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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Insomnia

22 replies

Crazycakelady17 · 26/06/2021 03:02

I have been awake for over 40 hours and I just can’t sleep i need some suggestions
This happens a lot at least once of not more a week
I’m on strong meds dr my mental health that supposedly make you drowsy/sleepy nope, I am on zopiclone took one at 11pm stil not asleep
I stayed off my phone from 11-2.30 but I can’t lie here any longer it’s driving me crazy
I feel sick and no appetite when I get like this.
Seeing my psychiatrist on Tuesday they looking at changing my meds will there be one to help me?

OP posts:

chickenyhead · 26/06/2021 03:07

Hey, another insomniac here, so no hints I'm afraid, or I would be asleep myself.

I am also on antidepressants, I just don't sleep anymore. About once every 3 days I finally pass out.

I hope they sort it for you on Tuesday, exciting.

I used to take mirtazipine at night to make me sleep. But in the end it stopped working for me after 8 years. Have they tried that yet?

Original poster

Crazycakelady17 · 26/06/2021 03:16

@chickenyhead

Hey, another insomniac here, so no hints I'm afraid, or I would be asleep myself.

I am also on antidepressants, I just don't sleep anymore. About once every 3 days I finally pass out.

I hope they sort it for you on Tuesday, exciting.

I used to take mirtazipine at night to make me sleep. But in the end it stopped working for me after 8 years. Have they tried that yet?

Sorry to hear another suffering, I’m on 45 mg mirtazapine, 200 mg chlorpromazine and 150mg pregabalin plus added the zopiclone tonight and still no chance. See psychologist then psychiatrist then care coordinator on Tuesday one after the other lucky me 😉 Hope you manage to nod off

OP posts:

wtfisgoingonhere21 · 26/06/2021 03:21

Also awake

Hate my brain at night times.

I've had one night all week where I've slept more than 4 hours and I have a physical full time job Aswell

Went for a 2 mile walk when I got home from work hoping that would help and say and chilled before going to bed but then just lied there for hours so got up.

Am off to try again in a minute.
Working all day tomorrow

romdowa · 26/06/2021 03:25

I've a sleep disorder and it's rare that I get a full night's sleep. When I do then I just feel awful all day. They tried all sorts of medications , including sleeping tablets but I still wake but just feel incredibly fuzzy. For me I found a short nap during the day really helps my sleep at night.

RubyGoat · 26/06/2021 03:33

It's not likely to help with the insomnia, but have you tried audiobooks or podcasts? At least you wouldn't be quite as bored. And, no blue light.

RubyGoat · 26/06/2021 03:35

As you can tell I am not asleep either...

sfeirical · 26/06/2021 03:54

Glad I'm not alone! Managed a 2 hour nap before, but now I'm wide awake. I'm still so tired but just can't drift off.

RickiTarr · 26/06/2021 04:24

It’s hell isn’t it?

I have a limited prescription of diazepam as a muscle relaxant and my insomnia ends up influencing when I resort to that, which it shouldn’t really because that’s not what it’s prescribed for.

Podcasts and lavender oil sometimes help a bit, if I can stay away from screens and reading. It often feels like trying to relax enough to catch a sleep “wave” IYKWIM? If you miss your chance, it’s hours for the next one.

I take so many other painkillers I can’t understand why insomnia is still an issue. I know the early dawns aren’t helping me ATM.

chickenyhead · 26/06/2021 04:45

No chance of sleeping lol

I used to be on 45mg mirtazipine, but apparently 30mg is better for sleep. Anyhow, it stopped working for me and I stopped it last year.

Just 375mg venlafaxine here, leaves me wired. Great.

RubyGoat · 26/06/2021 04:57

Oh dear @chickenyhead, I was prescribed venlafaxine many years ago. I had to come off it as I was only getting 1-2 hours sleep a night, it was ridiculous. Went on for months & I looked really ill before the GP would prescribe an alternative, I had to threaten to just stop taking it. My eyes looked like I'd been smacked in the face they were so dark.

chickenyhead · 26/06/2021 05:02

@LegoCaltrops

Oh dear *@chickenyhead*, I was prescribed venlafaxine many years ago. I had to come off it as I was only getting 1-2 hours sleep a night, it was ridiculous. Went on for months & I looked really ill before the GP would prescribe an alternative, I had to threaten to just stop taking it. My eyes looked like I'd been smacked in the face they were so dark.

Yup, I've been telling them for the last year that I literally don't sleep.

They have said that it is my depression. I don't currently have anything to feel depressed about other than a lack of sleep and feeling like a zombie 24/7!

I have told them I am going to bin it and them. Didn't go down well. If I miss a single dose I get brain zaps, it will be fun.

RubyGoat · 26/06/2021 05:27

Insist on an alternative. Ask to speak to the practice manager if they won't - if it's your depression causing the insomnia, then the venlafaxine clearly aren't working. So they need to fix it. Insist that you want it recorded on your notes that you no longer feel safe crossing the street or climbing the stairs as you're so tired. If they deny it, tell them you've told your friends etc that the medication isn't working & your insomnia is worse than ever. They will back down, they will be in massive hot water if you were to have an accident due to tiredness. Do you drive?

chickenyhead · 26/06/2021 05:32

No I don't drive, I don't do much of anything as I am so tired.

I'm under the mental health services at the moment and it takes 6 weeks for each medication review. I've been asking to come off of these drugs for 18 months. Been suicidal for much of it as this is not a life.

I think I will need to take this in to my own hands as with the mirtazipine.

Thanks x

chickenyhead · 26/06/2021 05:35

I bought one of those trackers. This week's sleep...

RickiTarr · 26/06/2021 05:37

@chickenyhead that sounds really tough and repetitive. I hope you make headway soon.

RubyGoat · 26/06/2021 05:49

I mean, would you normally drive, before the insomnia started. Did you previously drive or have you always had insomnia, or something else which has stopped you from learning?

I'm not judging, BTW. I don't drive. At all. I'm 40 & never even took my test.

chickenyhead · 26/06/2021 05:55

No, my eyesight isn't good enough to have confidence driving a hunk of metal.

I have been suspecting the venlafaxine for a while now. Thought I was mad. Never had insomnia before. Usually when depressed I sleep constantly to avoid life.

I am literally mentally pinged. Physically broken and unmotivated and numb.

Both of my parents have died in recent years and I haven't cried. Weird. Just nothing, no joy, no overthinking, just desperately want to sleep and feel normal.

RubyGoat · 26/06/2021 06:11

That's pretty similar to how I felt on it, TBH. Definitely still depressed, but I felt like everything was just grey, even more than usual. So there was none of the despair but no hope & none of the good moments either. And of course, no sleep. I lived in a 3rd floor flat with no lift, & had a job in financial services that could have potentially landed me in prison if I'd made a big enough mistake. I laid it out for the doctor, & insisted they made a note of it. That & the fact I didn't feel safe crossing the street, I nearly got run down a couple of times. I wasn't trying to do anything stupid, I was just chronically sleep deprived & not looking where I was going. I'd been struggling along & basically broke down one day, told DH everything (we'd only been seeing each other a few months at that point) & he told me off for putting up with the GP fobbing me off.

chickenyhead · 26/06/2021 06:17

I will speak to them on Monday and tell them what I want to try. Thank you so much for making me fill a bit less hopeless.

Thomasina79 · 26/06/2021 06:30

Another insomniac here! First occurred after a couple of family crises and never returned to normal. I also have a very painful shoulder which wakes me up. I am on strong painkillers which do help. Sometimes I try Sominex which helps if I take it when I wake up at 2.00 or thereabouts, but it only works for a few days so I have to take a break. I also sometimes take melatonin which I get from Biovea. It takes ages to come as it can only be bought outside the UK.

Sometimes I am so tired I nearly fall asleep at my desk at work.

Like you I am desperate for a full nights sleep. It’s been years since I had one.

Original poster

Crazycakelady17 · 26/06/2021 10:59

I feel for you guys it’s awful,
Managed 2 hours at 6am for a social
Engagement tonight can’t get out of I’m dreading it I struggle to leave the house as it is but feeling like this not going to be fun

OP posts:

RecoveredInsomniac · 14/11/2021 13:26

I've been where you are, and it is the worst feeling in the world. I have developed several strategies that work for me, and I am starting to upload to YouTube to share what works for me. It won't work for everyone, but it works for me so please feel free to check out my new page, and subscribe so that you get to hear my new videos as and when they get uploaded. I'm going to share all of the music, sounds and lighting that helped me and my 2 children get in a routine that has enabled us to get our lives back.

www.youtube.com/channel/UCeTtggJRkbM1uxUsF6l_W8w

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