Posted by heathyrh on July 05, 2008 at 23:41:36:

i just joined! i just wanted to introduce myself and explain some background on my sleep issues. here is a history of the problem that i typed up to give to my doctor:

THINGS I HAVE TRIED
- "sleep hygiene":
- not drinking caffeine after 4pm
- making sure my room is dark and comfortable
- not watching tv in bed or reading in bed, etc
- not exercising at least 2 hours before bed
- avoiding naps during the day or after 4pm
- consistent bed/waking times

- herbal:
- chamomile, passionflower
- melatonin
- valerian

- mental:
- relaxation training (progressive muscle relaxation, breathing exercises, etc)
- meditation
- yoga

- homeopathic:
- calms forte
- quietude

- OTC products:
- Tylenol PM
- Unisom
- generic versions

- prescriptions:
- trazodone (effective, but caused eyes to turn red and itch/swell)
- sonata (not effective; lasted only about 2 hours)
- ambien (effective, but caused hallucinations and developed tolerance over a few months)
- lunesta 3mg (effective for about 4 months; developed tolerance; switched to amitryptaline for 1 month, resumed lunesta; effective again for 8-9 months, losing effectiveness again)
- seroquel 25-75mg (worked, but caused significant weight gain and tolerance)
- rozerem 16mg (ineffective alone; effective in combination w/ lunesta)
- amitryptaline (ineffective)

- Insomnia has been going on for 14 years now
- Has become progressive over the years
- Periods of insomnia (lasting from 3 days to 4-5 weeks) followed by periods of extreme daytime fatigue and sleepiness
- takes an average of 3-5 hours to fall asleep
- require approx. 9-12 hours of sleep in order to be able to fully function during the day
- Sleep study in June 2006:
- unable to fall asleep for most of the night
- indicated "alpha wave interrupted sleep pattern" and “delayed sleep phase syndrome”
- mother had similar results in her sleep study
- Currently: 3mg lunesta and 16mg rozerem – effective only in combination, and even then about 75% of the time; occasionally need to take OTC Tylenol PM to be able to sleep even with these other medications

i am soo frustrated!

Follow Ups:

• Re: Long-term severe chronic insomnia prep41 15:24 7/23/08 (0)
• Re: Long-term severe chronic insomnia notsleepingagain 11:37 7/08/08 (1)
  • Re: Long-term severe chronic insomnia F43 16:25 7/08/08 (0)
• Re: Long-term severe chronic insomnia F43 12:17 7/07/08 (0)
• Re: Long-term severe chronic insomnia pedro59 15:44 7/06/08 (0)
• Re: Long-term severe chronic insomnia kevilars 01:03 7/06/08 (0)

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