This lack of sleep is really taking its toll on me. Except for a few rare nights I haven't slept through the night in 15 months. I have never had difficulty sleeping - ever - so this is really tough for me. I hate to whine about it when I know there are so many who don't sleep but since it's a new problem it's rough on me. If the lack of sleep was MS related, I think I'd be able to deal with it better. After I finally fall asleep I wake up every two hours or so and have difficulty getting back to sleep. It's an endless cycle that's starting to cause me problems during the day.

This sleep problem started when I took that spill two July's ago. I've been taking it a little bit at a time figuring my sleep will return to normal as the pain decreases. But it's not. I finally dragged myself to the doctor and he gave me some pointers to try to regulate my sleeping. He also told me to try melatonine which didn't work and then prescribed Trazadone. I'm already on Nortriptyline so I figured between those two I should be sleeping like a baby. Wrong!

I'm still in constant pain from my knee injury and wonder if I'm in more pain than I realize and maybe that's what is keeping me awake. I take Advil before bed which helps with pain but I'm still not sleeping.

I've tried not taking Provigil and limiting caffeine. Those days I can barely keep my eyes open but still have difficulty sleeping. I can't do that repeatedly because I need to drive my DD most days.

Do I need to just give Trazadone a while longer to work? Does it have to build up in my system or something? Any tips to getting a better night's sleep? Right now I'm willing to try just about anything to break this vicious cycle.

I wish I had a good suggestion for you. I don't sleep well, either, and wake up several times throughout the night. Probably every 2 to 3 hours at least. Since I can nap during the day and don't have to drive anywhere I've just given in to this new schedule and sleep whenever I can.....day or night.

I've taken Trazadone before and it knocked me right out. Maybe you could ask your doctor about a stronger dosage? Not sure what mg. he has you on now.

It does sound a bit like it's the pain that's keeping you from relaxing enough to get to sleep and stay asleep. You fell in a WalMart store, right? Darn WalMart.......

Awww, so sorry Karousel, that sucks but I can't help much either. Like Kitty, I never sleep through the night..I takes it when I can gets it..

A good night's sleep is so important for your day to go well. I'm retired so I can nap whenever I'm sleepy, but wouldn't be able to handle it if I had to report to a job.

Funny you should bring this uo today. I got up this morning (noon), after a sleep,wake,sleep,wake,sleep,wake pattern and felt very unrested. Had to kick myself in the butt, to get up.

I may try some mellatonin again, maybe it would help?

Feel better soon..

i really feel for you. i understand what you're going thru.
trazodone helps you get to sleep but may not keep you asleep thru the nite.

i'd suggest you get your dr to do a sleep study.
and, you might also try to find a pain dr, maybe associated thru a rehab hosp.
they will listen to you and not push pills but really try to help you. that was my experience.

i take 200mg of trazodone and ambien. have you tried any of those PM meds. they have some benadryl in them and that makes you tired. of course i wouldn't suggest any med without asking your dr.

please let us know how you are.

Yep, I slipped on water dripping from the ceiling.

Wow - I only take 50 mg. If it doesn't work, maybe the doctor will up the amount to take? I'll give it more time before I call him.

Oh nuts I'm so sorry you're not sleeping well and can certainly feel your pain. I've posted before about my weird sleeping habits and have come to the conclusion that it's an "MS thing". Been two nights now that I haven't even tried to sleep, just kind of doze off in my powerchair. If I had to function in the real world, I'd be sunk, but being housebound, I can do my own thing and sleep when I'm tired.

People DO have a problem with such a schedule, but it's not affecting them so why should they care? Let them walk in our shoes for awhile. Pain definitely effects my sleep and, of course, my whole life. This miserable disease doesn't leave us much of our "old" lives.

I hope you can find something to help your sleep situation.

I never sleep through the night either. i haven't since I was ten. It sucks, plain and simple. I've gotten to the point where I get one hour of sleep a night. And it's really frustrating to deal with. My PCP has tried me on two different sedative, one of them being trazadone. For me, neither helped. The trazadone, in particular, just made me feel out of it (like I was on cold medicine all the time). Also, it made me feel very weak, and I felt like I had very little control over my muscle movements (less so than normal, I mean). Give it a chance to build up in your system if you can handle doing so. I hope you have better luck than I did.

I've found that insomnia increases with MS symptoms for me quite often. I'm glad that most of the time I don't have to fight it, but if you have to be up for something or can't take a nap, it SUCKS! The only thing that works for me is Ambien CR 12.5 on an empty stomach. Those will give me 6-7 hours. The Ambien 10mg (non controlled release) put me out quicker but don't last all night.

A word of caution, though: be careful what you do after you take the Ambien! It can mess with your memory and inhibitions. I've had sleep-sex with DH and had NO memory of the next day, but apparently I had quite the dirty mouth! I think he quite enjoyed it.

Our sleep cycle, Circadian Rhythm, is part of our Autonomic Nervous System. It regulates our temperature, heart rate, breathing, sleeping, appetite, etc. Things we don't have control over. They are Automatically done for us.

I think many PWMS have broken Autonomic nervous systems. JMO

We can try to change, repair, medicate ourselves, but I don't know anyone who has managed to take control back from their brain.

Plus, so many medications we take can mess with our sleep habits. Even a daily nap, lack of activity, or a rainy-gloomy day, can alter the evening sleep cycle. Then it becomes a habit, which is so hard to break.

I wake with my legs/feet burning every two hours.
We understand. Pain can do it. I hope you feel better and get rid of that pain. Perhaps that will help you. Good luck K