To ask for your help/suggestions with terrible insomnia

[insomniacsdream]

I know if there was a cure no one would be struggling with insomnia but mine has got so bad lately I feel like I'm going mad.

I don't feel remotely tired at bedtime and feel wide awake from 2,3,4,5am.
I get up at 8 but feel absolutely awful all day like I'm in a trance and feel hungover. I start to wake up at about 8pm and the cycle starts again.

It carries on until I'm getting so little sleep from trying to keep a regular getting up time that I have one of those migraines with being sick that goes on for two days straight and I sleep for nearly the entire 48 hours, then it all starts over again.

It seems to be getting skewed so I'm staying awake later and later.

I've had sleeping pills (they work for the first day then stop working), tried CBT, sleep clinic, meditation, changing my diet, cutting out caffeine, making my room comfortable and tidy, trying to wind down and relax an hour before I plan to go to sleep. I've been going to yoga classes every day.
I've been back to my Gp so many times but she says she's out of ideas.

Can anyone help at all? I think I'll go mad if I'm still tossing and turning at 5am in a few hours!

Cut out as much caffeine as possible. Give it time to get out of your system. I think some people are naturally more sensitive to it..if I have one cup of caffeinated tea I'm up half the night.

Eye mask. Mine is a velvety one (think it was from flying tiger). But you need a dark velvety one with a thick band to stay on rather than like a spa light cotton one.

Blackout blinds. If you have velux windows you can get ones that fit directly on to the windows and they are amazing. We had them in our old house and the room was so dark you literally couldn't see anything.

Audiobooks. This was the game changer for me. Sounds like you may have suffered from anxiety in the past and this is definitely my problem, I think I about everything when I'm trying to fall asleep. I use audible and set a sleep timer for 1 chapter then whenever I wake up in the middle of the night I just switch it on again. You need to find one that doesnt have any music at chapter changes.

Wish you all the best, insomnia is a horrible thing. The only benefit was that it made night feeds much easier as I was used to being up all through the night!

Like you I'd tried everything. Triggered by the menopause as I used to be a wonderful sleeper. It got worse and worse, to the point of having a detrimental impact on my life. Nothing helped, at best drugs would me get to sleep but stay asleep.

In a last desperate attempt, I decided to try amytriptiline. Was very wary of it due to the known side effects and I tend to react strongly to medicine. Miraculously, it is working. Its odd as it doesn't work for me as sleeping pills do. It doesn't help me fall asleep but it helps me to get in that comfy sleep and stay asleep.

I do wake up with a hangover feeling but only if I take it too late. If I take it 12 hoirs before I intend to get up, I'm fine. The great thing about is that it is not dependency forming like sleeping pills. People have reported horrible nightmares with it but I haven't at all. I do dream more but they are not disturbing dreams.

In addition to this, I meditate with Calm and this is helping a lot too as indeed, my sleep issues are linked with how I deal with things during the day but still a long way to go to find inner peace! Hope you managed to get back to good sleep.

I listen to audio books and like someone else mentioned I put it on again at 1.30 or 4.30 or however many times I wake up.

Sominex is definitely worth a try. The otc dosage is 20mg but you can take more - up to 50mg i think - check with your gp. Failing that, quetiapine, as suggested above.

Dr Stuart’s Valerian tea is good stuff. If you use two bags and brew it for five mins it is a bit sedative.

Another suggestion is sticking your feet out of the bed until they are cold, or doing without a duvet altogether until you are cold, then putting the duvet back over you. The temperature change can sometimes help.

Niteflights...totally agree about letting your feet and body get cold. I push the duvet off for a while until I feel really cold and then when I cover myself up again my body seems to relax and be more susceptible to sleep. I wonder how that works?
I also have to have rain and thunder playing on my iPad and when I'm desperate I take a melatonin capsule, but find I have strange dreams when I do.
I've reached the stage now when I absolutely dread going to bed knowing how long it will take me to get to sleep. And to add to the misery I have restless legs as well.

Ive struggled with this on and off for years and at my most recent GP visit, was told to completely cut out alcohol for a month (as it may help get you to sleep but it seriously reduces sleep quality) and to exercise outside more- eg exhaust myself in fresh air. I’m neither a heavy drinker nor a couch potato but I did find this seriously helped my sleep and anxiety. I also like the Calm stories when worried about sleep, always have a silk eye mask and often use ear plugs. Oh and window open.
But I would recommend the cutting out booze and fresh air exercise if you haven’t tried those. Good luck.

I saw the book the Effortless Sleep Method recommended on here. It worked for me too.

My imperfect solutions. Resolve any anxiety causing situations as much as poss. Fresh air and Exercise in the day. No caffeine after 2pm. It can still be active up to 5/6 hours I read. Peppermint t throughout the day- supposed to relax muscles. Accept if I wake up I will be awake for an hour so I read and then go to sleep by daydreaming something calm. 15 minute nap in a chair during day if not coping but before 5pm. So shut your eyes at lunchtime.

You could try getting lots of daylight especially in the morning and early afternoon. That helps your body clock to set. No screen time in the evening or if you need to you can either wear blue-blocking glasses if watching tv or download apps that block blue light for your phone.

Just try to rest, I had a sleep study done and thought I didn’t sleep at all but when the results came back I’d slept for 3-4 hours on and off. I really thought I was awake the whole night. Was still exhausted the next day tho.

Hope you get some sleep soon, it sounds awful and I know what it’s like to get migraines because of it

Zopiclone works for me when I get in to a bout of insomnia again.

What works best though, is having a set bedtime routine, just like you do for babies.

It can be anything , but for me, it's bath, cleanse tone and moisturise, 30 mins with a book of short stories (NOT anything gripping as then you'll fall in to the "just one more chapter" trap) and then lights off.

Another vote for quetiapine! It's a mood stabiliser, often prescribed for manic episodes/bipolar disorder but also for insomnia and anxiety. It's very sedating.

If anxiety causes your insomnia, U need to address the anxiety. What if anything can you do about the annoying problems in your life? Do what you can, if only small tiny actions feel possible, then do them anyway. Anxiety can arise from feeling powerless, prove to yourself you aren't powerless.

I only list these things b/c nobody else has:

*good sleep hygiene
*fairly routine core hours to try to sleep (imperfect routine is ok)
*lots of aerobic exercise (ideally at least 1 hour/day)
*Not sleeping sucks, but don't let worrying about not sleeping make it worse; find a way to soldier thru & live your life anyway.

ps: insomnia is very dead boring. However, if you can't sleep, at least you can rest. So try to do that. Empty your mind & rest your body in the hours when you should be sleep (until the boredom becomes unbearable, at least).

I'm sure I've read you can reset a really bad bout by getting up really early too.

I find lavender Magnesium salt in the bath just before bed along with 300mg soluble Mg (Voost) which you drink, has really helped with falling asleep and restless legs. My nights can still be patchy but generally taking daily Mg for the last 18 months has really helped. Google magnesium deficiency to see if it might help you too.

magnesium and sleep

I have the same problem OP

when I can get sleeping pills, I do use them. Are you taking a high enough dose? I originally took half the doctor recommendation as I was so scared to try them.

those saying quetiapine - was it prescribed for sleep? I'm under the impression it causes weight gain if used daily?

Thank you so so much to everyone who has replied, I feel a lot better to know that I'm not alone at all. I managed to get to sleep at about 4 I think and got up at 8:45. It's frustrating because I feel as though I'm severely hungover and am struggling to get on with things that need doing.

To people who mentioned quietapim and weight gain - when I was taking a very high dose I was a lot slimmer than I am now despite eating the same sorts of things and amounts so there might not be a problem on that front with it.

OP, thanks, that's interesting.

I totally relate to the hangover feeling btw.

How old are you- anywhere near menopause? Hormones have a lot to account for sleepwise.

Hiya😊. I've suffered for years but just recently my Zopiclone isn't keeping me asleep for long. I tried Dormeasan from A Vogel (Valerian/Hops) and it's really worked for me. Gives you a natural drop off and you don't wake the next day with a groggy head. Definitely worth a try. Good luck.