Hi, there - and welcome!
I occasionally have bouts of insomnia and my primary care doc has prescribed Ambien 10mg to be taken for a couple of weeks, just to break the cycle. I've taken it in the past and it helped - and it's helping now. The whole tablet - 10mg - just about knocks me out and I can get 6 hours straight sleep. Since I go to bed late, it works well. (If you try it, wait until you're actually IN bed before taking - it works quickly and can make you really woozy at first). My doctor also told me that I can use half a tablet if I wake up in the middle of the night (that's if I haven't taken the 10mg at bedtime - NOT in addition to!). That strategy works, too, and allows a solid 4 hours of sleep. Since I'm IBS-D, I don't have to worry too much about "C" - but you could ask a pharmacist about constipation as a potential side affect. Some people don't like to take meds for sleep but this one is supposedly "safe" and non-habit forming - and only to be used for a couple of weeks to break the cycle. It's sure a relief not to be staring at the ceiling at 3AM!
If you don't like the idea of meds, you might try taking a warm bath one to two hours before bedtime - the theory is, as your body cools off, you get sleepy. Also, if you can stand it, try to turn your thermostat down a couple of degrees in the evening - again, the cooler temps help with sleep. (This really helped when I was dealing with hot flashes! My doctor said that I could reduce my nighttime hot flashes by 50% if I kept my thermostat at 66 degrees! It was wonderful!). If I keep the temp at about 70 now, I sleep better. Hope this helps.
Blessings,
Kaybee C
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Re: Sleep deprived- any help will be much appreciated!
