seriously affected by insomnia - any experiences or ideas how to handle this?

[catweazle08]

hey,

im having insomnia now for a while. i get 4, maybe 5 h a night of sleep and this is going on for about 10 to 11 days.

And it gets to a point, where i wake up in the morning and feel so shitty, that i don´t even want to drink a coffee. i know, sounds weird.

i thought about taking some sleeping pills, but on the OP i don´t get sleep, i get a chemical knock-out.

i can go and see a thai doctor, but i don´t know a good one and im pretty sure he will sell me some pills (without a description) and that´s it.

had a hard week last week finding an apartment, stressful plus other things to work out, but i calm down now and take things slow. but thats a factor, of course. and bkk is always affecting u someway (traffic, pollution...)

i give u an example: woke up at 6am yesterday and fall asleep at 4-5 am, 22-23h awake! and then woke up again at 9am. it´s crazy.

had insomnia before while travelling, but not this.

any advice or help is really appreciated (except "drink three large chang beer"). thanks in advance.

ps: i heard there is a shop in bkk selling 9h of sleep, i go and get some. but it´s not the original sleep, its a copy...

[negreanu]

If your still getting 4-5hours a day that as not as bad as u think. 8-9 is about right.

Try melatonin. Its a natural product and non habit forming. It won't put you to sleep but will give u a longer better quality sleep when you do fall asleep.

Take a quality multi-vitamin daily as well.

Peppermint, camomile tea before bed.

Job done.

Edited October 8, 2013 by negreanu

[yourauntbob]

i had the same problem, then i started a diet of heavy drinking and now waking up is the problem.

[ToddWeston]

Cut a piece of ginger the size of your thumb into pieces and let it steep in boiling water for a few minutes, drink as tea.

You may want to consider Dimenhydrinate which comes in 50 mg tablet form, cut the tablet in half, it's used for motion sickness aka Gravol or Dramamine (USA) it is widely available here and is OTC as in the West.

[FritsSikkink]

Don't drink coffee, and use things with a lot of sugar in it before going to bed.

[arthurwait]

[samran]

yoga works.

So does acupuncture. Had it once for stress and wasn't sleeping well. After the treatment conked out for 12 hours straight.

[besth]

enjoy the insomnia, reading, watching movies, anything that gives you pleasure and fun. then you will fall asleep

[FBN]

Melatonin may work but it may also be worth trying Aterax 10mg tabs which is available here over the counter. Not a sleeping pill but has some anxiolytic effects as well and is not in the class of the heavy hypnotics.

Don't take Vit B complex late in the day as it is a stimulant as well.

Lots on this forum on insomnia; search will get you lots of advice. Stay clear of alcohol though.

[Kalbo]

Melatonin may work but it may also be worth trying Aterax 10mg tabs which is available here over the counter. Not a sleeping pill but has some anxiolytic effects as well and is not in the class of the heavy hypnotics.

Don't take Vit B complex late in the day as it is a stimulant as well.

Lots on this forum on insomnia; search will get you lots of advice. Stay clear of alcohol though.

I agree with the above, Atarax 10mg doesn't knock me out, so to speak, but puts me to sleep. I usually take it about 4 hours before I intend to sleep,and approx 10-12 hours before I need to wake up as I find there is some residual drowsiness. Very cheap to buy here too

[catweazle08]

wouw, thx guys. very useful.

needed two hours this morning to feel normal.

i think there is a woman working in a pharmacy around the corner, who will have to face an interesting conversation with a farang soon...

i searched for insomnia before posting, but couldn´t find anything.

never heard of the sugar thing, is that serious?

and the accupunkture sound very interesting! meditation also

yes, i won´t die sleeping 4-5 hours and i get along someway, feels more like a transformation into a zombie.

[uptheos]

i searched for insomnia before posting, but couldn´t find anything.

Isn't the search function great? Just typed insomnia and clicked forums. The closest I got was Manchester United and Dying in Thailand.

You haven't had insomnia long enough to worry about and sounds as if you might have had things on your mind. Take it easy, lay off the booze and caffeine for a while and I'm sure you'll soon be back to normal sleeping.

[DMC1]

I thought Melatonin wasn't readily available over the counter in Thailand?

[catweazle08]

yes, i don´t worry. been there too many times,

i just feel shitty.

if u can´t sleep, don´t try. read a book or whatever.

i got my netbook next to me and louis c.k. on youtube will do the trick...

[Sheryl]

Over the counter, the only thing you can get is Atarax (get the 25 mg strength, the 10mg is for use as an antihistiamine). For sleep the dose is anywhere from 25 - 100mg, for an averaged size farang I would try 50mg to start with. However it can be rather long-acting so do not take it if you have to get up at a particular time. If for example you work, wait for a weekend.

It is thought to be a pretty safe drug but long tern regular usage has not ever been studied so do not take every day. Some people reserve it for catching up on their sleep on a weekend.

And cannot drive after taking it until it has fully worn off, and don't mix with alcohol.

Stay away from the prescription meds, addictive and soon stop working.

And take note of your caffeine intake. What tends to happen in situations like yours is people make up groggy and take a lot of coffee or other caffeine drink in order to get going then have trouble sleeping due to the caffeine, a vicious cycle. Limit yourself to first thing in the morning only.

[billzant]

Meditation is the best in the long term but I strongly recommend acupuncture especially if you are 50+. If that is the case (50+) saunas might also help

[kurnell]

Are you working?

[Mangosteen1]

That sounds like a real insomnia. I had a smaller version of that 1 months ago. I had it for 3 months It was one of the worst periods in my life. So shitty life, no meaning. I talked to a guy that was really educated in this he gave me a tip:

In the night when you really want to sleep. don't sit in-front of the computer or watch TV, news or anything like that. And never ever stay in the bed, the bed is only for sleeping. so sit in the most boring part of your house. example the kitchen. do not sit and look out the window. have the back against the windows and look at the boring wall. make it dark no lights. and so boring you can. I listen to a E-book. After a while you will hopefully feel tired. Sadly this didn't work for me I created an own method. I slept every day at 10 am woke up 2 PM. I really tried hard to sit in the kitchen but I couldn't let my mobile be, so it never worked.

So what I did was that every day I woke up 15-30 min earlier(try 15min you seem to be an extreme case) after 10 days I managed it. man what a period I used to still go training and everything. so dark under my eyes an no power in the gym I felt like a living ghost. But I made it. I wasn't an extreme case there are others who have been very successful persons, who cant sleep at all even with medication, sounds strange but true. "Dont give up you will make it"

[GirlDrinkDrunk]

exercise works for me

[Trembly]

Long - Medium term : Yoga / Meditation.

Short term : Melatonin. Natural and surprisingly effective.

[Tolley]

I recommend a cup of chamomile tea and a couple of magnesium tablets before bed and do some heavy exercise in the day or at least some exercise.