Night Moves and Terrors and Screams

So, it's no secret I have had some issues sleeping. Either I can't go to sleep, I can't stay asleep, or when I do go to sleep, I have terrifying dreams involving trying to keep my father from dying. It is what it is, I'm pledging allegiance to Cymbalta and I'm doing okay..really..but the going to sleep and staying asleep is still an issue...

Soo.....Smitty and I had a brilliant idea..herbal supplements, i.e., Valerian Root and St. John's Wort. Seemed like a viable and reasonable option. However, the directions on the bottle, not kidding, say to take 3 caplets of Valerian Root 30 minutes before sleep. I followed their instructions dutifully and lo and behold, about an hour later, got as drowsy as I would've if I'd taken a bunch of Benadryl..

Sometime later, I was shaken awake, both by Smitty and my own screaming. He asked me what I was dreaming about, and I thought I said "A demon," but he claims I said "A poltergeist." Either way, he had to wake me up six times that night, and when I wasn't screaming, I was kicking and flopping around and snoring loudly enough that I did wake myself up. When his alarm went off at 6:15 a.m., I said, "Did you have to wake me up?" And he unleashed in a sleep-deprived rant, "What is WRONG with you? I had to wake you up six times. You need a doctor because you have problems. You are not normal," and then left the room, which led to my not speaking to him all day until he sent me a text message asking me if I was okay.

In retrospect, I would've probably stabbed him in his sleep if he had done that to me, although I would've gone to the other room ..which he could've done and admitted he could've done later that day when he apologized to me for blaming me for having nightmares. If I could control that, I'd be making some money.

So, herbal meds are great, but I don't know who the heck could take the recommended dosage and not be a. in a coma or b. a raving lunatic. I have scaled back my intake and so far, so good, although I still don't understand why I can't sleep at night. I love sleep. I think we should adopt the Mexican and European tradition of a big lunch and a nice afternoon nap. We'd be far more productive..something to hope for, anyway.

See you in my dreams, although for your sakes, I hope they're the good ones and not the ones where I was involved in a gang war or where the demon/poltergeist was chasing me.