Anyone have trouble sleeping?

lenya_35

Am I the only one having trouble sleeping?  I have a hard time falling asleep, I wake up a bunch during the night, and when I actually do sleep I have crazy dreams (some loss related, some not).

 My ob/gyn gave me a prescription for Ambien, and that's the only way I can get a decent night's sleep these days but I really don't want to get hooked on sleeping pills.  

Anyone else having this problem?  What do you do to get rest at night? 

silverlining8d

I've learned to sleep when I can. I don't get much sleep at night...never more than four hours at a time. I hate medication of any kind so I won't take it.

lrichmond86

Ticker warning

After our loss I had lots of trouble sleeping. They gave me a prescription for ambien but it made me do crazy things in my sleep like cooking full meals! So most nights I chose not to take it. Do you see a counselor? If you do they should be able to help you develop strategies for getting better sleep. My therapist helped me a lot with this. Best of luck to you with this. Hope you get some good sleep soon!

racheldj423

It's been almost 5 months since lossing our son Isaac, and I still have some trouble falling asleep.  It doesn't take forever, but it sometimes take awhile, especially if I start thinking about Isaac.  My water broke and the bleeding happened at night, so when I get back into bed, I'm reminded all over again.

One thing that I find helpful is exercising.  When I exercise, it makes me even more tired and night, and I can fall asleep a little faster.  It's doesn't totally solve the problem, but I find it helps a little. Also, I make sure I get up on time in the morning. When I slept in the first few weeks, I wouldn't be as tired when it came time to heading to bed. If I got too much sleep, it would take me forever to fall asleep.

MAYashes86

I also have trouble sleeping, and wake up during the night feeling panicked. I don't want to get into my bed at all anymore, as I know Benjamin died when I was sleeping there. I've mostly been staying up at night & taking a nap on the couch during the day to avoid my bedroom. Maybe try sleeping in a different room?

sand&starfish

I hate sleeping and getting into bed. I'd say it makes me pretty anxious, I'm not sure why exactly - I think it's a combination of making me think about things because there's nothing to distract me, and I hate waking up in the morning to that fog/having to remind myself what happened all over again. It's getting better, but I still dread sleeping.

 At first I took ambien. Then, the ambien ran out and I didn't want a refill because I don't want to get hooked either. I usually just stay up until I feel like I can't stay awake any more, then try to sleep. I do end up taking benadryl a few nights a week still, but it's getting a little less each week. I think I've just adjusted to sleeping a lot less. 

jebretz

I never had trouble sleeping but I did, and still do have the weird dreams.  A lot of them are loss related as well.  

A good medicine to try is Melatonin.  There are a few over the counter brands, either 2 or 3 mg.  It is a natural hormone/chemical so it is not addicting and just helps your body fall naturally asleep instead of forcing it like Ambien.  I took it the first week or two and it helped calm my mind so I didn't wake up crying.  

((Hugs to you)) 

mirgirl

Hi- I'm new to this board and have not properly introduced yet, but have you ever used Melatonin?  It is a natural substance in your body so I like it better.  I use a time release version when I have trouble sleeping so I have less trouble waking up during the night.  You may feel tired the first day after but then it gets better. 

mirgirl

And sorry... I reset my ticker before replying to your post but apparently the Bump takes a while to update

If you see a pregnancy ticker it should not be there- our twins passed away in December after being born prematurely. 

Poppy715

H and I both have trouble sleeping! It takes me hours sometimes to fall asleep and when I do I toss and turn and never sleep hard. I used to have no trouble at all before my loss. I was on so many meds when I first got home I didn't have trouble at all. Now that I'm off most of them and working again my sleep has suffered greatly.

H has been having panic attacks pretty regularly. He fears I will have another seizure while I'm sleeping. He usually doesn't worry until after he comes to bed. I often feel him checking my pulse or feeling my chest or back to make sure I'm breathing. He is so terrified it will happen again even though he knows the seizures were directly pregnancy related.

I was also given a prescription to Ambien but it hasn't helped all that much. The first time I took it I was awake for 3 hours afterwards. It won't put me to sleep but when I do finally sleep I have a really hard time waking up. It is not ideal for working and getting up early during the week.