Thursday, June 11, 2009

To Sleep Perchance to Dream

When you have fibromyalgia, getting a good night's sleep is really freaking hard! Apparently it screws with your sleep cycles and you don't get enough deep sleep that makes you feel rested. This has been happening to me for at least the past 2 years since I almost never wake up feeling rested and usually have to drag myself out of bed. It also means that I often can't fall asleep at night even though I'm exhausted while I could pass out cold at almost any time during the day. Makes no sense, huh? I've tried natural and OTC sleep remedies, but those don't work that well for me, still taking a while to kick in, giving me restless leg (just want you need when you're trying to sleep!), and leaving me tired in the morning. Ambien worked pretty well, but I don't want to get in a habit of having to take something so strong to sleep.
As the rheumatologist I recently went to said "When you don't sleep well you get fibromyalgia, so you need to find a way to get better sleep." Really? I didn't realize that, especially since one of the reasons I was going to the doctor was because I wasn't sleeping well and am tired all the time! I know there are a lot of good doctors out there, but some of them just seem like they're not trying...
At least I don't have to get up early for anything tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get some much needed rest tonight. What has anyone else done to combat insomnia and fatigue? 

4 comments:

  1. Hey BB! Thanks for sharing your blog with us. I'm so glad you're writing!

    You sound a lot like me before I stopped eating gluten. I'm not diagnosing you with gluten intolerance...just thought I'd let you know. I was achy, never felt like I slept enough, and, yep, had restless legs too. (AHH!) Off gluten, I sleep 8 hours, don't ache, and don't get restless legs.

    But it probably sounds too good to be true, and of course it might be. I don't want to get your hopes up -- just want to make sure you're aware of the possible benefits of diet change. (Sucks, but not as much as the symptoms!)

    And the vulvodynia is still around, but it feels better than it did while I was eating gluten. Still awful, of course :) but not like it was. I really hope that whatever form it takes, you're able to find some relief and not be in so much pain. It's so hard to live life when you're battling your body!

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  2. Thanks Esther, I always appreciate suggestions. I've been tested for celiac disease and it was negative, could I still have a gluten intolerance? I'll have to look into it, I'm a vegetarian so I'm not sure how easy it would be, but if it helps I'm willing to give it a shot!

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  3. Yeah, I tested negative for Celiac too, but my cousin and her son have it and I have a "very high-risk gene" for it. Gluten intolerance doesn't show up on the test; I only know it's a problem because I tried going off it.

    It can be hard, but there are more and more gluten-free substitutes on the market. More expensive of course...but for me, again, it's worth it. Not trying to convert you, though! I'd just hate not to mention it if it *were* a problem for you.

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