Anyone with insomnia/sleep issues/take sleeping tablets for advice

[sundowners]

Hi
I have had sleep maintenance insomnia- ie. I wake 2-5 am and never get back to sleep for a year. Think it was triggered by a high intensity period of stress/worry which has then altered my body clock permanently into thinking waking so early is ok. Im about to start counselling. Tried everything else- Sleepeaze, Nytol, candles, sprays, melatonin so please don't suggest that!

Been treated by a sleep clinic- nothing has worked apart from sleeping tablets.

I started taking a month ago off and on- Zopiclone. Now taking say 5 nights out of 7- tried without it last night and I was up tossing/ turning all night. Literally did not drop off once.

I have 2 young DC/work part time and am so chronically shattered I just cant imagine doing without them right now. I thought given the amount of pre Christmas events/build up/kids days out and Christmas day itself I'll take until Christmas day, then from Christmas over 5 days gradually try to reduce my dose to wean myself off them? As DH will be off work so thought even if I don't sleep (much) during that period at least he'd be around to help with kids during day so I could try and get some rest then. I don't really get affected in day in a negative way after taking them, other then the metallic taste in mouth.

I clearly remember waking after another awful night of barely any sleep Christmas day last year, plastering my face with thick make up to try and hide my eye bags (doesn't work!) drinking to get me through it and feeling utterly shattered and depressed at how rubbish my sleep is. I just don't want to feel depressed on Christmas day- or special pre Christmas family/friends events again.

Would be so grateful for your thoughts and info about how you manage tour sleep/taking tablets etc?

The doxylamine succinate is, I think an anti histamine, and used to be for sale in the US as a sleep aid. In the UK it was diphenydramine hydrochloride (or something like that) in sominex etc. Now promethazine is the anti h of choice for sleep and is in sominex. I think it's the best with less mouth dryness/grogginess the next day than the others.
To spin out your Zopiclone i would try alternating these things, Mirtazapine, Zop, and sominex

Accept some days you'll be better rested than others. Takes the worry away if you know you have something you can take the following night.
Also agree that caffeine and alcohol need to be stopped (sob). I got extreme headache when I stopped caffeine so wean yourself off gradually.

Just to echo a PP about getting up if you can’t sleep. I have suffered horrendously with insomnia in the past - I couldn’t get to sleep, or stay asleep. If I did manage to drop off, I was wide awake twenty minutes later. Couldn’t even nap during the day. At my worst, I was averaging 20-40 minutes a night, for a good 6 weeks. If I have a bad night now, I get up and go downstairs. Sometimes I do a little bit of work, or lie under a blanket, reading a book. Often, after a while I am able to sleep again.

Op keep the faith with the mirtazapine for a bit longer. The thing with sopiclone is that it causes rebound insomnia. I.e. it helps while you take it but then when you don't, it actively keeps you awake.

I have kind of been where you are and eventually settled on just mirtazapine 7.5mg. I know everyone is different though. Best of luck x

Zopiclone

Has anyone had any success on the effortless sleep method? I’ve been trying it for over a week now and not finding it works very well.

Op, I've had some success with the mirtrazapine, though needed to take a Zopiclone at the weekend.. it might be worth trying again with just the mirt but I know it's tough. I think Drs are probably overly cautious sometimes with sleeping pills as the results of not sleeping can be so much worse than taking Zopiclone a few times a week.. years ago I was on them for about 7 months , taking them v sensibly, when I had dealt with other stuff in my life and the anti depressants were kicking in I came off them without any issues.. I've self referred for CBT but no clue how long that may take! Also I use the headspace app as it has some great sleep relaxation methods on there.. and insight timer has some good sleep meditation stuff , might be worth trying too.. even if it only helps with relaxation ! It's so tough...

@Lovemenorca I have suffered from insomnia for years and I am sick of attitudes like yours. Luckily I have now found my cure - 30mg mirtazapine - but your post infuriates me.

It took me three years of various GPs giving me hopeless platitudes of “drink warm milk!” “Spray lavender on your pillow!” “No screens before bed!” Bla bla bla. Then I tried Zopiclone, Zolpidem, Diazepam, Trazodone and amitriptyline, all of which didn’t touch the insomnia. It ended up with me quitting my job and having a breakdown. It was horrific.

Thank god, I was finally prescribed mirtazapine, which, to my amazement, actually works. Yes, I’ve gained weight, but I actually sleep, which means I can actually live my life.

It’s all very well saying “you should not be driving! It’s dangerous!” But us insomniacs do not get listened to and get no help, and yet we are expected to continue with work. You can’t keep calling in sick indefinitely because of poor sleep - you would lose your job. Which is what happened to me.

People saying “that’s dangerous! You shouldn’t be driving to work when you are so sleep deprived!” Oh yeah? Well, where is our help, then?

I have insomnia - I struggle to fall asleep. Without fail I will be wide awake by 2/3 AM. It's awful. I rarely manage to fall back to sleep.

I take 2 zimovane tablets before bed. They don't really work for me so I've been given a new prescription (name escapes me).