INSOMNIA vent

mattandlora

I haven't slept in 3 nights. The only way I can get comfortable is if I MacGuyver my pregnancy pillow in a way which basically makes it into a donut, then lay on my belly with the bump through the donut hole and a stack of pillows under my head. This works to get me asleep. Then whenever I wake up to pee (which is quite often), I have bad back pain from sleeping like that. Then I can't get comfortable in any position and lie awake for hours. After 2 nights of this, the doctor gave me some antihistamines to help with sleep. The problem? It didn't work. Last night went exactly like the 2 nights prior. I finally fell asleep on my donut. The antihistamine made it a deeper sleep. But I still woke up to pee, and still had back pain, and still couldn't fall asleep again. And now I'm in the no-sleep / anti-histamine fog! 

Ugh. Just venting really.

supersarah77

Hang in there, mama! Just saw your check-in post that you'll be induced Wednesday if baby doesn't come today or tomorrow! The end is near .... Or rather, a terrific beginning.

niknak1208

Ugh tell me about it. I can't remember the last time I actually got decent sleep. My sciatica is so bad that I have to wedge pillows under my left hip and then my RLP hurts so then I have to curl my legs into as much of a ball as I can.  it sucks.  I get up to pee for what feels like a thousand times every night. Usually, if I do happen to fall asleep and am sleeping well.. someone wakes me up.. either my little blonde headed 2 yr old or my big blonde headed 6 yr old. lol It's a lost cause at this point. 

mattandlora

@niknak1208 - I was reading about your sleep troubles in the other thread and feel horrible for you! I've been fairly fortunate in the sleep department until recently. Sure, there's the wake-ups to pee and occasional night sweats, but for the most part I've been able to sleep decently. I've been pretty pain-free, but any aches or pains which come along are more of a nuisance than disabling. I can manage them with heat packs and stretching, usually. I hope you find some relief that works for you soon

cneiding

yeah plus your mind is probably running pretty fast knowing your induction is coming up..baby will be here etc.  My midwifes had me take Tylenol pm when I had trouble sleeping at the end of my one pregnancy.  The Tylenol helped with aches and pains and hopefully the pm (which is just Benedryl basically) would help the actual falling/staying asleep.  I can't say it was a miracle or anything but it might have helped some.  Do you have a recliner?  That was something else one suggested.  Sleeping in the recliner rather than the bed.  My problem was hip pain and that was better than laying on my hip.  Perhaps it would be a better position for you too?  If nothing else, you only have a couple more nights!

mattandlora

@cneiding - I tried an antihistamine which is tons stronger than Benadryl and it still didn't work. :-( Fortunately I managed a decent nap this afternoon. I might try the recliner tonight though. Last time I slept in it was when I broke my arm several years ago.  I haven't had any significant hip or back pain - I've been fortunate in that area. I think the best description is that I'm just restless. I read it is a variation of the nesting instinct, but whatever. I don't care, as long as I can sleep.

marijaa333

Good luck tomorrow, @mattandlora! I'm sorry about the insomnia... I'm a few weeks behind you so can still fall asleep propped up with a few extra pillows but can definitely see how this will get increasingly more difficult if my belly grows any more (which it seems intent on doing with all the stretching...).

mattandlora

@marijaa333 - I've actually been very fortunate in the comfort and pain department this time around. I think a better term for my sleep issues at this point is restlessness. Even if I'm comfortable, I can't stay still. Not sure why sleeping on my belly with my pillow set-up works better than any other position, except that maybe I force myself into a position where I'm comfortable but it is difficult to move????

I've been doing a lot of reading (because I'm already on leave, and what else can I do?). I have 2 different theories. One, restless legs syndrome is more common in pregnancy and sometimes means there is an iron deficiency. Hmm.... I'm not going to fix that between now and delivery. And it hasn't been an issue until the last few nights. The other theory is that this restlessness is just a form of the nesting instinct. That makes more sense to me. The baby's room is stocked and ready. My MIL is here helping with cooking and cleaning. I've been taking care of a lot of loose ends at home and work (paying some bills, setting up someone to take care of the yard for awhile, etc). But physically, I've been getting the nesting energy surge without an outlet to release it. So then I can't sleep. Makes sense to me.

niknak1208

mattandlora  Thank You! It's been a challenge.. that's for sure! I have sciatica not pregnant too but it's not nearly as painful and most of the time doesn't even hurt.  Pregnant it's an entirely different story! It hurts throughout the day but it hurts the most at night. I get up to pee and I'm literally holding on to the wall just to walk to the bathroom because it hurts so badly. I've tried tylenol which only mildly helps. I've also tried tylenol PM for the sleep but it never seems to keep me asleep. I still wake up just as often as I normally do. Last night it was even worse because of all the financial crap we have going on right now which you might have seen in my post yesterday. So I've been up since 3am. Not a happy camper.  

Good luck to you!! I hope things go well.  

mattandlora

@niknak1208 - I saw your financial post! I don't even know what to say except that it sounds very stressful. Seriously, I am speechless. So, here's a confession which may explain my lack of aches and pains: I work in sports medicine. I can say "that pain is from my SI joint" or "that pain is from my piriformis and IT band" and know how to fix it before it gets out of hand. Sure, I get the same aches and pains as everyone else. But I can walk across the hall from my office, go to the PT area, and stretch or roll whatever is bothering me. I've been very fortunate in that department. I don't know your individual situation, but statistically speaking, most sciatica is from a tight piriformis muscle in the butt. Rolling the irritated muscle (like putting a firm ball or rolling pin between you and the wall) can work out muscle spasms. Then stretching every day over the course of a couple weeks can stop it from coming back. I had to work with someone to show me how to do those stretches safely while pregnant. But as long as I keep them up (or start them at the first sign of pain), I remain fairly mobile. That is, I did until the baby dropped. Ugh.

niknak1208

mattandlora  thanks! I do have a rolling pin I could try. My OB told me to do cat stretches but I almost feel like I can't get a good stretch because of my baby belly. The rolling pin might help though. If I'm up walking around and moving.. it stays pretty ok but if I sit for any length of time or laying down then it really hurts. Sitting in my chair at work is sometimes painful too. I tried ice too but that didn't do a whole lot.  

Trust me.. I don't even know what to say about our financial stuff right now. I'm so irritated about the entire thing. Not exactly what I wanted to have to deal with 9 weeks before our baby is due!  I was hoping to have a nice maternity leave and not have to go back to work and now I'm apprehensive about quitting. 

mattandlora

@niknak1208 - Yeah, sorry, cat/cow won't do jack-sh*t for your piriformis. Only the low back. Piriformis is hard to stretch when you're NOT pregnant. It's even harder with a baby belly in the way. Rolling it will give you temporary relief, but the pain will come back until it is stretched out. Basically the tight muscle is pinching the sciatic nerve. Here is a video on how to stretch it when pregnant. It is one of MANY online. Just google "piriformis stretch pregnant" or similar. You'll find something that works. At trust me, you'll KNOW when you hit the right muscle.  www.enfamil.com/articles-and-videos/mom-wellness/expert-videos/managing-physical-complications-during-piriformis-stretch

I stretched mine by putting my leg on the seat of a chair in front of me, with the knee bent like I was sitting Indian-style. For example, if I was stretching my right piriformis, I'd stand on my left leg and put my right leg on a chair. The bottom of my foot would face towards the left. The right-side of my shin / calf would rest on the chair. My knee would face towards the right. Then I'd lean forwards until I felt a stretch in the butt. (I hope you can picture what I'm trying to describe here).

niknak1208

Thank you!!! I did a couple of these stretches tonight and it did help. Thank God because it can be disabling almost and really very painful.

cneiding

well hopefully now you can sleep!  FUnny right?  They will be waking you every 2 hours if the baby doesn't while in the hospital!