Sleep Update

I'm sick of talking about my sleep problems. Consequently, I assume everyone is sick of hearing about them, too. I feel like such a tiresome person relating all this to people over and over again, with no resolution. But some of you are asking, so here's the latest.

My primary doc gave up last fall and recommended me to a neurologist. The neurologist ordered another sleep study done, which happened in December. A couple weeks ago, I saw the neurologist again only to have him tell me that, after looking at the study results, he has no idea what the problem is. I unknowingly woke up an average of 10 times an hour (better than the 25 times an hour during my sleep study a year ago), but he saw no reason why I would be waking up.

So, he referred me to a sleep specialist in Omaha, whom I saw last week. She at least didn't have the same look of confused hopelessness my primary doc and neurologist did. After about an hour of copious note-taking over the details of my life and my problem, she came up with a few hypotheses. She wants me to quit taking Echinacea, as I've been doing daily for several years. She wants me to get my dental work taken care of so the dentist can make me a sleep guard, just in case the teeth-clenching my dentist suspects I do is the issue. She wants me to try to get more aerobic exercise. Yeah, I need to do that anyway.

She also gave me a new medication. One that has no risk of dependency, so I can take it every night -- and she wants me to take it every night. I can take between 25 and 75 mg of the stuff. Last night I took 50mg. I got in bed at about 10 . . . feel asleep sometime after 12:30 . . . woke up off and on until 3:30 . . . stayed awake from then until I had to get out of bed at 6:45. Ridiculous. And this is not a terribly unusual night for me, folks -- at least when I'm off the Ambien.

You see why I'm tired of talking about this? Nothing new. Nothing encouraging. Whine, whine, whine.