Aid For Insomnia |

sleeping aids ie ambien or anything for anxiety like xanax or valium or whatever, is she just really mean and should i see another doc or is it really that hard to get that kind of medicine when you need it?

I’m a nurse and I can tell you different providers, Dr’s a practitioners, all have different feelings and beliefs on what they prescribe. More and more providers are not writing Rx’s for Xanax, because it is so habit forming and addictive. As far as Ambien, if you’re young, they often won’t give it to you either. Try something over the counter like Tylenol PM, or Melatonin. See if those can help you. If you still have problems, try seeing a different Dr. But if you can, try avoiding anxiety medications if you can. They are horrible addicting, and can cause worse long term effects. Good luck!

All sorts of things could be causing insomnia.

Anxiety, depression and bi polar disorder all can be a cause of it. In fact, 90% of people who have depression experience insomnia.

Several anti-depressants and many medications can cause it. If you are taking a medication and suspect it could be the culprit, check with your doctor to see what you can do about it.

Many medical problems can cause it, including: allergies, arthritis, cancer, fibromyalgia, heart disease, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), hypertension, asthma, emphysema, rheumatologic conditions, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, hyperthyroidism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Stress, too, can cause insomnia. Take note of your nightly routines, including what you consume, what medications you take and if you experience any pains or problems when trying to sleep. You should go to your doctor to review these things and see if he could prescribe you sleeping pills for the time being.

I just read here on YA that not being able to sleep can be a sign of other health problems.

What are they?

Insomnia can be a disorder of it's own, or it can by a symptom of many other physical and emotional disorders. Occasional insomnia is normal for everyone and is usually related to stress, fatigue, worry, illness, etc. Persistent insomnia or insomnia accompanied by other symptoms should be an alert. If you have frequent insomnia or feel that you have other possible symptoms of a physical or psychological disorder, you should make an appointment with your doctor.
If it's just occasional insomnia, you can try some remedies. Relaxing for an hour or so before you go to bed, taking a warm bath, having a small snack, or reading a book can help. Chamomile tea and Valerian root are herbal remedies that have helped some people with occasional insomnia. Most importantly, don't do any strenuous activity or exercise before bed, and don't leave the TV or radio on as it can be a distraction.
Hope this helps!

Insomnia (sleeplessness) is due to stress,
dietary and medical problems. By making
small lifestyle changes like having a fixed
daily routine, relaxing and eating properly,
insomnia can be cured. I found the information
at http://www.nosleep.in/insomniacause.html

I had a bad problem with insomnia for many years, and did some research on it. Here are the things I’ve found that help the most.

1. Don't take the sleeping pills. Although they are not addictive in the way we tend to think (you won't jones for them if you miss taking them) they are addictive in the sense that once you have taken them for a while, you will have to take them to get to sleep, but they won't have the same effect they used too. This is because you tend to not get the necessary REM sleep you need to be rested. If you must take a sleeping pill, take it well before you go to sleep. For instance, I prefer to take sleeping pills 2 hours before I go to sleep, so that the pill can get into my system and make me drowsy before I get into bed, then get out of my system (hopefully) early enough that I get some normal sleep.

2. Try to go to bed at about the same time every night. You have some wiggle room on this, but if you stay out on Saturday night till 3, it'll be harder to go to sleep at 10PM Sunday.

(Which somewhat contradicts:)

3. If possible, don't go to bed if you're not sleepy. Note – one thing I have read and found to be true is that you have to be awake for 12 hours before you can go back to sleep. So if you sleep till noon, again, you won't be sleepy at 10PM.

4. Don't spend more than 15-30 minutes trying to get to sleep. If you notice that you've been in bed more than 15 minutes, get out of bed and do something for a while. Make sure what you do isn't going to make you more hyper; e.g. no exercising or energetic music or writing posts to online debates.

5. When you go to bed, choose a chore or some other task that you do not want to do and tell yourself that if you are still awake in thirty minutes you will do that task. Then, if you are still awake, get up and do your chosen task. This is my favorite suggestion, as it has worked nearly every time I've used it. .

Those are the most useful suggestions I have. Other things you can try:

Before you start getting ready for sleep, turn off high energy music and turn the lights down. I love R&R music, but I went through a period where I had to turn the radio off every night about an hour before I went to bed, or I would be too wired to sleep. And our bodies react to reduced light by producing melatonin which puts us to sleep.

Get plenty of exercise, but not right before bed. (Unless you're weird like me – exercise right before bed just puts me to sleep)

Another suggestion that might work is to relax your body, consciously, one area at a time, starting from your feet. You think about the ball of your left foot and relax it, then the ball of your right foot, then the arch of your left foot, etc. You have to concentrate (pretty hard) on what you are doing

Sex *grin* by yourself or with an SO, it produces a nice soporific chemical, which does a nice job of putting you to sleep.