Hi my fellow insomniacs! Can't sleep again, so thought I'd start a new thread about it. YAY! Sugar free cocoa is good, and I like how it makes my tummy sing little happy songs. What are YOU doing to pass the night? Read any good posts? I'll share my favorites of the night:

*Marla's real anniversary
*Ang is back
* Pork rinds as breading... (I may have to try this on my chicken tenders!)

Blogs of Note:

* Celadon has been writing really good stuff lately

Questions that come to my bleary mind:

* What's keep Sarge so busy lately? Is there a new man on the string??? Be sure and give a tug, friend, so that you set the hook properly! (Just a little fishing advice there) You're not out riding roller coasters without me, are you?

* Good to see that fearless leader is well and busy answering all the pm's (have to put an apostrophe or it looks like she's answering pms, don'cha know!)

Shout out:

Clarice sends KHK sweet purrs and snow envy...

Ok, cocoa's gone, I hear hub is rolling around in there. I'll give sleep one more try for tonight.

love you guys. Hope no one is up and reading this in the night. Sleep tight.

Sandi, I love it when I get up and come to the neighborhood and you have been here posting. Because of the three hour time difference, it is normal time for me to be up but I realize that for you, it is the insomnia kicking in. When I can't sleep, no one is usually out and about in the neighborhood.

Isn't it grand that we do have somewhere to spend our time when the eyes won't close and sleep won't take us? I hope you get some rest today and will see you later I am sure!

Dang I am a TRUE night owl! I am always up all night. I think it's in my DNA or something. Sorry you are still having the insomnia. Doesn't cocoa have caffeine??????? I'm just asking! Don't BEAT me! LOL Hope you got back to sleep.

Another happy night here in the Nite Owl Club? Of course, it's the early morning TOMORROW club for the NZ folks.... so maybe I should just call it the sleep deprived club. Got no profound thoughts tonight. I tried going back to bed. Rehashed some words in my head until I stretched so hard that I got a cramp in my hip...that made me quit thinking.

Sometimes, I think I think too much.

Here's my N.O.C. Poll of the evening: cocoa or herb tea? Which one helps you get back to sleep better and faster? Which one makes you wake up again in a few hours to go to the bathroom?

What are YOU doing up?

I just can't seem to aquire the herb tea taste. The closest I get is to boil some fresh peppermint and spearmint leaves from my backyard where they grow like wildfire! Now I can do some cocoa but I am VERY sensitive to caffeine so I can't drink it anywhere near bedtime. Also knowing my bladder they would both wake me up to pee. I hate to get up to pee! WOW I am not very deep tonite. Hope to go to sleep soon.

Gosh Sandi...you really need to try some Ambien!

I love, love, love SF cocoa. What stinks is that it is still 60 calories. I've got to be sure that it is something that I really want. It is too easy to let it become a regular beverage. A cup every night would equal about 22,000 calories in a year. Shocking!

Not into cocoa....but occasionally will have the sleepytime tea! Or the camomile tea...that helps me Sandi....but works the best is DRUGS!! Good ol' fashion DRUGS!

Luckily for me...a good workout is generally the next best thing to DRUGS cuz I really hate taking them so I dont unless sleep or pain is just IMPOSSIBLE!!

I Hope you have better luck tonight!


Julie

Well, no online fun for me last night, I did the fish out of water dance instead...flopping in bed like a dying carp. I kept telling myself to "observe my thoughts"...eventually I fell back asleep. I don't want to get up and type every night, that's like when you make midnight play time with the baby, she learns to wake herself up for the fun every night. But I really think that tossing for hours is not very restful.

Anyone know what the side effects of Ambien are? I'm thinking about throwing in the towel with the natural herbs etc.

So Sandi do you have problems falling asleep or staying asleep? I think they make different things depending on which problems you have. It is rare but when I do have an issue it is with falling asleep and since graham crackers or a glass of wine probably aren't habits I want to use. I had to find others. I don't think I get true insomnia but there are just times when I can't possibly seem to turn my brain off and I am diescting and future planning further than any higher power would at that time of night. This may be TMI but I have found sex to be the best way to turn my brain off and bring me to sleepy land. Les never seems to complain when I need help falling asleep, lmao

PS it is good to be back

Ang, I'll have to get my husband involved....laughing back. I can see the look on his face now: kind of like he got hit in the forehead with a crowbar and found out he won the lottery, all rolled into one.

Okay...that is just funny. Me? I get energized...ready to mop the floor and paint the ceiling.

Side effects to Ambien...zero for me...other than I am not even willing to TRY to fall asleep on my own any longer. I do not like the CR form...it gives me a headache when I wake up. Good old, regular Ambien. Good.

Night Owl Club??? Count me in! I am such the night owl and always hve been and now add the fact that I do not sleep well to the mix and it's not "sweet dreams" for me most nights til the wee hours of the morning...:)

I like Chamomile tea as well as "Sleepytime" tea and I take a natural remedy from the supplement company, Swanson, called "SLEEP ESSENTIALS"...when this fails I take a Rx (Ativan 1mg) and it works like a charm.

And sex...Whoa, that wakes me up even more! Works wonderfully for hubby though....

Well kids, the "powers" that be are shutting us down for a while! What will you do for help if you wake up this week? How will you cope if the n'hood is not operational?

HUH???? What do you mean "shut us down for a while"???? But, but...how...will we cope?????????!!!!???

I feel like a crack junkie looking for a "crumb".... (well, my "idea" of what this feels like; Praise Jesus I don't know this for real, but I do KNOW what it's like to be addicted to Chocolate...and now this n'hood)....don't know about yall, but I need a really good dose of LAWLS n'hood... been suffering from withdrawals all week b/c I haven't been able to "view new posts"....

Not to panic, I just meant that the "nite owl club" may be out of commission during the scheduled upgrade work scoop was talking about.... Daylight hoodies are good to go! No withdrawl. I'm just bummed out because I've come to depend on being able to spend my insomniac hours browsing and posting here.

Not to fear, I rented some dvd's to watch if I get too lonely. Hopefully though, the only movie I'll be watching is the inside of my eyelids!

G'nite and good luck fellow insomniacs! kisses to you all

Well its midnight and site is still up so maybe it will stay that way. Oh I also take regular ambien every night and I have no side effects that I am aware of. I also don't like the CR formula as it makes me drowsy the next morning. And I am NOT a nice person if I don't get me at least 6 hours a night, 8 is even better! Seriously Sandi, if I was you (were you?) I would go get a script ASAP especially cause their is a generic for Ambien now so it is cheap! Try some drugs to sleep and be a happy camper!

I am generally up until 2 or 3 am nightly, and if I can't get on here...guess it will mean it is time to actually sit and read some class books, but I usually end up scrubbing the kitchen until I am tired...pills don't help me, but sometimes peppermint tea does...<though apparently not tonight>

Sleepless in VA with an upset tummy and just wondering if I'm the only one up at 3:14 am. Arg! I honestly think this is the worst my tummy's felt since having WLS. I posted why but don't remember which thread. How sad is that! LOL! Hope everyone's sleeping sound and dreaming happy, peaceful things.

I just tried to post the best, most beautiful post here...and it got dumped! My heart actually started pounding when I got the error message! Darn and darn on me for not doing it in word first!

Why is it that happens to the best posts, but the usual crap goes through just fine? Is there some kind of law about this? Well, I'm half tempted to try it again just to tempt the fickle finger of fate gods!

Ok, here goes, I'll type fast and see if I can fool 'em into thinking that this one is crap too....

I was just saying how beautiful Lady Moon looks tonight and i was saying that if you see her too, send a warm wink up to her and I will too...but it sounded much prettier when I said it before!

HA! Take THAT ye scurvy posting gremlins, you!!!! ok, so it wasn't poetry, but you get the idea. Ok, I'll get off of here now.

Sending you all love and best wishes for peaceful dreams and sweetest of slumbers.

Another happy night in front of the computer screen. The melatonin worked great for a couple of nights. Tonight, I'm awake at 1:30 again. It's ok. I just read a little, post a little, go back to sleep. I don't stress over it, I keep it light. I go with it.

Anybody reading any good books lately? Watching a good tv series I should TiVo and watch during my late night prowl? The only thing I watch regularly is Iron Chef America. I have to confess, I love Alton Brown. No, you don't get it. I LOVE Alton Brown. but ooooo la la on the "Chairman" too! I love to watch the chefs cooking and hear Alton's witty commentary and see the chairman give that impish little grin when he bites the apple instead of the yellow pepper. Now that's some great tv that is!

I've decided that I need to write down all the supplements I take. I can't believe how many vitamins, minerals and supplements I'm taking in a day.
*
I take:
*multivitamins in a drink 2 times a day (half hour before bfast and lunch since it's a drinkable)
*calcium in a huge horse pill 2 times a day (right when I get up and right when I go to bed)
*L-Carnitine in a huge horse pill 1 time a day (usually with the morning batch of pills)
*iron in a little pill that I don't absorb 1 time a day (usually with the first vitamin shot)
*Cod Liver oil and fish oil every day (1 gel cap of each)
*St. John's Wort--1 a day during the winter blah month
*Anti gas formula that I don't think is doing anything--I'm still like a blow fish
*6 Don Quail capsules to regulate female cycles and I think it's working...
*Melatonin-1 5mg 20 minutes before bed.

Total pills in my little cup every day (including Rx for thyroid):
12 capsules/pills in a little colored cup every day! Sheesh! I feel like my DAD. It takes me 15 minutes a week just to lay this treasure trove out! I RATTLE if the wind blows too hard! Is this nuts or necessary?

How many pills do you pop every day?

What's keeping YOU up tonight? Got any funny jokes??

Oh Sandi...you made me giggle with this post. Change the melatonin to Ambien and this post would never had been created!

I was up at 2:45am...only because my mom is here and I woke in a cold sweat, worried that she had rolled over (she's got to stay on her back). Poked my head in on her and saw her to be just fine. HOWEVER, my dogs are creatures of habit. I was out of bed and not on the potty, therefore it MUST be time for breakfast. There was no convincing them otherwise.

My mom is up, the dogs are up and here I am...

Sandi I can soo relate with this statement! The other night my Sami and me were sitting on the couch and this sweet little munchkin turned to me with a look of HORROR on her face and said "Mommy what is that smell?!?!" and started to gag. I, being the adult thatI am, blamed it on the dog! Since I have been trying to add some veggies to my diet my gut has been acting up at the most inopertune times! Oh well, such is life post WLS!!!

Good morning! I wish I had gotten out of bed last night Sandi...since I was awake from the time we went to bed at midnight, until we got up again at 6. I tossed and turned, but told myself that I would not get up...would have at least gotten something DONE if I had. Now, I have never had a 'gassy' issue, until I did the 5dpt. Now, I mean blowfish is a nice way of looking at it...and suddenly I am intolerant of milk too? Never had a problem before with it,but it is kinda nice having it now...as one of my biggest 'likes' is anything dairy! What a 'launch' towards a healthier way of eating!

I forgot about the Biotin. I take 2 of those every day, making it 14 pills....

@ Marianna: I noticed your she ro, but you didn't mention the hmmmmm. Trying to hide something???

It must be the in me that made me 'forget' Sandi...<blink>.

Another happy night here in the Nite Owl Club! My bella luna is hiding from me behind the cloud cover. It's supposed to rain today. Hey, I just thought about all the southern hemisphere people...Isn't it like, Next WEEK there or something? Where are you guys? Is the southern hemisphere still here? Seriously, I think it's Friday afternoon there right now, and it's SUMMER time, and so I guess that's why you guys aren't posting as much lately...You're busy living like we all are in June, July and August. Ok, but if you're just sitting there at home, with nothing to do but look at the telly, come on back to the hood and give us a little update will ya?

Wow! Isn't that something that both Liese & Ang are expecting? I was serious about everyone dusting off your knitting needles, crochet hooks and sewing machines...We've got work to do. And it might help us all get past the winter blahs and move us into spring.

Some of the "old regulars" have been very very quiet lately. I love all of you new neighbors, but I miss my old friends too. We were such a tight group, all swearing undying love and the like. I have special memories of my first weeks post op and this neighborhood was new and we were all so excited to discover how this thing would go. It's become an amazing website, no doubt. Full of all kinds of wonderful help. It truly is a miracle. Just my old friends, and I don't want to start naming names, I might forget one really special person or something, my friends, if you lurk and do a quick peek every once in awhile, and the cyber gods just happen to lead you here, I want you to know I miss you.

I'm really enjoying some of the discussions about food shopping, and magic bullets, and crazy pet tricks and ideas for getting more protein. Keep up the good work team. Together we're better!

Nighty, nite. Have a sweet sleep and pleasant dreams...

Sandi, you never cease to amaze me with your antics...love your posts!

So, it's midnite and I'm up all alone, well with the exception of my 2 "furbabies" as Marianna would say....my lil Chihuahua is playing with her food, literally, she's taking a piece from her bowl and tossing it into the air and then chasing after it as it it were some sort of toy or something...LOL! More entertaining moments brought to you via FURRY TV...she's such a hoot!

I'm kinda sad though cause my kitty, Mr. Sophie, has disappeared...we came home Tuesday evening and he wasn't here and never came home... :(:(:(:(:(:(....I asked dh if he had snuck home and ditched the cat before I got here and he says he didn't but.....hmmmmm, I'm not sure.....naaaaaay, SURELY NOT, even though he "said" he doesn't like cats he was out looking for him that night...so he cared! Or was he just pretending just to mess with me.....def a point to ponder....hmmmm

So, I'm trying to help you out by giving you something to read in case your are a "night owler" tonight...don't want you to become bored....hope this has been a wee bit entertaining for you....

Btw, your post that got dumped...about the moon etc...the new 1 reminded me of a nursery rhyme....I can't for the life of me remember the name of it...in the movie "Dennis the Menace" Mrs. Wilson recites it to Dennis the 1st night he spends at their house...does this ring a bell???

Ok, here's a list of my supplements:
~6...nope 7 different liquid supplements that I put in a bottle of water and drink 3x day...with varying drops of each
Alpha ???(for lymph edema) Lymphatic drainer, Pau de arco, Dandelion Root, Palmetto plus, Echinacea/goldenseal, Parsley leaf Extract
~Multi vitamin 3x day...am...noon...pm
~Biotin 2x day....am...pm
~Iron 1x day....noon
~Primsrose oil 2x day
~Multi-omega 2x day
~Lecithin 1x day
~Flaxseed 2x day
~Tonalin CLA 2x day
~Chromium Picolinate 2x day
~Beta Plus...2x day
~Eye-bright 2x day(eye health)
~Lutein/bilberry 1x day(eye health/cataracts)
~Hydrochloric Acid 2x day(High protein diet...helps with digestion)
~Hyal Joint 1x day(joint pain)
~Bromelain/Quercetin combo (allergy/sinus) 2 3x day
~Oregano oil (allergy/sinus)3x day
~Ativan (1mg when needed to sleep)1 day
~Lexapro(antidepressant)1 day
~Tramadol (manage fibromyalgia pain)up to 3x day
~Skelaxin(muscle relaxer;manage Fibro pain)up to 2x day
~Sleep Essentials (all natural approach to insomnia)1 day
~Green tea extract1 2x day
~Super strength water pill(also for lymph edema)2 1xday
~Prevacid(since wls)1 x day

I think this is it...does this make you feel better about the number you take??? LOL!

Nitey nite!!!! Happy snoozing....

Alrighty, does the Alaska timezone qualify me as a 'night owl'? Can anyone jump in here?

@ Amelia: yes, thank you. I won't keep complaining about my pill list, and I'll buy bigger containers to haul them in. I like that you think these are antics...that sounds so youthful! But no, I don't know the Dennis reference...We'll have to put on our best google search thinking hats!

@OTM: I think your time zone must qualify you for the "morning after" club or something! Aren't you 2 hours earlier--no, you're in south eastern, that's just 1 hour. Heck YEAH you're a night owl. What are you doing up with all these recipes? Is this what we do now? Write recipes instead of eating them!?

Ok, I took pills tonight. Good pills. Happy sleepy pills. Where's the slumber? I'm cold, and hunched over my keyboard like a troll guarding my pile of dead flies. I want Happy Slumber, dad nab it!

You know, through all of this, I've never been tempted to drink booze. I think it's because it doesn't make me sleepy unless I'm like really sick and have the spins etc. NOT what I want to compound the situation with. I've also not be tempted to eat when I get up. I find that slightly more amazing. When I was m.o. the solution to every problem was to "have a little bite" of some thing. Now food is no longer a coping strategy. I like that. I can sit here growling and glowering and fussing and NOT connect that to needing food. Cool.

Actually, I'm not angry even. I'm cold. I actually feel pretty rested. I had 4 really good hours of sleep. And when I woke up, Granddaughter kitty was curled up so sweetly at my feet. I felt such love for that little kitty. I don't know where she went, but she followed me in here. I think she's probably stealing my bed...

Chat Last NITE! (YIKES--Friday begins!) was fun. I forgot how much I enjoy connecting with people in real time. What a great bunch we had in there. I hope that you all felt as much warmth and good fun from me as I did from you all. This is the kind of stuff that makes me glad I'm a human and have words to use. If we were dogs, the computer connection wouldn't work, would it?

Ok, back to my nice cozy bed. I think I shall go right back to sleep tonight.

Good night fellow owls. Be wise for me ok? hugs

Sandi, I truly thought I was one of the only people who suffered from insomnia.Although that sounds dumb and I know it's not true, it feels that way when I listen to the trains every night feeling a little angry and depressed because I just wanna sleep. As far as the list of supplements, mine seems to go on forever too, I think sometimes I just feel like a walking pharmacy. Funny though, my husband tells the guys at work I am the doctor mom because he calls me and asks what they could take for certain ailments.... makes me laugh.
I take Meletonin and some nights I rest peacefully for three or four hours. I was told and read you have to take vitamin B with the meletonin or it doesn't work properly, I can say I sleep a little more now but not a significant amount of difference yet. I have been better about staying away from the wine, to help me sleep I think I found it actually made me sleep less and the headaches are near unbearable. (Like my pounding head now, is it the meletonin?)
Trains are active and loud tonight, so annoying! Don't they know when they blow there d*** horn it wakes the dead, why do they travel so much at night?
So should I list my supplements or are we past that, and what do you guys do to fall back asleep? I sit here, read, try to work up the nerve to jump in and reply a bit, sometimes grab a book to read, trying not to wake my husband, who by golly can sleep through anything... then beg myself to sleep until I usually start the coffee around 4:30 sometimes. Problem is when I am up so early a day in the office feels like a week and I drag a bit. I find myself putting extra shots of B12 in my diet though for the boost. Oh and question, Mineral Water, anyone drink that? Think it's beneficial? They have great vitamins in them for a little extra, wonder if we actually get the benefit of the vitamins? They do have about 30G of sugar in the whole bottle but it hasn't bothered me. What do you think?
\Well gonna try to read, get sleepy. Anyone else up?
Deanna

Hi Night Owls! I'm not a member of your club...as I'm a member of the "I Love Ambien" club. I do enjoy reading your ramblings though!

Deanna, I think that drinking something with 30g of sugar is not wise. It has nothing to do with whether or not you get sick...it has to do with putting useless sugar in your body! There are lots of mineral waters out there without sugar. If you are taking your vitamins and are eating a balanced diet, you should be getting all that you need.

Hope that you all sleep tonight!

Deanna, I thank you for the hint about the B with the melatonin. I'll give that a shot.

Reading is good. Reading is my friend. Got any good book titles you'd recommend? Here's one I enjoyed recently: In the Company of the Courtesan. Very spicy but well written! If you're more into non fiction/self-help/philosophy stuff, I highly recommend, The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. His books have changed my life, and I no longer dread the sleepless nights. Of course, I'd still PREFER to be asleep, but it doesn't make me suffer to be awake. After a few days I'm a zombie, but this too shall pass, right?

Another thing I read when I really cannot sleep is the library on this site. And people's blogs. And I just wander around in here looking at the pictures on the walls, etc. Rather ghost like, isn't it?

Hope my ideas and titles give you something to do. Hope you sleep. Hope that the pufferbillies in your woods will not be able to find the engine's whistle handles!

Hugs and hope! YOU ARE MOST DEFINITELY NOT AWAKE ALONE! There are many of us.

Wow, I think I have enough sleepies to share with the whole neighborhood. You think it is possible to pass it through my fingers into the keyboard and across the internet? I was actually upset when I fell asleep and the next time I saw the clock it was 5:30. I had to get up in 15 minutes. It was like I was robbed the blissful thought of "oh yes three more hours of sleep" I am sending you all, all the sleepy vibes I can muster up because I seem to have a ton to spare.

Do you sleep any better on the weekends? Do your activities leading up until bedtime make a difference in how long you sleep? Do you guys fall asleep but just can't stay asleep? I am so intrigued...

Good morning everyone, I have to admit I was a little upset to see this thread so inactive. Made me feel more alone with my sleepless in Cali problem. Been surfing the site and reading replies here, I have to say I am more and more impressed.
So here I am sleepy, awake, frustrated and full of thoughts. I have found my biggest sleepless nights are less frequent (whew!) and to answer you Ang most nights I fall asleep easily, although I almost seem to have a routine, Sandi mentioned she thought it might be a bit habitual, I've considered this as well. Anyway, I seem to wake at the same time around 1:30 AM and am usually up until 4AM. I haven't figured out why or what causes it. I have figured out one thing that has helped, that if I enjoy a glass of wine with or after dinner, then I get to enjoy a restless night....so I limit my consumption of wine to one night a week.
But, I still suffer from those thoughtful nights. As I said earlier though this thread doesn't seem as active. Do you guys know some thing I don't?
Please let me know if there is another idea... the bath is relaxing, quiet music seems relaxing but my mind starts singing or humming, so that doesn't work. Reading is somewhat helpful but I haven't found anything insightful lately.
I did read a crazy article that said to unplug your TV if it is in your bedroom at night or points toward your bed because it still emits some type of current that could disrupt your sleep.... scary! And I have tried things like.... changing my sheets to softer ones, washing my sheets more often (and I put the new soft smelling Downey) and I put darker curtains up as we have a light outside my window. I am still researching and looking for other suggestions, anyone read any other interesting suggestions somewhere?
Regardless here I sit, none of it has worked completely so far. Tell me, does the sleep ever come back? Even though it is tapering off a bit, I wonder does the sleep return? I know it is something a lot of wlpatients suffer from, but does it stop like some of the other effects?
Well my eyes are sleepy, good night for tonight.
Deanna

Sorry I've not been in here for a few nights...the melatonin is working for me lately. I think that the with me it's an ebb and flow thing. I go through times when I sleep ok, and then, the insomnia returns. I'm taking 5 mg of melatonin 20 minutes before bed, and if I wake up I take another 5 mg.

hope that someone will have an idea that works for you!