24 February 2009

3rd Night in a Row

This is the THIRD night in a row I've had trouble falling asleep!

I'm at my whitt's end, here.  It is 2 o'clock in the morning, and I just got back from dropping off my sub plans at school.  I can't believe I have to take a day off JUST TO SLEEP...who does that, anyway?  I have gotten to bed every night at 9pm (my regular time), and I have laid in bed until at least 1am every night. I have tried reading.  I have tried music.  I have tried TV.  I have tried pills.  I have tried aromatherapy lotion.  I have tried prayer. 

What's wrong w/ me?  Will this ever end?  I NEED SLEEP!

To make things worse, I've been sick with a cruddy crudd since December.  

So, tonight at 11:30, I woke Steven up.  I was a complete and utter mess.  I was balling my eyes out.  He's been there & done that (fairly recently).  He said a prayer with me, and he went off to the local Walgreens and talked to the pharmacist, who said she'd recommend Benedryl.  So, I leave you at 1:51am to try to go to bed.  Wish me luck.

Any other suggestions of something to try NEXT time this happens (which will hopefully NOT be tomorrow!!!)?

8 comments:

Steve said...

Love- my thoughts are with you every night (you know that), but especially on nights like this. It can be especially lonely at night, so I hope I can be your constant companion, even if only in imagination. I love you and hope you are fast/sound asleep when I get home this morning.

Beckie said...

Tamara, I completely feel your pain. I too have been suffering some pretty intense insomnia. It sounds like you are doing everything right, so I hate that I can't offer any words of wisdom (still not over mine). I'm just letting my body get no sleep to punish it. Not at all a solution, but I'm so pissed at it not obeying, I can't help it.

I hope things get better...maybe this upcoming weekend will provide some much needed rest.

I'm thinking of you and hoping things get much better.

Holly said...

I suffer from insomnia so I feel your your pain. One thing that sometimes works for me is taking a warm bath and just shutting off my mind to relax. When my brain is reeling I can't get to sleep. I occasionally have to take a night time sleep aid to take care of it. If it doesn't stop soon you need to seek medical help.

Will keep you in my prayers Tamara.

Emily S. said...

I don't have any good advice... Joe goes through this pretty hardcore sometimes... and it KILLS me that I don't know how to fix it. I am so sorry you are feeling this way!!!! Nap well!!

Mrs. Boojwa said...

I don't know what it is, but I experience that at least every couple years. No matter how tired I am, I cannot fall asleep quickly for the life of me. The last time it was bad, I worked out for 2 1/2 hours at the Hart building (good old BYUI)... and then ran laps and stairs at the stadium. Did that work?? Nope. I'm not quite sure what fixes it, but I always somehow get back to normal. Those bouts of so-called insomnia do make me grateful for the fact that I'm not really an insomniac.

I hope it works itself out. Just make sure you're eating the right foods and getting the exercise you need (that, somehow, can contribute to off sleeping patterns).

Also: I am amazed you can be in your school past 11pm. Ours is armed with an alarm from 11pm-5am. Anyone entering (with or without a key) will sound an alarm and send the po-lice (AND the principal) out to the school.

Tamara said...

yes, that was a relief...I always hate going to school looking like a freight train just ran into you if I can help it!!! I just let myself in, and we're programmed in the alarm system. I've done it a couple of times, but every time I think, "Oh crap! If this doesn't work, I'm gonna be in a huge pile of CRAP!"

update--Benadryl worked it's magic (I guess), but I didn't actually fall asleep until around 3am. I woke up at 10am, thinking I don't need to sleep too long or else I won't be able to sleep tonight! So, I worked all day, I'm going to church tonight, and we'll see how it goes.

Colton Anne said...

I remember hearing a few things on the news once about this:
a) don't work out of anything about 1-2 hours before sleep as this will only get your adrenaline going and make it harder to sleep
b) try not to do anything in your bed other than sleep...for ex don't watch tv, don't eat, etc
c) definitely try to take time before you go to bed to let your body wind down, but don't do it in your bed. Maybe watch tv in another room for a while to let your mind calm down
d) If you're going to sleep and have trouble, don't lie in the bed for more than 20-30 minutes. If you haven't fallen asleep by then, get up out of bed and do something else...staying in bed will only make you more frustrated and less likely to fall asleep.
e) Try not to eat anything about 2 hours before you go to bed so your blood sugar can level out and not be too high before bed.

Some things that help me:
1) writing a list before bed for the next day. I often find myself thinking about tomorrow in the bed and that only distracts you and prevents you from sleeping
2) a bath does help calm and relax me...especially a nice hot one
3) Benadryl does help me...I sometimes take 2, but make sure you are going to bed early enough because if you go to bed too late in the night with 2 benadryls, it will knock you out and make it really hard to wake up...also make sure you have a good alarm clock or good wake up call.

Sorry I wrote a book, I hope this helps or is new information to you. Good luck, I'm sure this must be very frustrating!

Reggs said...

I hope you are sleeping better! I work at a sleep lab and see lots of people struggling with insomnia.
I have to stick to my routine or else I have a crappy time sleeping. My last ditch effort is putting on a DVD with the directors commentary on. BOooooRING! puts me right to sleep.
Good luck!