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675718 tn?1530033033

sleep

i can not sleep well at night even though i take pills for schizophrenia,PTSD and tardive dyskinesia; they make me drowsy i still cant' sleep any clues please help!?
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Avatar universal
I hope you can find some help sleeping soon!  If you're like me, your whole body just feels worse when you aren't sleeping well.

Keep me posted on how you're doing and what you find out :)
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675718 tn?1530033033
thank you robyn i think staying asleep is my problem my pills puts a chemical in my brain that's all it does your suggestions are all great too i need sleep and i am sorry i didn't respond sooner ok :)
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Avatar universal
Hey drifter - I'm sorry to hear you also struggle with sleep difficulties.  It sure can get very frustrating.  Your body and mind are screaming for sleep, but yet it still does not come.

have you discussed with your doctor about the possibility of prescribing you an actual sleep aid?  I'm not a doctor and certainly do not want to recommend any particular medication, especially since we are all different and different medications can affect each person differently.  However, there are many sleep aids out there, both over the counter and prescription.   I must stress that it's imperative that you DO NOT take anything without chcking with your doctor to make sure it's ok.

There are also many non-medicinal things you can try to hopefully help you sleep.  Granted, these do not always work, but neither does medication.  Try a warm shower or bath about an hour before you plan on turning in.  As we begin getting drowsy and start falling asleep, our bodies naturally begin to cool down and by taking a warm shower or bath about an hour before bedtime, you can hasten that process as your body cools itself down after the warm water.  Keep your room as dark as possible - try to avoid watching tv in bed or even reading - if you need some kind of background noise, try listening to some very soothing, quiet music - preferably on a radio or stereo that you can set a timer on to automatically turn off in a specified period of time so that it doesn't end up waking you up later.  Also make sure your room is at a comfortable sleeping temperature - usually a little cooler is better than warmer, but whatever is comfortable for you.

Avoid caffeine at least 4 hours before bed, as well as vigorous exercise.  However, some gentle stretching may help you to relax and be able to drift off easier.  Also avoid heavy meals for several hours before bed, although a light snack may help if you find that hunger is adding to your difficulties with sleep.  Try to avoid too much liquid late in the day, though, so that a full bladder doesn't wake you up just as you're falling asleep or getting into a deeper sleep stage.

is your main problem with falling asleep or with STAYING asleep?  Or both?

Some people find that herbal teas or even warm milk prior to bedtime help.  Me personally, I'm allergic to most herbal teas and just plain don't care for warm milk, so have not given either one a real try.

Do all of your meds make you drowsy or do some of them make you jittery or "hype" you up?  If you have any that "hype you up" and you normally take them later in the day, you may want to talk to your doctor to see if it's possible to change the dosing schedule for those to earlier in the day so that maybe they won't affect your sleep as much.

I hope some of these suggestions are helpful - if I can answer any other questions, please let me know.

Robyn
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