Sleep problems

General
1

Hi, everyone!

I know that many chiarians have sleep problems. So I justwanted to tell you about how mine were fixed. I could not fall asleep, when I did, every little noise woke me up. I know there are many of you who have it much worse than I did and I honestly don't know how you can do anything. You must have monstrous strength! The harder it was to fall asleep, the more uncomfortable I felt, the more painful it got.

Up until about 3 months ago I had not had a good night's sleep for around 7 years. maybe more. I was used to it and didn't think much of it. When I told my doctor about it, she was surprised that I've been able to function so close to normal for such a long time. Then I realized how messed up my sleep was. haha

She prescribed me sleeping pills, but I took only 1/2 the dose a person my age should for a few reasons.

A month later I started seeing a psychiatrist who also prescribed the sleeping pills only on normal doses. So I took one pill each night for around a month and eventually tried out if I could go to sleep without them, and I could! And I've been sleeping pretty good ever since. When I stopped taking them every day, I bought 10 pills in case I needed them. Since the mid of November I have taken them less than 10 times.

At first I ddid not want to take them because I thought they make you addicted and mess everything up, but that shouldn't happen under a doctors supervision.

My head isn't working- sorry if something is a mumbo jumbo!

Oh, and I think this might have improved my memory.

2

My experience of sleep problems (not caused by Chiari) is that sometimes your body sleep system simply gets messed up by physical illness and stress. A short course of sleeping pills or, in my case, a tricyclic antidepressant at a very, very low dose is enough to help reset my natural healthy sleep cycle.

If we remember that sleep deprivation is a method of torture it helps emphasise that to ask for and accept medical help to get a good night sleep is actually beneficial to our overall wellbeing and function.

Great subject to post about Fugu :-)