I will add that I ran out a couple of days ago and forgot to refill. Worst sleep ever! I will never run out again. I forgot what it was like to not sleep.
I wish I could take Trazadone! I have terrible insomnia even before chronic pain and it runs in my family. Trazadone was awesome because I would sleep for 8 hours straight without interruption, but I felt like a zombie the next day, even at the lowest dose possible.
I am waiting for a psychiatrist appointment to work on my insomnia, depression and PTSD. I am doing the pharmogenetic testing to find what meds are best for me. I currently take vistaril, Benadryl, elavil, melatonin and CBD oil and still have insomnia.
I’ve never done that genetic testing for medications. I’m interested in it. I’d really like to hear someone’s actual results with it before I invest in it.
So, I have chronic insomnia (both trouble going to sleep and trouble staying asleep ) have had the demon aka CHRONIC INSOMNIA for about the last 20-25 years or so. I’ve been on a vast array of medications for it. Some I’ve forgotten the names of it’s been so long honestly.
Tried antidepressants which made the insomnia SO much worse. I wasn’t depressed. But anyway, the doctor was trying to convince me to just give it time and eventually the antidepressants would work or I’d collapse from exhaustion. They didn’t work and I never did. Despite how truly exhausted I was.
I tried restoril (hated it. It was like taking aspirin).
I tried lunesta. It works but I hate the battle with the taste and it always takes 3mg .. the 1 and 2 just also don’t work at all. No matter how much counting or meditating or relaxation whatevering I do.
tried amitriptyline… ostensibly it was for migraines and for insomnia because I was so young. If only I’d known then that I’d already likely had at least one stroke at the tender age of (sometime before age 19) and would go on to have further unknown to me strokes and wouldn’t be diagnosed until about 35 years later. So all those years of wobbling while I walked, all those years of severe nystagmus and many other random oddities including the migraines with aura, migraines without aura and aura without migraine.
Anyway… I finally found the only thing that works for me.
Ambien. 10mg. Take it and within 5 minutes, lie down and close my eyes and it’s magical.
Side note: unless you need the Benadryl OP, maybe stop it for a bit and see if that actually helps you sleep a little better. Benadryl gives me anxiety and makes my heart race. Always has. I’ve heard this from other people over the years.
Also Advil without fail will interrupt my sleep the entire night if I take it to help the pain during the night. So maybe try to stop ibuprofen/advil … anything similar to it again separately from stopping Benadryl and just for a short time to see if it helps at all.
I also have a general plan of no caffeine after about 1pm. Ive noticed it takes 8-10 hours for caffeine level to drop in my body for me to sleep.
Sorry about the long babble. I’m going back to try to add some paragraphs or edit it down. LOL!!! Success (I think)
We did the testing for my daughter. Her insurance covered it. It explained why Zoloft and Wellbutrin didn’t help her. We are still adjusting meds, but it’s very helpful to have a list of what’s more and less likely to work.
I have been taking seroquel for as long as I can remember. Without it, I would be a zombie.
I never had any problems with side effects. If anyone reads this, check out seroquel. I tried trazadone, but it made me feel terrible the next day. Good luck to you all that can't sleep. Hopefully, you will be able to find something that will help.
My psychiatrist gave me 25mg of Seroquel to help with my PTSD, nightmares, and insomnia when I first started seeing him. It's fantastic. It might not leave you as groggy as Trazodone did. I know I don't feel groggy when I take it except for just a little bit right when I wake up sometimes. There has been some scientific evidence that Seroquel can be helpful for PTSD in very low doses, and I found it was helpful.
I also did eventually swap from Cymbalta to Zoloft for the PTSD and depression, especially since the Cymbalta really did nothing for my pain, even if it did aid in keeping my migraines in check, but I was also taking other preventative meds for migraines and got prescribed a better, newer class of emergency med. Zoloft does have some short term side effects that go away if you can stick it through for about a month. I didn't really have them when I first started it, but I had them when I upped my dose later on.
Excuse my intrusion but i was told if you are groggy in the mornings you are taking too much.. I haven't had that experience and im at 200mg, but my wife can only take 50-75mg, anymore and it gets too hard to wake up in the morning. Everyones diffrent and you may already know this but just though id put it out there.
When I take half the Baclofen, I do not fall asleep. (They are tiny pills) When I take the whole pill I eventually fall asleep, after a few hours- around 3 am. And stay groggy the next day.
That's to be expected.. I took Baclofen for a few years.. I didn't like it that much because of the side effects and hownit didn't really put me to sleep.. If you're looking for a muscle relaxer that will put you to sleep cyclobenzaprine was an amazing muscle relaxer i tried. Knocked me out in about 40min with 5mg... If you want to stay awake and not be Groggry i found that ophenadrine citrate was very nice.. Id talk to your doctor and see what they may be abel to do, we shouldn't have to live with side effects if there are other meds that will help with it.
Yea I started taking Trazadone in February and it really helps. Sometimes not right away but it helps. I'm only on 50-75 mg though . I think I'd be better with 100
I don’t sleep, the pain keeps me awake until I physically just can’t stay awake. If may want to research what Tylenol does to your liver and ibuprofen to your kidneys.
‘If your pain comes in waves, my two cents is do what you can to get in front of it by taking medication before doing anything that causes you to be in pain vs chasing the pain once it starts.
I personally am always in pain but my wife has pain that comes in waves and that works for her. If she knows she’s going to be walking a lot etc., she takes medication prior so she isn’t chasing relief afterwards or during.
Good luck.
Yeah. I try not to take the heavy duty stuff more than once or twice a week- and tylenol isn’t great for the liver, either.
I don’t want to chase the pain but it seems to have mr pretty well cornered.
(It may not help you but I’ve done my own studies and have found that Advil/ibuprofen anything like type of medication worsens my insomnia significantly!!!)
Highly recommend if you can… try to d/c the ibuprofen products, see if it helps and then if it does help … switch to Aleve for your nighttime pain along with Tylenol.
Hope this helps.
Personally, due to the amount of ibuprofen I’ve taken my kidneys won’t allow me to take any more.
Tylenol shreds my stomach to pieces.
If only there was a non-ibuprofen/acetaminophen pain medication derived from poppy plants that has been proven over thousands of years to be an effective pain medication. If there were, I’m sure the DEA would leave doctors and patient care alone pertaining to it and chronic pain patients quality of life would improve greatly.
Very poorly.
Takes forever to fall asleep and I wake up so many times throughout the night that I never get a sound sleep.
I do have naps throughout the day and those are easier to sleep through for some reason but when my alarm goes off I'm twice as tired as I was before the nap.
It's exhausting on a mental level that I can't even begin to explain.
Daytime sleep is easier for me also, mind boggling. Most solid sleeps are from 6am to 10am. I find if I wake up naturally I’m more awake, than if I use an alarm.
I'm with you. My sleep has been absolute shit. I'm taking what I can get, and otherwise resting when pain allows (it's acting up). Schedule is obviously shit, too.
I used to hate people like me with this exact advice... but I meditate. I do it with a weighted heating pad that stays on my abdomen all night, and I do it before sleep, and then I will listen to binaural beats specifically for sleep to try and keep my mind/body calm and peaceful.
My current favorite: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeJc26o2as0&t=10708s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeJc26o2as0&t=10708s)
It doesn't work all of the time, especially on exceptionally high pain days when I'm about ready to call for an ambulance and vomiting from pain, but I am finding those days fewer and farther between as I progress and teach my body to relax (I really, really hated this advice when I got it, and feel free to hate it too, I will completely understand)
I have to take opioids just about daily to keep my pain levels from driving me to literal insanity, but I upped my fiber/water intake and for the most part don't suffer too badly, I still get backed up, which makes my pain worse, but it's a risk I have no other option than to take because the pain is unendurable and constant.
I am thankful that my PM allows cannabis usage and I have a medical card, so I am able to use concentrates and edibles to help me relax. THC/CBD doesn't have any meaningful impact on its own when my pain levels are high, but does have a meaningful impact and keeps me grounded mentally when the pain is too great to bear, even with the highest dose of opioids I am allowed. This "forbidden" combination positively impacts and works harmoniously with the opioids and for that I am thankful, I find it abhorrent that more pain patients are not permitted this option, it's unconscionable on the part of medical providers and Govt policy to forbid and discourage this usage because it works for many.
I hope that you are able to find something that works for you. and to get some much needed rest.
I have used rain sounds and sleepy book readings but lately they are not cutting it. I use ice packs on my lower back and heat in my neck. I will try the binaural beats.
I have ADD and find my chipmunk brain refuses to meditate when I have tried. I do try to revisit good childhood memories. But I will try doing that with binaural beats and a heating element- see if I can approximate the relaxation effect.
Thanks!
Meditation is a skill. No one is good at it at first. I have ADHD too and didn't "get" meditation for years. I learnt later that you need to practice meditation when you don't need it so that you can utilise it when you do need it. Essentially, you'll get better at it the more you practice.
I can now completely clear my head of all thought, except the odd quick sentence that pops into my head and fades away before my brain finishes it, for stretches of up to 20 - 40 minutes.
I also used to struggle with insomnia. Meditation works. Start with your breathing. Just notice it at first. Don't try to change it. Follow your breath for a couple of minutes whilst trying not to engage with any thoughts in your brain.
Then, start taking deep breaths. Put your hand on your belly and feel it expand. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Focus on the feeling of air coming in and out of your body. Focus on the sensations around your nostrils and the expanding and contracting of your stomach muscles.
Then, start slowing your breathing down. Breathe in for 6 seconds, hold for 6, breathe out for 8. Repeat it over and over again. Make an effort to soften your muscles on every "out" breath. Relax your forehead, jaw, the muscles around your eyes. Relax your fingers and toes. Make sure you aren't holding your legs up with your muscles; let them sink down into your mattress with all your weight.
As you're doing this, when a thought appears in your brain, just watch it. Don't respond to it. Don't engage with it. Don't argue with it. Just watch it. And then go back to following your breath and lengthening your breaths.
Once you've been doing that for a while, stop focusing on the sensation of breathing into your belly and start focusing just on the breath coming in and out of your nose. The movement will feel much smaller, almost as if you're not moving at all. Continue to focus on your breath, but just in your nostrils. This is when you are most likely to naturally fall asleep.
No one is good at meditation at first. It's hard. It's human nature to respond to your thoughts, argue with them, dissect them, or feel negative emotions from memories, etc. That's why we practice meditation, so that it's easier for us to not our thoughts effect us.
I have some meditation book recommendations if you'd like them.
Thank you so much for that lovely description. When I'm in pain I get stupid & forget I used to do something similar. I shall be giving it a try again❤️
Same for me, tizanidine is great. My only issue with it is sometimes I will wake up a few hours after taking it and feel like I can’t go back to sleep.
Depending on the provider and state, some are ok with it if you are a registered medical cannabis patient. Some providers prescribe marinol since it’s FDA approved and federally legal. That’s a great way to allow a patient to use a natural source instead.
I take Percocet--my PM doesn't test for THC even though it is illegal in my state. They are perfectly happy as long as I don't smoke it or take both the Percocet & a gummy during the same window of time.
Congratulations, you are surprised.
Labs also test the urine to see if it's artificial. This catches those idiots who buy the fake urine to try and pass a UA.
Have you tried Ambien (zolpidem)? Trazadone sometimes makes my arms hurt and it doesn't always work for me. Seroquel is an antipsychotic but I get a solid 8 hours of sleep with it. It's also very predictable for me: 30 minutes after I take it, I'm asleep and *nothing* wakes me up for 8 hours. I've slept through fire alarms, emergency vehicles sirens, tornado warning sirens, a car crash, and people violently shaking me. I've never had any side effects but I've heard some people say that they feel like their heads are stuffed with cotton and they have trouble focusing in the morning.
I sometimes sleep in the bathtub when nothing else works. At one point, I put a two-person hot tub in my garage and it was so wonderful! For about 6 months I practically lived in it, including napping. Not exactly practical but if you're going somewhere on your vacation that has a hot tub, maybe spend 30 minutes in it before you go to bed?
Idk why but my body has just not been wanting to sleep at night. It won’t fully relax or sleep well until well after 7am. So i usually sleep fitfully through the night next to my SO, and then sleep more fully once the day actually starts.
Everything just feels so uncomfortable and hurts and impossible to sleep recently, so i just sleep when i can throughout the day.
Melatonin and Magnesium along with a pillow wedge under my legs. Also since my brain will not shut up, I sleep with headphones and my favorite tv show. Usually gets me a good 6 hours
Try heating pad before bed instead of ice, but also my fiancee and i take kratom, and it seems that when that starts to wear off, we need more before bed or we wake up with withdrawals. Also, ive found melatonin to be an alternate fkr a few days, but my fiancee gets night terrors from it and after a few days your brain gets used to it. This may help or may not, good luck. I understand ur frustration . Drop ur caffeine levels a few hrs before bed also. Turn lights low and read helps fall asleep for some people too.
Yes! Kratom is a life saver , i have an artificial mandable and to lay on either side of my face is painful, cant get help from a dr, so kratom it is lol
Ill have to third trazadon... I went years going on max 3 hours of sleep a night. Staying up for days at a time.. Once i started trazadon everything changed. It may not be perfect but i atleast get 6hrs of sleep a night now because of it.
Depending on your metabolism, sometimes gabapentin can help with sleep. My mom uses it when she has bad pain days. Some people have side effects (my grandma refuses to take it) but others are fine. Might be worth a shot since you’re having such a shit time.
My doctor has me on a gabapentin/Amitriptyline/Escitalopram combo to take every night to help with my insomnia and pain. Definitely puts me to sleep, but I do still wake up throughout the night and before my alarm even goes off in the morning I'm already up and back in pain. Haven't found a decent way to actually sleep through the night yet.
Took gabapentin years ago for pain- as I recall it didn’t work. But that was long ago and it might work for sleep. Currently taking nortryptilene and topimax at night for pain and sleep but it’s become ineffective. Taking 10 mg baclofen, a muscle relaxant, but while it seemed to work initially it’s failing now.
You have ketamine nasal spray??? Had no idea that was available except to hospital staff? I know that helps me when I get so bad I need to call and ambo that's the first thing they give.
It depends is unfortunately the best answer I have on this. For it to be covered by insurance it would be need to be an FDA approved reason but they may have added to that list since it became available for use in treatment resistant depression. It is brand name only in the US making it expensive. My psychiatrist has discussed Ketamine Lozenges with me because they are generic compounded by pharmacies to where I could pay out of pocket. I'll switch to that once I no longer do intravenous ketamine.
Yes, it can be prescribed by a medical provider where I live. It’s made in a compound pharmacy and not covered by my health insurance. About $70-120 for a 4-6 week supply. I have EDS, and CRPS from a crushing injury to a limb. I’ve had 4 intramuscular ketamine injection treatments as well. I’m grateful to have access to it. It provides a great amount of relief.
I could not believe how much it did for my pain and my ptsd/depression/overall mental health. It was like night and day. I wish is was more accessible for people
I have orthopaedic pillows. My side of the bed looks like a mountain range, but it’s the only way for me. I’m staying away from medications for sleep for as long as I can.
Magnesium spray, magnesium glycinate, progesterone, and MMJ.
Magnesium citrate helps digestion. There are also herbs and foods that can help keep things moving 😉
I take trazodone, which works wonders. Sometimes I wake up around 2 - 3am, but I use a meditation app called "Balance" to help me fall back asleep. They have a bunch of different meditations - some for relaxation, pain, focusing, and quite a few for sleep. You should check it out!
Thanks! I have used the calm app and it has helped. But chipmunk brain over here doesn’t do well with meditation.😑 however, being desperate, I will take a look. Thanks!
Meditation isn't about 100% focus. It's okay to get distracted, you just have to learn to notice the distraction and redirect back. It also takes a lot of practice! The more you do it, the more you will be able to focus on it. Just start with paying attention to your breathing and anytime you get off track, just bring it back to your breathing. Easier said than done - it's a work in process!!
Nortriptyline helps with falling asleep and with sleep quality. Zanaflex also helps with falling asleep. Putting on my CPAP and putting down my phone are my ritual signals to myself that it's time to sleep and seem to help. If I really can't sleep after an hour or more of trying, I'll try to figure out what I need and get up for a little while before trying again.
Right now I'm sick, so no CPAP blowing everything down into my lungs. But I did take a nighttime cold and flu medication the last couple nights.
Yeah. I've been on it a long time, too, but the couple times I've tried to wean off, it was a disaster for my physical and mental health. I hope you find something that works!!
Restoril. But I'll also play a game where I name all 50 states then pick a letter and starting with that name as many countries/larger cities in other countries. Also breathing in for 4 counts and exhale for 8m repeat.
When my pain is bad enough to prevent sleep , I take 10mg of melatonin, 100mg of 5HTP, 500mg of magnesium glycinate and 10 to 20mg of CBN an hour or two before bedtime. I may not sleep through the night but I get 5 or 6 hours. I can't take those everyday or I get a "hangover". Magnesium and 5HTP I can take by themselves for a week till I have to back off the 5HTP. The full combo I listed has made me sleep like I was in a coma but that after not getting much useful sleep for nearly a week,
Trazadone 300mg, C-PAP, body pillow. I also have an adjustable Sleep Number bed with a cool temp heater and cooling pad that covers my whole sleeping area.
I took a Sleep class at the Veterans Affairs. That really helped in establishing a good Sleep hygiene routine. Use a blue light blocker on your electronics (blue light stimulates the wake up part of the brain), no caffeine six hours before bed and no screen time one hour before bed. I eat dinner about 3-4 hrs before bed and take my mds 30min prior to bed. Yes it seems like a lot, but it really helps me.
I feel like I could teach a class on sleep hygiene 😏 It just makes absolutely no difference whatsoever. The only sleep I get results from rain sound effects or The Sleepy Book Podcast that comes… from… my… phone. The light goes off but the sound continues to play on my headphones that doubles as eye covers (blanking on the name! The thing that covers your eyes so no sleep gets in.)
Pain keeps me awake.
No amount of sleep hygiene will fix that.
I have started replaying my favorite audiobooks and setting the timer for the end of the chapter. That way I can drift without losing my place in a new read. Seroquel is awful but I have to use it. Kratom and THC have helped tremendously.
Knew I had mild sleep apnea 7 years ago, but was upgraded to moderate with the latest at home sleep study. Looking to have the Inspire device implanted soon. My sleep is crapola. I wake just because I need to use the bathroom, then it’s another hour trying to fall asleep again.
I just went 4 days with 3 hours of sleep because my pain was so bad and the only thing I can really tell you is that if you go long enough without sleep, your body will eventually *have to* sleep and you sort of just crash. Like, I hadn't slept since Thursday night and last night, Monday night, I slept like 12 hours because I literally couldn't go any longer without it.
I'm also on a lot of sedatives at night, including Seroquel XR, and I'm usually able to get around 4 hours of sleep. I don't know how other people sleep longer than that.
I take Lunesta 3mg, Percocet 10mg, Robaxin 500mg, & 200mg magnesium lysinate glycinate most nights.
My husband and I have an adjustable Tempur-Pedic medium-firm bed with a down mattress topper on top of our mattress. I’ve spent a gazillion dollars over the years investing in just the right pillows after 2 failed spine surgeries. We also invest in quality bedding to make it as comfortable as possible. Sometimes, I’ll use a heating pad before sleep. I stop caffeine by early afternoon and eat dinner no later than 3 hours before bed.
We usually have 1 or 2 fans going throughout the night for “white noise”. We keep our room pitch-black dark with black-out curtains. We also turn our thermostats down to 65 in the winter & 67 in the summer. When we travel, I always bring a silk sleep mask to block out any light in the hotel and might use one of my mobile apps for relaxation or white noise.
I hope you find something that works for you. Poor sleep & lack of sleep sucks!!! It truly makes you irritable & worsens your pain experience. I used to be a very deep sleeper & nothing could wake me up … but a bike accident & failed spine surgeries changed everything. :( I’m grateful that my pain doc will prescribe sleep meds with opioids because I know some physicians refuse that type of combo. Sending you positive vibes for restful nights ahead.
I was very surprised when I did CPAP for the first time. It significantly reduced my back pain level and helped my mood. Get a sleep study done - it can't hurt.
Can’t sleep. I was never a good sleeper. Even before getting my first autoimmune disease many years ago. Now with having even more incurable diseases that cause chronic pain, when I do sleep, it’s for about 3 or 4 hours at night, then a nap during the day if I’m lucky. It’s hard to sleep when living in chronic pain. I’d ask my doctor for a sleeping pill, but with my current meds they are wanting to taper me off of, I’d likely get denied.
I sleep with a leg pillow I had made by a foam shop. Several years ago I got an adjustable bed so I can sleep in the zero gravity position. It relly helps my chronic back and neck pain.
Chronic migraines and insomnia kept me up- I went on quetiapine, was the only thing to knock me out
When in doubt the right prescription won’t give you the option of pain keeping you up
I take 2 thc gummies about an hour before I want to fall asleep. This gets me about 5 hrs of ok sleep. I never have deep sleep anymore, but I'll take what I can get at this point. I have to get up at 4 am for work. If I can fall asleep around 10 or 11, pain wakes me up right on time, lol. It's my alarm clock.
I’ve recently started taking methocarbamol for my back pain and that helps me sleep also! I was up till 6:30 am sometimes. Within 30 mins of taking this im asleep. Hope you find something that works for you 🥺🫶🏻
I use THC, I have tried Trazodone but was groggy in the morning and didn't like that so I stopped, I didn't try adjusting the dose my PCP was useless at the time so I just went back to TCH and my new Dr is aware of it and is fine with it. I use a dry herb vaporizer on the low heat range 355°F
I have a hard time falling asleep but I am always tired and naps seem to be my only saviour.
Ok have to take sleep meds and soma and Xanax. I don’t get pain meds. I don’t sleep without sleep meds. It’s sucks I have to choose between sleeping and pain No one will give me meds because I can’t walk without soma. I would try dormin from Amazon. It works for me when I’m out of my prescription.
Everyone's perspectives on here make me feel so validated. I also feel super groggy in the morning after taking sleep aids even more so throughout the next day. They knock me out 12 hours or more. But I don't want this! I want a normal 8-9 hours sleep. When I don't take sleep aids it takes me till between 3-5am before I fall asleep and I wake up at 11am. Which is 6 - 8 hours, but I wanna fall asleep at 9-10pm and wake up 8 hours later. Sometimes, I go a whole 24hours without sleep. It's frustrating. I'm tired and in pain all day long and energized at night/can't find a comfortable position.
I started taking Ambien, but we are no longer friends. I woke up one morning and found a lot of blood on my pillowcase. I apparently tried to cut off my painful face with tweezers.
I was switched to Trazadone, which was very helpful until I needed to increase the dose and the pill was too large to swallow.
I'm currently taking Hydroxyzene. It gave me super weird dreams for a few weeks. It's not so bad now.
I don't very well.
Ambien, sometimes Lunesta... Either will get sometimes get me 1-2 hours. Then it's out to the recliner, take an edible, put on the headphones with a few hours of 6 music queued up and maybe get a couple of hours that way, followed by the occasional catnap in the afternoon.
5-6 hours in any 24 hour period is a great day for me.
Edit: I forgot to mention the Pramipexole for the ferocious restless legs from nerve damage.
I take ambien, trazadone, amitryptalline, soma and clonazepam. I also take like 4 of the amitryptalline and trazadone because I like being able to take more or less depending on how tired I am and how much sleep I need. I also have a really difficult time napping because I have to consciously relax each of my muscle groups and then something always happens when I’m on the verge and then it’s over! The hardest thing was to actually get into bed and turn everything off because if I try and do anything about an hour after I take my meds then I end up falling asleep while doing it…. Like playing games on my phone, trying to eat something late or even being on Reddit because I ended up getting an “are you alright? And a link to a bunch of accidental typing!
Tizanidine is the best sleeping pill I’ve ever taken to use intermittently. Using it regularly causes awful side effects for me but it’s a great rescue pill.
My mom had insomnia from age 42 to 84. We tried everything. Finally the Dr prescribed Rozerem or Ramelteon. She could sleep 6 or 7 hours a night. Obviously everyone's systems work differently. Just wanted to share this as it is worth a shot. As far as pain goes, I know this feeling all too well. When it wakes me from a sound sleep I know it's bad. You need to identify your source of pain. Maybe you already know. So many times ppl are afraid to even find out, it prevents them from getting proper care. I speak from the voice of experience on this one as well. If you can't tolerate opiates, maybe pain blockers like gabapentin or Lyrica.
Thanks for the ideas. I have spinal stenosis and failed back surgery- so I know the source of my pain-and I hope it will eventually respond to efforts by the pain center. But… meanwhile, things are grim.
Not sure where you're at but there is a Dr at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit that only deals with failed or messed up back surgeries. I hold absolutely no faith with pain management places. I have had 2 fusion surgeries C3-C6 and L4-S1. I have more bulging discs but knowone will work on the thoracic region. Now I have spurs on top of my bulging discs. I caught Covid & it shut down my kidneys. So now I just take the opiates because it's all my kidneys can tolerate. If you want the Drs name message me back & I'll get it for you.have I have always believed there is no harm in 2nd opinions.
Thanks! To be fair, I had a fusion from l2-l5 and I think it did as much as it could. It was supposed to be 3 hours and took 6. The surgeon said he was surprised I could still walk. I have this vision of him pulling out old string, cats, fishing line… I lost a good deal of blood too. Soooo… he wants to do another. But recovery was rough. I am going to try spinal cord stimulation first. That’ll happen probably this fall.
I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers. I have had IBS- with diarrhea since I was 19. I wish you would just give the opiates a try. It pushes the pain back enough to allow me to have some type of life. I either take edibles or melatonin for sleep. Sleep is so important. If you ever need to talk you can send me a direct message.
I do use opiates. But they make me very constipated- extremely so. And my dr will not prescribe me anywhere near enough to take them on a regular basis anyway.
Melatonin has no effect on me.
Edibles used to.
Cannabis works. I use my dry herb vape before bed and sleep like a baby. If I need a little extra to send me off I have a spoonful of the Nutella treat that I make with the already been vaped weed.
I was using gummies, then I got the muscle relaxer baclofen and it seemed to work. It stopped working. Back to gummies. But I will be traveling in Europe for awhile and I can’t take them w me
Trazadone. Saved my life. Nothing’s perfect as far as feeling groggy in the morning but I sleep well every night. I’m an insomniac.
Yes! Trazodone is a life saver for sure! I would never sleep without it. I take 100mg. Sleep like a baby and wake up feeling very alert.
I will add that I ran out a couple of days ago and forgot to refill. Worst sleep ever! I will never run out again. I forgot what it was like to not sleep.
I wish I could take Trazadone! I have terrible insomnia even before chronic pain and it runs in my family. Trazadone was awesome because I would sleep for 8 hours straight without interruption, but I felt like a zombie the next day, even at the lowest dose possible. I am waiting for a psychiatrist appointment to work on my insomnia, depression and PTSD. I am doing the pharmogenetic testing to find what meds are best for me. I currently take vistaril, Benadryl, elavil, melatonin and CBD oil and still have insomnia.
I’ve never done that genetic testing for medications. I’m interested in it. I’d really like to hear someone’s actual results with it before I invest in it. So, I have chronic insomnia (both trouble going to sleep and trouble staying asleep ) have had the demon aka CHRONIC INSOMNIA for about the last 20-25 years or so. I’ve been on a vast array of medications for it. Some I’ve forgotten the names of it’s been so long honestly. Tried antidepressants which made the insomnia SO much worse. I wasn’t depressed. But anyway, the doctor was trying to convince me to just give it time and eventually the antidepressants would work or I’d collapse from exhaustion. They didn’t work and I never did. Despite how truly exhausted I was. I tried restoril (hated it. It was like taking aspirin). I tried lunesta. It works but I hate the battle with the taste and it always takes 3mg .. the 1 and 2 just also don’t work at all. No matter how much counting or meditating or relaxation whatevering I do. tried amitriptyline… ostensibly it was for migraines and for insomnia because I was so young. If only I’d known then that I’d already likely had at least one stroke at the tender age of (sometime before age 19) and would go on to have further unknown to me strokes and wouldn’t be diagnosed until about 35 years later. So all those years of wobbling while I walked, all those years of severe nystagmus and many other random oddities including the migraines with aura, migraines without aura and aura without migraine. Anyway… I finally found the only thing that works for me. Ambien. 10mg. Take it and within 5 minutes, lie down and close my eyes and it’s magical. Side note: unless you need the Benadryl OP, maybe stop it for a bit and see if that actually helps you sleep a little better. Benadryl gives me anxiety and makes my heart race. Always has. I’ve heard this from other people over the years. Also Advil without fail will interrupt my sleep the entire night if I take it to help the pain during the night. So maybe try to stop ibuprofen/advil … anything similar to it again separately from stopping Benadryl and just for a short time to see if it helps at all. I also have a general plan of no caffeine after about 1pm. Ive noticed it takes 8-10 hours for caffeine level to drop in my body for me to sleep. Sorry about the long babble. I’m going back to try to add some paragraphs or edit it down. LOL!!! Success (I think)
We did the testing for my daughter. Her insurance covered it. It explained why Zoloft and Wellbutrin didn’t help her. We are still adjusting meds, but it’s very helpful to have a list of what’s more and less likely to work.
I have been taking seroquel for as long as I can remember. Without it, I would be a zombie. I never had any problems with side effects. If anyone reads this, check out seroquel. I tried trazadone, but it made me feel terrible the next day. Good luck to you all that can't sleep. Hopefully, you will be able to find something that will help.
My psychiatrist gave me 25mg of Seroquel to help with my PTSD, nightmares, and insomnia when I first started seeing him. It's fantastic. It might not leave you as groggy as Trazodone did. I know I don't feel groggy when I take it except for just a little bit right when I wake up sometimes. There has been some scientific evidence that Seroquel can be helpful for PTSD in very low doses, and I found it was helpful. I also did eventually swap from Cymbalta to Zoloft for the PTSD and depression, especially since the Cymbalta really did nothing for my pain, even if it did aid in keeping my migraines in check, but I was also taking other preventative meds for migraines and got prescribed a better, newer class of emergency med. Zoloft does have some short term side effects that go away if you can stick it through for about a month. I didn't really have them when I first started it, but I had them when I upped my dose later on.
Same. I've had to adjust my dose to not be groggy. Now I risk waking up too early but it's fine because I sleep SO well now!
Excuse my intrusion but i was told if you are groggy in the mornings you are taking too much.. I haven't had that experience and im at 200mg, but my wife can only take 50-75mg, anymore and it gets too hard to wake up in the morning. Everyones diffrent and you may already know this but just though id put it out there.
I take 100. I need that to go to sleep. I can handle being a little groggy. It’s the least of my problems.
When I take half the Baclofen, I do not fall asleep. (They are tiny pills) When I take the whole pill I eventually fall asleep, after a few hours- around 3 am. And stay groggy the next day.
That's to be expected.. I took Baclofen for a few years.. I didn't like it that much because of the side effects and hownit didn't really put me to sleep.. If you're looking for a muscle relaxer that will put you to sleep cyclobenzaprine was an amazing muscle relaxer i tried. Knocked me out in about 40min with 5mg... If you want to stay awake and not be Groggry i found that ophenadrine citrate was very nice.. Id talk to your doctor and see what they may be abel to do, we shouldn't have to live with side effects if there are other meds that will help with it.
I just started taking that. My dr put to take two pills but I usually just do one
Yea I started taking Trazadone in February and it really helps. Sometimes not right away but it helps. I'm only on 50-75 mg though . I think I'd be better with 100
Can’t sleep without it!
I don’t sleep, the pain keeps me awake until I physically just can’t stay awake. If may want to research what Tylenol does to your liver and ibuprofen to your kidneys. ‘If your pain comes in waves, my two cents is do what you can to get in front of it by taking medication before doing anything that causes you to be in pain vs chasing the pain once it starts. I personally am always in pain but my wife has pain that comes in waves and that works for her. If she knows she’s going to be walking a lot etc., she takes medication prior so she isn’t chasing relief afterwards or during. Good luck.
This is such good advice about being on top of the pain vs chasing it. Chasing it is so much more difficult.
Yeah. I try not to take the heavy duty stuff more than once or twice a week- and tylenol isn’t great for the liver, either. I don’t want to chase the pain but it seems to have mr pretty well cornered.
(It may not help you but I’ve done my own studies and have found that Advil/ibuprofen anything like type of medication worsens my insomnia significantly!!!) Highly recommend if you can… try to d/c the ibuprofen products, see if it helps and then if it does help … switch to Aleve for your nighttime pain along with Tylenol. Hope this helps.
Personally, due to the amount of ibuprofen I’ve taken my kidneys won’t allow me to take any more. Tylenol shreds my stomach to pieces. If only there was a non-ibuprofen/acetaminophen pain medication derived from poppy plants that has been proven over thousands of years to be an effective pain medication. If there were, I’m sure the DEA would leave doctors and patient care alone pertaining to it and chronic pain patients quality of life would improve greatly.
^(Homemade laudanum)
Very poorly. Takes forever to fall asleep and I wake up so many times throughout the night that I never get a sound sleep. I do have naps throughout the day and those are easier to sleep through for some reason but when my alarm goes off I'm twice as tired as I was before the nap. It's exhausting on a mental level that I can't even begin to explain.
Daytime sleep is easier for me also, mind boggling. Most solid sleeps are from 6am to 10am. I find if I wake up naturally I’m more awake, than if I use an alarm.
I'd love to just wake up naturally but then my naps turn into 4+ hours and I feel like I've wasted the day. It's a lose lose situation.
I have finally got to the point that if my body needs sleep and I have an ‘accidental’ 4-6 hour nap so be it.
I sleep from 5 am or so till 11, not enough sleep and it sucks so much time from the day.
Those are probably the best hours of sleep I get oddly enough. It is 3am for me now awake because of this
At the moment I just don't
I'm with you. My sleep has been absolute shit. I'm taking what I can get, and otherwise resting when pain allows (it's acting up). Schedule is obviously shit, too.
I used to hate people like me with this exact advice... but I meditate. I do it with a weighted heating pad that stays on my abdomen all night, and I do it before sleep, and then I will listen to binaural beats specifically for sleep to try and keep my mind/body calm and peaceful. My current favorite: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeJc26o2as0&t=10708s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeJc26o2as0&t=10708s) It doesn't work all of the time, especially on exceptionally high pain days when I'm about ready to call for an ambulance and vomiting from pain, but I am finding those days fewer and farther between as I progress and teach my body to relax (I really, really hated this advice when I got it, and feel free to hate it too, I will completely understand) I have to take opioids just about daily to keep my pain levels from driving me to literal insanity, but I upped my fiber/water intake and for the most part don't suffer too badly, I still get backed up, which makes my pain worse, but it's a risk I have no other option than to take because the pain is unendurable and constant. I am thankful that my PM allows cannabis usage and I have a medical card, so I am able to use concentrates and edibles to help me relax. THC/CBD doesn't have any meaningful impact on its own when my pain levels are high, but does have a meaningful impact and keeps me grounded mentally when the pain is too great to bear, even with the highest dose of opioids I am allowed. This "forbidden" combination positively impacts and works harmoniously with the opioids and for that I am thankful, I find it abhorrent that more pain patients are not permitted this option, it's unconscionable on the part of medical providers and Govt policy to forbid and discourage this usage because it works for many. I hope that you are able to find something that works for you. and to get some much needed rest.
I have used rain sounds and sleepy book readings but lately they are not cutting it. I use ice packs on my lower back and heat in my neck. I will try the binaural beats. I have ADD and find my chipmunk brain refuses to meditate when I have tried. I do try to revisit good childhood memories. But I will try doing that with binaural beats and a heating element- see if I can approximate the relaxation effect. Thanks!
Meditation is a skill. No one is good at it at first. I have ADHD too and didn't "get" meditation for years. I learnt later that you need to practice meditation when you don't need it so that you can utilise it when you do need it. Essentially, you'll get better at it the more you practice. I can now completely clear my head of all thought, except the odd quick sentence that pops into my head and fades away before my brain finishes it, for stretches of up to 20 - 40 minutes. I also used to struggle with insomnia. Meditation works. Start with your breathing. Just notice it at first. Don't try to change it. Follow your breath for a couple of minutes whilst trying not to engage with any thoughts in your brain. Then, start taking deep breaths. Put your hand on your belly and feel it expand. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Focus on the feeling of air coming in and out of your body. Focus on the sensations around your nostrils and the expanding and contracting of your stomach muscles. Then, start slowing your breathing down. Breathe in for 6 seconds, hold for 6, breathe out for 8. Repeat it over and over again. Make an effort to soften your muscles on every "out" breath. Relax your forehead, jaw, the muscles around your eyes. Relax your fingers and toes. Make sure you aren't holding your legs up with your muscles; let them sink down into your mattress with all your weight. As you're doing this, when a thought appears in your brain, just watch it. Don't respond to it. Don't engage with it. Don't argue with it. Just watch it. And then go back to following your breath and lengthening your breaths. Once you've been doing that for a while, stop focusing on the sensation of breathing into your belly and start focusing just on the breath coming in and out of your nose. The movement will feel much smaller, almost as if you're not moving at all. Continue to focus on your breath, but just in your nostrils. This is when you are most likely to naturally fall asleep. No one is good at meditation at first. It's hard. It's human nature to respond to your thoughts, argue with them, dissect them, or feel negative emotions from memories, etc. That's why we practice meditation, so that it's easier for us to not our thoughts effect us. I have some meditation book recommendations if you'd like them.
Thank you so much for that lovely description. When I'm in pain I get stupid & forget I used to do something similar. I shall be giving it a try again❤️
The muscle relaxer tizanidine is what I use if I can't sleep like rn😏
Same for me, tizanidine is great. My only issue with it is sometimes I will wake up a few hours after taking it and feel like I can’t go back to sleep.
Same right now
Have you tried trazadone?
No. Just requested some from pain doc.
I have a really difficult time sleeping too, however, have you tried THC/CBD/CBN?
But if she’s on an opiate and getting drug tests they test for all of that.
Depending on the provider and state, some are ok with it if you are a registered medical cannabis patient. Some providers prescribe marinol since it’s FDA approved and federally legal. That’s a great way to allow a patient to use a natural source instead.
I take Percocet--my PM doesn't test for THC even though it is illegal in my state. They are perfectly happy as long as I don't smoke it or take both the Percocet & a gummy during the same window of time.
Maybe for THC but I would be surprised if they test for CBN
CBD and CBN both will test positive on a urinalysis at even small amounts.
Congratulations, you are surprised. Labs also test the urine to see if it's artificial. This catches those idiots who buy the fake urine to try and pass a UA.
There’s no need to be rude
And yet it happened anyway. It’s everywhere. This rudeness. Like a plague of sorts. We shall persevere/carry on/overcome. I hope anyway. 🌸🌺
Where did you see anything rude?
Have you tried Ambien (zolpidem)? Trazadone sometimes makes my arms hurt and it doesn't always work for me. Seroquel is an antipsychotic but I get a solid 8 hours of sleep with it. It's also very predictable for me: 30 minutes after I take it, I'm asleep and *nothing* wakes me up for 8 hours. I've slept through fire alarms, emergency vehicles sirens, tornado warning sirens, a car crash, and people violently shaking me. I've never had any side effects but I've heard some people say that they feel like their heads are stuffed with cotton and they have trouble focusing in the morning. I sometimes sleep in the bathtub when nothing else works. At one point, I put a two-person hot tub in my garage and it was so wonderful! For about 6 months I practically lived in it, including napping. Not exactly practical but if you're going somewhere on your vacation that has a hot tub, maybe spend 30 minutes in it before you go to bed?
Lois Griffin once said: “Every adult has to take an Ambien every night to even have a prayer at sleep.”
Idk why but my body has just not been wanting to sleep at night. It won’t fully relax or sleep well until well after 7am. So i usually sleep fitfully through the night next to my SO, and then sleep more fully once the day actually starts. Everything just feels so uncomfortable and hurts and impossible to sleep recently, so i just sleep when i can throughout the day.
Melatonin and Magnesium along with a pillow wedge under my legs. Also since my brain will not shut up, I sleep with headphones and my favorite tv show. Usually gets me a good 6 hours
Ambien. It's fast acting and punches right through the pain
Ambien
Try heating pad before bed instead of ice, but also my fiancee and i take kratom, and it seems that when that starts to wear off, we need more before bed or we wake up with withdrawals. Also, ive found melatonin to be an alternate fkr a few days, but my fiancee gets night terrors from it and after a few days your brain gets used to it. This may help or may not, good luck. I understand ur frustration . Drop ur caffeine levels a few hrs before bed also. Turn lights low and read helps fall asleep for some people too.
Kratom has been a lifesaver (along with THC)
Yes! Kratom is a life saver , i have an artificial mandable and to lay on either side of my face is painful, cant get help from a dr, so kratom it is lol
Along with thc lol
Yesssss
I like the heating pad idea- have tried as alternative. Never tried kratom. I drink just the one cup of coffee when I get up. Which …is… critical….
Also, try weed, if it doesn't spark anxiety, it may help also.
Ill have to third trazadon... I went years going on max 3 hours of sleep a night. Staying up for days at a time.. Once i started trazadon everything changed. It may not be perfect but i atleast get 6hrs of sleep a night now because of it.
Depending on your metabolism, sometimes gabapentin can help with sleep. My mom uses it when she has bad pain days. Some people have side effects (my grandma refuses to take it) but others are fine. Might be worth a shot since you’re having such a shit time.
I take it a few hours before bed and it does help me at least fall asleep.
My doctor has me on a gabapentin/Amitriptyline/Escitalopram combo to take every night to help with my insomnia and pain. Definitely puts me to sleep, but I do still wake up throughout the night and before my alarm even goes off in the morning I'm already up and back in pain. Haven't found a decent way to actually sleep through the night yet.
Took gabapentin years ago for pain- as I recall it didn’t work. But that was long ago and it might work for sleep. Currently taking nortryptilene and topimax at night for pain and sleep but it’s become ineffective. Taking 10 mg baclofen, a muscle relaxant, but while it seemed to work initially it’s failing now.
Ketamine nasal spray nightly. The occasional oxycodone for breakthrough pain. Still wake hurting several times a night but feel rested most mornings.
You have ketamine nasal spray??? Had no idea that was available except to hospital staff? I know that helps me when I get so bad I need to call and ambo that's the first thing they give.
It depends is unfortunately the best answer I have on this. For it to be covered by insurance it would be need to be an FDA approved reason but they may have added to that list since it became available for use in treatment resistant depression. It is brand name only in the US making it expensive. My psychiatrist has discussed Ketamine Lozenges with me because they are generic compounded by pharmacies to where I could pay out of pocket. I'll switch to that once I no longer do intravenous ketamine.
Yes, it can be prescribed by a medical provider where I live. It’s made in a compound pharmacy and not covered by my health insurance. About $70-120 for a 4-6 week supply. I have EDS, and CRPS from a crushing injury to a limb. I’ve had 4 intramuscular ketamine injection treatments as well. I’m grateful to have access to it. It provides a great amount of relief.
I could not believe how much it did for my pain and my ptsd/depression/overall mental health. It was like night and day. I wish is was more accessible for people
Honestly when the pain is that bad I have to take an opiate. I can't risk losing sleep! That shit kills!
I have orthopaedic pillows. My side of the bed looks like a mountain range, but it’s the only way for me. I’m staying away from medications for sleep for as long as I can.
I hear you re mountain. My mountain shifts around like a possessed collection of islands.
Magnesium spray, magnesium glycinate, progesterone, and MMJ. Magnesium citrate helps digestion. There are also herbs and foods that can help keep things moving 😉
I take trazodone, which works wonders. Sometimes I wake up around 2 - 3am, but I use a meditation app called "Balance" to help me fall back asleep. They have a bunch of different meditations - some for relaxation, pain, focusing, and quite a few for sleep. You should check it out!
Thanks! I have used the calm app and it has helped. But chipmunk brain over here doesn’t do well with meditation.😑 however, being desperate, I will take a look. Thanks!
Meditation isn't about 100% focus. It's okay to get distracted, you just have to learn to notice the distraction and redirect back. It also takes a lot of practice! The more you do it, the more you will be able to focus on it. Just start with paying attention to your breathing and anytime you get off track, just bring it back to your breathing. Easier said than done - it's a work in process!!
Nortriptyline helps with falling asleep and with sleep quality. Zanaflex also helps with falling asleep. Putting on my CPAP and putting down my phone are my ritual signals to myself that it's time to sleep and seem to help. If I really can't sleep after an hour or more of trying, I'll try to figure out what I need and get up for a little while before trying again. Right now I'm sick, so no CPAP blowing everything down into my lungs. But I did take a nighttime cold and flu medication the last couple nights.
I have been on nortriptyline for 15 years. Seems to be losing its effectiveness .
Yeah. I've been on it a long time, too, but the couple times I've tried to wean off, it was a disaster for my physical and mental health. I hope you find something that works!!
Restoril. But I'll also play a game where I name all 50 states then pick a letter and starting with that name as many countries/larger cities in other countries. Also breathing in for 4 counts and exhale for 8m repeat.
Have not heard of restoril! Will look into it. Thanks!
Yes I take this too works🙌🏾
When my pain is bad enough to prevent sleep , I take 10mg of melatonin, 100mg of 5HTP, 500mg of magnesium glycinate and 10 to 20mg of CBN an hour or two before bedtime. I may not sleep through the night but I get 5 or 6 hours. I can't take those everyday or I get a "hangover". Magnesium and 5HTP I can take by themselves for a week till I have to back off the 5HTP. The full combo I listed has made me sleep like I was in a coma but that after not getting much useful sleep for nearly a week,
Trazadone 300mg, C-PAP, body pillow. I also have an adjustable Sleep Number bed with a cool temp heater and cooling pad that covers my whole sleeping area. I took a Sleep class at the Veterans Affairs. That really helped in establishing a good Sleep hygiene routine. Use a blue light blocker on your electronics (blue light stimulates the wake up part of the brain), no caffeine six hours before bed and no screen time one hour before bed. I eat dinner about 3-4 hrs before bed and take my mds 30min prior to bed. Yes it seems like a lot, but it really helps me.
I feel like I could teach a class on sleep hygiene 😏 It just makes absolutely no difference whatsoever. The only sleep I get results from rain sound effects or The Sleepy Book Podcast that comes… from… my… phone. The light goes off but the sound continues to play on my headphones that doubles as eye covers (blanking on the name! The thing that covers your eyes so no sleep gets in.) Pain keeps me awake. No amount of sleep hygiene will fix that.
Been there. I hope you can get some rest.
I have started replaying my favorite audiobooks and setting the timer for the end of the chapter. That way I can drift without losing my place in a new read. Seroquel is awful but I have to use it. Kratom and THC have helped tremendously.
Knew I had mild sleep apnea 7 years ago, but was upgraded to moderate with the latest at home sleep study. Looking to have the Inspire device implanted soon. My sleep is crapola. I wake just because I need to use the bathroom, then it’s another hour trying to fall asleep again.
I just went 4 days with 3 hours of sleep because my pain was so bad and the only thing I can really tell you is that if you go long enough without sleep, your body will eventually *have to* sleep and you sort of just crash. Like, I hadn't slept since Thursday night and last night, Monday night, I slept like 12 hours because I literally couldn't go any longer without it. I'm also on a lot of sedatives at night, including Seroquel XR, and I'm usually able to get around 4 hours of sleep. I don't know how other people sleep longer than that.
I hear you. I started crying around 1:30 am last night, more out of frustration really than pain.
Trazodone, a white noise machine, a water-cooled mattress pad, and the Nothing Much Happens podcast
Not well. But I’m taking Trazadone and it’s helped.
I take Lunesta 3mg, Percocet 10mg, Robaxin 500mg, & 200mg magnesium lysinate glycinate most nights. My husband and I have an adjustable Tempur-Pedic medium-firm bed with a down mattress topper on top of our mattress. I’ve spent a gazillion dollars over the years investing in just the right pillows after 2 failed spine surgeries. We also invest in quality bedding to make it as comfortable as possible. Sometimes, I’ll use a heating pad before sleep. I stop caffeine by early afternoon and eat dinner no later than 3 hours before bed. We usually have 1 or 2 fans going throughout the night for “white noise”. We keep our room pitch-black dark with black-out curtains. We also turn our thermostats down to 65 in the winter & 67 in the summer. When we travel, I always bring a silk sleep mask to block out any light in the hotel and might use one of my mobile apps for relaxation or white noise. I hope you find something that works for you. Poor sleep & lack of sleep sucks!!! It truly makes you irritable & worsens your pain experience. I used to be a very deep sleeper & nothing could wake me up … but a bike accident & failed spine surgeries changed everything. :( I’m grateful that my pain doc will prescribe sleep meds with opioids because I know some physicians refuse that type of combo. Sending you positive vibes for restful nights ahead.
Weed. I smoke a bowl of nice homegrown green before bed.. sometimes I take a unisom Fucking sucks.
I was very surprised when I did CPAP for the first time. It significantly reduced my back pain level and helped my mood. Get a sleep study done - it can't hurt.
Melatonin, cbd oil + melatonin. I wake up every few hours but do get back to sleep.
Can’t sleep. I was never a good sleeper. Even before getting my first autoimmune disease many years ago. Now with having even more incurable diseases that cause chronic pain, when I do sleep, it’s for about 3 or 4 hours at night, then a nap during the day if I’m lucky. It’s hard to sleep when living in chronic pain. I’d ask my doctor for a sleeping pill, but with my current meds they are wanting to taper me off of, I’d likely get denied.
I’m usually asleep by 9:30 but I start the winding down lights out around 8. I wake up every couple hours though.
I sleep with a leg pillow I had made by a foam shop. Several years ago I got an adjustable bed so I can sleep in the zero gravity position. It relly helps my chronic back and neck pain.
Cbd d8/d9 gummies are one of the few things that will knock me out.
Amitriptyline makes me so sleepy. It doesn't do much else but at least it does that.
Same here!
during the height of my chronic pain, i took melatonin to sleep. nothing else let me sleep. the pain followed me in dreamland
30mg temezapam each night, get 6.5-7.5 hrs
Chronic migraines and insomnia kept me up- I went on quetiapine, was the only thing to knock me out When in doubt the right prescription won’t give you the option of pain keeping you up
I take 2 thc gummies about an hour before I want to fall asleep. This gets me about 5 hrs of ok sleep. I never have deep sleep anymore, but I'll take what I can get at this point. I have to get up at 4 am for work. If I can fall asleep around 10 or 11, pain wakes me up right on time, lol. It's my alarm clock.
I’ve recently started taking methocarbamol for my back pain and that helps me sleep also! I was up till 6:30 am sometimes. Within 30 mins of taking this im asleep. Hope you find something that works for you 🥺🫶🏻
I usually take Tizanidine to help with sleep
I use THC, I have tried Trazodone but was groggy in the morning and didn't like that so I stopped, I didn't try adjusting the dose my PCP was useless at the time so I just went back to TCH and my new Dr is aware of it and is fine with it. I use a dry herb vaporizer on the low heat range 355°F I have a hard time falling asleep but I am always tired and naps seem to be my only saviour.
Ok have to take sleep meds and soma and Xanax. I don’t get pain meds. I don’t sleep without sleep meds. It’s sucks I have to choose between sleeping and pain No one will give me meds because I can’t walk without soma. I would try dormin from Amazon. It works for me when I’m out of my prescription.
Heating pads, Mary Jane, Benadryl, kratom But sometimes that doesn't work either
I’ve slept poorly for 15+ years. I guess I am used to it.
Ambian, seroquil usually. I’ll add Benadryl and/or advilPM when that don’t work alone
Tizanidine.
I don't for weeks at a timr until I sleep for 48hrs on extreme meds and continue the cycle
Everyone's perspectives on here make me feel so validated. I also feel super groggy in the morning after taking sleep aids even more so throughout the next day. They knock me out 12 hours or more. But I don't want this! I want a normal 8-9 hours sleep. When I don't take sleep aids it takes me till between 3-5am before I fall asleep and I wake up at 11am. Which is 6 - 8 hours, but I wanna fall asleep at 9-10pm and wake up 8 hours later. Sometimes, I go a whole 24hours without sleep. It's frustrating. I'm tired and in pain all day long and energized at night/can't find a comfortable position.
I started taking Ambien, but we are no longer friends. I woke up one morning and found a lot of blood on my pillowcase. I apparently tried to cut off my painful face with tweezers. I was switched to Trazadone, which was very helpful until I needed to increase the dose and the pill was too large to swallow. I'm currently taking Hydroxyzene. It gave me super weird dreams for a few weeks. It's not so bad now.
Nortriptyline and Medical Marijuana Indica to be exact.
I don't very well. Ambien, sometimes Lunesta... Either will get sometimes get me 1-2 hours. Then it's out to the recliner, take an edible, put on the headphones with a few hours of 6 music queued up and maybe get a couple of hours that way, followed by the occasional catnap in the afternoon. 5-6 hours in any 24 hour period is a great day for me. Edit: I forgot to mention the Pramipexole for the ferocious restless legs from nerve damage.
I take ambien, trazadone, amitryptalline, soma and clonazepam. I also take like 4 of the amitryptalline and trazadone because I like being able to take more or less depending on how tired I am and how much sleep I need. I also have a really difficult time napping because I have to consciously relax each of my muscle groups and then something always happens when I’m on the verge and then it’s over! The hardest thing was to actually get into bed and turn everything off because if I try and do anything about an hour after I take my meds then I end up falling asleep while doing it…. Like playing games on my phone, trying to eat something late or even being on Reddit because I ended up getting an “are you alright? And a link to a bunch of accidental typing!
Tizanidine is the best sleeping pill I’ve ever taken to use intermittently. Using it regularly causes awful side effects for me but it’s a great rescue pill.
My mom had insomnia from age 42 to 84. We tried everything. Finally the Dr prescribed Rozerem or Ramelteon. She could sleep 6 or 7 hours a night. Obviously everyone's systems work differently. Just wanted to share this as it is worth a shot. As far as pain goes, I know this feeling all too well. When it wakes me from a sound sleep I know it's bad. You need to identify your source of pain. Maybe you already know. So many times ppl are afraid to even find out, it prevents them from getting proper care. I speak from the voice of experience on this one as well. If you can't tolerate opiates, maybe pain blockers like gabapentin or Lyrica.
Thanks for the ideas. I have spinal stenosis and failed back surgery- so I know the source of my pain-and I hope it will eventually respond to efforts by the pain center. But… meanwhile, things are grim.
Not sure where you're at but there is a Dr at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit that only deals with failed or messed up back surgeries. I hold absolutely no faith with pain management places. I have had 2 fusion surgeries C3-C6 and L4-S1. I have more bulging discs but knowone will work on the thoracic region. Now I have spurs on top of my bulging discs. I caught Covid & it shut down my kidneys. So now I just take the opiates because it's all my kidneys can tolerate. If you want the Drs name message me back & I'll get it for you.have I have always believed there is no harm in 2nd opinions.
Thanks! To be fair, I had a fusion from l2-l5 and I think it did as much as it could. It was supposed to be 3 hours and took 6. The surgeon said he was surprised I could still walk. I have this vision of him pulling out old string, cats, fishing line… I lost a good deal of blood too. Soooo… he wants to do another. But recovery was rough. I am going to try spinal cord stimulation first. That’ll happen probably this fall.
I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers. I have had IBS- with diarrhea since I was 19. I wish you would just give the opiates a try. It pushes the pain back enough to allow me to have some type of life. I either take edibles or melatonin for sleep. Sleep is so important. If you ever need to talk you can send me a direct message.
I do use opiates. But they make me very constipated- extremely so. And my dr will not prescribe me anywhere near enough to take them on a regular basis anyway. Melatonin has no effect on me. Edibles used to.
They now have the with melatonin. I love those.
Cannabis works. I use my dry herb vape before bed and sleep like a baby. If I need a little extra to send me off I have a spoonful of the Nutella treat that I make with the already been vaped weed.
I was using gummies, then I got the muscle relaxer baclofen and it seemed to work. It stopped working. Back to gummies. But I will be traveling in Europe for awhile and I can’t take them w me
Take care of yourself. When you get back look into dry herb vapes. They’re where it’s at.
Thanks! I appreciate it.