Insomnia (early waking) anxiety is crushing me - AIBU to give in and get sleeping tablets today???

[LifeExperimentation]

... Like Nytols?

Went to bed at 10pm-ish last night after a purposefully relaxing evening. Woke at 12am. Couldn't get back to sleep until 3am, but only managed an hour.

I spend the awake time going from feeling rational ('oh, I have ages, I can get back to sleep') to quite quickly spiralling to feeling panic/desperate quite quickly with tight chest, racing heart.

I feel like my mental health is spiralling out of control right now, and feel miserable. For last 2 weeks, I've tried more natural remedies/meditation/getting out of bed and reading etc. I have started a CBT for insomnia workbook). The harder I try, the worse I seem to feel. I know the trying so hard doesn't work, but I'm feeling so desperate.

Could it be peri menopause? I'm 43. I have had a lot of stress recently, so maybe it's that too. I have no idea.

Has anyone quickly broke out of the grip of something like this with over the counter sleeping tablets?

@namechangebriefly oh, it is, it’s really the worst… yes, GP has prescribed ADs which I’m keeping hold of for now to see if I can break the sleep anxiety cycle.

@JustDanceAddict Sorry you’re going through the sleep issues. Hope you get through it soon. Which herbal sleeping tablets do you take?

@RattleOfBars Thanks so much for the info, Phenergan sounds like it could be preferable to Nytol maybe then, although the GP said she doesn’t prescribe sleeping tablets (apart from a very short course of a few days in the cases of need).

@dontdisturbmenow I’m scared of trying the Mirtazapine tbh, as I’m not sure I could cope with the (what seems to be) quite common side effects. Rapid weight gain + daytime sleepiness as sedated sounds awful to me. That said, my friend’s mum has had them and didn’t gain weight.

@LucyRivers167 I definitely have the fear, and I really want to stop having it! I’ll take a look at the book, thanks for the recommendation. So glad it worked for you.

@nevermorelenore That sounds like living through a haze of a nightmare, poor you, sounds horrifying. Hope you’ve found a better solution.

@GetOffYourHighHorse I’m mainly doing all the right things tbh. I exercise 5 days out of 7, and make sure I get outdoors into the daylight. I have worked out these are so key for me for stress and anxiety management, especially right now with the covid situ and the lack of alternative things to do with all the restrictions. I’m an early riser normally and once I’m awake, I’m up… The problem is that I’m waking up really, really early and my sleep is now super, super light. I gave up alcohol 3 months ago and have felt better (until it started to go wrong). Have just halved caffeine intake.

Unfortunately though, I never truly switch off from work - this year has been a nightmare. That is a part of the problem.

@k1233 I have tried various breathing techniques - they seemed to help a little right at the beginning when it hadn’t been too bad. But this week, doing them seemed to whip me up even more when I’ve been having an anxiety attack in the middle of the night. Like more conscious of my tight chest and complete inability to relax. Glad Phenergan works for you when you need it.

If you're a light sleeper try these. They arent cheap and can't be used for streaming music they are purely to have a background white noise playing. We live in a fairly noisy house but even when it is quiet I'm a very light sleeper and these are like being in a relaxing cocoon. They're brilliant, I couldn't be without mine now.

I actually found prescription sleeping tablets brilliant for anxiety-induced insomnia (the over-the-control ones are pretty rubbish). The knowledge that they were there if I needed them gave me a sense of control over my sleep, which actually enabled me to fall asleep naturally by removing the "argh what happens if I can't get to sleep!" anxiety. I hardly ever actually took the tablets - I think I used to take a year or more to go through a single 24 tablet prescription. I just needed to know they were there. Eventually the anxiety passed altogether and I've had no issues with sleep for years. My sleep problems were centred round falling asleep rather than early waking, but I still wouldn't entirely rule out prescription tablets as a tool.

@allGetOffYourHighHorse Oh interesting, I had seen these but wasn't sure if I'd benefit from them as don't like any noise really when I'm trying to get to sleep. But perhaps if it's on when you're dropping off, you'd stay asleep through noise? Like the idea of not needing to switch phone on to listen to something.

I wear earplugs (and eyemask). But, the earplugs don't tend to stay in throughout the entire night, and I even wake up through those if they do manage to stay in.

I think that part of the waking during the night is that you don’t need as much sleep as you get older. If you are waking at 7am you only need to go to bed at midnight. If you go to bed at 10pm then I think you’re more likely to be awake for a while during the night, to get a total 7 hours.

Please take the ADs. The side effects are only possibilities, many people don't get any, and there's almost no-one who gets all of them. They wouldn't be prescribed if there were.

ADs work on anxiety as well as depression and will help you in that respect, and it doesn't mean that once you start you'll be on them forever. You're contemplating OTC sleeping tablets, which also have possible side effects, read the leaflet. the ADs will get you back on an even keel more generally, as well as your sleep patterns.

Kalms are herbal, Nytol etc are pharmaceutical, so the OTC ones are more immediately effective. And for a few nights they can be taken alongside the ADs until the ADs start to kick in, as it takes at least two weeks for you to start feeling the benefits of ADs.

@SchmoanaSorry, yes, I should say, I’ve only started to go to bed at 10pm a month ago as was just exhausted and sleep deprived. My husband wakes up at 5.20am during the week, so the noise had started to guarantee to wake me up anyway, which is why I thought I’d go to bed earlier.

7 hours consistently would be amazing... I’d feel like a new woman.

@Feedingthebirds1 Yes, the GP said it was for my anxiety mainly, with the side benefit of it being sedating to help with my sleep. I have been going through a tough spell and the lack of sleep has driven me to the edge, emotionally-speaking.

I’m unsure about these ADs, yes. Not sure I need them or could even hack one week of feeling off-kilter. I really hate not feeling mentally sharp... (makes me feel out of control)... at least with the tiredness from sleep deprivation, I know it's just due to lack of sleep and I can grit my teeth and get on with it.

... until I can't, I suppose (!)

Mirtazapine has literally changed my life. I can function now rather than being a wired mess on 2/3 hours sleep each night.

I took half a 15mg tablet because was worried about being drowsy for work the next day but I saw my doctor yesterday and she said there's clinical evidence that if you take a higher dose you're less drowsy the next day rather than more drowsy. She's upped me to 30mg so we'll see but it really was a lifesaver for me.

Good luck x

Try the Calm App too, it works somehow by switching that anxious overthinking part of your brain off. X

Since then I've dealt with depressive periods by thinking 'well at least I'm not on mitrazapine anymore.'
Sorry it really isn't funny but I couldn't help but smile reading this. You've certainly convinced to keep going without it!

@GetOffYourHighHorse, no offense but these are the words if someone who doesn't understand what menopause induce insomnia is all about. I am assuming that like myself, OP has tried all the recommended remedies and good practice to cope with mild symptoms of insomnia. I have adopted every single good habits to help, including all those listed in this thread. I don't drink alcohol, eat healthily, walk 12k steps a day, go to bed at 9:30 every night after a 1/2 meditation session.

Menopausal induced insomnia is a totally different kettle to deal with. It's very very hard to control, the same way the menopause your skin to shrink, your hair to fall and your vagina to dry up.

Chronic insomnia has a massive impact on your health and wellbeing. It is a chronic illness. If her can help, it would be madness not to go for it. Sadly it didn't help me with sleep and came with a lot of other disturbing side effects, so couldn't continue with it.

'no offense but these are the words if someone who doesn't understand what menopause induce insomnia is all about'

I totally understand but ime many people with insomnia don't consider the very basics such as plenty of physical activity, no napping and no alcohol. The op has she said she does these but it is always worth mentioning.

'I had seen these but wasn't sure if I'd benefit from them as don't like any noise really when I'm trying to get to sleep. But perhaps if it's on when you're dropping off, you'd stay asleep through noise? '

It isn’t an annoying noise and on the app there are lots to choose from to find one that suits. They just provide a constant background sound that your hearing defaults too, so anything that would disturb a light sleeper is drowned out. I have had terrible sleeping issues in the past and I find these, a cool bedroom plus not sleeping in late on a mornings and plenty of exercise give me a good nights sleep.

@Twinkie01 Ah, that sounds like it’s really working for you then. Glad it’s working out. Did you get any other side effects? How long did it take before you felt better? My prescription is also for 15mg.

LifeExperimentation no no side effects at all. Made me sleep first night I took it which helps you then cope with the anxiety. I take it 90 minutes before I want to be asleep and pretty much sleep through till morning with the odd toilet break but whereas before that'd be it I'd be awake, now I'm straight back to sleep.

You can always stop taking them if you don't like the effect so it's worth a try. Normal life is hard enough at present without the addition of no sleep, once that's taken care of your mind is clearer to deal with whatever else is causing the anxiety.

Good luck c

It would be worth asking your GP to check your hormone levels. Do you know if your mother went through menopause early? Generally HRT is prescribed after a year with no period. Nytol might help break the cycle of not sleeping and the Mirtazapine does make people drowsy, that is why it is generally taken at night. Hope you get it sorted OP.

@GetOffYourHighHorse I’d love to try it… I went on the Bose website to check it out and there are some nice tracks on there that sound nicely soothing. It is expensive though, and I guess I’m afraid it would make me more agitated (like guided meditations sometimes can when I’m agitated myself: ‘it’s not working’, ‘it’s going to end soon and I’m not asleep!’, ‘oh my god, I can’t relax!’ etc.).

@Amber0685 Not sure about my mum, I’ll need to ask her. I did mention the possibility of peri menopause to the GP yesterday but we didn’t discuss it in detail. I am getting a blood test though to test for other things (e.g. diabetes, thyroid, iron levels) so not sure if they can test for hormone levels at the same time??

My mum is also a very light sleeper.

I've not missed any periods although a recent period was different from the norm, really light and lasted a week. Which is why I'm thinking there could well be a hormonal factor at play.

• starting to think there could be a hormonal factor at play, I should say.

No.
Treat the cause not the symptoms
Id say at your age menopause is knocking at your door though

I had this as a symptom of postnatal depression. It truly is the worst! I tried tackling the sleep on its own but unfortunately that didn’t solve the issue as the insomnia was the symptom. GP prescribed antihistamines & CBT which helped to an extent but the antidepressants were the biggest help. For me anxiety/ depression seems to follow periods where I have a lot of stress. Like you I do all the ‘right’ things but I just seem to need to bit more of a lift. It could well be perimenopause & hopefully you won’t need the antidepressants but good that your GP prescribed them so you have them in reserve.