To be at the end of my rope.....

[Supermanspants]

.... because I have had my 6th night in 9 where i have not slept even one minute. Tried everything. Feel very tearful. Is there any point in going to see my GP.... will they just suggest a hot bath and warm drink? Have had major issues with sleep the last few years but it seems to be getting worse.
Just ground down with it all now

[SunsetSinger]

Podcasts

EFT tapping

[GoringBit]

I only have the occasional bad night, but when I do, I get up and sit in the lounge with a very low light on, and maybe read a little. The other thing that sometimes drifts me off is to have some music on headphones; very low volume and something quite bland, like the first Leona Lewis LP. (I like a bit of Leona, but it is very good for nodding off to. )

[AliceInUnderpants]

Have you tried Valerian?

www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/holland-barrett-valerian-capsules-60097267

[RumbleMum]

You poor thing OP - that sounds absolutely terrible.

I only sometimes have mild insomnia but find pink or brown noise very effective - they're less harsh versions of white noise. I'm not sure that would touch your problem but perhaps worth trying (if you haven't already) before you can get to the GP.

[tinyterrors]

That sounds awful. I get the odd few night I can't sleep and that's bad enough.

You've probably tried this but a hot bath with lavender scented bubble bath in, and kalms sleep tablets can help me drift off. Warm milk added to this helps dh but I can't stand it.

Definitely keep going back to the gp. They tend to give you a list of things to try for a few weeks before trying medication. It may take a while but keep going back and trying everything they suggest. My friend has adhd and finds it nigh on impossible to sleep without medication no matter how tired he is. He swears by melatonin, which is prescription only.

As pp have said, keeping a diary of what you've tried and how you've slept will help the gp see just how bad it is.

[FaintlyHopeful]

I have insomnia and get a repeat prescription of 7 days of sleeping pills every 3 months. I stress about not getting to sleep and the catastrophic impact the next day. Having the pills there at least I know that I have an option and it removes the focus of my stressing. In reality I use one every 2 weeks or so, something I couldn't have envisaged in the depths of chronic insomnia. Mindfulness really helps too- I use the headspace app. I hope you get it sorted- it's utterly grim.

[TheDevilMadeMeDoIt]

The problem with insomnia is that it becomes a vicious circle. Although you say you're not stressed about anything, it's almost certain that your brain is subconsciously believing that when you go to bed you're not going to sleep and stressing about it - your brain is already primed for you not sleeping. In that instance, all the lavender/warm bath/OTC sleeping remedies are going to make it worse not better, because it's emphasising to your brain that you're not going to go to sleep naturally so you're desperately trying alternatives - and that makes you even more uptight.

The ideal is to learn to relax about not sleeping - however difficult/impossible that sounds.

You could try mindfulness to put your mind 'in the moment' and stop it thinking about not being able to sleep. CBT is good for overcoming the subconscious expectation of not sleeping. And a simple one that you could try tonight is to stay awake. Don't go to bed, don't do any of the suggestions so far, but while you're up, however tired you are, no napping. Only go to bed when you are dead on your feet with tiredness. Done over a few nights your brain then retrains its expectations and naturally assumes that when you go to bed you will sleep, thus breaking the cycle.

[Narp]

I think there are some great ideas here

But I'd go to the GP, get some medication, and then you'll be in a better position to tackle this holistically

[PurpleHairAndPearls]

Sympathies. I have suffered from very severe insomnia for years and years - funnily enough a parent and grandparent had it too so I wondered if there was a link.

It's very lonely in all sorts of ways isn't it. Lots of people have trouble sleeping but if you're at the point where you literally spend whole nights awake it gets to the point where it's hard to foresee a happy future generally, I found.

If you have a sympathetic Gp who realises the extent of the problem they may prescribe you a very short course of sleeping pills (think mine were zoplicone) but of course it's a short term fix although you may get benefit from knowing you have a few in the house for "back up" and if the cycle is broken for a couple of nights it can help.

However the biggest thing for me was being prescribed a "triptyline" type drug for nerve pain. (I have another health condition) This I think is an old style anti depressant used for nerve pain off label - if that makes sense. I didn't know at the time of prescription but it can benefit sleep - it literally has changed my life, but for sleep issues not pain! I now can sleep for five or six hours at a time - occasionally when I have to take other pain meds I sleep all night. I literally haven't done that as an adult until I got these. They are the biggest benefit I have had in years. The difference in my quality of life is amazing - and I say that as someone who has ended up in a wheelchair . But I can sleep!

I don't know if they will prescribe it for these reasons but it might be worth asking - my GP was happy to put it on a repeat prescription as the increased sleep benefitted my pain levels.

Best of luck as I know how serious and awful and isolating severe insomnia is. I really hope this or something else works for you.

[PurpleHairAndPearls]

Sorry I should have said, the ones I were prescribed were amitriptline/nortriptyline (sp?) I take around 50mg per night, early evening.

[TheDevilMadeMeDoIt]

Purple, a few years ago I too was prescribed amitriptyline for something else. The first night I dreamt that a friend had died. The second night I dreamt that my brother in law had died. The third night I dreamt that my father had died and I woke up with a sodden pillow.

There wasn't a fourth night

For anyone thinking of trying it - ymmv!

[knobblyknee]

Tell your GP what you said here, that you are hallucinating. They will give you a 7 day course of sleeping pills if they have any sense.
Keep going back til you get help, and see the practice nurse if you cant face e the doctor they are usually more sensible.

I've had insomnia (18 months!) and I know how bad it is. There is nothing you can do for it. If a hot bath/whiskey/hop pillow worked it wasnt insomnia, or it was about to end anyway.

[Iliveinalighthousewiththeghost]

There's nothing worse when you can't catch your sleep and if its to the point where your having hallucinations then you must book in with your GP ASAP.

[PurpleHairAndPearls]

Thedevil that's interesting - I changed from ami to nortrip because of side effects but can't remember now what the actual problem was! I do have very vivid dreams (tramadol is the worst for this) but I find it's worth it as I am sleeping

What does ymmv stand for?

[gobbynorthernbird]

Start a secret club, get a second job as a projectionist, make soap?

[AliceScarlett]

CBT for insomnia has better outcome rates than zoplicline. Ask your gp for a referral.

[ihearttc]

I had insomnia for a year. It started completely randomly on Christmas Eve 3 years ago. On a good night Id get about an hours sleep from 5am-6am but I often went days without any sleep at all.

My heart used to feel like it was racing...literally the second I was about to drop off it would jump and the whole falling asleep process would start all over again.

I had ECG's to check my heart was ok and was given sleeping tablets which actually didn't work either...GP said I was one of the few people he'd seen that couldn't even fall asleep on Zopiclone. They then decided it was Anxiety so gave me Amitriptyline which worked for a few months then I had another 6 weeks of no sleep at all. I did loads of research and asked GP to try me on Mirtazapine (another AD). He started me on 15mg with the instructions that I could go up to 45mg if I needed to. Nearly 18 months later Im still taking just 15mg and I can honestly say its changed me life. I realise that sounds dramatic but to go that long without sleep just destroys your life. I can't remember most of that year...so effectively I missed out on a year of my children's life.

I have put on around 1.5 stone since taking it but Im happy and Ive alive...there was a point when I wondered if people could die from lack of sleep.

Obviously won't work for everyone but it did for me.

[Oldisthenewblack]

I've not read all the posts on this thread, but I have struggled recently with insomnia. Well, all my life but particularly recently. I was recently given some antihistamines that also have a sedative effect, they're called Alimemazine. They really work for me, including drifting off again if I wake up in the night. I take one every now and again if I'm desperate. The only downside is that they sometimes give me a headache on waking, nothing major though.

Good luck, I know how distressing insomnia can be!

[shinynewusername]

I am a GP with a special interest in sleep as I have suffered from insomnia since the age of 2.

Sleep is very complex. As well-meaning as the suggestions are on here, OP, they won't necessarily be right for you. Go back to your GP but go with an open mind. Sleeping tablets are not always a good option: on average, someone taking them only gets 20 minutes' more sleep than someone who takes a placebo (sugar pill) and it is not proper sleep as they prevent the normal sleep cycles of REM and deep sleep. And they are highly addictive, increase the risk of accidents and increase the risk of sudden, unexplained death. Having said all that, they can be wonderful for a small group of patients who really benefit from them. But it is important to realise why a good GP will want to explore the reasons for not sleeping, not just sign a prescription.

In the meantime, the most important things you can do are:

1. switch off all screens (including phone and Kindle unless it is the 1st generation Kindle with no backlight) for at least an hour before bed
   
   
2. cut out all caffeine after lunchtime (and preferably at all)
   
   
3. try to get outside into daylight for at least an hour a day (doesn't have to be all at once). This is important for resetting the hormones that control sleep & waking.
   
   
4. avoid alcohol - though it can help you pass out, it also interferes with sleep over the course of the night.
   
   Bedtime routines such as a bath help some people but make others worse by building anxiety about sleep, so experiment as to whether they help you.
   
   Valerian as suggested by a PP is a great idea.

[Breadwidow]

Your poor thing, it's the pits. I've had occasional insomnia for a while, often a PMT symptom and then it got worse after having kids - mainly in the form of sleep maintenance insomnia where I found it impossible to get back to sleep after night feeding though sometimes I am unable to get to sleep. Yours sounds like it's more intense than mine but if you are able to get to sleep and then wake up your GP may prescribe amitriptyline - it's an anti depressant but now more often used to treat insomnia and chronic pain and for that you take a much lower dose. I got prescribed it last spring when anxiety and having to cut short my maternity leave left me exhausted. I have found it very helpful, not a total cute as I still get the occasional bad night but overall much better. I also sometimes take piroton to help with getting to sleep when that is a problem. If you want to try something before seen your GP I'm told 5HTP (supplement) has similar affect as amitriptyline and I e taken it a few times when I've run out of my prescription and I think it works but maybe not as well - I do notice the difference when I take amitriptyline again after a few nights of not

[unlucky83]

Knobbly said something about hop pillows not being any good ...I mentioned buckwheat pillows - I thought I'd make clear that buckwheat and hop pillows are completely different things... buckwheat are a real pillow - an alternative to microfibre/feather pillows...not one of those sachets things. (And the rustling noise really does knock me out - I lay down to try them when they were new, in the daytime when I wasn't tired - was listening wondering if I would ever get used to the noise and fell asleep)
And looking at this thread seems to suggest that some people need no distractions - black out blinds/ear plugs/warm baths etc to get to sleep whilst others need something for their brain to focus on rather than sleep (watching TV in a recliner, listening to music).
I think which works probably depends on the real reason why you can sleep (which you may not be even aware of) ...and think it is worth trying both approaches....

[wallywobbles]

wally are they addictive?

No they are not at all. I take them semi-regularly but not every night, and stopped taking them over the summer, when I went through a good phase. I am awake in the night for a couple of hours most nights regardless of whether I am worried or not. These enable me to sleep through. Last night, as a result, I slept for 10 hours straight through - but I was exhausted. I

You might be able to get them through an online pharmacy from France.

[wallywobbles]

I have also used Valerian, but my doctor who also suffers, said they would either work or not, and in her case not. I found them to be a bit better than nothing.

[wallywobbles]

The other thing is good ear plugs - but that in itself is a challenge. Really great mercurochrome ones from France again. All other ones are pants frankly.

[Coldlightofday]

GP definitely. And keep going back until it is sorted.

The "Sleep with me" podcast has really worked for me - rather than being medatative, it tells a meandering boring story. It's just interesting enough to keep you listening but doesn't stop you nodding off. They're about an hour long and I have never got to the end of one- and it used to take me 2/3 hours to drop off.

Would also second Piriton. Works for me.