Sleep Deprived No More

It is amazing how wonderful we feel after a nice, uninterrupted, night's sleep. I've struggled with sleep deprivation for most of my life from my 20's and on except for the 16 years I took the drug, Imipramine. It was prescribed for depression but one of it's benefits was that it relaxed me enough to allow me to sleep through the night.

I haven't needed the drug for 10 years except for the year my husband was sick but also haven't had too many sleepless nights, either. They do happen occasionally and cause me a lot of discomfort when they occur in clusters but, for the main part, I manage at least 4 hours sleep at a time. For the last ten years the 4 hours was all I had before my irritated bladder would wake me from the deepest sleep and I'd have to trudge to the bathroom.

When I was 55, I had a bladder repair because of embarrassing "emergencies" where I had to find a bathroom quickly and suddenly. This helped for a while but the benefits have gradually decreased. This is why I approached my family doctor and asked if I could begin taking Imipramine again for this darned problem. All of the medications you see advertised for irritated bladder are simply sedatives like Imipramine and I chose that particular drug because I knew I tolerated it well.

My doctor agreed and gave me a prescription for 25 mg doses of Imipramine but offered to increase it if necessary. Well, let me tell you, that little pill has made my life so much better in so many ways. The "urgencies" are pretty well gone and a side benefit of the drug has meant that I'm sleeping a solid 6-7 hours every night. I feel so rested that I'm almost euphoric!

I'm not a drug taking person and don't believe in medicating every little ailment. But sometimes we have to give in and accept help in whatever form it takes. I tend to put up with discomforts until they resolve themselves but this darned irritated bladder was just getting worse.

I'm assuming I'll have to take Imipramine forever now but that's not a bad trade-off for correcting an embarrassing problem and also ending sleepless nights.