Chronic illness had many challenges and inability to acquire and maintain proper sleep would surely make the top ten list.
Do you watch TV, read, pace, visit Ben's Friends?
Great question SK. I am up all night almost every night. Usually sweating, pain, restless legs, headaches and ironically, fatigued body keep me awake. I spend the night rolling around in bed for a while. I may get up and check e-mails, read, or play a computer game. Usually I will watch an old movie on TV as they are readily available in the middle of the night. How does anyone else deal with insomnia?
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I do not sleep well at all. I used to pace or read or try to sleep. Now my doctor prescribed sleeping meds. And I have sleeping pills for during the day because I do not sleep enough. I know that is why I am making no progress lately. My body can't heal because I cant sleep. I have the hardest time falling asleep. So I usually watch a movie and hope that makes me tired so I can sleep. It is awful not to be able to sleep. It makes a person feel worse. I would love to hear other peoples experiences.
Angie
Hi Angie,
I get sleep in waves. So if I have a good night's sleep, I will pay for it with three sleepless nights! My docs do not give me anything for sleep so I take melatonin. It works occasionally. You are right our bodies cannot heal when we aren't getting sleep- not to mention the mind. All symptoms are worse when fatigue runs the day. If you have to sleep during the day, I say go for it, whatever it takes. Meditation may help you as well. I started doing so recently and it does help relax the body and racing mind. I focus on my breathing and clear the mind except for a focus point/word in order to get started. I am with you on the movies, but sometimes they keep me awake because I get hooked!
I take melatonin every night before I go to bed. And I also have amitriptyline that my doctor prescribed. She told me to take it during the day if I am really sick and just sleep all day. Yeah I know what you mean about the movies :) I don't do it often because it can almost make it worse. I listen to music and that works a lot better. It relaxes me.
You are so right, Angie, sleep ins absolutely essential to healing, I am still looking for just the right amount of the right things! Balance is so elusive!
Hi SK,
Do you think that we need a lot of sleep or just enough? They say sleep is integral to healing but what does that mean? 7 hours? 9 hours? more? I never know what is enough because no matter how much sleep I do or do not get I always wake up exhausted. The balance is indeed elusive!
I've always needed a lot of sleep, and it's always taken me longer to recover from an illness or injury or surgery than the recommended time, so I think this is an indication of autoimmune being at least somewhat present and active all of my life.
Oh yes, always exhausted, sometimes I can push through it, and sometimes it seems to consume me! I can never be comfortable long enough to sleep for long. I have been considering purchasing a chiropractic table, something that will allow me to sleep comfortably on my stomach. I like the old ones, that adjust to the body in segments, with the remote control device that raises and lowers you.
I have a bed that raises and lowers at the head and feet which is a life saver. I too need about 10 hours of sleep and even with that do not feel rested. I think the problem is that I wake up all through the night and toss and turn for hours. So the ten hours I get is probably only 6 because I am so uncomfortable and moving around. I hope you are able to get better sleep, lord knows we need it!
This is a great discussion!
Seems like lack of sleep is pretty common with chronic illness. I tend to read or work on the BF networks when I can’t sleep. My sleep has gotten better though. I take melatonin about an hour before I want to be out for the night, and it makes me gently sleepy. Also, I make sure to stop reading or playing on my iPad in bed.