do in a semi-conscious state.