Insomnia Check-In 7/23/15

[Deleted]

As requested, here is this week's insomnia check-in.

If you would like to be added to this check-ins, please send me a PM so that I can tag you in the future. (also please let me know if I am missing anyone)
mama2a @led bluerainfire runnergirl812

*We encourage all who are currently struggling with or recovering/recovered from insomnia to join us.


1. Are you a current, recovering or recovered insomnia sufferer?

2. Did you always suffer from insomnia or was there a trigger?

3. What are you doing to treat or cope? Is it working?

4. Any major break-through lately that has helped you sleep better?

5. GTKY--What's your favorite summer activity?

[Deleted]

1. Are you a current, recovering or recovered insomnia sufferer? Current

2. Did you always suffer from insomnia or was there a trigger? Always.

3. What are you doing to treat or cope? Is it working? Still trying to stick with all my sleep hygiene type stuff.

4. Any major break-through lately that has helped you sleep better? Nope. I've been having more sleep attacks lately, so it's just making the insomnia worse.

5. GTKY--What's your favorite summer activity? Staying inside. I hate the sunlight and heat. DNW. I would LOVE year long winters, but H likes to be warm.

[oreille]

Can I post here? You all don't know me, I'm a GKU newbie, but it's 4:00am.

1. Are you a current, recovering or recovered insomnia sufferer? current

2. Did you always suffer from insomnia or was there a trigger? always, I think. I don't really remember a time when I didn't have trouble sleeping.

3. What are you doing to treat or cope? Is it working? Pre-TTC I gave up coke. For many months. I was doing great. I was never a coffee drinker. I still drank tea during that time, but cut down on my caffeine intake dramatically. I had a CP during my first cycle TTC in May, and I kind of fell off the "low caffeine intake" wagon after that. Yesterday was particularly bad. . .I had a hard day and I think I probably drank 64-ish ounces of soda over the course of the day.

4. Any major break-through lately that has helped you sleep better? No. . .sleeping seems to be getting worse.

5. GTKY--What's your favorite summer activity? Right now, running. My anxiety levels are high right now and it really seems to help more than anything.

[Deleted]

Hello @led, and I recognize you oreille

1. Are you a current, recovering or recovered insomnia sufferer? Permanent.

2. Did you always suffer from insomnia or was there a trigger? Insomnia has been life long. Diagnosed with Narcolepsy around 2007-2008.

3. What are you doing to treat or cope? Is it working? Medication helps keep me awake during the day. Nighttime med picks and chooses when it's going to work properly.

4. Any major break-through lately that has helped you sleep better?
Nada. Sleep is a mess from travelling and stress this past month.

5. GTKY--What's your favorite summer activity? Gardening, which I have epically failed at this summer.

[Deleted]

@led, have you had any changes (diet, meds, social, weight loss/gain)that would trigger an increase in attacks. I find that the more stressed I am, the more likely I will experience a sleep paralysis episode.

oreille - It is good that you recognize that the caffeine causes issues with your sleep.
Have you tried switching to caffeine-free soda? That way you can get a soda fix without the caffeine. However, you still need to be mindful of all the additives and sugars because they can get you just as wired.

[Deleted]

Jul 24, 2015 11:25:44 GMT -5 @wallflwr926 said:

@led, have you had any changes (diet, meds, social, weight loss/gain)that would trigger an increase in attacks. I find that the more stressed I am, the more likely I will experience a sleep paralysis episode.

oreille - It is good that you recognize that the caffeine causes issues with your sleep.
Have you tried switching to caffeine-free soda? That way you can get a soda fix without the caffeine. However, you still need to be mindful of all the additives and sugars because they can get you just as wired.

I think it's more seasonal. My attacks always get worse in the spring/summer.

[2kiddos]

1. Are you a current, recovering or recovered insomnia sufferer?
Current

2. Did you always suffer from insomnia or was there a trigger?
Having my first child

3. What are you doing to treat or cope? Is it working?
Currently take ambien nightly. That seems to help. Although I know eventually I have to get off that

4. Any major break-through lately that has helped you sleep better?
No

5. GTKY--What's your favorite summer activity
Bbq's. I love having bbq's in the nice weather!

[Deleted]

welcome back - 2kiddos would you like to be added to the check-in.

Also I can start posting these more regularly again if everyone would like.

[2kiddos]

Jul 25, 2015 8:40:18 GMT -5 @wallflwr926 said:

welcome back - 2kiddos would you like to be added to the check-in.

Also I can start posting these more regularly again if everyone would like.

Yes please add me!

[mama2a]

Jul 23, 2015 17:40:12 GMT -5 @wallflwr926 said:

As requested, here is this week's insomnia check-in.


1. Are you a current, recovering or recovered insomnia sufferer? Recovered

2. Did you always suffer from insomnia or was there a trigger?  I developed it at 12 weeks PP when I returned to work after giving birth to DD.

3. What are you doing to treat or cope? Is it working?   I finally got over it after 11 long months and have been sleeping well for about 4 months now. "The Effortless Sleep Method" was what finally helped me get over the hump--it talks about how we do more harm when we feed the Insomnia monster through Googling, labeling, and thinking that our circumstance is "different". The book explains most cases are psychological but we convince ourselves we have some hormonal imbalance but that's fairly rare. Finally what officially got me over all of it was that I stopped caring whether I slept well or not. Once I stopped caring the sleep phobia went away. It took months for me to realize that a bad night of sleep only ruined my day because of my negative thoughts about it. As I recovered I realized more and more how much the heart pounding and adrenaline made it hard to fall asleep.

4. Any major break-through lately that has helped you sleep better?  The silver lining to having insomnia is that it taught me that what I did in regular life to cope with everyday stressors prior to giving birth was no longer going to work because being a parent was 10x more taxing on me mentally and that is why insomnia started. I took up Mindfulness and am now using it in all areas of my life.

5. GTKY--What's your favorite summer activity?   Sitting in the sun, reading and drinking cold coffee beverages.