Posted by IsoM on December 2, 2002, at 23:29:03
In reply to ? about Ativan and/or Serzone--long, but please, posted by BeardedLady on December 2, 2002, at 15:10:09
Beardy, when you were nursing your daughter, did you get up at night to nurse her & what time was it? I remember when I got up at night to nurse my sons. I hated getting up in the middle of the night but the house was quiet, & nursing releases calming hormones so I felt mellow & relaxed. Other than the bother of getting up, it was a nice time for me. But my babies tended to wake at the same time at night, & then I ended up waking around that time too, even years after nursing was over. We're creatures of habit & body habits are often beyond our control to change.
Even if your waking time has nothing to do with your nursing time, it's a habit that your sleep pattern has formed. I'm wondering if you tried to break up the pattern for about three weeks (it takes that long for a habit to fully form, so I'm guessing three weeks might be long enough to break it) if it may disappear. You'd have to get your family's cooperation. Tell them life is going to be disruptive for three weeks but you hope it will fix it enabling you to return to a normal life again.
If it was me, I'd try varying what time I went to bed each night, but would wake up at the same time each morning. Some nights I'd go to bed VERY late - around 1-2 AM. I know you'll say you'd be dead if you went to bed that late, but I'd make sure to have a midafternoon nap the day before. The same rising time each morning would give you a firm basis to return to a normal sleep time at night after the three weeks.
You may feel too nervous to try such a treatment - I understand, it's what I, but not necessarily you, would do. Failing that, have you tried melatonin? I'm pretty sure you can buy it in the States.
You're making yourself more & more anxious over this & your anxiety will sabotage your desire to sleep. If you talk to your doctor about this, rather than something to help you sleep, ask him about adding something like Buspar or another anti-anxiety med that's not a BZD. It may be that you need to address the anxiety rather than the sleeplessness. After all, you can fall asleep easily, you just wake up each night unable to return to sleep. That's often indicative of depression or anxiety than ordinary insomnia. I'd hazard to guess that the thought of waking up at night also preoccupies your thoughts during the day. It's not just a worry at night, I'd bet, but has become a major concern for you. I'd treat the anxiety first.
poster:IsoM
thread:130274
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021127/msgs/130337.html