I know.... Another post. I feel awful about all my posts. I just don't know what else to do, where to go etc

I don't have a problem falling asleep at bedtime. It's staying asleep I can't do. After 2-3 hours (4 if I'm really lucky) I'm awakened by the excruciating pain. This means I'm up between 12-1. At this point it's very hard to go back to sleep. If I do, I wake up 20-40 minutes later from the pain. I can usually only fall bsck asleep once. I want a sleeping pill, what have u tried with success? ( just a reminder I'm now on 50mg if nortiptyline so this meds obviously doesn't do anything for sleep. Anybody have side effects?

Also, keep in mind I will try to go off the nortriptiline bc I feel like it's not doing enough. I chickened out about starting GABA on my own but will start it Tuesday after dr guidance.

I do not take sleeping pills.

There are some posts on NeuroTalk that discuss low dose Ambien for chronic pain.

Do a search covering all of NT and you'll find them.

I used ambien for a few nights when symptoms ramped up. It caused me to have double vision, which was such a trip.

I too wake up several times a night canagirl from pain. Before I slept like a stone and did not even budge for 8-9 hours.

The fatigue gets me to, as I wake up just as exhausted as going to bed.

There are many like you that have the SFN.

You are not alone.

Hi baba,

I know I feel like I'm being a child right now. I know many here have sfn and are in incredible amounts of pain. It's just nobody has said they have it everywhere like me ( tongue, lips, entire face, ears, scalp, neck, arms, back, chest u get the drift....it's getting bad. Everything that rubs me hurts. How much linger can I walk, cook, hold my baby? Lie down? Eat?

First you are not being a child, you are in pain....we are worried about you.
I have CRPS spreading everywhere. And side effects from the medication, plus the chronic pain from injury sites hourly...
I feel for you due to having a young one...the icing on the cake was the waking up with insane pain....I used to be a deep deep sleeper....
Okay...have you tried Zquil....I haven't but it's suppose to not be habit forming.
For me LDN helps me rest; I'm not so when I wake up....I still have pain but am able to fall back asleep...
Also, when I was on muscle relaxers, those helped me sleep...I was very groggy in the am and slow going...
Do you have someone to help you with am baby? Sorry, I'm not offering, but just worry about your roll in the am....and worried about you lake of rest.

Thanks Enna. I have a wonderful husband who does most with baby when he's home. Late evening, night and morning.

I haven't tried zquil, my husband suggested it but pharmacist said it could cause issues cus of the nortriptiline. I'll ask doc about zquil and gaba

I was grinding my teeth at night, waking up in pain even with the time release morphine. My dentist mentioned it. I started taking ibuprofen PM and haven't had nearly as much trouble waking up in the night in pain. It seems ridiculous to me that an over the counter medicine should have such an effect but there it is. It has continued to work for over a year. I take breaks once in a while but it still definitely makes a big difference.

I don't know if you have already seen these, but there is a lot of valuable information on this website for dealing with chronic pain. Follow his links and implement as many of Dr. Tennant's suggestions as you can. He is the editor of Practical Pain Management, a magazine for pain doctors, but the back issues are all online. They are a complete education in state of the art pain management.

http://foresttennant.com/pain_manage...self_help.html

The back issues are found here:

http://www.practicalpainmanagement.com/issues

OK with that being cleared....happy to hear you are have help....um, I know people doing well with melatonin...I've heard great things about camomile tea; I've heard of people who take benedryl for sleeping as well...again I don't know how they effect medication so PLEASE keep looking into that....
Wishing you rest and keep up the fight....