I Figured out What's Wrong
Question:
John Jordan wrote: >If there are any other people here who have difficulty sleeping >because of stress, I’d like to hear what kind of treatment you use and >how effective it is for you.
I, for one, don’t have problems sleeping if I’m stressed. Stress comes out other ways in my body to plague me–muscles spasms in my back, knees aggravating me, stiff neck, sciatic nerve acting up. Either it’s stress or I’m allergice to Canada, <g>. Never had these problems occur like this when I lived in Ohio. Anyway, I hate to hear that you’ll have to use Valium every night to get to sleep. Glad to hear that it worked, though. How about trying Valerian Root or Melatonin for a trial period instead? I personally haven’t used them myself but have heard that they can help in sleeping. Jo
Response:
"Jo" <jhudg…@lkingston.net> dijo a todos por la red: >John Jordan wrote: >>If there are any other people here who have difficulty sleeping >>because of stress, I’d like to hear what kind of treatment you use and >>how effective it is for you. > I, for one, don’t have problems sleeping if I’m stressed. Stress comes >out other ways in my body to plague me–muscles spasms in my back, knees >aggravating me, stiff neck, sciatic nerve acting up. Either it’s stress or >I’m allergice to Canada, <g>. Never had these problems occur like this when >I lived in Ohio.
I forgot to mention in my original message that I have had a slightly stiff rhomboid muscle since last winter as an aftermath of adhesive capsulitis (now almost healed). The morning after the night when I finally slept uninterrupted all night long, the muscle ache all but disappeared. I suspect that the stress is giving me some fibromyalgia, as well as poor sleep. > Anyway, I hate to hear that you’ll have to use Valium every night to get >to sleep. Glad to hear that it worked, though. How about trying Valerian >Root or Melatonin for a trial period instead? I personally haven’t used >them myself but have heard that they can help in sleeping.
I’ve tried valerian and melatonin, and St. John’s wort, and a couple of others as well. Even tried all of them at the same time. They didn’t seem to do anything for me. I guess I need serious drugs to relieve the stress. I’m not wild about taking drugs like that either. but at some point I have to admit that the benefits outweigh the risks. My current thinking is that I should find a doctor who deals in stress rather than a sleep doctor. A sleep doctor is likely to think only in terms of an expensive sleep study, which I don’t believe is called for. Don’t know if a "stress" specialty exists, though. This may be one of those gray areas where medicine blurs into psychology. But I don’t think a psychologist can prescribe medications, and a psychiatrist may not be the right choice either. Fortunately, I don’t have to be in a rush. This problem has been slowly creeping up on me for 10-15 years, so another month spent learning and figuring things out isn’t going to make a lot of difference. I feel it may be wiser to take the time to learn and think things through before making a move. NOTICE: The e-mail address is deliberately incorrect. Make the ISP read "nwpacifica.net" by adding a "w."
Response:
John, You mentioned that you’ve not tried yoga, meditation, or other relaxation techniques. If you think that your sleep problems are stress-related, why not give them a try? They certainly cost you little more than a couple of hours of your time, and might be beneficial. My suggestion is to learn a little about the many types of stress reduction techniques available, and give several of them a serious try before writing them off. You can always do this while pursuing other avenues, yes? You may be suprised at how relaxing a well-led yoga session can be. Best of luck, T Sconyers
Response:
Several weeks ago I started lurking in here, hoping to find out why I wasn’t sleeping well. Although 90% of the discussion here is of sleep apnea, the more I read the more I became convinced that my problem was something else. My symptoms were waking up two-three times a night, sometimes being unable to go back to sleep. And if one of the times I woke up was as late as 6:00 am, I would always be unable to sleep any longer. I never had any trouble going to sleep when I went to bed. It just seems that my sleep is not deep enough. I am 54 and this problem has been gradually creeping for the past 15 years. I never considered stress, but I discovered something a couple of years ago that changed my attitude. I sold a business and semi-retired. All my life I have been plagued with frequent canker sores. I would get on at least every month, and they would frequently be so bad I couldn’t eat for a couple of days. But in the two and a half years since I sold the business, I have not had *one*. Any doctor will tell you they are stress related, but I never realized just how much stress I must have been under. While reading the websites that serve as a FAQ for this newsgroups, I was surprised to see bruxism as one of the topics. This is something else that I have become familiar with. I have had to have every tooth in my mouth crowned because I have ground them down so far. Bruxism is also stress-induced. I knew that, but I never connected it all together. So, rather than spend a large sum on a sleep study (my insurance has a $5,000 deductible, so it won’t pay for it), I decided to try an experiment first. A lady friend of mine takes diazepam (Valium) regularly. She gave me a few tablets to try. The first night I took one tablet (2 mg). It didn’t seem to help. My big book of drugs says that it is available in tablets as large as 10 mg, so obviously taking more than 2 mg is not excessive. I also noted all the contraindications, but none applied to me. Therefore, the second night I took 4 mg. It seemed to help a little, but not much. The third night I took 6 mg, and this time I woke up only once, and immediately went back to sleep. I slept a total of 7 1/2 hours, and felt great the next day. First time to have a real, deep sleep for a long time. The fourth night (last night) I took 8 mg, and that did the trick perfectly. I went to sleep at midnight as usual, but the next thing I knew it was 7:30 am and I was awake. I haven’t felt so good in the morning since I was a child. I’ve been running around all day with a spring in my step and energy sparking from every pore. I have proved to myself that my problem is simple stress. Now I have to figure out the best way to deal with it. In the past I’ve tried things like St. Johns wort and other herbals, but they all do nothing. I haven’t tried any kind of relaxation therapy — yoga or any of those things, but I’m skeptical that they will help much. I’d prefer not to use drugs, but I’m pretty sure that’s what it will come down to. Better drugs than lousy sleep, though. Fortunately, it appears I will need help only at night. As to the drugs, I need to 1) find out if diazepam is the drug of choice, or if there is something more suitable, and 2) how to convince a doctor I need it. :):) If there are any other people here who have difficulty sleeping because of stress, I’d like to hear what kind of treatment you use and how effective it is for you. Thanks for listening! NOTICE: The e-mail address is deliberately incorrect. Make the ISP read "nwpacifica.net" by adding a "w."
