Unable to sleep

Hello linjoy and welcome. I also can struggle to sleep, isn’t it frustrating? A GP once advised taking the old fashioned anti histamines that make you drowsy. I tried but felt so dreadful all the next day decided not for me, may be worth a try. I can sleep well for a week, for me that’s about 6 hours, then have a couple of nights with 2-4. I’ve stopped fighting it, and try to just accept it. My mantra is ‘it doesn’t matter if I don’t sleep, I’ll be fine tomorrow’. I read, listen to an audio book, music or the radio, make a cuppa, try relaxation exercises or just get up and potter about. What I don’t do is worry about it. The GP has prescribed a sleeping tablet as a sort of safety net for me if I have little sleep for several nights in a row. My prescription is for 20 which usually last over a year. If you have been happy with medication which has stopped working talk to your GP, there may be an alternative. I’d second the advice about the politics threads which can be shall we say robust, I stay away, others enjoy them. Something for everyone here.

I’ve found that if I have a glass of wine in the evening, I fall asleep quickly but wake up a couple of hours later and then just can’t get back to sleep for ages. I seem to have a good night’s sleep if I need to take Ibuprofen....works like a sleeping tablet for me.

Hi nonnie what are the pills you get from Holland and Barrett please

Have you tried reading Say goodnight to insomnia and a book by guy meadow called The sleep book I've found them both userul

I’ve only been on ere a couple of weeks and I love reading most of the threads.

I, too, struggle with sleep and some nights manage less than two hours. My fitness tracker monitors my sleep patterns and I average four hours a night which isn’t great.

Any hints and tips would be really appreciated!

Hi nonnie thank you for your replies what dosage of antihistamines were you on and how long did you take them for

Welcome. I assume you've Googled all the things about insomnia so won't go through them with you.

I was prescribed sleeping pills but told to only take them every other night as they are addictive. I was prescribed anti-histamines for the alternate night. I found I felt queasy and weepy after the anti-histamines so cut down the dosage and slept badly just the same as when I took the full dose. I have stopped taking them now and instead have sleepy tea and a couple of pills from Holland and Barrett which has the same effect. So I sleep well when I take the sleeping pills and badly when I don't but at least I don't seem to be weepy. I think it is probably trial and error for each of us. I didn't get on with the normal over the counter pills as I felt terrible the next day. Good luck

Welcome *Ellianne I hope you enjoy looking around and joining in.

The two threads where I can promise you will be treated kindly are "Good Morning" and "soop's kitchen". The latter takes a lot of getting used to because it has been around for a while so some of us "know" others very well having practically experienced all the traumas.

Some of us also have meetups so that may be something else to look out for.

Hi Linjoy welcome to GN.

I am terrible at sleeping, every so often I take Nytol for 4-5 days to try and get some sleep.

I am just as tired in the morning as when I go to bed, I go the gym and keep busy during the day until I am exhausted, drag myself up to bed, snuggle down and shazam I am wide awake, my mind goes into overdrive and I lay worrying about worries I didn’t know I had.

Hope you sleep well tonight ???

Thanks for replying will avoid politics??

I'm new here too Linjoy, so far so good with nice people.
I feel as though I've lost the ability to sleep even on medication. I'm awake an hour after dropping off and have a fractured few hours from then til morning. It's horrible and feels like the brain is misfiring on this front.
Hope someone has some suggestions here.

I'm no help either as I'm like you Charleygirl, majority of the time anyway.

I am the opposite- you will not want to hear from me because I could fall asleep anywhere and do!

Welcome, my advice to you is if you do not want to be shouted at stay clear of political threads. The majority, but not all the people are very pleasant and helpful.