Friday, December 9, 2011

Ambi.en Please Help Me!

My sleep situation is officially out of control.  I haven't been able to sleep more than an hour or sometimes half hour at a time for over a week now, and I'm still only sleeping about 4 or 5 hours total in any given 24 hour period (that includes day-time naps). I'm starting to go to pieces, emotionally and physically and I know my body and mind are in no fit state to go into labor.
I've tried hot baths, massage, yoga, exercise, meditation, herbal remedies, teas, etc., and nothing helps...my skin crawls with Restless Leg Syndrome issues (which really should be called restless whole body syndrome), my hand are horribly painful and uncomfortable from the carpel tunnel issues, and my leg cramps have now become completely impossible to sleep through.  Add to that the incredible pressure on my bladder, and needing to pee every 20 minutes, and you have a typical night for me at this point.  I swear sometimes I get so tired that my brain literally falls asleep for seconds at a time in between body twitches and leg readjustments -- this is something that can sometimes go on for hours. 

After yesterday's midwife appointment, I was instructed to take a Bene.dryl and cut out fluids about 3 hours before bedtime.  I tried that, and still my sleep was an epic fail.  The difference this time, I was dehydrated and so tired, cranky and strung out from the medicine, that I starting crying like a baby after trying to sleep for over 2 hours and failing miserably. 

Today, the midwives called in the big guns - I've been prescribed Ambi.en, and told not to worry if I still only sleep 3-4 hours on it, so long as that sleep is consecutive.  I told her, I would be so happy to sleep 3 hours consecutively that I wouldn't even know what to do with myself. They also had me pick up so homeopathic remedies to help with leg cramps and RLS.

I'm scared is all still won't work.  I'm terrified that I will need to be sedated and catheterized, and they'll have to cut me open to get this baby out.  I have worked so hard towards having this baby naturally, and all I can think about now is ending up in surgery with a C-section because I am too tired to think straight or even hold my own body weight anymore.  My muscles are exhausted, my brain is exhausted, and I just don't know what to do. 

My husband is picking up the Ambi.en now, and my plan is to have dinner, cut off the fluids for a couple of hours, take the meds and hope for the best.  Generally, the RLS doesn't quiet till around 3am, but maybe I can beat it from even settling in if I go to bed early.  The midwife suggested waiting till 2am to take it, but I just can't.  I need to sleep now just in case this baby decides to come in the next 24 hours. 

1 comment:

  1. I know how you feel lady. I had a hard time sleeping while pregnant too...with the peeing, shifting, pressure, etc.

    Also, I have always had a hard time going to sleep and it has gotten worse since our loss. I lay there forever. I have a prescription for Ambien and it does help after a while, but I think I am a little resistant to a lot of meds. I wish you the best in your quest for sleep. I know how it feels to be utterly exhausted.

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