<p>Oh, by the way, I asked my husband if I did anything weird in my sleep last night – if I got up or walked around, etc. He said I slept very well and didn’t get up.</p>
<p>Have developed insomnia in peri-menopause years, related to my cycle. Very hormone based, physiological. I have read everything on the subject, and finally tried medication. Sure there can be side effects and it ‘disrupts your natural system’ but uh, like any prescription medication. Only those who have not experience genuine long term insomnia would understand its delibilitating effects and the trade offs people have to make. </p>
<p>Anyway what works for me, beautifully, is Zopiclone. I think not available in the US (closest is Lunesta). I use it very strategically so as not to develop dependence. For me, that means half pill, never more than 2 days in a row, never more than 5 times a month. Been more than a year and I have no dependence, no side effects, no hangover, and it is just enough to ‘nip in the bud’ the problem when it emerges and get my system back to normal. </p>
<p>I have recently read that cognitive behavioral therapy can be as effective as sleeping pills for insomnia. It might be worth checking out as well.</p>
<p>I have discovered the best sleeping pill for me - plain Advil. Works like a charm and I do not feel drowsy next day as after normal with sleeping pills (I have tried only natural stuff, like melatonin, valerian…etc They do not work for me at all, just make me very tired next day). No dependancy taking Advil either. But I do not need more than 5 hours of sleep. If I sleep few hours more (happens very rarely), I feel very tired next day. Ocasional 3 hours of sleep is still OK, but not for few days in a raw.</p>
<p>The ingrediants are herbs: Chamomile, spearmint, West Indian lemongrass, tilia flowers, blackberry leaves, orange blossoms, hawthorn and rosebuds. People recommended Chamomile, mint and lemongrass to me individually but this tea seems to have a combination of all of them and maybe that is why it seemed to work for me. There is no caffeine in the tea whatsoever. The color is a bit off putting, kind of this dirty yellow-green but the flavor is ok, as I said, I am not a lover of the taste of herbal teas as they remind me a bit of dirty water. I was willing to try anything natural and this seemed to do the trick. You can find it in the tea aisle of most grocery stores. It has a sleeping bear on the box (haha wishful thinking!). I wish you the best of luck and hope that my suggestion offers you some relief.</p>
<p>I knos Sleeytime Plus has valerian in it, a good, natural sleep aid. Drinking wine always makes me wake up around 2pm. Do you exercise? I know days when I do not I always have a harder time falling asleep. Exercise helps!</p>
<p>I also have sleep problems due to perimenopause. Have you tried any over the counter sleep aids? Goodys night-time powders work wonders if you need a good nights sleep. The usual dosage is two powder packets, but often one does it for me.</p>
<p>Goody’s are the same as Tylenol pm. Or benedryl.</p>
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<p>Hey, I would love it if I could sleep until 2 pm!:)</p>
<p>Seriously, it’s true that alcohol, while making you drowsy initially, actually interferes with the sleep cycle and can cause night wakenings and general sleep disruption.</p>
<p>Family legend had it that my mother kind of trained me to be a light sleeper – she wouldn’t let anyone make noise around the house if I was sleeping</p>
<p>This is me. I fall asleep ok, but I would wake up if the cat was standing on the end of the bed. Anything wakes me up, wide awake so I can’t go to sleep again.</p>
<p>I have taken Benadryl or melatonin, but that just helps me fall asleep, not stay asleep.
Not to mention, I * seriously* do not need anything that affects cognition.
[Medications</a> found to cause long term cognitive impairment of aging brain](<a href=“http://www.physorg.com/news198238000.html]Medications”>Medications found to cause long term cognitive impairment of aging brain)</p>
<p>Because I have fibromyalgia, I had been in quite a bit of pain during the day, because I couldn’t sleep at night. My dr prescribed Trazadone, which works, but has mild weight gain/sexual side effects and other negative affects on heart which make it not a perfect choice.</p>
<p>A psychologist friend of mine also had another suggestion that she had had success with.
She suggested that I plan out and prepare an unpleasant chore, cleaning the toilets, scrubbing grout, etc. And if I did wake up too early or in the middle of the night I would HAVE to get up and go do the chore. She said rarely do people have to do the chore more than two nights before they are sleeping well.</p>
<p>Maybe I will try this-^ ;)</p>
<p>Thanks for all the responses. I do exercise and have tried different times of day with no difference. Advil does not make me sleep – I took it for chronic tendonitis for a while and it didn’t make me sleep. I cannot take antihistamines due to a number of bad experiences with them and an allergic reaction to the antihistamine element in an epidural. Reading through this thread, I’m with the peri-menopause group – someone who always had sleep issues that are now being exacerbated at this point in time. Since I also have some neck problems and sometimes wake up with neck pain and headaches, today I splurged on a tempurpedic neck pillow. My husband has one and urged me to get one. I lay down on it in the store and felt like I could have nodded off. So I’m hoping a change in pillow will help. I might try the Sleepytime, but if Melatonin isn’t helping, I doubt the tea will. I’m going to see how the pillow goes first. I want to make one change at a time so I can see what makes a difference.</p>
<p>There are many meds, both Rx and OTC, that I cannot take, so I’ve had to experiment with other ways to get to sleep faster and stay asleep longer. One that’s been very helpful is to take a 15 min. soak in a very warm tub that has approx. 2 cups of epsom salt added to the water. I listen to light jazz or classical music and use only the vanity lights and not the overhead lights so it’s easier to close my eyes and relax. No reading, because holding up a book or magazine can cause carpal tunnel or shoulder pain. I have a terry cloth covered inflatable pillow for my neck, too. </p>
<p>It’s not quite as appealing in the summer when I’ve been running around in 95+ temps w/ 80%+ RH, but I’ve reduced the water temp to barely tepid and that works pretty well. The epsom salt is the key, as it really seems to help my muscles relax.</p>
<p>Hope you find something that works well for you soon.</p>
<p>Important to drink fluid in a mineral salt bath to aid the reverse osmosis effect. Otherwise you could end up feeling worse.
[Epsom</a> Salt Uses & Benefits | SaltWorks](<a href=“http://www.saltworks.us/salt_info/epsom-uses-benefits.asp]Epsom”>http://www.saltworks.us/salt_info/epsom-uses-benefits.asp)</p>
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<p>There is really no reason why it would help with insomnia, unless the cause of the sleeping problems was pain, fever, or inflammation. There are not any ingredients in regular advil which are known to cause drowsiness in most people, though if you read on side effects of almost any drug, it could be listed as one,as well as nausea. But drowsiness would not be an expected effect at normal doses.</p>
<p>I have taken Advil for years for back pain, and now long term use of this medication has been associated with increased incidence of heart attack and stroke. As my mother has had many strokes (and her father did as well), I have switched over to naproxen, which has not been associated with the same cardiovascular risks.</p>
<p>I tried Ambien twice. The first time I vomited badly, the second time I thought I’d die from nausea. My friend takes the entire bottle and it does nothing to her any more… But that’s a different case.</p>
<p>For those of you who like home remedies and herbal medicine, I suggest trying motherwort. Relaxes the muscles, and just might put you to sleep.</p>
<p>I slept better than usual with my new pillow. I did wake up at least once but got back to sleep pretty quickly. Just one night, but I hope this pillow will help. I don’t love the feel as much as a down pillow, but if it helps me sleep, I’ll be happy.</p>
<p>^^ The pillow makes a difference for me. I can’t sleep on those fluffy pillows that either hold the head at too much of an angle or the soft fluffy ones that try to suffocate one when the head sinks into it. I use a memory foam ‘neck pillow’, the contoured type, that works very well. I also sleep on a tempurpedic mattress which is much better than the ones with springs poking in my back.</p>
<p>UCSD Dad, the pillow is tempurpedic and a neck pillow. I did wake up a few times wanting to turn onto my stomach and switched the pillow to the down pillow and then would wake later (just for a minute) and switch back. I don’t mind waking briefly if I can get back to sleep.</p>
<p>I had a sleep study done about six months ago. Turned out I don’t have sleep apnea; however, they diagnosed Periodic Limb Movement Syndrome. I’d move my legs some during sleep, usually pretty subtly, like tensing the calf muscles, and it would “awaken” me an average of once every 8 minutes throughout the night. Started taking Requip/Ropinirole, and now I’m not such a super-light sleeper.</p>
<p>The sleep doctor was with a university med center, and he directed me to a sleep center that wasn’t on the insurance list (probably partly owned by him.) So I called to find out what sort of bill I might expect. They said they’d just accept whatever insurance paid. Haven’t gotten a bill yet for my 40%, thank goodness.</p>
<p>Until menopause, I could sleep anywhere, anytime. Then it hit. I never took sleep aides just learned some techniques that work with me. No big night meals, not much past 6-7 p.m. Some hot green tea or milk, something like that later in the evening to fill the tummy and settle things down. A little wine earlier in the p.m. is o.k. Too much is BAD. A walk or swim in the early, early p.m. or late afternoon.</p>
<p>We are all so different. But those things work for me. Not always. But most of the time.</p>
<p>And a good pillow, one that is good for you, is important. I love real down, small ones. I bought one in the states this summer to replace my older one that was Swedish something or other. Nothing expensive this time: fieldcrest, made in China. Fits the bill.</p>