I have a hugh problem now with sleep I have never had a problem before getting sick. I can't sleep I have taken numerous sleep meds and they all keep me awake at first my body fights them, I just tried doxepin and wow that though me for a loop I was totally dizzy and had tachycardia and was not able too sleep at all it woke me up even more but had my head spinning and today I am sicker then I have been in a while. My question is does anyone else have this problem and what do I do I also can't take benadryl anymore it wakes me up and gets me wired so bad. ok thanks for any help you can give me I am at my wits end need some sleep.

Xanax is helpful and sleep is one of the hardest things to deal with or lack of sleep! I read somewhere that the H3 histamine receptor is responsible for triggering the brain to wake up and stay awake!
The minute my husbands eyes open he's up...he has a really hard time falling back asleep and usually wakes up at 4 or 5 am. How can you heal if you're body do nest get adequate sleep and your cells don't have enough time to repair themselves.

My husband tolerates 25mg of doxepin fine but he used to take 25mg of atarax along with that and he would get crazy scary vivid dreams. We cut that out and only use atarax if hes really reactive. He seems to be sleeping better and if for some reason he wakes up at 1am he takes a Xanax because if not he'll be up all night and a mess the next day.

Can't wait for the histamine 3 blocker to come down the pipeline!

He says it's like his brain is going 150 miles an hour and his body is at 20!

We actually just switched from claratin (he was taking that in the am along w/Zantac) to allegra 180 mg and wow there was a big difference.
It was like he was on speed the first 3 days which really freaked me out and then his body adjusted. He just seems a lot better and much more normal.

Again everyone is different and when he first got sick we tried allegra and I had written down that he had a reaction to it. I was very reluctant to retry it but I'm really glad we did.

Oh gosh, I have always slept great. Now with the histamine blockers, it is even easier to fall asleep the minute my head hits the pillow! So for me, the meds do not negatively impact my sleep patterns at all.

I believe your histamine release follows a circadian rythem (release more at night).  It is thought that histamine might have some effect on the centers in your brain that control sleep.

I will often wake up at night following deep REM sleep.  Many times after doing so, I will get my mast cell attacks in the middle of the night.  My histamine goes up then and it seems to wake me up.

I'm going to try Zyrtec soon and see if it helps me to sleep a little better through the night past this.  I take Loratidine now at night, but it makes me a little too wired.

Has anybody else used Zyrtec at night?  Did it help you to sleep better?  How has Zyrtec worked for you?

I took it once, followed by hot chocolate.  I got a mast cell reaction, but the doc is pretty sure it was the chocolate (dark kind).  I had taken Zyrtec before alone, no problems, and the dark chocolate gives me a stomach ache right after I drink it.

Thanks for the tip...I never understood why docs would tell us its easy to get addicted because you just pass out on it. We will be careful, my husband hates to take meds that mood alter but realizes that sometimes hes too wound up, cant sleep or if we know were going into a stressful situation hell take it.

He used to get really bad insomnia when he would eat sushi or a lot soy sauce. He would have really restless sleep...

Be careful with the xanax. When I was first sick years ago and my doc couldn't figure out what was wrong with me, he gave me a tiny dose of xanax to take twice/day or when an attack would start (besides being an anti-anxiety, it is an anti-convulsant - so he said. He gave it to me for my GI attacks). Anyway, while it helped dramatically, it made me so fatigued that I would fall asleep mid-sentence! So, after a couple months I decided to discontinue it. It is a drug that one can become dependent upon. Thus, although I didn't take it long, it took a full month to wean me off of it as we kept reducing the doseage tiny bit by tiny bit.

So, just be careful, because you can't just stop it cold turkey if you are currently taking it daily.

Once again; I find I am not alone- the sleep thing has been a huge pain for me. before I was diagnosed with TMEP; I had whole nights-sometimes 3 in a row; where i was literally awake ALL night. Still do occaisionally. Sounds like theres definately a connection. I take Zyrtec at night now as part of my treatment, and sometimes half a xanax. I have had anxiety issues for years, but am careful with the xanax. It can be addictive, and if you've taken it for a while and go off it suddenly, can be dangerous. This said; staying awake all nite can be just as bad, and aggravate our symptoms. I felt the Zyrtec made me "wired" at first, but now it seems that Im used to it and I do sleep better. Hope this helps   and sweet dreams !
lori