I hp aven't gone to sleep naturally since 1986. At first I assumed I was a light sleeper because the slightest noise would wake me. Wrong. I had the fibro sleep disorder. I can't sleep without medication and the best of all the ones I've tried, Ambien has been the best with no morning hangover. Adequate sleep medication is an absolute must because we don't finish REM sleep cycles which are needed to trigger restorative sleep with happens an hour before waking. The result is the extreme fatigue we always feel. Good sleep hygiene is also a must. Keeping regular hours, avoiding upsetting situations, eating at regular times, avoiding substances that make for wakefulness are all critical to your sleep. Above all an effective med are critical to attaining as close to normal sleep as we can get.

I listen to mediation on my headphones. At first it didn't work so well. I persisted, l can fall asleep now. If l wake up during the night , l choose another mediation and start again. I can usually sleep through the night and wake up feeling refreshed and able to get on with my day. I have not had the horrible night tremors, nightmares and crying myself silly . Give it a try. I go to meditation once a week as well and have learnt lots of great techniques which help as well. I like the hypnosis tracks by Michael Zealey and they are free.

Rosemary is quite right. It's an excellent relaxation exercise which I recommend be done several times a day. The deep breating stimulates the vagus nerve which initiates a stress reducing response. Cops use the deep breathing to manage their response to tense situations. The more you do it the better the your body's response. I sometimes fall asleep after sleep med when I lay down. I would advise everyone how important it is to try different things to see what works for you.

I used to take Ambien and thought it was great. I was taken off it because it has been associated with Altzheimer which is rampant in my family. I haven't been able to sleep adequately since I was in the wreck that caused my fibro. I'm told that we can't sleep because our REM cycles are disrupted which need to be completed before the restorative part of sleep can take place in the last hour of a night's sleep. The result if perpetual exhaustion where you feel like you're nailed to your pillow in the morning.

Yes! I also take amitriptyline, it really helps me sleep! I was waking up every hour or so, never getting enough sleep, now I usually get about 7 hours. I have severe hot flashes (we call them flash floods) that wake me up, especially during flares, but nothing like before. Now I usually go right back to sleep, even after changing my clothes. I started on 25 mg back in April, and in June, we raised it to 50 mg, which seems good. Last night seemed restless, which usually means a flare coming on 😵 but at least I'm no longer sleep deprived. Good luck, I hope you're able to 'find' sleep.