Terrible insomnia and sleep anxiety, what will GP do?

[Xenomoth]

I’m suffering from terrible insomnia at the moment and associated sleep anxiety. I literally can’t sleep and last night was awake all night.

I am an anxious person anyway, and this has triggered panic attacks and worsening anxiety. I’ve had to call in sick to work today as I can’t face it.

I’m not sure really where to turn and am getting increasingly desperate. I have a GP phone appointment in a week and am wondering what they will suggest. Heavy duty sleeping pills aren’t going to be any good as I must be able to get up and go to work the next day.

has anyone experienced similar and have any words of wisdom?!

I'd say the GP is unlikely to prescribe sleeping tablets, they don't really do that, and if they do it tends to be very short term.

I imagine they'll give you some self help advice, and possibly suggest a referral to talking therapies for the anxiety.

What age are you? Could it be peri/ menopause ?

The GP is unlikely to prescribe sleeping tablets but will look at your over all anxiety treatment.

Depending on your age, worth thinking about if you have any other symptoms of peri menopause.

Anti anxiety medicine might really help.
I'm a life long insomniac and currently trying amitriptyline.
There are options op.
The doctor might prescribe you some sleeping tablets short time.
In the meantime have you tried things like nytol? Try it before your appointment as they will want to know what you already tried.

Exercise has always been central to helping my insomnia.

Being out in the daylight, circadian rhythms and all that jazz.

Sounds like speaking to a therapist to get to the root of your anxiety and building a box of tools for when your anxiety strikes would be a good start.

Im 37, nearly 38, could possibly be hormonal I suppose, my periods have got a lot lighter in recent months.

I have tried Nytol and it definitely works although it leaves an unpleasant groggy feeling in the morning (although I suppose that’s preferable to the sleep deprived feeling)

@Mynewnameis how are you finding the amitriptyline? I’ve heard good things about it. I definitely need to treat the anxiety to help the sleep. I’ve taken a Diazepam this morning as I was just spiralling and that’s made me feel a bit better. Obviously not a long term solution.

Honestly magnesium (glycinate or citrate) may help - I always say this on these threads but I've been taking it for four or so years and would not do without it now. It helps with so many issues including anxiety and sleep. Obviously some issues do need gp support but I was staggered at the difference in me; before I had that 'exploding head' syndrome which was awful, v poor sleep quality, anxiety, fits of rage for no reason. I honestly don't dare run out and go back to all that!

The amitriptyline has really helped. I do have vivid dreams. I wonder if its the medication or I never slept enough to dream before. I take it early like 7:30 pm.
Sertraline did help my anxiety related insomnia when I had post natal depression.
Zopiclone is good short term but GP won't give many

Thanks, that’s good to know. I need to do something as I can’t go on like this, dreading the night already.

Sending virtual hugs. Don't let them fob you off with a suggestion to meditate and drink hot milk.

I also have diabolical insomnia so I send my sympathy. Nytol is better than nothing in the short term - I agree, although the grog is horrible it is better than no sleep. I have been given some sleeping tablets a few times in the past - I just said I was desperate for sleep - which I was. They don't like giving them out. I have been given some anti anxiety drugs to try but I dare not start them as I don't want to be reliant! All I want is sleep! Sending sympathetic and hopeful vibes......

Nytol. Not the herbal one, the one you have to ask for. When I had terrible insomnia decades ago my GP said all he could do was drug me. So I said do it! I have Zopiclone for when it's really grim. I only ever take half a Nytol or half a Zopiclone. It's got much better over the years. Night Nurse is also good and Piriton.

I second Nytol, it really works. It's an antihistamine - the drowsy kind.

I do take Nytol and it definitely works-I only take one of the recommended two tablets. I find the grogginess fades by afternoon. Just not sure what the long-term solution is for this. Hopefully this is just a bad patch (I have had it before when I was post-natal but it went away) but I worry it’ll become more frequent with all the hormonal changes as I get older.

I am happy to be drugged at this point in order to sleep. Anything is better than staying awake all night with the adrenaline pumping and my heart racing.

I was recommended phenergan (sp??) for sleeplessness and it was great. A strong but over the counter antihistamine . It helped break the cycle for me .
didn’t feel groggy in the morning like I do with nytol

Sertraline helped me so much! Worth a try. I’ve no plans to come off it.

Hi OP. I don't want to patronise you and you probably already know this, but four simple things to ask yourself:

1. Do you drink alcohol?
2. Do you drink caffeine?
3. Do you exercise and physically tire yourself out during the day?
4. Do you get some fresh air during the day?

If the answers aren't 'no' to the first two and 'yes' to the second two, then these are things which have a huge impact on sleep which you can address straight away.

Insomnia is truly evil. I have had it so bad I have hallucinated before. And the racing heart. You have my profoundest sympathies.
I did a free course off the old Internet chap called Martin Reed. It was absolutely my last desperate attempt. I did sleep restriction and I read and watched and listened to Martin a lot.
The sleep restriction was brutal. But effective. It really changed my life . Instead of going to bed and getting upset because I couldn't sleep I had to stay awake. It was hard. But for me it worked.
I still have returns insomnia but mostly I just take it easy on myself and stay up late and suffer a bit . I do have a stash of phenergen. But don't take it for more than a week at a time.
I found the answer for me wasn't one thing or another but a combination.

@ringoffiire I do all the right things and none of the wrong things but it seems to make no difference. I think the main problem is I have an intense fear of being awake all night and the consequences of this. It’s all a mental battle with me.

@Notgoodatpoetrybutgreatatlit that’s interesting about the sleep restriction and I am glad it worked for you. I can really see the logic behind it, it just makes me nervous the thought of having to stay up late (but what if I then can’t sleep!?)

Hi, I found my mind set just switched really fast from worrying about not sleeping to being desperate to go to bed. Sleep restriction makes you sleep deprived on purpose, it is so harsh.
You suffer like I did from sleep anxiety. That's why I listened to Martin Reed to educate myself on the condition. Really people like us can get by on much less sleep than others. I just embraced this.
And sleep restriction is for weeks not one or two nights so for me exhaustion kicked in and reset my mixed up brain over that time. And I really had nights before like you of tiny amounts of sleep.
There is an NHS programme that is similar but I found Martin first.

'(but what if I then can’t sleep!?)'

I don't mean to be obtuse, but worrying about what happens if you are not able to get to sleep seems utterly pointless when you already know you can't sleep.

The worst is literally already happening - you know you have insomnia and won't be able to sleep - so why are you worrying about 'what if'? You have insomnia.

I don't know if it helps to try and have that logical voice of reason/ acceptance, and just accept that you won't sleep and watch some TV/ read a book or something.

Your self talk and anxiety are really important factors here, and I'd recommend you definitely investigate therapy if you're not already.

Your anxiety about sleeping is probably 90% what is stopping you from sleeping.

@ringoffiire very sensible words. My fear of not sleeping includes not being able to cope at work (not sure exactly what that would look like) and things like crashing the car, collapsing from exhaustion, ending up in psychiatric ward!and then the very strong fear that I will never sleep normally again.

It all seems ridiculous written down here but the fear is very very real in the small hours of the night. You are right it is almost entirely an anxiety problem and this seems to have been the pinnacle of many years of anxious, obsessive thoughts.

I have phenergan which works really well for me. The dr has also given me 14 diazepam for when anxiety is keeping me awake - I don't take it very often though.

I didn't find anything else that worked for me. (Even sominex (which I think is similar to Nytol) only worked for a few days).