I have insomnia, not seasonal, not situational but life long can't sleep for nothing insomnia. My earliest memory is laying awake waiting for the sun so I could get up and go to school..I was about 5.

However, my only saving grace was that I could sleep once I got to sleep, but that has changed. I have had 13 hours of sleep since Sunday morning and let me tell you, I am beyond tired. So tired in fact that I am going to the doctor today and asking for a sleep aid, something I promised myself I would never do. Before you mention it, I have tried everything in the last 40 years, breathing, melatonin, meditation, etc. and sometimes it works for a few days-heck melatonin worked for 4 months-then I go back to not being able to go to sleep.

So, what is the point of this thread you ask? I want to complain, nothing much more than that. I was so exhausted last night that I crashed at 6 pm-my beloved husband woke me and 10 and I have been awake ever since. *sigh* He didn't do it on purpose, I used to be able to sleep through a freight train-now I wake so easily he won't kiss me goodbye in the morning before going to work. *double sigh*

I usually try to work with my insomnia and work at night then hit the sack as the sun comes up, but I can't do that now because I can't work out at home or go to the gym at midnight.

Also, I want to hit him and both of my kids with a brick every time they say they can't sleep---after trying for ten fricken minutes. *triple sigh*

Okay, I guess that's about it.

Doesn't it feel good to just complain every now and then, without people complaining about you complaining? That made a lot of sense didn't it? Haha

I have a night every once in a while where it seems I can literally see every freakin' minute on the clock and finally I fall asleep five minutes before my alarm clock goes off. I cannot even begin to imagine how tired you must be.

Not much I can do or say, other than I hope you really do get a good nights rest and that you will be able to find a solution to your problem, even if it is with a sleep aid. *hugs*

Hey, my gym is open 24/7! They give you a key card to get in after hours. It's cheap too because it's not staffed all the time. Might be an option for the middle of the night when you can't sleep... then you can go home and crash after everyone is gone for the day.

Don't feel bad about asking for a sleep aid. There's nothing inherently "wrong" with them... just with the way people use them. I'm a pharmacist, I see a lot of sleep aids come and go. I would suggest using it very short term and only to develop good habits. I've never felt that chemically-induced sleep is as restful or restoring as natural sleep, but they can be used to train your body to sleep. The problem is that people continue to use them after that habit and training has been accomplished, and THEN they become dependent on them. It's not always an actual chemical dependency. Sometimes it's just the idea...

I use a sleep aid occasionally, I use an old-style anti-depressant, an SARI, not the newer SSRI. I like this better than the actually "sleeping pills" because it just creates a feeling of drowsiness and calm that allows me to fall asleep rather than actually forcing me to sleep. I'm not making any medical suggestions here just something to think about.

Update of sorts:
I was given Ambien, and told to go home and take one and try to sleep. I laid down at 2 pm and woke at 4...am. I woke several times but it was simply to use the rest room. By 6 I had eaten breakfast and gotten an hour of work done...the first in days! I am so relieved.

On a side note...my husband decided to sleep on the couch so as not to wake me, he is so sweet. He didn't bother to put the puppies in their kennel so the entire house was covered in puppy poo...looked like a freaking flock of chickens roosted in here last night. LMAO It's all good though.

I have lifelong insomnia as well. It comes and goes as to how bad it is. It is very frustrating to deal with. But, maybe the Ambien will give you a jump start to help you get some rest. I think that sleep problems don't help weight loss.