Insomnia

I've been plagued with insomnia on and off since I was a teen-ager.

It's gotten much worse and much more persistent in the past year.

Part of it is worry, I know. I internalize a lot of my worries and I worry a lot. This is not good for my body. Leads to sleepless nights.

Part of it is due to my premature menopause and the terrible night sweats I get since I no longer take the hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The HRT had a lot of high risk side effects, like stroke and blot clots and possibly Alzheimer's (which is already in the family).

I sweat like crazy while I'm trying to sleep. My husband likens it to feeling like I've been out running in high temperatures except I am sleeping. It's terribly uncomfortable to me.

This doesn't happen every night, but a lot and it's not fun.

I worry a lot about our situation, financially. I don't want to lose my house. Sometimes, I think it's all I've got. I inherited some good things and pissed a lot of them away due to poor long range planning on my part. I was also not in my normal mind.

Insomnia is terrible, whatever the circumstances.

After about 4 days, when my eyes are scratchy and I'm bone tired and just feel useless, I will take a Benydryl so I can sleep. Then, I wake up so groggy and stupid, not refreshed, it's beside the point.

Any input in sleeping pills? Over the counter or doctor prescribed? Ambien? Halcyon?

Comments

[Mr. B]

i too have had my own share of insomnia, i've found that if you decide to take the chemical route for alleviation, ambien is the best, hands down. it gently lays you down and the next morning you don't have that fuzzy, spacey, incoherence that almost all other sleeping aides leave you laden with. hope that helps, good luck.

[Mandy]

Okay I know this blog thing is way old but hey you may still check it. I also am a sufferer of insomnia but I recently ran across this herb that you can buy at Wal-Mart or any store of that type. It is called Melatonin and as crazy as it sounds even if you only get an hour of sleep you still wake up feeling great no groggyness and your happy and feel like you have slept for hours. So maybe you should try this stuff. Well I hope you find this info helpful.