a quick intro of myself

[elchar89]

A slight introduction of myself (since I apparently forgot to hit 'submit' and this post has been up on my computer screen for multiple days:

I currently work full time under my state's health and social services division as a WIC nutritionist. My main roles are to help provide nutritional guidance and education for infants to five-year-olds, pregnant moms/post-pregnancy/breastfeeding moms, and provide referrals as necessary to outside agencies. My job and some of the situations I see on a regular basis certainly contribute a great deal of stress to my life, and I've been kept awake many more nights than I care to remember due to them. Seeing children being shoveled around foster care or being neglected by their caregivers hit me extra hard, and it's taken me quite a long time to learn how to not take everything home with me.

I've been dealing with sleep issues for over half my life (I'm currently 30), with a massive inability to sleep well, or at all, being when I was 16 and started experiencing an intractable itch on the top of my arms, ranging from my shoulders down to my wrists. The only slight relief I was ever able to find was to sleep with ice packs directly on my skin, but once they melted, I would go right back to being up and miserable a short time later. I still suffer from the itching, but it at least it has subsided slightly, thanks in part to being placed on gabapentin a few months ago.

Insomnia has been a consistent issue for me, even going as far as being prescribed ativan, xanax, ambien, kolonopin, and so on, to no avail. For instance, Ambien would just make me tired, but I'd never actually get to sleep, and I'd be more miserable the next day than had I not taken it. For many years physicians contributed my sleep issues to a combination of being prescribed medication for ADHD, as well as stress and anxiety. but even being taken off of any sort of stimulant (and long before I had even been prescribed a stimulant) I had problems sleeping.

Stress certainly plays a big part in while I don't sleep, why I am absolutely exhausted during the day and have the energy to do next to nothing, but I have had a few brief periods where I did sleep well and what most others would consider 'almost' normal, and I long for that so badly. However, I feel like it's more than just stress and something physiological as well; I just don't know exactly what.

[4fishylady]

I totally understand your problems and feelings with insomnia and the compounded lack of sleep issues. I have had insomnia issues for more than 20 years. I was on ambien 10 mg for at least 15 years, then temazepam 30mg for 4 years. I got about 4 hours sleep with ambien, but extended it a couple of hours with unisom OTC. I have tried many other medications like ativan, valium and others with no help. At bedtime, I am currently taking 300 mg gabapentin, OTC unisom (doxalamine), and xanax .5 mg and am getting a good 7 -8 hours sleep per night. I'm sleeping the best I have in years. I have been through a sleep clinic and the only thing it showed was that I have "multiple awakenings" in my sleep when on my back. If I sleep on my sides, I do not have that issue. (During that sleep test, I slept with ambien, otherwise I would have been awake the whole time.)

Your life sounds like it is extremely full of stress. You do need some way of calming down in the evenings. It might help if you went through a sleep clinic to be certain there is no other issue that you are unaware of. Limit caffeine to mornings, try to cut off all electronic devices 1 - 2 hours before bedtime, dim the lighting, maybe do something to get your mind off the day's issues by light reading or crossword puzzles to help. I also use a red light bulb in my bedside lamp to simulate sunset, to help calm me and not have a bright white bulb there. I had also used melatonin for many years (up to 10 mg), but found I was having morning headaches, so gave that up and the headaches went away. It gives some people nightmares, but helps others without any issues. These things have helped me and I hope these ideas help you. It does sound as though you do need some help with a Rx type drug. Maybe with some of these ideas and by using valium or xanax you could sleep better. It takes a combination of things for me to be able to sleep well. There is help out there. I hope you find it. Don't stop trying. I would love to hear that you find a way to get the sleep you need.