So, insomnia. This whole lack of being able to sleep has been kicking my butt for as long as I can remember, though it’d certainly gotten worse in the last 4 to 5 years. When I was in the psych ward they gave me meds to sleep better and they worked great, but apparently taking Ambien indefinitely is frowned upon.
So for the past 2 years I’ve been struggling to find an alternative solution that actually works, aside from drinking a bottle of wine every night which I would guess is probably not any healthier than taking the Ambien forever.
My psychiatrist did give me a medication that can help me sleep, the problem is it only works if I’m already tired. It basically helps me stay asleep (mostly) but it doesn’t help me fall asleep. If I take it before I’m sleepy I just end up nauseous and woozy. So most nights I’m lucky if I can get to sleep by 1 a.m., and often I’m not that lucky. And when I do sleep it’s frequently either very restless, or even if I appear to sleep soundly I still wake up feeling exhausted in the morning.
Something’s gotta give. So I’m going to throw the kitchen sink at it and hope something, or maybe the combination of things, will finally help.
I cut caffeine out almost entirely. Aside from the occasional Starbucks iced green tea, nada. I’ve done this before and it made no difference whatsoever but what the heck.
Speaking of tea, I’ve started making iced tea out of Sleepytime Extra which has valerian in it, to drink in the evenings. Maybe that’ll help.
But the biggest thing I’m trying out is acupuncture. I’ve talked to people who have done it for various issues and they all swear by it. On top of that, I actually know someone who is an acupuncturist. My main hesitation hadn’t been that I didn’t “believe” in it, rather the idea of someone sticking needles in me and LEAVING THEM THERE freaked me the hell out.
But I finally bit the bullet and had my first appointment last week. And it went well, FAR less scary or painful than I’d built up in my mind that it would be. For insomnia it’s unlikely it will have an impact for a few sessions, but at least I got past the hurdle of having someone leave needles in me.
To the point where a week later, I STILL have needles in me. Meet my Frankenstein bolts!
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I like acupuncture. Maybe I’ll go see my acu, my sleeping has been bad lately
I’ve always been curious about acupuncture, but I’m super freaked out by it as well. And holy cow they just left those there?! Please tell me it was intentional… 😅
Yes. They’re tiny tiny tiny seriously tiny little tack with adhesive that are left on purpose. And honestly I never even noticed they were there. I went for my second session tonight and all I can say is that “pain” is basically non-existent. The tiny twinges that you feel are literally for a second, and even getting that depends on where they’re putting the needles in. And those little tacks helped my headache even though I didn’t believe in them.
What I would say is: don’t be scared and try it. Even if you don’t buy into the “Eastern Philosophy” they might phrase it in, there are actual studies as well as personal affidavits of those who’ve lived through that show it does work.