Inability to sleep is grinding me down

[RandomMess]

I’be never been a great sleeper but it’s just ridiculous now. I have been awake since 4.45am 😭

No sleep isn’t my friend and it grinds me down.

I appreciate everyone’s suggestions. I have read so much on sleep hygiene over the years, tried xyz.

95% of the time I just accept it’s shitty. Sometimes like last night it gets to me. I’m human, I get fed up. I probably had drifted off for a minute or so then got woken up and didn’t even feel drowsy after another hour.

I don’t relish the splitting headache after a particularly bad night.

I’m one of the few people that probably slept best when I had babies and had to feed them during the night. I was on the go physically all day etc (4 DC close in age).

I am exhausted in the evenings after work since my stroke but it doesn’t make me sleep. I struggle to read now due to the concentration it takes me. The pain doesn’t help either.

Until I can afford to give up work I can’t see anything changing unless I take even more medication.

I can only apologise for complaining that it had ground me down.

When my thyroid temporarily played up it was amazing, I would feel tired and go to bed and sleep then wake up still feel tired turn over and go back to sleep. Would get up after 6/7 hours sleep and felt so rested and refreshed.

Ask your GP to refer you for CBTi and trial you on daridorexant for chronic insomnia-available on NHS.

@Roastbeefandyorkshires haven’t heard about this. Next review I will ask!

Errr… mania, low white cell count - that’s enough surely?

i Know you have repeatedly said that going on your phone in the early hours makes no difference to your sleep or not (and yes you’re tried it before), but is it worth trying again?

Have you ever considered cbd?

And one hour exercise 3 times a week - is that it?

try to make every day include a good walk at the very least.

It was the deep relaxation being stressful alerted me to the ADHD, Random. 99% certain I have it too. I've seen it mentioned that ADHDers may find it hard to tolerate progesterone.

Mirtazapine made me really groggy the following day.

I don't think I'd ever sleep without reading myself to sleep. Have an app called twilight on my phone to filter out blue light and there's a built in blue light filter too. Pre devices I often fell asleep with a light on. When sharing a room I set myself a task, counting prime numbers used to work ok, hard enough to have to concentrate on it but also not something that could make me upset. DH listens to something or has the TV on, DS nearly always listened to something when he was little. I still do that alphabet thing with DS to help him fall asleep.

ADHD brains need to be stimulated/distracted. I think maybe the half pump/pump of oestrogen helps with this, I'm not sure. I don't take my progestin till I'm just about to fall asleep.

Ask your doctor for phenergen

That's really interesting. Thank you for posting about it. For those of us affected by chronic insomnia, it sounds fantastically hopeful that finally there may be a solution. I'd never heard of this med til you posted!

My DS with ADHD swears by a double espresso to send him to sleep - is not avoiding caffeine worth trying?

The GP said I had to give up caffeine to get referred to the sleep clinic. Never bothered me before but if I have strong coffee now it makes me feel wired.

Max dose of Phernergen works but I then dependent on it and there is a now link with dementia etc.

The only way I can do lots of exercise would be to get up really early, I can’t face it tbh and the gym I use doesn’t open until 8am unfortunately.

I generally sleep for a few hours until 3/4 waking 1/2/3 times then nap again between 5.30-6.30 for half an hour so.

Oh the sleep clinic only checked for sleep apnoea they don’t even assess for insomnia 🙈🙄

Your GP doesn’t sound at all helpful.
Sleep deprivation is a form of torture.

My DS was a poor sleeper as a baby and toddler, and I still remember how difficult it was to get through a day at work on minimal sleep.
DS is now 35!

Have you tried Sleepio or any other programme like it? Where you retrain yourself to sleep? It really helped me. It’s not easy but evidence-wise, it’s the strongest approach out there -

https://info.sleepio.com/suitability

if you search CBT insomnia, you’ll bring up lots of programmes

My menopause specialist GP said she had some patients who’d been helped to sleep better after taking CBD oil.
It didn’t work for me, though, and I slept just as poorly but with strange vivid dreams ( one involved, inexplicably, the Krankies).

Obviously everyone is different but I am on 20mg of Amittrptyline and have IBS - M i.e mixed C& D. No increase in constipation at all so long so I don't eat anythiing stupid. I sleep between 7-9 hours a night. The odd early wake up usually from a vivid dream when presumably in the lighter part of the sleep cycle but otherwise it's fantastic.

I take it between 7 - 7.30pm most nights unless I am out or have a very early start when I take it earlier or later. Usually start nodding any time from 9.30pm onwards, asleep by 10.30/11pm and wake anytime from 6.30am. It really makes SUCH a difference to my mental health as I am a random sobbing mess (😊) if I don't get enough sleep.

CBT insomnia looks interesting, one of the issues is that I have nowhere to go if I can’t go to sleep. Perhaps it’s something I could try when I know I have 3/4 weeks without anything on/going away.

I have tried CBT for sleep and it helped a lot with my feelings about it. But Amitriptyline has quite literally saved my life.

GP, they don’t tbh. They will provide limited Zopiclone or Phernergen. Referred me
to the hospital that just rules out sleep apnea.

They run through do you sleep in the dark, not drink coffee etc etc

It wasn't until I told my GP - or rather the last in the sequence - that I was losing my mind, my relationship and possibly my job that they actually stopped with the hot milky drink crap.

When I was having trouble sleeping my doctor advised me to take a one-a-day antihistamine now and again to help. The ones with cetirizine are the most effective or ones with loratadine are a bit milder. I used them when I suffered knee arthritis that kept waking me up. I would still wake but they make it easy to doze off again. They’re quite cheap if you get supermarket own brands

Yes, you do have to advocate for yourself.
Tell the GP what you want them to do, eg prescribe a certain medication.
Your GP should be listening to you not just offering useless advice.
They should be working with you.