Okay, so I went to the doctor on Thursday. Fun fun. He said I’m having a Chronic Fatigue relapse brought on by (wait for it……….) INSOMNIA!!! lol. I’ve had a really hard time sleeping the past few months. We’re not sure what it is. I sleep just fine during the day, but I can’t fall asleep on my own at night. My physical therapist recommended Flexoril. I’ve got a ton of it left from my car accident, so I tried it a few weeks ago. Wow! I fell asleep about an hour after taking it (on the couch at 9:30pm) and woke up at about 2:37am, just long enough to drag Caleb from his computer to the bed and fall back asleep until 12:30pm. Yeah. It works. lol. I decided I didn’t want to regularly use a controlled substance to fall asleep, so I’ve also tried drinking herbal tea before bed, a generic form of Unisom (all the girls on NSR swear by it) and Melatonin (it’s supposed to be an herbal sleep aid). None of those work, though. The Unisom just makes it hard for me to wake up and the Melatonin makes me feel like my head is going to fall off. Yuck. The doctor gave me Ambien, but I don’t want to use it. I got it for emergencies (like it’s been a few days of no sleep), but I’ll start out taking half-doses instead of full. I’m not a fan of medications. I take them when I have to, but this isn’t a situation where I HAVE to take it. Not yet anyway. lol. I ended up taking another Flexoril on the two Saturdays ago because I didn’t sleep at all that Friday and had been sick all week. I had slept well for a few days, but that ended when I quit taking Nyquil. Anyways, I tried to take a nap about noon, but after laying there for an hour I started bawling because I was so tired and felt like crap. So Caleb gave me some Flexoril and I slept until noon on Sunday. Good thing Caleb called the Relief Society President to let her know I wouldn’t be at church.
So, yeah, this is my life. lol. I’m learning some relaxation techniques that are supposed to calm and focus the mind, which will make it easier to fall asleep. It’s going to take a while to ‘master’ it, but it seems promising. Basically, I’m just supposed to focus on a place where I feel happy and safe. The place I’ve chosen in my Grandpa’s house in Colorado. Then I just picture it in my mind and focus on the details, kinda like painting a picture in your mind. Evidently, focusing your mind like this is supposed to be relaxing and falling asleep ‘sneaks up’ on you. lol. Another thing I’m trying is counting. I focus on breathing in and out slowly and counting each breath in and out as 1, the next in and out as 2, etc. The first night I did that I got up to somewhere over 100. I stopped counting after 112. Last night, I remember getting to 60. So, I think that one works.
If anyone has any tips or tricks that work for them, send’em this way. I’ll take all the advice I can get.
