Sudden onset severe insomnia, how to fix fast?

[hydracable]

Over the past week or so I have developed worsening insomnia. Last night was the worst. For the most part I have been falling asleep quite quickly at my usual bed time but waking up a few hours later and am unable to get back to sleep.

I have always, always woken once a night to go to the toilet even as a child but usually I am able to go back to sleep quickly no problem. This past week I haven't been able to get back to sleep at all. Once I am awake thats me even if I have only slept a couple of hours. I have been trying breathing exercises, relaxation techniques, getting up and moving to a different room to read for a while. Nothing works.

Last night was the worst. I feel asleep just after midnight and woke less than an hour later and that was me. In the end I took half a nytol (blue box) tablet and I did manage to get to sleep for a couple of hours shortly their after. Then I took the other half this morning after getting everyone out the house and slept again for about 2 hours.

I am feeling like crap though as I've had nowhere near enough sleep for days now. I need at least 7 hours to feel ok. I can't really do my job like this either it requires a lot of careful thinking and attention to detail and deep focused work which I can only do if I'm well rested. I've been doing less important bits and had a few days off but I need to be able to sleep again!

I will keep myself busy the rest of the afternoon and take another full nytol before bed but I know I can't take this every night. I know it is sleep anxiety but how do I stop it and go back to being the good sleeper I was just a couple of weeks ago? I am mid 40's and in peri but I have been using HRT for years now and not had an issue until the past week.

How do I recover quickly, preferably tonight as I have client meetings in town all day tomorrow!

I’d be sticking on some extra patches! And taking antihistamines and magnesium. That’s what I do when I hit a wobbly sleep patch.

Oh I also eat some porridge just before bed.

I was awake at 4am today and didn’t manage to get back to sleep so tonight’s plan is as above. I can normally do about 7-8 hours and even managed an 11 hour over the weekend.

@almostbloody50 Thanks for that. I have been taking Magnesium Glycinate for the past month and if anything my sleep is worse. The nytol is an antihistamine but I can't take it long term due to increased health risks and I don't want to become dependant on them. I will use them tonight though.

I will try adding an extra patch or a half of one. However I need to actually go in and get my BP tested to get more patches and I know not sleeping will not make my BP look good. My GP is very anti HRT and I had to fight to get put on it and again to go from the 50 patch to 75.

I know in the past something carby before bed would help so I can try that.

My best discovery recently is Balance app sleep meditation course, Ofosu voice, with headphones you can sleep in like MusicCosy, put it on before bed and again when you wake in the night. Plus all the usual healthy stuff- exercise, multivitamins, good diet including enough food in the evening, no naps early nights or lie ins, no booze/caffeine, no screens in evening/overnight etc etc. And accepting that you won’t necessarily be 100% every day and resting is the next best thing to sleeping. Hope you get some kip tonight.

Get outside in daylight and get some sun on your face. Help reset your brain on day vs night. A few days bad sleep won’t kill you, you’ll feel crap but that’s all. NB people take anti-histamines year round for allergies

I'm the same. If I really need a good night's sleep, I take two nytol, an hour before bed. I also try and wind down before going up. Have a bath, listen to music, read, etc. Just so my mind isn't racing.

@Comtesse I am going out for a walk shortly it is sunny here so hopefully some sun and exercise will help. I am definitely feeling a bit punch drunk though. Will just try and get though the day. Its been over a week now I have work I'm having to put off because I don't have the mental capacity for it right now so it won't kill but it it could lose me my job.

The Nytol is an antihistamine and I am fine to use it for a few days but as far as I know all the antihistamines that do make you drowsy are linked to an increased risk of dementia and studies show that people who do regularly use these antihistamines which make you sleepy for allergies are at an increased risk of dementia. Most of the antihistamines for allergies now are non drowsy new generation ones. Do you know of any antihistamines that help sleep and don't have these side effects?

Melatonin is great and easy to order online. Has 100% sorted out my post-cancer insomnia with no side effects

@NotTodayDear Do you have to use it on an ongoing basis? I have heard that regular use can cause your own natural melatonin production to be down regulated? Understandably that may not be top of your priorities after cancer and the far ranging effects chemo can have. I am just concerned about down regulating my own production of melatonin.

I have used melatonin in the past but it has tended to give me headaches and brain fog so I ended up giving them away. I will look into it again though, maybe try a lower dose as I am sure its a better solution that the antihistamines.

Thank you for responding and sharing this.

@hydracable I’m using it every day and at a fairly high dose (10 mg) but I know you can get 3 mg tablets which might be a better starting point. I’ve had awful chemical menopausal symptoms due to the cancer treatment and was waking up in the middle of every night sweating and panicking and now I’m back to a full night’s sleep unless woken by the cat! Could be worth trying just for a short while to see if it can reset your sleeping patterns.

I do hope you find something that works - insomnia really is the pits.

I frequently have insomnia, this is how I manage it:

Number one, don’t watch the clock. Don’t try and work out how many hours you haven’t slept. Don’t look at the time at all. Don’t look at your phone and if you’re moving around, have just enough lights on for safety. Even if you’re out of bed, give yourself as many signals as possible that you’re in night time mode and night time is for sleeping. Don’t start a normal daytime activity, do something that is very slow and quiet. When I can’t sleep because of stress or anxiety, I sometimes watch TV, but something like a gardening program - gentle and not dramatic.

If you are out of bed, tune into your body and watch out for that sleepy wave. It will come. As soon as you feel it, go back to bed.

I’ve managed insomnia for many years with audiobooks, listening in bed in the dark. Something just interesting enough to capture my attention, but not too exciting. I look for a narrator whose voice I like. I usually drop off while the book is playing.

If you might try audiobooks- don’t think ‘ I’m listening to an audiobook and I’ve got to fall asleep’. Just listen to the book. While you’re in bed listening, you’re resting, and that will help you get through the next day. You may well drift off for short naps without realising it. Or you may drop off entirely.

Wishing you a good night tonight…

Yes. Definitely don’t look at the clock at all. Even when you go for night time wee. No peeping.

This happens to me quite regularly these days – I think it’s a peri thing in my case. The first time it happened, I contacted my doctor in desperation after a month of it. He recommended phenargan and I took it for two nights but found the morning drowsiness was even worse so stopped – but lo and behold it had “reset” something and I could sleep again. Now when I go through a patch I take one on a Friday night and it seems to sort me for a couple of weeks.

You’ve had some great advice OP, hoping some of it helps

Hopefully OP is fast asleep!!

I buy the cheapo generic hayfever antihistamines from Sainsburys and take half a tablet, which is the dose for 6-12 year olds. At that level I figure it cannot be doing much harm. When I wake up at night, it makes it much easier to just fall back to sleep. I feel fine in the morning. It includes cetirizine which is not one of the dodgy anti histamines.

I've had a few periods of insomnia, usually anxiety related but am fortunately now in a pretty good sleep routine. Nytol do a herbal version of their tablets I used to take during bad patches.

What really helps me is:

Proper sleep routine. Consistent bedtime and wake up time, even at the weekends.

Screens off at least an hour before sleep. Then go for a hot bath and read my book before bed.

Not eating too late. Making sure I have dinner a good few hours before I'm going to bed and then no snacks. Herbal tea or water only.

Using an eye mask to sleep.

If I feel like I'm struggling to get to sleep I put on The Sleepy Bookshelf podcast. She reads classic books to you and has a nice voice. Each episode is around an hour and she recaps the previous part of the story at the start of each episode so there's no problem if you do fall asleep.

Trying not to worry about sleeping and focus on resting. If you can't sleep, laying in bed in the dark is the next best thing.

@Comtesse Ok thanks I will get a box of them to try. I used the nytol last night which does contain an old and "bad" antihistamine. I slept fairy well but felt hung over all day!