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Jetlag has ruined me!!


ghostgirl

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I am a terrible sleeper in general, and I did not sleep at all during my 24 flight and have had maximum of 2 hours sleep a night since. I've been walking around like a zombie the past few days & feel so disorientated I actually feel physically sick.

 

I bought some over the counter sleeping aids today but I'm not feeling too positive about them, I took two valium on the plane & they did not work even a tiny bit. I'm going to go to a Medicare centre tomorrow to see if I can get just one sleeping pill, anyone else suffered like this? I know it should past for most people but last time I felt like this I had to take time off work, was prescribed antidepressants and spent most of the day crying. Cannot afford to be like this now!! Nothing worked, the doctor eventually suggested that I should be hypnotised but I was too skeptical...

 

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Xx

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Maybe try some melatonin? You can buy it very easily in Australia. Take it as advised on the bottle, or ask the pharmacist. It should reset your 'clock'. It worked for us.

 

good luck!

 

I hadn't even thought of that, thank you!!

 

I've been too tired to get drunk! I've been meaning to go to a bar to try meet new people but I've been too zombified :(

thanks Stacey xx

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I think the melatonin that you can buy over the counter in Australia is a 'homeopathic' dose so I am not sure that it is ever so effective. When you see a doctor at the medical centre you want a prescription for melatonin that you can take to a compounding chemist to have made up. It should knock you out!

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You've been here all of two days !?! It takes me five to get over jet lag every time on that trip.

 

Yes I know like I said I am aware that most people get over it but last time I felt like this it greatly affected my life for quite a while so I'm trying to prevent that from happening again.

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Maybe try some melatonin? You can buy it very easily in Australia. Take it as advised on the bottle, or ask the pharmacist. It should reset your 'clock'. It worked for us.

 

good luck!

 

That, plus Dave's suggestion!

 

Try and get on local time ASAP....so go out this evening for eats and drinks, force yourself to stay up and go to bed at 11pm or something. It won't last for ever, but dwelling on it or overdoing naps in the day that will just prolong the agony won't help

 

Best cure for me was to take a job in the middle of Central Asia that required a 32hr journey each way to and from, using 4 modes of transport incl. travelling on some of the worst roads in the world plus dodgy flights and lots of hanging about in really bad airports (like, ones where the toilets are hole in the ground latrines. And full)

 

After that, I learnt how to sleep anywhere and at any time and have never had a problem since. Might be a touch extreme though

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Know exactly what you mean.It really is awful.Me and my wife have had it bad this time,and it fairly spoiled our visit to the UK,cos it took o long to get over it.We hit the Alcopop on arrival,but this just makes it worse.Got the afternoon shakes every day.Back a week now here in OZ,and its just getting better.It is,as you say,depressing.Best of luck,youll be right soon,dont worry.

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Yes I know like I said I am aware that most people get over it but last time I felt like this it greatly affected my life for quite a while so I'm trying to prevent that from happening again.

 

If you take the time to actually read my post I am saying it takes me five days as a standard to get over the jet lag on this length trip. Therefore I am clearly not saying that you should be over it, rather that more time is needed for some people. But getting stressed won't help as it just puts further pressure on the system.

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I think the melatonin that you can buy over the counter in Australia is a 'homeopathic' dose so I am not sure that it is ever so effective. When you see a doctor at the medical centre you want a prescription for melatonin that you can take to a compounding chemist to have made up. It should knock you out!

 

 

True. I'm very sensitive to these things (one temazepam or diazepam gives me the worst hangover ever!!) so they work for me!

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it takes me five days as a standard to get over the jet lag on this length trip.

 

I would agree 100% on this, by the end of the first day I feel like death warmed up. By the fifth my sleeping pattern has adjusted.

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That, plus Dave's suggestion!

 

Try and get on local time ASAP....so go out this evening for eats and drinks, force yourself to stay up and go to bed at 11pm or something. It won't last for ever, but dwelling on it or overdoing naps in the day that will just prolong the agony won't help

 

Best cure for me was to take a job in the middle of Central Asia that required a 32hr journey each way to and from, using 4 modes of transport incl. travelling on some of the worst roads in the world plus dodgy flights and lots of hanging about in really bad airports (like, ones where the toilets are hole in the ground latrines. And full)

 

After that, I learnt how to sleep anywhere and at any time and have never had a problem since. Might be a touch extreme though

 

I have only managed like a two hour nap in the evening and not being able to sleep at all after!! I think on my next journey I'm gonna beg the doc for something stronger than 2 2mg valium, I didn't feel it at all! I've had bad sleep troubles most of my life and when I go to the doctor they say stuff like 'try taking a bath before bed' I think it's very unfair that it isn't treated like a real issue, I know sleeping pills are bad for you but just one would sort me out I'm sure. Even when I'm having a 'good spell' of sleeping I still get horrific nightmares :(

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If you take the time to actually read my post I am saying it takes me five days as a standard to get over the jet lag on this length trip. Therefore I am clearly not saying that you should be over it, rather that more time is needed for some people. But getting stressed won't help as it just puts further pressure on the system.

 

And if you had read my first post you would realise that I am actually saying I suffer very badly from sleeping issues and don't want to fall into that again that's why I'm trying to sort it out now even though I've only been here two days. I know stressing about it won't help but I'm just asking for advice since most people on here have experienced jetlag I'm sure.

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And if you had read my first post you would realise that I am actually saying I suffer very badly from sleeping issues and don't want to fall into that again that's why I'm trying to sort it out now even though I've only been here two days. I know stressing about it won't help but I'm just asking for advice since most people on here have experienced jetlag I'm sure.

 

Look, I don't know anybody who has been able to get over jet lag in two days, I'm sure there are a few, but in the last 6 years I haven't met any. What I am trying to say is that you just need to relax, go with the flow, and not expect to feel ok for another few days or so. Whether you want to listen to it or not, you have a natural body clock that will adjust. As someone who is actually in the medical field I would personally not prescribe sleeping tablets so early on, jet lag is not a medical condition. Herbal, over the counter remedies may be an option....

 

You're on a WHV, just take a few days to relax, kick back, jet lag cannot last forever....

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Look, I don't know anybody who has been able to get over jet lag in two days, I'm sure there are a few, but in the last 6 years I haven't met any. What I am trying to say is that you just need to relax, go with the flow, and not expect to feel ok for another few days or so. Whether you want to listen to it or not, you have a natural body clock that will adjust. As someone who is actually in the medical field I would personally not prescribe sleeping tablets so early on, jet lag is not a medical condition. Herbal, over the counter remedies may be an option....

 

You're on a WHV, just take a few days to relax, kick back, jet lag cannot last forever....

 

I agree with TP on this one. Your body just needs to go through the natural transition from the difference in timezones. I felt like crap for about 5 days after I got here and was sleepy in the afternoon then couldn't sleep at night etc. You will naturally adjust without having to drug yourself up with downers.

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Ugh that sounds awful. My jetlag consists of going to bed at 8pm and waking up at 6am! Terrible I know but I never felt sick or anything like that. I think it might be harder for you because you don't have friends there, for me we did a lot of stuff during the day so even if I felt tired I couldn't remember it.

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Look, I don't know anybody who has been able to get over jet lag in two days, I'm sure there are a few, but in the last 6 years I haven't met any. What I am trying to say is that you just need to relax, go with the flow, and not expect to feel ok for another few days or so. Whether you want to listen to it or not, you have a natural body clock that will adjust. As someone who is actually in the medical field I would personally not prescribe sleeping tablets so early on, jet lag is not a medical condition. Herbal, over the counter remedies may be an option....

 

You're on a WHV, just take a few days to relax, kick back, jet lag cannot last forever....

 

I know... I've said twice now that I am very much aware that it will take more than two days but the point of this thread was to ask for help & advice since this is particularly difficult for me, like I said in the past not being able to sleep has made me so upset I was on anti depressants and had to take a lot of time off work. I know sleeping pills aren't given out for jetlag but with my history of sleep problems I thought it may be an option for me. Jetlag may not last forever but I think sleeping problems do last a very long time, I've had a lot of trouble with it since I was very young & it is very distressing.

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Ugh that sounds awful. My jetlag consists of going to bed at 8pm and waking up at 6am! Terrible I know but I never felt sick or anything like that. I think it might be harder for you because you don't have friends there, for me we did a lot of stuff during the day so even if I felt tired I couldn't remember it.

 

I just cannot sleep at all!! Not even a nap for more than a few hours. I went out shopping today but got so miserably exhausted I had to come home & now I'm too tired to go for dinner.

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Oh dear, I just want to give you a big hug.

 

It sounds like your problem is more about sleep than jet lag.

 

what has helped you sleep in the past? Can you replicate that here?

 

This will not help you know but may in the future, this is what we do.

 

We try and get on 'local' time for where we are going as soon as possible. Eat lunch at 'lunch' time sleep when it is night time (where we are going) drink lots of water, moisturise loads and eat small meals, I never eat the whole meal, as I said I try to eat as if I was at my destination.

 

the best I felt on arrival in Oz was when we stopped over in Singapore for a couple of days.

 

And the worst was my first trip, I did not sleep on first leg, did not drink enough and felt ill before I even got on the plane for the second leg and then hardly ate or drank and did not sleep at all. I felt like crap for a week.

 

It must be so draining if you can't sleep.

 

hope you start feeling better soon and get some help with your sleep problems.:wubclub:

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You might try melatonin - OTC in Aus. I have one friend who swears by it for jet lag. If you can't sleep, you could try and relax (plug in to meditation type Muzak and lie down with eyes closed and perhaps try some progressive muscle relaxation. Good luck

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I know... I've said twice now that I am very much aware that it will take more than two days but the point of this thread was to ask for help & advice since this is particularly difficult for me, like I said in the past not being able to sleep has made me so upset I was on anti depressants and had to take a lot of time off work. I know sleeping pills aren't given out for jetlag but with my history of sleep problems I thought it may be an option for me. Jetlag may not last forever but I think sleeping problems do last a very long time, I've had a lot of trouble with it since I was very young & it is very distressing.

 

I absolutely understand where you are coming from. I remember my mother saying to me, when I was a child "For God's sake! It isn't difficult, you just close your eyes and go to sleep! Your trouble is you think too much!". That was when I was about 8, and I am now 38 and still have problems in sleeping, so I absolutely agree that sleep troubles last a very long time! I also have depression, and the two do seem to go hand in hand.

 

Get to the doctors and get some prescription strength melatonin. I have two types, one is the one from the compounding chemist that acts immediately, an the other is a slow release which helps when I go through an early-waking phase.

 

I hope you get it sorted. Sleep deprivation is one of the worst things to go through.

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