General Insomnia

[Sighs]

So... recent research seems to indicate that repeated exposure to blasts (rockets, IED. mortars) causes damage to the sleep centres of the brain.

My vet needs sleeping tablets to get any sleep at all. But the civilian doctors - with no experience of treating patients suffering from the aftereffects of blast injuries - keep telling him he shouldn't take them all the time. So then he stops taking them and literally does not sleep for 48 - 72 hours before I force him to take the sleeping tablet!

I made him an appointment with a sleep specialist (who had been a RAAF doc at one stage) back in November but he (my vet) cancelled it. WTF?

He's not really much fun to be around when he's had no sleep. Any ideas?

 

[Sweetpea76]

My vet had a sleep study done, and he has some sleep apnea on top of the insomnia. He won't get a CPAP machine though, no matter how much I've been trying to talk him into getting one.

I went and had a sleep study done myself, because I have insomnia as well, and restless leg syndrome... turns out I have sleep apnea and had no idea. I don't snore or choke in my sleep, but it turns out I stop breathing like 35 times and hour. It makes you feel exhausted. You could sleep 12 hours and wake up exhausted.

With the CPAP, I sleep like a rock. I also do not dream. You slip past R.E.M. Sleep with the CPAP, and sleep "deeper", so my doc said most people don't dream when they use one. That is another plus I think would benefit him.

Stubborn-ass man would choke to death in his sleep before getting one though. :mad::mad::mad:

Would your vet listen to a white noise machine or relaxing sound effects? When I can't sleep I listen to a YouTube video of hair brushing noises... I know that sounds looney, but getting my hair brushed and played with knocks me out. Turns out the sound of it is a pretty good substitute in a pinch.

WOW, this sounds like your hair is being TOUCHED! Binaural ASMR hair brushing and scalp massage

 

[Sighs]

We've tried white noise machines before and it seemed like it helped a bit. But all of a sudden he decided it was irritating and keeping him awake. Sigh!

I suffer from hypnic jerks - like a whole body hiccup as I fall asleep which inevitably wakes him up just as he is dozing off and buggers his whole night's sleep. We hate sleeping in separate beds but it seems like that is the only practical thing to do. Sigh!

 

[Never_falter2]

Is there a way to MAKE HIM see a sleep specialist? I guess not, is it?

As far as I know apart from sleeping tablets there are other medications which help a person sleep such as mirtazapine.

 

[trying to heal]

Is there a way to MAKE HIM see a sleep specialist? I guess not, is it?

Insomnia is part of the whole Ptsd package.. if i didn't take my meds ( currently on olanzapine and mirtazapine) i only get an hour or 2 sleep a night.

Not sleeping puts you at a much higher risk for a whole load of problems both physically and mentally.

Maybe if you can get him to see that getting sleep will help him begin recovery it might help??

 

[Sweetpea76]

Not to be totally inappropriate... *cough*...
But a little nookie is good for sending my vet to sleep. At the very least it relaxes him ;)

 

[Sighs]

Lol - that would be an awesome solution! But about a year ago he told me that he was avoiding sex a little because he found he couldn't get to sleep afterwards. Go figure. So now we "go to bed early" and then get up again afterwards so he can "wind down". Sigh!

 

[Never_falter2]

It's actually not that uncommon. I don't have PTSD but I cannot sleep if we made love in the hour before we go to bed... or if I had a hot shower or worked out. I think it is because of higher blood pressure.

 

[StormySea]

Tryptophan supplements?

 

[awayhome06]

my husband has been taking melatonin for a while now, it helps dramatically, with less side effects than prescriptions. I don't know if that might be what you meant by sleep tablets, as there are so many kinds, but if it's not something he's tried it might be worth looking into