lunesta
I’ve always had trouble sleeping. When I was younger, I’d have trouble falling asleep and would just lie there for hours, waiting. When I got older, I could fall asleep pretty well but couldn’t stay asleep, or get back to sleep if something woke me in the night. A night of good solid sleep is a rare and wonderful thing for me. Last summer, on Dan’s recommendation, I asked my doctor if I could try lunesta. It works well for Dan, and doesn’t make him goofy or groggy. It worked well for me for a long time, but then seemed to lose effectiveness. I switched from 1mg to 2mg, but that didn’t really help a whole lot. Finally, last week, I realized that I was actually sleeping WORSE than before I started taking lunesta — waking up anxious in the middle of almost every night and being unable to fall back asleep, waking very early, waking up with headaches, never feeling rested, etc. So I thought, heck, enough of this, let’s try skipping the lunesta for a few nights and see what happens. And, presto, that first night (a week ago yesterday) I slept well for the first time in I don’t know how long. One night of good sleep could be a coincidence, but I’ve not taken lunesta for over a week now and my sleep is still relatively good. Oddly enough, it seems better than before I started taking lunesta, and better than while I was ON lunesta. Did the lunesta somehow train me to sleep better? I wake up a few times in the middle of every night but am able to fall right back asleep, which is a miracle. Very strange. I hope I haven’t jinxed anything by blogging about it.
Category: Blog 2 comments »
March 5th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Really Kara – you of all people should know how to cure insomnia. I have suffered from it for years, and it is no problem. This is what you do! (Cassettes are best because they switch themselves off. Use earphones of course.) You listen to an audio story!! The mind forgets all the worries of the world; you go to fantasy land; you forget to be worried about not being able to sleep, (and if you do remain awake the time is profitably used, and the relaxation is worry-free.) History audio is best (Perhaps I should not have said that as I LOVE your H E Marshall recordings), BBC history audio books are the tops, but any story will do – especially one you know well already and will not keep you awake with suspence. Sweet dreams; drop off ‘reading’ a good book. (You need an understanding partner, rechargable batteries and new earphones every few months.) Alan
March 5th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
But of course :) I use my iPod every night. It’s got a timer feature that turns it off automatically after a set time. And I switch the “hold” switch on so I don’t roll on it in the night and turn it on again. It’s so much a part of my going-to-sleep routine that I didn’t even think to mention it! But it only helps me get to sleep at bedtime, not if I wake up in the middle of the night.
My non-lunesta sleep is still going well. Amazing.
Glad you liked the Marshall book. I’m currently doing one by Samuel Harding called The Story of the Middle Ages, and then will probably do another Marshall one.