Insominia

Its happening again... bad bouts of Insominia.

Which, effects my eating... crave carbs or doing eat at all. Which leads to weight gain...

Dont know whats going on... just feel anxious stressed, cant concentrate... progrssively getting worse.




LAP RNY JAN '08, 325 , LOWEST 185, CW 210

I suffer from horrible morning insomnia...I'm very tired when I go to bed and can usually fall asleep but I'm up at 3:30 or 4....and can't fall back. Hate it. Stress. Job and financial worries......trying to move to Connecticut and rent out my house.....worries period. Impacts sleep. I find exercise helps if I do it early in the day but I've been recovering for weeks upon weeks from pneumonia so no gym.....can't wait to get back. The carb craving is well documented with sleep deprivation. They talked about a study yesterday which determined people who are chronically sleep deprived are fatter than controlled counterparts who sleep well. When you eat carbs you raise serotonin in the brain...makes you feel better. You have to figure out what the stressors are.....and deal with them! Easier said than done I know. You also have to be vigilant about reducing caffeine.....and avoiding computers/blackberries/tv at night....an hour before bed as it stimulates the brain. Try melatonin.....it's a natural substance (not a sleeping pill) that helps with falling alseep. Talk to your doctor about a sleep aide...but long term use is problematic. I with ya.....it sucks. Susan

 Susan, its so great to see you! Truly.... missed you, My hero.

You know, this sleep thing did start back in December 2010, when I got sick with bronchitis and then pnuemonia, and its like never fully recovered from that. Havent sleep a full 6hours since then. Now.. just running on fumes at this point. Its affecting my mood, my memory.. and normally Im pretty happy and upbeat, now its like Im fighting to be like that.

I remember a lady suggesting change my proteins, switch to more liquidfied sources. Ill try that too, cause right now... for exception of 2 eggs in the am... protein is nonexistent throughout the day. And youre right, Im relying more and more on coffee for energy. Then I come home... drop from exhaustion at 530pm... sleep til maybe 8 or 9... THEN eat... then fall back asleep. Just being naughty all the way around.

Well congradulations on your move!! I know the house-thing is stressful, I used to own a 4family house.. the stress in selling it cause a 'cardiac event', Im thinking heart attack, and I was 28. YIKES!!

My brain is racing a mile a minute... girl, its scary. But body is exhausted. This weekend, I wanted to go to Newark Museum, with a friend... not sure I got the energy to appreciate it, but I hate to flake on ppl.  Yes... Im still a 'yes-girl', one of my biggest faults. I say yes to entertaining everyone else, and put myself on the back burner, until its too late.

Might see if I can weasel out of it... to rest. But if not.... I know Ill still go.

Thanks again... Ill try everything You suggest, and Ill try to come back to the board more often. Cant believe I havent been posting. I read alot.. and drop in, but Im bad with correspondence. Ive been learning to be strong for myself, you know? Doing alot of things on my own... something I never really did before. Now... in my solitude, Im loving it too much!! lmao... its like my own one-woman party!

See your doctor about this. Sleep deprivation ruins so MANY areas of health it isn't funny. I have terrible sleep disorder issues and have had to work on getting decent sleep for decades.

You need, among other things, to guard your sleep with your life, so to speak. Make sleep "sacred."

This mind racing, body exhausted thing says to me that you likely have something biological going on that could be helped with medication and possibly therapy. Please quit trying to just keep on going and doing this on your own.

Among other things, chronic sleep deprivation plays havoc with appetite and can lead to significant weight gain.

Among other things, chronic sleep deprivation plays havoc with appetite and can lead to significant weight gain.

Thank you, Elizabeth.. youre right, since being sick... in December, I put on almost 20lbs.

Just this past weekend, Lost 12 of it... just from drinking water and relaxing... and yes finally SLEEPING.

Insomnia really sucks and it has been shown to be related to obesity and other health issues. I have suffered from this since I was a young child. Some years ago I was prescribed ambien and it was a godsend. After a number of years it wasn't working so well. Late night anxiety was the real culprit so doc prescriped chomazipan, a mild tranquilizer related to vallium. it works great. it just takes the edge offf that anxiety so I can read a book and fall asleep like a normal person.

Don't suffer. get to your doctor. they are much more accomodating about sleep meds than they used to be when all there was were narcotics. And ambien and chlomazipan come in generics so they are cheap.   Diane

Thanx Diane!

Sad thing is, I can almost tell U guys exactly when the insominia started, it was when I was sick with bronchitis, back in December. Had bad coughing fit all night... back was hurting from all the coughing, got up at 3am, to fill my prescription... took it. Then my sleep schedule has been thrown off ever since.

Yeah I was prescribed Xanax shortly after horrible 'flight related' incident, and PTSD back in 2001, I would use it.. then stop for months  on end. But now my anxiety is returning and I cant fully put my finger on WHAT causing it? Which is probably stressing me out more. LOL

Imagine being STRESSED, cause U dont know the source of your STRESS!

Well, thats what a generalized anxiety disorder is. You feel the anxiety but can't relate it to any event. It can just happen without experiencing anything bad. I realized I needed some help when i got really anxious while emptying the dishwasher!  It can be due to a chemical imbalance which is when drug therapy is useful. you might consider a counselor. it can really help. some people don't like to take drugs for such purposes yet they would not hesitate to take an antibiotic or insullin if they need it. I have been greatly helped by such medication yet do not consider myself "nuts" - functioned in demanding high level job and such. So consider getting  a sleep aid/anit anxiety drug. sometimes you only need it for a couple of weeks to settle down.  GL

Diane

Eating a spoonful of peanut butter or a cup of hot milk before bed helps because these contain Tryptophan- an essential amino acid (meaning your body does not produce it- it comes from an outside source) which helps the body produce the B-vitamin niacin, which, in turn, helps the body produce serotonin, a remarkable chemical that acts as a calming agent in the brain and plays a key role in sleep. Turkey also contains tryptophan, thus making you feel sleepy after Thanksgiving dinner.