So seemingly out of nowhere I have started to struggle sleeping. I can fall asleep fine but I wake up after three hours and then I can't get back to sleep. The first few nights this happened I didn't really care because I thought 'oh well we all have a few bad nights every now and again' and I didn't let it bother me.
However it's now been two weeks and it's starting to really affect me. I just want to go back to normal. I have tried sominex, amitriptyline (10mg), and melatonin gummies. None of them have worked.
I am worrying that my body has got into a new routine now where it just wakes up after three hours out of habit. I need to break the cycle so I called the doctor's to ask if they can prescribe even just a couple of nights worth of proper sleeping tablets to put me in a deep enough sleep to get through the night, or at the very least allow me to get back to sleep after waking at 2am. She said no but has given me some type of antihistamine used for anxiety called Hydroxyzine (10mg) I took one last night and it didn't work at all. In fact I woke up at 1am instead of 2.
I don't know why this has happened and I don't know how to get out of it. I asked the doctor as well if there was any kind of sleep therapy available and she said no. Told me to have a hot bath and some warm milk before bed. But the problem with that is getting to sleep is fine, a hot bath at 8pm isn't going to help me when I wake up at 2am.
So my question is, is there anything else I can try? I can't listen to podcasts or calming music etc as I do need silence to be able to fall asleep. I have heard magnesium helps, as does 5HTP. Can I take both of these things at the same time? I don't mean together at the exact same time, but can I take 5HTP if I am also taking a magnesium supplement?
If anyone has been through similar please share your tips on how you got out of this cycle!