How to treat 19 weeks pregnant woman with severe insomia?

Comment by Chad J. Dupuis, L.Ac.

Using acupressure HT 7 is the best for insomnia particularly given your other signs.

Comment by Archived User

i go through periods of great difficulty sleeping, and you have my sympathy. the extra hormones and blood supply, as well as the discomforts, of pregnancy can make it very difficult. last time i was pregnant, i bought something that made it possible for me to sleep comfortably on my side or almost on my stomach. here are some of the things i do now.

i cover my eyes to shut out the light so that they have some relief from light. i used to use a soft scarf like a blindfold around my eyes to shut out all the light i could. lately i cut up soft old teeshirts and pajamas. the main things i look for are soft, some stretch and give, and washable so they can be changed often. commercial sleep masks are just too uncomfortable for me.

starting two hours before bedtime, the lights and sound go down. an hour before, lights go down lower yet. nothing more than a nightlight in the bathroom. 40 watts in the kitchen. no reading. nothing stimulating or exciting in my ears. no tv, computer, or commercial radio. this might sound hard on other members of the family, but there are ways to work those things out.

when i'm awake at night, i learned to never worry or let it bother me. that only makes things worse. instead i have a whole range of ways to keep me calm and relaxed, including listening to an unabridged reading of all 3 volumes of the lord of the rings, plus appendices. heard back to back for the past 7 years. long, complex, many layers of meaning and information, good use of language.

i use some of that awake time to get to know my body from the inside, sending my awareness gently down into myself and floating around inside to see what's there. our bodies have their own ways of knowing and being apart from what our heads and our cultures say, and we rarely bother to pay much attention. sometimes just being willing to pay attention and listen to my body for a change teaches me something i never could have learned otherwise. at times it will give me as much rest and regeneration as sleeping. other times i just fall asleep.

it's good to lie down and listen to your body during the day too. i say this as someone who also has a history of a spleen and kidney yin deficiency, with bite marks and a red tip to the tongue. learning to pay this kind of attention to my body helps me refine and make more timely changes to my diet, activities, etc. listening to my body during the daytime this way has also made me aware of things that turned out to be important symptoms for acupuncture treatments.

it might also help to change your idea about sleep. there are times when long, uninterrupted periods of sleep are best, and there are times when they may not be. sometimes they just aren't realistic. like when you have a new baby. new studies about sleep that include historical and ethnographic records and peoples from around the world, rather than just ideas and ideals, show something far more varied than anyone had thought.

Comment by Archived User

Hi,

I recently came across an article by Subhuti Darmananda in which he lists several specific conditions which can be treated by bleeding cupping. Insomnia was one he mentioned. He said to use a lancet at DU 14 and then place a cup on it for 5 to 15 minutes. I have tried this on several patients and am finding it very successful. Perhaps you can find someone who will do this for you every day for a week or so.

Best wishes for peaceful sleep.

Nina