To call in sick for lack of sleep

[giggly]

I suffer from insomnia which is well known in work. I probably average 4-5 hours a night every night and permanently exhausted. It’s now 5.29 am and I’ve not had a worse long sleep yet and have a full diary of patients tomorrow. Until now I’d never cancel anyone but would just struggle through the day sometimes giving a no doubt less than good service. My but here is that so many patients cancel at the last minute with no reason given, which is fine so why is it so difficult for me to make this decision.
I just want to go to sleep before the alarm goes off at 7.30.

@weleasewoderick23 - how long has your son been dealing with 3 hours sleep a night? Did it suddenly start out of nowhere?

I’m sure you already know that it not OK for a teenager. Can you ask for a sleep study? I know these things are like gold dust in the UK, but whilst he’s this age it can muck up hormones. Sleep hormones, sex hormones, adrenaline, cortisol, all the hormones!

Also, has a major effect on mental health outcomes.

Not meaning to derail OP, but as someone with a teenager who goes through periods of insomnia, this caught my attention. He found Endep (amitriptyline) mentioned previously, very helpful. He just had it for a couple of months.

I think the consultant took it seriously because he’s also fighting illness, so needs proper sleep.

Are you sure you have insomnia?

Most people who think they have insomnia actually have other sleep issues.

I have had medically recognized insomnia twice including hospitalization... once as a side effect of medication and once as a side effect of sepsis.

The thing most people dont understand about real insomnia is you don't really feel or get tired, it's like being constantly wired and hyper 24 hours a day.

With the sepsis I went 5 days unable to sleep (my body kept trying to sleep but the startle reflex kept it from happing) but never felt tired at any point and I ended up needing sedation.

The medication included a stimulant that stopped me being able to falling asleep and kept me feeling like I was on redbull, we had to adjust stop the medication in the evening and night to give it time to wear off so I could sleep.

I use to think I had insomnia before then this but it just turns out I'm a very light sleeper, a 'night owl' and have a very active imagination which stopped me from falling asleep 'on schedule' which lead to me being constantly tired but that is not remotely the same as the two times I had insomnia.

Other conditions like restless leg or apnea etc... can also cause an inability to fall asleep and lead to severe tiredness, if that's the case figuring out the cause could help you figure seek out a cure.

Another option might be Atarax - googling it you can get it prescribed in the UK or get a generic version (Benadryl) over the counter. It does help me sleep when I use it. I take 1/2 -1 tablet, some people may need 2 (possibly because they have bigger body then I do).

In the past I also had trazodone to help me sleep. It works on anxiety too. The only downfall with it was when I was woken up too early after taking it. I had neighbours with a small screaming baby and if they woke me up before I had about 8 hours of sleep on the pill I felt awful.

melatonin tablets, cmomile tea or even cbd oil or cbd oil infsed herbal tea
www.savers.co.uk/Health-%26-Wellbeing/Vitamins-%26-Supplements/Herbal-Supplements/Lucovital-Cbd-Hemp-Tea-Bags-20s/p/788443

I second Atarax, but after a week or two you build up a tolerance and it's less effective.
I struggled with insomnia for years, kinda a secondary effect of a long term health condition, but when you wake up less than an hour after you fall asleep and then wake up 5-8 times a night for years, well, I'm amazed I'm still here to tell the tale, my grip on reality was loosening!
Can I recommend a book I found incredibly helpful? Sleep Recovery by Lisa Sanfilippo (I have earlier version called Yoga Therapy for insomnia and sleep recovery but looks like it's the same method, repackaged). She also does workshops. Good luck and yes, take the day off!

Gosh thanks for the many responses and replies.I went to sleep at 6 woke up to call in sick and have just woken up again feeling brand new. Maybe if I could work 1-9! But can’t as a single parent. Just said I had D&V.
Had I been more on the ball I’d have said I have pretty good sleep hygiene and usually use a selection of the following on any given week. Melatonin 3 or 6mg depending in how tired I am, had 6mg last night and they didn’t even hit the sides. Have used magnesium with some effect then it doesn’t work anymore, sometimes I’ve been know to knock back a double gin on the way to bed. The best I’ve had is promethazine but getting it again from my GP is like drawing teeth. So I also resort to Night Nurse which has a hefty dose of it in it, notthe capsules they only have 10mg in each dose
I listened to one of those sound volume things the other night, the ones at the certain decibels but seeing as how I listened to it for 3 hours didn’t rate that much help.
My job is stressful but completely manageable, this is all menopausal.

You can buy promethezine over the counter. It’s called phenerghan.

Get anti depressants!

@giggly

Gosh thanks for the many responses and replies.I went to sleep at 6 woke up to call in sick and have just woken up again feeling brand new. Maybe if I could work 1-9! But can’t as a single parent. Just said I had D&V. Had I been more on the ball I’d have said I have pretty good sleep hygiene and usually use a selection of the following on any given week. Melatonin 3 or 6mg depending in how tired I am, had 6mg last night and they didn’t even hit the sides. Have used magnesium with some effect then it doesn’t work anymore, sometimes I’ve been know to knock back a double gin on the way to bed. The best I’ve had is promethazine but getting it again from my GP is like drawing teeth. So I also resort to Night Nurse which has a hefty dose of it in it, notthe capsules they only have 10mg in each dose I listened to one of those sound volume things the other night, the ones at the certain decibels but seeing as how I listened to it for 3 hours didn’t rate that much help. My job is stressful but completely manageable, this is all menopausal.

Promethazine is over the counter you can buy it yourself we hand them out like sweets as PRN works well with anxiety and insomnia.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

You can buy promethezine over the counter. It’s called phenerghan.

Get anti depressants!

I was told by the pharmacist in Boots it’s only licensed for travel sickness, so I politely told them I had that as well, they chased me. Here’s hoping for a better night, might do a gin and melatonin cocktail seeing as it’s a Friday. I’ll speak to my GP again and speaks bout some of the option given here

@giggly

Gosh thanks for the many responses and replies.I went to sleep at 6 woke up to call in sick and have just woken up again feeling brand new. Maybe if I could work 1-9! But can’t as a single parent. Just said I had D&V. Had I been more on the ball I’d have said I have pretty good sleep hygiene and usually use a selection of the following on any given week. Melatonin 3 or 6mg depending in how tired I am, had 6mg last night and they didn’t even hit the sides. Have used magnesium with some effect then it doesn’t work anymore, sometimes I’ve been know to knock back a double gin on the way to bed. The best I’ve had is promethazine but getting it again from my GP is like drawing teeth. So I also resort to Night Nurse which has a hefty dose of it in it, notthe capsules they only have 10mg in each dose I listened to one of those sound volume things the other night, the ones at the certain decibels but seeing as how I listened to it for 3 hours didn’t rate that much help. My job is stressful but completely manageable, this is all menopausal.

Sominex is the same as night nurse without the paracetamol. Over the counter .

Melatonin is actually more effective in micro does of 0.3-0.5mg. But quite honestly, it keeps me awake whatever the dose.

My insomnia is behind me thanks to medical marijuana (I’m in the US) but a low dose of Trazadone or Doxepin works well, as they keep you asleep.

I'm prescribed promethazine for psychiatric purposes. It's not licensed for that though.
It's actually an antihistamine with sleepy side effects so Just tell them you have night time allergies and they should give it to you.

You can buy it from online pharmacies for 7 quid. It’s perfectly legal.

I suffered terrible insomnia for a couple of years after having a baby. I learned a technique which works every single time and has basically cured it. Pick a category, like countries, or parts of the body, or animals, or cars, anything really. Then go through the alphabet naming them. Focus on it very hard. Each time your mind wanders, get straight back to the list. It's like magic for me!

Try Sleepio app - CBT for insomnia.

Haven’t read the full thread but as a former insomniac myself have you tried:
Reducing caffeine intake to one coffee in the morning and then no more?
Reducing alcohol intake (if relevant)?
Sleep restriction therapy (sounds counterintuitive but worked for me)?

I was regularly hitting under 6hrs a night and feeling rough. Now it’s much better and I regularly get 8.

If it's menopausal, are you using (or would you consider) HRT? It's really helped my peri-meno insomnia.

I have horrendous insomnia as well. Mine's not hormonal, though, as it's been with me since childhood - the only relief I got from it was in early pregnancy when I'd be wanting to go to bed at 9pm and sleeping like the dead. Oh, and a few days following a sudden bereavement when I was prescribed a Z drug, having stayed totally awake and alert through benzos. It really felt wrong to wake up feeling refreshed and good for the first time in years and then remember why...

Something that has really helped recently is putting blackout curtains in the bedroom - I didn't think it would make much difference when I resolutely avoid all light after 8pm as it is, but as I was already looking for thermal ones to protect from heat in the summer as much as the cold, I spent an extra fiver on getting ones that did both.

It's not a perfect solution, but whilst I've got up to about 4.5 - 5 hours, I'm sure it's improving the quality, as I'm sleeping more deeply and about 45 minutes earlier than before. I've also slept for longer/later on days off, which seems to be giving me a bit more brain power at work.

I don’t have insomnia but I do have a baby who won’t sleep at night I no how awful lack of sleep is . Like others had said I wouldn’t say it’s because of ur insomnia say u have the shits and just sleep today

Do you have to drive to get to work? You should not drive tired - studies have shown it’s as bad or even worse than driving after drinking. There was also a case where a man caused a major rail accident after driving after a night of no sleep and was prosecuted and went to prison.

I have a 80 mile commute and have on occasion said I don’t feel fit to drive but I can work from home

I went through 4 months of insomnia after having th contraceptive implant. It nearly killed me so I have utter sympathy. I found listening to the sleepy bookshelf on Spotify helped and also taking an antihistamine based sleeping tablet. Also better health magnesium body spray before bed. It's loads better now but I still don't get a full night.

Tapping away on social media at 5am aint gunna help hunny

Yes call in sick. I can’t count the amount of days I’ve blagged it to wfh or take a day off to catch up on sleep or even cleaning

I had great help from my GP.

Firstly I was prescribed Diazepam to take nightly for a maximum of 3 nights at a time (it's addictive if you don't keep strictly to the 3 night rule, and then you end up needing more and more, which of course the GP wouldn't give you.) It not only calms, but also relaxes your muscles, so great if insomnia gives you a tension headache.

After a few years, I felt I was becoming too reliant on it and wanted a change, so a couple of months ago my GP prescribed 3mg Melatonin which is a totally natural hormone that your body produces ... but its production can get messed around by a variety of factors.

It isn't addictive but does have a few drawbacks for some people so has been taken off the over the counter list in the UK.

I take it 1/2 hour before bed, and am amazed that it does in fact work well for me.

(psst .. you can get it delivered here from an online purchase. Just google the pro's and con's if you're going to do that, and start low, not with the easily available 10mg bottles.)