Sudden awful insomnia

[Stygimoloch]

I’ve got myself into a dreadful cycle of waking in the middle of the night and not being able to get back to sleep. I’ve waking at 2am after going to sleep at 10pm so averaging about 4 hours.

Last night I woke at 11.30pm and I’ve been awake ever since. This has been going on for around 2 weeks. It came on suddenly and now it’s every single night. I’m exhausted and tearful and am struggling to cope.

Has anyone has anything similar? I suffered some insomnia last year and the doctor gave me some sleeping tablets (beginning with Z I think). They made me sleep but I hated how they made me feel. I’ve got a telephone doctor’s appointment tonight because I can’t go on like this. Are they likely to offer me anything else to help? I don’t know where to turn. Within two weeks I’ve turned into a shell of a person. I’m so miserable and frustrated and quite frankly horrified at the lack of sleep.

Please help!

Try a meditation app (or just meditate) when you wake up in the night? Good meditation is more restful than sleep anyway.

@Stygimoloch

Sweetheart I suffer the same.
So I find listening to the stuff you should know podcast sends me off!

Try Nytol herbal one a night tablets. Not strong like GP prescribed tablets but they help you drift off. I also try and stretch for about 15 mins before bed, you can find a video on YouTube

I always have this around this time of year. I'm not sure why.

My sleep has been terrible recently. Sympathies!!

Could it be hormonal? Are you stressed?

I do feel for you as I've been there. I was offered a short course of Zopiclone but worried about getting hooked and decided to try and battle it out.

I don't know what the root of your sleep issues is. Mine was based around the fear of not sleeping and not being able to function - linked to the fact I had a lot going on in my life at the time.

I tried changing my pre -sleep routine (no stimulants after midday, bath, no screens) as well as a variety herbal remedies but all this had no effect for me.

I then started to listen to talking books as I found this distracted me enough that my anxiety around not sleeping reduced and I eventually slept.

Now my brain seems to associate the talking books with sleep and i can rarely get through 15 minutes without nodding off. I have one 'favourite book' by a national treasure whose monotonous voice sends me out like a light... in fact, after a year I still cannot tell you what the book is about ....

Hope you find a solution - not sleeping is grim,

Thanks everyone.

@Rafferty11 I am totally anxious and stressed around lack of sleep. I know this might sound dramatic but it really scares me! I don’t seem to have any coping mechanisms for it and I just spiral with my anxiety.

There is some anxiety with my job at the moment too. Redundancies were announced just when this started and although my job isn’t at risk, it could have triggered it maybe.

I wondered about hormones too. I’m 42 so could it be linked to the peri menopause? If so, I really don’t like it! How long will it last???

My 90 mins last night was ‘good’ sleep. Deep sleep I think and I don’t feel awful today (yet) but I just find it unbelievable that I will be able to function on so little sleep.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I’ve tried meditation in the past and also all the herbal supplements but they don’t seem to work or else I just can’t get past my anxiety.

DH has this. He has been prescribed anti-depressants by the GP. It took a while for them to kick in but it has revolutionised his, and therefore our, lives. I would imagine this year has taken its toll on everyone’s mind so you are definitely not alone. Sending you strength for today.

@Seriouslymole thank you.

It’s affecting all of us. First thing my children ask in the morning is ‘did you sleep?’ and I feel like I’m letting everyone down when I keep saying no.

I literally lie there thinking ‘this can’t be happening.’ I catastrophise very badly. I think my reaction to not sleeping is worse than not sleeping itself.

There is specialised cbt for sleep problems which you would probably benefit from because the thought spirals sound worse than the sleep loss and you are stuck in a loop with it. It's also definitely possible that the trigger for the sleep change is hormonal and that can be addressed, so don't panic. Disruption to your sleep patterns won't hurt you, you just need some help with the panic and catastrophic thinking so that you can settle back down when you wake. Ask your Dr about some cbt for sleep problems. There's also an app called Sleepio that is based on the same principles. Good luck, don't panic, it's a temporary disruption and you can soon get back on track.

@Seriouslymole - do you know which anti-depressant DH was prescribed.
I am wondering if that is what I should take, I have Zopiclone every few months for long term insomnia but only get a few, I feel there must be something better to help.

@Notagain20 thank you. That’s what I need to hear. I keep thinking that I’ll be like this forever now and I’ll never be the person I was again. I also keep thinking that this sleep disruption is doing to my health. I do things or add up how much sleep I’ve missed in the last two weeks. Not helpful!

I bought a CBT book when I suffered with this before. I guess I want a quick fix and just to sleep but I realise I may need to work at it.

[quote Stygimoloch]@Notagain20 thank you. That’s what I need to hear. I keep thinking that I’ll be like this forever now and I’ll never be the person I was again. I also keep thinking that this sleep disruption is doing to my health. I do things or add up how much sleep I’ve missed in the last two weeks. Not helpful!

I bought a CBT book when I suffered with this before. I guess I want a quick fix and just to sleep but I realise I may need to work at it.[/quote]
You poor thing, sounds like your panic brain is really having a party with this! Anything can trigger a sleep disruption,ccould be a hormonal change or stress or the change in light in spring or pollen levels.. . But it's the panicky thoughts that keep it going. Get yourself some talking therapy to address the worry spirals and learn some self soothing and you'll be fine.

It's a horrible thing when sleep becomes a source of stress though, I understand. It'll settle, I promise, and won't do you any harm in the meantime

I've just bought this as I'm not a great sleeper. It's been amazing .

@NattyDiamondDoll
I too would have suggested Nytol One A Night or Boots similar but the last time I bought them the pharmacist questioned me ( I'm in Ireland ) and said "...... you do know the ingredients have been linked to dementia."
You could have knocked me down with a feather.
I was gobsmacked.
I had no idea.
I subsequently googled it and there is apparently a link to some ingredient in them and dementia.
Shouldn't there be a huge warning on the packet.
How are they allowed to be sold over the counter ?

I subsequently googled it and there is apparently a link to some ingredient in them and dementia.

It is anti-cholinergic drugs which can be linked to dementia - but taking an anti-histamine, an example of an anti-chol drug, is not going to give you dementia.

I think it was older people given pills to make them sleep regularly over time may have contributed to dementia.
The odd pill or two shouldn't hurt. All pills have side effects, as does alcohol etcetc

The pharmacist scared the living daylights out of me.
Still bought a packet - just in case.

Hi all, I just spoken to the doctor and he’s given me Zopiclone as a starting place to see whether that can reset my sleeping pattern. I don’t like the thought of sleeping tablets at all and I’m worried they will make things worse but I have to give them a try as I’m utterly exhausted 😣

You are in the typical vicious spiral insomnia sends you into. You have a few bad nights, then you start feeling anxious and stressed about it, added to stress in your life you can’t control and you find that the more you try to ensure you get a good night sleep the worse it is.

You could also be starting the , I did myself at 42 and that won’t help.

The positive news is that for one, you are still getting good deep sleep and that’s the most important part, more important than the total hours of sleep you get. Normally, waking up and struggling to get back to sleep is related to not enough deep sleep, so hang on to that positive thought.

The second is that you can really learn to get yourself to sleep and back into it when you wake up. Like everything, it takes practice and therefore time to work but it really does. I managed to sort out my waking up and not being able to get back to sleep almost 9 times at of 10 by doing deep breathing. Not only does it relax me but my brain has now associated deep breathing with falling asleep.

In terms of chemical treatment, I have found that what helps most with falling asleep is melatonin. You can’t get it in the UK but you can buy it online from the States with no problems. Amytriptyline can help too, but it does knock you out and make you feel lousy the next day. The difference with other sleeping pill is that there is no dependence so safer longer term but also it tends to help more towards the second half of your night.

Oh this is horrible, you have my sympathies! I've had this problem on and off for years. Sleeping pills have never done me much good as I find they don't keep me asleep. What has worked for me in the past is a week or so on Phenergan, a v old fashioned antihistamine, which makes me incredibly drowsy. That helps reset the sleep cycle and you remember that you can sleep after all! And then yes, CBT is really good for coping strategies to talk yourself down when you wake up, I would definitely make sure you get this in addition to any pharmaceutical options as it will make the biggest long term difference. Some other things that help me are never, ever looking at the clock when I wake and moving to a different bed if I've been lying awake for a while. But try not to panic (easier said than done I know) - you will go back to sleeping again. I did, and I thought I never would.

One thing I do is count backwards each time I breathe out from a high number eg 777 and then specifically decide to count to 700 or 600 or whatever. I am not counting backwards to make me fall asleep I am just passing the time and relaxing my brain and seeing if I can count that far back.
Not trying to fall asleep takes the pressure off. And trying to recall the number stops you stressing about other stuff.
I also listen to non fiction audiobooks, again to pass the time, not trying to sleep (or at least that is what I tell myself) - something about the outdoors usually.

What OP is describing is called 'Terminal insomnia'

Beyond giving it a name I don't think I can help much. it sounds situational which means improvement in the situation would make the sleep improve.

Yes, I have this type of insomnia. I went through a particularly bad bout of it 2 years ago and was prescribed zopiclone. I did take it but didn't like it. What works for me is sleep hygiene (but I am bad at this), a cool room, a heavy wool blanket when cold enough, the calm app and melatonin. I rarely take melatonin but if I get into a bit of a bad patch I find a few nights really helps. I take tiny amounts.

Regular exercise helps too, although can be very difficult when you feel so shit. It doesn't have to be strenuous, online pilates works for me. Also, intermittent fasting has helped me, when I don't eat past 6pm I find it easier to sleep well.

Mine is worse for 2 or 3 days just before my period and having finally figured this out helps in terms of not spiralling.

It is an awful thing and you have my sympathies. I would suggest trying the calm app, the free version is fine and the sleep story I use most is Stephen Fry's one about lavender, I think it's called purple gold or something.

The zopiclone should help I have used it in the past. The only tip i have is that if you wake up and don’t get back to sleep within 30 minutes, get up and watch something boring on an iPad until you feel too tired to keep your eyes open. That way you are more likely to fall back to sleep.

I had this and i was perimenopausal and hrt has made it go away . Definitely worth checking out.