Postnatal insomnia - want to stop sleeping pills now - anyone been through this?

[BeckyBendyLegs]

Hi, not sure whether to put this in 'general health' or 'mental health' but basically I had my third child in November and started having sleeping problems (hard to get to sleep and waking early wide awake) after Christmas. After four nights of this in a row GP gave me some sleeping pills which the health visitor told me to take for 1-2 weeks. I took 2 tablets for 3 nights and then since only take 1 tablet a night and it works but now I want to get back to myself again as sleeping pills make me feel groggy next day and basically I want my own sleep back. I have been diagnosed with mild Postnatal depression but am not taking anti-depressants but going the non-medication route with diet, excercise, family, friends, going out, etc and that side of things is working a treat as I am sooo much happier than I was at Christmas (partly helped by better sleep - albeit chemically induced). Has anyone been through anything similar and come out the other end sleeping well without resort to medication? Any tips for ditching the evil sleeping pills without getting in an exhuasted state again? I didn't take one Monday night and slept 3-4 hours. Took one last night. GP suggests taking diazepam tonight and go from there but I don't want to take that either!

Thanks for reading... sorry long story.

hi becky......i used to sleep well until i had DS1.....then i suffered from really bad PND which was so bad that i had a breakdown.

Ended up on AD for ages....these didnt really help. Had psychotherapy sessions too. Doc put me on sleeping tablets intermittently and unfortunately 20 years down the line i still dont sleep unless i either have my AD which is Surmontil(old fashioned AD with drowsy side effects...feel crap in the morning) or nitrazepam.

I can lie awake all night long,whilst DS is asleep. Cant sleep when partner is in bed as the tiniest noise now wakens me(he snores). If i do manage4 to get to sleep ,i only get 2-4 hours max.

It is horrible to cope with...i know ....mine has gone on far too long

If you really need the sleep,I wouldn't beat yourself up over needing the odd sleeping tablet to relax you.As you know lack of sleep if you have any depressive/anxiety traits,will only make things seem bleaker.

I'd carry on with your exercise routine-maybe add some more exercise in if you can,like swimming or walking an extra 30 minutes a day.Maybe try some relaxation CD'S/MP3's (I have one that usually sends me off before it's finished).

Cut out caffeine 2/3 hours before bed too.

I was addicted to sleeping tablets for over 3 years,and my sleep is still fairly rubbish but if I get off my bum and exercise I really notice the difference.

poshwellies...i play badminton 3 nights a week and i hoped that would help me. But at times it actually makes it worse. I can go for days with no sleep at all. It makes me feel bad psychologically but not physically.

When i had my breakdown due to PND i was in hospital and i actually went 6 weeks with NO sleep until in desperation the consultant gave me 6 temazepam tablets and i slept for the first time. In the morning the nurses clapped when i woke up. I feel i am now psychologically and physically addicted to AD and sleeping tablets.

I've just been looking up this pill on the internet - bloody scared now - says may have rebound insomnia after just 2 weeks of use. I am really cross with my health visitor now. I have three children to look after including nine-week old baby. Really scared now.

Alypaly I feel for you - six weeks with no sleep? I can't even imagine what that must have been like.

Sorry to hear that Alypaly.6 temazapams is akin to horse sedative .

My dh always says to me,I won't let go and allow myself to sleep,which is pretty spot on for my insominia.Mine is a mental thing,my mind is usually going two to the dozen at night.

I went cold turkey with my sleeping pill addiction (I was on 14 mg of Zoplicone for 3 years) ..was very tough going for at least a year and I said,my sleep isn't perfect still but that's down to me.

Go back to your GP Becky if you are worried and don't ever google meds,you'll just stress yourself out even more.

I've been to GP and he said to stop taking them and take 2 a week max., which is what I will try but getting pressure from mum and MIL, HV is very hard. They just say 'take the pills! You have three children!'

yeah posh my mind is the same. I go over what needs doing,what ive done,plan stuff etc etc as i lie in bed.I have been a sp for 16 years and everything is all on me so i never feel rested enough to sleep.

do you find ,just as you are dosing off,you jolt or something comes into your head and then you lie there wide awake for ever? Then when my friend stays the odd night i get angry listening to him snoring and then that makes me worse. I wonder if i will ever be able to sleep in the same bed as anyone else and get a nights sleep. It is so disheartening

You guys are not helping me!!! I need someone to tell me I will be able to sleep better soon!

I was like this after I had dd but it was coupled with acute anxiety and then it became self-perpetuating and I was almost afraid of going to bed. I thought I was going mad in the end.

I only had one cup of tea in the morning, stopped drinking coffee altogether, saw a herbalist did exercise and good food and so on and eventually, after I stopped searching for an answer/cure, I realised that it was just something I was going through and I had to ride it out and when I let go a bit I slowly got better.

I came very close to ADs but it was one doctor who said that these episodes always improve that really helped me. I thought I wouldn't sleep until it killed me but slowly the bad nights got less and less and then I was okay.

Hope things improve for you soon. It's grim, but you will get through it, whatever it is that helps you personally.

Hi Becky,
I am a holistic pratitioner and many of my clients have found massage and reflexology helpful with insomnia.
If you would like to have a chat about it please contact me on [email protected]
good luck
Magda

becky ..you have fortunately only had this for short time...lucky you.....if you find any help please tell me as i dont know what to do after so many years

I get insomnia from time to time. I take a herbal sleeping tablet which makes my brain feel fuzzy so I can't dwell on stuff and I switch off and fall asleep. i think it has stuff like valaria and hops in it.

i seem to need horse pills to help me.
alcohol keeps me awake...i must make a very long dvd of a football match and then i might sleep.

Well last night I slept about 30 minutes in total, perhaps an hour in little burts. But after 13 days of taking sleeping pills is that to be expected? Feel like a zombie today. How come the medicine that was supposed to 'help' my initial problem has actually made it ten times worse? I was getting 3-4 hours sleep before I went to the doctor. I am really pissed off.

the tablets create the link in the brain that makes you feel sleepy, like an electrical circuit. If you have bad sleeping problems ,sometimes not enough of this chemical is produced and therefore your sleep is poor.
There are lots of other factors that disrupt sleep too.
When you stop taking these tablets the pathway in your brain is not connected up and poor sleep follows. Then the psychological and physical dependence starts to come in to play

I had only had a few bad nights - why did I get perscribed these pills then if they are so evil? Now I feel like I am being tortured.

becky...do you feel addicted to them after such a short time

Not addicted but unable to sleep normally - at least last night I did.

do you feel stressed about anything or unhappy as that can make sleep really bad.

Nothing particular. I think it all started after DS3 started sleeping through, and Christmas, and DH being ill with flu then me getting it then DS2 getting it. That's when it started anyway. Doctor and HV say it is just mild PND. There are lots of other factors according to them: stopping working, high expectations as DS3 took 2 years and 1 MC to arrive, and a whole bunch of other stuff.

But I haven't taken sleeping pills for two nights now. Took diazepam last night. Slept reasonably. Hopefully things will get a bit better now. Poor DH has had to put up with me ranting and raving about lack of sleep for two long now.

Are you a perfectionist by any chance?

Bloody hell do you know me?? Yes totally (except where it comes to the house which is a higgly piggly miss match of all sorts of things, which I like and my DH would prefer matching curtains and stuff). And a workaholic - I am a book editor and have done proofreading too. Say no more!

I thought so...i rest my case....i am too and i think perfection comes with the price of sleeplessness, as we tend to mull everything over in bed ,seeking a need for order,mentally and physically.

I found out to my cost,that i couldnt be a perfect mum to 2 boys,a chef in the kitchen,a whore in the bedroom,financial whizz kid, Alan Titchmarsh and work as a pharmacy dispenser in a very pressured environment aswell.Head full....mental computer on overload. Created stress and insomnia

It took its toll and now i try and achieve a lttle bit below my 100% as i was told my 100% was probably everyone else 110%
It does help to a certain extent...but sleeping is still a problem. I was on here at 2.30am which is probably a good indication of my sleep pattern.

Even though this has gone on for years i have got used to the lack of sleep and still seem to jhave plenty of joie de vivre and play badminton 3 nights a week too

Alypaly oh to be carefree, eh? I have a friend who has four children now and she is totally 'whatever' about life. I envy her.