Posted by hippiewitch on July 23, 2007 at 08:55:47:Hi everyone,
I'm Michelle and I just joined. I have been suffering from insomnia for at least a few months now. I am not sure why it started in the first place but I did have a change of schedule earlier in the year. I used to just work from home{I do again now} and I had a flexible schedule and was a night owl,so I stayed up all night and slept during the day. Starting in late March,I got a job outside of the home and my schedule changed to a more 'normal' schedule. But I had difficulty falling asleep back then because of the way I sometimes felt while trying to go to sleep such as for one thing,my heart would sometimes race. I no longer have that problem while trying to go to sleep though and my heart is healthy-I had an ekg done.
On the 22nd of June,I didn't sleep at all. That was the first night I didn't sleep. Then I bought some lavender vanilla oil from Bath and Body Works the next day and it helped me sleep well that nite. The insomnia got worse a few weeks ago than it had ever been. I went 4 days with hardly any sleep and it started with a problem I was having with my left ear. It would make this pounding noise when I lay down or lay in my usual sleeping position. I got my ears cleaned out and no longer have ear problems though,thankfully. I can lay in my usual position now. I sleep on the couch all the time now. I find I just usually sleep better there than in our bed. I do have the tv on a lot when I'm asleep or falling asleep. I'll turn the volume down but leave it on when I am ready to go to sleep or try to sleep. I was prescribed Xanax for possible anxiety because my Husband wondered if anxiety could be the culprit in my insomnia. It helped me sleep the first night and has possibly helped me sleep some since then. But I read here that it is a dangerous sleep aid and I'd like to know why that is? Is it dangerous to use it late at night if you're having difficulty sleeping? I did last nite and it may have helped me some. I am only on 0.25 mg of it and have only been taking it for a week as of today so would it be recommended for me to wean off it at this early stage or just stop taking it? I know this may be something I'd have to discuss with my doctor though. I have ocd too and starting Thursday afternoon all of a sudden,it started getting worse and I have very mild ocd. I wondered if it could be the Xanax causing this and/or the insomnia. I would also hope that the xanax isn't making the insomnia worse. I read that it caused insomnia in some people. I had a rough sleep night the past few nights with not much sleep. I kept waking up Saturday night and Friday night I woke up at about 3:30 after having fallen asleep at maybe midnight,and it took me til after 6 I think to go back to sleep. There was a time just starting last month when the lavender and vanilla oil would be enough to help me. Last night when I woke up{I may have slept for at least a hour-I'm not always sure} I didn't feel tired. I felt a bit hungry but didn't want to eat;I just wanted and needed to sleep. I got up at 8 to do some work for my job to get it out of the way. I have some samples of rozerem and I wonder if I could take that tomorrow night if I don't take the xanax. I wondered if it would be safe since I've been taking the xanax. I have read that if you have a mental illness to discuss taking rozerem with your doctor and I do have ocd. My doctor gave me the samples though and I mentioned once to her that I have ocd. She may have forgotten though and I don't think she wrote it down.
Michelle