Ambien?

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Originally Posted by Blueberry

Benadryl?

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I doubt that will be of any help since she's already tried Tylenol PM. The PM part of that is benadryl (25 mg of diphenhydramine).

I hope you find relief soon. Perhaps it is worth talking to someone that specializes in sleep as your issue seems to be very specific. There are lots of reasons for sleep disorders, and for me that means lots of ways to handle it. I feel your pain because although I've never been a 'good' sleeper, I went through a period where I woke up every dang morning at about 2AM. Mine was depression and the minute the antidepressants kicked in, I slept through the night. There may have been other meds that would have helped me sleep, but this adressed the real issue. Hence why I think it wouldn't hurt to find someone that maybe will take an interest in trying to help you with the cause.

I have no real answers, just lots of sympathy. I hope you feel better soon and get a full night's sleep soon too!

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Originally Posted by jessmarimba

I still am not sleeping through the night because of my back (9 weeks! ...

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Originally Posted by solobiker

... I was sent on a sleep study at the end of last year and the results were... "YOu don't sleep at all"..gosh, tell me something I didn't already know. The rest of the results were that I never entered REM sleep and I woke up over 19 times per hour. ...

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Long story short... I was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea. The insomnia may or may not be a result of that. My body may have been conditioned to keep me aroused to enable my breathing. On the other hand, because of health issues, my sleep position has been altered which may have contributed to the apnea symptoms. My new MD steered me into a Sleep Study. My constant fatigue and mental complaints were what prompted him to consider Apnea.

I use a CPAP/APAP machine now. This is not to say my insomnia is completely cured. I still work to recondition my body for sleep. For example, I consciously re-focus my thoughts to deep breathing into my abdomen or relaxing body parts. It is like a bad habit and you have to concentrate on breaking those contributing traits. I will say that I feel much more mentally refreshed and my body feels much better since using the breathing machine. I can feel the difference when I don't use it. It is the lack of oxygen that effects me in so many ways. I have hypopnia more so than apnea.

If you are able to have a Sleep Study I would definitely do one. It is direct method of examining your sleep patterns. It is something concrete that you can cross off your list in trying to find out the cause of your problem.

Thanks a bunch guys! I actually did a little research last night and I guess Ambien is supposed to help you fall asleep, but doesn't really help you stay asleep. It'd probably have the same effect as the Tylenol PM, where I pass out fine but wake up feeling really drugged about 10 times a night anyway.

Pretty sure I can't stay asleep because I'm not allowed (and really physically just can't) sleep how I'm comfortable. Hopefully the doctor will be able to help today. Or maybe after a few weeks of PT (soon!) I'll have the core strength to roll over in my sleep again :)

Yeah, you definitely have a distinctly different reason for your sleeping problems than what most of us here have likely experienced. So odds are what has worked for us, may not be what would work for you. I'm assuming you've tried muscle relaxants, given that your problem is ultimately your back? That was the first thing I thought of when you describe what is happening. Wondering if the muscle relaxant would put you into a deeper sleep and by nature of the relaxing of the muscles, cause you to move less while asleep. Just sort of thinking out loud.

When I injured my knee, sleeping was hard because I had this fear of what would happen when I slept and moved while asleep. I found that sleeping on my couch, where I was less able to toss and turn, actually helped me. Though I suppose sleeping on a couch had its own sleep problems too. :) I never actually had the problem that when my body was trying to toss and turn, it woke me up because my body couldn't do it. So not really much of a comparison. But that's the closest I've got. :)

Hi Jess

I can't come up with any solution but hopefully your doctor has.

Now, you are doing well despite the sleep problem, I do believe you are now through the worst 2 months?

The comment about light at the end of the tunnel, well, there's loads of it. ;)

I also agree that sitting is quite literally a pain. I'm missing the hospital bed where I could prop myself to 60 degrees without wearing the brace.

The hardest thing i've had to do, I think, is change clothes. I need a shirt UNDER the brace, which involves a bunch of logrolling back and forth to pull down correctly.

See, you've come on heaps, am sure you will get into a regular sleep pattern soon.

Clock

Medical marijuana is legal in Colorado. Will your doctor give you a script? That should help with both the pain and the insomnia.

Ya know Oak...I was mulling that over this morning. I don't know.

Actually my doctor was next to useless. I told him that I haven't slept through the night since the surgery, since I can't roll over and sleep on my stomach. He repeats back, "so the tenderness at the hardware has made it difficult to sleep lately? If you can't sleep by the next appointment (in 4 weeks) we can inject a muscle relaxant into the muscles that go over the screws."

Ummm no, that's not what I told you at all. (P.S. nice weak dead-fish handshake, my friend). I almost cried after I left. I figure I'll try the triage nurse again in a few days, they seem like they'll call in anything.

But Clock, you're absolutely right. Woohoo, I can still walk! And a week til I can start PT and not wear this stupid brace ever again!!

(Possegal, you may be closer than you think. I'm not sure if it's a physical problem of rolling in my sleep, or if part of it IS knowing that I shouldn't sleep on my side without the pillows or on my stomach at all, and I wake up in fear)

As somebody else mentioned, a different sleeping place might help. When I had my neck fused, I slept in a recliner so that I did not have to worry about tossing & turning. Took a percoset first & usually managed 4 hours of continuous sleep. It wasn't my preferred way of sleeping but it beat hanging upside down like a bat.

I'd be cautious about Ambien, given that it has made people do weird stuff. You may wake up doing the rumba. An elderly gentleman friend of mine (80 years old) wandered outside in his underwear in the middle of the night. He woke up when the cops got there. A tad embarrassing.

Sounds like your doc is a jerk. Fatigue can exacerbate pain. I agree with the Possegal - maybe a muscle relaxant would help?

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Originally Posted by Zen

I took Ambien, slept quite well and without incident.

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Ditto. The key is to take it right as you are getting into bed. Don't take it and then piddle around the house or (heaven forbid) go anywhere, drive, etc.... Also, for my body weight (105ish), I split each pill in half, which also saved a bunch of $ and had the same effect (zzzzzzzzzzz) :o I don't take it anymore, but it was a lifesaver in getting me through a couple of rough patches in the past when I just couldn't fall asleep due to my mind going over and over things, no matter if I did everything else right to prepare myself for a good night of sleep. Lunesta also worked well for me but was a lot more $$$$ than generic Ambien.

I have fast metabolism so pills don't last all that long on me, so I did still tend to wake up too early on Ambien. Considered asking for Ambien CR (continuous release) but was scared that might give me a hangover, so I never bothered. For your situation (staying asleep), the CR version may be just the ticket to helping you to wake less during the night.

Good luck! Waking up over and over and being uncomfortable is no fun.

melatonin works very well for me, though I've read some conflicting reports on its safety. I just take it when I need it or when I'm traveling.

Valerian does work well, but sometimes I find there's a bit of a "hangover" the next morning.

I must be weird, because GABA actually makes me agitated. My face would get all tingly, and I get a weird sensation/taste in my mouth. I once took it to sleep and as I drifted off suddenly bolted upright with my heart racing and feeling rather frightenend. I didn't put two and two together until I took GABA again a few nights later with the same result. I guess we're all wired differently!

5-HTP's supposed to be good for insomnia, too.

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Originally Posted by emily_in_nc

Ditto. The key is to take it right as you are getting into bed. Don't take it and then piddle around the house or (heaven forbid) go anywhere, drive, etc.... .

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ABSOLUTELY!

Do not take Ambien and then stay up waiting to go to bed until you feel sleepy!
Just go to bed.

My doc told me to take it IN bed, and not to get out of bed until morning.

Which I did.

But I couldn't tolerate Ambien.

Have you tried anything like using a full body pillow? I can't imagine the position you're forced to be in right now. Would more propping help?

I love the full body pillow - it has actually helped immensely.

New plan is to wait until my first PT session. If they say it's ok to relax a little with the sleeping positions then I might be ok. Like most of you guys, I'm not all that fond of the idea of taking ambien. I don't know if the CR would work, but if I'm going to keep waking up I'd rather not be drugged.

I am considering the melatonin though.

The cats have taken to sleeping on my chest too, which makes me less likely to try to roll over in my sleep :)

Thanks for all of the advice so far!

(((cats on the chest))))