Hi there, Sorry to hear of your trouble sleeping--sounds pretty frustrating. I saw this article the other day which was really interesting to me.

http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/757.html (I guess you'll have to cut & paste--the link didn't work)

I can totally relate to the 4am-12noon concept--it was really cool to see that in there, as that's so ME! I never knew that a lot of other people are like that too. (unfortunately my schedule as a mommy doesn't enable me to follow that sleeping pattern, but maybe someday, hehehe....) I'm kind-of the opposite as what you described--I fall asleep the moment my head touches the pillow, but I'd imagine that's because I'm often just sleep-deprived. Even though I almost always sleep all night, sometimes I'm frustrated by waking up many times during the night, leaving me not feeling rested. When I first started Adderall a few months ago, and now Vyvanse, it was annoying to lie there waiting to fall asleep (for probably only less than 5 minutes) and that was very eye-opening--literally!--(wow, that was a really cheesey pun, lol) to the plight of people who do suffer from real insomnia. I really feel for you with the difficulty sleeping, and I hope you can find something that works for you soon.

I don't recall that article mentioning Valerian, but I remember hearing of that as a natural sleep aid.

Good luck!

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Try taking melatonin, it is a natural product available at most health shops, and you will not wake up feeling sluggish. Good Luck!

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I don't know if this will help, but I have to take Lunesta at night or I will be up all night. This medication is also considered non-addictive. Might want to ask your doc about that.

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Another medication that works well is Trazodone. It is an older anti-depressant that stopped being used because it made patients too sleepy. That's what I am on and it works great. It is also non-addictive so it can be taken for long term use. And a plus is that you can get it at Walmart at $4 for a month's supply.

I have no side effects at all. I don't think the dosage they use for sleep problems is as high as what they would use for depression. I take Effexor for anxiety but it is also used for depression.

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I just wanted to say thank you to you all for helping me with your advice. I've been trying a number of different things over the past couple of days.

I've only been trying a cd so far - one of those things that change your brainwave patterns. And, silly though it may sound, I feel the problem is easier to manage simply because I've come across people who understand and recognise what I've been going through. That alone feels great.

I can't say the problem is eliminated, but I got a good 6 hours sleep last night and didn't 'fight' it as much.

I'll keep on working at it.

Thanks everyone!

English Girl

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I didn't realize it when I was a child but I created a coping strategy for bedtime. Of course, children have specific bedtimes, so when I had to go to bed but couldn't sleep, I would close my eyes and make up a story. I could see the pages of the book, etc. and before long I was asleep dreaming the story. I just thought it was something I did ... til forty years later I found out I had ADD and lots of my "things" were coping strategies.

Don't know if it will help, but I still do it. Of course, sometimes my brain wants to think about work and I often come up with solutions this way too, but I usually try to stick to fantasy to truly go to sleep.

Good luck!

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My husband has this same problem. He was eventually diagnosed with sleep apnea, and has a CPAP machine. If he gets 5 hours sleep uninterrupted he is happy. I don't know how he does it with such little sleep.Has anyone said anything to you about sleep apnea? Elizabeth

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English Girl said:

I'm dragging myself through the day after spending the whole of the night awake fighting and fighting and fighting sleep. Why do I do this? Does anyone else do this? Am I alone?

Unfortunately, I don't have any help to offer you...only a sympathetic ear. I have the same problem. There have been nights where I realize it's 4 am and I'm actually walking around the house to keep from falling asleep...not doing anything, mind you, just walking! I don't know why I avoid sleep so assiduously, and it's really an enormous PITA to be tired all day because of it. But I don't need to tell you that :P.

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Ladies, if you are anywhere from 20 'something to postmenupausal at any age, sleep deprivation is common in this country. Insomnia is common among many women, especially moms and working women (and those who are both in one). I have been an insomniac for many years. Some nights I get a good nights rest, others I toss and turn all night.

I have taught myself to picture something very serene (my choice is pegasus flying in the sky coming out of clouds) and I try to make my mind think and imagine only that. White cottonball clouds, blue sky, flying horse coming toward me. Sometimes it helps me calm down enough to go to sleep, other's...well, I have to try other things. Remember it takes anywhere from 10 minutes to 30 minutes for your body to go to sleep after laying down.

Are you preparing yourself by sitting down and just doing nothing for an hour before bed, reading, listening to music with no other distractions, or are you up and running right up until it's time for bed? If I am active and miss my 'bedtime' routine, I'm blown away from sleep. I can't seem to quiet down enough.

Another vision is kind of funny, but it works: I think of Carol Burnett and her as the cleaning woman with the broom and bucket in a pool sweeping the 'junk' out of my mind a little at a time. Usually by the time the pool is cleared (minus water mind you), I am usually off to sleep.

Good luck. Hope you can find that thing that will help you sleep better at night.

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I can't tell you the last time I had normal sleep patterns, because quite frankly, I don't think I ever have.

I went to my doctor about this a few years ago and she put me on Deseryl. It helped indeed, but not always, and sometimes not often enough. After a couple years of trying different doses and sleeping pills I sort of gave up. I hated the sleeping pills, because all they would do is make me drowsy! I was already drowsy! Exhausted in fact! I needed actual sleep, not simply to feel sleepy.

Racing mind, racing mind, racing mind ... you all know what I'm talking about. It amazes me you do, but I digress ... so I started to see a "shrink". She has been simply amazing at helping me weed through my "stuff", but we kept talking about organization and problems, etc. and the next thing you know, I'm taking tests and it's add. Cool. Now I can make sense of many things. It puts a lot into perspective (being an adult and all). But there's still that sleep thing ...

It's that racing mind!

Here's what I've learned. Oh it's so hard (not really). Meditation. Figure out how to get 30 to 45 minutes to yourself everyday and practice meditation (not near bedtime). Get a cd, an mp3, something with binaural beats ... whatever works for you ... and lie down and relax.

Here's the key: Let your mind race. Think about anything you want. Think about it all!

It took me years to figure this out. It's so simple, yet so true. Meditation is really a state of quieting the mind, not thinking ... like a jug of water carried in and placed on the floor to rest, soon the water inside stops splashing all over the place. And the best way to get your add brain to stop splashing all over the place is to not worry about it. Who cares? You're all by yourself in you head. Nobody is conducting a test or measuring your performance. It's just you. So stop cracking the whip. Cut yourself some slack. And think, think, think ...

Over time (less than you probably think), your nonchalant atti , er, additude towards whether you're thinking too much, too little, following the voice on the recording properly, what you'll have for dinner, or whatever it is running through your mind ... will slow down and become still.

Learning to meditate, I believe, has helped teach my brain to slow down and relax. I don't sleep perfectly yet, but perfect probably doesn't exist anyways. I certainly sleep a lot better than I have in a long, long time. Give it a try!

Oh, and one more quick tid-bit I've found helpful. When you're trying to relax, whether to fall asleep or meditate or whatever, and your mind is racing, just slow down the speech patterns in your head. Keep talking to yourself, just talk to yourself in that slow, uninterested voice of yours that speaks first thing in the morning after you finally hit your deep sleep pattern about 1/2 hour ago. You know what I mean ... :-)

Good luck!

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I never slept either and till this day I cannot sleep no matter what I do that is natural. I can exercise , skip caffeine products, play noise machines and took melatoin, magnesium etc. . The only medication that helps me sleep is Ambien and I break it in half. Since my hysterectomy surgery sleeping has become worse. Many ADD ers can not sleep . I could go hours before collapsing in sheer exhaustion.and still sleep only 5 hours Nights shift was the worse because soon as I see light I must be up and out of bed. Actually Ritalin would calm me down so it helps some; but without Ambien all would be lost. When I was child my mother would find me up watching TV at 3AM and would bring me into her bed. Sometimes I would fall off to sleep; but as a child I think I lived on 4-5 hours of sleep. With the Ambien I get 8 hours and no daze feeling . You need to sleep and if you must a medication maybe the only way you can. Benadryl 50 mgs will make you sleepy ; but you can feel groggy in the morning and start to feel sinus pressure because it drys you up.

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Do you take ritalin regularly? or another stimulant? If so, ask about Clonidine... it "flushes" the effect away so you can sleep.

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I have problems falling asleep, especially when I take my medicine at a later time than normal. I've always considered myself, "nocturnal" and now that I have two children, I sometimes can't wait to fall in bed, but once there, I toss and turn. My oldest daughter has problems with this too. One thing that helps (and I need to do it more often) is exercising a couple of hours before bed. I don't do this near enough, but I'm currently making a conscious effort to try.

Also, I've found reading. However, this can be a double-edge sword too, since I have a tendency to get hyper-focused if the book is good. I then end up staying up too late again! Do you find it hard to wake up in the morning, even if you get some sleep? I know that many people with ADHD have this problem. This adds to the problem. Getting a late start on the day can make it very difficult to "shut down" the mind.

Oh, how I can relate. I haven't tried Melatonin, but I'm thinking I'm might try it. Good luck and take care.

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Hi all! My son has ADHD and emotional disability. I have chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. We both have been helped by Himaliyan Goji Juice. It has been mentioned on both OPRAH and MARTHA. but the proof is in the scientific study. I FEEL OBLIBATED TO TELL EVERYONE SINCE I HAVE MY LIFE BACK NOW! www.godsberry.freelife.com has the study and more information. I pray that I can help you!

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My son had AD/HD. I have taken him to biofeedback or neurofeedback. The first area they targeted was sleep. It worked after the first session. He didn't have any more trouble with sleeping. Any time now that it reoccurs, we just target that again. It is also great for depression from this disorder as well.

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Wow, up until now, I didn't attribute my sleeping problems to my ADD...but then again, things always tend to come back to that...ha ha!

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My son fights this problem. He has went to hot yoga with his sister and when he gets home he is asleep in a short, while. Problem many times he is too tired to go, when he gets home from work. So if anyone has any other ideas, I would like to hear, also.

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I understand a lot of your problems, and I've already seen a lot of suggestions I myself use. Sleeping is a BIG problem for me, especially because I work graveyard shifts. I've had problems with sunlight and constant thinking keeping me up.

For starters, I definately recomend a Melatonin suppliment (as suggested earlier, kudos!). I would recomend looking up melatonin on wikipedia. One thing I will caution with Melatonin is the amount. I take a 1mg pill because 3mg and up can cause vivid nightmares, which is a problem I encountered with other sleeping pills. Believe it or not, I take melatonin to help me get better sleep rather than to fall asleep.

Another suggestion that has already been mentioned is music. For me personally I use very soft music. If you can find a Sounds of Nature type CD or other calming sound (I recomend Mindscapes by Mars Lasar) that might work wonders for you.

Last suggestion is the use of "white noise," which is something that creates a regular dull sound. For me this is a fan, and I use it year round. I don't need it to sleep, but I sleep much better with it.

If you're still having problems with sunlight, try picking up a type of fabric from your local fabric store called "Blackout." Its a layer of black fabric sandwiched between two other layers of cream colored fabric. At one point I had my windows completely covered, but I have had to "modify" the way I have them on there because I've been suffering Seasonal Affective Disorder due to getting roughly 2 hours of sunlight each day.

Hope this helps!

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I had always thought that I was the only one who would fight sleep, even when exhausted. I can't explain it, nor do I know how to fix it. I sometimes describe it as a "sleep phobia", though it's not the sleeping I'm afraid of, just the lying in bed with ample time to overthink everything. I wake up at 5:30 every morning, and spend the day teaching teenagers, so I really could use the rest. I find that I can only sleep when I am not alone. I don't expect anyone on here to be able to solve what has been a lifelong issue, but just hearing that someone else out there has a similar situation makes it seem less lonely and less unusual. While I'm sorry to know that someone is suffering without sleep, I am thankful that you shared your stories. I hope that you find relief, and if you do find a solution, please come back here to share.

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Dear Sleepy,

I have a few suggestions. First, ask your doctor about the Daytrana patch. It provides ADD/ADHD medication slowly over a 9 hour time period. In addition, try using the melatonin and 2 benedryl tablets 1 hour before bedtime. Just make sure you take the patch off at least 1 hour before taking the sleep meds. This remedy has worked wonders for my son!

Invest in a "white noise" machine - a fan, purifier, air conditioner to act as a constant backdrop to sleep by.

The patch takes about 1 month to adjust to the adhesive, so don't give up! Also, refridgerate the patches and only remove 1 when ready to apply.

Hope these suggestions help!!!

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