I’m no stranger to sleepless nights. I suffer from IBS and, on a bad flare, I would go one or two nights without sleeping. This went on and off for a few years until I could finally control this syndrome and get back to my average 9 hours of sleep.
For a few years after getting the IBS under control, I had no trouble sleeping, even when I got the flu. And then came fibromyalgia.
Ever since the pain started, my sleep hygiene has suffered immensely. During the first weeks, I would have around two nights a week without sleeping and poor sleep for the rest of the days. As the pain increased, so did the number of sleepless days.
This got worst as time went by. For several months, I wouldn’t be able to sleep for at least four days a week. The sleep deprivation depleted my energy even more than fibromyalgia did, and no medication doctors prescribed would help. I was going insane!
Eventually, someone referred me to an excellent rheumatologist with an impressive resumé. He increased the dosage of the medications and prescribed more meds to help me sleep. After a bit of trial and error, I started taking Amitriptyline Hydrochloride pills, and my sleep mostly got on track.
Sometimes, my pain increases so much that even the Amitriptyline Hydrochloride pills don’t help me sleep during the night. But as the pain level decreases, I’m eventually able to rest - usually around sunrise.
These pills, opioids, antidepressants, and muscle relaxants barely have an impact on my pain level. At least, though, I can sleep most of the nights. But if I stop taking them, I can barely move with so much fucking pain.
image from Unsplash
