I think my sleeping problems have been since I was about 8. My dad's ex-girlfriend used to give me, my brother, and her little girl NyQuil every night before bed. I was hooked on NyQuil, and until about four years ago, I was still hooked. My husband and grandmother helped me to get off of that. Then, I was unable to sleep. So my mother-in-law gave me a muscle relaxer one night. I started taking Tylenol PM every night after that. Just recently I found out that I may be addicted to the Tylenol. I know it has the potential to kill my liver, but I need something. The situation at my house, the stress of my husband losing his job, the extended family living with us, my desire to succeed and potentially move up in the company I work for, and going to school online may be accompanying all the stress I feel. I realize that may be making it hard for me to fall asleep. I'm going to try these helpful hints on here, then go to my doctor. I'm trying so hard to not take anything. It's so hard though. I feel depressed a lot of the time, and I try to hide it. I wanted to tell this story to possibly help others.

I have had insomnia for many years. I have tried everything: I have read all the books and tried all the over-the-counter things and prescriptions. I've also tried all the herbs and teas, no TV, yes TV, walking, reading, a fan — nothing works! Sometimes it works for a little while, but then it doesn't work. I now take Ambien CR. I fall asleep after about an hour, but I wake up two or three hours later, then sleep a while and wake up again. When I do this, I am tired all day and not a nice person.

I am at my wits end. I haven't had a night with more than three hours sleep for about 2 years. I am permanently tired. I go to bed tired, lie awake hour after hour and get up feeling exhausted. I have tried every gadget on the market, costing a lot of money, hypnosis did not work. I have seen my GP who is not helpful and just talks about sleep hygiene which I go through every night. I am absolutely desperate for someone to help.

I'm going through menopause and at night, when I fall asleep, I dream all night. When I wake up in the morning, though, I feel so tired as if I didn't sleep at all.