Dear friends. I went through this for a long time. It started when my parents died six weeks apart and I was the executor and had to deal with my mentally ill siblings. Major stress. And that was when I was diagnosed with RA. I had no problem falling asleep, but would wake up in the middle of the night and couldn't go back to sleep. My doctor gave my Ativan. I am very fortunate not to have the addictive gene and can take it or leave it. But if I need it, it just calms down my brain and body and I can go back to sleep.

One thing I've noticed from some of your posts, you are not taking biologics? It is the standard of care now. After two tries with two of them, I finally hit on the magic that has given me back my life: Orencia. By the third day after my first infusion I felt the change in my body. That thing you can't describe to others just disappeared. If you are not taking a biologic, I would discuss this with your rheumatologist. Something to consider.

I have had insomnia for a very long time. Before I knew I had 3 autoimmune diseases. I currently take 150mg of trazadone. It helps me fall asleep but I don’t sleep all night. I’m waking up in pain throughout the night. It’s either I have knots in my arms & thighs or my back hurts so bad I can’t get comfortable

I try to fight through the day and hope I'm so exhausted that I will actually sleep at night. However, as soon as I drag myself to bed and get as comfortable as I can I start suffering from anxiety and next thing you know I'm wide awake and in extreme pain because of the anxiety I get anticipating not being able to sleep again. After thinking about it for a long time I started to think that this has just become an anticipated routine every night so I decided to try something different. I am fortunate that I have a few other options of places to sleep except my actual bed. I decided to sleep in my guest bedroom thinking that a different environment might help break the cycle of what I expect when I get into my own bed. Amazingly I actually fell asleep I don't know how long this will work or how often I will have to change places to get some sleep but for now I will take whatever sleep I can get and enjoy this crazy mind game. I had almost forgotten what it was like to actually sleep it seems like it's been years since I actually slept through the night. I'll enjoy it while it lasts.............
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I've been taking Ambien for years. I can't sleep without it.

What I find most difficult is not the RA pain... It's the Depression, Anxiety, Insomnia & always feeling like my body has been filled with weights. Nobody seems to be able to understand because "I look healthy" or they think RA is simply "sore joints" when the reality is SO much more than that.

I'm 45 and I was diagnosed with RA when I was 30. My Husband, God bless him, has taken on a lot of the responsibilities at home without complaint but he doesn't really understand how I feel. How could he? We met when I was 16 so He's been there pre-RA diagnosis & post- RA diagnosis, he's supported me through multiple surgies and has seen all the changes in me... but he doesn't fully understand. Only another person with RA can understand.

If you've managed to read all of this, I Thank You. I just needed to vent to somebody who TRULY understands how it feels... and unfortunately, that's you, a fellow RA sufferer.

I was experiencing similarly difficult times sleeping. As I tried so many prescription meds, my PCP kept gently mentioning medical cannabis, but I resisted. Finally, with nothing working, she said “Why won’t you try this option”? I did a lot of research and was surprised by what I found, strong evidence of effectiveness and little evidence of harm. I agreed to trying the medical cannabis. That was five years ago. I’m glad (and surprised) to report that edible medical cannabis has restored my ability to get a full night’s sleep. If you’re in a legal state I’d recommend discussing this option with your docs.
I hope you find the relief from insomnia no matter what works!
Be well!