[Guest]

This is my first entry and I really hope that you can give me some hope. I have always had severe sleep problems. I can remember as a child that I could not sleep untill it was too late and then I had to wake up. Throughout my life, my sleep has been terrible. At this time, I have been diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and fibromyalgia. I am no longer able to be as active as I would like to be and I have gained baout 20 pounds in the last 6 months. Right now, my schedule (if youc an call it that) is I sleep all day and up all night, then I sleep all night and into the day, so I am up for part of the day. As a result my eating is insane. Sometimes I have my "dinner" at 4am. I can't just not eat because when I have slept for the past 14 to 16 hours (which is another thing I deal with, long hours of sleep), I am hungry. Yes, I watch what I eat, yes I exercise, however a caveat to that is that if is hard to do exercise at 2am since I can't take my walks that I would like since walking is something I can handle. I try to stay active by doing housework(quietly and thankfully my husband and roommates are sound sleepers and keep their doors closed) and I stretch alot. I have tried putting myself on a schedule, but I deal with severe pain and fatigue when I try to stay awake that there is no way I can do that. I have tried anti-depressant that are geared towards regulating the brain chemistry to keep me up suring the day and sleep at night. Absolutely no help at all. So I sit her at 5 am up since 5 pm, hoping to get some answers and hope. Please reply soon because I really need help.

[Guest]

patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia often have difficulty with sleep. It can be related to the pain so pain control is extremely important. A regular schedule is also important and you need to make a big effort to keep it. Important sleep habits include, no caffeine, no alcohol, no nicotine; do not stay in bed more than 30 minutes if you have not fallen asleep, get up and do something boring until you can fall asleep, no naps, exercise late in the afternoon or a hot bath a few hours before bedtime can also help. These are suggestions to get started but you may also benefit from seeing a sleep specialist.
[quote] This is my first entry and I really hope that you can give me some hope. I have always had severe sleep problems... [/quote]