Insomnia

jhx · Post by **jhx** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 7:51 am

I've had on-again, off-again chronic insomnia for years, but the last two weeks it's been out of control. I've only had one night in the last two weeks when I've gotten more than four hours of sleep. I'm fine on four hours or even two or three hours for a few nights in a row, but after two weeks I feel wrecked. Given the combination of noise and AM heat, I can't imagine I'll be able to catch up on sleep on the playa. I think the problem is that I really want to be well rested going into BM, and that pressure to sleep is ironically bringing about the very outcome I fear.

I apologize for a kind of pointless post. Bottom line is I really want to go (this will be my first time) but I'm really afraid I'll be miserable going in so sleep deprived and probably getting more sleep deprived during the event. Of course no one can tell me what to do, but if there's ever a place to ask strangers how to live your life it's an online message board, so fuck - what should I do?

Sorry again if you've read this far and feel like I've wasted your time.

Artemis · Post by **Artemis** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 8:02 am

I've never suffered from insomnia so can't really speak to that.

However, wanted to share my experience of using good earplugs. Get the good ones. These have the highest noise reduction rating.

This will make a big difference.

Also, there is a camping area called "hushville" that is further out and thus quieter...

swampdog · Post by **swampdog** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 8:09 am

King of insomnia here. It sucks. Drugs help - ambien, lunesta. Minimal hangover effects unless you use them for a long time. Probably too late to get a 'scrip from your doc. Herbal over the counter medicine - L-tryptophan, melatonin - these can help but you should really experiment with them a bit to find out how much of what. Then there's always too much booze. Which can push you into sleep, but it's not "high quality" sleep and you can get hangovers. Pot can help sometimes but often makes some people anxious. Pot + booze can work, so I'm told - the booze can take the anxious edge off.

Otherwise - meditate, relaxation exercises sometimes work.

Try focusing on noticing when you feel sleepy and sleep then. Who cares if you sleep from 7 PM to midnight, get up and party 4 hrs, then sleep some more?

Bounce530 · Post by **Bounce530** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 8:41 am

something to consider is that the air is thinner then what you are prob used to, so that might help you sleep.

bs bob · Post by **bs bob** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 9:33 am

i just got my ears cleaned they pulled out a big ball of wax-for a couple days i had no heaaring in my left ear-totally weird and sucked-only thing was i slept sooo good those days!!!earplugs at home might help you sleep,narcotics and alchohol might also work well in conjunction-tylenol pm-ativan-benadryl-also might help-try to relax and read about taoism-only 3 more days!!!

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 10:20 am

you might try a garbage bag over your head and a zip tie to keep it on........

once you fall asleep........*insert cliche here*..........

*spelling edit*

Timezone LaFontaine · Post by **Timezone LaFontaine** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 11:31 am

You can try a homeopathic called Calms Forte. I haven't tried it personally but some friends have said that it works really well.

brewFish · Post by **brewFish** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 12:59 pm

I've had trouble falling and staying asleep for the past few years. The worst is when I wake up at 5am for no good reason, and can't sleep again even though I'm still really, really tired. I feel horrible all day because I just could not sleep again, even though I was totally exhausted. Anyways, after burningman last year (my first time), I was healed. I don't know if it was the stress of the desert, the calorie restricted diet that the desert/behavior influences, or the alkali dust. (I'm pretty sure it wasn't the dust :-) ) I slept 9 to 11 hours a night every night for a week, it was amazing! My wife was blown away by the change in my sleeping ability. Over the past year, that ability has decreased somewhat, but it's still not back to pre-burningman 2008 levels. I look forward to my post-bm-09 sleep in September :-).

AFA sleeping at BM, earplugs are absolutely required for me. Last year I slept one hour the first night due to the line to get in, then went to bed at 11pm the next night and got a full 8+ hours. My friends chided me for sacking in early, but I felt great the rest of the week because of it.

Also, I take ambien occasionally, but often a half dose when I wake up in the middle of the night. It's not something you want to take every day, lest you enjoy your IQ being about 20 points lower. It really does make one dumb over time. (you get it back in a day or so though).

Lunesta I thought was great for the first few times, now it just give me a headache and when I wake up my mouth tastes like I spent the night licking an airplane. I'm done with Lunesta.

I've also tried trazadone, which works but doesn't wear off until about 2 hours after I wake up. It's super cheap though, if you don't have insurance and this matters to you. Also, I've tried clonezepam, which worked ok, but not great.

None of that homepathic stuff is worth a damn in my experience. It's a complete waste of money. Also, relaxation and meditation silliness does nothing once I'm already asleep, except waste my evening when I could be preparing for burningman 20XX.

-Jim

Post by **AntiM** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 1:00 pm

Hushville requires preregistration and that's closed now. There's a secret handshake and a list. We aren't that far out, we just don't allow amplified music or generators within our village.

trystanthegypsy · Post by **trystanthegypsy** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 5:34 pm

Just sleep in random air-con'd domes... catch a nap wherever. you aren't on schedule!

Elorrum · Post by **Elorrum** » Sat Aug 29, 2009 12:55 am

oh naps! I'm so looking forward to napping. Sleeping isn't a big problem for me. but I'm looking forward to doing some after a week of 4-6 hrs of sleep a night due to doing prep. It's time to relax! Feel free to doze!

C.f.M. · Post by **C.f.M.** » Sat Aug 29, 2009 8:25 pm

I'm entering my third day on the road. On a bus. With seven people. I'm hoping this new found whack-ass sleep schedule (I can't really call it that) helps me on the playa.

I brought melatonin, Deep Sleep, an Ambien and a Valium (yes, just one of each).

kittyrocks · Post by **kittyrocks** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 10:44 pm

i was skeptical but i found this homeopathic stuff called coffea cruda that helps

pianas · Post by **pianas** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 11:12 pm

kittyrocks wrote:coffea cruda

coffea cruda = crude coffee ?

klondike_bar · Post by **klondike_bar** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 10:54 am

i find a 1mg xanax can help to allow sleep if im suffering from insomnia.

Elliot · Post by **Elliot** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 11:52 am

Time for me to join the conversation.

Xanax (Alprazolam) helps me a bit, but my doctor will not allow me anywhere near 30 mg a month. (It was originally prescribed for a daytime problem -- fear of heights kind'a thing -- with 0.25 mg dosage and only occational use. Works great for that.)

Considering I was hospitalized for sleep deprivation related fatigue a couple of months ago, I am very open to suggestions. And I shall go back and read this thread from the beginning.

Edit after reading: I was on Trazedone for a long time, and it did help some, but I seemed to need larger and larger doses.

I would love to try Clonazepam. My brother has been on it a long time and swears by it, and we have very similar problems.

LostinReno · Post by **LostinReno** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 12:52 pm

klondike_bar wrote:i find a 1mg xanax can help to allow sleep if im suffering from insomnia.

Xanax works best for me too (I take .5mg). My Endocrineologist prescibes it with no problems as my GP won't. (It depends on the doc, some get freaky over Xanax) Sometimes I have some very interesting/vivid dreams but nowhwere near as weird as the ones I had on Ambien. I didn't feel rested after the Ambien, I'm probably one of those people that walked around the block or went for a drive while on it and never knew....

Simon of the Playa · Post by **Simon of the Playa** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 1:46 pm

i gave up years ago.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 1:53 pm

If I wake up in the middle of the night (without a partner handy!) I get a cup of warm milk and a couple of Advil. Makes me all warm and fuzzy.

303jewels · Post by **303jewels** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 2:02 pm

I dont suffer from insomnia as such but have a little difficulty getting to sleep sometimes......

When you get into bed focus on the events of the day starting with the most recent - brushing your teeth for instance and then work back through the day, social interactions, something you saw etc.

as you concentrate on the moment of the event, try to aquaint yourself with how you were feeling at that time.

Where you concerned/happy or in despair when you were brushing your teeth?

Keep working back through the day and how you felt 'then', it will require some concentration at first - you'll soon sleep.

If you are really fucked 5mg Temazepam.
If your brain is about to explode 20mg of Temazepam should get you back.

Personally I wouldn't touch Ambien with someones elses bargepole!!!!!!

Night night.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 2:56 pm

Try Melatonin first. Every night with Sleepytime Tea (which you can get with Valerian root if you like).

Post by **AntiM** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 4:18 pm

My oncologist gave me Ambien to counter the side-effects of Tamoxifen. It worked okay, but I still had early morning waking. I quit taking it because I became mean as a snake if awakened.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 5:30 pm

I take gabapentin for rapid leg movement and a C Pap machine..

I can sleep a whole night. No hang over in the morning..

Elliot · Post by **Elliot** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 5:53 pm

Holy cow, Ugly Dougly.... Melatonin. I had seen the word, but never read up on it. So I just read about Melatonin on Wikipedia. It can help to reach REM sleep. My problem is not falling asleep in the evening, but failing to reach deep sleep and REM sleep. I can tell right away in the morning if I have had some decent sleep... if I remember dreaming. I do believe I will try Melatonin. And it's over the counter, too!

Simon of the Playa · Post by **Simon of the Playa** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 6:02 pm

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 6:57 pm

Simon,
I have discussed this matter with the Dean of Clown Collage and it has been decided, you are too stringy and misanthropic to make good eating.
Sweet dreams.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 9:44 am

Yeah, as you age, I guess your body stops making melatonin so much.

Elliot · Post by **Elliot** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 9:57 am

It says that Melatonin supplement can be specially helpful for older folks, and I'm 57, so I'm getting there.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 10:05 am

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/a ... 56c6590043

Objective: Melatonin, the hormone produced nocturnally by the pineal gland, serves as a circadian time cue and sleep-anticipating signal in humans. With age, melatonin production declines and the prevalence of sleep disorders, particularly insomnia, increases. The efficacy and safety of a prolonged release melatonin formulation (PR-melatonin; Circadin 2 mg) were examined in insomnia patients aged 55 years and older.

Conclusions: PR-melatonin results in significant and clinically meaningful improvements in sleep quality, morning alertness, sleep onset latency and quality of life in primary insomnia patients aged 55 years and over.

Sail Man · Post by **Sail Man** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 10:23 am

I occasionally respond on pts reported to be unresponsive by family members when the cause turns out to be Ambien. Usually we respond on them in the morning, and the patient, often a midnight or late shift worker, isn't up when other family members think they should be. After only a few hrs into the sleep, these patients can be a bitch to wake up, and after we've poked and proded to ascertain whats going on, are understandably annoyed when they do wake up.