Off topic question...sleeping at night...
 

Ok - I know I could post this on a different board, but I figure since MOST of my questions/issues are on THIS board - I'd get some good responses/answers from all of you wonderful women. :D

I have a hard time sleeping at night...and the past week has been horrible - mainly because of my back injury (which I posted about in a previous thread...). Well, last week it was mainly that I couldn't sleep because of the injury - I'm a tosser/turner and I just could NOT get comfy. :-(
The thing is too - I got pain pills last Tuesday for my back issues - and the pain meds just did HAVOC on my appetite - I lost my appetite and could barely eat anything and in the past week I've lost 5 pounds (yay! lol j/k...) but seriously...

I stopped the pain meds on saturday and during the middle of the night - I'd say since Saturday night - when my back actually started to feel better - I've been getting up and going downstairs every other hour for something to drink...and yeah - after the first few times I just kept a bottle of water upstairs in the bedroom....last night - for some reason - ALL i wanted was orange juice, and I finished off the rest of the carton (maybe half/carton?) during the middle of the night - granted, it was the lighter sugar OJ - but still...and this morning - I came into work and HAD to have more - so I got a small bottle of OJ at work.

Now, normally I don't even drink juice (i pretty much keep my fluids to water, milk, and the occasional beer on the weekend, to be honest - lol)....but mainly all I drink is water.

But anyways - I'm not sure if it's because of the pain meds working their way out of my system - but the last 4 nights - i've not been able to sleep and I've had to have something to drink next to the bed allllllll night long.

SO. Do any of you know of any thing that would help me actually sleep THROUGH the night and NOT wake up every hour needing something to drink? I REALLY don't want to go back to the doc (i'm starting to feel like a pharmacy - and i'm NOT one to take a lot of pills!) and I HATE feeling like a hypo-chondriac (sp) - but I just can NOT sleep! ::?:

Anyone have any suggestions?

actually there was a famous psychology study done that took 2 groups of people that have insomnia...one was given sleep pills and the other pills they were told would give them more energy (like a caffeine pill or something)...strangely enough the group given the energy pills slept better because when they got ansy they attributed it to the pill and were able to relax...I don't think that really helps just letting you know sleep issues can be very mental.

I have the same problem...I'm a stresser to begin with...All I can say is try and relax in bed, clear your mind..maybe count down from 100...have a routine before you go to bed where you start calming down before bed and don't watch TV, stay away from harsh lighting...I like to wash my dishes before bed...also warm milk can help.

Generic benadryl can help some - it is cheap and is basically an allergy pill. It does NOT work for me anymore - I take Lunesta every night and sometimes have to add an Ativan - but I have Bipolar II. All the cliched things but they do help - give yourself enough time to wind down before heading off to bed - keep the room cool and dark - try NOT to do other things in your bedroom ie: balance your checkbook, etc - even the tv can hurt sleep. Very important - and I s**k at this myself :) is to keep a routine - try to go at the same time everynight. I just splurged on a new bed I have been wanting for 5 years in the hopes if my room is more ME - ie: girly - I may sleep better. It just came today - white iron - so pretty. Now I just need someone to help me put it together - lol. Good luck - sleep issues are horrible - they effect everything else in your life.