[MD Expat in PA]

I have some simple rules. If I cannot get to sleep, I simply lay in the bed and fake it. Sure it’s boring and seems to last forever, but if the room is dark I will get at least a few hours of sleep and the other hours in the dark room seems to have essentially the same effect as sleep.

Ambien seems to be one of the most dangerous drugs in existence, it AMAZES me that ANYONE would take it, for ANY reason.

I used to feel exactly that same way as you do until I went through menopause a few years ago. I used to be the sort of person who could drink a whole pot of black coffee at 10PM and go to bed at 11PM and go right to sleep and soundly sleep through the night feeling fresh and awake when I got up at 5AM for work.

Now every night like clockwork, I wake up somewhere between 1 and 3 AM, sometimes even earlier. I cut out caffeine to no avail. I tried exercising more, to no avail. Exercising only in the morning to no avail. Light exercise in the evening to no avail. Not eating or drinking anything after 6PM to no avail. Eating a light meal before going to bed to no avail. Drinking warm milk before going to bed to no avail. Reading before going to bed to no avail. Not reading before going to bed to no avail. Not watching TV for at least an hour or two before going to bed to no avail. Sleeping with a fan on, an ambient noise machine to no avail. Getting a new mattress and pillows and bed sheets to no avail. I even tried taking hormone therapy and taking “natural sleep remedies” to no avail. Going to bed earlier, later, getting up earlier, later, you name it, I’ve tried it and nothing has worked. I sometimes think I would give almost anything to get a good night’s uninterrupted sleep. This is not an occasional thing, BTW, an occasional sleepless night that I can catch up on the next night. This is night after night, week after week month after month of not getting a full and restful night’s sleep and feeling tired and zombie like all the time, not to mention the really strange and sometimes very disturbing dreams.

The next step for me is getting a sleep study done to determine if I have sleep apnea and if I do, consigning myself to having to wear a C-Pap machine for the rest of my life and or taking a med to help me sleep. Chronic insomnia does not always have a simple solution for everyone.

[BobL]

“Now every night like clockwork, I wake up somewhere between 1 and 3 AM...”

Wow, that’s a long list. I can’t really comment on that, other than saying you might want to look at some of the times that I’m on this site posting. I have plenty of nights with 4 to 5 hours of sleep. Usually I don’t even notice during the day (unless I start on something monotonous) - but then maybe that’s me.