Insomnia

[Where's Bruce?]

So I busted myself up pretty good 5 weeks ago on an ebike and my prescriptions for sleeping pills and pain killers are expired however, my daily PT (for sacroiliac damage) still leaves me with residual pain and i find myself unable sleep. I'm trying to ease the discomfort with Ibuprofen but the sleeping pills were key to a good night's sleep and those seemed to benefit me the most. A good night;s sleep seemed to greatly accelerate my recovery. Without em I am catching cat naps, no sustained slumber. Has anyone else been in this situation where you had to quit the meds to avoid addiction and find other ways of managing pain, stiffness and sleeplessness? Tried hot tubbing, pain creams, melatonin, magnesium...not helping. At 3am I wanna start start trying shots of tequila but know that's a bad idea. Open to any suggestions except warm milk.

 

[Jmort1754]

I have the same problem. My pcp cycles me on different pills.

 

[rayporter]

Nyquil will help the fastest if you need a few hours.

i have been on some bad junk for 20 years. my doc says he takes Benadryl every night to fall asleep.

 

[come2elmo]

A mix or ibuprofen and Tylenol with a benedryl before bed seems to help me. Although too much of any of those can mess you up too.

 

[rayporter]

the trouble with the antihistamines like Benadryl is they make you have to get up and go to the bathroom often. as well as a hangover the next day.

 

[NJDiverDan]

3 fingers of good bourbon and a melatonin work pretty well for me.

 

[Idaho_Potato]

Spend a few days sleeping in a tent away from cell service? Nothing seems to reset my sleep like removing the screens and going to bed/getting up around sunlight. Take a book or two and forget about your phone if you can.

I would end any chemical whatsoever that you need to sleep cold turkey. It will never end.

 

[brsnow]

I am using ambian periodically, had rotator cuff surgery recently. Only once maybe twice a week to try and keep my body in a normal sleep schedule. I use headspace meditation app the rest of the time. The meditation helps with pain and sleep.

 

[Brightwhite]

Not sure what your position on marijuana is, but it’s an option. I’m a clean cut 40 year old white collar professional, but I use edibles from tome to time. I don’t smoke it, but a gummy/edible when I know I need some sleep, or even one heavy with CBD on backpack trips before bed to help with inflammation, works really well for me. I buy the tablets made by Altus that you take like a pill, or the gummy bear type stuff. Or I have used and like this stuff, CBD sleep aid by warrior fuel:

Recharge CBD

Recharge is a one of a kind sleep aid. Made with the highest ingredients. Use it to help you calm down, relax and de-stress. Get the best night of sleep and recover faster!

warriorfuelsupplements.com

 

[wapitibob]

10mg 50/50 thc/cbd gummys.

 

[String&stick]

#1 blue light glasses to help filter that out of the equation.
#2 talk to the doc about something to manage the pain
#3 olly extra strength sleep gummies. They contain 5 mg of melatonin Along with some other stuff and were like magic for my wife.

She has on and off bouts of insomnia and was tired of taking the equivalent of 4 to 6 benadryl a night to sleep. She tried regular melatonin and 10 mg was doing nothing. Tried these on a recommendation from a friend and they are gold. Now you may still wake up, she went from cat naps to 5 to 5.5 hours of sleep. So she bought the regular strength and extra strength. Take extra strength about 30 min before bedtime, and if you wake up in the night pop a regular strength.

Best part is no hangover from them!

 

[Antarctica]

I would end any chemical whatsoever that you need to sleep cold turkey. It will never end.

^^^This, as with any chemical dependency. For the occasional, "I'm thinking about too much stuff and can't sleep", I agree with the bourbon remedy.

I once had someone on the ship I worked on (I was the EMT) that came onboard for a long cruise, and that had sustained a concussion after his medical qualification. Not wanting to be disqualified, he didn't tell anyone. His drugs (vicodin if I remember correctly) ran out shortly after he got on. He was going nuts and insisted that I give him meds. I consulted the shore doc, and they refused to prescribe. They flat out told me he was addicted at that point and that he was going through withdrawal. He was pissed, and he had one helluva headache for a week. At the end of the cruise, he admitted that he now realized the docs were right and he was addicted, and thanked me for not giving him more.

That said, I've never suffered from any sleep afflictions, so I'm not speaking from similar experience.

 

[menhaden_man]

This is a little hippy-ish but works OK for me... not a dead sleep like meds, but also pretty harmless and helps a bit.

Amazon.com: Sleep Fairy Natural Sleep Aid | Non-Habit Forming | Anxiety & Insomnia Relief Supplement | Herbal Sleeping Pills for Adults w/Valerian Root, GABA, L-Theanine, Magnesium, Melatonin | 60 Vegan Caps: Health & Personal Care

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www.amazon.com

 

[Maki35]

Have you spoken to your Dr. about refills?
regardless I would be careful about continuing on prescribed pain killers & sleeping pills.
(a friend was in a bad car accident a couple yrs ago. she was prescribed pain killers & has been addicted to them ever since. Another friend got addicted to sleeping pills.)
Ibuprofen for the pain (but be careful, too much can dmg to your stomach or intestines.)
I'll take 1 benadryl when I can't sleep. I'll take a 2nd pill if I still can't fall asleep ( 2 benadryl knocks me out, but 2 pills usually makes me very groggy in the morning.)

 

[spike camp]

CBD

 

[Jn78]

In my opinion, just get away from chemical dependency today. When you have a serious injury and you start substituting Benadryl, or Ambien, or NyQuil, or Melatonin, or Alcohol, or any other chemicals for pain meds, you are just placing other hurdles in your way to recovery. I've been through lots of broken bones including a broken neck that put me in bed for quite a while and knee injury that required a few surgeries to address several torn ligaments and enough torn cartilage that I am now bone on bone in a couple of locations in my knee. The last time i got off of pain pills I got sick for a few days and I have been there - I have tried using other chemicals to sleep/not hurt. I think using chemicals to get a night's sleep works in the short term, but if your injury is bad (or chronic) you might just have to suck it up and not sleep well at times. I think you are best off if you set a routine, get up at the same time every day, go to sleep at the same time every day, do whatever exercise you can every day, limit caffeine intake, don't take your phone to bed with you, and hope your body adjusts over time.

 

[blackdog]

I'd also recommend the CBD/THC ideas. I don't have any sleep issues at all thankfully but my wife really does. So we've had a few of these products around and if I take one, I will be OUT all night and wake up refreshed as can be. No hangover like some other sleep aids can have.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

Thank you for all the replies. Tried Melatonin and it made me sound like Joe Biden the next day...effects my brain too much and I cannot afford to be "slow" with my work schedule. Varied the quantity but it always stuck with me the next day. That's out. I despise taking meds and fear addiction...that includes edibles. Accidentally ate an edible chocolate bar once...didn't know. You're supposed to eat one square but I ate the whole thing (ten squares) and thought i was gonna die. That's out. Will try the herbal thing but suspect the results will be negligible...I'm not a small guy. Mixing Ibuprofen and Benedryl and Tylenol doesn't sound great either. Trying to reduce the meds I consume, not add to em. Doc told me to back off some of my PT...thinks i might be pushing my body to hard and that may be a factor. I dunno...it's frustrating to be sure. If you are healthy and feel normal...appreciate it.

 

[william schmaltz]

See if you can borrow a newborn and a couple toddlers from someone. You’ll be falling asleep standing up by day two!

 

[Salmon River Solutions]

I take the Costco sleep aid pills. They are cheap and they work well enough for me. I work a really late swing shift and don’t get home until 3 am usually. Then just like this last weekend, I had to get up Sunday at 4am. I use them to flip my sleep schedule. Sometimes I just drink some scotch when I get home and can’t sleep. It drives me crazy watching the sunrise and I haven’t even slept yet.