Insomnia

[SuzyCreamcheese]

inspired by the thread below, but thoyght i should make my own one.
Has anyone here had proper insomnia hat theyve managed to get over.

Ive been having really bad insomnia for the last couple of months.
I get bad anxiety which i take 5htp for, which helps, although it doesnt make me sleep, which i was hoping it would.
The doctor has prescribed me various pills. Zopiclone, temazepam, zolpidem.
All work sometimes, and not at others. Often I will take a sleeping pill and then lie there awake all night without dropping off to sleep. I will be drowsy and feel like im tripping out, but i wont sleep.
I have three children to look after and have to get up at 7am each day with them. No taking time off to get this problem sorted.
After a night of no sleep i can barely function. i cry constantly, I just want to curl up into a ball, but i have a full day ahead of me and have to be totally on the ball for my kids, two of which are young toddlers and one of which is an autistic 8 year old.
Sometimes if a sleeping pill does work, I get a nasty hangover from it the next day and tbh, its not much better than not sleeping.
I dont really want to rely on pills. I keep trying to do without them, but then i panic.
I start to panic when it comes up to about 4pm, wondering what lies ahead for me for the night. I try not to, but i cant help it.
I have tried melatonin supplements. they dont seem to do anything for me.

i asked the doctor if she could refer me to a sleep specialist, but she said there was nothing like that on the NHS, and all they could offer me was night sedation

I really really want to beat this but i dont know how.
Has anyone else managed it

[Harry23]

Hi SuzyCreamCheese,

Sound's like your insomnia and anxiety combined is making life really hard for you at the moment, particularly as you have children to care for. It seems like you are doing a great job of managing all of this on what sound's like little or no sleep.

Being aware that you've been directed to The site's pages on Insomnia before, perhaps you could try looking at the NHS stuff on Insomnia - you have to scroll across the tabs - 'introduction - treatment - prevention etc'. Some of the information on there may be able to help, although it sound's like you have tried a lot of what is suggested.

Do you have any support around you? Someone to talk to, help you out day to day? It may be unrealistic, but can you consider taking any time out to concentrate on yourself? It may be that without the pressure of knowing you have a full day ahead, you may be able to control your sleeping a little better?

Take care and keep posting -

[spanner]

Hey
I really feel for your situation, it sounds very hard, especially with the busy life you lead in the day.

Have you heard of The Sleep Council? They run an Insomnia Helpline on 020 8994 9874 - it might be worth giving them a call to see if they have any advice to offer?

There's also the Sleep Matters Helpline, which is run by the Medical Advisory Service and puts you through to trained nurses who will talk through problems and, if necessary, refer to the right source for further help and advice. Tel: 020 8994 9874 (6pm-8pm daily)

bettersleep.org is also a really useful site to check out.

Sorry for just offering loads more links, hopefully some others can offer you some more personal advice too...

(( Here's to some better sleep soon ))

[SuzyCreamcheese]

thanks mods.
I have decided to go back on my old antidepressants. they werent great, but at least i was stable on them. I did manage to get a bit of sleep last night thankfully. Will see how tonight goes

[spanner]

That's good to hear, hope it continues tonight.
If you think it's related to your antidperessants I'd definitely talk through in detail with your GP first if you haven't already.

[Randomgirl]

Did I remember correctly that you were on anti-pyschotics at some point? Sorry if I mixed you up with someone else. It's just that some APs are really good for sleep, I'm on risperidone which is really sedating and I can't sleep at all without it.

[SuzyCreamcheese]

yeah its flupentixol.
It doesnt make me feel sleepy, but i wonder if taking it yesterday helped because i wasnt panicking so much in the evening about sleeping.
Id also made a conscious decision not to bother with any sleeping pills, even if it meant i didnt sleep all night, because tbh, i feel just as awful the next day if ive taken them, as if ive had no sleep.

[Naturegoddess]

I've read that eating something like potatoes or pasta 4 hours before you go to bed is supposed to help you sleep, but I haven't tried it myself so I don't know if it will help. Have you tried putting a drop of lavander oil on your pillow? Sometimes essential oils can help, my mother used to keep some orange oil around for when she'd had no sleep and felt depressed.
Is there anyway you could change your routine? For example, could you cook two meals at the same time so that the next day you can lie down for an hour?

[SuzyCreamcheese]

lavender is nice and relaxing, but its not hardcore enough to put me to sleep unfortunately. I quite often eat pasta or potatos in the evening. Havent noticed any difference if i do or not. Just had pasta tonight. Lets hope i sleep

[Naturegoddess]

Are you able to add it to a really hot bath? That usually works for me, but I can see that it might not be practical if you have young children. Even if all it does it help you relax it might stop you panicking about how you'll get through the day with no sleep.

[IllDoItTomorrow]

I feel your pain. I get anxiety and insomnia also but I hate taking pills. I've tried sleeping pills and all it does is just makes me feel drousy in the morning but doesn't help me go to sleep. My only sollution so far has been alcohol but then I sleep like crap.

[katralla]

Originally Posted by SuzyCreamcheese

The doctor has prescribed me various pills. Zopiclone, temazepam, zolpidem.

So unfair, I wish I could get these on script.

More usefully, I found the old fashioned ADs put me to sleep each and every time, one called dosulepin (sp) worked for me. Like you, I did have problems with hangover like side effects and gave them up for that reason. The only thing that really cured my insomnia was... depression free and worry free living. They do just kinda feed off each other. I remember the pain of not being able to sleep properly and the spaced out detached feelings that went with it and hope you find a solution soon.

kiss kiss

[SuzyCreamcheese]

Originally Posted by katralla

The only thing that really cured my insomnia was... depression free and worry free living. T

i think this is it.


I feel like a different person since ive gone back on my old anti ds and have slept fine since, although have been taking melatonin as well. I dont know if its the melatonin, as that didnt work at all before i went back on the pills.

Thanks for all your support everyone x much appreciated x