PTSD and Trauma recovery

[atomiczombie]

I never get to sleep before 4:30am. I get up around 12:30pm every day. Even if I get up way earlier, I am still wide awake all night. I force myself to go to bed by 4:00am, but if I didn't, I could be awake a lot longer. If I take my night time meds a lot earlier than 3 or 3:30am, I still am just as wide awake. My nighttime meds include 400mg of Trazodone, which is supposed to help me sleep.

On the bright side, I get a full 8 hours of sleep everyday. I suspect that my brain is wired to be up all night because the original traumatic event that started all this (fire broke out in my apartment and destroyed it) happened at 2am. Now my brain is on high alert all night. I don't know how to change that.

[Canela]

I have been very lucky in that I have been sleeping all night long, well as much as possible...I awaken wishing there was more time to sleep...lol...but I did go thru a patch some years ago where I could not sleep at all! It was terrible! I got so much advice from everyone from warm milk to staying up until I passed out..lol...and finally I tried having a cup of chamomile tea and spraying my bedroom with lavender scent and lighting lavendar candles...also, I placed candles around my home and as soon as it got dark, I lit those and it gave a warm, soft glow...not only did it make for a relaxing effect but it also made me more amorous...my honey loved it...'course I fell hard to sleep every night but hey, I felt better and better everyday. Also, an old wives tale about getting outside during the morning dew and just breathing deeply, stretching, praying...helped with depression symptoms as well as insomnia...don't ask me how it works...but it certainly worked for me...

I hope you all find solutions to your sleep inhibitions...it sure does feel good to wake up from a restful slumber...mmm...and I wish you that in abundance.

[Apocalipstic]

Originally Posted by atomiczombie

I never get to sleep before 4:30am. I get up around 12:30pm every day. Even if I get up way earlier, I am still wide awake all night. I force myself to go to bed by 4:00am, but if I didn't, I could be awake a lot longer. If I take my night time meds a lot earlier than 3 or 3:30am, I still am just as wide awake. My nighttime meds include 400mg of Trazodone, which is supposed to help me sleep.

On the bright side, I get a full 8 hours of sleep everyday. I suspect that my brain is wired to be up all night because the original traumatic event that started all this (fire broke out in my apartment and destroyed it) happened at 2am. Now my brain is on high alert all night. I don't know how to change that.

That totally makes sense, your body is likely on high alert all night t keep you safe. At least right now you get to sleep long enough to get 8 hours. Sleep is so important in the healing process.

LS makes some great suggestions! Lavendar does help, and it's not too girly and chamomile calm the stomach and the mind. Sometimes I ice down a pitcher and drink it as iced tea.

I hope as time passes maybe you can get to sleep a little earlier each night, but don't push yourself, it really has not been that long since the fire.

So sorry you are experiencing this!

[atomiczombie]

Originally Posted by apocalipstic

That totally makes sense, your body is likely on high alert all night t keep you safe. At least right now you get to sleep long enough to get 8 hours. Sleep is so important in the healing process.

LS makes some great suggestions! Lavendar does help, and it's not too girly and chamomile calm the stomach and the mind. Sometimes I ice down a pitcher and drink it as iced tea.

I hope as time passes maybe you can get to sleep a little earlier each night, but don't push yourself, it really has not been that long since the fire.

So sorry you are experiencing this!

LOL The fire happened on December 1st 2007. That is kind of a while ago now. Different scents, things like that have never worked for me. The best thing I have is reading a book. Since I have lived with the bipolar diagnosis all my life, I have had sleep issues that long too. As a teenager I once went for 3 weeks without more than an hour or so each night and at the end of that I crashed into one of the worst depression episodes of my life. I am no stranger to sleep problems. What I have learned over the years is not to stress myself out over it. If I can't sleep then I can't sleep and worrying about it doesn't help. I just relax when I am in bed and read. I know that even if I am not sleeping, my body is resting and I will eventually fall asleep. Right now I am not working so it is easier to deal with, but I do feel like I miss a lot when I sleep through half the day. Oh well. I am kind of wondering if the T I started on in the beginning of May might be exacerbating my sleep problems. Thanks for your kind words apoc, and everyone else.

[Soft*Silver]

I finally fell asleep at a decent hour and was up at 9 AM! Now lets see if I can do this two days in a row.

Melatonin...I have a friend who tried using it but it gave her hallucinations. She saw things move in the patterns of the wallpaper. Has anyone else experienced this or something like it on melatonin?

[Liam]

Originally Posted by softness

I finally fell asleep at a decent hour and was up at 9 AM! Now lets see if I can do this two days in a row.

Melatonin...I have a friend who tried using it but it gave her hallucinations. She saw things move in the patterns of the wallpaper. Has anyone else experienced this or something like it on melatonin?

Yes, when I took 7 mg I had nightmares. When I took 5mg, sometimes I had nightmares. It seems that 3mg is a good dose for me, I sleep well, have detailed vivid dreams and life is good.

[Apocalipstic]

Originally Posted by atomiczombie

LOL The fire happened on December 1st 2007. That is kind of a while ago now. Different scents, things like that have never worked for me. The best thing I have is reading a book. Since I have lived with the bipolar diagnosis all my life, I have had sleep issues that long too. As a teenager I once went for 3 weeks without more than an hour or so each night and at the end of that I crashed into one of the worst depression episodes of my life. I am no stranger to sleep problems. What I have learned over the years is not to stress myself out over it. If I can't sleep then I can't sleep and worrying about it doesn't help. I just relax when I am in bed and read. I know that even if I am not sleeping, my body is resting and I will eventually fall asleep. Right now I am not working so it is easier to deal with, but I do feel like I miss a lot when I sleep through half the day. Oh well. I am kind of wondering if the T I started on in the beginning of May might be exacerbating my sleep problems. Thanks for your kind words apoc, and everyone else.

A lot of my trauma happened over 40 years ago, so 2007 seems pretty recent in PTSD terms.

I have to work a shift where I have to get up and be to work at a certain time or I sleep all day too. It keeps me regular...My sleep I mean, that sounded funny!

Originally Posted by softness

I finally fell asleep at a decent hour and was up at 9 AM! Now lets see if I can do this two days in a row.

Melatonin...I have a friend who tried using it but it gave her hallucinations. She saw things move in the patterns of the wallpaper. Has anyone else experienced this or something like it on melatonin?

Never, but I have on some medicines. Spiders sliding down their web lines onto my bed and crawling up my covers, I could even feel them and was frozen. But not on Melatonin.

Originally Posted by Liam

Yes, when I took 7 mg I had nightmares. When I took 5mg, sometimes I had nightmares. It seems that 3mg is a good dose for me, I sleep well, have detailed vivid dreams and life is good.

I have always gone with 3mg too. Works great.

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by softness

I finally fell asleep at a decent hour and was up at 9 AM! Now lets see if I can do this two days in a row.

Melatonin...I have a friend who tried using it but it gave her hallucinations. She saw things move in the patterns of the wallpaper. Has anyone else experienced this or something like it on melatonin?

Ut, OH!!

I believe anything can happen even with a herbal product. Interactions with other medications, etc. This is why it is important to list all herbal supplements (including vitamins) along with prescriptions and OTC meds at the docs and when asking a pharmicist for advise. Herbal remedies are part of pharmacology.

I have not had any side effects with Melatonin, but certainly believe something like this could happen. Knowing what (if any) other kinds of meds your friend takes would be helpful.

[Apocalipstic]

Originally Posted by AtLastHome

Ut, OH!!

I believe anything can happen even with a herbal product. Interactions with other medications, etc. This is why it is important to list all herbal supplements (including vitamins) along with prescriptions and OTC meds at the docs and when asking a pharmicist for advise. Herbal remedies are part of pharmacology.

I have not had any side effects with Melatonin, but certainly believe something like this could happen. Knowing what (if any) other kinds of meds your friend takes would be helpful.

Another question is, did friend stop taking other medication to change to melatonin?

My hallucinations have been worst when stopping a medication.

[Jet]

Originally Posted by atomiczombie

I never get to sleep before 4:30am. I get up around 12:30pm every day. Even if I get up way earlier, I am still wide awake all night. I force myself to go to bed by 4:00am, but if I didn't, I could be awake a lot longer. If I take my night time meds a lot earlier than 3 or 3:30am, I still am just as wide awake. My nighttime meds include 400mg of Trazodone, which is supposed to help me sleep.

On the bright side, I get a full 8 hours of sleep everyday. I suspect that my brain is wired to be up all night because the original traumatic event that started all this (fire broke out in my apartment and destroyed it) happened at 2am. Now my brain is on high alert all night. I don't know how to change that.

I go through the exact same thing....no sleep. I finally got all my meds filled and I'm sleeping through the night. It took forever to find the right combination of meds. Good luck with this.

[Soon]

I've had a lot of success using Melatonin (herbal product) to help make me sleepy when my mind is whirrrrring.

[Apocalipstic]

Originally Posted by HowSoonIsNow

I've had a lot of success using Melatonin (herbal product) to help make me sleepy when my mind is whirrrrring.

I take Melatonin too, I forgot about that. It does really help!

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by apocalipstic

I take Melatonin too, I forgot about that. It does really help!

I just started using Melatonin, too! And like the result. I've always had sleep problems (even as a baby, according to my mother, not just baby kind of stuff and it got really bad after precipitating PTSD event) and menopause really did a number on me with sleep! Way better post-menopause, but still a problem. Kind of nice to have Melatonin working for me.

[Rockinonahigh]

I was a premie and weighed one pound fourteenOz,I always have had a sleep problemwich is backwards to ppl who sleep nights,I usely sleep better in the day than at night.Hence most of my jobs have been grave yard nighters wich work very well for me.If im ging to sleep nights I either do a lot to burn of the excess energy then when I do go to bed I have learned to meditate my mind into a safe place to fall asleep..works most of the time.On the nights I have trouble sleepng I am on the puter till I get tired or go work out on the patio as hard as I dare..cazy but works for me.

[AtLast]

I sometimes use meditation or self-hypnosis to shut down anxiety before bedtime. Usually only when I am just way anxious and know I have to divert it somehow. I was a low birth weight baby (Mom smoked while pregnant for me), but full term. Don't know if this has any bearing on sleep disturbance, but have read some studies about neurological wiring and sleep and symptoms can begin in infancy. Put that with anxiety wiring and throw in trauma and BOOM!! Maybe... have no scientific basis to make this assumption.

I certainly envy people that sleep soundly and get real restorative sleep, however! I developed central nervous system sleep apnea about 20 years ago which really was hard. With treatment and weight loss (even though that was not the main marker for onset) helped a lot, plus the relaxation techniques. I am doing well with the Melatonin at this point and haven't had any side effects- still have to be aware of this with herbal type therapies.
Hell, herbs, roots, potions, and plants are what gave pharmacology its start!

LOL, my kid says I need sex back in my life and I will sleep just fine! Damn, kid!