Sleep totally messed up, how do I get back on track?

[Lovemusic33]

I had a mini breakdown at Christmas due to partner cheating and domestic violence, spent 2 months on anti depressants but came off a couple weeks ago due to side effects, the only good thing the pills did was make me sleep. Anyway things seemed to be going ok as long as I did enough exercise to tire myself out ( gym, swim, run ) but then last week I was stuck at home with poorly DC and was unable to exercise. I'm now feeling quite low and my sleep is all over the place, I'm wide awake at night and then during the day I gave no energy and fall asleep ( meaning I'm wide awake again at night ). I know it's a vissious circle but I need to get back to sleeping at night. I haven't been to bed all week, I stay on the sofa watching tv or staring into space, I hate going to bed and just lying there wide awake. I hate being awake at night, I find it lonely and it's making me feel even more down.

How can I get back on track? Dc's are now on halt term so I still can't get out to the gym.

I know I can get ill if I don't sleep. Any chance you can get the GP to prescribe you a very short dose of sleeping tablets, just to get back to sleeping? Or does something like Nytol or Calms help at all? I have a Calm app (free) on my phone. They have sleep sessions, and meditation sessions, which I often find myself falling asleep to. Even an odd hour here or there would be better than nothing. Can you take your dc's out in the fresh hair whilst they are off? Might help you all sleep, possibly.

I'm not sure if the GP will give me anything as I had sleeping tablets 2 months ago ( they don't like prescribing them ). I have taken some amatrypitine (sp) tonight as that's all I have. I will try and get some Nytol tomorrow.

Ok, hopefully that will help. You probably need the one a night one, which is stronger.

Hi I'm in the exact same boat , I take the nytol one a night not the herbal one tho . It's a stronger version and the 1st night it knocked me out and the 2nd not as much a week in and they don't do anything ! I heard that your body gets use to it so once again I'm here wide awake xxx

Nytol does nothing for me - at all. Had diazepam before and that made me sleep but i hated it - made my head feel heavy, literally felt like i was a lobotomy patient, bizarre. The only thing that works for me if i get in that cycle of being awake all night is to literally force myself to stay awake all day the next day too and then go to bed around 9ish. I was in a really good routine and then like you something recently totally threw it off. I definitely feel much better when i sleep at night rather than during the day.

Thank you, I have stayed awake all day after knocking myself out with pills last night, hopefully I will sleep tonight. I love diazepam, it's the only sleeping pill that doesn't give me any dodgy side effects but my gp won't prescribe it.