[Karen W.]

6:00AM still awake ..... running out of things to do.. and I am bored!

[neilep]

Hello there,

My name is Luiza Sauma - I'm a journalist at The Independent on Sunday. I'm currently trying to put together a feature about insomnia, because it seems like almost everyone I know is suffering from the condition - myself included. I'm going to attempt to explore - through case studies, medical explanations and psychoanalysis - why so many people in the UK are finding it hard to get a good night's sleep.

I'm currently looking for insomniacs of all ages to speak to. There's a possiblity that someone will have to be photographed, but this hasn't been confirmed yet. But I can assure you that the piece will be very sensitive and sympathetic.

So, if you're interested, drop me a line at L.sauma@independent.co.uk. Might be helpful if you put something like "insomnia" in the subject line.

Thanks!
Luiza

I responded.

Seems my 36 years of chronic Insomnia ( day in day out since I was six years old) does not qualify me !

The powers that be have determined that the article shall be related to people in their teens and twentys....the fact that I spent my ENTIRE teens and twenties suffering with Insomnia precludes me from being accepted.

This is a first for me.......I can not fathom why there needs to be an ageist twist !!

[Karen W.]

Thats very odd! Seems you would be a good resource of information....

[neilep]

Thats very odd! Seems you would be a good resource of information....

It actually pissed me off !!...

I never spoke with Luiza in person...just received an email...but I did try to call her.....just to see what the logic behind it was !!

..I really feel quite rejected by it !!...it's not as I wanted paying.......other interviews and documentary type things I have done have all been for the " cause "...so that others may benefit from it.........in this case !!....well......I won't be buying the Independent to read the article !!

To celebrate...I just took 15mg of Nitrazepam !!

[Karen W.]

Oh Neily...Please be careful... I am so in trouble right now... can't stay long...Please sleep well..

[neilep]

Oh Neily...Please be careful... I am so in trouble right now... can't stay long...Please sleep well..

Be careful ?....what about ?....I'd need a lot lot more to be 'not careful '.....just get yourself out of trouble....

[Karen W.]

 I am trying I hope you sleep good tonight....Sound like my kids... and my Doctor... night!

[Carolyn]

*sigh* I've just picked Nic up, now I'm too wired to sleep.

[Carolyn]

......2am.  another long miserable night. [V]

[Karen W.]

Sorry Carolyn!

[matt w]

hi all just been reading through the forum
my names matt, im 22 and i havnt been able to sleep properly for as long as i can remeber when i was young bout 4/5 i used to wait till my mum and dad went to bed then sit and watch TV all night because i couldnt sleep.
i used to go night after night with not a single bit of sleep longest i can remember was about a week n a half. but as im getting older i dont seem to beanle to cope as well.
i noticed some of you said you feel like zombies well i know the feeling.
i kind of feel emotionless
the problem is i know i should be sleeping as the time on the clock gets closer and closer to the alarm going off but it just doesnt happen
im guessing alot of you are older than me so id like to know if it gets harder to cope as we get older
i think my body needs the rest but my mind is sayin "not a chance m8"
even when i do fall asleep im never really asleep i remember all my dreams so clear and can only stay asllep for 2 hours tops
ive recently tried kalms suposed to be a herbal remedy to promote sleep but they dont seem to work with me
ive seen doctors and psychiatrists which all have there own theorys to why i cant sleep blaming it on stress or depression which i have neither
basically i signed up to the forum just to chat with people who can fully understand what im going through most people think insomnia is juat a dance track released in the 90s or they go on bout the film fight club, ive never met or spoken to any one befor that suffers from insomnia as i do.

also ive been told recently that some people have really fast matabolism or however its spelt not sure what that is exactly i was told that if you do you will produce energy within your body faster and in the case of sleep can recharge you body and mind faster than normal and we just dont need as much sleep as some people does anyone know if this is true
ive been told so many different causes for my problem thst i just dont know what to think any more.

 [?] [?]

[Karen W.]

Welcome Matt! Glad to have you here. I do not recall hearing that about the metabolism, but I know Neil has like a ton of energy all the time he may know something of the phenomenom of which you speak. I just started using  a CPAP machine, and it helps when I finally am able to get to sleep! The problem is getting to sleep it is near impossible sometimes! Nice to see you here feel free to ask lots of questions! LOL Someone will be around to answer or at least try to!

[Karen W.]

4:08 am can't sleep tonight.. Hoping all of you are snoozing away! Sweet dreams..

[Karen W.]

5:38 am still wide awake!

[matt w]

thanks for the welcome karren
on day 3 with no sleep now
just wondered do you ever feel like your well tired like its a proper effort to hold up your head so you go to bed but after lyin there 20 mins you feel wide awake again.
coz that just happened to me never happened b4 i normally lie in bed thinkin bout random stuff for a few hours till i eventually fall alseep or get bored and do summat lol
also that machine thing you mentioned where would i find out about it as in where to get one n that?
plus you said it helps you stay asleep once asleep i take it it doesnt help you get to sleep in the first place?
thanx in advance if you find time to answer my questions

[Karen W.]

Every single night I feel like that!

So tired so I lie down.. then boom like a huge adrenelin rush and I can't sleep. I have tried everything.. It has always taken me forever if not ever to fall asleep. Then I would wake up again moments sometimes an or two then that was it!

[matt w]

sayin that it could have been because of them kalms pills im takin
but still i didnt acctually manage to sleep
i should add i also suffer with ADHD which causes me to be hyperactive the thing is im not sure weather me not sleeping is because of that or if i do acctually have insomnia
basically i just wanna hear what its like for you to have insomnia so i can c the similaritys in myself
i still live with my mum (sad i know at 22) but she doesnt want me taking any sleeping tablets says i can get hooked and depend on em or summat so im open to sugestions for anything that might help that isnt basically a tranquliser

[Karen W.]

Oh Yeah about the cpap ask your doctor to recommend a sleep study have one done and see if apnea or hypneas are causing your problem once you reach sleep. My problem was I was never reaching rem sleep where you dream I was lucky to sleep two hours.. I am hit and miss. The last two weeks I have been very congested and cant sleep with the mask as it requires strictly nose breathing no breathing through your mouth...You could have some serious problems causing you to wake after you are finally out..

[Karen W.]

sayin that it could have been because of them kalms pills im takin
but still i didnt acctually manage to sleep
i should add i also suffer with ADHD which causes me to be hyperactive the thing is im not sure weather me not sleeping is because of that or if i do acctually have insomnia
basically i just wanna hear what its like for you to have insomnia so i can c the similaritys in myself
i still live with my mum (sad i know at 22) but she doesnt want me taking any sleeping tablets says i can get hooked and depend on em or summat so im open to sugestions for anything that might help that isnt basically a tranquliser

I tried them they were awful and did not make me feel good. I hate pills and would prefer to struggle rather then suffer the after effects of the pill. at least without it I was always able to be happy during the day but the sleep aide pills made me sleep hard but I felt drugged and out of it for two days! It was horrid.

[matt w]

how would you control that tho once asleep surely you have no way of knowin if your breathing through your mouth or not
whats a sleep study? do you have to try and sleep somewhere and ppl monitor you?
coz that could take a few days with me lol
im not sure if i reach REM i do dream but when i wake up i remember the whole thing like you remember what you did the day befor
i never get more than two hours sleep with the odd exception when ive been clubbin and got absoloutly smashed lol
but the feeling of being tired is new to me ive never felt tired b4
i thought i had but not like that could hardly keep my eyes open