[luvcatsbaskets]

Ever since I reached my 40's my sleep pattern has changed. For instance my husband came home around 2:00 this morn from work, I woke up cant go back to sleep, ( he crashed though) I have been on the computer since 5:00 a.m., it is now 6:30 a.m. and I have 2 grandkids that will be waking up in a few hours. Some nights I will wake up arnd 2-3 and just cant go back to sleep. Drives me nuts!!!! I have wonder if it could be bc I am start to go thru the change. UGH!!

[mommy2skie]

i been struggling with that same thing for about 5 years now and im only 25. my doctor gives me ambien for those nights. but if i can get to sleep ok i dont take it, and will get up and take a advil pm, knocks me back out for a few hours. slept till 1130 yesterday!

[Susuz]

Me too! Although I have already done the menopause thing, mine started when we were undergoing infertility treatment. Now a lot of times mine is pain related, and the 2 oclock thing would correspond to a medication wearing off if you take one at bedtime. I have cut back on my caffiene, cut out naps, tried to limit my TV, etc at night, no luck. The best thing I HAVE found is earplugs! I guess as I got older anything that woke me up I stayed awake. I can still hear enough that if DD needs me or there is an emergency but it filters out all the little things that I notice now wake me up. Good luck and just learn to use that time for ME TIME!

[pamelab1]

Nice to know I'm not the only one If I'm lucky I have maybe 1 or 2 nights a month that I sleep or can go back to sleep if I wake up.

[scamelo]

Before kids I slept like a rock, did not hear a thing. Now kids are all teens, but sleeping is horrible. I am in late 40's and a few years ago body changed, not just my sleeping. If I wake up I rarely can get back to sleep, no matter what time it is.

I have a teenage DD who has really really bad insomnia, amongst other issues, so I don't think its just age in all cases.

[shopinmom3]

I sleep terribly lately!! Just turned 40, my life is a stressful disaster and not sleeping is NOT helping! Ack! I can ususally fall asleep fine, but then if I wake up to use the bathroom or hear a noise, I'm wide awake and can't fall back asleep! I miss good sleep!

[jomalone2]

I went through it too until I had a hysterectomy then started researching menopause and found it was related. Now that they finally have my hormones straighened out (I use a patch) it has gotten much better but when I was going through it I honestly thought I was going to go crazy. It's horrible. Talk to your ob-gyn about it - regardless of your age. I loved the Ambien until I found out I was having conversations that I didn't know I was having so I figured I had better get off of it. It works great but it works differently on everybody.

[kate2348]

I, too have trouble sleeping through the night, but I feel like I have cobbled a solution together. We got a new mattress, which made a big difference, they definitely don't last forever. I read an article that said the optimum sleeping temperature was 58-62 and most people keep it too warm, so we started dropping the heat down to 60 at night and sleeping with a window open in the summer. We also run a box fan at night which provides more white noise that a ceiling fan, plus the air movement makes it seem cooler in the room. I also used to have a dish of chocolate ice cream, or hot chocolate before bed, and I cut that out, since chocolate contains caffeine. This seems to have helped. I used to take Tylenol PM 3-4 times a week and now I am down to maybe once every 2 weeks.

[blueflowers]

The same thing is happening to me. I'll wake up after about four to five hours of sleep and can't go back to sleep. It makes the days really long and everything seems like such a chore. I need at least seven hours to feel good throughout the day. I've tried most of the OTC sleep aids except for the Advil PM but I was eyeing that in CVS yesterday. I worry that it can't be good for the body to always have to take something.

[kaedeebug]

I am 40 and have a terrible time with sleep! I have alot of stress and also a sleepwalker in the family so I know that is a big part of the problem. My 9 yr dd has been a sleepwalker since age 3 and baby gates helped until age 7 she now can undo the gate! So if she she sleeps in her room I am up constantly checking every little noise so she sleeps with me and that is hard because she is a constant kicker and she wakes up screaming or gets out of bed at least 3 times a night. I feel so drained and have huge circles under my eyes I can't wait til she outgrows this!

[dwhengel]

Originally Posted by mommy2skie

will get up and take a advil pm

If you are taking the Advil PM primarily to knock you out, versus actually needing something for pain also, you can just take plain Benadryl. The PM in most of the PM's (Tylenol PM, Advil PM, etc) is diphenhydramine (aka: Benadryl!)

Della

[ms_eeyore6380]

Definetly!!! Ever since I had my 2nd DS I sleep horrible! Granted some nights are because he wakes up alot (he's still nursing) but other nights I will fall asleep for 15 min putting him to bed (he co-sleeps) then be up till 12 or 1 knowing full well that he will be up anywhere from 4:30 -6:30 depending on DH schedule. Its cute he wakes up to see Daddy off to work but makes for LONG days. I would take something to help me sleep but as I'm still nursing I still have to watch everything I take.

[jskell911]

I have struggled with insomnia since I was 12. Ironically that is about 6 months after I started the "monthy" thing. I had a hysterectomy 2 yrs ago and still struggle. I do believe a lot is hormonal. I have had to change my hormone therapy several times. I am hoping that when I find the right therapy, the sleep issues will go away

[Susuz]

Most research will tell you that Benadryl is the least troublesome thing you can do for sleep, even often.

So it sounds like there are quite a few of us up and about in the evening, it is a wonder we don't get MORE done!

My Dr also says that waking between 2-4 am without a reason (noise, baby, etc) is also a sign of depression. The menopause thing is a common cause too. I also need my room cooler at night to sleep, avoid caffeine and wear earplugs and dd is 11 so no middle of the night feedings... So what else can it be?

[preciousgirl1120]

I haven't had a good night's sleep since my 2nd trimester with my last dd. She will be 7 tomorrow! I think I average about 4 hours of sleep a night. I do get a little rest during the day while everyone is at school and DH is at work.

[Drea]

I'am with you ALL.....can't sleep unless I take my Ambien.....and yes it is habit forming, which I have been taking this for years now...and if I try to stop it, then I'am up to 4, 5 in the morning, can't go to sleep at all.....why do the Drs. even prescribe this to you, they say its not habit forming, but believe me it is...... I have tried I think everything..... It sure is terrible when you can't sleep...when I think when I was younger I could fall asleep just like that....not now....

[mforward]

I have relied on Benadryl for about 4yrs now. I did also hear that it is the same ingredient in the PM pain meds. It helps me get to sleep because I had a hard time just "shutting off" the day. I don't have the problem of waking in the middle of the night without being able to go back to sleep, my husband has that problem. He will get up and go read for a while then come back and crash again. Sleep trouble just makes your day life miserable!

[Hobbsie]

My bf is the same way he tries to be asleep by 9:30 since he gets up by 4:30, the falling asleep part is easy but he wakes up every 2 hours! The room is cold, the house is quiet, he takes Melatonin (which is all natural and suggested by this therapist), honestly I don't think it's helping and either does he. He is going to a sleep study next week and I can't wait!!! The doc thinks it might be sleep Apnea because he is SO fatigued, and lately he has been snoring like crazy, maybe he even started doing it before I met him but never knew it?
I also think it's all the damn water he drinks, I told him tonight no more water!!!!

[Beautemous02]

I am only 26 and if I don't take something to help me sleep I will stay up until 5 AM or later. Thats not good for me since I have 2 toddlers. I don't know why this is and I hate it.

[rachelhale]

My mother has the same problem, she is 51 and has had sleep problems for about 5 years. She has been told it is a hormonal thing after narrowing out everything else (caffeine usage, depression/anxiety, medications). I had this issue after I had my son, even though he would sleep through the night, I would still have trouble falling back asleep after waking in the night (I would wake up about 5 times a night). Again, I was told it was hormonal. I would ask your doctor about getting your hormone levels checked if they have ruled out everything else.
That being said, in a pinch, I would swear by taking Benadryl...its the best sleep aid. The pain meds with the 'PM' (Advil, Tylenol, etc)...you are just giving yourself unnecessary and uneeded drugs, which is bad for your stomach and your liver.

[Magnolia]

I'm like a lot of you I've had trouble sleeping for years,since I started going through the change! Was on a hormone product for 6 years but the scare came out on those so I quit was afraid of getting cancer from them! I work in a drug store part time I asked the pharmacist what I could take to help me sleep at night since I was going through the change,he said Benadryl,said it wouldn't hurt you & it does help & doesn't leave that drug out feeling the next day!

[mcdlady1]

I've had sleep problems forever and Ambien was evil for me so now I take 10mg of melatonin and it works off and on if I don't take something I lay there but don't sleep just kind of doze and jerk awake-- not very restful for sleep-- my 5 year old also still doesn't sleep well so this doesn't help much I hope we can all find some kind of relief

[Live4my3]

My mother who is 47 has the same problem. She used to take a vitamin called mellatonin to help her. It worked for awhile, but now she takes another RX med to help her fall asleep. My Dh who is 31 just recently started to have this problem and his doctor put him on ambien. The only problem with the ambien though is if he takes it when he wakes up through the middle of the night he will sleep 8-10 hours from the time he takes it.

[timmsa]

My sleeping problem started almost 2 yrs ago. We used to have a stalker were we used to live. She only struck at night. The landlord would not do anything and the police would not do anything, we started our own watch patrol. This woman did between $2500-$3000 worth of damage to my cars, left threatening notes in my mail box, even left these notes under my kids bedroom window. I lost 10 pounds in about 3 weeks because of it, not eating, not sleeping because I was afraid she would do something to my family.
I left one day and she even tried to break in my house, she put screws in my front door, she tore off the screens to my windows. The landlord blamed us for all the damage, we went to court and the court believed her.
Anyways, because of this whole issue I now have a hard time sleeping, because we moved after my oldest son's house key was found under their bedroom window with a threatening note with this woman's signature on it.
Now we are living in secret and I am afraid that she will find us and try to do something or hurt my kids. (don't worry If she even tries anything, I will be going to jail, because I will serious hurt her).
But now I don't know what to do, I wake up sometimes at 2 am and can't go back to sleep. But I am also in my late 30's so I may be starting the change.

[makat2u]

I have been suffering from terrible bouts of insomnia since I was a kid & now I am 45 & am fortunate if I get 4-5 hrs of sleep a night that are constant. I have already gone through the "change" but nothing changed with my sleeping unfortunately. I now however suffer from memory loss {what I read, what I watch on tv, things like that} & other things that are caused from a lack of good restful sleep for so many years.