This is selfish, petty, a tad wimpy. Go ahead. You know you have to look.

[Doran]

I've been trying the whole positive thinking tack, and I've nearly bit clean through my upper lip trying to keep my trap shut about this. I have no illusions about this being worthy of a board request. But, I've decided I'm ready to grovel.

I want sleep. I want it baaad! I want to smash my face into my pillow tonight and not come back to a conscious state until at least 7:00 am. I want to have drool down one cheek, crusties around my eyes, and a case of sheet-face that doesn't disappear for hours! Yes, I want it that good!!! That's not really so much to ask, is it?

The past week has been ugly. For heaven's sake, I even sneaked in an unexpected Business Meeting thinking I might enjoy the resultant aftermath of good juju. Nope. What do men got that I ain't got (that's a rhetorical question, you goofs!)?

Next week commences our "back-to-school" schedule of getting up at 6:30 religiously every day. Humbug! If I've got to do that, then by gum, I've got to sleep when I'm supposed to. So, send whatever you got, people. Or, just come over here and inject me. Better living through chemistry, right? :lol:

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:TcmI8MAUvqW6mM:http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1173/1450145584_267a9a3fee.jpg%3Fv%3D0

[Kathleen in VA]

Melatonin. Available at Wal-Mart.

[Brigitte]

When it gets bad for me like that, I take a Tylenol PM (or 2, actually). It really does help. I find that the one good night sleep leads to others.

[elegantlion]

Tylenol PM, thanks for the reminder. I'm taking one now.

[Heather in NC]

Lunesta is the Best-a :D

[Just Me]

No help, but here's to praying you get sheet-faced tonight! :D

[MyCrazyHouse]

Melatonin. Available at Wal-Mart.
Yup, or valerian. Neither should drug you or dry you out.

Also, please, I beg you, if you're going to take a "pm" to sleep, just take plain old Benadryl. The acetaminophen does nothing to help you sleep and can be very hard on your organs. The 'pm' component is diphenhydramine (Benadryl) - just take that.

[Nicole M]

Don't listen to them. "la la la la" fingers in the ears, Missie. It's all about the benadryl. I'm not joking. Look. I live in organic land too, and it's okay for two nights or whatever to take a benadryl, just a half a dose. You will not become a junkie. I promise. You will not permanently damage yourself, lose any brain cells or get cancer from benadryl. Really.

Benadryl. Do it. Just say yes to sleeping all night long! Please.

[Mom2jnb]

Another vote for Benadryl.........

Nighty night.....Go to sleep..... :)

Alison

[Jenny in Atl]

Yup, or valerian. Neither should drug you or dry you out.

Also, please, I beg you, if you're going to take a "pm" to sleep, just take plain old Benadryl. The acetaminophen does nothing to help you sleep and can be very hard on your organs. The 'pm' component is diphenhydramine (Benadryl) - just take that.

I'm having some good results with the Valerian. The heart palps seem less and I'm sleeping deeper with no funny side effects. I was going to try Kava Kava, but read the warning label and shied away from it.

[Dayle in Guatemala]

Don't listen to them. "la la la la" fingers in the ears, Missie. It's all about the benadryl. I'm not joking. Look. I live in organic land too, and it's okay for two nights or whatever to take a benadryl, just a half a dose. You will not become a junkie. I promise. You will not permanently damage yourself, lose any brain cells or get cancer from benadryl. Really.

Benadryl. Do it. Just say yes to sleeping all night long! Please.

Yep! Benadryl works here. Whenever I really need a good night's sleep, 25 mg. of benadryl does it for me.

[elegantlion]

I've done benadryl. But I can only take one and it wakes me up promptly at 3am and then I can't go back to sleep.

[Pencil Pusher]

Well, if all the chemistry doesn't work for you (try Vlastik, first), you can do what I do.

Just stay up. I figure if I stay up all night working hard enough (cleaning house, etc.) for enough nights, eventually, it will make me tired enough to wrap back around to sleeping again at the right time. Ish.

:D

Sorry. No help here. Warm milk & good wishes & all that. (Except...you know if you spend 1/3 your life SLEEPING, you'll NEVER take over the world. You know that, right?)

[Doran]

You will not permanently damage yourself, lose any brain cells or get cancer from benadryl. Really.

Benadryl. Do it. Just say yes to sleeping all night long! Please.


I dunno about that last one, but I think the first two are no longer even options. :tongue_smilie:


Okay, folks -- these ideas are lovely. EXCEPT...!!!

(1) This kind of messed up sleeping happens way more than a couple nights a week. It's more like at least a week out of every month.

(2) It's 10:00 pm. I'm not going to find a store open at this hour around here. I have Valerian, but that's it. Guess it's worth a shot. A shot!? Hey, why didn't I think of that earlier, too! :driving:;)

[Kathleen in VA]

Everyone's system reacts differently, but for me, benadryl puts me in a stupor that lasts until noon or later. Melatonin just gives me a good night's sleep and it's cheap. I think the generic benadryl and the generic melatonin are about the same price. I just don't like the fog I have to work through when I take benadryl. But that's just my experience.

[ncmomo3]

Agreeing with the Benadryl advice.
My dad is a pharmacist (and rather anti-med..lol).
He'll tell ya--take the Benadryl.
nighty-night

[Mekanamom]

Everyone's system reacts differently, but for me, benadryl puts me in a stupor that lasts until noon or later. Melatonin just gives me a good night's sleep and it's cheap. I think the generic benadryl and the generic melatonin are about the same price. I just don't like the fog I have to work through when I take benadryl. But that's just my experience.

:iagree: That's exactly my experience too.

I've been taking Melatonin for years now. Every now and then, I'll run out or something, and my sleep is no worse than it was before I ever started taking it... meaning, for me at least, I have not grown more dependent on it over time- nor have I needed a higher dose. My sleep without it is crappy, but not any crappier than it was for the first 30 years of my life. ;)

[Brigitte]

Guess it's worth a shot. A shot!? Hey, why didn't I think of that earlier, too! :driving:;)

If the tequila doesn't help, a big glass of port will. :D

[Once]

Have you tried Calcium and Magnesium? A deficiency can cause nerves to be a little strained in the long term. When I was having a hard time sleeping every single night for months on end my Dr. prescribed both at supper or later. You have to be careful though because it might make you really tired in the morning if you take it too late at night.

Another that I just read about is B vit during the day. Calms nerves too.

Otherwise, I use tea and honey for my kids. It's winter comfort food here. Here's to a good night sleep Doran. Hope you get it. :closedeyes:

[JudoMom]

Don't listen to them. "la la la la" fingers in the ears, Missie. It's all about the benadryl. I'm not joking. Look. I live in organic land too, and it's okay for two nights or whatever to take a benadryl, just a half a dose. You will not become a junkie. I promise. You will not permanently damage yourself, lose any brain cells or get cancer from benadryl. Really.

Benadryl. Do it. Just say yes to sleeping all night long! Please.

Come on, Doran. You know you want to. Just take the benadryl.

[Crissy]

I've done benadryl. But I can only take one and it wakes me up promptly at 3am and then I can't go back to sleep.

Same here. And that applies to any of those Night Time capsules. I sleep hard for a couple of hours, but then I'm awake for the remainder of the night.

When my back and hip pain are their worst, I take a tablet or two of Percogesic. It relieves the pain and helps me sleep.

[Doran]

Come on, Doran. You know you want to. Just take the benadryl.

If I had benadryl tonight, I just might take it. But, I don't. And, longer term, I'm not so sure. Like I said above, this happens for a number of nights consecutively, and regularly. I can't get myself to accept the idea of swallowing benadryl for that many days per month, you know? Admittedly, though I've fallen off the wagon on other options. I have cal/mag supplement. I have valerian. I just took three. And, I just took my last L-Theanine, which is meant to calm edginess. I need to get back to using what I've got, if nothing else, right? :001_smile:

Thanks! I can feel your sleep vibes dancing on my eyelids already!!

[Jumping In Puddles]

Benadryl is good but there is nothing that can knock me unconscious like dramamine. Dramamine will put me in a deep, long sleep.

Benadryl is good too. :)

[MyCrazyHouse]

Benadryl isn't addictive. On the other hand, it can dry out your mucous membranes, especially in the winter. It makes me hyper and wiiiiiiiiide awake. Fun times.

Melatonin and valerian aren't habit forming, either, and both can be used longterm. Valerian, in combination with lemon balm, has been studied to work as well for sleep as prescription medications in the Valium family (benzodiazepines). In combination with hops or St. John's wort, it has been found to be more helpful than Xanax for anxiety.

Rather than getting to the end of the day and popping something, though, I would recommend a wind-down period, with either a valerian & lemon balm tea or adding some tincture of both to your favorite herbal tea, and soothing music, meditation, low lights. (I am, right now, enjoying a cup of a Tazo Calm and Yogi Bedtime mix, because I'm too lazy to go out and pick the lemon balm)

(In the interest of full disclosure, I am studying to be an herbalist. I think allopathic medicine is great, just prefer to nourish our bodies to stave off problems rather than whip out the "big guns" at the first sign of trouble.)

[pianoplayer]

Doran, I wouldn't worry about getting dependent on Benadryl. My doctor gave it to me as a prescription allergy medicine in my teens, and I took it full-time for several years, not just before bed. I used Benadryl after my hysterectomy--my body went hormone-haywire, and Benadryl helped me get back into a regular sleep cycle . . . super important, as I'm one who simply cannot function without decent sleep.

Good luck! Hope you find something that really helps you. :)

[Peri]

:grouphug: I hear ya loud and clear. I've been singing a song the last year or so that goes along the lines of, "I need a vacation!" I just sing that line over and over again hoping it will come true. I miss the days when I would sleep for about 12 hrs every once and a while just to recoop from a stressful time. I have not seen that day in a long long time.

[klmama]

Calcium and magnesium at bedtime, along with melatonin. My doctor recommended this combo. It works great when I don't fight it. One week a month I have a really hard time not fighting it, and if I do, I always pay for it in the daytime. I have to purposely take my pills and go to bed at the same time as dh to get a decent night's sleep, especially that week!

FWIW, I hate Benedryl, but I can take about 1/2 a Pamprin and get a very cheerful, sleepy effect. More than 1/2 and I can't wake up the next day, though. It has some antihistamine, too.

[MyCrazyHouse]

It has some antihistamine, too.
I wonder why? Does PMS give us stuffy noses? Or are they trying to lull us to sleep to get rid of the associated personality disorder? :glare: Huh. Weird.

[OceanBreeze]

What about s*x?

[Crissy]

What about s*x?

I don't know about anyone else, but it has the opposite affect on me.

[dalynnrmc]

I've tried Benedryl, and like someone else mentioned, it just flat-out has the opposite effect on me. I get really hyper, and silly.

We keep Melatonin for the kiddos, and I haven't justified taking enough of it to actually work for me. It makes me sleepy, but doesn't help me actually GO to sleep.

The only, only, ONLY thing I've found that works for me is very simple:
2 cheap glasses of wine. Arbor Mist. Yum. ;)


I think I might try the calcium-magnesium thing, though. Someone suggested that to me for my blood pressure anyway, so if taking it before bed will help me get to sleep, then I'm on that boat.


And I'm with you - this is a regular thing for me. For me, it's more often than not that I don't get good sleep. (Of course, it doesn't help that I have 3 children with sleep issues as well, and that at least ONE of them inevitably wakes me up during the deepest part of my sleep. Not that my sleep gets that deep, mind you - all they have to do is open the door, but.... And, for the record, my youngest is getting to a point that I'm about ready to break down and take him to the doctor for his sleep issues. Only sleeping for 3 hours every 24, even though he's taking 12mg of Melatonin, is simply NUTS.)

Okay. Sorry to threadjack.

Cheap wine. :) 2 glasses. No more, no less! ;)

[RenayofRohan]

Have you tried Calcium and Magnesium? A deficiency can cause nerves to be a little strained in the long term. When I was having a hard time sleeping every single night for months on end my Dr. prescribed both at supper or later. You have to be careful though because it might make you really tired in the morning if you take it too late at night.

Calcium & Magnesium is a muscle relaxer, true? I believe you need to be careful with dosage b/c it could cause you to be running to the bathroom :leaving:, if you KWIM, and I suppose you wouldn't get much sleep after that. :ack2:

Well, I hope you have a wonderful sleep tonight! Sounds like you more than deserve it. ;)

[Doran]

I have good news! Whatever it is that got sent last night -- good advice, good energy, a hotline to the Sleep Master -- it worked! I crashed at about 10:30, did not even hear dh come to bed, woke up just briefly sometime in the middle of the night but went right back to sleep and stayed that way until 7:20 am!!!!!!!!!!

I did swallow three valerian caps before bed, and I am coming off my monthly hormonal roller coaster, so there's that. Regardless, I got my wish - a solid, rejeuvenating night's sleep. No drool. No crusties. Not even much sheet-face. But sleep I did. Ahhhhh.

Cyber support much appreciated, Sirs (even though I didn't actually follow orders to take benadryl ;)).


:gnorsi:

[PariSarah]

I've had the exact same week. Business meeting and all. :confused:

I just get up and write. I've almost finished the article that I'm working on!

May have to try melatonin. I think I tried that several years ago. Can't remember if it worked.

[Laurie in CA]

Am I the only one here who thinks that dog is um....well....dead?

I have had some success with listening to Bible teachings on the cd player, not too loud. It seems to keep me from thinking too much and I fall asleep within 10-15 minutes. I haven't tried this yet but my doc told me to take fish oil capsules; build up to 4 caps a day (1000 mg each). This is supposed to help with sleep and lots of other benefits too.

[Rich with Kids]

My cocktail (Now there's a word that's sounds dirty, but isn't):

1200mg of calcium
500mg melatonin
1 or 2 Triptophan capsules
fish oil

[CLHCO]

I read you slept. Hurray!

Next time this hits, I recommend Celestial Seasoning's Sleepy Time Plus with Valerian root. I have a couple cups, very strong, no sugar but a touch of milk if the taste is too bitter.

It combines the Valerian with that warm chamomile and a cute, tired bear on the front of the box to look at.

That's my usual first try but I have been known to go for the Benedryl too.

[MyCrazyHouse]

YAY!!! :drool5: There's some drool for ya. Sorry, no eye-crusty smilie.