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?!

@kerstina sorry to hear you have suffered from this as well, it’s truly horrible and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. The doc didn’t suggest time off work. Honestly, it would come as massive shock to everyone I work with if I was signed off. If you met me at work you would think I was a happy, confident person who laughs and jokes a lot. I make a real effort to keep my true feelings hidden. The anxiety at work last week was truly awful though, the worst I have ever had it.

@LadyEloise1 I have read that about Nytol and dementia too. It does seem that the study was only done on the over 65s though. But probably right to be cautious. Although I have taken it frequently recently so have had to push that to the back of my mind. Dementia runs in my family too! Piriton does seem to work for me, although it could be a placebo effect. Mag glycinate I found useless and if anything it seemed to have the opposite effect. Some people seem to swear by it though. I hope that you are getting better sleep now.

I paid for the insomnia clinic CBT and it's been brilliant.

Z drugs don't work for me, and last gp I saw nearly got a smack in the mouth when he suggested that I should try hot milk at bedtime. I've been insomniac for years. I've tried it all.

I've learned that all the routines that people helpfully suggest actually make things worse because you convince yourself that you can't sleep without them.

I'm also a teacher - although secondary (hats off to anyone who can do primary!!) - and ended up taking a week off during a particularly awful bout. I hadn't slept in 3 days, and suddenly couldn't remember the name of "that writer guy" (Shakespeare)

@Killerpinkflamingo did you gain weight on mirtazapine?

Picked up my prescription and it’s Citalopam and not the other one, of which one of the side effects is insomnia! I understand the doctor means to treat the anxiety to help the sleep but I am not feeling great about taking something which could make me sleep even worse.

You need to try it and give it at least 4-6 weeks

The Citalopram is to treat the cause of the insomnia rather than just to make you sleep. You need to be able to switch off your brain to let sleep mode kick in and anxiety isn't letting you do that.
You need to try it for 6 weeks before making any decisions about how effective it is for you.

Citalopram can make you feel worse initially but the side effects wear off after a week or 2.
Good luck

citalopram is actually pretty good for anxiety. I was on it after I had dd1

I am suffering with anxiety myself . Blood tests revealed a couple of things . One being low in Vitamin D levels . I can imagine most of the Uk has!
Anyway I am going to see if I feel any better on vit d tablets otherwise I am going to give Citalapram a go as I have some that was prescribed a while ago.
Have you got a week off soon OP ? That might be a good time to start the medication ? Is there anything that might have contributed to your anxiety at work ? I know teaching is stressful anyway .
Also keeping your real feelings under wraps isn’t particularly healthy. I do it myself so not criticising at all but you mind find some real relief in opening up and sharing how you feel with others at work who probably feel exactly the same and can relate.
I cared for my Mum with dementia and always tried to be kind and sensitive with her but I had to stuff all my irritation and tension back down inside me .Not healthy at all and comes out in other ways.

Was the Insomnia CBT clinic done online or in person @MrsHamlet

@LadyEloise1 online on demand.

Thank you for replying @MrsHamlet

Thanks for the citalopram advice. I really don’t feel like I can start it at the moment. It’s SATS week next week at school and things are unbelievably hectic so I need to be on the ball.

I am managing the sleep with Piriton/Nytol at the moment and that seems to be fine. I could take it at half term but then I have three children to deal with so I am not sure that would be much better.

No wonder you are stressed OP a teacher and 3 children ! Hopefully you will be more relaxed when SAT’s have finished and glad you are able to sleep with the Nytol and anti histamine.

@Mynewnameis yes I did put on weight with Mirtazapine. I was quite upset about it for a while but to be honest, my sleep problem was so bad and it was so miraculous for that, so I didn’t want to stop taking it. I’d rather the extra weight than go back to how hideous life was before. The increased appetite does settle down eventually, though.

OP, I really hope that everything settles down for you soon, I’m glad the Piriton/Nytol is helping 😊

Will you not be more on the ball if you can sleep? Kindly, there is always a barrier to getting started, and an exhausted teacher is no good to anyone.

I was a secondary teacher taking citalopram and never had any side effects from it.

I think you should just take them op. Do you have anxiety about medication itself?
If you get awful side effects (you probably wont) then go off sick. You need to get this sorted.

I remember being worried about starting sertraline, but it helped really quickly.

I suppose that I am worried about the side effects. There is a certain amount of frustration I feel that I am in this position in the first place.

I’ve always been somewhat anxious and a bit ‘odd’ about sleep but I had just accepted this as part of my personality. Then I had one night of zero sleep, then another a few days later and something inside me seemed to change causing the worst anxiety I have ever experienced.

The worst of the anxiety seems to have eased now but unfortunately the sleep has not improved. I just feel frustrated that a month or so ago I was fine. What happened? I got a nasty case of tonsillitis at the start of the Easter holidays, could that have triggered something?

Additionally I feel annoyed that the anxiety/sleep is so strongly linked to work and how bizarre it seems that I have to potentially medicate myself in order to do what everyone else (well, most people) can do without a second thought. DH has suggested I try and work part-time but I am worried about the financial strain.

This is all a complete muddle in my brain but I really do appreciate the support shown on this thread.

The worst of the anxiety seems to have eased now but unfortunately the sleep has not improved. I just feel frustrated that a month or so ago I was fine. What happened? I got a nasty case of tonsillitis at the start of the Easter holidays, could that have triggered something?

From what I've learned from my Insomnia Clinic CBT (which I do recommend), yes it could.

I'm very open with people (kids included) that I suffer from insomnia - it's not a fault or a flaw, it's a fact of life.

And if I needed a pacemaker to stay alive, I'd have one... if I need medication to sleep or to regulate my hormones or to give me enough B12 to function, then I'll take it.

I get the fear of the meds - when I was depressed, it took me a long time to accept that I needed to take the drugs. But I did, and I got better.

Hello ,I hope you are doing better now? I have been going through the exactly same thing since the end of January. Blood tests all good but was put on HRT thinking it can be peri, waited for 3 months and things very getting worse, my mental health got really bad from not sleeping; started to get anxiety even during the day and also developed medication/ supplement anxiety and cannot take anything before bedtime as it triggers fear and irrational thinking and then dont sleep at all. Was given setraline but havent started taking it yet. Things improved over the last 3 weeks but currently going through another sleep anxiety setback so really thinking whether to start with the antidepressant or not. Not sleeping is a real torture. XX

When do take the Magnesium glycinate @Neighneigh ?
How many hours before bedtime?
I haven't found it great.
I took 3 last night and it took a while to fall asleep and I woke intermittently during the night and it took a good while to fall back asleep

Hi OP ,

know this is a few months old but did you start the citalopram for your sleep issues and has it worked in in the exact same situation as you were then so just asking for advice really .

Sorry-didn’t see there was another reply! My sleep got better for months and all anxiety around it faded. I found this channel on YouTube called ‘sleep coach school’ and it helped me to reframe my beliefs about sleep and realise that I was not abnormal.

Unfortunately, in the last couple of weeks the insomnia has reared its ugly head again. I’m not anxious in the day like I was before luckily but the fear sets in once I go to bed, this manifests as a racing heart and a swirling mass of thoughts. I didn’t take the Citalopram but it’s still an option. For me, I’ve realised a lot of my thoughts and rituals are linked to OCD so I am trying to get help for that (although I’m not sure what help exactly.)

For now, I’m back on the antihistamines which are not a long term solution but are preferable to lying in bed ruminating. Things like magnesium, melatonin etc do nothing for me.

Hope anyone else who has been struggling with this has found some relief.