Suh Leap

[nonfatsuperjesus]

I have a sleep disorder called insomnia. Doctors tell me it is a roll-over from my years of meth abuse. They said it would go away in about a year. It has been almost two now and I still only sleep about 3 hours every other night. I am getting real tired (pun intended) of it.

Anybody have any advise on how to deal with or cure it? My doctors are stumped because sleep medicides are not working very well. So, I figured I'd throw it out there in case someone else is dealing with it also. Some times, I believe, that people are more knowledgable than doctors.

So, if you can give some feed back on this.

Thanks,
SuperJ

[rockandrose]

It may sound lame, but have you tried a smooth approach such a meditation or herbal medicine. Stress and depression can cause troublesome sleeping. A person's lifestyle has a big contribution to sleeping. Look at your lifestyle, see where you need to alter or what needs improvement, in order to possibly assist in your sleeping.

I'm personally not a big fan of sleeping pills even though I've never taken one.

[Nardol]

It's possible you may react better with herbal or natural sleep enhancers. Rockandrose makes a good point about stress and life problems interfering. It could be that no single reason is responsible for your insomnia. Although if medical sleeping aides aren't working it stands to reason that your insomnia is quite serious. Unfortunately it IS possible that you can't sleep due to a physiological problem, and this may be unsurmountable unless your doctor(s) are knowledgable enough to explore the possibility. It is my expierience that doctors these days like to use a try this/try that approach to treatment rather than curing the root cause of the problem in a logical fashion. Sort of like an auto mechanic who say's "it could be..." rather than testing and taking the car apart and verifying that what he's about to do WILL fix the problem.

I have not suffered insomnia in the same way as yourself. But based on a few of my own sleepless nights I suggest it may be matter of concentration and situation. If you are deeply worried about sleeping, or anything else, your nervous energy on the matter may be preventing you from falling asleep. It may also prevent you from getting a good long sleep once sleeping.

So maybe need a relaxing pastime that you can do from wherever you sleep, that doesn't require or encourage too much concentration or physical action but allows you to ignore the rest of reality and get your mind off of insomnia. If you can learn to put yourself in another place while meditating, this will be valuable. I used to try to write from bed when I couldn't sleep, only to find that I'd fall asleep at the keyboard because I had drifted into my characters world and that sort of trance can be very similair to sleep for some people. I guess my physiology was able to make the transition because it felt like it was time to sleep. It's surprising what your subconscious can do when you aren't watching.

And of course it's critical to be comfortable. I'm sure this has crossed your mind but I find that without certain physical and phsycological criteria I just can't sleep. Persoanlly I have a much harder time sleeping if I'm not at least slightly fed, completely disrobed, covered in weighty blankets, recently bathed and shaved, my teeth are brushed, it must be utterly dark and I need to spoon something. So make sure you are comfortable and warm.

[belialj78]

this may be too obvious and you've already been told to try this, but i didn't see it so... have you tried exercise. it has helped me alot i gained another hour or so. or try sleeping pills or alcohol what the fuck do i care or know? nothing. right.

[edible_eye]

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[Saya]

We learned in psychology not to take sleep pills or alcohol if you have insomnia. You become immune to it after a while and need to take more and more. Now lets see what else I remember from the section on insomnia and if I fail or pass my final ^_^

Drinking warm milk, excercising a half hour before sleep, and herbal remedies sometimes help. I don't know why, but my roommate used to suffer from insomnia and watching movies while in bed cured her. I can't watch a movie with her without her falling asleep. She fell asleep during The Count of Monte Cristo!

[Metatron]

Turkey Day Trivia 101: Eating lots of turkey makes you tired...something in it makes you sleep.

[Tall One In Black]

L-tryptophan in turkey is a natural sedative. It's more likely that the carbohydrates in your huge meal are what make you sleepy, though.

[Metatron]

Aahhh, that's what I was aiming towards. Taking L-tryptophan on an empty stomach, without other amino acids, will help you to feel drowsy because it increases the amount of serotonin in your body. Ask your doctor about it, and if he feels that it could help you sleep better, he'll write a prescription.

[~Nix Nightingale~]

You could also try eating alot of rice. After I have eaten myself silly-full of Chinese food, I am extremely sleepy.

A few years ago I attended Massage Therapy School. There are some specific points in Accupressure that may help with that condition, and as a few others have said meditation and diet. Massage helps with alot of different ailments. I believe Shiatsu and Reflexology would benefit you in this situation...