Voicelessness and Emotional Survival Message Board
Voicelessness and Emotional Survival => Voicelessness and Emotional Survival Message Board => Topic started by: JanetLG on September 01, 2007, 04:06:59 PM
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I have had insomnia for several years, and it's getting worse. I thought at first that it was probably a sympton of peri-menopause, so I just put up with it. But it happens a lot now, and I'm starting to think there's more to it than just my hormones! Can anyone else relate to this? I could really do with some suggestions for stopping it.
The kind of insomnia that I get is that I go to bed around 11pm (I don't drink anything after about 8pm so I won't have to go to the bathroom in the night). I usually get off to sleep at first, then between 3 and 4am, I wake up. My brain just goes over and over things - not exactly 'worrying', but just re-living, and predicting. Such as 'so-and-so rang yesterday and said blah, I've got to do this thing tomorrow, that book was good, I wonder if the rose by the front door will be out tomorow'. Stupid things, but it all just keeps me awake. I get restless legs, and a stiff neck. After about an hour, I tend to have a kind of 'advert break', where I suddenly visualise chocolate, or crisps, or biscuits - and once I've thought of something yummy, I have to get up and have it (BAD habit :roll: )
So, I get up, go downstairs, raid the cupboards, make some tea. Then I either read, or surf online until about 6.30am, when I'm so tired I can't keep my eyes open. Then I go back to bed, and fall asleep straight away. I wake up about 9am, feeling like death, very cold, and headachy.
I feel awful all day, but usually sleep OK for the next couple of nights, then it all happens again.
I am not going to use drugs to sort this out, as I believe that would just mask the problem, but any other suggestions are very, very welcome!
A very tired Janet
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Dear Janet,
I studied Acupuncture. The "time" of problems is important. When you wake up at 3 A.M.-- there is the time that the liver is active.The emotion that goes with the liver is anger( and depression).
If you go to an acupuncturist, they can tell by the location of the headache( left side, right side etc) what the headache is related to.( which organ). In Chinese medicine, each organ controls certain emotions. When the organ is balanced, the emotion can be healed(or vice-versa).
From my own experience with stomach problems, my root problem was not "feeling deserving" of living and thriving. It had spiritual and emotional roots.. Yours sounds to me like it also is an emotional block of some sort.
I wish that I had more to offer, Friend Love Ami
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Awwww Janet
I empathize with you.
I find nothing worse than that description of what your menu is for thinking round and round and over and over and not getting to sleep.
I've been there, but having all that FIRST until I would be so ragtag tired I could scream. I now read myself into sleepy and even again if I happen to awaken again--(not often that happens) I borrow the most interesting books for me and am anxious to get to bed to continue. I read only in bed.
No medication.
Now that might not work for you but it does for me and I've just let you know I empathize.
Do you have restless leg syndrome?
Maybe you ought to drink before bed cause you get up anyway!!! May I put a :lol: :lol: :lol: here? even though it isn't funny?
Maybe you are dehydrated by your wake up time?
Before I began my reading, the upstairs woman sounded like a huge rat and I went on my thinking spree, and the one next door seemed to be showering every ½ hour and I'd get annoyed, then angry and that gave me more on which to cogitate, whether to shoot them, scream or call the superintendants.
I think sleeping pills wouldn't work for you, as you'd likely get your short term sleep still, then wake up---at least happened to me in hospital when I was told to take a sleeping pill.
Sorry I cannot be of more help, or of any help, but Good Luck on fuirther responses to your problem, that might be of assistance to you.
Love
Izzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzy (Get it?)
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Ami,
That makes sense - about the timing being related to the liver, therfore anger/depression problems. I reckon it's to do with anger, somehow.
Izzy,
I do get restless legs, and that's when I sometimes wake my husband up (he has ABSOLUTELY no problem getting back to sleep afterwards...bastard!!), and he does shiatsu massage on my legs. Sometimes that works really well. But I don't like to wake him up...doesn't seem fair.
I shouldn't be dehydrated, I don't think, because I drink 6 glasses of water a day anyway, just not after mid-evening.
I wouldn't touch sleeping pills with a bargepole, so even though you're not suggesting I try them, I wouldn't anyway.
The only thing I've tried taking that DID work was homeopathic coffea, 30c. But I don't want to be taking ANYTHING, long-term.
Janet
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((((((((((Janet))))))))) I dunno, never dealt with sleeplessness long-term, but just stopping by with hugs and to say I hope you're back to getting restful snoozes soon.
Love,
Hope
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Dear Janet,
Hugs to you; I suffer from insomniatoo on and off too, but its usually caused by sensitivity to what I eat or drink at night. I seem to have pinpointed the major causes now, but it took ages to work out what to avoid.
Janet, from reading your description of your early hours of the morning `sugar cravings' it is sounding as though what is waking you is a massive dive in your sugar levels at night. If there is nothing obviously `sugary' in your diet that would be boosting your sugar levels before bed time (alcohol, sugary sauces in your food), I agree that this would be related to hormones, as estrogen and sugar production are so closely related.
It could help to get a blood test to check all your hormone levels? Maybe the balance is out, and you need progesterone cream?
X Bella
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Bella,
I do tend to hit the sugary stuff when I'm bored, so I'll have a look at what I eat during the day that could be setting me off later on. I already use Natural Progesterone Cream :D Great stuff. Just ask my husband (no, don't actually :oops: )
besee,
Sounds like you've tried just about everything, too! Glad yours has sorted itself out now. I'm off to have a look at that website - looks really interesting.
Janet
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It is strange, but I was just thinking about someone who has an abusive H. The saying,"Sleep with one eye open" hit me.
I know that the "stomach " sayings have helped me to see how my stomach got sick . Internal strength is called" intestinal fortitude." I felt it in my gut". It is eating me up.There are so many of them.
Maybe, you are" sleeping with one eye open "after all the trauma of your past. Just a thought . Love Ami
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Hi JanetG,
Have you considered earplugs? I wear them every night.
Have a friend who has RLS, she knows I wear earplugs to sleep, she tried wearing them and says it has made a huge difference in her sleep. Don't know how the earl and legs get together on that one but...I suspect, that changing the noise level is just enough to gently push her sleep mode.
tt
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Teartracks,
Earplugs...now, that's an interesting one.
Where we used to live, in a town, it was busy all day and all night. We used to get gangs of 'youths', to use the newspaper term, wandering past our house every night, causing trouble. I didn't get insomnia then.
Now, we live 300 miles away, in the country, and it's so quiet at night, that even though our house is on a main road, it can be two hours or so between cars going past, at night. When we first moved here, it was THE QUIET that kept me awake, because it was so unusual for me! The house has walls two feet thick (granite blocks), so it's a solid, quiet place. No sound at all at night.
Perhaps I need brainplugs? :?
Ami,
I'm sure it's got something to do with wariness (unwarranted now, but anyway...). I just need to work out what that's all about.
Janet
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Ah axa,
Sounds like you live in a castle. 8)
Maybe you need to pipe in some 'white noice' from the city?
I pipe in white noise, but it's not city noise, just soft breeze like steady sound.
I am a total insomniac and understand the frustration of it. I medicate, but not with traditional sleeping pills.
The medication is for anxiety. I take it only at night, because that is when the 'willies' creep over me from a
past tragedy and its lingering trauma.
tt
PS I also sleep with a small heating pad. I push it away or pull it to me depending on my need for temperature change. Can't explain why it makes sleep better. It gives me much comfort.
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CB,
15 years!!
I hope I can sort mine out before THAT long!
I wouldn't touch Benadryl - too many horrible side effects go with that (anaphylactic shock, hives, vertigo, tinnitus, even anorexia!), and it's addictive, too. Bleuch!!
Regular times of going to bed has helped a bit in the past, but that's not always possible. I haven't tried turning up the other way in the bed. That should surprise my husband!
I'll try the cereal rather than chocolate to snack on, although I wish I didn't eat ANYTHING at that time of night - it's bound to just stagnate, because there's no time to work it off at that time of the morning.
Resting IS better than worrying about it, but the body does so much repairing of itself during proper sleep, it's that bit that I want to get sorted, really.
Thanks for the ideas.
Janet
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Hi Janet
Try a little natural jolt of tryptophan... a warm mug of hot vanilla before you go to bed. Nuke a cup of milk in the microwave, stir in a bit of vanilla extract and some honey, and see if this gets you through the night. Skim milk is fine, the tryptophan goes with the protein and is not lost with the fat.
Turkey, the American's Famous Thanksgiving Feast, is rich in tryptophan, which is why we all nod off over the football game after gorging ourselves on it. If you don't feel too silly trying it, you can make surprisingly nice turkey sandwiches using turkey baby food and whatever other spices you like [mayo, black pepper]. Think of it as meat paste, which is what it is, after all. Try half a jar or more, half an hour before bedtime, and if you chase it down with hot vanilla, you should sleep like a top.
[I tube fed a kitty for a number of weeks. She was failing to thrive on the commercial 'tube food', which was terribly protein deficient. So I started adding regular feedings of slurried baby food with vitamin supplements - ham, turkey, chicken, veal, lamb. When turkey was on the menu, she'd purr and purr, and fall asleep before I'd finished. This stuff really works. Story had happy ending, kitty got well.]
We also make less melatonin as we age. This is one reason the elderly sleep so poorly at night [and then drowse during the day]... tryptophan is the biochemical precursor to both serotonin, the brain's natural antidepressant, and melatonin, our natural sleeping aid.
Other possibilities include chamomile tea - it must be strong, but if it's strong enough it will knock you right out. And green tea taken during the day as well as at night; it's a good source of theanine, a natural relaxant.
If you are sensitive to caffeine, avoid cocoa and black tea as well, because they contain theobromine, a chemical closely related to caffeine and also a stimulant.
Also, watch your evening vegetables! Believe it or not if you eat raw cabbage or bok choy, the glutamine they contain may keep you awake. [So obviously also stay away from Chinese take-out if they put MSG in it. Same effect.] And stay away from Marmite before bedtime, that stuff is LOADED with glutamate.
Oh yeah... also avoid white wine after dinnertime. Red may help you sleep, white is stimulating.
Hope this helps.
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Storm,
That's a very technical post!! Thank you.
I'll try the milky suggestion, definitely, and the chamomile tea. I already avoid caffeine, and MSG like the plague.
The other suggestions might be helpful to others, but not so much for me, I'm afraid...I'm vegetarian, don't eat takeaways, and don't drink alcohol. Oh, and I haven't got a microwave. (Or a dishwasher. Or a tumble dryer. Or a TV. Or a mobile phone. )
Yep, I'm a Martian :shock:
Janet
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Hi Janet-
I have these magic blankets that put all people, cats, dogs, etc (even Martians) to sleep- they are smooth and softly furry but in a comforting, snuggly way, not too heavy in weight or scratchy in any way. Go out and shop, and find a cuddle blanket right away!Take a lovely bath , slather yourself with lavender lotion (especially the feet) put on some snuggly socks and a pretty, comfortable gown, get under a snuggly blanket and you will drowse away before you can say...Good Night!
Oh yes- make sure that you have a great pillow as well, with a high thread count (true thread count, not the twisted fibers that are labeled as a high thread count) quality cotton pillowcase!
Have a cozy night in Dreamland,
Changing
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I thought I'd give an update on my insomnia......
ONLY I HAVEN'T GOT IT ANYMORE!!!
YEAH!!!!
I went to my homeopath and got a HUGE dose of Aconite (1M), and Staph (10M). She reckoned I have been trying to stay 'on duty' as it were, keping watch, in case any ghosties from the past (NMum and Nsister) come back into my life (figuratively speaking). She said that waking between 3am and 4am usually means reliving trauma from the past. Also, there were issues I hadn't dealt with about my feelings over being rushed into hospital two years ago with a burst appendix, and that made me worry, too.
So, I took the homeopathic pills, and have been trying to keep regular bedtimes, and not working right up till the time I go to bed, and reading novels, not non-fiction (I hardly ever read fiction, these days) before bed. No drinks after 7pm-ish, or I have to get up in the night.
And...blissful sleep till 7am-ish in the morning, every time. Unbelievable.
No more feeling cold and like death all day, managing on two hours' sleep for days in a row.
Anyone who rubbishes homeopathy, to them I'd say 'spherical things'!
Janet
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What a great story. What a happy ending. I wish that I could go to a homeopath.
I am so happy for you. Love Ami
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Ami,
I wonder if there are any UK homeopaths who are doing internet consultancy, so that you could get the advice from a UK one, and have the remedies posted to you? Are there restrictions on having homeopathic remedies imported into the US, or is the lack of homeopaths simply because they have been co-erced out of the mainstream allopathic medical system?
I know of some websites where you can kind of 'indicate' symptoms with survey-type questionnaires that suggest remedies, but it's never as good as a proper consultation. My homeopath always comes up with amazing linkages between symptoms and lifestyle/behaviour. No wonder they have to train for five years before they're qualified.
Janet
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Dear Janet,
Thank you so much for sharing that information, and I am so happy for you!!!. Yay, sleep!
Its great that you were able to discover some emotional reasons behind the insomnia too. What you said makes a lot of sense.
X Bella
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Hi Janet-
So happy to read that you are sleeping well now. With all of that REM sleep, you will be even more invincible!
Have a lovely night,
Changing
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Hi Janet & axa,
I was rereading my recent posts tonight trying to evaluate how user friendly they are for VESMB at large. I notice my post #11 this thread got the two of you mixed up. Apologies to both of you :oops: Just to clarify, I meant the post to be addressed to Janet!
tt
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Teartracks,
Thanks for the clarification. At the time you originally posted that one, I kind of tought 'huh? but never mind'.
It's definitely not a castle :shock:, but it's a 200 year old stone cottage, with walls two foot thick, in a quiet village. We've got a shop, a post office and two pubs, and that's about it. So, it is very quiet living here, even in the day. At night, the loudest noise is the owls!
Janet
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Hi Janet try 5-Htp, 100mg a before you go to bed, it might not work straight away but persist with it and after a couple of weeks you should start to notice the difference. I used this stuff for over a year with no side affects at all, pretty good supplement!
James
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Hello James !
I've been wondering how you've been- and here you are ! Good to see you and Yoda again.
cats paw
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James,
What is 5-Htp?? I've never heard of that.
Thanks.
Janet
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Hi Janet,
If you haven't looked it up yet, 5-Htp stands for 5-Hydroxytryptophan. From what I remember, James often flies in then flies out.
There's interesting stuff on the net, but perhaps our resident advisor Stormchild would be able to provide the best links for further
research, if James doesn't fly back in soon.
Just wanted to pop back in, say hello to you, and that your little village with the hooting owls sounds lovely.
cats paw
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Hi Janet,
Thanks for understanding. Where you live sounds like heaven. 8)
tt
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I have had trouble with insomnia off and on. I have another remedy to add - magnesium. There are two really good ways to get it - EPSON salts!!! and a drink form called CALM. The epsom salts works in a warm bath. If the warm water covers your kidneys you gat another benefit. Something is released by the kidneys that aids in sleep as well. (I can't remember what it is.)
I'm going to look for a couple of links about how magnesium works but I am here to tell you it really works and it helps in many ways - it helps with anxiety and with depression. Magnesium deficiencies is one of the unknown problems today and adding it can really make a big difference.
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Gaining Strength,
Thanks for that. I didn't know magnesium was good for insomnia! I already take a magnesium supplement. It's necessary for lots of processes in the body, not just sleep, etc. A deficiency of magnesium makes period pains agony. Joint pains are also worse if there's a magnesium deficiency. It has to be taken with zinc, and phosphorus, and B vitamins I think. I take it in a multi vitamin/mineral form.
I must get round to starting that EFT thread...every time I see your name, it prompts me to get on with it, and then I don't...perhaps I should tap on that?
Janet
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Hey guys hope you're all well!! Sorry I do tend to be a bit of a popper a the moment here one minute gone the next :D
Janet do a bit of googling on it should bring up loads of stuff, I know it was even used to help temporarily cure Parkinson sufferers muscle spasms in very large doses over a couple of weeks, it never did me any harm and a lot of people take it as a daily supplement to get a better nights sleep. You can take 50mg or 100mg any more might not be a good idea, I used to take it during the day sometimes, not good if you want to stay awake though! Its also a very good anxiety buster, probably best to use it 3 months on then a month off to give the body a rest although I did use it for a year and I had no worries.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5-HTP
On here it says its also used for depression, didn't know that, also it says one of its side effects is anxiety which was the opposite for me but hey everyones different so perhaps it can. Its definitely worth a shot though :D
James
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Here's one site with some info. I also Googled Insomnia +magnesium +epsom and got lots of concurrance.
http://www.sleepremedy.com/herbal-remedies/sleepremedy/insomnia-remedies
Magnesium is a mineral that affects every organ in the body. Among its most important functions, is the activation of enzymes that contribute to the production of energy. Magnesium’s main role. however, is as a constituent of bone. It assists in the transmission of nerve impulses and is also important for muscle contraction. It is also an important regulator of other nutrients in the body. It is an essential co-factor for about 90 enzymes which will function properly only when magnesium is present. Most people in the Western world do not get enough of this important mineral in their every day diet. Excess amounts of coffee, salt, alcohol and sugar can also deplete one’s levels of magnesium. Insomnia is a sign of magnesium deficiency.
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I'm glad to find some new ideas about this form of insomnia, which I have been dealing with for years. It started about 15 years ago, when I would wake up automatically after about 4 hours of poor sleep and not be able to fall back to sleep until maybe an hour before I had to get up. FWIW my physician concluded it was a symptom of depression and prescribed Prozac plus a sedative, which seemed to work for the short term but was a failure long term.
Some of things I have done which seem to have helped quite a bit:
Avoidance of alcohol, caffeine, sugar.
Vitamin/ mineral supplements
Daily exercise and stretching
Exploration of psychological issues related to my FOO. Realization of these problems seems to have calmed me down quite a bit. Maybe I'm not so stressed by the search for my "real family" the way I was during my early adulthood.
It now seems to be a more seasonal short term thing. The change of seasons seems to throw me "out of whack" for awhile. I often have a bout of insomnia going into late Fall. Maybe it's intensified by realizing the holidays are coming and I probably have to endure the FOO again :lol:
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tjr100,
Thanks for your list - I have found that most of those work for me too (only I am very averse to drugs for ANYTHING, and wouldn't ever touch something like Prozac).
I have just bought a SAD lightbox to help with regulating my circadian rhythms, as I tend to get that 'depressing' kind of feeling in the Autumn, and this seems to be working to relieve it. I can set it up next to my computer, and carry on working just the same, with this bright light shining on me for 45 minutes per day. Very easy to 'fit in' to my routine, and has very good reviews, so I think it's going to help.
Janet