Question for those with TBI & sleep
 

I must admit ... I have tried a myriad of sleep medications & the best result I can get is with Ambien CR. I take it at 9pm nightly with 1 1/2mg of Xanax and usually by 1am (or thereabouts) I am ready to sleep.

Sleeping has been brutally difficult for me & the medicine seems to work but it takes 4 to 5 hours.

My brain injury was in December of 2006. I was in a coma for 32 days so it was rather serious.

Can someone PLEASE suggest something that has helped them sleep! Lunesta has been a joke for me too.

Any ideas folks??? ANY HELP would be greatly appreciated!!!!

((((((((Joe))))))) i still trying to find a solution myself, so not advice here i afraid.

just love and concern and a wish you find a solution :hug:

sleep
 

hi joe thankfully my tbi dos ant effect my sleep pattern, in fact I feel more tired have you try ed changing your meds we build up resistances to many drugs, try hypnotics type sleeping drugs as apposed to sedative types or viser versa

just a thought

take care
you may want to give this a try http://www.trbhealth.com/index.asp?P...WPROD&ProdID=4
vini

First a question - Did you have a sleep study done?

You may want to explore Neuro Feedback to help with sleep after a TBI.
Certified Massage or Myofascial Trigger Point therapist can also help by releasing the muscles in the back of the neck.
Look up Neuro Feedback on your fav search eng.

One site I like is http://www.ochslabs.com/

Another great site is : http://round-earth.com/Neurofeedback-Info.html

Good Luck

Joe,

Some notes from a repeat offender in the sleep trenches.

Xanax is a short-acting benzodiazepine compared to Clonopin which has a much longer half-life...something to discuss with your doctor.

Ambien and/or Lunesta in combination with a benzo can create a kind of feedback loop in the brain and cancel each other out; something my last doctor warned me about. Ambien kept me out of deep wave sleep and in a weird REM state, or just plain sleepless.

I still take my clonopin daily in divided doses...I've added some OTC stuff in between such as standardised green tea extract (good for those stiff muscles!), and kicked up my fish oil and vitamin D. Had success with low dose of melatonin for a while.

Methylcobalamin form of B-12 is a must for me. I'm deficient (not uncommon for head trauma survivors) and I do best taking it around noon 1/2 hour before food.

Coffee makes me sleepy some days. I've gotten to the point after all these years where I have a good sense of what kind of day I have going on and what supplement or food to raise or lower.

I looked at having a sleep study in an accredited lab, and most of the true sleep specialists want me washed out of all meds for a period of weeks. Not an option for me.

Hope this helps,

Jeff

Sleep Apena
 

I have sleep apnea where my brain tells my body to stop breathing over 20 times per hour....I still can not get to sleep at night even with the C-pap on me. If I have a strenuous day it's worse than ever. I'm on clonozepan and I take extra Magnesium to help with muscle tightness to relax my muscles so I can calm down enough to get to sleep, although I'm so sleepy all day long it's strange that I "wake up" in the evening and can't get to sleep!

Thanks Gentlemen!
 

Jeff,

Thank you so much!! All of your guys have been GREAT. Thanks so much for all the help folks. Jeff, David, Jim ...

You guys are all good people and I thank you guys from the bottom of my heart!

Peace,

Joe

Joe,

Good to hear back from you. So, are you sleeping any better? Any meds/supplements help you out here? Inquiring minds, etc....

Best,
Jeff

TBI & sleep apena
 

I must be on a different boat as the rest of you. I had a Moderate TBI 37 years ago. And my sleep apena problem literally "knocks me out" at bed time. I can fall asleep almost anywhere after about 4 or 5PM. I have a Mixed sleep apena. I believe that Sleep apena was caused by my TBI, but I am not sure. About 15 years ago the doctors told me i had a sleep problem and just gave me drugs to stay awake. I guess they do not feel that 37 year old injuries are worth fixing....

Tired all the time.
 

I wish I had that problem. I can fall asleep almost anywhere.
I used to have a water bed. And the joke was..."I could fall asleep before the waves settled when I would be into bed"
The feeling of being tired all day....every day....Is something I have just learned to live with.
ASV is NOT living up to the hype I heard.
LarryN