IN THE WORDS OF THOSE POP GODS 'FAITHLESS' - "I CAN'T GET NO SLEEP". (Insomnia)

Member Name: totalserenity

Product:	Insomnia
Date:	26/03/09 (319 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: NONE I CAN THINK OF.

Disadvantages: EXHAUSTING, DEPRESSING, STRESSFUL, DEBILITATING HEALTH CONDITION...

'INSOMNIA'.
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What a horrible word!

I can't find a single positive thing to write about it, and yet I have suffered with this debilitating condition for the whole of my adult life.

Now if you're browsing this review for hard facts, statistical data, self-help book recommendations, or the like; why then you're going to be sadly disappointed.
However, if you're reading this for my thoughts and feelings on the subject with a smattering of humour thrown in for good measure, well then my darlings, you've come to the right review!

I wanted to touch upon a subject I have experienced personally, plus suffered with for a long, long time - if only to share with others some small insights I have learnt along the way.
If you are a fellow casualty like myself, then there may be little I can add in terms of your knowledge.
But who knows, maybe I might also be able to offer a helpful hint or two in your quest to achieve that most elusive of states...'the natural suspension of consciousness'? (Dictionary.com's definition - fabulous website...another write up, another day!)

My cursed insomnia started to become prevalent during my early college days. Nevertheless, at the time I just put it down to the stresses of higher education, coupled with a very hectic late night clubbing social life...Ahh, those were the days!
It wasn't such a huge problem to contend with back then as I lived at home with my mum. Not having the usual adult responsibilities/worries that keep one awake at night, until a few years later, when alongside my fiancé, we bought our first house.

Being your archetypal 'born worrier' - well let's face it what better time to worry than in the midst of the wee small hours, my sleepless situation became suddenly a lot worse. A wedding to plan for, as well a home to maintain...well that did my chances of a decent night's kip the world of good - Not!
Anxiety, feeling unsettled, un-rested, exhausted, distressed, so many negative emotions to deal with whilst suffering at insomnia's cruel, unrelenting hand.

Trying for a baby, with nothing 'conceivable' happening every month, just compounded an already bad situation. Six years of Infertility treatments took their toll on my health too...but that was nothing compared to when our beloved 'miracle' baby eventually graced us with her awesome presence. Oh no Sir, I hadn't yet begun to understand the true meaning of those ominously dark words: 'sleep depravation'!

These model babies you hear so much about?
Well, alas, my little treasure wasn't one of them.
Apparently, (I was informed on good authority) the more intelligent a child is, the less sleep they need.
Great then.
That's all I needed.
And judging by the amount of 'dormant rest' my darling girl required, why then she must have been The absolute child prodigy of the time?!

One and a half months after my tiny angel was born - six weeks premature I might add (premature babies are known to have more erratic sleep patterns - wouldn't you just know it?), I was on the brink of total physical exhaustion meltdown.
Of course wanting to be 'Super Mum' and cope single-handedly, I had to reluctantly ask my hubby to step in and take over some of the 2759 night feeds our little darling seemed to rather vocally desire. Still bottle feeding during the night nine months later - as my precious baby's appetite was as voracious as her lung capacity, I really think I had aged a full ten years by then.
The photos from back then harshly seem to agree with me too.

Hang on a mo, I'd been told children 'keep you young'? Bah humbug!

Eventually things got better in the motherhood department as baby grew into toddler and could off her energy easier then sleep less erratically; nevertheless, I still continued to suffer with acute insomnia. It was great in terms of the 'non-existent' ironing pile, and becoming an expert on the late night QVC shopping channel; not good for my appearance though - I looked seriously shocking.

As always, time moved on apace.
Learning to function more efficiently as my body coped better with its irregular rest patterns, my husband very wisely left me to it as the kitchen kettle became my nocturnal 'new' best friend.

To make a bad situation spectacularly worst, my wonderful body decided to surprise me with two prolapsed discs during labour, belatedly diagnosed almost two years later. From the early 90's to the present day I have developed progressive osteo-arthritis from the very early stages of my back problems. Both the gynaecological issues and the spinal disability eventually resulted in surgery; two of them being two major 'female' ones - hence I underwent ten operations in six years.

Another frighteningly serious back surgery later in 2007, throw in a couple of toe procedures for good measure and you have thirteen operations in total. Pain became my new companion and a 'normal' pain free life sloped off into the distant horizon...
Imagine how many slumbersome nights I missed out on there with all the appointments, tests, more subsequent lumbar spine cortisone steroid injections than I care to remember under either a general anaesthetic or heavy sedation; so on and so forth?!


*Methinks it was at around this era my overworked' body clock', gawd bless it, gave up the ghost for life and went: "Tick, Tick...Boom"!*

The years rolled by as they do, and sadly divorce became ever more imminent as my marriage took its toll. The nervous tension alone fed me to insomnia's 'bad night's beasts'...

The second most stressful period of my life meant months of severe sleep depravation yet again. I'd been here before; but now the pressures were to some extent very different. Being older now I coped somewhat better, used to being up and about in the dead off night. No ironing pile once again ...and the washing was out on the line before the early morning sun shone through her pretty, warm face.

That cult iconic song 'Insomnia' by Faithless, basically sums it up for me: '...greasy insomnia washes over me...please release me and let me sleep...' Perfectly, Pop-tastically put, guys.

It's become the norm to have 3, 4 or if I'm lucky 5 broken hours sleep depending on how fortunate I am that night.
If that sounds horrendous - well to be frank, it is.

Obviously, over the decades (ooh, now I do sound old!), having perfected some sleeping aids that do work for me personally (as well as the usual failures along life's merry path), I have some snippets of advice I'd like to list for you, my fellow dooyoo'ers, as follows:

SUCCESSFUL SNIPPETS:
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1. Accept you are an insomniac; it's easier to deal with the consequences that way rather than fight a losing battle with your body. And you will lose. So find alternative ways of dealing with this problem without upsetting yourself more. It's not your fault and it can be a serious and traumatising medical condition.

2. Chocolate. You may well smile but it's 'feel good' qualities are renowned!
Eat it in its purest form or in the milky bedtime drink all the sleep experts' advice.
Either way, your mind is happy; your tummy is happy and sated.
'Mr Sandman here I come'!

3. Have a soothing candlelit bath as near to bedtime as possible. I found Radox's Lavender bubblebath a godsend...again lavender is a well-known snoozing remedy - and natural too, always a good thing.

4. Sometimes it is better just to give in and get up if the little maddening voices that keep you awake (no, I don't mean the manic Geminian ones that inhabit my boggled brain!) just won't go away. Have a brew; read a little, watch a bit of TV, just lay on the sofa snuggled up in your dressing gown and be kind to yourself - basically, anything relaxing really. You're still resting your body after all; and surely better to go back to bed and catch a good two hours solid shut eye than a restless forty winks?

5. Heat. Keep warm in cooler weather. Sometimes this solution is sadly overlooked. Now I always take a hot water bottle to bed when I'm single for my arthritis (it's not a sexy look otherwise, I can assure you 'dooyou'ers'...the Bridget Jones 'big pants' are more enough to contend with as it is!), but more often than not end up cuddling it to sleep. God, just realised I'm soooo sad, *sniff*

6. Moving swiftly on to wax earplugs. My personal godsend!
Fortunately/unfortunately, whichever way you look at it, I can hear a pin drop at forty paces whilst in REM mode, so these babies whilst taking ages to soften up, are a fantastic noise-blocker if you can't bear to hear a whisper just like me...

Let's face it we could go through the endless tips that you have probably heard of anyway...alcohol, stopping up late to exhaust yourself, going to bed early to wind down, nookie (blush!), various herbal remedies, background noise, no light whatsoever, relaxation techniques, reading, don't drink too much caffeine, trip to the GP for sleeping tablets...ahh, the list is endless.
But we have to suss out what works for us as individuals and that will vary enormously. Hence now moving onto the 'Don't' list...

DON'T DO IT!!
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1. Try not to lay there arguing amongst yourselves (we all have the little 'worry gremlins' beavering away in our psyche you know!), if you are sure you are now thoroughly awake you may as well get up, eat, drink, go to the loo, whatever your exhausted body demands.
It's better to do something than lay there worrying over issues that still will be there in the morning.

2. Don't lay there chatting! If someone asks you if you're ok, do you need anything, have you seen the state of the FTSE index, etc, just growl menacingly until they look away?
I would rather mate, and then eat my partner than him 'talk' or even dare make direct eye contact with my insomniac self! That is EXACTLY what the mischievous gremlins want - something to keep 'them' busy and 'me' awake.
(*And you have my permission to kill your 'other' if they snore...the selfish sods - don't they know you can't sleep as it is?!* Tut, some people!)

3. Napping is not a viable option if you even want to attempt a reasonable amount of sleep for the repose-deprived victims of this awful affliction. I know from experience it is a vicious circle...you're exhausted so you snooze, then bedtime comes and you're 'Doomed, Doomed, Doomed' I tell ye

4. Rowing. Not good. Again that might sound simplistic, but it can be a major downfall to an insomniac's wellbeing. 'Put the argument down and move slowly away'!

5. No napping! I've said it before and I'll say it again...this is one of your biggest enemies, honestly! The only time it's condonable is when you're poorly or completely stressed out - even insomniac sufferers are allowed to switch off on those occasions, bless...

6. Herbal beanbags...the type you warm through then take to bed. DON'T! The one and only time I tried this option it completely stank the whole bedroom out, my then husband migrated through to the spare room leaving me with just the perky little worry gremlins for company. Super.

Of course, again this said, there are loads more things we shouldn't do when trying to seek that most elusive of states - a semi-coma'd repose (like rummaging in the back of 'the choccie drawer' for that last luscious Mars Bar, for example), but it's just down to common sense (and a bit more willpower totalserenity, tsk!) and good old 'Trial and Error'...our two trusty conscience judges...

So in conclusion to my two minute write up (*clears throat*) - I guess what I'm trying to say and share is, that acceptance of the situation immediately defuses an already fraught catch 22 state of affairs.
If insomnia is your personal cross to bear, then life can be a tad cruel that way; thus maybe it's better to accept a debilitating condition and deal with it according to your individual needs?
It isn't fair but you're not alone - well not if you're on dooyoo rating way into the darkness just like me...

I truly hope that for many of you reading this write up it is just a temporary restless and weary blip. However for those of you who are travelling in my particularly rocky boat, well then good luck, me lovelies, and hope to see you in my elusive dreams....Zzzzzzz

Summary: TALK TO YOUR LOVED ONES TO SEEK SOME COMFORT AND UNDERSTANDING ABOUT THIS DREADFUL AILMENT.