Trouble sleeping/getting back to sleep

I have needed Ambien for a lot of the last year. Trazodone did nothing for me. Recently I’ve been able to wean back off of the Ambien. I use an app called Aura for sleep meditations and it works surprisingly well. Like, I’m lying there thinking, well, the meditation is almost over and I’m not asleep, and the the next thing I know, my alarm is going off. 😂

I have chronic insomnia related to PTSD ... I take two prescription meds every night: zopliclone and mirtazipine ... without them I don't sleep - at all    

Talk to your doctor about options for you    

My Dr. keeps suggesting me to take this, to get me off Ativan.
For the longest time I thought he was saying Prednisone, until he finally typed it in my phone for me ☺️

I have chronic insomnia. Related to post traumatic stress.

I get up a couple times throughout the night to go to the bathroom
I drink a lot of water daily(half my body weight in ounces of water), and I think have a small bladder.

Things that help me sleep better:
Weighted blanket.
Wedge pillow. (This has help my sinus issues a lot).
No sugar a couple hours prior to bedtime.
I sleep better when I read prior to sleeping. Reading helps settle my mind.

I take over the counter sleep meds, sometime I take benadryl. 
Melatonin does nothing for me.

Some nights I sleep fine, and go back to sleep fine.
Other nights, I am restless, I toss and turn, I am up and down.
Some nights I have to get out of bed for awhile, then wind down again.
On rare occasion I cannot remain in my bed, and have to sleep elsewhere(usually nightmare induced).

I generally nap once or twice a week.

This has been a miracle for me. I wish I would have had it sooner instead of using all the over the counter meds that I kept trying.

I was drinking a ton of iced tea in the summertime and having problems with having to pee like, RIGHT away, and a LOT. My doctor told me that too much caffeine can irritate your bladder, which I didn't know. Maybe it's *what* you're drinking, just as much as how much / when. Can you switch to drinking something else in the evening, and perhaps cut down on the amount, too?

I used to be the same way. I could never take Benadryl because it would give me restless leg syndrome at night. So my doctor prescribed Sonata (Zalepon) which is great bc it has a 4 hour half life so if I woke up at 2 or 3, I could still take one, go back to sleep for 3 hours and I was totally fine. BUT my restless leg syndrome got worse so I saw a neurologist because all of the regular RLS meds didn't work on me. They made my whole body twitch. It was restless body syndrome. He prescribed Gabapentin. I take 800mg after dinner and 800 before bed. Damn I sleep really well. My waking up was because of the RLS and I didn't realize that was the problem. Now I pretty much sleep through the night. I hardly take any OTC or RX sleep meds now.

I have had success with this herbal supplement over the last several months. A friend had recommended a different supplement with ashwagandha, but hers had melatonin and I wanted something that didn't include that. It has really made a difference for me. The package says you need to take it for a month to see the best results but I saw a noticeable difference on the 4th night.