Mars, I really feel for you. I didn't sleep but 3 or 4 hours for six months in a row and it was hell.
What works for me and my husband is using Natural Calm, a magnesium supplement in a powdered form that you add to hot water (or vice versa). I hope I am not being too repetitive, but, beleive me, this stuff goes flying off the shelf at my health food store. I beleive it really helps people. I tried all sorts of sleep aids, and this is the one that works for me. The only thing to watch for it taking too much magnesium can cause D. Oma tried it and she reported have her first good night's sleep in a long time, but I don't know if it has kept working for her.
Dr. Teitelbaum's book on chronic fatigue and fibro (From Fatigue to Fantastic) gives a complete run down on both prescription and supplements to help with sleep...what amounts to take and how you can combine them. It was also very helpful to me to discover that I wasn't taking near the amount of valerian that is recommended. After reading this book himself to find out safe levels and combinations my husband often takes a combination of the Natural Calm, valerian, melatonin, and Tranquil Mind (an ayurvedic sleep product). Everyone has to find what works for them.
Because my adrenal functioning is low, I took phosphylated serine (an amino acid) for two months, when I wasn't taking the natural calm. This did WONDERS for re-regulating my sleep cycle and boosting my adrenal functioning.
It sounds like your adrenal functioning might be out of whack (known as "adrenal fatigue"), especially given the boose that you get in the early evening. This is a concept not accepted by most conventional doctors. You can get it tested with saliva testing done at Great Smokies Diagnositic Lab (
www.gsdl.com). The site has a lot of interesting information so you might want to check it out for that reason. Or you could read Dr. J Wilson's book called "Adrenal Fatigue." He's an expert on the topic. I worked hard as a non-profit director for twenty years and was so burned out. Once my illness started, it impacted so many different systems and functions in my body, like sleep. My adrenal test definately came back as very low, but not the classic adrenal diseases.
I wish you well. I know how horrible it is to live without sleep.
All the best, Celia