why do we have sleep problems????

I am a three year post op, down 110 pounds at one point, now down 100 and fighting!

question:  why do so many of us have sleep problems???  and has anyone found a way to successfully deal with it????

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Graduate-OSSG

You'll see hundreds of us have this. We take various natural things and sleep aids.

I take 1/2 ambien to go to sleep and if I wake up and start planning the day at 3am, I take the 2nd half.

I take 5-htp; benadryl; melatonin and a group of things that can't be taken with anything else (vites) at night.

The 5-htp made my fractured sleep a lil more restful.

thanks, Michelle..

what is 5 htp? haven't heard of that...

and what things cant be taken with vits?

i just started ambien...tried to get my doc to give me xanax but she didn't want to b/c it is so addictive

i also have taken benedryl and buspar...and take mirapex for restless legs...

so you take ambien and benedryl together?  do you take ambien every night?

Where is your iron level? Ferritin?

Ambien is not addictive in the classic sense. I still use the same dose I always did. 10mg, divided.

I usta use it only the nights I wanted to GO to sleep. Insomniac since I was a kid. I spose you could say I got addicted to being able to go to sleep when it's time and wake up when it's time. After spending a life time staring at the ceiling for hours, then dragging myself out of bed.

Buspar - cnnot wake up. Ambien is so short lived that it lets you wake up like you took, nothing. Everything else they gave me that dragged me to sleep left me groggy. Only ambien just PUTS me to sleep and lets me wake up. I'm normal groggy, not a morning person, but I can function. Perky in the morning isn't going to happen. lol

I have sleep problems, too! What does Ferritin have to do with it? I'd love to know!

I take Ambien as well. I've never tried taking half but that is a great idea. I'll see tonight if half will get me to sleep. My only complaint is that I wake up at 4 am  so if half would work, I could take the other half.

I've had insomnia all of my life too.

Good to know what works for everyone - I'm just curious (like the original poster) however, WHY (what causes us to have) do we have sleep issues?

Michelle:  my iron serum level is 37; dont see anything about ferritin on the report.

thanks for the idea about 1/2-ing the ambien...i tried that and it seems to work better...the last two nights i have woken up at 3 and 4 am respectively, taken the other half, and gone back to sleep for a few hours and wake up feeling pretty alert.

I wish I knew.  I never had problems with insomnia pre-WLS but get it (usually in 3 or 4 day spurts) a couple of times a month. 

I use bubble baths in the cool months to make me sleepy, read in bed, no caffeine after mid-afternoon, and occasionally a few sips of a wine cooler (I'm not a drinker, but it does make me drowsy).  If I hit 3 nights, I break down and take some Lunesta prescribed by my PCP.

Lora