Snowydelrico

Got yet another cold.
Had the beginnings of an asthma attack a few days ago.( I got new inhalers and on top of that now)
Got everything spinning round in my head with the breakup and my very sick terminally ill mum.
Not slept properly for about 5 days now.
Should I see an out of hours doctor?
Is medication for sleep the right way to go?
Any ideas?

Mummyto2

Anna

Snowy, I know how frustrating insomnia can be. There are lots of guided meditations on Youtube to help you calm your mind and relax. Maybe that would be worth a try?

Snowydelrico

Might give it a try.
I’m usually good at getting myself back to sleep using relaxation methods. The aches and pains keep distracting me.
I’ll wait till my cold/flu tablets start working
Can’t seem to stop the bad dreams waking me.

Dee74

If it goes on much longer and you're still having trouble sleeping and you're feeling poorly,. maybe seeing the Dr is the way to go Snow?

D

suki44883

I've made this a few times when unable to sleep. It's very soothing and calming.

Honey and Cinnamon Nighttime Drink

4 ingredients

1 tsp Honey
1 pinch Cinnamon, ground
2 drop Vanilla extract
1 cup Milk

Pour milk into a microwave safe mug. Cook on High until the milk is very hot and begins to foam, about 3 minutes. Stir in honey and vanilla, then sprinkle with cinnamon before serving.

MyLittleHorsie

Fellow asthmatic here, do not take OTC sleeping meds, they are not recommended for us for a reason. Check with the doctor. Get well soon!

SuficintCrlsns

There's a product called InstaSleep that I would recommend. It is low dose melatonin, 5-HTP, and GABA. If you're not familiar with these ingredients, do your research to make sure it is something you can take. It works great. I bought it in desperation in early sobriety and I still take it because I love it so much. No groggy feeling the next morning like just taking melatonin.

Also, look up recipes for moon milk, which is your milk of choice mixed with ashwaghanda (an Auervedic herb), coconut oil, turmeric and a few spices. That is good stuff too if you can get past the taste of the ashwaghanda.

SC

Dee74

Please be mindful of our medical advice rule guys -

TLDR 'this is what I did' not 'this would be good for you'...

thanks
D

Natom

Hey,

Sounds like we've been in very similar situations recently. I had an asthma flare-up and my sleep has been all over the place. As a fellow Brit, I find the out of hours doctor service completely useless. And as a drug addict I also know that they really don't like handing out pills, especially any pain or sleep-related pills.

My advice would be to get a product called 'Sominex' which has the active ingredient of promethazine. It's an anti-allergy/sleep aid that I've found helpful and it doesn't have any addiction potential. It's also marketed as 'Phenergan'. I think this would probably help more than a proper heavy duty sleeping pill. Most pharmacies will have it behind the counter. You could also look into the 'Kalms' range which from memory is valerian root based.

I hope everything starts looking up for you and you're able to get some proper sleep.

Natom

Mummyto2

ChloeRose63

I drink 'calming teas' that I can get at the store.

August252015

So sorry Snowy- sounds like a number of things that are causing this crummy sleep. I get it. Sleep has been the number one thing that frequently plagues me in sobriety- still (at 3 yr 7 mo) pretty regularly.

I do have prescribed sleep meds- I take them sometimes as I don't like the excessive sweating side effects, so I have to be willing to deal with that (ie really need to knock myself out and hope for no shirt changing etc). Melatonin on the regular seems to be a bit of help.

When I'm sick, I do take the nighttime meds like for colds, and sometimes the Benadryl route for sniffly/allergy type stuff. It seems to be a "sleep" inducer.

Patience and napping as needed (and seeing a dr as needed) seem to be my best options.

Take care of you like you are doing. Hope it all eases and you get rest here shortly.

entropy1964

As someone who has been trying to 'get off' my sleep meds for years, literally, I always recommend anything prescription as a last ditch effort.

Sleep meds may not get us high, but they are habit forming, or addictive. So a drug is a drug is a drug. I took them for a good reason, but took them way too long. And now, here I am. Hooked.

I'd definitely do what August suggested taking night time type cold meds. Then see how it goes. Obviously not sleeping is a huge issue but just weigh carefully starting a prescription med for sleep.

Just my experience.

Callas

Go to your doctor. This really is not the place for medical advice.

Natom

I believe I may have fallen foul of the forum rules but I can't edit my post on mobile so I'd just like to note that:

Products such as phenergan have worked for me in the past but you should get advice from a qualified physician.

Natom

Snowydelrico

Thanks everyone. I know the score with the medical advice thing.
If I don’t sleep tonight I will go to the doctor in the morning.
Having just gone through 4 years of raising a child I’m quite a dab hand at functioning on not much sleep. It does grind me down though. Like wading through treacle.

Natom

It's always best to go to your own doctor about stuff like sleep or pain. Mainly because they know you and are more likely to try and help you than the out of hours lot. Hope it gets better for you.

Natom.

Dee74

Its best to phrase it in terms of 'this is what I did'...but it was clear it was your experience Tom, so no foul.

D

abgator

Can be, not are. That's one thing that kinda irks me about this site. A lot of people here incorrectly assert that just because one is an alcoholic, they'll also be an addict for all other substances, which is absolutely not the case.

I'm not promoting sleeping pills in any way, but I've been prescribed at least 6 different things for insomnia. First it was the usual Trazadone, which would help me get to sleep, but not stay asleep. And it made me groggy, not to mention he horrendously trippy dreams. Went through a ton of medication that wasn't actually for sleep, but had side effects of drowsiness (buspiron or hydroxyzine, for example). Those didn't work at all. I've taken all kinds of prescriptions and never once gave giving them up a second thought. Trazadone the longest, for a few years, before I tossed them.

The sad reality is that as alcoholics, we've created an enormous imbalance in our brains and sleep cycles. I've heard of people taking year(s) to get their sleep cycles back to normal. Terrifying for me as I still don't sleep more than an hour or two without waking up and rarely reach REM sleep.

I've been trying Youtube or the app Insight Timer for guided meditations for sleep for several months on a nightly basis and I still get distracted very easily. Nothing yet has resolved my staying asleep issue, but I have gotten to the point where I can fall asleep in 30 minutes instead of 2 or 3 hours. The key has been several things:

Exercise. At least 30 minutes, ideally 45-60, of hard cardio. If you have access, some time in a sauna or steam room is great for your body. Healthier eating and eliminating almost all sugar and refined carbs. Especially at night. You don't need your blood sugar spiking and crashing at or during the night. Cool the house down. Your body and brain sleep better when it's cold. If I don't fall asleep to guided meditation, I put on a youtube of a thunderstorm or ocean waves. It also helps to eliminate all electronics at least an hour before bed.

Most of it truly is retraining your brain for proper "sleep hygiene".

I have one surefire way to get to sleep, but I'm not allowed to say it lol