I’ve been struggling with sleep issues for over a decade now. My Doctor has prescribed me all sorts of medication, all of which has had many adverse side effects. What I do know that works, is Xanax. My wife was prescribed it for some stress issues and occasionally will give me one so I can finally sleep. Obviously asking my Doctor, “can I have Xanax” Will not go well. I’ve eluded to it in ways and the response has always been along the lines of “that’s habit forming, I’d rather you try this”. Of the many medications prescribed, none have worked. Resorting to the dark web is something I’d really rather not do. Fentanyl laced drugs took my sister and it’s a road I hope to not have to explore. Any suggestions?

    • Anissem@lemmy.mlOP
      0·
      6 months ago

      Thanks so much for all this. I only intake caffeine, marijuana and alcohol. Going to start weening myself off coffee for sure and I’m always trying to minimize the other two. Going to spend some months this summer relearning how to live.

    • MrZee@lemm.eeEnglish
      0·
      6 months ago

      Wow. I just want to say thank you for such a thoughtful, informed, detailed response. You are an amazing person!

  • Boozilla@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    6 months ago

    Apologies for giving you a boring canned answer when you are sleep-deprived and looking for help. But I swear these things really helped me.

    Number one: think about getting a sleep study done by an actual sleep doc (pulmonary doc or neurologist). This was life changing for me. Don’t go to a chiropractor or whoever the fuck and get a CPAP machine.

    Also, and this is important: Have you looked into tips for “sleep hygiene”? None of them are a quick fix like Xanax, but they can be powerful when used together.

    These include things like:

    • going to bed and getting up at the same times every day. this means getting up at your normal time, even if it’s a weekend, even if you didn’t sleep well that night, just make yourself do it
    • when sleeping…making sure the room is dark, cool, and quiet (ear plugs are a big help here). by cool, I mean 68-69F (about 20C).
    • cutting way back on caffeine and/or eliminating it…and absolutely no caffeine after lunch (the older we get, the longer it takes to metabolize caffeine)
    • not looking at any glowing screens (TV, phone, computer, tablet, etc) before bed time… for at least 15-30 minutes
    • avoid eating / drinking a couple of hours before bed time
    • using your bedroom only for sleeping and for sex

    And when you have trouble sleeping, it’s a very good idea to get out of bed, go to a different room (one that is not too bright) and do something boring like read a text book for 15-20 minutes then go back to bed and try again.

    When we stay in bed and aren’t sleeping, we’re training our brain that it’s OK to do that. You want to beat it into your subconscious brain that the bed / bedroom is for sleeping.

    • Boozilla@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      6 months ago

      And I should have included exercise. The best sleep I ever get is when I get in a really good amount of exercise during the day. I won’t lie to you, I’m pretty lazy about it myself. You don’t want to do this close to bedtime, either. Go for a really long walk / jog / whatever in early afternoon if you can squeeze that in somehow.

      • GBU_28@lemm.eeEnglish
        1·
        6 months ago

        Seriously. Nothing puts you to sleep better than 10 hours of hiking.

        Obviously that’s unattainable most days, but I struggle with insomnia all my life, and one of the things I look forward to most from backpacking trips is the restful call of sleep when I “actually” feel like I “need” it.

    • Anissem@lemmy.mlOP
      1·
      6 months ago

      Thanks for the advice. There’s definitely some stuff here I can try. I have a stressful computer job so cutting back on caffeine makes sense along with several other tips you mentioned!