hi, apart from the discomfort, what i... - Fibromyalgia Acti...
hi, apart from the discomfort, what is the reason we can't sleep? I seem virtually unable to reach the 4th stage of sleep. Thanks VB
Ur not alone, i begin to nod off then i am wide awake again, yet i feel shattered! I have spent two days in bed, the poor dog gets a quick wee in garden as i just haven't got the energy or the will to go out. I am taking all the tabs but nothing except restlessness.
If you get any ideas share them with us. xx
All I know is fibro stops us from reaching it... My gp said even over the counter sleeping tablets which make you sleep don't get you to stage 4..... It's such a rotten illness even when we are asleep it doesn't loosen it's little claws from you. I am on a good cocktail of meds and I sleep for 7 hours ....some days I wake up feeling ohhh what a lovely sleep most days I wake up so sore I am just glad to be getting up out of bed. Every medical site I have read about fibro says we don't get to stage 4 ,,,,, just waiting for the day when they say they have a cure to get us to stage 4...... If its just as I die I demand to be resuscitated so I can have one night of stage 4 sleep
Oh to get to stage four, stage three would be nice too. and the thought of 7 hours sleep is heaven it just does not happen for me. But no matter what I will not stay in bed, I may spend the day up and downout of a chair every 5 minutes or so(very tiring) but Iwon't stay in bed. Fibro likes to keep us company day and night so it will not let us sleep deeply xxxxx
With Fibro, the Autonomic Nervous System (which controls all those things we don't think about, like breathing!) is over-stimulated and it's like our bodies are on panic-alert all the time. I've so often heard Fibromites say "my brain won't switch off" and that is literally the problem. With Fibro, your brain gives off a reaction just like a startle before you've had enough deep sleep and this triggers your sleep pattern to get lighter again even if you don't actually wake up.
Hope that makes sense 
Thank you all for your replies, empathic and informative.
I am going to try accupuncture next to see if that will give any relief, the tablets do not. All the meds I have been given so far have resulted in slowing me down even more, increase in brain fog/confusion, weight gain/depression, and little if any pain relief.
The thought of never sleeping again is quite terrifying.
Good luck everyone.
VB
Hi VB
Have you talked to your doctors about trying a medication to target the sleep quality issue? Treating the sleep should be a priority with treating Fibro, but often meds are used that may have the side effect of helping with sleep but aren't targeting this specifically.
Clonazepam for example, works to calm the ANS over-stimulation by increasing levels of a chemical called GABA. In doing this, it can actually improve sleep quality in people with Fibro, not just sleep quantity. It also has a muscle relaxant effect, which is useful for those people with Fibro who also have myofascial pain. Many GPs in the UK are not enthusiastic about prescribing it as it is in the benzodiazepine family of drugs, but it is typically prescribed for Fibro at very low doses at bedtime only, which reduces the potential for side effects.
Hello again, Lindsey, I am seeing GP again later today (no doubt to be offered more antidepressants and HR) but will ask about clonazepam. I have just been reading up on the benzo family of drugs. Anything is worth a try.
Many thanks.
Valerie
This thread reminds me of an anaesthetist I once knew, who would often ask the medical students "What are the three stages of anaesthesia?"
One bright spark chirped up: "Awake, asleep and dead ... Sir!"
Naturally everyone fell about laughing, even the chirpy student who received a sound thwack round the ear from 'The Boss' (you could get away with 'thwacks' in those days, and no-one seemed any the worse for it!).
On a serious note, the lack of proper sleep is so distressing, and recently I have been having a bit of relief from practicing 'conscious controlled relaxation'.
It's the same process as they teach you in ante-natal classes, where you tense and relax all your muscles in turn. It does take a bit of perseverance, but I have found that I do get a reasonable few hours rest after doing this.
It's worth a try, as it's harmless and drug free. Your GP should be able to point you in the direction of someone who will teach you how. You can get books about it, but I always think it's better to learn from someone 'hands-on'
Hope this helps ...Luv Moffy x
I THINK I've had a really great night's sleep....until I try to get out of bed!! Then I feel like I've been awake for days!! I try not to sleep in the day but sometimes I can't help it!! I might ask my GP about this clonazepam, like you say, anything is worth a try. If I thought rubbing cat food on it would help....I WOULD!!! XXX
Clonezapam is amazing
I take 0.5 mg at night with my anti depressant dosulepin 75 mg I sleep for 7 hours usually, I wake up in the morning not totally refreshed but it's good enough... If your gp won't prescribe it mine doesn't like me on it .... The pain clinic prescribed it for me and my gp reluctantly prescribes it at their request... If your gp is the same ask to go to your local pain clinic and see if they will prescribe it for you.
VG x
Thanks all. I wasn't able to get to GP today but am more armed - and I will enquire about a pain clinic.
After years of suffering rheumatic pain, since the age of 16, I'm now thinking I have fibro. My sleep is really disturbed. If I need a really good sleep, I take a Syndol. It seems to knock me out. Icahn feel quite lethargic the following day though.
