Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Fighting Insomnia with Insomnia

I have been battling a pretty severe case of insomnia the past few weeks, most days getting no more than 2-3 hours sleep in one stretch. With enough naps, I eventually swing back to healthy, but my schedule is totally messed up.
This is becoming critical, as, unlike most weeks, I actually need to be conscious and aware at a specific time on Thursday afternoon (my mammogram is scheduled.)
So today, I am fed up enough to fight fire with fire, demolish lack of sleep with MORE lack of sleep.
It's 6:30 a.m., I tried to go to sleep 'round midnight, but have been up all night instead. I plan to stay awake all day long until a reasonable bedtime (say 10 p.m.).
I really hope when I finally hit the sack I can sleep the night through.
Sunday night, I gratefully fell asleep at 11 p.m., only to wake at 1 a.m. and not be able to sleep again until almost 10 a.m.
That sucks, and I'm not going to stand for it any more.
If I had productive hours, it wouldn't be so bad, but I am definitely diurnal, not nocturnal, and can not think clearly in the middle of the night.
So, I will ply myself with protein, iced tea and reruns all day, then eat some carbs toward evening, washed down with some herbal tea. Wish me luck!

4 comments:

Ria said...

Good Luck! Curt suffers from insomnia, a couple times a year, and it lasts a good 3-5 weeks sometimes! I can't even imagine! I hope your plan works! I would be so cranky!

LynnM said...

Hope you can get some relief. I've never suffered from true insomnia but summers up north mean the light makes it hard to fall asleep and easy to wake up early (I mean midnight to 4 am). I prefer the dark winters people find depressing when I can happily get ready for bed at 8:30 after hours of dark! I miss the dark--ANY dark!

Don't forget to add to your list creating deep darkness and cooling your body. After an evening bath, try sitting in front of a fan for a shock cool. Some people need to be chilled to fall asleep.

Like Ria says, good luck. Being tired's gotta be harsh.

Kym said...

Oh, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I've never had REAL insomnia (just an occasional sleepless night), so I can't quite relate to the horror -- but I can imagine it. Wishing you peaceful slumber. . .

Susieknitster said...

I have had insomnia for a long time and still have nights like yours. My doctor put me on 75 Miligrams of Seroquel, it is an anti psychotic but in lower doses it really helps insomnia. My problem was getting to sleep and staying asleep. My mind wouldn't shut down. This really works you should ask your Dr. about it.